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

But Baqi walked down the corridor as if she hadn't heard, until she was almost at the school gate when she finally broke the silence: "Is she... very strong?"

“I’m not entirely sure, but it’s always better to be careful,” Yuuki Yui replied.

"Yes, I'll be careful." Inuyama Tomoe still looked preoccupied, and it was hard to say whether she had taken Yuuki Yukino's words to heart.

Yuki wanted to say a few more words of concern, but she didn't know where to begin. In the end, she could only watch helplessly as Baqi got into a private car that looked expensive and drove away.

She had been thinking about how to get rid of the clingy Inuyama Tomoe after school so she could continue with her next move, but now it seemed that was no longer necessary.

Although she was somewhat concerned, she still had to carry out the things she was going to do. In short, her main goal now was to restore the game's storyline as accurately as possible and take control of the future.

According to the game's storyline, you can meet the last main character, Mizuno Yu, in the archery club activity room after school.

Just like Helica's outburst in the cafeteria at noon, this inevitable scene serves as the character's introduction and initial attraction, before the main storyline begins.

Huh? Why is Yuuki Yukino's mana replenishment scene before the other two main characters appear? Of course, it's to use an exciting storyline to drag out the two-hour refund period, you idiot.

That being said, although Yuuki Yui had met Mizuno Yui once before, in that situation, let alone trying to gain her favor, it would have been good enough if she hadn't been caught and humiliated by Mizuno Yui.

No, if it were Mizuno Yu, I should be the one being forced to rub against her, the kind of person who would get beaten up if I didn't let her have her fill.

Before they knew it, Yuuki Yui had arrived at the entrance of the archery club. Due to the special nature of the archery club, a separate area was allocated in a corner of the school to ensure the safety of other students.

In other words, students generally don't pass by here.

According to the game's storyline, Mizuno Yu, who knows this, is doing something that fits her character and is popular with players, when she is accidentally bumped into by Nishio Reki.

The production team's goal was clear: first, to highlight Mizuno Yu's icy beauty persona, and then to reveal to players that she likes to give things away for free.

Ah, what a twisted character, just as twisted as her first encounter with the story.

Speaking of twisted characters, apart from Yuuki Yuuki, who is a pure and innocent little white flower in the original work, all the other characters are twisted in their own way. After all, characters without gimmicks are not easy to sell.

Players are delighted with all sorts of twisted characters, but for Yuuki Yuki, who has to deal with them in real life, it's a hellish challenge.

Terrified by what was about to happen, Yuuki Yuki paced back and forth in front of the archery club for a full three minutes before finally mustering the courage to push open the door.

Upon opening the door, the first thing that catches the eye is Mizuno Yuu, dressed in an archery uniform with a slightly flushed face. However, her bow is standing in the corner, showing no signs of being used. The chest protector that should be worn is lying aside, and in its place, a rope that is being wrapped around her body in circles by her hands.

Yes, that's right, it was a rope. Despite being fully prepared, this scene still greatly shocked Yuuki Eri.

When the aloof and beautiful girl, whose clothes were disheveled, was caught in the act, a hint of panic flashed across her face. The panic quickly faded and was replaced by restraint, along with an irrepressible excitement at being discovered.

Seeing the incredibly impactful expression that appeared in the game's CG in person evoked mixed feelings.

boom.

Yuuki Yukino quickly closed the door, mimicking Nishio Ryaku from the game. If this were a real game, the options to "turn away" and "reopen the door" would appear.

But in Yuuki Yuki's plan to clear her name, how could there possibly be an option to turn around and leave?

Yuuki Yukino took a deep breath, patted her cheeks to encourage herself, and prepared to face the even more explosive plot that was about to unfold.

Three, two, one, open the door!

Chapter Twenty-One: Tied Up!

Just like in the game, Mizuno Yu had already straightened her clothes and was kneeling to the side, staring at the door. Apart from a slight blush on her face and the rope that was coiled up and hidden behind her, there was no trace of what had happened earlier.

Great, this step went smoothly.

"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?" Mizuno Yu raised her light blue eyes, her gaze sweeping over Yuuki Yui before lowering them again.

Despite Mizuno Yu's seemingly polite use of honorifics, Yuuki Yui felt an invisible pressure gradually increasing, so strong that it left her momentarily at a loss.

"Hello! I'm Yuuki Yuuki from Class 2-A! You must be Mizuno-kun, right?"

Yuuki Yui tried her best to recreate the scene from the game. Mizuno Yui is the ace of the archery club and a well-known ice queen. Many people can call her by name, so there won't be any problem calling her by name directly.

"Hmm." Mizuno Yu responded softly, her gaze lingering on her for several seconds. "Yuuki-san, are you interested in the archery club?"

For those few seconds, Yuuki Yui's heart seemed to stop beating as well. She only breathed a sigh of relief when Mizuno Yui spoke again. Following the game's instructions, she pretended to leave and continued the player's line: "Sorry, I went to the wrong place!"

"Wait a minute." Mizuno Yu's voice remained completely calm.

Excellent, the game is the same, the original storyline is progressing smoothly.

In the game, the storyline involving Mizuno Yu is very easy to explain.

In short, the player, from Nishio Reki's perspective, stumbles upon her embarrassing play. Mizuno Yu then uses this as an excuse to treat it as part of her character development, and then makes it a secret between the two of them, asking the player to help with so-called "special training".

"Special training" is a feature that players enjoy, and as the relationship between the two characters develops, the content becomes increasingly varied.

After the "special training," Mizuno Yu would coldly use the excuse that "my training is not enough and I could not withstand the test" to invite the player to the next special training.

Just like in the game, it's not too difficult to win over Mizuno Yu. Theoretically, this character is the second easiest to win over in the entire game.

Incidentally, the character with the lowest difficulty in winning over the player in the original work is Yuuki Yukino, whose affection level is maxed out from the moment she appears.

Yuuki Yu had no intention of developing that kind of twisted relationship with Mizuno Yu. She only intended to become friends with her and then act together in magical girl-related incidents.

After all, she didn't know how the two met in the original work, and even if she did, she couldn't transform into an ordinary magical girl like in the original work, so she had to find a different way no matter what.

Following the game's progression, Yuuki Yui returned to the room, closed the door, and sat down facing Mizuno Yui: "Excuse me, Mizuno-san, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Did you see that?" The person who should feel ashamed is Mizuno Yu, but her tone is as if nothing happened, and it's more like she's interrogating Yuuki Yuuki.

The walls of the heart are truly thick.

"Yes, that's right." Yuuki Yuen lowered her head, feigning embarrassment. Seeing this, her face was genuinely burning, but she figured she could get away with it.

Mizuno Yu raised her head, which had been bowed all along, her clear eyes showing no emotion whatsoever: "This is part of the archery club's training."

"What?" Yuuki Yuen asked in response.

"Kyudo, Kendo, and Chado—the ultimate goal is to cultivate one's character. As the ace of the Kyudo club, I should set an example." Mizuno Yu continued reciting lines familiar to Yuuki Yui, raising her hand to rest on the rope loop behind her: "Bows, arrows, swords, and tea are all tools to achieve a goal, including this."

Fine, if you call it a tool, then it's a tool. I really don't know why Nishio Reki in the game would believe your nonsense and accept this obviously fake setting.

"My goal is to achieve a state of indifference to external things by imposing self-restraint." Mizuno Yu hugged the rope loops to her chest. "Have you heard the story of General Yumimoto?"

Seeing that Yuuki Yui shook her head, Mizuno Yu began to tell the story.

How could she not know? It's actually a cliché story about a skilled archer named General Yumoto who stayed overnight in a village. To repay a kindness shown to him, he single-handedly fought off an enemy attacking the village. At dawn, he was found dead at the village entrance, his body riddled with arrows, still in the posture of drawing his bow.

This story, riddled with flaws, is frequently brought up by Mizuno Yu, and has even become a tired meme among players.

　I've already listened to enough of Erqiu Wusan, but for the sake of the plot, let's listen to it again from beginning to end.

"This special training has always been a secret between me and others, but lately I'm finding it increasingly difficult. I'd like to invite Yuki-kun to help me with the training."

Mizuno Yu finished her long narration, then held up the rope ring with both hands and presented it to Yuuki Yukino as if a Yamato Nadeshiko were bestowing a reward upon a valiant general.

The most explosive plot twist is here!

Her movements were slow, and could certainly be described as elegant, but it was precisely this unhurried pace that possessed an irresistible power, giving people an instinctive urge to obey.

Yuuki Yui didn't even realize that she had reached out to take the neatly rolled-up rope.

If you actually accept the rope loop, the next step should be unlocking the CG.

Players in the game have no choice here, so the unlocking of CGs is a natural progression. But Yuuki Yui does have a choice; she doesn't want to develop that kind of morbid relationship with Mizuno Yu.

"I'm sorry, I... I guess I still am."

Yuuki Yukina's fingers stopped just centimeters away from the rope loop. Her knuckles twitched, and she clenched her open palm into a fist.

Just as she was about to pull her hand back, Mizuno Yu grabbed her wrist with a bang. She tried to pull her arm away, but to no avail.

Yuuki grabbed her arm with her other hand and tried again with all her might, but Mizuno Yu's hand, which was used to draw the bow, remained motionless like a vise, while her own body tilted slightly.

Yuuki Yukino panicked a little; this kind of thing had never happened before in the game.

"Yuki-kun."

While Yuuki was stunned by the call, the rope coil came loose and no longer wrapped around Mizuno Yu's body, but instead directly wrapped around Yuuki's wrists that were not being caught. Mizuno Yu quickly tied a knot with one hand, firmly fixing Yuuki's wrists together.

Then, Mizuno Yuu, still maintaining her elegant kneeling posture, grabbed the rope binding her wrists and pulled hard. Yuuki Enishi, whose body was already leaning forward, completely lost her balance, and her forehead hit the floor with a dull thud.

Yuuki Yui strained to tilt her head back and met Mizuno Yui's icy gaze. A sudden chill ran down her spine and made her shiver.

Mizuno Yu sat there, just as Yuuki Yui had when she first came in. This was the first time Yuuki Yui had sensed a clear emotional fluctuation in Mizuno Yui; her voice, which was usually almost devoid of emotion, plummeted to freezing point.

What are you here for?

Chapter Twenty-Two: Is this considered torture?

"I...I didn't do anything."

Yuuki Yui desperately tried to explain something. This time, she was completely panicked. She thought that Mizuno Yu's reaction might deviate slightly from the plot, but she never expected Mizuno Yu to do something like this.

Did I arouse suspicion in some way? Was my identity exposed? Did I refuse the so-called special training?

Want to transform?

Yuuki Yui was still undecided. The danger of transforming in front of Mizuno Yui was self-evident, and she did not want to reveal her identity so rashly before the situation became irreversible.

Mizuno Yu pulled the rope even higher, lifting Yuuki Yuki's upper body off the ground so that Yuuki Yuki no longer had to strain her head to see her expression.

Yuuki Yui wished she were still lying down, at least then she wouldn't have to be so close to Mizuno Yui's chilling expression.

"You seem to have some doubts?" Mizuno Yu let go of her hand, and Yuki Eri, who had lost her support, fell back to the ground.

"I'm willing to explain it to you slowly, but I think it would be better to state the conclusion first so that you can be convinced."

"What? I really didn't do anything!" Yuuki Yui was still trying to prove her innocence with weak words.

“That’s right, but it’s just that you haven’t done it yet, or you have already done it but I don’t know it yet…” Mizuno Yu shook the rope in her hand: “Anyway, after I did such a terrible thing to you, your first reaction was not anger, not fear, and you didn’t scream for help. Your reaction was to defend yourself and prove your innocence. Isn’t that strange?”

Yuuki Yukino's heart skipped a beat. What the other person said was absolutely right. Her tone of defense weakened a bit: "I... I was scared by Mizuno-san."

“That’s certainly possible. Just like you said, Yuuki-kun was frightened, but even after being frightened, he was still thinking about something. And for a brief moment, he released… well, how should I put it? He had—malice. It’s not that you didn’t think about resisting, but that you gave up resisting. So, I suspect you have some other purpose.”

Yuuki Yukino fell silent; she truly had nothing to say in the current situation.

If Nishio Reki had stumbled in by accident and encountered this situation, there would be absolutely no problem. However, she is fundamentally different from Nishio Reki. Mizuno Yu is right about one thing: she came with other purposes.

Mizuno Yu is still the same Mizuno Yu, without a doubt. Mizuno Yu's easygoing nature and her icy ruthlessness and power in crushing enemies when she fights seriously are not contradictory.

"You haven't argued with me for a while, I don't know if that counts as admitting it." Mizuno Yu's tone was unusually smug. "So, are you willing to say something now?"

"I really didn't have any ulterior motives." Yuuki Yuen was still being stubborn; she would never reveal anything about the series of events concerning the corrupted magical girl.

"So you wanted to talk to me slowly. Indeed, it's not very polite to let you lie there like this." Mizuno Yu curled her fingers and brought them to her lips.

You're talking to me about manners? Is tying me up polite?

"Besides... there's still such a long section of rope that we haven't used, right?"