Here we are—this should be the way out!

They pushed a thick door. Yue Liuyi and Bernadette slipped out, like deer stepping from brush.

This is...

Let me check the compass... here—the needle pricked like a pine thorn. This should be a subway station in the Winterwood District.

They’d arrived at an abandoned station, a hollow under earth like a molted shell.

Shattered glass littered the floor like frost.

Route boards were slashed with red crosses like wounds.

Seats were stripped to bare backs, like bleached bones.

Every subway on Dreamwood Star had been halted for years, a river of iron gone dry.

Winterwood Station lay empty, not a single ripple of life.

If we go up one level from the exit, we should reach the surface, like climbing out of a well.

Yue Liuyi studied the wall map like a tangle of roots.

Relief came first, warm as a hearth after rain.

She told Bernadette, we didn’t buy a magelight candle.

We faced odd things, but we’re safe.

Bernadette stayed quiet, her gaze like a held breath.

She didn’t answer; she only watched Yue Liuyi, lips parting and closing like a bird testing the wind.

Huh, Bernadette—what’s wrong, you look like a leaf about to speak?

Her question fell like a pebble into a pond: Miss Yue Liuyi... are you this planet’s World Tree Maiden?

Huh?! Heat bloomed on her cheeks like dawn.

Uh-huh... I guess... sort of, my words fluttering like moths.

I-I’m sorry, the words spilling like rain!

All at once, Bernadette bowed deep to Yue Liuyi, like wheat bending before wind.

Huh? Why apologize, like blaming the breeze? You didn’t do anything wrong, Bernadette!

Because I promised my sister—like a knot in my chest—not to harm this planet’s World Tree Maiden, yet I...

Remembering her hostility at the institute, Bernadette bowed again, her shadow like a folded wing: I’m sorry, World Tree Maiden, my lady!

Ah! Please don’t call me that! Sis Kiki did it too—suddenly so formal it scared me stiff, like a cat at thunder!

Yue Liuyi shook her head fast and ran to Bernadette, like a small deer closing distance.

Raised as a boy, Yue Liuyi had no princess airs; crowns and pedestals felt like thorns on her skin.

Uu, but... I even tore your clothes; at least let me protect you, Lady Liuyi, this promise like a candle flame.

Huh? P-protect... the word fluttered like a leaf.

Yes! Because unknown people keep infiltrating the institute, I’m building an automatic defense system—like a watchful hawk.

I think you’ll need it, Lady Liuyi; if anyone approaches in secret, it can warn you early, like a bell before thunder.

Wow... that’s amazing, a spark leaping in my chest.

Bernadette’s plan was exactly what Yue Liuyi needed, a key for a waiting lock.

LittleSnow was badly hurt, and Yue often had to go out, leaving the Moon Post Bookstore like a nest without its hen.

But... a pebble of worry pressed in like a stone in a shoe.

B-but... that system must be very expensive, like buying a small star, right?

Don’t worry about the cost. You saved me, Lady Liuyi; without you, my research would’ve withered like a seed in shade.

Bernadette spoke with a firmness like stone, making refusal feel like snapping a warm branch.

Uu... the sound hung like a droplet.

Alright, it’s settled, the decision sealing like warm wax.

When the system’s done, I’ll deliver it to your place—where are you living now, Lady Liuyi?

On Winter Leaf Road, at the Moon Post Bookstore, a little lighthouse among shelves.

Lady Liuyi, I’ll deliver it for sure, the promise flying like an arrow.

Uu, thank you! I-it’s just... Bernadette, calling me Lady Liuyi feels weird; we’re friends, like sprouts from the same root, so no honorifics, okay?

Eh? Then what should I call you, like a finch tilting its head?

Bernadette froze, confusion hanging like mist.

Just call me... Liuyi, alright, the name simple as clear water.

That won’t do; at least let me call you Sis Liuyi, respect tied like a bright ribbon.

Then Sis Liuyi it is, the agreement crisp as a clap.

Eh!? Really, surprise popping like a skipped heartbeat?

No problem~ her voice curved like a smile.

Happy, she took Bernadette’s hand; the two girls walked out of the station together like twin fireflies leaving a burrow.

Without them noticing, night had fallen, a velvet bowl tipped over the city.

Dimness sank over the streets like ink.

Thick fog veiled the sky, barring the jeweled stars like a closed gate.

In the distance, factories kept breathing smoke, slow and steady, like hills exhaling even at night.

Yue Liuyi lifted her head; ahead, who knew how many machine-trees and other unknowns would root themselves as obstacles.

Yet she didn’t fear; her heart steadied like a lantern cupped against wind.

Because she now knew—she wasn’t alone, a thread tied to many hands.

There were still many who loved the World Tree Maiden, like birds nesting in one vast crown.

If everyone joined hands, they could rebuild the lost Dreamwood Star, like tending a burned forest back to green.

Let the splendor of the galaxy mirror again over the city’s night, like a river of stars washing old stone.

...