"Phaga, push harder! We're almost there!"
In the overcrowded center of Blazewood, Burnice's voice rang in their ears—shaking a cocktail shaker while stomping on a drum set and belting out karaoke.
Ellen's eyes lit up when she spotted a cotton candy stall by the street. She immediately pressed against Phaga's back, using his broader frame to squeeze through the crowd, edging closer and closer to the vendor.
"Aren't you supposed to be the dominant girlfriend? Why am I the one in front? And… do we really have enough dennies now to waste it on cotton candy?"
Phaga muttered under his breath. Complaints aside, he still let out a helpless chuckle and pushed through the crowd until they reached the stall.
"Boss, two cotton candies."
He raised his voice, worried it might be drowned out by Burnice's sound-before-sight performance.
The stall owner turned with a grin. "Sure! I'll make them right away. Cash only, though!"
"No problem."
Phaga turned to look at Ellen.
Noticing his gaze, Ellen immediately turned her head aside, pretending to whistle as if nothing had happened. In truth, she couldn't whistle at all—the single, off-key tone only stirred a strangely sweet flutter, both mentally and physically.
At least, it did for Phaga.
"Hey, Senior, pay up."
Phaga laughed softly, tilting his chin toward the vendor to urge her on.
Ellen stiffened, instinctively turning back—only to meet Phaga's teasing expression, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
Knowing there was no escape, she sighed, shot him a glare, and pulled her wallet from the pocket of her maid outfit.
The metal chain slid down her slender fingers with a soft rasp as she flipped through several bank cards.
Her accounts weren't exactly empty, but with mobile payment temporarily disabled, the money on those cards was nothing more than useless data.
Right now, those few denny coins in her wallet—the kind used for supermarket change—were worth far more.
Staring at the pitiful number of coins left, Ellen counted them, then reluctantly placed every last one on the counter.
The moment the coins clinked down, she seemed to lose a piece of her soul. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed straight into Phaga's arms, clutching his clothes as she breathed in his familiar scent of blood and sighed:
"Ah… suddenly having nothing left feels so empty. Is this what being poor is like? I worked so hard all day, and by evening I've already spent every last coin…"
Phaga steadied her by the waist, exasperated. "Whose fault is it for never carrying cash? Look at you—flat broke."
"And don't start waxing philosophical like that. You'll make the Cunning Hares and the Proxy cry."
Ellen muttered under her breath, "What do I care if they cry or not?"
Then she suddenly twisted in his arms, lifted his chin with a finger, and tried to put on a mature air—though she was the one who blushed first:
"Little vampire, senior's out of money. Don't you think it's time for the junior to step up and help senior out of this crisis?"
"Nope. Since when does a senior ever ask a junior for money? Or are you giving up on being that so-called 'wolf-like woman' of yours?"
That level of temptation wasn't enough to sway Phaga. Instead, he turned the tables and pinched her cheek.
Ellen bristled, a flash of irritation crossing her eyes before she forced it down beneath a coquettish mask.
Wolf-like…
Woman?
Rina definitely didn't count—she was far too gentle. That kind of personality, in Ellen's view, was only good for holding down someone as pitiful as herself.
If she really copied Rina, she'd probably just get bullied by Phaga even more.
So who could serve as a model for her path as a dominant?
Wait.
Jane!
They'd only met once, but Jane had left an unforgettable impression on her.
If she could channel Jane, she'd definitely be able to keep Phaga in line!
Yes!
Ellen quietly clenched her fist in her heart—Jane, grant me the power to dominate Phaga!
Step one in training your boyfriend: stroke the back of his head and make him lean into your arms while you speak.
So, like a puffed-up goldfish, Ellen forced apart the hand pinching her cheek and rose onto her tiptoes, reaching for the back of Phaga's head.
Touch!
Huh? Can't reach?
Higher—try again.
I touch!
Damn it, still can't reach!
All the ambition of imitating Jane, none of her height. Grinding her teeth, Ellen thumped Phaga's chest in frustration. "Don't dodge! And… lower your head a little."
Phaga gave her a playful look, an idea suddenly forming. He smiled indulgently. "Alright."
Under Ellen's eager gaze, he slowly crouched down… lower and lower…
Then, in a flash, before she could react, he wrapped his arms around her thighs and lifted her straight up.
"Ah—wait, Phaga, you!"
In the sea of people, Ellen experienced the literal meaning of "a higher vantage point" for the first time.
But inside, she felt anything but elevated.
Her earlier yelp seemed to draw every eye. She suddenly felt as if the whole world was watching—watching her get picked up in public by her idiot boyfriend.
Damn it!!!
Today I'm supposed to be the dominant girlfriend!
I was supposed to be closing in on Jane—the one I used to hate, but now had to study frame by frame from memory!
What was this? Being carried off in front of everyone by my idiot boyfriend?!
"Hmph~ You can touch my hair like this, at least."
Phaga's clear laughter rang out. Ellen instinctively lowered her head—
Only to be blinded for a moment by the sudden flash of lights.
When her vision cleared, she saw Phaga slipping his phone away, still looking far too satisfied.
Despite the surrounding noise—Burnice's karaoke blaring at full volume—Ellen somehow knew exactly what Phaga had just said.
No.
She blinked. She hadn't actually heard him.
She'd only watched his lips. But knowing every detail of him as she did, she could tell what he'd said—and even replayed it in his voice in her mind:
"As expected, Ellen when she pouts is the cutest in the world."
Mm!
Her heart skipped a beat.
Then, as if jolted awake, her blood surged toward it, and her heart thudded hard in her chest.
"Phaga!"
Ellen shouted, Phaga's smiling face reflected in her eyes. Her cheeks burned with a girlish flush, steam almost rising from her hair.
"I'm going to bite you to death!"
She opened her mouth wide, revealing two rows of sharp teeth, and bit down on the soft thing in front of her.
Her tongue flicked out for a taste—sweet, and soft.
Huh? Was Phaga's face always this soft?
No—this is cotton candy!
Ellen finally snapped back to her senses and quickly pulled away, a cute ring of "white clouds" still around her mouth, her eyes a little dazed in a foolish sort of way.
Phaga held the other stick of cotton candy in his right hand and turned back toward the stall.
"Boss, we'll be heading out."
"Take care~ Have fun tonight."
The stall owner smiled broadly, propping his chin on one hand as he watched Phaga carry Ellen off into the crowd.
The corners of his mouth curled with knowing amusement.
"Ah… youth really is wonderful."