Chương 171: Chapter : 171

Laxmi stopped pacing and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? And what brilliant tactical idea did you come up with while you were busy doing absolutely nothing?" Ken sat up just a tiny bit, pointing his index finger at the ceiling.

"We use a clone spell." The entire room went completely, uncomfortably silent for exactly three seconds.

"A clone spell," Sayma repeated, blinking her eyes in pure confusion.

"Yes! Exactly!" Ken cheered, acting incredibly proud of his own genius. He started gesturing with his hands, trying to paint a picture in the air.

"I watched this awesome cartoon once. The main character was always getting into trouble, so he just crossed his fingers, shouted a cool attack name, and boom! A perfect, identical duplicate of himself popped out of thin air!" Ken leaned forward, looking excitedly at Sayma and Laxmi.

"Can one of you guys do that? Just whip up a quick clone spell and duplicate me. We can put a fake mustache on the second Ken, maybe give him a different colored tie, and pass him off to the judges as our brand-new ninth member. I will even give him a fake name. We can call him Ben. Ken and Ben. The judges will never know the difference!" Naomi let out a long, exhausted groan, dragging her hand down her face.

"Ken, you are an absolute idiot. That is not how magic works."

"Why not?!" Ken whined, throwing his hands up in defense.

"It works in the cartoons! Plus, think about the benefits! If there are two of me, I can make the clone do all my chores! The clone can wash the dishes, the clone can run the laps during morning practice, and the real Ken can stay in bed all day! It is the ultimate dream!"

"If there were two of you in this house, I would officially quit this team," Naomi said, shaking her head. A tiny, undeniable smile touched the corner of her lips despite the miserable situation. She walked over and lightly bumped his shoulder with her arm.

"Besides, creating a physical, living copy of a human being is a myth. The best you could get is a visual illusion, and the tournament referees would instantly figure it out the second they tried to shake your fake clone's hand."

"Tragic," Ken pouted, slouching back down into his chair.

"The magic in this Empire is incredibly disappointing. What is the point of being a wizard if you can't even duplicate yourself to avoid doing laundry?" While the girls groaned and chuckled at his utterly ridiculous idea, Grandmaster Finlay was standing perfectly still near the back of the room. The towering, silver-armored knight had been quietly listening to the entire conversation. His thick gray eyebrows suddenly pulled together in a look of deep, intense thought.

"Wait just a moment," Grandmaster Finlay rumbled, his booming voice cutting through the casual banter. Everyone turned to look at him. Finlay stroked his thick gray beard, his eyes fixed on the large wooden table. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"A clone is impossible," Finlay stated slowly, pacing a few steps forward.

"And a visual illusion would certainly fail an official inspection. But the boy's foolish joke just touched upon a very specific, highly obscure technicality." Ken blinked his sleepy eyes and pointed at himself.

"Wait, did I just say something smart? Please don't tell anyone. It ruins my reputation as a professional slacker." Sayma immediately grabbed her notebook, her eyes widening.

"Grandmaster, what technicality are you talking about?" Finlay walked over to the nearest bookshelf. He reached out with a massive, gauntleted hand and pulled down an incredibly thick, leather-bound book. It was the official, unabridged rulebook for the Royal Succession War. It was over a hundred pages long, filled with tiny, complex legal text. He slammed the massive book onto the table. The loud thud made Luna jump in her seat and finally open both of her eyes.

"There is a clause," Finlay explained, rapidly flipping through the thin, dusty pages.

"It is rarely used because the Royal families are far too proud to ever invoke it. But it exists. Section four, paragraph twelve." Princess Iris, who had been sitting quietly at the head of the table, suddenly leaned forward. Her violet eyes lit up with a flash of memory.

"The substitution clause," she whispered softly. Finlay stopped flipping the pages and pointed a massive finger at a small block of text.

"Exactly, Your Highness. Read it."

Sayma quickly slid the thick rulebook closer to her side of the table. She adjusted her glasses and read the tiny print out loud so the entire unit could hear.

"In the event that a registered Royal unit is unable to field a complete nine-person roster due to unforeseen medical emergencies or documented travel delays," Sayma read, her voice growing slightly faster as the realization hit her, "the unit is legally permitted to acquire a temporary substitute. The unit may officially 'loan' a servant from a rival Royal unit for the duration of a single, sanctioned match." Laxmi's jaw dropped completely open.

"Are you kidding me? We can just borrow a player from another team? Like trading a sports player?"

"It is known as the mercenary loophole," Finlay rumbled, crossing his giant arms over his silver chest plate.

"It was originally written into the laws centuries ago to ensure that important tournament matches would not be canceled due to minor scheduling conflicts. It allows a rival servant to fight under our banner for one day, filling the ninth roster spot and saving us from automatic disqualification." Zinia slammed her hands onto the table, a huge, excited grin spreading across her tough face.

"That is amazing! If we can just find one person to stand in the arena with us, we don't have to forfeit! We can actually fight for the ten points!" The miserable, bleak atmosphere in the strategy room instantly vanished. A massive wave of hope washed over the elite girls. They started chattering excitedly, suddenly energized by the possibility that their campaign was not over yet. But as the initial excitement settled, the harsh, undeniable reality of the situation slowly crept back into the room.

Princess Iris leaned back in her chair, her brief smile fading away. She looked at her unit, her violet eyes full of a deep, sorrowful understanding of how the political world truly worked.

"The rule exists," Iris said quietly, completely halting the celebration.

"But finding a loophole on a piece of paper is very different from executing it in reality. We must remember who we are dealing with." Naomi stopped smiling. Her green eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms.

"The Princess is right. The clause requires us to loan a servant from a rival Royal unit. We are in the middle of a cutthroat, totally ruthless war for the Imperial throne. Which of our rivals would ever willingly hand over one of their own fighters to help us?" Ira stood perfectly still, her face completely blank.

"Statistically speaking, the chances of an enemy unit volunteering to assist us in avoiding a penalty are exactly zero percent. It offers them no tactical advantage."