'Even if she is a glutton, she wouldn't sacrifice her dignity—'
"It's a duel with equal exchange. I get what I want, and they get what they want."
Her face said she wasn't ashamed.
If anything, she looked proud.
"You'll make the bet with Neo?" Ophelia interjected.
Morrigan nodded after thinking for a bit.
His surprise only increased when Ophelia gave him a thumbs-up below the table, hidden from Morrigan's eyes.
'Did she just trick Morrigan so that I could have her join my team?'
Neo stared at the rabbit-like innocent face of Ophelia.
He decided to be on his toes around her.
Shifting his focus, he turned to Morrigan.
"What kind of duel will we have?"
"Food duel. We'll decide the winner by who can eat more.
"If you win, I'll join your team. If I win, you'll pay for everything we ate."
"Who will pay if you lose?"
Ophelia spoke before Morrigan,
"Since today is my treat, I'll pay for the food.
"You two can have a duel without worrying about the cost."
Morrigan stared at Ophelia with respect and admiration.
Neo, on the side, was almost unable to watch how naïve Morrigan was.
'I should be thankful to Ophelia.'
'Morrigan is now talking to me at least.'
"What should we order?"
"Dessert." Morrigan licked her lips. "Pancakes."
They ordered five pancakes each.
Both of them finished it in a few seconds.
As a demigod, they had high metabolism.
The normal dishes could not fulfill their nutritional needs.
The pancakes were normal; hence, they could eat dozens without feeling anything.
It took Neo three rounds of orders to start feeling stuffy.
Morrigan looked at him with a smug gaze.
She continued to eat pancakes like she was drinking water.
'No way I can win against that.'
Neo was beginning to feel bloated.
'But I'm not giving up.'
He used Darkness inside his mouth to devour the pancakes.
Morrigan noticed it easily.
Instead of complaining, she used her physical strength to squeeze pancakes into mini-sized balls and ate them.
Their 'duel' attracted a lot of attention.
It wasn't long before the cafeteria was filled with cheering and shouts.
Most of them were supporting Morrigan, since in their eyes Neo was cheating a bit too much by using Darkness.
Neo noticed Felix, Arthur, Jack, Mars, and Nathan in the crowd.
Jack, on the verge of tears, was rolling while laughing his heart out.
Felix was recording his video.
It was their future blackmail material.
It didn't take long for Neo to notice something was amiss.
At the rate they were going, he felt Morrigan might outlast him.
'How the hell is she doing that?'
Neo spread his senses and focused.
He noticed Morrigan's Lightning elemental energy spiking up every few seconds.
He understood what was happening.
'This crazy glutton….'
Morrigan was tasting the pancake, now mini-sized balls, and using the Lightning inside her mouth to disintegrate them before they reached her stomach.
She was cheating just as much as him!
The students cheered for them.
The sun started to peek from the horizon, signifying a new day.
Neo thought he would lose until Morrigan ran out of Divine Energy.
She continued to eat even after that and fainted.
Neo sunk back into the chair.
Most of the students were drunk or asleep.
The festive atmosphere from the last night made the cafeteria messy.
He massaged his brows.
Ophelia brought a tea for him.
"You have your fourth member now.
"As for the fifth member, I'll introduce someone to you.
"Think of it as a gift from me for joining Student Council."
Her smile only made Neo realize how devious she was.
'At least I don't need to pay for what we ate.'
'It would've torn a hole in my wallet.'
[Three months later.]
Neo, Arthur, Jack, Nathan, Felix, and Mars left the examination hall.
"Finally, the exams finished! Hell yeah!"
Jack threw the question paper into the air with a maniacal laughter.
He had deep circles below his eyes.
"Hahahaha! Take this Professor Jerome, I'm definitely not failing!"
Jack, having fried his brain from cramming, continued to shout gibberish.
They walked towards the Seraphim Hall to pack their luggage.
Since the semester ended, they were allowed to return home during the holidays.
"How about we meet during the holidays?" Felix questioned.
"Me! I'm in favor of the proposal!" Jack raised his hand with a bright smile.
They chuckled seeing how excited he was.
Arthur and Mars agreed.
"Where will we meet?" Neo asked.
Suddenly the group turned silent and stared at Neo.
Felix smiled awkwardly.
"My Clan isn't the best place to meet, since my reputation is quite… well, you know about it.
"Anyway, we can't meet at my place. Ares Clan is a straight no-go.
"Jack's place is too far.
"Arthur doesn't have a place, so he will be living in Academy. I'd rather not us meet here during our holidays if I can.
"That leaves only you," she explained.
"How about some restaurant?"
"I was thinking of having a night over."
"We can have a night over in a hotel too."
Neo remained adamant on not taking them to his place.
If he invited them, he might need to invite Amelia too.
If Amelia came, Elizabeth might come too.
And if Elizabeth and his brother met….
Neo shuddered to think of the consequences.
Suddenly, Jack's face turned sorrowful.
"Neo, it was my idea to meet up at your place.
"You see, my folks are poor.
"I've always wanted to feel how it would be to live like a rich person, and I thought I could do that if we come to your place.
"Besides, I won't be able to pay for a restaurant."
He sniffed his crocodile tears.
Felix added with a melancholic tone.
"It's the same with me.
"My family won't give me much money for the night outs."
Neo looked at them with a disgusted gaze.
He turned to Arthur and Mars.
"Go on. I want to hear what excuses you two have prepared too."