Chapter Ten:Burned at the Steakhouse (Again)

Shizuku woke up with straw in her mouth, a rock in her spine, and a strong desire to never wake up again. The stone ceiling above her looked about as inviting as her old math teacher's glare, and the faint smell of mold and regret wafted through the air like a sad scented candle.

"Okay. Still alive. In a dungeon. Classic fantasy girl move. Ten outta ten," she muttered, sitting up and groaning. Her entire body ached like she'd fought five mini-bosses and lost. She ran her fingers through her tangled hair, grimacing as bits of hay clung like clingy NPCs.

"Right. Plan A: escape. Plan B: magic myself out. Plan C… bribery? Wait, I have no money. Never mind. Plan C is cry." She stood and inspected the cell like a seasoned gamer. No loose bricks, no suspicious levers, no helpful rats offering side quests.

"No trapdoors, no magic portals, not even a suspiciously weak wall tile. This game's level design sucks." She paced back and forth, poking at the walls like a particularly irate interior decorator.

"Maybe I should leave a bad review. 'Dungeon lacks decor. One star. Would not recommend unless you're into medieval mildew chic.'"

Before she could formulate a new plan involving kicking down the iron door with raw spite, it creaked open. Two guards entered, flanking none other than Prince Sunshine Sword-Through-the-Spine himself. His expression was unreadable, which meant Bad News™.

She raised an eyebrow. "Did you bring me breakfast, or is this the part where I get executed?"

The prince didn't even flinch. "The king has reached a decision."

"Well, that's fast. Honestly expected a few more dramatic speeches and maybe a courtroom montage."

"You are to be executed by sword," he said, deadpan. "Since fire clearly doesn't work on you, it was deemed the only safe option."

Shizuku blinked. "Wait, excuse me—what? You're seriously going to stab me? Me? The girl who saved you?"

"It is the king's order."

"Oh, this is why I don't socialize," she muttered as they cuffed her wrists and led her down the hallway. "First Tokyo, now Fantasyland. I swear I have the worst luck with public heroism."

The castle hallways were grand and glittering, a ridiculous contrast to her increasingly awful situation. As she was marched toward her doom, she started internally cataloging all her regrets—most notably, agreeing to play that stupid dating sim in the first place.

"This is fine," she told herself aloud. "Maybe they'll trip. Maybe I'll get struck by lightning. Or maybe the goddess will show up riding a giant flaming swan and say, 'Oopsie, my bad, wrong world'—oh wait. I already know it was the wrong world."

She groaned. "Unbelievable. She had one job. One."

They reached the royal courtyard, now transformed into a full-blown drama festival. Nobles crowded the balconies in ruffled lace and shimmery silks, murmuring excitedly. Knights lined the edges of a stone platform. A fancy executioner stood beside a dramatically oversized sword, clearly overcompensating for something.

The king stood at the front, resplendent and terrifying, delivering a booming speech about justice, peace, and protecting the kingdom from demonic forces. Shizuku knelt in front of the crowd, hands bound, sweat dripping down her back, mind racing in panic.

"This is fine. Totally fine. Definitely not about to get murdered in front of a royal audience. I mean, I already died once. How bad can round two be?" she whispered.

"Okay, brain, think. Anime logic. Manga rules. Fire girl in distress. There's got to be a dramatic escape button somewhere."

Her panic swelled, heart pounding in her ears. And then she felt it. That strange, heated pull inside her again—like someone had turned up the thermostat inside her soul and lit a match.

Uh-oh.

No sooner had the king raised his hand to signal the start of the execution than her magic exploded. Flames burst out from beneath her, crackling across the stone floor and leaping toward the surrounding guards. Torches flared and popped, banners caught fire, and one very unlucky noble's wig combusted in a blaze of expensive curls.

Shizuku stood, flames swirling around her like a boss fight transformation sequence. "Oh no. No no no. Not again—"

Screams erupted. People ran. Someone yelled, "THE DEMON AWAKENS!" while another knight just dropped his sword and cried. Even the executioner fled, tripping over his own ceremonial cloak as a flaming chicken sprinted past him in terror.

Shizuku threw her arms up. "THIS IS NOT WHAT I MEANT BY ESCAPE PLAN!"

She tried to will the fire back down, but panic only made it worse. It danced higher, licking at the sky like a pyromaniac's birthday party. The heat shimmered across the courtyard.

Amid the chaos, someone shouted, "Protect the king!" while a few nobles fainted dramatically into their silk cushions. A group of mages in blue robes appeared from a nearby tower, clearly summoned in haste, and started chanting barrier spells.

Magical shields flickered into place, but even they trembled against the force of Shizuku's flames. One cracked like glass. Another shattered completely.

"Why does my magic only work when I'm panicking!?" she shrieked, waving her flaming hands uselessly.

And then—pain. A sharp, horrible pain bloomed in her back, just below her shoulder blade. Her breath hitched. The flames sputtered. She stumbled forward, looking down to see the tip of a sword sliding out through her chest.

She turned, wide-eyed, to see the prince standing behind her. Sword in hand. Blood on the blade. Expression unreadable.

"Oh," she breathed. "Seriously?"

Everything slowed. The noise of the crowd faded. The flames died away like smoke on the wind. Her knees hit the stone, and she collapsed to her side.

The world tilted, and all she could think was: This is stupid. This is so, so stupid.

First, she got shot saving kids from a robber in Tokyo. Now she was stabbed saving a prince from a monster.

"Why," she whispered, "do I keep saving people? I hate people…"

Her vision dimmed. The pain faded. Only her bitterness remained.

"This is exactly why I never leave my room."

A final, annoyed breath escaped her lips as darkness overtook her.

"I hope the goddess gets hiccups forever."

And with that—Shizuku Kuran died. Again.

To be continued...