Even if you're a corrupted magical girl, you still have to try to redeem yourself.

Besides, she didn't want anyone to see her eating bread all alone here.

The sounds outside the door stopped, and Helica breathed a slight sigh of relief, shrinking her head even lower.

Then the storage room door was slammed open, the dust that had accumulated on the door frame blurring the ray of sunlight that pierced the darkness.

A figure walked in, the soles of their shoes creaking on the old floor, drowning out Herika's soft gasp.

That long, flowing pink hair looks kind of familiar.

Herlica remembered that the person who helped her out of that predicament in the cafeteria was her; she must be a classmate from the next class, and her surname seemed to be Yuuki.

I couldn't properly thank you before because of my damn pride, isn't this a good opportunity?

She knew very well that many classmates disliked her, and if she hadn't used her aggressive attitude and outstanding grades to protect herself, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer.

She hates her own personality, hates that she always says one thing but means another when she wants to say something, hates that she can't express herself well even though she tries very hard, and hates the self that she keeps repeating but can't change.

Seize this opportunity and make a change! Helica made up her mind and slowly straightened her squatting legs. She felt her legs trembling a little. It was indeed difficult to force herself to do something she wasn't suited for.

But that's okay. Once you take this step, you can start making changes slowly!

"Xiaoyuan—wait for me!"

Another group of people entered the storage room noisily, and Helica, who was slowly standing up, quickly squatted back down.

So it still doesn't work?

Helica clenched her fist, swung it in the air, and then shrank back into the shadows, hating herself for being so useless. She also used the light from the doorway to see the second person's face clearly.

Is this the silver-haired girl I almost got into a fight with? I don't think I've ever seen her at school before?

If you can't make up your mind to take that step, this awkward personality might never change for the rest of your life.

Helica encouraged herself and stood up once again, with even greater determination.

A little earlier, on the rooftop.

"You didn't... what's wrong with you again at the coffee shop last night?" Yuuki grabbed Baqi's hand and dragged her to the corridor leading to the rooftop under Baqi's excited gaze. She only dared to speak after making sure no one was around.

"I don't know, but I just feel empty inside, and I don't have any energy. I really want to be filled by something." Baqi grabbed Yuki Yuki's hand and walked side by side with her.

Why is this statement so ambiguous?

What Baqi said wasn't wrong. When a magical girl's magic power is about to be exhausted, it will indeed have some impact on her physical condition.

Yuuki Yuuki still feels that her magic power is still very strong, and she can't feel that emptiness at all.

Baqi fell into darkness a day earlier than me and even released several restraint traps. Could this be the reason?

That being said, Baqi doesn't know any magical girls other than herself, so if she doesn't attack others, she can only replenish her mana by going to herself.

Baqi's problem did indeed serve as a wake-up call for Yuuki Yuuki. She had only considered clearing her name, but if she needed to replenish her mana during the process, she would face the same problem as Baqi: having no one to turn to.

"So you transferred here just so you could easily get mana from me?"

"How could that be?" Baqi looked at him like he was an idiot.

Fortunately, she wasn't foolish enough to transfer schools for such a reason, and Yuuki Yukari's opinion of her changed slightly.

"It's because I want to see you!"

It's more like they want me to replenish their mana!

Mana replenishment is not simply transferring magic to another person, but rather allowing the magic of two people to recover rapidly at the same time. The more magic power both people have, the better the mana replenishment effect. The specific principle is unknown.

Moreover, replenishing mana doesn't need to go to that extent; a simple kiss, though a bit slower, is still effective.

Weighing the pros and cons, it seems like it would be a good idea to replenish Baqi's magic power to maintain the magic power of both of them.

"How is it? How is it? Can you feel my sincerity? Can you replenish your mana now?" Baqi excitedly shook the hands that were clasped together with Yuuki Yuki's.

"Okay, I understand, but it can't be here." Yuuki Yui let go of her hand, which had gone numb from being shaken, and walked ahead.

Let's return to the present storage room.

Yuuki Yui stopped and gently closed the door that Baqi had forcefully pulled open. The storage room returned to darkness, but a few stubborn rays of light slipped through the crack in the door, reflecting the blush on the girl's face.

She raised her hand and gathered a tuft of silver hair from the girl's forehead. The scalding heat that the back of her hand inadvertently touched made her recoil as if she had been electrocuted, and the strand of silver hair quietly slipped away from her palm.

Through her fingers, she felt the girl's intense gaze, as dazzling as a diamond.

Yuuki lowered her head and approached the girl's soft lips, which trembled slightly with excitement.

Chapter Seventeen: The best way to shut someone up is with their mouth.

Yuuki Yukino just didn't want the plot to become too inappropriate for children; as for getting close to beautiful girls, she would be more than happy to do so.

It's inevitable to feel nervous when doing something like this for the first time, especially when gazing at the blushing face of this undeniably beautiful girl, which makes her heart race even faster.

Aside from the sudden attack by Inuyama Tomoe, she had never even held a girl's hand before. It's understandable that she would be at a loss when suddenly thrown into such a difficult situation.

Go for it, Yuuki Yuuki! The chance to get up close and personal with a beautiful girl is right in front of you!

Yuuki lowered her head even further, and just before she was about to touch Tomoe, the girl's voice from the inside of the storage room rang out at an inopportune moment.

"Yuki-kun! Thank you for what happened in the cafeteria earlier..."

The girl's voice was soft and she spoke very quickly. Whenever she mentioned an important word, she would unconsciously become mumbled, making it impossible for anyone to understand what she was saying.

Later, the girl's words caught in her throat and she swallowed them back.

The girl didn't continue, but their secret mana replenishment had been interrupted.

Yuuki Yukino's head froze in mid-air, stiffly turning her neck toward the source of the sound. Inuyama Tomoe also turned her head to look into the depths of the storage room.

The dark storage room, backlit by the light, made it difficult to see clearly, but the figure was undoubtedly Helica the Thunder.

What are you two doing?

Helica shifted slightly, clearly noticing what Yuuki Yuuki was about to do, or rather, was doing.

Yuuki Yui couldn't see whether she was moving forward or backward, but her body bumped into the pile of tables and chairs. The tables and chairs, which had lost their balance, began to tilt to one side, and the tilting tables and chairs would carry other items along with them, creating a chain reaction like dominoes.

Splash, splash.

The sound of tables and chairs clattering together filled the air, and with each clatter, Helica shrank back until the noise finally stopped.

Clang.

The sound of a large roll of carpet or banner falling to the side brought the less-than-pleasant concert to an end, and the billowing dust made Helica cough violently.

The once neat and tidy storage room was now a huge mess, as if a bucket of paint had been poured over a blank sheet of paper. Helica stood helplessly in the middle of the mess.

Although they couldn't see clearly, Yuuki Eri was certain that the group of people were frozen in place, staring at each other in the void.

The first to recover from her surprise was Inuyama Tomoe. She turned to Yuuki Yuuki again, took her hands in hers and shook them, pulling Yuuki Yuuki out of her embarrassment.

"Hey Xiaoyuan, let's go somewhere else, okay? Let's find another place to finish... um!"

Baqi's words were cut off by Yuuki Yuuki, not by interrupting her or covering her mouth with her hand, but by simply and crudely silencing her with the action she had just failed to complete.

Yuuki Yui's actions were a desperate measure, as both her hands were being held by Baqi and she couldn't free them. If she were to say the words "mana replenishment" in front of Helika, then the two of them would no longer need to continue going to school. They might as well tie themselves up hand in hand and bend over to be played with.

That at least shut them up, but then what? How do I replenish mana? I have zero experience, after all!

Last time, I passively accepted it without thinking about it at all, so it can't be used as a reference.

Is it the other way around this time? Baqi seems to be in a state of mental lapse as well.

They couldn't just end it like this without doing anything, so Yuuki Yukino launched an attack without hesitation.

Ouch—my tongue scraped my teeth, it hurts.

Acting rashly seems unlikely to work. In short, don't rush things. Try to slowly get in touch with the other person, and after you've sensed their presence, give some tentative feedback and responses. Then, gradually let the feelings between the two of you and the intimacy that is already going on grow stronger.

Slowly, slowly, it grew increasingly intense, consuming the little oxygen left between its lips and teeth. The lack of oxygen in its brain made it even more greedy, and this greed made it even more intense.

Then, swallowing the rich magic along with the sweetness belonging to the other, they reluctantly parted, gazing into each other's watery eyes.

After doing all this, Yuuki secretly bit her tongue hard. The pain from the stimulation of her nerve endings quickly snapped her out of the sweet aftertaste.

Since the room was pitch black and Helica couldn't see any specific details, she took advantage of interrupting Bachi to replenish her mana and then made a quick getaway.

The room was indeed very dark, but Helica's eyesight wasn't damaged, so of course she could see what the two of them were doing.

"Eek—" Yuuki Yuen clearly heard Helica let out a mournful cry. Her heel hit the table leg with a dull thud, and she swayed a few times before finally standing still, remaining motionless for a short while.

Poor child, you must be terrified by what you see.

It wasn't just Helica who was startled; Baki gripped Yuuki's hands even tighter, and Yuuki, who was about to leave, couldn't be pulled away for a moment.

Baqi lowered her flushed face, hiding half of it under her collar, and frantically stomped her feet on the floor, making a constant, teeth-grinding sound, as if she were brewing something.

This was inevitable, allowing the other party to experience the same astonishment she had felt in the coffee shop, and a morbid pleasure of successful revenge filled Yuuki Yukino's heart.

Wait, is this what it feels like after I've been intimate with a beautiful girl? Sometimes, having your thoughts jump around too quickly isn't a good thing.

"Xiao Yuan..." Ba Qi finally spoke, peeking out slightly. "To do this in front of others like this... Waaah!"

Using the same method, Inuyama Tomoe's words were once again shut down.

She couldn't be sure if Helica had noticed anything amiss, such as her always interrupting at certain points, but she decided to just do it anyway.

Less than ten minutes ago, I was on the rooftop reminding Baqi not to say things like that anymore. Are you stupid? Don't you know that the woman standing in front of you is a magical girl who might beat you to your knees and then drag you back to be a star-struck student?

Okay, you probably really don't know, but you can't just say things like that! It bothers me a lot if you do!

Yuuki Yuuki shouted in her heart, but her body honestly and passionately launched the next round of attacks, while constantly stealing glances at Helica's reaction.

Helica's shoulders trembled as she let out the loudest scream of the day:

"Terrible! Perverted! Shameless! Death penalty!"

Chapter Eighteen: A Minor Dispute

It must be said that, apart from Mizuno Yu, who is extremely adoring, the other magical girls are all quite innocent.

"Outrageous! Terrible!"

Despite being loudly insulted by Helica using seemingly childish words, Yuuki Yukino remained completely unmoved.

It's truly a world of games, so civilized! Even characters known for their volatile tempers look adorable when they swear.

In real life, your whole family would probably have been insulted. Just looking at it from this perspective, it's really too easy.

As relaxed as it may seem, Yuuki Yuki guessed that her relationship with Helica would definitely become very unfavorable. If Helica had a bar of affection for her above her head, it would instantly plummet to the limit.

Yuuki Yukino was completely immune to Helica's trash talk, but Baqi was not as calm and unmoved by it. Her shoulders shrugged slightly, and it was clear that she couldn't bear it for even a second longer. Yuuki Yukino could already sense the abundant magical power inside the other's body.