Chương 535: Chapter : 535

Zaima marched closer to the sofa. She glared at the three girls blocking Ken. She glared at Ken's untucked shirt. She glared at his messy hair. Her face turned bright red with pure anger.

"Look at him!" Zaima yelled. She waved her arms wildly in the air.

"He is a complete disaster! He wears cheap clothes! He slouches like a beggar! He complains about walking! He has absolutely zero magical talent! He is a lazy bum! Why are you all fiercely guarding him like he is a king?!" Naomi gritted her teeth. She tightened her fists. She wanted to draw her daggers. Sayma frowned deeply. Ira stared blankly. They all hated Zaima's cruel words. Ken Eliot did not look offended. He did not look angry. He just popped another potato chip into his mouth. He chewed it loudly. Crunch.

Crunch. He slowly stood up from the sofa. He gently patted Naomi on the shoulder. He moved past the defensive wall of girls. He stood directly in front of Zaima. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He slouched his shoulders as far as they could possibly go.

"You are very loud, Zaima," Ken stated casually. He gave her a goofy, relaxed smile.

"You use a lot of energy just to yell. That seems very inefficient."

"Do not speak to me, you worthless peasant!" Zaima shrieked.

"You are a total joke!"

"I am a very funny joke," Ken agreed lazily. He tilted his head to the side.

"But you are completely missing the point. You look at me and you see a lazy guy. That is totally fine. I am lazy. I love naps. I love snacks." Ken took a slow step forward. He looked her right in the eyes.

"But you are acting like a typical tsundere side character," Ken explained cheerfully. He used absolute anime logic.

"You are just an angry rival. You yell at the main group because you are jealous. You follow strict rules. You wear a shiny uniform. But you do not actually know how to win. You just know how to complain." Zaima gasped in pure shock. Her mouth dropped open. Nobody had ever spoken to her like that.

"A tsundere side character?! I am an elite warrior! I serve the 16th Princess! I am flawless!"

"You are boring," Ken corrected her smoothly. He let out a loud, dramatic yawn.

"You do everything by the book. The book is very boring. We do not follow the book here. We just do whatever works. We win because we trust each other. You just yell at your teammates. That is why you will always be a side character." Zaima's face turned an explosive shade of purple. She shook with absolute fury. She raised her hand. Bright white magical energy gathered around her fingers. She wanted to summon a sharp triangular barrier. She wanted to smash him through the floor.

"I will crush you!" Zaima roared. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"Zaima. Stop." The voice was elegant, cold, and totally commanding. Princess Hestia walked back into the living room. Princess Iris walked right beside her. Hestia looked at her angry servant. Hestia did not look pleased. Zaima instantly lowered her hand. The white magic vanished. She bowed her head deeply.

"Yes, Your Highness. I apologize. This commoner insulted me." Princess Hestia glided across the room. Her white silk dress rustled softly. She stopped in the center of the living room. She looked at Ken. She looked at his messy clothes. She offered a cold, haughty smile.

"You have a very bold tongue for a servant," Princess Hestia noted smoothly. She crossed her arms.

"You think you understand how the world works. You think your little unit is special because you break the rules." Ken slouched his shoulders. He pulled a strawberry candy from his pocket. He unwrapped it slowly.

"We do not break the rules. We just ignore them. Ignoring things saves a massive amount of time." Hestia let out a soft, mocking laugh.

"You are completely naive. This Empire is not a game. It is a machine. The Succession War is a test to see who can control that machine. You cannot survive by ignoring the rules. You must master them." Ken popped the candy into his mouth. He chewed it. He looked at the proud Princess.

"Okay, I have a question," Ken asked lazily. He pointed his candy wrapper at her.

"Why do you even want to be the Empress? What is the point? It sounds like a massive amount of paperwork. You have to sit in a chair all day. You have to talk to annoying politicians. Why do you want the job?" The room went quiet. The girls watched the exchange. They were surprised Ken asked such a direct question to a royal candidate. Princess Hestia did not flinch. She lifted her chin proudly. Her green eyes shined with intense ambition.

"I want to be Empress because I require absolute order," Hestia answered seriously. Her voice was firm and unyielding.

"This Empire is full of chaos. The outer districts are dirty. The politicians are corrupt. The current system is flawed. I want to take the throne so I can control everything. I want to build a flawless, pristine society. I want every single thing in this world to happen exactly according to my will." She looked around the dusty living room with pure disgust.

"I will eliminate the mess," Hestia declared.

"I will enforce perfect discipline. My word will be absolute law. That is why I will win." Ken listened to her grand speech. He did not look intimidated. He just let out another loud yawn. He scratched the back of his messy black hair.

"Wow," Ken mumbled casually. He gave her a goofy grin.

"That is a very pretty, totally predictable answer. You want to control everything. You want order. That is exactly what the final boss always says right before they lose in the final episode. It is a massive cliché." Hestia glared at him. Her haughty smile completely vanished.

"You are an insolent fool."

"I am a media critic," Ken corrected happily. He turned away from Hestia. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He looked at his own leader. Princess Iris stood near the dining table. She wore her dark blue uniform. Her violet eyes watched him carefully.

"What about you, Princess?" Ken asked lazily. He tilted his head.

"Why do you want to be Empress? Do you want to control everything too? Do you want to make everyone clean their rooms?" Princess Iris opened her mouth to answer. She prepared to give a strong, noble speech. She prepared to talk about protecting the citizens. But the words did not come out. Princess Iris stopped. She froze completely. Her violet eyes widened slightly. She stared at Ken. She stared at her own hands. A sudden, massive realization hit her. The thought crashed into her mind like a physical blow.

She did not know the answer. For her entire life, Princess Iris had trained for the Succession War. She studied tactics. She learned sword fighting. She recruited a loyal vanguard. She fought dangerous monsters. She battled corrupt politicians. She risked her life every single day. But she never actually asked herself why she wanted the throne.