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

Baqi listened with great interest as Hyakki Chiyu recounted how they became magical girls, and couldn't help but urge Chiyu to continue.

Although Hyakki Senyou's account was very concise, unlike the vivid descriptions given by Koumori, who had personally experienced it, Baqi still listened with great interest.

After all, gossiping is a human instinct.

They ate while talking, and by the time Hyakki Chiyu explained how Koumori became a magical girl, quite a bit of time had passed.

Ba Qi's original intention in asking Qian You out for a casual chat today was to distract herself, and this conversation with Qian You just happened to fulfill her needs.

Listening to Hyakki Senyou's story, Koumori momentarily forgot all her worries about being left alone at home by Yuuki Yuuki.

Hong Moli is currently fulfilling her role as acting student council president, indicating that the story is unlikely to end in tragedy and will ultimately be resolved without major incident.

There's nothing more interesting than knowing how people you know got through tough times.

"So what happened next?" Ba Qi asked, gripping tightly.

Hyakki Chiyu maintained her usual concise narration: "I noticed that Mori's expression was a little off when we parted that day, so I turned back halfway."

"Mmm, and then what?" Baqi's eyes were shining with excitement.

"It turned out that a corrupted magical girl was bullying Mori, so she fought with her. The process was very difficult, and in the end she left."

Bai Gui Qianyou pushed the completely empty bowl aside and patted her bulging belly.

"Oh!"

Baqi was very excited. Just a few words were enough for her to imagine a story in her mind of "fighting side by side with the person you like and finally defeating the enemy after going through hardships".

so good.

I have fought alongside Xiaoyuan many times, but I have never had the experience of defeating an enemy with just the two of us working together.

Either the two of them get a beating, just like in their first real battle against the blond dwarf and the blue-haired stoic guy, Yuuki Yuki almost messed things up.

Either the two of them beat each other up, or it seems that he and Yuuki Yuki have never lost a fight except for real battles.

Speaking of real, hard-fought battles.

While Yuuki Yukino was fighting on the Moon Sea Tower, she was dragged down to the bottom of the tower by Koumori and Hyakki Senyu.

The time when Yuuki Eri went to the beach and fought with Koumori, I was having a meal with Hyakki Senyu, just like today.

The time Yuuki Yukino defeated Kuroba Reisei, well, I was on my way here with Seishin.

Why am I never there during actual battles?

Haven't I been able to help Yuuki Yuuki in any way all this time?

Just thinking about it made Baqi feel incredibly heavy-hearted.

She maintains her optimistic personality because Yuki Yuki has always been by her side. She can unconditionally trust Yuki Yuki, and Yuki Yuki is also tolerant of everything about her.

But if I can't help at all, will Yuuki Yukino continue to tolerate me?

Upon realizing this, Baqi's previously high spirits quickly plummeted.

"Is your older sister troubled?" Hyakki Chiyu suddenly spoke, shifting the focus from the original topic back to Baqi.

"Huh? No way?" Baqi's attention was drawn back by the sudden interruption.

"My older sister made the same expression as Mari when she's in a bad mood," Hyakki Chiyu said with certainty. "Mari always tends to overthink things, and she makes this face when she's doing that."

In fact, Baqi knew perfectly well why she was troubled, and she also knew that she was making trouble for herself. But these kinds of adolescent troubles are not something that can be easily resolved by herself.

"Oh, really? I guess so?" Baqi still seemed a little absent-minded.

“Perhaps Sister should talk to Mari,” Hyakki Chiyu said. “Otherwise, let’s go to St. Yuu Academy. Mari must be there… right now…”

Qianyou turned her head to look out the window, and suddenly drew out the syllables halfway through her sentence, as if she had seen something she shouldn't have seen.

"What's wrong? A hundred ghosts?" Baqi asked.

"I saw Mari walking with another woman!"

Chapter Thirty-One: What are you doing here?

"Don't joke around. How could Hong be walking with someone else? Isn't she doing her job at school? Bai Gui must have seen wrong."

Inuyama Tomoe's attention was mostly distracted by her bad mood, and she waved her hands absentmindedly a few times.

This seemingly unintentional remark was not just empty talk; Baqi herself did not believe that Hongmo would do anything to betray the ghosts.

Baqi couldn't understand how a fool like her could betray him, someone who would blindly follow the lead of Kuroba in his next life for the sake of a hundred demons.

Besides, she didn't see Hong Moli walking with anyone else, so her first thought was that Bai Gui was trying to distract her with some topic.

When I first heard Qianyou say that, I even secretly thought to myself that such a well-intentioned lie was completely unrealistic.

But Bai Gui Qianyou's expression and her cold tone told her that Qianyou was not joking.

"Big sister, would you really mistake someone else for Yuuki Yukina-senpai?"

"You must have seen it wrong, right?" When Baqi said the same thing again, her tone was much weaker, with a hint of probing.

As if that wasn't enough, Baqi added, "Hong should be at school at this time; she wouldn't be here."

Qianyou seemed not to have heard what she said at all. She pouted, stood up from the table, picked up her delicate little shoulder bag containing snacks, and walked outside.

As she passed by Baqi, Bai Guiqianyou paused for a moment, bowed slightly to Baqi in greeting, and then quickened her pace and rushed straight out of the store.

Baqi understood Qianyou's meaning; her action was as if to say, "Sorry, I'll go first. It's up to you, elder sister, to decide whether you want to follow."

Of course I have to follow her; who knows what might happen if she doesn't?

During the summer vacation, Baqi got to know these two junior classmates, whom she was already quite familiar with, all over again.

For example, there's Hong Moli, who seems very reliable but is somewhat insecure, and who would do anything for Qianyou.

Another example is Hyakki Senyou, who is usually very amiable, enjoying snacks and tea, and seems completely harmless.

But as soon as something involves Hong Moli, Bai Gui Qianyou will turn into a wife-protecting maniac, and reason and morality simply don't exist.

Of all the magical girls that Baqi knows, Hyakki Senyu is the most difficult to deal with.

She wasn't worried about Hong Moli, but about the person who was with Hong Moli.

Qianyou's expression and tone were exactly the same as when she felt that Hong Moli had been bullied and wanted to kill the other party.

If Qianyou suddenly becomes extremely jealous and beats that person to the point of unconsciousness, then there will be a serious problem.

Although Yuuki Yukino is a corrupted magical girl, she does not attack ordinary people without reason. Even if she does attack, it is only a symbolic gesture with a purpose.

Baqi can follow Yuuki Emi's wishes and promise not to do evil because of this power, but she cannot restrain Hyakki Senyou.

Tomoe's own troubles stemming from Yuuki Eri are her own problem, but if her companion, Hyakki Senyu, does something outrageous, then that becomes the problem for the entire small group.

At this moment, Baqi could no longer care about her suppressed feelings. She jumped up from the table and chased after Bai Gui Qianyou's back.

"Hyakki, wait, wait, don't get excited." Baqi quickened her pace and caught up with Hyakki Chiyu, calling out to Hyakki to remind her.

"I'm not excited." Hyakki's usually expressionless face remained completely blank.

Baqi couldn't figure out what the hundred demons were thinking, but she always felt that these demons were a bit scary.

Even if it's scary, I have to go! With Yuuki Yuki and Koumori not around, only I can keep her in check.

While it can't be said that Koumori isn't there, if she were to try to stop the Hundred Demons, it might backfire.

You actually stopped me for that woman! Qianyou would probably say that, right?

If it were me, I would definitely say the same thing.

"Relax, things might not be as you think. What if, what if..." Baqi tried to persuade Bai Gui with her pale words, "What if Hong is being threatened?"

Ah! What am I saying? Shouldn't I be talking about something like the student council's purchasing work?

At the very least, you could say you ran into an acquaintance or happened to be traveling with someone, but being threatened is hardly a valid excuse.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about. What if that person has designs on Hong?" Bai Gui Qianyou's face darkened, and her shoes stomped loudly on the ground.

"what?"

Baqi asked a question subconsciously.

"Are there any other possibilities besides this?" Qianyou asked, pressing the question with a sense of impending doom.

"No, it's nothing. It's better not to act rashly." Ba Qi forced a smile, trying to make her expression less awkward.

If someone you like says they're at work, but you're caught walking down the street with someone else, shouldn't everyone's first reaction be, "Why did they lie to me and go on a date with another woman?"

As a result, Bai Gui Qian You was worried that others had ulterior motives, so he chased after them to commit filth.

I feel like her ideas are a bit strange.

It seems that's not the case. Hyakki Senyou's absurd ideas stem from his absolute trust in Koumori.

Because of trust, Hyakki Chiyuu never considered that the two were on a date; instead, she wondered if there were any other possibilities.

Even when she saw Hong Moli walking with other people, she still firmly believed in them. That's something I should learn from.

Therefore, I should also have more trust in Yuuki Yuuki.

Yuuki Yukino must have had something to do today, which is why she rejected me without even giving a reason. She must be busy with something else right now, and it's impossible for her to be walking peacefully on the street with another woman.

Let's work together with Hyakki Chiyou to solve her troubles, prevent her from doing anything outrageous, and then help her adjust her mood.

In any case, it turned out to be a false alarm.

Following Hyakki Chiyu's footsteps, the two quickened their pace as they traversed the streets, and could already see Koumori's signature short blonde hair in the distance.

As Qianyou was right, Hong Moli was talking to a girl next to her, and they seemed to be getting along very well and having a pleasant conversation.

This doesn't look like coercion at all; it really looks like they're on a date.

Ah, it is a crisis, a major crisis in another sense.

Because there are quite a lot of people on weekends, and the other side is blocked by the crowd, it's not very clear. It's better to move a little further in.

Almost there, you'll be able to see it clearly soon.

Wait a minute, why does the pink-haired girl next to Hong Moli look so familiar?

The length of her hair, her back view, her clothes—isn't this the same Yuuki Yukino who said she had to go out today?

The four of them spent almost every day together during the latter half of summer vacation doing magical girl training. Baqi could recognize her, and Hyakki Senyu could also tell at a glance that the person walking with Koumori was Yuuki Yuuki.

"Phew." After recognizing the other party's identity, Hyakki Chiyu breathed a sigh of relief and slowed her pace considerably.