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

"Yes, it's her. She seemed very cooperative yesterday, but no matter what I asked, she kept repeating the same few sentences: I can't say, it's not the right time, this won't do. Now she's acting like nothing's wrong. Who knows what she's up to? Is she crazy?"

Yuuki Yui knew that some of her words were unreasonable complaints, but she was already in a bad mood because of Nishio Reki, so it wasn't a big deal to secretly say a few bad things about her.

In fact, after a whole morning of classes, Yuuki Yuuki's mood was even worse.

When she first entered the classroom, she did feel somewhat depressed because of what she had seen and heard the night before.

The main reason she didn't speak was that she didn't know how to explain Nishio Reki's situation to Baqi.

To talk about Nishio Reki's matter involves a lot of things, and it would be quite difficult to explain it to Tomoe.

But when she saw Nishio Reki swagger into the classroom, it would be strange if she wasn't in a good mood.

Once inside the classroom, Nishio Reki glanced at herself a few times, but otherwise behaved perfectly normally throughout the lesson. She listened attentively and whispered to the student next to her, behaving like a typical female high school student.

On the contrary, Yuuki Yukino was restless throughout the entire class, constantly glancing furtively in Nishio Reki's direction.

Hypocritical! So hypocritical! This guy must have some other motive!

However, Yuuki Yuki couldn't say anything. Nishio Reki was a student in this class, and it was only natural for students to come to school for classes. Returning to the classroom at this time on the first day of the new semester was something no one could find fault with.

To the unsuspecting classmates, Nishio Reki was simply on leave due to illness and had now recovered and returned to school; there was nothing suspicious about it.

Everyone lives in their own world. Even if the people around you are a bit suspicious, no one will dig into other people's secrets unless out of curiosity.

The students' few words of greeting were the most in-depth digging they could get.

"As expected, I can't see it because of cognitive impairment." Baqi also glanced in Nishio Reki's direction a few more times, pouting angrily: "That bad guy, we have to be careful of her. Don't worry, no matter what bad intentions she has, I will protect Xiaoyuan without hesitation."

After hearing Baqi's somewhat naive but heartfelt words, Yuuki Yukino's gloom dissipated considerably.

Yuuki Yukino almost signed a contract to sell herself to someone else because of her, and she had no doubt about Tomoe's sincerity.

Since Baqi said she would protect herself, she must really mean it.

"Don't let her appearance fool you, she's quite strong. Maybe even stronger than Kuroba Reisei." Yuuki Yukino, who was originally feeling incredibly depressed, chuckled at Tomoe's words.

"So what? Are you scared just because someone else is stronger?" Baqi nudged Yuuki's arm that was resting on the table with her elbow, then pressed her face against Yuuki's hair and quickly rubbed it twice.

"Besides, didn't Xiaoyuan take care of Heiyu Laisheng in a one-on-one fight? Even if we don't count Hong and Baigui, are we afraid of her when we've unleashed our divine powers?"

“Back when Kuroba was reincarnated, I only did it because I took advantage of her vulnerability,” Yuuki Yuen muttered under her breath. “Besides, she gave me the wand that grants me divine liberation. Who knows if I can use it on her? What if it’s a trap too? That would be terrible.”

"Xiao Yuan, we are the ones who ultimately defeated the enemy, we are the ones who can sit here peacefully and breathe fresh air, we are the ones who ultimately triumphed, not that powerful, arrogant Kuroba Rebirth. I think that's enough."

Baqi raised her hand to pat Yuuki's shoulder, but in the end she only gently placed it on it, put her arm around Yuuki's shoulder, and pulled her closer to herself across the desk, as if she wanted Yuuki to lean on her shoulder.

"Perfect endings only exist in fairy tales. What we can do is to make this imperfect story into what we hope for, and what more people hope for."

"Uh..." Upon hearing Baqi's sudden serious and imposing speech, Yuuki Yuen's expression gradually turned to surprise.

"W-What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Baqi's face turned red instantly, and she stammered back.

“No, you’re right, absolutely right. Indeed, according to all the possible outcomes that Nishio Reki mentioned before, this is the best we’ve ever reached.” Yuuki Yuuki rested her fingers on her chin, propped her chin up, and rubbed her lips together, looking extremely serious.

"So what else are you worried about? And why did you make that face?" Baqi asked casually.

"I just didn't expect you to say something so philosophical."

The break between the first and second classes in the morning was spent in a noisy and chaotic atmosphere.

However, the nightmare surrounding Yuuki Yuuki has only just begun.

Chapter Three: Rainbow Club's Lunch Break

The first day of school went by incredibly fast.

After enduring the pressure of a whole summer vacation, Yuuki finally solved the huge problem of Kuroba's reincarnation. The relief she felt after unloading the burden made everything look incredibly pleasing to her.

Even when the teacher was lecturing on those incredibly dry topics, Yuuki Enishi listened with great interest during class.

Yuki had already learned the knowledge the teacher was teaching, so it was easy for her to understand. In addition, after talking with Baqi, Yuki's mood improved a lot, so she was able to concentrate on what the teacher was saying.

Why aren't you listening to the lecture? Are you going to stare at Nishio Reki all morning?

Yuuki Yukino also realized that the problem with Nishio Reki could not be completely solved in just a few ten-minute breaks between classes.

Worrying about Nishio Reki's affairs now will only cause more trouble; you should just live your life as usual.

Otherwise, what if you get so caught up in every little thing that you become extremely stressed and put yourself under immense pressure, leading to a mental breakdown?

This was the case when Miyashita Mia was being chased by Kou Mari, and it was still the case when she had to face Kuroba Reisei.

People need to improve, right? Improve!

Yuuki Yukino was able to handle the matter of Nishio Reki without worrying too much.

If we consider our current life as a game, Nishio Reki won't take any action unless a certain "plot" trigger point is reached.

While Yuuki Yuuki felt a little awkward about Nishio Reki returning to school, being able to keep track of her every move most of the time wasn't a bad thing for her.

But there is one person that Yuuki Yuuki cannot ignore.

Mustard seed.

If only Hayashi Keko were lying in Nishio Reki's room, Yuuki Yuuki would suspect that there was something wrong with Nishio Reki.

But if there are more Lin Jiezi than a football team stacked in the corner, then there must be something wrong with Lin Jiezi!

Aside from the supernatural element of magical girls, this world is no different from reality. There must be something wrong with a bunch of identical people appearing out of thin air, right?

Besides, Lin Jiezi isn't a magical girl!

Even now, Yuuki Yuen still feels that the mental impact of the room full of Lin Jiezi lying crookedly is no less than that of Kuroba being executed by a group of nuns in his next life.

She still needs to observe Lin Jiezi more closely.

It would be even easier to see Lin Jiezi.

During lunch break, Yuuki Yuen, as usual, brought the sausage fried noodles she bought from the cafeteria to the Rainbow Club's activity room.

As expected, Mizuno Yu was already sitting in the activity room waiting. Not long after, Hayashi Mustard, who was being dragged into the room by Herika, who was carrying bread in one hand and pulling her with the other, was also dragged in.

"You've all arrived pretty early. The fireworks yesterday were quite nice."

Herlica released Lin Jiezi's hand, pulled up a chair and sat down at the table, tearing the bread bag along with the bread roll filled with cream in half.

Compared to the group that went to watch the fireworks together last night, there is one less person in the activity room.

Sakura Hanako.

Sakura Hanako's absence is not because she didn't want to come.

Strictly speaking, Sakura Hanako is not yet a member of Nijisanji, nor is she a student at Tsukimi Middle School.

The new student enrollment was originally scheduled to begin this morning. We need to set up the venue and prepare speeches for various representatives. Everything needs to be prepared in advance.

Because of the attack by Kuroba Reincarnation, the overall process will be delayed by one day.

Even something as simple as setting up the venue is something that second-year students are responsible for.

Yuuki and the others have now officially entered their third year, so these things have nothing to do with them.

That's why they can enjoy their lunch break without having to be called on to help like second-year students.

A sumptuous bento box prepared by the housekeeper was already laid out on Mizuno Yu's table. She picked up half a cherry tomato with her chopsticks, slowly put it into her mouth and chewed it until she swallowed it before speaking unhurriedly.

"Indeed, I have benefited greatly from this. Being in crowded places helps to hone one's willpower. If I could become a stone bridge and let so many people walk over me..."

Alright, alright, you don't need to listen to what Mizuno Yu is saying next.

To speak so boldly while dining in such a refined manner is truly worthy of Mizuno Yu.

Who knew that Mizuno Yu's hobby would become so hardcore after just one summer vacation?

Yuuki Yui remained as gentle as ever, following Mizuno Yui with a dreamy and longing tone.

To put it more simply, Yuki En is someone who tries to appear sophisticated and refined.

"It was truly an unforgettable experience. I really hope to have more exchanges like this with everyone in the future."

Through the slits of Yuuki Emi's eyes, those eyes were secretly watching Lin Jiezi's every move.

Lin Jiezi carefully pried open the chopsticks with both hands, then stuffed the paper packaging of the disposable chopsticks into the plastic bag containing the lunchbox.

Noticing Yuuki Yukino's subtle gaze, she trembled as if startled, neatly placed the disposable chopsticks on the edge of the table, pressed her hands against her uniform, and sat up straight.

"I'm so happy. Um, what, ah, fireworks."

Lin Jiezi looked around for a long time, her gaze sweeping over each of the people, as if asking me if we could start eating.

"What are you standing there for? Eat!" Lin Jiezi may have a bad temper, but she's first-rate at giving people a way out.

Is it because they're classmates? It seems like Helica can understand everything Lin Jiezi is thinking.

"Ah! Okay, okay!" Lin Jiezi picked up her chopsticks and ate her lunch stiffly, like a game character with a slow frame rate.

Lin Jiezi would do almost the same thing every time Helica called her to the family restaurant.

Lin Jiezi is still the same Lin Jiezi; there's nothing strange about him.

When she first took the initiative to find Yuuki Yuuki, Yuuki Yuuki sensed something else from Hayashi Keiko's cautious behavior.

She was overly polite, not the kind of polite behavior one would expect when visiting someone's home—that's how Yuuki En described her.

Etiquette can be controlled by people, but overly complicated politeness is a result of insecurity stemming from a fear of causing trouble for others, which is ingrained in every gesture.

The reason why Yuuki En could vaguely connect the dots and think that Hayashi Mustard would be so cruelly killed must be her God's perspective, right?

Having read the game's script, it's clear that Lin Jiezi, with her omniscient perspective, will influence Nishio Reki's actions in altering the timeline, so Nishio Reki must be eliminated.

Therefore, Nishio Reki would deal with the Hayashi Mustard Seeds in each timeline, and the end result was that he had a pile of Hayashi Mustard Seeds from various timelines in his own house.

It sounds reasonable. Looking at the room full of Hayashi Keko in Nishio Reki's house, Yuuki En thinks this conjecture is very likely.

Korin Mustard had contact with herself and Helica. If Nijisanji and even the magical girl group entered the world of magical girls, it all happened after she fell into darkness.

Since Nishio Reki's time travel must have occurred before his own fall from grace, if he wanted to prevent Hayashi Kikuko from making contact with these people, he should have already dealt her a cruel blow.

If Nishio Reki is going to exclude Hayashi Kizuko because of this, why would he let Hayashi Kizuko from this timeline remain inactive until now?

Even if we take a step back and assume that Nishio Reki really eliminated Hayashi Mustaru from all the timelines, why would he have to carry such a huge burden with him every time he traveled through time?

This doesn't make sense.

There are also some more detailed things that can serve as evidence: all the Lin Jiezi on that ground were wearing the same school uniform, and Nishio Reki would choose to attack Lin Jiezi when they were going to and from school.

Furthermore, Yuuki En noticed something yesterday: the bodies of those Lin Jiezi showed no signs of decay or decomposition. If they were corpses, that would be unreasonable.