Chương 307: Chapter : 307

"I cannot just punch a Senator," Ken reasoned silently.

"That would cause a massive political disaster. Iris needs absolute proof. She needs ironclad evidence to present to the Emperor. I need to make sure she finds that evidence." Ken smiled a tiny, secret smile.

"Do not worry, Iris," Ken promised in his mind.

"I will point you in the right direction. I will make sure you catch the bad guy. I will just do it while pretending to be a complete idiot." The 13th Unit walked out into the sunlight. They were ready to continue their investigation. They were ready to face the conspiracy. And they had absolutely no idea that the lazy boy walking behind them already held all the answers in the palm of his hand.

"Pass the syrup," Ken said. He held out his empty plate. Laxmi slid the glass bottle across the long table.

"You already had three pancakes, Ken. Leave some for the rest of us."

"Brain work burns calories," Ken replied. He poured a massive amount of syrup on his fourth pancake.

"I need fuel. We almost got eaten by giant white wolves yesterday. That makes a guy very hungry." The dining room was quiet. The morning sun shined through the windows. The 13th Unit sat around the table. Everyone looked exhausted. Nobody had slept well. They just stared at their food. Princess Iris stirred her tea. She did not take a sip. Her violet eyes looked very distant. She was thinking about the secret laboratory. She was thinking about the apocalyptic bomb blueprints they had found. Sayma sat next to Iris.

The Vice-Captain had a notebook open next to her plate. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. She clicked her pen several times.

"We are missing a huge piece of the puzzle," Sayma stated. She looked around the table.

"We know Carrion built a terrible weapon. We know someone killed him for the blueprints. We know the assassins sent wolves to silence us. But we still do not have a name."

"We just need to find the guy who summoned the wolves," Zinia said. She took a huge bite of her toast.

"If we find him, we make him talk. He will tell us who his boss is." Ira stood near the wall. Her face was completely blank. She stared straight ahead.

"Statistically speaking, finding an anonymous summoner in a city of millions has a success rate of zero point two percent. It is a completely useless strategy."

"Ira is right," Naomi sighed. She sat across from Ken. Her red hair was tied back in a neat ponytail. She pushed her scrambled eggs around with her fork. She did not look angry today. She just looked incredibly frustrated.

"We have no physical evidence. The wolves vanished into mist. The secret lab was just full of math. We hit a dead end." If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Ken chewed his pancake loudly. He swallowed and pointed his fork at Naomi.

"You guys are looking at this all wrong," Ken mumbled. He took a sip of his orange juice.

"You think yesterday was a failure. It was actually a massive success." Luna was resting her head on the table. She opened one sleepy eye.

"How is getting attacked by giant dogs a success, Ken? I barely got to finish my nap."

"Because it proves my theory," Ken explained lazily. He slouched down in his chair.

"Think about it. We went back to the old laboratory. We started digging around in the dirt. Suddenly, a pack of highly trained magical wolves crashes through the ceiling. Why did they do that?" Laxmi crossed her arms.

"Because they wanted to kill us."

"Yes, but why right then?" Ken asked. He grinned.

"Because the mastermind panicked. We poked the hornet's nest. The bad guy realized we were getting too close to the truth. He freaked out. He sent his best assassins to stop us. That means we are winning. We just made a very big, very rich politician sweat." Sayma stopped clicking her pen. She looked at Ken.

"A politician?"

"Of course it is a politician," Ken said casually. He cut another piece of pancake.

"Only a corrupt politician has the money to hire elite summoners. Only a politician can cover up a murder for an entire year. The guy in charge is definitely sitting in a nice office right now. He is probably biting his nails because we survived." Princess Iris sat up straighter. A small spark of hope returned to her eyes.

"Ken is absolutely right. The sudden attack proves we found the real motive. They are scared of us." Ken took another bite of food. He chewed slowly. He looked at Iris. He knew the exact name of the mastermind. He knew Senator Norman was the one pulling the strings. He had seen the truth when he read the spy's mind on the roof. He knew Norman wanted to build the toxic bomb. But Ken kept his mouth shut. He did not say the name out loud. He knew exactly how politics worked in this Empire.

If he said the name, Princess Iris would march straight to the Upper Council. She would accuse Senator Norman of treason. But she had no solid proof. She had no documents with Norman's signature. If Iris accused a powerful Senator without ironclad evidence, it would be political suicide. The Upper Council would turn against her. They would disqualify the 13th Unit from the Succession War. Her campaign would be completely destroyed. Ken could not let that happen. He needed to guide them to the proof first.

He had to play dumb.

"We just need to find some actual paperwork," Ken suggested cheerfully.

"Maybe a receipt. Bad guys always leave receipts. We just have to look harder." Before anyone could answer, a soft knock echoed from the front gate. Zinia stood up. She walked out of the dining room. A minute later, she returned. Someone was walking right behind her. It was Elma. The blonde servant from the 16th Unit stepped into the dining room. She wore her spotless white and gold uniform. Her hair was curled perfectly. But she looked incredibly nervous. She held a small, neatly wrapped pink box in her hands.

Elma's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink the moment she saw Ken.

"Hello," Elma said. Her voice pitched up slightly. She cleared her throat and tried to look proud. She totally failed.

"Princess Hestia gave us a morning break. I was walking by the bakery. I bought too many strawberry muffins. I decided to drop them off here." Naomi smirked. She leaned back in her chair.

"You walked all the way across the city to give us muffins? That is very generous, Elma." Elma refused to look at Naomi. She stared firmly at the wall.

"I simply do not like wasting food. Your unit always looks hungry. I am doing a public service." Ken sat up. His eyes lit up with pure joy. He wiped syrup off his chin with a napkin.