Kawaii princess's Arc

Chapter 71 of 74

The clean field did not stay clean. By morning, a weathered sign post stood at the edge of the grounds, its painted letters demanding a review of every round Kawaii Princess had won without a voice. Behind it rose the pale stone palace where such challenges were heard. She walked toward its tall doors alone. Inside the hall, a tall trophy case held her silent wins on ice-carved shelves. Each token glowed under glass, each one marked DISPUTED. Her rival stood at the rail and named them one by one. The head scout listened, pen ready to strike them from the board. Kawaii Princess opened the case herself. She lifted each token and set it on the floor beside the matching placard from that round — the soot drum, the shadow curtain, the cracked horn, the empty stage. She pointed to the head scout's own mark on every placard. He had counted them then. He could count them now. The head scout walked the line, touched each placard, and nodded. He returned the tokens to the shelf and sealed the case with a fresh ribbon. Her score held. Her rival turned from the rail and left through a side door, already carrying a new scroll. Outside, the sign post had been pulled from the snow and flipped. A new demand was being painted on its back.