Kawaii princess's Arc

Chapter 48 of 54

From the platform, Kawaii Princess saw the truth of her stage. The striped pavilion above her glowed, but its frame leaned on her followers. Each support point was marked by a tall metal beacon wrapped in icy chains, and at each beacon a girl stood with both hands locked to the links. Their shoulders shook. One girl's knees buckled, then straightened. If even two stepped away, the pavilion would sag and the broadcast would catch her standing in a collapsing tent. She stepped to the frosted podium at center stage. The glass panel caught the lens. Alone in its pale light, she looked smaller than she wanted. Behind her, another follower swayed against her chain. The crowd's eyes flicked from the podium to the trembling beacons and back. Kawaii Princess understood: she could perform, or she could keep them standing. Not both. She turned from the podium and walked the ring of beacons. She unwound the chains from each girl's hands herself and pressed them instead around the metal posts, knotting the links tight to the beacons' own hooks. The chains held. The girls slid down to sit at the base of each post, gasping, still on stage, still hers. The pavilion groaned, dipped — then settled on its own iron bones. Kawaii Princess returned to the podium with her followers seated in a glowing ring around her. The lens framed her clean and central, no longer alone but no longer propped. The head scout marked the stage standing. The broadcast held. Behind her, the rival's blue fire still poured — and now every eye in Jadeice had nothing to watch but the next move she made.