Chapter : 181
Chapter : 181
"Patience, Laxmi," Princess Iris said softly, offering her hot-headed servant a gentle smile. The Princess stood perfectly straight, her dark blue uniform looking crisp and dignified. "We just need to submit the mercenary agreement, and then we can go home and prepare."
Standing right next to Princess Iris was Elma. The blonde servant from the 16th Unit looked entirely out of place among the chaotic, mismatched members of Iris's team. She wore her spotless white and gold uniform, her hair styled in perfect curls. She kept her arms crossed tightly, trying to project her usual aura of arrogant superiority.
But her tough act was completely failing today.
Ken slowly pushed himself off the floor, dusting off his tailored navy blue suit pants. He shuffled over to where Elma was standing and gave a loud, exaggerated yawn.
"Hey, Elma," Ken said casually, giving her a goofy, sleepy smile. "Your shoes are so shiny, I can literally see my own reflection in them. It is very convenient. Do I have a piece of breakfast cereal stuck in my teeth?"
He leaned forward, baring his teeth in a completely ridiculous, goofy grin.
Elma froze. Her bright blue eyes widened in sudden panic. A massive, brilliant rush of pink color flooded her cheeks, turning her face the shade of a ripe strawberry. Her heart did a totally unexpected, frantic flip inside her chest. She quickly took a step backward, completely forgetting how to act like a proud, elite warrior.
"I—I am not looking at your teeth, you idiot!" Elma stammered loudly, her voice cracking as she quickly turned her head to stare at a blank marble wall. Her hands fidgeted nervously with the edge of her pristine white sleeve. "Stay away from my boots! You are going to get dirt on them with your messy clothes! Just stand over there and stop talking to me!"
Ken just chuckled lazily, totally oblivious to the massive crush she was currently trying to hide. "Alright, alright. I was just asking for a quick dental check. You don't have to yell."
Naomi watched the entire interaction from the side. She rolled her green eyes and lightly smacked Ken on the back of his shoulder. "Leave her alone, Ken. Stop annoying the new girl before she changes her mind and goes back to her own mansion."
"I am not going anywhere," Elma mumbled quickly, still refusing to look at him. "I made a promise to fight in this match, and I never break my promises. Even if I have to spend the entire day standing next to a useless slacker."
Ira, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling the entire time, finally spoke up in her flat, robotic voice. "Statistically speaking, the line is moving at a rate of one person every four minutes. We will reach the front desk in exactly twelve minutes and thirty seconds."
"Thank goodness," Luna yawned loudly, leaning most of her body weight onto Zinia’s arm. "I am going to take a nap right here on the floor if we have to wait any longer."
Zinia just laughed, easily supporting the sleepy lightning user. "Hold on a little longer, Luna. We are almost there."
Finally, after what felt like an absolute eternity of standing around and complaining, the group reached the front of the line.
They stood before a wide, polished mahogany desk. Sitting behind the desk was a very bored-looking government clerk wearing a gray suit. He had a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of his nose and was holding a magical stamping device. He did not look impressed by the presence of a Royal Princess. He just looked like a man who wanted his lunch break to start.
"Next," the clerk said in a monotone voice, holding his hand out without even looking up.
Sayma stepped forward. She placed the massive stack of paperwork neatly onto the desk. "Good morning. We are here to officially submit the final nine-person roster for the 13th Unit, competing in tomorrow's scheduled tournament match."
The clerk sighed, pulling the papers toward him. He began flipping through the pages, his eyes scanning the incredibly tiny, complicated legal text. He checked the names, verified the signatures of Princess Iris and Grandmaster Finlay, and confirmed the magical seals on the documents.
"Iris Belmontia, 13th Unit," the clerk mumbled to himself, ticking boxes with his pen. "Eight permanent servants registered. One temporary mercenary substitution invoked under section four, paragraph twelve of the tournament guidelines."
He pulled the final page to the front. It was the official transfer agreement, signed by Princess Hestia, allowing Elma to fight for Iris’s team for a single day.
"Everything appears to be in order," the clerk stated dryly. He picked up his magical stamping device. "The paperwork is approved. I just need to collect the official transfer fee required by the loaning party, and your roster will be fully locked in."
Princess Iris nodded gracefully. "Of course. What is the fee my sister requested?"
The clerk adjusted his glasses, reading the number written at the very bottom of Princess Hestia's signed document.
"The 16th Princess has requested a mercenary transfer fee of exactly 10,000 Bels," the clerk announced loudly.
The entire 13th Unit completely froze.
The silence that followed was so absolute you could hear a pin drop in the massive marble hall. Ken stopped slouching. Naomi’s jaw literally dropped open. Laxmi’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
"Ten thousand Bels?!" Laxmi shrieked at the absolute top of her lungs.
Her voice echoed so loudly that several politicians walking nearby actually stopped and turned around to stare. A massive, roaring spark of orange fire popped violently into existence around Laxmi's fist before she quickly forced it to extinguish.
"Are you entirely out of your mind?!" Laxmi yelled, slamming her hands flat onto the polished mahogany desk. The clerk leaned back in his chair, looking slightly alarmed. "Ten thousand Bels is an absolute fortune! That is enough money to feed our entire estate for six months! We could buy new training equipment! We could fix the leaky roof in the kitchen!"
Naomi was just as furious. She glared at Elma, pointing an angry finger at the blonde girl. "Did you know about this?! Your Princess is a greedy, arrogant bloodsucker! She is intentionally trying to bankrupt us! She knows our estate has almost zero funding!"
Elma crossed her arms defensively, her face turning pink again, though this time from embarrassment rather than a crush. "I do not set the prices! Princess Hestia is a very prominent Royal. Loaning out her absolute best vanguard fighter comes with a premium cost. If you cannot afford it, then you should not have accepted the deal."
"It is literal robbery!" Zinia argued, stepping up beside Laxmi. The tough earth user looked ready to punch a hole through the wall. "She is squeezing every last coin out of us just because she knows we are completely desperate!"