"It's fine. We weren't gone that long. There's only so much they could've done in that time..."
'Prime Suspect' Lana followed closely behind Lillie, trying to offer a sheepish smile and comfort the girl who—yet again—seemed at serious risk of being metaphorically "capped with a new hat."
Though she had already been mistaken by Lillie as Wicke's "accomplice," Lana hadn't given up on helping her.
She truly was Lillie's blade! Even after taking some hits, she stuck to her mission with unshakable resolve.
"And what exactly counts as 'doing too much'? Getting totally stuffed? Or already knocked up?"
Lillie's tone was more than a little hostile, her pace showing no signs of slowing.
Thanks to that bucket of milk, she'd had to change clothes again after leaving Wicke's place. That meant they'd been delayed by at least half an hour…
If Wicke had done anything to Haru, odds were they were already halfway through the act by now.
"C'mon, don't say it like that. Doesn't Haru have a Mew with him? There's no guarantee he'll fall for it."
"I mean, we are talking about a Mythical Pokémon here. Maybe she'll stop it from happening?"
But before Lana could finish her second attempt at reassurance, Mew's clone—floating ahead—completely dismantled the hope:
"Nope. The real me, once she finds out, definitely wouldn't stop it."
"If anything, she'd add fuel to the fire—no one knows me better than myself."
"She's always had a deep interest in human reproductive behavior. Wicke's plan is basically tailor-made research material for her."
"Wait, doesn't Mew not know what's happening yet?"
Lana was visibly sweating now.
"No, who said she doesn't know? I'm right here."
"Thanks for the reminder, Miss Lana. Everything you've done, my true self has seen it all. She's very grateful for your support of her research endeavors."
The pink-haired girl at the front turned around and flashed them a beaming smile—complete with eight immaculate, white teeth.
"…"
"Lillie, I'm telling you—this really isn't my fault."
---
If Lusamine had come here riding a wave of lust before, she was now fully expecting to ride one of defeat back.
She just wanted to have a little unofficial meeting with Lillie's boyfriend. Was that really such a crime?
And how was it that Lillie immediately caught her in the act?
What Lusamine definitely hadn't expected was to crawl into an air vent and find an entire nest of... Gym-class disasters already inside.
If Lillie squeezed in too, they'd have enough for a four-player mahjong table.
But most importantly—what were these women doing here?
Why did they all look like they'd just finished a round of "bean-based board games"?
Iono—Lusamine didn't know her well, but she had at least heard of her connection to Haru.
In short… Iono was eyeing Lillie's boyfriend.
And while Wicke had been under Lusamine's control for the most part, now she was clearly going off-script.
"So what's that smell around here, anyway?"
"Did you two douse yourselves in perfume?"
As the seconds passed, Lusamine could feel her body reacting strangely...
Like something was draining her energy while stoking a fire deep inside her.
If it were just perfume, she wouldn't be reacting like this.
But if those two had laced the vent with something—what were they planning? Surely they were here for Haru too?
Wicke didn't answer directly. She shot back a question instead:
"President Lusamine, what exactly are you doing here?"
Honestly, Wicke was okay with Iono's presence—if a party broke out, Iono could even help take some pressure off.
She didn't have any beef with Iono.
But she absolutely couldn't tolerate Lusamine being here.
The moment Lusamine entered this duct, Wicke's whole plan went up in smoke.
Her voice turned sharp.
"Don't answer a question with a question."
"And while we're at it—what's with that outfit? Don't tell me you're here to seduce Lillie's boyfriend?"
When it came to suggestive fashion, Wicke's outfit put even your average dating sim protagonist to shame.
If she wasn't here to flirt, not even Lillie would believe it—much less Lusamine.
"Seduce Lillie's boyfriend?"
"Hmm... I did hear that Lillie became his official girlfriend."
"So wouldn't it be even more fun to seduce him now?"
That comment hit a nerve—and fired up Wicke at exactly the wrong (or right?) time.
"Exactly! Once I've got you all thoroughly cucked, I'll record the whole thing and make copies—for your viewing pleasure!"
"President, you and Lillie are not invited."
Faced with Lusamine's questioning, Wicke didn't even try to deny it. If anything, she owned it—loud and proud.
"You seem to be misunderstanding the difference in power between us, Vice-President Wicke."
Lusamine crossed her arms, her voice cooling.
Yes, she had considered letting Wicke play with Haru—but playthings were never meant to replace the master.
Sure, she acted all helpless around Haru, constantly getting bonked with cat toys and whatnot.
But in truth, with her status, dealing with her two vice-presidents was child's play.
"You're right. In the worldly sense, I can't compare to you."
"Once I leave this place, I can't fight back against whatever you want to do."
"But..."
Flushed red, Wicke let out a heavy sigh. "I still have one last move!"
"Behold, my final struggle! My ultimate backup energy source!"
"With this dose... heh, who cares anymore! All of you—kneel before my greatest cannon!"
"Spring Shower Radius: Twenty Meters!"
From seemingly nowhere, Wicke pulled out a mass of vials and jars and hurled them all into the vent—shattering them in a cascade.
The instant the containers broke, a tidal wave of pink gas surged out, swallowing all three of them.
Since she couldn't have her party without Lusamine, she'd just drag Lusamine into it instead!
Grabbing Lusamine's arm like a warden dragging a prisoner, Wicke jumped straight down.
As she dropped, she continued tossing out more vials like a flower maiden throwing petals, pink mist swirling around her.
Yes, her plan was simple—overdose Lusamine with the special formula, make her the "corrupted field," the Final Boss in some legendary tale of blue-silver entanglement.
Sure, Wicke would suffer some effects too. But if she could drag that woman down with her?
Totally worth it.
After all… her own suffering far exceeded anything Lusamine was feeling right now!