Phaga's mouth twitched at the words, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Looks like that scorpion porridge packs quite a punch. The Class President is completely lost in hallucinations.
[You should really cut back on that porridge. Pouring the rest out wouldn't be a waste… By the way, who's this Executive Officer Khors you mentioned?]
Phaga frowned, puzzled.
Thanks to Black Phaga, Phaethon and the Cunning Hares had once sold him recordings of high-level city meetings and TOPS decision sessions.
Plenty of political figures had attended those meetings, and anyone with a name to their reputation had left an impression on him.
But when it came to TOPS personnel, Phaga knew very little.
Aside from Bern, the vampire clan representative who always showed up for major events, and a very small number of executives—including Mrs. Meilin—he recognized no one else.
Khors?
The name sounded vaguely familiar, like he'd heard it somewhere before.
Forget it. No point overthinking it—he'd just ask.
But the Class President's response left Phaga completely stunned.
[Why do you care~? I'm taking all the leftovers—hey! Don't steal it! I love it! I'm taking all the leftovers—hey! Ruby, Ruby! Don't snatch it from me!]
[Phaga, wait a second—I need to deal with Ruby first.]
Beep—beep—
"Hello? Hello?!"
Before the call cut off, hurried footsteps rang out, followed by a dull thud through the speaker.
Then—nothing.
After a long stretch of dead air, the call disconnected automatically, ending with the standard beeping tone.
"How bad is it?"
At some point, Ellen had come up beside Phaga. Her cheeks were puffed out as she chewed on a hot dog bun, and she held out his portion to him.
"Here."
"Mm."
Phaga took it, lifted the milk, and gently sipped through the straw. A rich aroma with a faint sweetness spread through his mouth.
The taste itself was nothing special—but thinking about the Class President eating Rina's breakfast, Phaga suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of happiness.
"Well… it feels like the Class President and Ruby might need their stomachs pumped later, but at least right now they're enjoying that porridge a lot."
After a moment, Phaga let out a bitter chuckle.
From a poison-making standpoint, Rina's cooking skills had made tremendous progress—enough to make people fight over who got to lick the plate clean.
"Huh?"
Ellen raised her eyebrows, surprise written all over her face. It quickly shifted to concern as she thought of Ruby's condition.
"Then we should hurry over. I don't want to be the one cleaning up Ruby's body."
"Uh… it shouldn't be that serious. Probably…"
Phaga wiped the sweat forming at his temple, suddenly much less confident. He quickly called Rina again.
The call connected before long.
[Phaga? Perfect timing! My cooking has improved again! You have no idea how happy your classmates are eating it!]
[…I think I can imagine.]
Phaga's mouth twitched. Just imagining the Class President and Ruby in a hyper state, slobbering over Rina's food, made his skin crawl.
Ugh—goosebumps. Focus. Ask what matters.
[Rina, where are you right now?]
[Eh? You're really coming? I knew you liked my cooking! Um—we're in the Vanquishers' City. Just head toward the tallest building in the city center.]
[But you and Ellen need to hurry. Let me see… hmm, we're almost out of porridge. Should I cook another pot for you?]
On the other end, Rina sounded absurdly excited—like a child whose talent had finally been recognized. She was practically rolling up her sleeves already.
That jolted Phaga upright.
[No need! Rina, you've worked hard—get some rest… Huh? I know you just woke up, but it's fine. They say sleep is the best beauty treatment. Why don't you take another nap? Think of it as skincare. Ellen and I will be there soon.]
With that, Phaga hung up immediately.
He finished the hot dog in two quick bites, all gentlemanly manners abandoned. He tore open the warm milk carton and tipped his head back, chugging it down.
Gulp—gulp—
Most of it went down cleanly, but a little still spilled from the corners of his mouth, trailing down like two pale streams.
Ellen hurriedly pulled out a tissue and wiped him off, complaining softly.
"Don't rush like that. Look at you—you've made a mess."
Phaga suddenly grabbed Ellen's hand.
The unexpected boldness caught her completely off guard, and she froze, staring at him blankly.
"No time for that. We need to get to the Vanquishers."
He roughly wiped his mouth with his thumb, tightened his grip on Ellen's hand, and started toward the Sons of Calydon camp while pulling out his phone.
[Hey, Belle, I need a favor. Can you check the Vanquishers' ambulance number for me? …Oh, it's the same as the city's? Thanks. You're still with the Sons of Calydon, right? Then tell them to return my off-road vehicle—I need it now.]
The call ended.
Phaga immediately dialed the ambulance service.
[Hello, ambulance dispatch? Please head to the tallest building in your city. Two students have food poisoning with severe hallucinations.]
...
After nearly ten minutes of running, Phaga and Ellen finally reached the Sons of Calydon.
Despite the sprint, Ellen's face was only slightly flushed. Phaga's breathing was steady—but the look in his eyes shifted in surprise.
Everyone from the Sons of Calydon was there.
Caesar, who should have been at the front, was deliberately blocked behind Lucy. As if flaunting her dominance,Lucy flicked her side ponytail back and wrapped her small arms tightly around Corin's waist, pulling her close.
As Phaga approached and took in the scene, his confusion only deepened.
Coming together to return a car was one thing—but hugging my Corin right in front of me?
Corin was clearly uncomfortable as well. She didn't dare look toward Phaga, only whispering to Lucy beside her.
"Um… the mission's finished. I should probably head back now. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days, Miss Lucy."
As she spoke, Corin carefully tried to pry Lucy's arm from around her waist, attempting to slip free.
"No! Your mission isn't over yet!"
Instead of letting go, Lucy tightened her hold.
She locked her arms around Corin's waist. At the same time, her three boar thirens moved as one, each grabbing one of Corin's legs.
The last one hopped in front of Corin and made a big "X" with its arms.
"You came here to gather intel!" Lucy declared. "And you haven't finished yet! An undercover agent doesn't just leave halfway through a mission!"
As she spoke, Lucy pressed her cheek against the back of Corin's head, her tone brimming with self-righteous conviction.
"But the mission is already complete," Corin protested weakly. "Staying any longer would be rude. Besides, Mr. Phaga and Miss Ellen came to pick me up—I can't just refuse to leave, can I?"
Lucy's reasoning—or lack thereof—left Corin caught between laughter and tears. Not knowing whether to stay or go, she could only turn pleading eyes toward Phaga.
Surely Mr. Phaga would be able to smooth this over…
"Hmph. Fine—Phaga, I'll handle this myself!"
Before anyone could react, Lucy yanked Corin behind her and stepped forward.
Despite her height, she somehow radiated an overwhelming presence, eyes wide and blazing with intensity.
The next instant, Lucy moved. She was so fast she left afterimages. Just as Phaga thought she was about to attack, Lucy suddenly leapt backward, precisely snatched Belle from the crowd, and shoved her forward.
"Hey—wait! I said I wasn't doing this!"
Belle protested miserably, but she was no match for Lucy's strength and was forced onto center stage.
Phaga looked down at the flustered Belle. She clutched Eous to her chest for courage, eyes darting around.
"Proxy, your lines!"
Silence fell. The atmosphere grew tense.
Lucy grew impatient and urged the Proxy to follow the script.
"This is something you should've asked Burnice to do. She'd be better at it…"
Belle muttered under her breath, but in the end, she still chose to help Lucy.
She lifted her head, rested her hands by her temples, and put on an exaggeratedly cute expression.
"Lucy likes little Corin and wants her to stay and play here for a few more days, but she's too shy to say it herself."
"So…"
"Please, please, Phaga—meow~"