Chapter 5: Waffles, War, and Women With Swords

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Waffles, War, and Women With Swords The royal breakfast hall was not designed for war. It had marble columns, golden chandeliers, enchanted sunlight filtering through stained glass... but none of that mattered now. Because seated at one end of the long banquet table was Kai Veyron, the Hero of prophecy. And sitting on either side of him? Two ticking time bombs with excellent posture. Left side: Princess Elira Valtessia — royal summoner, fire magic specialist, professional tsundere. She was stabbing her eggs with a fork like they owed her money. Right side: Lady Yulia Astrem — top graduate of the Arcane Academy, master of every known elemental theory, and newest addition to Kai’s personal "study" team. She was sipping her tea with terrifying serenity. Kai, sandwiched in the middle, just wanted waffles. "So..." he said slowly, glancing between the two. "Are you guys always up this early, or...?" Elira spoke without looking up. "Don’t flatter yourself. I was already scheduled to eat here." Yulia didn’t miss a beat. "Coincidentally, so was I." They both glanced at each other. Fork met spoon with silent, tactical aggression. Kai cleared his throat. "Right, cool. Uh, pass the syrup?" Elira shoved it toward him so hard the bottle flipped. Yulia caught it mid-air with wind magic and poured it gracefully over his plate. He blinked. "Thanks?" Yulia smiled. Elira glared. Somewhere, a maid dropped a tray and whispered, "The Hero’s harem is activating..." As the tension climbed, another presence silently entered the room. Kai didn’t notice her until she was sitting across from him, masked, calm, and slicing fruit with a dagger. Lira. Still dressed in sleek black, she looked like she’d broken in through a window just to join breakfast. He almost choked on his waffle. "Lira?!" Elira stood up. "What is she doing here?!" "She tried to kill you three nights ago," Yulia added, casually adjusting her gloves. Lira said nothing. She simply speared a grape and popped it into her mouth. Kai raised his hands. "Okay, okay — she’s not dangerous right now, and maybe we should all, you know... just eat?" Yulia narrowed her eyes. "You invited an assassin to breakfast." "I didn’t invite her! She just... shows up! Like a very aggressive raccoon!" Lira gave a slow nod. "That’s fair." Elira groaned. "I’m going to melt this table." Ten minutes later, the royal breakfast had become a full-blown passive-aggressive battlefield. Every topic turned into competition. Who knew more about the kingdom? Yulia pulled out statistics. Elira recited battle reports. Lira just said, "I know where all the poison is." Who protected Kai best? Elira mentioned the dungeon incident. Yulia cited "magical barrier theory." Lira said, "He’s most vulnerable while eating," and slid him a poison detection crystal. It glowed faintly. "...Wait," Kai said. "Is my waffle poisoned?!" All three women looked at each other. Then at the waffle. Then at him. "...Maybe," Lira said. Finally, Elira slammed her hands on the table. "Enough!" "I agree," Yulia said calmly. "We must establish proper roles before this becomes unsustainable." Lira leaned back in her chair. "I already chose my role." Elira turned red. "You tried to murder him!" "He’s still alive." "THAT’S NOT A DEFENSE!" Kai sighed. "Can’t we just... not fight over me?" All three women turned to him at once. "You’re mine," Elira snapped. "I’m studying you," Yulia clarified, though her tone had definitely shifted. "I haven’t decided yet," Lira said. Kai sank into his chair. "I just wanted waffles..." [System Notice: Harem Members 1–3 are now aware of each other.] [Conflict Level: HIGH] [Trigger Event Unlocked: First Harem War – ’Breakfast Bloodshed’] [Optional Side Quest: Mediate the conflict without getting stabbed.] [Reward: Unknown] Kai sighed. "System, any advice?" [Advice: Stop being attractive.] [Secondary Advice: Fake an emergency.] That’s when the castle shook. Literally. A deep rumble passed through the floor, followed by panicked shouting in the courtyard. Elira’s hand shot to her sword. Yulia’s eyes flared with mana. Lira was already gone — her chair still rocking. Kai blinked. "...Am I in trouble, or is that unrelated?" A guard burst into the hall, pale and panting. "Your Highness! Lady Astrem! We have a situation — a Class-A rogue beast just breached the outer wards!" Elira stood. "A rogue beast? Inside the capital?" "No beast gets through the walls," Yulia said, eyes narrowing. "Unless it was let in." Kai stood too. "So... we suit up and fight it, right?" All three women turned to him. Elira: "No. You stay here." Yulia: "Too dangerous." Lira (suddenly behind him): "They’ll just slow me down." He threw his arms up. "Can I please be useful for one thing?!" The trio stared at each other. Unspoken challenge in the air. Then nodded — at the exact same time. "Fine," Elira said, "You can try. But don’t get in the way." Yulia handed him a charm. "Stay behind me. Do not touch anything." Lira looked him dead in the eyes. "If you die, I’ll kill you." "...Thanks?" Outside, the rogue beast was already tearing apart a plaza — a massive, lion-like chimera with molten claws and black, acidic breath. Soldiers were scattering. Civilians screaming. Elira charged in first, sword blazing with fire. Yulia floated behind her, casting sigils with ice and wind. Lira dove from a rooftop, blades gleaming. Kai? Kai ran after them with a frying pan. He wasn’t sure why. But it felt right. Ten minutes later, the beast was defeated. Mostly due to Kai accidentally tripping and hurling the frying pan through the air — which somehow hit the creature’s mana core and shattered it. Everyone just stared. Elira: stunned. Yulia: analyzing the frying pan. Lira: blinking like she was processing a religion-ending event. Kai scratched his head. "...Is this going to keep happening?" All three girls looked at each other. Then at him. Then... at each other again. And Kai felt it. A shift. Not just romantic tension. But something darker. He saw it in Lira’s eyes. A flicker of conflict. A trace of regret. A future she might not be able to avoid. Back in the castle, that night, the three girls sat alone in different rooms. Each thinking the same thing: "He’s dangerous. But I don’t want to lose him." And slowly, quietly... Each began to plan.