Chương 302: Chapter : 302

Elma stood very straight. She refused to look directly at Ken. She kept her blue eyes fixed firmly on a brick wall.

"Princess Hestia gave us a short break," Elma stated very quickly. Her voice pitched up just a tiny bit.

"I was simply taking a walk. I bought these premium vanilla pastries from a bakery. But I am not hungry. I decided to give them to your messy unit so they do not go to waste." Ken grinned. He slouched his shoulders and gave her a goofy wave.

"Hey, Elma. That is very nice of you. Do you have any chocolate ones? Because vanilla is a little bit boring for my highly refined taste buds." Elma's face turned even redder. The blush reached all the way to her ears. She practically shoved the pastry box into Sayma's hands.

"They are imported vanilla, you ungrateful slacker!" Elma shouted defensively.

"You should feel honored to eat them! Just take the box!" Without waiting for a response, Elma spun around on her heel. She marched away very fast. Her polished boots clicked sharply against the cobblestones. She disappeared around the corner. Laxmi burst out laughing.

"She totally followed us here just to give you snacks, Ken. It is so obvious."

"My charm is completely undeniable," Ken agreed lazily. He reached into the box and grabbed a pastry.

"It is a tough job, but someone has to do it." Naomi chuckled softly. She playfully nudged Ken's arm.

"Eat your pastry, Ken. We have a laboratory to tear apart." The team arrived at Carrion's abandoned facility an hour later. The building looked just as creepy and broken as before. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling. A thick layer of dust covered the floorboards. Broken glass littered the hallways.

"Spread out," Princess Iris ordered.

"Leave absolutely nothing unchecked." Naomi and Laxmi smiled. They loved aggressive orders. They went straight to work. Laxmi walked over to a row of rusted filing cabinets. She did not bother looking for a key. She wrapped her hands in bright orange fire. She punched the metal locks. The locks melted instantly. She ripped the cabinet doors completely open. She pulled out massive stacks of old papers.

"Nothing but blank forms in this one!" Laxmi yelled. She tossed the papers over her shoulder. They scattered across the dusty floor like snow. Naomi moved to the center of the main laboratory room. She looked down at the wooden floorboards. She drew her twin silver daggers. She dropped to her knees and jammed the sharp blades deep into the gaps between the boards. With a swift, powerful pull, Naomi ripped the floorboards right out of the ground. Wood splintered loudly. Rusty nails popped out and rolled away.

"Check the dirt under the foundation," Naomi told Zinia. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Zinia stepped up. She placed her strong hands on the exposed dirt beneath the floor. A faint brown glow surrounded her fingers. She shifted the soil with her earth magic. She looked for buried boxes or hidden safes.

"Nothing here," Zinia reported.

"The dirt is completely solid." They moved through the laboratory like a destructive storm. They smashed old wooden desks. They broke open sealed glass tubes. They flipped over heavy metal tables. They were absolutely determined not to leave a single inch of the building unexamined. Ken did absolutely nothing to help. He stood in the corner of the room. He kept his hands deep in his pockets. He watched Naomi rip a wooden door completely off its hinges. He took a bite of his vanilla pastry and chewed happily.

"You guys are making a massive mess," Ken observed lazily.

"Who is going to clean all this up? Because I am definitely not doing it. Sweeping is terrible for my lower back."

"Nobody asked you to clean, Ken," Sayma said patiently. She was carefully reading through the papers Laxmi had tossed aside.

"Just stay out of the way. We need to find the real documents."

"I am very good at staying out of the way," Ken agreed. He gave them a goofy thumbs-up.

"I am a professional bystander." Hours passed. The sun began to set outside. The ruined laboratory grew dark. The girls were tired. They were sweating. Their uniforms were covered in dust and wood splinters. They had searched the entire building. They had found absolutely nothing useful. Laxmi groaned loudly. She kicked a broken chair across the room. It smashed against the brick wall.

"This is totally useless!" Laxmi complained. She wiped sweat from her forehead.

"We broke everything in this facility. There are no secret documents here. Mr. Carrion did not hide anything else."

"He had to hide something," Princess Iris insisted softly. She looked around the ruined room. Her violet eyes showed pure determination.

"Ken was right. The plant research was a diversion. The real motive must be here." Naomi wiped her dirty hands on her pants. She walked over to Ken. She looked at him with a tired, friendly expression.

"Are you absolutely sure about your theory, Ken? Because my arms are getting very sore from ripping up these floors."

"My theories are always perfect," Ken said. He gave her a goofy grin.

"You just have to look harder. Maybe look behind a bookshelf. Or under a rug." Ken watched the girls start tapping the walls again. He knew exactly where the secret room was. His omniscient, god-like senses had mapped the entire building the second he walked inside. He knew the exact location of the hidden pressure plate. He just needed to activate it without looking suspicious. He needed to maintain his lazy cover story.

"I am going to help," Ken announced proudly. Naomi stopped tapping the wall. She turned and looked at him. She raised an eyebrow.

"You? Helping? Are you feeling sick?"

"I can be very helpful," Ken argued. He puffed out his chest.

"I will inspect this bookshelf. It looks very suspicious to me." He pointed to a tall, seemingly sturdy wooden bookshelf on the far side of the room. It was the only piece of furniture Laxmi and Naomi had not destroyed yet. It was bolted securely to the stone wall. It was filled with old, dusty encyclopedias. Ken walked over to the bookshelf. He shuffled his feet. He made sure everyone was watching him.

"Let us see what secrets you hold," Ken mumbled to the dusty books. He reached his hand out. He pretended to inspect a thick green book. Then, he put his lazy plan into motion. Ken intentionally crossed his left foot behind his right foot. He made a highly exaggerated, completely ridiculous noise.

"Whoa!" Ken yelled loudly. He threw his arms wildly into the air. He leaned backward. He did a spectacular, completely fake stumble. He looked exactly like a clumsy cartoon character slipping on a banana peel.

"Ken, watch out!" Naomi called out. She rushed forward to catch him. But she was too late. Ken fell backward. His shoulder slammed directly into the side of the sturdy wooden bookshelf. His clumsy, exaggerated fall was completely intentional. He hit the exact spot he needed to hit. A loud, sharp click echoed through the ruined laboratory.