Chapter : 674

The living room remained very quiet and peaceful. The bright afternoon sun shined perfectly through the large glass window. The warm light heated the wooden floorboards. The empty pink pastry box sat on the coffee table.

Risa looked up from her stuffed teddy bear. She turned her head slowly. She looked directly at Ken. Her bright green eyes were sincere. The sweet healer did not usually speak very loudly. She was usually very shy. But right now, her voice rang very clear.

"You are very amazing, Ken," Risa stated softly.

The room went slightly quiet. The casual chatter stopped instantly. Everyone looked down at Risa.

Ken blinked his sleepy dark eyes. He stopped chewing his chocolate eclair. He looked down at the pink-haired girl sitting near his shoes. He slouched his shoulders a little bit more.

"I am amazing at eating eclairs," Ken agreed lazily. He offered a goofy, relaxed smile. "I can eat five pastries in one minute. It is my secret talent. I practice every single day."

Risa shook her head slowly. She hugged her brown teddy bear tightly against her chest. She did not smile a goofy smile. She looked serious. She looked honest.

"No," Risa said gently. "Everyone else in the capital city thinks you are just a lazy joker. People outside this house call you a weak slacker. The rich nobles make fun of you. They laugh at your clothes and your untucked shirt."

Ken shrugged casually. He slipped his free hand deep into his sweatpants pocket. "I like my clothes, Risa. They are very comfortable. Rich people wear stiff collars. Stiff collars are a total trap. They restrict brain blood flow. I need my blood flow to play video games."

Risa did not laugh at his silly joke. She looked right into his dark eyes.

"They do not see the real you," Risa continued softly. Her voice was full of pure, undeniable truth. "But I see you. I know you do not like fighting. I know you just want to sleep. But whenever we are in danger, you always help us. You always make sure we are safe. You make funny jokes so we do not feel scared in the dark."

Naomi looked at Ken. She agreed with Risa. She remembered all the times Ken mysteriously helped them survive. She remembered his calm, steady voice during chaotic battles. Naomi smiled a very soft, proud smile. She was very glad Risa was saying this out loud.

"You are not a joker to me," Risa declared sweetly. She offered a bright, beautiful smile. "To me, you are a true, brave hero. You are my hero, Ken."

Ken froze . He stared at Risa. He did not know how to handle genuine compliments. He preferred mild insults. Insults were very easy to ignore. Compliments required emotional responses. Emotional responses required energy.

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He scratched his messy black hair. He looked away from her green eyes. He felt a tiny bit awkward.

"Heroes have a very terrible job description, Risa," Ken deflected lazily. He used his flawless anime logic to escape the moment. "I refuse to be a hero. Do you know what happens to heroes?"

Risa tilted her head. "What happens?"

"They suffer from the Protagonist Curse," Ken explained casually. He pointed a lazy finger in the air. "They always have to wake up early. They have to train in the freezing mountains. They have to fight scary villains every single week. They never get to take a nap. They constantly scream while shooting laser beams. It destroys their vocal cords . I want to be a simple background character. Background characters just walk across the screen and eat noodles in silence. That is my ultimate dream."

Laxmi laughed loudly. "You are definitely a noodle guy, Ken! You would make a great background character!"

Elma sat quietly in her wooden chair. She listened to Risa's sweet words. She listened to Ken's silly, lazy deflection. She watched his messy black hair. She watched his sleepy dark eyes. She watched the gentle, kind way he treated Risa.

Suddenly, a massive, overwhelming wave of emotion hit Elma.

Her heart beat fast. It hammered wildly against her ribs. Her face turned a bright, explosive shade of pink. Her breath caught tight in her throat. She felt a profound, undeniable truth in her soul.

Risa was right. Ken was a true hero. He hid his kindness behind lazy jokes. He hid his bravery behind baggy sweatpants. Elma saw it clearly. She remembered him saving her life from the mutated monster. She remembered him refusing a reward from her Princess. She remembered his warm, goofy smile.

Elma could not hold the intense feelings inside anymore. The emotions overflowed . She stood up quickly from her wooden chair. The chair scraped loudly against the floor. Screeeech.

The entire living room went silent again.

Everyone looked at Elma. The blonde swordswoman stood perfectly straight. Her hands trembled slightly at her sides. Her golden curls bounced. Her blue eyes locked directly onto Ken. She looked determined. She looked highly emotional.

"Elma?" Sayma asked politely. The Vice-Captain pushed her glasses up. "Are you alright? Your heart rate seems very elevated."

Elma ignored Sayma . She ignored Princess Iris. She ignored Naomi. She only looked at Ken.

Ken stopped talking about background characters. He looked at Elma. He blinked his dark eyes. He slumped his shoulders. He wondered if she brought more pastries hidden in her uniform pockets.

Elma took a slow, deep breath. She stepped forward. She stood right in front of the coffee table. She looked directly at Ken sitting on the sofa.

"Risa is correct," Elma stated clearly. Her voice shook just a tiny fraction of an inch. But it was very loud. It filled the quiet living room.

Ken tilted his head. "Correct about the Protagonist Curse? I know. It is a very serious medical condition."

"No," Elma said firmly. She shook her head. Her face was flushed. "She is correct about you. You are a brave person. You are a kind person. You hide it from the world. But you cannot hide it from me."

Naomi stopped smiling. Her green eyes widened slightly. She looked at Elma. Naomi felt a sudden, sharp spike of panic in her chest. She realized what was happening. She wanted to stop it, but she could not speak. She just stared blankly.

Elma clutched her hands together in front of her chest. She gathered all her courage. She acted like a true warrior on a battlefield. She faced her fear .

"I have thought about this for a very long time," Elma confessed loudly. Her voice rang with sincerity. She did not hide anything. She put her entire heart on the table. "Ever since you saved me in that dark facility. I thought about your smile. I thought about your jokes. I thought about your gentle nature."

Ken stared at her. His brain tried to process the massive amount of information. He dropped his half-eaten eclair back into the pink pastry box.

"Elma," Ken mumbled lazily. He felt very flustered. "You do not need to give me a speech. You already gave me pastries. We are even."