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"I remember seeing a dumb but effective way to get out of a maze before…"
Blake held Yanami's hand, carefully feeling his way forward while digging through his memory.
"Got it."
"For most mazes, there's basically a cheat method. Just keep one hand on a wall—left or right doesn't matter. The important thing is you never switch hands halfway. If you keep walking like that, you'll eventually find the exit."
Blake had never actually tested the rule himself, but it sounded reliable enough. He reached out and lightly pressed his left hand against the mirrored wall.
"What are you doing, Blake?" Yanami tilted her head, curious.
"Speedrunning with cheats."
"Meow?"
"Don't talk. You'll bump your head again."
"…"
With his left hand gliding along the wall, Blake started moving forward.
A minute passed in the blink of an eye.
They still hadn't made it out, but at least Yanami hadn't run into any more walls. Progress.
"Blake, look!" Yanami suddenly pointed ahead, her voice full of excitement. "There's a treasure chest!"
"Let's check it out."
The two of them walked over. Next to the chest was an A4 sheet of paper with a line written on it:
"Please complete a fun little puzzle before claiming the treasure card inside."
"I see," Blake nodded. "No wonder we didn't see any cards lying around."
In a mirror maze, anything left out in the open would've been found ages ago.
He pressed the red button on the chest. The LCD screen flickered to life.
"Huh? What's this?" Yanami leaned closer, practically resting against his shoulder. Her breath was soft and warm. "It looks like… twisty pipes?"
"They are pipes." Blake scanned the screen, taking in everything at a glance. "Water's flowing from the tap on the left, and there's a wilted plant on the right. We're supposed to connect the pipes and guide the water over to it."
He'd played similar mini-games before, so it didn't take long. His mind rapidly pieced together the layout, and within seconds his fingers were flying across the screen.
The water flowed smoothly through the pipes, reaching the far right and watering the plant. As the flowers bloomed, the chest popped open with a click.
"That's amazing." Yanami's eyes widened in awe. "I didn't even see what you did, and you were already finished. Blake, you're basically a genius, aren't you?"
For all her reputation as a bottomless foodie, Yanami was also top-tier when it came to hyping people up.
"I've just played this kind of game before. Once you've got experience, it's easy." Blake took the treasure card from the chest. "Let's go."
"Let's go, let's go!" Yanami's eyes sparkled. "Snack jackpot, here we come!"
They continued forward, hands brushing along the mirrored walls.
Before long, another chest appeared.
"Go, Blake!" Yanami clenched her fists, cheering him on. "Open it and we'll get double the snack bundles!"
Under her eager gaze, Blake stepped up to the challenge. The puzzle was a bit trickier this time, but nothing serious. Soon enough, he secured another treasure card.
A short while later, they reached a corner. Blake noticed the mirrored wall felt oddly hollow. He gave it a light push, and it quietly swung open, revealing the shopping mall outside.
The exit.
"We're out."
He let out a small breath and led Yanami out of the maze. Soon, they found the female staff member from earlier.
"Congratulations, you two." She held up a timer, smiling brightly. "You completed the maze in nine minutes and forty-five seconds. That qualifies you for first prize."
"…Meow?"
Yanami's smile froze.
First prize?
So… her snack bundle was gone?
The staff quickly brought over the prize and said with a smile, "This is a voucher for a one-night, two-day stay at a hot spring inn. We hope you enjoy it."
"Thank you." Blake accepted it politely.
Since they'd collected two puzzle cards, they received two vouchers—one each.
"Um…" Yanami raised her hand, looking at the staff with big, pleading eyes. "Can I go buy something and come back to try again?"
"Huh?"
"I still want the other rewards."
"I'm sorry, but repeating attempts to farm rewards—"
"Your sign doesn't say we can't try again, so it should be fine, right?"
"…"
The staff's smile stiffened as she shot Blake a desperate look for help.
"Sorry… she prefers snacks over hot spring vouchers," he explained quietly.
"Please wait a moment."
The staff bowed and hurried off, whispering to a suited manager. Soon after, she returned carrying two large snack bundles.
"We're very sorry. There are many guests waiting to try the mirror maze, so if you'd like to play again, please come back tomorrow." She handed over the snacks, apologizing repeatedly. "We didn't explain things clearly earlier, which caused this misunderstanding. Please accept these as compensation."
There was no helping it. The two in front of her were clearly maze pros. To avoid them exploiting the system and farming rewards, the safest option was to send them off with snacks.
"Really? We can just take them?" Yanami's eyes lit up instantly.
"Please, take them."
"Thanks a lot!" Yanami happily accepted the bundle. "We'll come back tomorrow!"
"…"
"Sorry for the trouble," Blake added, taking the other bundle before leaving with her.
As the two walked away, the staff finally let out a quiet sigh of relief. She quickly grabbed a marker and added a new line to the bottom of the sign:
"For fairness, each guest may only attempt the mirror maze once per day."
Meanwhile, outside the mall—
"Ehehe~"
Hugging the snack bundle in both arms, Yanami couldn't stop smiling.
"Not only did we get hot spring vouchers, we even got free snacks. Today really is my lucky day!"
Lucky for you, maybe. A disaster for the staff. They even had to change the rules on the spot just to stop you from farming rewards.
"We got the snacks, and we finished shopping." Blake started heading home. "Let's go."
"Wait, we still have the hot spring vouchers." Yanami looked up at him, her face full of anticipation. "It's been forever since I went to a hot spring. Let's go together!"
"....."