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

"And what was the ending?"

"I can't say that."

I was just asking myself if I wanted to hear it, how come I suddenly can't say it!

However, Yuuki Yukino did understand some of it. What Nishio Reki was doing was searching for a path to the ending she hoped for by constantly saving and loading (SL).

For a gamer, this is perfectly normal, but from my perspective, I still can't accept such behavior.

Because she can travel through time and start over, she treats people on every timeline as pawns. Yuuki Yukina is unhappy with this aspect of Nishio Reki.

I understand, but I cannot accept it, and I cannot forgive it.

Wait a minute, could it be that Nisio Reki only possesses this abnormal ability to travel through time because he is the protagonist of the game?

"In short, there are two kinds of things I can't tell you. One of them is the various examples I just mentioned. I can tell you what will happen, but whether you believe it or not, whether you listen or not, and how every detail will change, I can't explain to you one by one."

Mizuno Yu held up one finger and shook it towards the outside of the railing:

"For example, the trolley problem. If I told you the answer, would it have been a good thing for you?"

“Who says otherwise? If you hadn’t told me about that trolley problem—no, it was the trolley problem you thought you had—I might not have reached this point,” Yuuki Yuki continued.

"Maybe? From that night on, the situation was no longer under my control. But because I couldn't control the situation, I was able to appear directly in front of Xiaoyuan like this. Maybe it's not a bad thing? Who knows?"

Nishio Reki spoke in the same tone as Yuuki Yukino, expressing his feelings out of nowhere.

"By the way, that yukata, according to the original plan, Xiaoyuan would feel guilty for losing her companion and being powerless to do anything about it. At that time, I would appear in front of you and invite you to go with me to the festival that will be held the next day. I would also tell you some information that I can reveal."

"You mean, it's my problem?" Yuuki Yuuki pointed to her face.

"Of course it's not Xiaoyuan's problem. Never mind, the second possibility is that there are some things I don't want to tell Xiaoyuan, but I can't tell her." Nishio Reki didn't continue on this topic, but picked up where he left off.

"Xiao Yuan, do you know about the power of words?"

"The power of language, the magic that comes from speaking it, is that something?"

"That's right. To give a simple example, as we all know, magical girls' skills can be considered a kind of incantation. They can only be used by shouting them out, just like chanting."

Yuuki Yuen understood that, just like a function must be called before it can be invoked, there was no need to say such things aloud.

What she was more curious about was how Nishio Reki suddenly brought up the topic of Word Power.

"Not all terms are 'word magic.' There are many other examples, such as curses, which take effect once spoken. There are many such examples in fairy tales, right?"

"Ah."

"Furthermore, there are related examples in some legends. Vampires cannot enter a house without being invited, and they make a promise with a certain god never to take a step west for the rest of their lives. Such verbal promises also have magic."

"Yes."

"For example, Xiaoyuan once called me the Mysterious Man, right? The Mysterious Man in a certain magic academy, the one without a nose, the Dark Lord. Anyone who calls out his name will be detected and then hunted down by his subordinates."

Nishio Reki really knows a lot.

"Even simpler, cheat codes that take effect when entered in video games."

"So these things have nothing to do with you," Yuuki asked.

"They all have one thing in common: they are permitted by the rules. Speaking of magical girls, there are also some things that cannot be mentioned in the rules of magical girls, things that are not allowed to be mentioned by the rules."

"Since it's something that can't even be mentioned according to the rules, how did you know about it?"

"Of course it's because someone broke the rules."

Reki Nishio sighed and cast a cryptic glance into the distance.

Yuuki Yukino couldn't understand what Nishio Reki was talking about.

Killing by rules? A strange tale of rules? It's impossible to suddenly die because of doing something, right?

Yuuki Yukino could vaguely sense that what Nishio Reki wanted to challenge might be the "rules" she mentioned.

But judging from Nishio Reki's expression, he didn't seem like he was going to continue talking.

"It's the same as saying nothing at all," Yuuki Yukino casually remarked.

"Speaking of which, why are you being so cooperative today? What did you want to see me about? It's not just about Mizuno Yu's divine release, but about how I fooled Helica, is it?"

"of course not."

Nishio Reki shook his head and looked further into the distance.

Yuuki Yuki could not see anything in Nishio Reki's pupils.

She only saw the struggle revealed in the broken corner of the girl's heart, a girl she didn't know how to treat.

That struggling expression made Yuuki Yuki suddenly realize that Nishio Reki himself also existed as a "person".

That struggling expression lingered on Nishio Reki's face for only a moment.

“Xiao Yuan.” Nishio Reki spoke very softly.

"Ok?"

"Run away with me."

Chapter Seventeen: An Unusual Sense

"Run away with me."

Just by looking into Nishio Reki's eyes, you could tell that he was absolutely serious about what he said.

It wasn't the kind of joke like "I'm going to kidnap you and elope with you."

She was truly prepared to escape with him.

Yuuki Yukino had seen this look in her eyes many times; it was the look of someone who had made a certain decision.

For example, Ms. Hui or Ms. Hong, who want to protect their partner.

For example, even if it means parting ways, Inuyama Tomoe is determined to save herself.

For example, Helica the Thunder.

That said, several weeks have passed since Yuuki Yukino was summoned to the stairwell by Tenrai Herika for questioning.

Helica acted as if nothing had ever happened, continuing to joke around with the five of them in Nijisanji and occasionally going out together.

There was almost no fighting. The four corrupted girls on Yuuki Yuki's side were not making any moves, and Kouyama Lantern did not have the usual ideas of causing trouble as corrupted magical girls.

In other words, the current Moonsea City is experiencing its most peaceful period in history.

That day, almost revealing the whole truth made Yuuki Yuki realize one thing—this kind of mistake must never happen again.

Herlica created this version of the story based on some rumors circulating at school, her observations and experiences during her time with the school, and a bit of imagination.

If Helica hadn't uttered that explosive statement, "I can book a room too," Yuuki Yukino would still be misunderstanding Helica's intentions.

Although this time, I made up a plausible story during the period when Helica was shy after her explosive speech and managed to get by.

But what about next time? And the time after that? Yuuki Yuuki won't always be so lucky.

The reason for this was that Helica believed some of the gossip and rumors circulating in the school.

When they were together, Yuuki Yukino tried her best to control what she could tell Herrika and what she had to keep from her.

There was no way to filter out the rumors circulating in the school before presenting them to Helica.

Students, who have few forms of entertainment besides studying, are the perfect breeding ground for gossip news.

No matter how small the news was, it wouldn't escape the students' watchful eyes. Then, the raw materials would be embellished and exaggerated, eventually turning into a bizarre story that was completely unrecognizable.

Young people are naturally curious, and the more outlandish the story, the wider it spreads.

For example, the story of Mizuno Yuu on the day of the school opening ceremony, although it was very strange, many people who spread it would add this sentence to the end.

"I think it might not be as exaggerated as the rumors say. It's probably because of Mizuno Yu's family background that she became withdrawn and eventually couldn't bear it anymore, so she chose to commit suicide one after another."

Although this example is far from representative, the fact that Mizuno Yu had unique hobbies is even more bizarre than suicide, but it still offers a glimpse into the truth.

If a rating system were used, the original story, which was only at the "one" level, would be spread to the "ten." Even if everyone only believed three points in the end, it would still be three times more bizarre than the original story.

At most, bizarre rumors would only annoy Yuuki Eri, or even less so, just make her a little unhappy.

However, becoming the center of everyone's attention is something that Yuuki Eri should avoid.

Anyone with a secret probably doesn't want to attract attention.

When a rumor spreads, people will always pay attention, consciously or unconsciously, to the person who spreads the rumor.

Every move I make is like it's highlighted in the crowd, and even the smallest detail will be talked about for ages.

If one of her actions reveals a flaw, and someone exaggerates or fabricates the story, and then it reaches Helica's ears, then her identity as a corrupted magical girl will be easily exposed.

For example—someone suddenly said that Yuuki Yuuki doesn't like to change clothes with everyone and always wears her gym uniform underneath.

So, wouldn't some people think that there's something indecent about Yuuki Yukino's body, and then connect it to the Black Demon Mark?

Even if there is only a very small chance, Yuuki Eri must prevent this from happening.

When Yuuki Yuki realized all this, she didn't even wait until the next day. That very night, she gathered the other two together and spoke to them about it very seriously. The two of them then expressed their understanding.

Baqi definitely doesn't want Yuki Yukino's identity to be exposed. If Yuki Yukino's identity is exposed, it won't be long before her own identity is exposed as well.

Nishio Reki agreed so readily and kept his word, never causing Yuuki Yukino any trouble again after that.

Although he didn't openly show affection for Yuuki Eri, he still frequently gave her small gifts.

Given Nishio Reki's performance in the past few days, Yuuki Yuuki's ability to achieve this level of skill was truly unexpected.

She thought Nishio Reki was the kind of person who was completely unrestrained by common sense.

After that, Yuuki Yuuki's school life returned to normal.

After everything around Yuuki Yuuki returned to normal, those outrageous rumors didn't last long and were gradually replaced by new gossip.

The final boss in the game has been defeated, and Saint Shion doesn't seem to be making any moves. Nishio Reki has returned to school, and Helica's hostility towards him has lessened. Everything is moving in a positive direction.

Then, Nishio Reki suddenly called himself out and said these words to himself.

"Run away with me."

That's impossible! No way!

What elopement? You were only back to normal for a few days, and now you're pulling this stunt again, huh?

Yuuki Yuki knew that Nishio Reki was definitely the kind of guy who didn't follow common sense.