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

“It just suddenly came to mind,” Mizuno Yu replied. “Because Yuuki just mentioned the festival, that’s all I can think of. I don’t know what the tentacle woman thinks about the festival.”

The tentacle woman didn't know much about festivals; she had just heard this rather boring legend.

"Why worry so much? Let's just be careful on the day of the festival. No matter what the tentacle woman is up to, we'll just take her down, right?" Helica clenched her fists, looking eager to try.

But speaking of which, when did I start calling myself "Book Girl" and then "Tentacle Girl," a name that doesn't sound very proper?

Chapter 101 The Eve

Tomorrow is the day of the festival, so we should rest well today to conserve our energy for tomorrow's decisive battle.

But Yuuki couldn't sleep. Ever since she said goodnight to Baqi in the chat box, the number of hours on her phone had changed again and again, but Yuuki's mind was still excessively clear.

Yuuki Yui knew the reason for her insomnia: the festival, the reincarnation of Kuroba, and even more so, the uncertainty of the future.

What will tomorrow bring?

Yuuki Yukino is a person who likes to daydream, and her mind is always filled with wild and imaginative ideas, but today she can only think about one thing.

What will tomorrow bring?

He trains and becomes stronger, gathers as much intelligence as possible, and uses the information he transmits after transforming to raise the vigilance of the magical girls, reminding Helica and the others to be careful through his own words.

Everything she could do, everything Yuuki Yukino could do, she had done.

But is this level of effort really enough?

Can my efforts change the history told by the mysterious person?

Or rather, can this really be considered an effort?

Yuuki Yukino didn't know; she truly didn't know until that outcome arrived.

She didn't even know what she should do now.

She could only hope that things would turn out well, that no one would get hurt.

Perhaps everything will come to an end on the day of the festival.

So, what will tomorrow bring?

On nights like this, Yuuki Yuki is not the only one who is sleepless.

In the renovated park, girls walked hand in hand, accompanied by the chirping of insects and the dim moonlight obscured by dark clouds.

Step by step, I traversed the once rugged road, now paved with smooth surfaces, wandering aimlessly.

Hong Moli didn't keep track of how long they walked. She only remembered that Bai Gui Qianyou asked her if she wanted to go for a walk, so the two of them went out and walked through the streets of Yuehai City, through the neon-lit neighborhoods, and arrived here without saying a word.

As you walk, the sweltering night breeze that seemed to reach deep into your heart gradually begins to feel chilly.

The night wind was cold, but Bai Guiqianyou's hands were even colder, chilling from her palms to her fingertips. Her delicate, well-defined hands, held in his hand, felt like a block of ice that would never melt, no matter how much warmth he transferred to her, he couldn't make it melt.

Summer is almost over.

Hongmo thought to herself, and clenched her fists even tighter.

The scenery before her eyes became open and spacious, and the familiar yet unfamiliar open space that once existed in Hong Moli's memory was right in front of her.

Sadly, there are no more sandpits, no more swings, and no more little girl squatting in the sandpit building a tall sandcastle.

The only thing that remained unchanged was the gaze that had been fixed on that little girl; it had never left her since that day.

The park's rusty facilities were repainted with pungent paint again and again; the park's decorations were changed repeatedly; even the park itself was expanded again and again, accommodating more people, yet it made Hong Moli feel even more unfamiliar.

The only familiar thing is the hand that is now being held tightly in my hand.

Nothing is immutable, and Hong Moli knew this all too well, but she simply wanted to hold Bai Gui Qian You's hand like this and walk on like this forever.

When the daydreaming Hong Moli held Bai Gui Qianyou's hand, she felt a long-lost sense of peace.

Before leaving the house, Hong Moli had a lot to say.

When she held that hand, she couldn't remember a single word.

Do you remember this place?

Hongmo asked.

"You remember, right?"

The hundred ghosts and a thousand spirits replied.

The question and answer were completed in tacit understanding without needing to be spoken, followed by another long silence.

"Qian You".

Hong Moli spoke up again.

"Ah."

Qianyou answered very softly, her voice fading into the wind.

"I like you."

"I know."

A long silence followed.

"Is your magic power enough?"

Hongmo asked again.

"Ah."

Qianyou replied.

"Do you need to replenish your magic?"

"Ah."

"Feel sorry."

Hong Moli did nothing but offer a very soft apology.

Another long silence followed.

Hong Moli felt the wind blowing around her, and it seemed even colder.

Never before had Hong Moli longed so much to receive a hug from Bai Gui Qian You.

"Can I hug you? No, no, do you want a hug? No, please hold me... How... no."

silence.

Hold me tight.

Hong Moli made up her mind and faced Bai Gui Qian You. Behind Bai Gui Qian You was the hazy light of the city, and above Bai Gui Qian You was the distant, brilliant Milky Way.

Reflected in Koumori's eyes was only Hyakki Senyou.

The two held hands, their fingers intertwined tightly.

It seemed that Qianyou's hands had warmed up a little.

Under the same night sky, a girl surrounded by a sea of ​​flowers sat in the courtyard.

That face, usually filled with weariness, showed a rare clarity in this deserted night.

"Your Excellency, aren't you going to rest?" The girl dressed as a nun draped a coat over Saint Shiyin, who was sitting on the bench.

"No." Sheng Shiyin wrapped the coat tighter around herself. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Sit down." Sheng Shiyin tapped the empty seat on the bench next to her with her fingers.

Under Saint Shiyin's gaze, the nun lifted the hem of her nun's robe, smoothed out her clothes, and sat down on the edge of the bench.

"The festival is tomorrow." Seeing the nun sit down, Saint Shiyin shifted her gaze, looked up at the gray night sky, as if talking to herself, or as if confiding something to the nun.

“You still have things to do tomorrow, right?” the nun said, echoing Saintess’s words.

“Yes, there are some things the president asked me to do.” Sheng Shiyin said with a small smile, “You know what? The president is an interesting person. She has a lot of bold ideas and has done a lot of bold things. To be honest, I was really surprised when she took the initiative to approach me.”

"Black Feather's idea of ​​an afterlife is too audacious." After a long while, the nun finally made this comment.

“Being bolder isn’t so bad, is it? When she came to me and said those things, I was thinking that maybe only such bold behavior could change the status quo. But it’s true, sometimes even I think she’s gone too far.” Sheng Shiyin chuckled a few times. “But she’s very talented, isn’t she?”

"Perhaps? I'm not a student at St. Eternal Academy, so I can't comment on that."

"Her talents extend far beyond being the student council president."

"You mean..."

"Shh—it's just what you think." Sheng Shiyin held up a finger to her lips.

“But she…” The nun hesitated, swallowing the rest of her sentence, and lowered her head.

"I know you all don't like the president."

The nun lowered her head even further, but did not refute.

“It’s alright, everyone has their own preferences.” Sheng Shiyin said, standing up from the bench and taking big strides as she strolled through the garden. “By the way, have you prepared well for what I asked you to prepare? I was planning to give the president a big surprise.”

"Everything is ready. But..."

"Hmm?" The saintly hymn in the flower stood up and put her hands behind her back, looking directly at the nun, as if signaling her to continue.

"However, I don't understand why Lord Saint would do such a contradictory thing."

“Because the president’s talents are very useful.” Sheng Shiyin twirled around in the flower bushes.

"But the president alone can't do anything."

Chapter 102 Black Feather

Even before the festival officially began, the long street where the festival was held was already packed with people.

This has been the case since the afternoon. More and more people have gradually arrived at the long street, eagerly awaiting the official start of the festival.

At various stalls, wind chimes swayed gently in the breeze, creating a series of clear, tinkling sounds, as if whispering to each other, telling the story of the last revelry of summer.

The air was filled with the aroma of grilled food and the tempting sweetness of cotton candy, whetting the appetites of many tourists who were hungry. They lined up in front of the stalls, eager to taste the colorful beauty of ordinary life.

At the mask stall, a wall was covered with all kinds of masks. Every now and then, excited children would take one off and put it on their faces, clamoring for their parents to buy it for them.

The stalls selling nesting dolls, goldfish scooping, and trinkets—all the unique stalls that can only be seen at summer festivals—were packed with people.

The festival is held every year, but people's enthusiasm never wanes.