I'm glad you liked both characters.
Well, from story I've written for Magic Ring, Mason(Mac) doesn't have any more scenes with Annie and none with Hailey(She comes in top 3 characters so yes, she has plot armor). He is suppose to have animation with Mena after you defeat her and Vera (plant girl) but I've decided to make changes to their quests.
Yeah, I did enjoy SOTE until second phase of the final boss, xD.