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

"Hmm." Baqi shook her head slightly, her hair rustling softly against the pillow.

The finger that had been reaching out towards Yuuki Enishi stopped at the forehead of the half-asleep girl, and then withdrew at the slight rubbing sound, as if afraid of disturbing her peaceful sleep.

There won't be a next time.

One hour later.

As the girls awaken, life in the city gradually returns to normal.

The early autumn morning breeze has not completely dispelled the heat of late summer, but it has also brought some coolness, allowing pedestrians on the street to shed the fatigue and languor of the night and face the new day with full energy.

The best topic of conversation on this new day is the massive destruction that occurred last night in the suburbs of Moonsea City.

"Have you heard? There was an underground gas explosion in Baizhou District last night. That abandoned area that no one is currently managing was completely blown away."

"I already said it's abandoned, how could there be any underground gas explosion? I heard there was a mistake during a dangerous goods transaction."

"Shh, look at this video, can you vaguely see a figure? It was made by a magical girl!"

"A magical girl?! Could it be that girl who wreaked havoc at the festival again? Didn't I hear she was defeated?"

"Then...could it be the Pink Demon! Do you remember the white-haired girl who often appeared with the Pink Demon and could cause an explosion!"

"Yes, yes, I also heard that the festival was caused by those evil magical girls fighting for power!"

"But the pink devil seemed to have saved other people back then, so is she really a bad person?"

The chatter of passersby rose and fell along the way; at the age of middle school students, gossip and rumors are their favorite things.

Although most of what they said this time was true.

"Speaking of which, the scene was really terrifying. If I hadn't seen the news online, I wouldn't have imagined it would turn out like this. No wonder Hong called me so angrily first thing this morning. You can't do this again! If someone had accidentally hurt someone, it would have been a huge problem!"

Even the person being discussed was excitedly talking about it.

"That's true... but it's not like you suddenly want to do that kind of thing! It's too dangerous! Even I couldn't withstand such an attack!"

Yuuki Yui limped along, leaning on Baqi's shoulder. A few strands of hair that weren't tied into her twin ponytails were stuck to them because of the sweat on her face.

Yuuki Yukino raised her hand, which was intertwined with Tomoe's, and wiped the hair from her face with the back of her hand.

It hurts so much right now!

My whole body aches! It hurts everywhere in every sense of the word!

Even with the regenerative abilities of a magical girl, a night's rest is barely enough to make a difference to her.

The current Baki is no longer the insignificant little fish who could only fire a few dozen shots before running out of magic, but she has never changed when it comes to replenishing her magic after a major battle.

It's not that things haven't changed; it's more accurate to say they've become even worse.

For Yuuki Yuki, who was on the verge of death at the time, this was, as the saying goes, a second blow.

"But if I don't do this, how can I let Xiaoyuan know my determination?"

Although Baqi's answer was not the same as what Yuuki was thinking, they inexplicably matched, which felt very strange.

Looking back, the idea of ​​magical girls fighting each other before making up feels really cliché.

Besides, Baqi isn't the kind of person who makes friends through sex.

It's not just magical girls; similar scenes can be found in various tokusatsu shows and shonen manga.

But I have to say, personally experiencing such a thrilling fight and reconciliation felt quite youthful.

Although it doesn't seem to be good for her health, Yuuki Yukino isn't a manga character who can go to school the day after a fight as if nothing happened and full of energy.

Of course, Yuuki Yukino wouldn't admit that she felt good; if Tomoe did it again someday, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Is your determination to beat me half to death and then pierce me half to death?"

"Haha, Yuuki's expression doesn't say that!" Baqi laughed happily, nudging Yuuki's cheek with her shoulder.

Yuuki Yukino didn't know what kind of expression she was making, but it probably wasn't bad.

After laughing for a while, Ba Qi raised her hand to wipe away the tears that had come out of her eyes, and her tone gradually became calm.

"By the way, Xiaoyuan, the school trip is coming soon."

“Yes.” Yuuki Yuen let out a long sigh and continued following up on what Baqi had said.

Baqi hesitated for a moment, then, just as she and Yuki had agreed, she went straight to the point.

"Xiaoyuan invited that mysterious person... invited Nishio Reki along, right?"

"Hmm." Yuuki Yukino's heart sank slightly: "If Tomoe doesn't like it..."

"I'm not going along with Xiaoyuan's ideas! I need to do this beforehand!"

Before Yuki could finish speaking, Baqi interrupted and started talking about what she wanted to say.

“I’m definitely unhappy that Xiaoyuan invited her, but…”

"If Baqi doesn't like it..."

"Xiaoyuan, don't speak yet! Wait until I finish!"

Baqi interrupted Yuuki En once again.

"Well, I might get jealous! But there's no need for Yui to change her mind just to accommodate me. After all, Nishio Reki is Yui's childhood friend, right? Besides, she's someone who knows information we don't."

"If Nishio Reki joins, I might be unhappy and act a bit willfully, but no matter what, I will always respect Yui's wishes! I won't embarrass Yui because of my own willfulness!"

"Besides, school trips are the last memories of middle school, and I hope to have a happy time. If Xiaoyuan won't be happy because of it, then it's meaningless."

"so……"

"so!"

"Xiaoyuan, you don't need to consider me completely! Go do what you want to do!"

"In exchange, I'll also have a good talk with Nishio Reki!"

Chapter 42 Sweet and Salty Round Bread

Go do what you want to do.

Yuuki Yukino was indeed told that by Tomoe, but what exactly did she want to do?

Living an ordinary life and peacefully enjoying each day?

How can I find a way to clear my name and remove the curse known as the Black Demon Mark from my body?

Fight against other magical girls and help them grow stronger to defeat the enemy that will eventually descend upon Moonsea City?

Despite having a ton of things to do, Yuuki Yukino couldn't figure out what to do for a moment.

The conversation with Koumori about the Dark Corruption was only halfway through; the Pokémon-catching game on the handheld console was still unfinished; and the school trip invitation from Nishio Reki was still pending.

Everything that was happening with Yuuki Yuuki came to a standstill, as if the pause button had been suddenly pressed.

It's strange, it's not that I feel upset, but I just have a feeling of having nothing to do.

This feeling has lasted for many days.

I feel like I've been spending a lot of time spacing out lately.

"The location for the school trip has been decided! It's in the neighboring Rainbow Leaf City! Have you heard?" Around the desks, Herika was still energetically tapping on the table as usual, leading the conversation.

"I heard from other upperclassmen on my way here that Rainbow Leaf City is really great. I heard the hot springs there are amazing!"

Sakura Hanako held her face in her hands, lost in daydreams. Although she didn't have the chance to go on a school trip with the other members of Nijisanji, it didn't stop her from imagining it.

“That’s right, that’s right! The hot springs at Nijiha are the biggest attraction. If possible, I really hope we can stay at a hot spring inn! I really want to soak in the hot springs!” Whenever it comes to things that don’t concern her, Helica is incredibly honest. Now she’s banging on the table a few more times as she speaks.

“Actually, the hot spring inns in Yuehai City are quite nice, like the one I went to before…” Mizuno Yu recalled the scene when she first met Lava Mountain Lantern, which was also at a hot spring inn.

"No! Absolutely not! The important thing isn't the hot spring, it's that we all soaked in the hot spring together during the school trip!" Herica loudly corrected Mizuno Yu's mistake.

“However, I heard from Niijima Azusa that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the hot springs.” Mizuno Yu changed her words, resolving Helica’s doubts.

Upon hearing the good news, Herika jumped up like a schoolchild and even clapped her hands with Lin Jiezi.

"Really? Yay!"

"Okay, okay." Lin Jiezi, trying to keep up with the atmosphere, weakly waved the hand she had just patted Helica on the shoulder.

"But! On another note! There's another very troublesome thing! All the groups have been almost formed! But for some reason! I'm the only one who can't find anyone! If this continues, we'll have to join someone else's four-person team!"

After discussing this matter, Helica began to complain again.

“There’s nothing wrong with joining someone else’s group, right? We’re all classmates, so it shouldn’t be so awkward.” Sakura Hanako blinked, puzzled by Helica’s words.

“The problem is!” Helica hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice even further, glancing furtively at Yuuki Yui who hadn’t said a word: “The problem is that I might not get along that well with my classmates. Honestly, it would be great if we could team up across classes!”

“Senior Tianlei, you already mentioned this last time, forming a team across classes is impossible. Besides, I think Senior Tianlei should be able to get along well with others.” Sakura Hanako gently comforted Helica.

"Ah! Ah! I know! I know! But this is a school trip, not just for me, everyone wants to have fun too, right?" Helica shouted loudly twice, then shook her head like a rattle drum, her mood dropping.

"If I join, those classmates I'm not on good terms with probably won't have much fun, right?"

"Senior Tianlei! Be confident! I know Senior Tianlei is a very good person!" Sakura Hanako encouraged.

"Oh right! Speaking of which, Yuuki Yukino! How's your team going? Have you gathered everyone yet?" Helica directly threw the question to Yuuki Yukino this time.

What is Yuuki Yukino thinking right now?

Yuuki Yukino wasn't actually thinking about anything; she was just eating lunch and spacing out.

For the past few days, she has been spending her time idly daydreaming, and has been called out and criticized by the teacher more than once for daydreaming.

The same thing is happening now, because Helica caught him red-handed while he was sneaking off.

"Hey, Yuuki Yuuki! Are you even listening to us?"

In Yuuki Yuuki's eyes, Herika was banging on the table with the same energy as usual, her puffed-up little face close to Yuuki Yuuki's face, as if she wanted to press her face against Yuuki Yuuki's face.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else just now," Yuuki Yui answered honestly without offering any explanation.

"I knew it! You've been staring blankly at that piece of fried chicken for ages! Confiscated! Confiscated!"

Herlica reached across the table and took a big bite of the fried chicken on Yuuki Yuki's chopsticks. As she chewed, she pulled down her hair, which was hanging down her cheek, to cover the barely noticeable blush on her face.

"My fried chicken! That's the newly launched avocado sauce fried chicken!" Yuuki Yui showed a very genuine expression of sadness.

Helica snatched the fried chicken nuggets from her, and she was genuinely heartbroken.

Helica gave a thumbs-up, wiped the avocado sauce off her lips, and then licked the residue off her fingertips.