How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

The scammer had probably already called for help, but I didn’t trust him at all. Salvation is self-help, self!

The first ones to rush over were DumDum and Na Yuri.

“Nahyun!”
“Nahyun, are you okay?”

Na Yuri’s fire quickly blocked the path of the zombie horde, while DumDum struck down the zombies trying to advance from the back.

Watching them hold off countless zombies was incredibly reassuring.

“Yuhan told us to check out the lake near the central trail! We’ll head there!”
“Got it. We’ll finish up here and join you.”
“Stay safe, Nahyun!”

Wait, are they angels?

That thought was brief, as I soon encountered another horde of zombies as I reached the central trail.

“Give, give, give, give, give.”
“Want to go back, want to go back, want to go back.”

And then, spears of ice swept in like a cold storm, blocking the zombies’ advance.

Shortly after, ice grew from the ground, gripping the zombies’ ankles and quickly freezing them entirely.

“Are you… alright?”

“Nyahaha! Hi, junior!”

It was the seniors’ grand entrance.

They’re angels…

Thanks to Choi Soo-jung’s wind, I was able to swiftly fly to the large lake.

Senior, you’re the greatest genius in the world. I believe in you, Choi Soo-jung.

As soon as I arrived at the lake, the orb in my school uniform pocket began to glow brightly.

The glowing orb moved on its own toward the moonlit lakeshore.

Finally reaching the moon’s reflection on the water, the orb shone even more intensely, and its light expanded wider and wider.

The reflection of the moon on the water began to distort.

And within that moon, a mysterious landscape appeared.

“What is…?”
“It seems like a gate~.”
“Yeah.”

Just then, the battered scammer showed up.

I had to fight the urge not to glare at him.

How did he even make it here in that state? He had set up a plan to have me chased by that horrible horde of zombies, and now he acts like nothing happened!

His face was so thick-skinned, I felt like it would shine if I scrubbed it.

“This is one of the item dungeons, the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Vault.”

“You sure know a lot, don’t you?”
“I have my reasons.”

I swallowed my urge to punch him and said,
“You could’ve at least told me in advance!”
You solo-play jerk!

I struggled to hold back the rest of my words. Tears welled up in my eyes. Thanks to that, I didn’t have to fake crying—so I guess I owe you for that, you game-obsessed idiot!

The scammer seemed flustered by my anger.

What, did you think I wouldn’t get mad?

In games and novels, the “sunshine heroine” never defies the male lead, huh? Is that what you thought?

I felt a surge of irritation. I knew I couldn’t let this continue.

Sure, I had willingly stepped into the role of a sunshine heroine, but if he keeps dragging me into his schemes without any explanations, I’d be anxious all the time.

I want to know the dangers ahead, at the very least. This isn’t a game or a novel for me—it’s my reality.

So I needed to make it clear now: I’m a person who feels fear, and I can express my opinions too.

As I stared at him with teary eyes, the scammer, looking quite sheepish, finally spoke.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t sure what variables would come into play.”

He seemed to understand his mistake, cautiously watching for my reaction.

“I’m sorry.”

He hesitated and reached out his hand toward me, probably to wipe my tears.

But before he could touch me, someone else pulled me into a hug.

It was Na Yuri, who had brought the rest of our group with her.

Na Yuri hugged me tightly, patting my back while glaring at the scammer with murderous intent.

“You garbage…”

The atmosphere chilled.

“You haven’t changed at all. You’re still using people as you please, without considering them.”

The scammer retorted,
“I don’t know why you’re bringing this up now, but… this time, I really had no choice. I had to minimize the risks.”

“Does that justify throwing Nahyun into danger without her consent?”

Na Yuri was angrier than I’d ever seen her.

“I told you, I had to minimize the—”

“When you gave Nahyun that orb, you should’ve at least warned her that something dangerous might happen!”

Oh, this was…

“Don’t you get it? By choosing to reduce the risks, you ignored Nahyun’s will and disrespected her as a person!”

I needed to stop this.

The situation was getting more serious. I grabbed Na Yuri’s arm.

“Yuri, I’m okay.”
“Nahyun…”

Just then, Choi Soo-jung stepped in.

“Let’s calm down~.”

She wrapped her tail around my arm and said,
“First, we should figure out how to deal with the gate, right?”

“But—!”

Soo-jung shot a serious look at the scammer and said,
“Of course, we’ll thoroughly question him about this later.”

Then she smiled sweetly.

“Being used like a tool without any explanation is pretty upsetting!”

Her pointed comment silenced Na Yuri. Though still glaring at the scammer, she didn’t say anything more.

Finally, the scammer spoke up.

“For now… this gate can only be entered by the person holding the orb.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“No need to worry. The monsters… were the zombies we already dealt with.”

At the mention of the zombie horde, everyone’s faces paled. Those zombies… were relentless. I thought for a moment this novel had turned into a horror story.

“So, there are no monsters left inside. Just the rewards.”

“Rewards…?”
“Yeah. The orb represents returning it to its original owner, the fox. When you do that, you can take three treasures from the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Vault.”

I decided to flatter the scammer, just a bit.

“Well… since Yuhan brought the orb, Yuhan should get to choose first.”

“Nahyun!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to take your share?”

“I think Nahyun worked the hardest.”

Na Yuri, DumDum, and Yi Hana all responded, but I stood firm.

“…No, it’s really fine…”

Don’t lie, you did all this for something you wanted, didn’t you?

The scammer awkwardly cleared his throat.

“If you say so, I’ll just ask for one thing. The ‘Goblin’s Flame’ lantern.”

“Sure!”
“You can choose whatever you want for the other two, but you can only take three items total.”

I guess there’s some kind of curse if we break the rule?

I didn’t ask further and just nodded.

“Then we need to get to the gate… Hana, could you help?”
“Sure.”

The best ice-user ever.

Thanks to Yi Hana’s ice path over the lake, I was able to enter the gate.

The inside of the gate lived up to its grand name as the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Vault, with countless precious-looking items scattered around.

As I wandered around in awe, I heard a voice.

Is it the nine-tailed fox?

“Are you… the Nine-Tailed Fox?”

The voice responded. Its soft, gentle tone was like cotton, and I felt my tension melt away.

The voice echoed throughout the space.

“Then… do you know of a lantern called the Goblin’s Flame?”

I headed toward the entrance and picked up the blue lantern. Quest complete.

Next, time to choose something for myself!

I was lost in happy contemplation.

After a while, a peculiar trinket caught my eye.

“…What’s this?”

The fox’s kind voice rang in my ears again. Was it just me, or did the fox sound amused?

A thousand-year-old fox tail?

I found myself absentmindedly stroking the soft fur of the trinket.

“So soft…”

“It’s part of my precious spouse, so it’s definitely worthy of being called a treasure.”

“Wow… can I really take something so valuable?”

“Then… I’ll take it.”

I carefully tucked the fox tail trinket into my chest. I’ll give it to the head of the orphanage later.

“I’ll cherish it.”

As I looked around again, my eyes landed on a key with traditional patterns.

The key was made of smooth black wood, and the ring had a beautiful octagonal shape decorated with vibrant colors.

“What kind of key is this?”

The response was shocking.

A key… to the tower?

The tower now…