—

Nima's eyes sparkled. "That's amazing! So if we feed you something rare, you could produce super-powerful pills? But why aren't you answering where this pill comes from? Do you have a hole in your stomach or something?"

Harper nodded but completely ignored the question about the pill's origin. "That's why my family calls me 'The Walking Cauldron.' But here's the catch—these pills require time to refine. If I eat too much too quickly, my stomach gets overloaded, and the process slows down."

Mia shuddered. "I can't believe I just witnessed a man literally digest food into medicine. I don't know whether to be impressed or horrified."

Kent chuckled. "It makes sense now. No wonder you eat so much—you're basically a living alchemy furnace."

Harper patted his stomach with pride. "That's right. And if I really push myself, I can even refine enhanced versions of these pills, but that requires me to eat a lot."

Nima tilted her head. "So what happens to the waste? You can't refine everything, can you?"

Harper sighed dramatically. "Ah, yes—that's the unfortunate downside. Anything that isn't useful gets… expelled."

A heavy silence fell over the table.

Ethan rubbed his temples. "Don't tell me your waste is—"

Harper held up a finger. "—completely harmless and odorless. Anything impure is dissolved before it even reaches that stage. My digestive process is perfect—I never get sick, and I never suffer from indigestion. I have a separate stomach for refining these pills; all the enzymes from the food gather there. That's why I have such a corpulent figure. I literally have two stomachs."

Kent sighed, shaking his head. "You know what, Harper? I'm not even surprised anymore."

Harper grinned. "That's the right attitude. My ability might sound weird, but it's insanely valuable. I could sell these pills for a fortune, but I prefer keeping them for myself and my friends. My grandfather always told me never to sell any pills—even if I wanted to sell one or two, I just couldn't."

Mia eyed the golden pill in Harper's hand. "So… does it taste good?"

Harper smirked. "Only one way to find out." He tossed the pill to Kent.

Ryan caught it, examining its smooth, golden surface. He had been listening to the conversation from the sidelines, waiting for an opportunity to extract some information—something that might help him exact his revenge.

With a sudden burst of defiance, he barked, "This is payback for humiliating me!" before popping the pill into his mouth. The pill dissolved instantly, sending a warm, revitalizing energy surging through his body. His muscles felt lighter, his fatigue melted away, and his mind sharpened.

"Whoa," Ryan exclaimed, his eyes widening. "This is actually… incredible. Thanks for the pill, losers."

Ethan and Mia stared at him, their curiosity piqued, while Nima—clearly fuming—stepped directly in front of him with determined little strides. "You're nothing but a thief—someone who steals what isn't yours. I thought you were rich enough not to stoop so low, but I'm shocked to see that a young master like you can be both foolish and a thief."

For a few seconds, Ryan didn't respond to Nima. He was busy with his kinky pressure. He snatched something from Kent. He was feeling satisfied and very happy. He finally got a fraction of his revenge.

>

.

.

.

.

<

Laughter, teasing, and snatches of crude humor had bounced off the walls as Harper—affectionately known as "The Walking Cauldron"—dazzled everyone with his uncanny ability to transform food into powerful, alchemical pills. That odd talent had, of course, been the subject of endless jibes, but nothing could have prepared them for the shocking truth about the pills' origin.

Ryan, still reeling from the invigorating rush of the golden pill he'd just consumed, had been the one to break the uneasy silence with a quip laced with both bravado and underlying resentment. His act of swallowing the pill whole was a clear declaration—he wasn't going to be pushed around by his so-called classmates.

The stinging words hung in the air as Ryan's face reddened, his pride bruised more deeply than the shock of the pill's potency.

Ryan's retort was bitter. "I'm not a thief, Little girl! I— I just needed a little extra strength. Besides, you wouldn't understand the value of a good pill!" His tone was defensive, yet beneath it lay an undercurrent of hurt that the group could not ignore.

At that moment, Kent, who had been silent and watching the scene unfold with a mix of amusement and mischief, couldn't contain himself any longer. He leaned forward, his eyes alight with a teasing glint. "Enough of the petty arguments," he said, his voice rising above the murmurs. "Harper, we've been dancing around the truth for too long. We all want to know… where exactly do these pills come from?"

The question felt like a stone into the murmur of chatter. Harper's eyes widened in horror as the weight of his secret bore down on him. For too long, he had skirted around the truth with vague references and half-smiles. Now, pressed by the combined curiosity and mirth of his companions, he felt his world narrowing to one uncomfortable focal point.

Harper's voice trembled as he replied, "They… they come from my… from my lower body private parts." He tried to sound as matter-of-fact as possible, but his cheeks flushed a deep crimson. The admission was so abrupt and offhand that most of the group blinked in confusion. "I mean… it's really quite simple…" he stammered, as if explaining an everyday occurrence rather than a magical bodily function.

Nima furrowed her brow. "I don't understand," she repeated, her tone a mix of incredulity and mild disgust. "Lower body private parts? That doesn't sound very… refined."

Before Harper could further clarify, sweat began to bead on his forehead. His voice dropped to a nearly inaudible mumble as he tried to say, "My… my butt…" The quiet murmur was lost in the rising chaos around him. The conversation paused for a heartbeat, as every eye searched his face for further explanation.

Kent, ever the instigator, couldn't help himself. With a booming laugh, he interrupted: "No, no, Harper! Don't mumble it—say it loud and clear for all of us. What did you just say? My butt… what?" His tone was teasing but insistent, coaxing the truth out of Harper's shell of embarrassment.

Harper's voice cracked as he repeated, barely audible at first, "My butt hole…" The words, spoken in a defeated whisper, hung in the air like a bad smell. In that moment, time itself seemed to slow as the full meaning of his confession crashed over the assembled group.

A collective gasp erupted from everyone at the table. The notion that the pills—these miraculous, potent substances—actually emerged from Harper's posterior was too absurd, too grotesque to believe at first. Shock mingled with revulsion. Ryan's eyes widened, and in an instant the nauseating realization overwhelmed him. Without warning, his stomach rebelled at the thought, and he vomited, nearly toppling off his feet as he tried to catch himself.

Mia, ever the perceptive one, couldn't help but interject with a note of dark humor. "I knew it," she said with a smirk. "I had a hunch from the first moment I saw that glimmer on your face—just a few minutes ago—when you were acting all strangely. It came from your butt hole, I realised it when the pill came out from your bottom part of the clothes!" Her words, part accusation, part incredulity, drew nervous laughter from the rest of the group.

The silence that followed was punctuated by a series of murmurs, incredulous exclamations, and outright giggles. Ethan tried to stifle his laughter behind his hand, though the sound of his suppressed chuckles only made the situation even more absurd. "I can't believe I'm hearing this," he admitted between fits of laughter. "You're saying that all this time, our miraculous pills… have been a by-product of your, uh, rears? You just shit while eating!!"

Harper's face was a study in mortification. The revelation that his most private bodily function was now the subject of public spectacle left him trembling. His eyes darted from one face to another, each expression more amused and horrified than the last. With a shudder and a muttered apology that was barely audible, he scrambled from his chair and bolted from the area, leaving behind only the echo of his retreat and the lingering stench of embarrassment.

As Harper disappeared into the crowds, the group's reactions took on a wild, frenetic energy. Kent, ever the mischief-maker, turned his teasing gaze on Ryan. "Oh, poor Ryan," he mocked with a sly grin, "you thought you were getting a boost from a golden pill, but instead you've just ingested—what?—a piece of our friend's… well, you know… poop!" His words were punctuated by a series of loud, uproarious laughs that rippled around the room.

+999 SP copied from Ryan. (Disgust)

+999 SP copied from Ryan. (Anger)

+999 SP copied from Ryan. (Anger)

+999 SP copied from Ryan. (Embarrassment)