Kawaii princess's Arc

Chapter 56 of 74

After the bribed scouts were marched off, Kawaii Princess turned back to her stage and felt the cold settle in. The pink crystal pillar stood alone on the empty platform. Night was coming, and one more strike would shatter her finale. She had to guard it before the dark did the work for her rival. She walked the back edge of the stage and found a heavy iron watchtower she had not noticed before. Its beacon chamber glowed faint yellow against the dusk. She climbed up, scanned the field, and spotted a low door swinging open in the snow below. A bunker. Inside, maps of her pillar were pinned to icy walls, and pale dust streaked the floor. Someone had been planning a blast. Kawaii Princess ran back to the platform with the proof in her hands. She dragged a carved stone guardian from the storage pile, its frosted surface marked with old symbols, and set it flush against the base of the pink crystal. She wedged the maps under its foot so the head scout would find them at dawn. Then she signaled the tower keeper to keep the beacon burning all night. The beacon held steady. The stone guardian held steady. By morning, the pillar stood clean and whole, and the bunker maps lay exposed for every scout to see. Her finale stage was safe — but now her rival knew the hidden bunker had been found, and would come at her in the open instead.