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

"Oh well."

Mizuno Yu took the stack of flyers printed with food images.

Otherwise, there's no way to go back to school now. Mizuno Yu doesn't have any places she wants to go or anything she wants to do, so she's just killing time.

In the end, Mizuno Yu and Rokuyama Akari spent the entire morning handing out flyers, until the sun was high overhead, condensing their shadows into tiny spheres, before finally handing out the last flyer.

Then, Mizuno Yu followed Lava Mountain Lantern to the shop where Lava Mountain Lantern worked.

"You've worked hard, Deng. Here's your pay for today. You finished the work quickly."

Then, watching as the owner of Rongshan Lantern took out an envelope that had been prepared beforehand and handed it to Rongshan Lantern.

"No need for today. It was thanks to her help that things ended so quickly. Let her have the morning's payment." Laughter Mountain gave a thumbs up and casually pointed to Mizuno Yu, who was following behind her.

"I can't let you work all morning for nothing, so take this." The shop manager smiled kindly, took out a banknote from behind the counter and stuffed it into the hand of the shopkeeper, before handing the envelope to the shopkeeper, Mizuno Yu: "She said so, so just accept it."

"Ah! Thank you!" Mizuno Yu bowed to the shopkeeper and accepted the envelope containing the payment with both hands.

"I should be thanking you for your help," the elderly shopkeeper said with a kind smile. "By the way, I haven't asked your name yet."

"My name is Mizuno Yu!"

"Oh, Mizuno Yu, what a nice name." The shopkeeper repeated Mizuno Yu's name with a smile, then his smile froze on his face. He looked Mizuno Yu up and down for a long time, and then asked again incredulously, "Mizuno Yu?"

Twenty minutes later, at a nearby barbecue restaurant.

"Ha, I didn't expect you to be so famous. That well-known conglomerate in Yuehai City is actually your family's." Laughter Mountain held up a glass full of beer, clinked it against the glass of soda on Mizuno Yu's table, tilted his head back, gulped down several large mouthfuls, and exhaled a satisfying breath.

"Pfft, it's great to be able to drink beer in broad daylight! But seriously, is it really okay to spend all the money I earned from working this morning on barbecue?"

"It's alright, but you gave me all your wages for this morning. Is that really okay?" Mizuno Yu used tongs to flip the meat on the grill, flattening the curled beef slices.

"What's wrong with that? As long as I'm happy, that's all that matters." Lungyama sat with his legs spread apart, taking big gulps of beer from his glass. "Look at how you've become, how can I just leave you like this?"

"Become like that?" Mizuno Yu couldn't understand what Lava Mountain Lantern was talking about.

"You initially approached me because you recognized my abilities and wanted to learn something from me to become stronger, right?" Laughter Mountain Lantern pointed at the grilled meat on the plate with his chopsticks, shaking his head slightly in a daze.

"Back then, you genuinely wanted to become stronger! Even when facing someone you couldn't defeat, you would fight with all your might! You never backed down!"

Mizuno Yu didn't speak, but she carefully recalled in her mind how she met and got to know Lava Mountain Lantern.

Their first meeting was at a hot spring inn, where they had a test of endurance in the scorching hot spring, which resulted in Mizuno Yu's complete defeat.

As a result, Lava Lantern left behind only his name and a cup of milk before going back to soak in the hot springs.

Next was the buffet. Although Mizuno Yu managed to finish it all, she ended up being hospitalized due to overeating, which was a complete defeat for her.

The last time they met was when Mizuno Yu discovered that Lava Mountain Lantern was a corrupted magical girl. Because she had to take care of the safety of the others, they didn't fight that time, but Mizuno Yu was prepared to meet Lava Mountain Lantern.

"But today, the moment you saw me, you wanted to slink away." Laughter Mountain spoke of what had happened not long ago: "When I asked you to help me hand out flyers, you actually had second thoughts. You've started to fear me! Is this the same person who wanted to become stronger, who was fearless... What was your name again, Mizuno Yu? Yes! Is this the same Mizuno Yu who acted like this?"

Lava Lantern was right. Even Mizuno Yu herself didn't realize that when she sensed the aura emanating from Lava Lantern, her first reaction wasn't how to deal with Lava Lantern, nor how to give herself away, but rather how to escape.

Since sitting down, the image of Koyama, whom Mizuno Yu had once longed for and wanted to challenge, with his mind full of the thrill of battle, has returned.

On the contrary, it was Mizuno Yu herself who wondered why she had become like this.

She herself didn't know the reason.

"You've lost your way!" Laughter Mountain stared straight at Mizuno Yu with eyes that seemed to know nothing, and said loudly as if she saw through everything.

"Me? Lost?" Mizuno Yu pondered the words of the magma lantern.

"That's right! You're lost!" The beer glass from the lava lantern slammed onto the table with a thud. "You've lost sight of your own heart! You can't find a reason to become stronger!"

Chapter Twelve: It only makes sense to do something together!

Talking to the magma lantern always gave Mizuno Yu a strange feeling.

This feeling cannot be clearly described using polarized words like "good" or "bad".

If there's anything "bad" about it, communicating with Lava Lantern feels more like communicating with Helica.

Neither Herlica nor Lava Lantern are very considerate of other people's feelings when interacting with them.

Although Mizuno Yu doesn't really care about how others feel about her.

Just like it is now.

Seeing that Mizuno Yuu hadn't said a word for a long time, Rokuyama Tama pressed his elbow and entire arm on the table and pushed his shoulder forward.

"Am I right? When you encounter a strong opponent, instead of challenging them, you run away! Isn't that a sign of weakness?"

Most people wouldn't educate someone who is close in age, not particularly close to them, and who is an enemy on the political level, in this way, right?

The pupil of the molten mountain lantern, which was shimmering with black magic patterns, was brought even closer, staring straight at her as if it could see something in Mizuno Yu's face.

Mizuno Yu's first reaction was to look away.

This small gesture can be seen as an admission of what Lava Lamp meant by "a weak performance".

"Hmph." Laughter Mountain Lantern snorted coldly through her nose. Even though she didn't say anything, Mizuno Yu could sense the contempt in her expression.

It's like saying "As expected".

Even in this respect, she is very similar to Helica.

While Lava Lantern and Helica are somewhat similar, they also have many differences.

Lava Mountain Lamp wasn't as awkward as Helica.

Herlica's awkwardness stems from her attempt to conceal her inner vulnerability; she acts like a hedgehog, wrapping her entire body in quills to hide her soft side.

But Lava Mountain Lantern is very direct.

She often doesn't need to consider other people's feelings at all, which is a manifestation of extreme self-confidence.

The directness of the molten mountain lamp made Mizuno Yu feel more like a passing elephant that wouldn't care how many ants it had trampled.

However, that's not entirely true. Helica is quite awkward in many ways, but Lantern only maintains that confident but not arrogant strong persona when it comes to things like magical girls.

And this is precisely the pleasant part, the "good" part, when communicating with Rongshan Deng.

Communicating with Rongshan Deng doesn't require the same caution as when talking to other classmates, nor does it require the same deliberate composure as when talking to people from other companies.

Mizuno Yu was able to unleash her true nature and become stronger, and she and Lava Mountain got along very well from their first meeting.

However, that was the Mizuno Yu of the past. Today, she doesn't know what's wrong with her. She's completely unable to return to that state of yearning for trials and becoming stronger.

Perhaps it was out of shame at being seen? Was it because of being forced to take a half-day leave of absence? Or something else?

Perhaps, just as the lamp said, I have lost my way.

"So? What happened? If you don't want to get stronger, who am I supposed to fight with in the future?" Lungyama Lantern, who had been leaning over half the table, pulled back, neatly put down his chopsticks, leaned back in his chair, and asked with his arms crossed.

"As I just said, I was in the middle of special training when someone suddenly barged in..."

Mizuno Yu was interrupted by Lava Mountain Lantern before she could finish speaking.

"That's not what I meant. What I want to know is, what's the deal with your strange special training? When did it start?"

"It was this morning, before the first class, it should have been..."

Mizuno Yu was interrupted once again by the magma lamp.

"No, that's not it! When did it start? How did you come up with the idea of ​​using this method for special training?"

"Well, that's a long story. Have you ever heard of the story of General Yumimoto...?"

And so on, and so forth.

This was the first time Mizuno Yu had ever seen anyone listen to her story so attentively, and she spoke with extra enthusiasm today.

Mizuno Yu spent a considerable amount of time recounting the story of General Yumimoto's origins, how he sacrificed himself at the village entrance to repay a debt of gratitude, and how she herself honed her character through special training to become closer to General Yumimoto.

"I see. To repay a single meal's kindness, they're willing to risk their lives." Rongshan Deng listened, nodding repeatedly, and then offered her assessment at the end of the story.

"I don't like this story!"

A very typical answer from the author: "If you like something, you like it; if you don't like it, you don't like it."

He doesn't care about other people's opinions, nor does he care whether he likes the story or not. It's all based on Rongshan Deng's personal likes and dislikes, and he's very capricious.

“This spirit is commendable, but ultimately, her death wasn’t due to protecting others, but rather because she wasn’t strong enough.” Laughter Mountain put forward a completely new perspective that Mizuno Yu had never considered before.

"If that General Yumimoto you mentioned could eliminate all the enemies standing in her way, whether by killing them or by winning them over with virtue, then she could eliminate them all and ensure the safety of herself and those she protects. That would be the best ending for a story."

“This isn’t a story; it’s a true story. Besides, it’s unrealistic to fight against so many enemies. Who could possibly escape unscathed from so many enemies?” Mizuno Yuu couldn’t agree with Lava Mountain’s point of view and argued her point.

“I can,” said Lava Mountain Lantern. “I once fought a group of magical girls, defeated them all, and even beat up the leader who brought them here.”

If these words had come from someone else, Mizuno Yu might have been skeptical, but since they came from Lava Mountain Lantern, they must be true.

She had never witnessed Lava Lantern's battles, but Helica told her that he was able to rescue Helica and the pink-haired tentacle woman from Black Feather Rebirth all by himself. This alone would not make anyone doubt Lava Lantern's strength.

Moreover, the powerful aura of the volcano lantern is innate, capable of attracting her at their first meeting. Even if Mizuno Yu doubts Helica's words, she will not doubt her own intuition.

"So! In the end, it's all because you're not strong enough! You've even lost that desire to become stronger. No matter how many trials you go through, you can't get any closer to your idol!"

Rongshan Deng spoke with great conviction, and the guests sitting at the surrounding tables all cast questioning glances at him.

When everyone saw Rongshan Deng holding a wine glass and talking eloquently, they all looked away with relief.

When said by Laughing Mountain, Mizuno Yu didn't feel that statement was very convincing.

Because they are strong, they can say without hesitation that others are not strong enough; because they are wealthy, they can boast about their inner emptiness without any real reason; because they are successful, they can stand on a high ground and criticize the failures of others.

Ultimately, this is a Versailles.

"Although I can't accept it, I understand now—your idol, your special training." Lava Lantern took another sip of his cold beer. "But have you become stronger?"

"Not everyone can be as strong as you."

Normally, Mizuno Yu wouldn't say such discouraging things.

Influenced by the aura of the magnum opus, even Mizuno Yu was subtly influenced to open up and express some of her most genuine feelings.

"You're right. Many people may not reach my level even when their magical girl career comes to an end." Lamp Lava Mountain openly acknowledged her strength.

"But should we stop eating just because we'll eventually get hungry? Should we stop living just because everyone dies? Should we stop striving to become stronger just because we can be defeated? Human strength is finite, but the pursuit of becoming stronger is endless!"

"So if you lose even the desire to become stronger, what's the difference between you and the meat on a barbecue grill? You're not even as good as meat! After all, meat has the advantage of being delicious!"

Rongshan Deng's words sounded like a jumbled mess, but the logic was sound despite the rough language.

"But what good would it do you if I became stronger? No matter how much I improve, I probably won't be able to be like you, right? I'm not your junior, and we're not even on the same side." Mizuno Yu's expression gradually dimmed.