[Protagonist Mission Complete! Survived Act One — Survival in the Crimson Winter (Schemes at the Shopping Mall). Protagonist Points +20!]

  When the bck panel with white letters appeared in front of me—marking not a final victory, but a checkpoint—my soul finally let out a breath it had been holding for far too long.

  I had survived.

  I, Kathryn von Adelheid… or rather, Julia, had pulled it off.

  The joy that flooded me when I realized I’d escaped such an eborate scheme was hard to describe. It felt absurd, over-the-top, almost ridiculous. Like winning the lottery twenty times in a row.

  For a few seconds, the world stopped feeling heavy.

  I couldn’t help but grin mischievously as I imagined Carlotta’s face when she realized her pn hadn’t worked.

  Ah… I’d love to mess with her as much as possible.

  The idea of mocking her, of rubbing her failure right in her face, faded quickly when I remembered one crucial detail: I’d gotten out alive purely by luck. That’s it. No real skill. No control.

  O-Okay, thinking about it again… maybe I won’t do anything.

  My mind cleared then, like someone had opened a window in the middle of the chaos. The conclusion was simple, almost beautifully humble: accept the win, shut up, and get back to my room at the Academy.

  Yep. That was enough.

  With that comforting thought, I headed for the exit. The clothing store was left behind, its white lights reflecting on the floor as if nothing had happened inside. Everything looked too normal… too calm.

  And then, like the world enjoying reminding me who was really in charge, it showed up again.

  The system panel.

  The red glow of its letters painfully staining my face.

  [Protagonist Mission: Main Quest: Act One — Survival in the Crimson Winter. [Survive the Blood Witch — (Schemes at the Shopping Center = Completed) — (Locked: Survive the Previous Stage) — (Locked: Survive the Previous Stage) — (Locked: Survive the Previous Stage)— (Locked: Survive the Previous Stage)] Time Remaining: 2’232:25:07]

  The letters reflected in my pupils, stabbing straight into the depths of my being. I hadn’t escaped anything. I’d just taken one step forward… in a nightmare that was way too long.

  I still had to survive all this crap.

  I sighed.

  But for now, I decided to focus on the positives. A little mental gymnastics never hurts, right?

  "Oh my God! I’m finally free…"

  At least for today.

  Now… where’s Maxi?

  I looked around, searching for her outside the store that had caused us so much trouble. People came and went, чуж ughter drifting through the air—but she wasn’t there.

  Did she… leave without me?

  That thought nded heavy on my chest. Like a dark cloud settling in my heart without permission. There was a very real—too real—chance she’d gotten tired of the drama. Of me.

  Maybe she’d abandoned me. Maybe she didn’t want anything to do with this problematic girl anymore.

  Damn it…

  Maybe… because of those two, I lost my friend.

  That feeling again.

  After tasting the small oasis that was friendship with my sweet Maxi, all that was left was desotion. A bitter, nagging thirst.

  My eyes filled with tears, an awful urge to cry crashing over me.

  I lowered my head, like that could somehow hide my face from a world that seemed to enjoy punching me when I least expected it.

  "Ighk!"

  A strange sound slipped from my lips when something cold touched the back of my neck. My whole body bristled instantly; even my tail stiffened like a lightning bolt.

  "Long face? Don’t tell me you got expelled."

  That voice.

  I looked up.

  "Huh? Maxi? What are you doing here?"

  "What do you mean, what am I doing? I was waiting for you, idiot. Obviously."

  My chest tightened.

  "R-really? I thought you’d left… and that you didn’t wanna be my friend anymore."

  "...For now, no," she replied, looking away. "Though seriously, you just got, like, a hundred negative points on the friendship bar."

  It was a joke. Clumsy, in her own way. But a joke.

  Warmth rushed back into me all at once, overflowing.

  "Wow, that’s so mean!"

  Happiness completely overwhelmed me. With watery eyes, I did the only thing that came to mind. I grabbed her hands tightly and blurted out:

  "Marry m—!"

  Paf.

  Before I could finish, a soda can smacked straight into my head.

  "Stop saying stupid crap, idiot. I seriously wonder if your neurons come pre-installed in ultra-super-idiot mode."

  "Ouch…"

  Thinking about it calmly… yeah. That would’ve been pretty weird to say.

  I didn’t want to freak Maxi out and make her think I was… a weirdo.

  "Well," I said, scratching my head, "wanna head back? After this, I don’t feel like shopping for a loooong time."

  "You’re right. Let’s go."

  We walked together, side by side.

  "Oh, by the way… I didn’t know you could use sign nguage."

  "Oh…"

  Right. I’d used what little I remembered to send Maxi the message in a “safe” way.

  Thank God my brain didn’t betray me and kept one of the few bits of trivia from the original game Love in the Midst of Battle: it’s mentioned as a fun fact that Maxine knows sign nguage. Turns out one of her brothers is deaf.

  "Well, in my… case, my parents shoved me into a church. Out of all the ways I could help out, I decided to assist with transting the priest’s sermon into sign nguage."

  "...No offense, but you don’t exactly look like the smart type. What made you learn and want to do that?"

  "I was, like, ten! I just thought it was cool to talk in a nguage averege people didn’t understand."

  And it was super fun. I remember Mariel being totally amazed that I could do it. We spent days pying pretend secret agents—sending coded messages… hanging out all day together…

  It was… Those were good times…

  I wonder what Mariel’s doing now…

  "Hey, you okay? You went from happy to looking like you’re about to cry."

  "Huh? … Ah—no! I’m fine! I just spaced out for a sec!"

  Yeah. Just that! A distraction. Nothing more.

  Better focus on celebrating that my ten-year-old self was such a restless little gremlin.

  And seriously—thank God I was! Otherwise, I’d have been so screwed today.

  "...You’re full of surprises," Maxi muttered. "Some less pleasant than others. Just… try not to keep dragging me into trouble."

  "So does that mean we can hang out again sometime? Like, for real, without anything weird happening?"

  She didn’t answer.

  She took a sip from her can and kept walking.

  …Well, she didn’t say no, right?

  That… counts as a win?

  Mmm. Yep. Totally counts. No one can tell me otherwise!

  For now, I’d enjoy this small victory—with a cold soda… and my friend.

  Ouro