Camearra saw the state Hudra was in and shook her head. With just her human form, she summoned a shimmering orb of clear water. Just as she had done for Himala earlier, she used it to flush Hudra's stomach.
The water orb sank into Hudra's body. After a few moments, it floated back out again—but now its once-clear surface was tinged with a faint green.
Daigo stared blankly at the orb, speechless. He had no doubt now—if he had been the one to drink that green soup, he'd already be dead.
After finishing the stomach cleanse for Hudra, Camearra quietly left the dining hall, heading toward the private room where Yu Zhou was waiting.
Hudra, relieved after the treatment, felt much better. But looking again at the table full of blackened dishes, a shiver ran down his spine.
"…I'll go buy something for us to eat."
He could see clearly that Daigo's family had no courage to touch the so-called food Camearra had prepared, and he couldn't blame them. After steadying himself, Hudra left the hall.
Barely two minutes later, he returned, carrying several bags of food—obviously bought from the streets of R'lyeh.
"That fast?"
Daigo was taken aback. For Hudra to run all the way from the crystal palace to the city, buy food, and come back in that short time… his speed was frightening. And this was without transforming.
Still, Daigo didn't dwell on it.
Hudra set the food on the table, and without another word, everyone began eating together in tacit agreement.
No one touched Camearra's cooking again.
Daigo couldn't help sending a silent prayer for Yu Zhou. Since Yu Zhou wasn't here, he would have no choice but to face Camearra's "dark cuisine" alone. Surely, he was doomed.
At the private dining table, Yu Zhou sat stiffly, staring at the strange dishes before him in total shock.
"Eat."
Camearra sat opposite him, gently picking up a lump of black coal-like food with her chopsticks and dropping it into Yu Zhou's bowl.
"Uh… Camearra, suddenly my stomach feels a little off…"
The moment the "coal" landed in his bowl, Yu Zhou clutched his belly and frowned in pain, putting on an act.
"An upset stomach?" Camearra instantly came over to him, her expression full of concern.
"Seems like it," Yu Zhou groaned, his performance worthy of an Oscar, making it look like he was in genuine agony.
"…Should I help flush your stomach then?"
Camearra thought for a moment, then conjured another glowing water orb in her palm.
"Flush my stomach?" Yu Zhou blinked in disbelief.
"Come now."
The water orb floated slowly toward his stomach.
In an instant, Yu Zhou leapt from his chair, bursting with new-found energy, and bolted straight for the door.
"No need—I'll just go to the toilet!"
And with that, he dashed out of the room.
Camearra: "…"
She sighed, letting the water orb dissipate. Her eyes fell back on the dishes she had made.
She hadn't expected Yu Zhou to eat them anyway. Deep down, she knew her cooking level—or rather, lack of it. In thirty million years, she had never once set foot in a kitchen. Today's attempt, following a few recipes, had ended in disaster.
Even Himala and Hudra had ended up sick from it. Yu Zhou avoiding the food might have been the best outcome.
Still, she had cooked with good intentions—for him. But Yu Zhou wasn't Himala; he couldn't just devour anything and call it delicious.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhou had slipped away to Daigo's family dining room. Pushing the door open, he wanted to see if they were really eating Camearra's cooking.
To his shock, he found everyone happily eating at the table. The food looked… normal.
"Wait a minute. Why does your food look completely different from mine?"
Yu Zhou blurted out the question immediately. If he'd had even a single normal dish at his table, he wouldn't have had to pull off the "toilet escape."
"Well…"
Darramb's mouth was still smeared with a dark stain. In front of him, a plate lay scattered with coal crumbs.
"You ate it?" Yu Zhou asked in disbelief, staring at him.
"I did," Darramb nodded. He knew Yu Zhou was asking whether he had actually eaten Camearra's food.
"What… exactly did you eat?"
Yu Zhou couldn't believe it. Himala had nearly died after eating coal, and yet here was Darramb, looking perfectly fine.
"Coal."
"…???"
Three big question marks floated over Yu Zhou's head. First Himala had begged for coal, now Darramb had finished an entire plate of it… Was it really that good?
For a second, Yu Zhou even considered going back to try some of his. But the very next moment, he shook his head fiercely, banishing such a suicidal idea.
"…I'll treat Camearra to a proper meal next time."
He sighed to himself. She had cooked for him with good intentions, and he had just run away. That was too harsh.
Honestly, he'd shared countless meals with her before. When Camearra had stayed at his home, he had often prepared food for her himself. It was nothing unusual.
"Yu Zhou-kun, did you eat as well?" Daigo asked, curious, while continuing to eat the food Hudra had brought back.
"No, I didn't," Yu Zhou shook his head.
"Then come, eat with us," Hudra said between bites.
"Alright."
Yu Zhou didn't refuse. Grabbing utensils, he sat down at the table and joined in.
Still, he couldn't help wondering about Camearra. If she hadn't joined them, then there were only three possibilities:
She had eaten her own dark cooking.
She had gone out to eat somewhere else.
Or… she hadn't eaten at all.