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

The newly laid, intact floor tiles downstairs, pieced together with the ones that have been stepped on countless times, seem to be products from different worlds.

The damaged security door was replaced with a brand new one, which looked out of place in the rest of the building.

Within the barrier preventing the flow of magic, no magical girl except those involved knew what had happened, and the conflict was quietly forgotten.

In this old, almost deserted neighborhood, not even ordinary witnesses appeared.

However, that matter was not so easy to let go of in Nishio Reki's mind, and the impact of that incident on Yuuki Enishi was not as easy to repair as a damaged facility.

She had persisted until today with the sole purpose of protecting Yuuki Yuki. She had been right next to Yuuki Yuki and had plenty of time to react, yet she still failed to protect her from that thing.

Can someone as unworthy as myself really continue to shamelessly stay by Yuuki Yuuki's side?

If you were to ask Yuuki Yukino this question, she would surely answer gently that it's okay.

Even if I did a lot of wrong things, even if Yuuki Yuki was wary of me or even disgusted with me, Yuuki Yuki would still say that, right?

Yes, definitely. Yuuki Yuki, that girl is just like that—two-faced, likes to play tricks, and is a hypocrite who considers herself a villain.

If you were to ask Nishio Reki directly, "Would you like to go on a school trip with Yuuki Yukino?"

Nishio Reki's answer is yes.

She must have wanted to spend this once-in-a-lifetime, irreplaceable school trip with Yuuki Yukino.

And Yuuki Yukino really did extend an invitation to him.

The plastic bags from the lunchboxes piled up higher and higher in the drawer, and the empty shells shaped like girls were stacked higher and higher in the room, as the day of the school trip drew ever closer.

But I haven't given a definite answer yet.

In recent days, she has been unusually careful to maintain the most basic social distance with Yuuki Yuuki.

He wanted to avoid letting Yuuki Yuki notice his unusual behavior, while also avoiding further contact with her.

Unlike Inuyama Tomoe, who would immediately be noticed and given enough care when she behaved abnormally, Yuuki Enishi did not.

She was just one person, and only one person.

If possible, she would also like to receive some care when she is feeling sad.

Even if those negative emotions were self-inflicted, unintentionally brought about by focusing too much on Yuuki Eri.

But that's impossible. She's already satisfied just being able to see Yuuki Eri up close like this.

Today is just another ordinary day.

Today, I'm just walking home from school like any other ordinary day.

But today seems a little different.

Ordinary daily life has a tendency to be disrupted.

Nishio Reki's residence is located in a remote area of ​​Tsukimi City, and the entire area of ​​houses is old and dilapidated.

Whether it's entertainment or basic living facilities, it can't compare to any residential area in Moonsea City. Even connecting to nearby public transportation requires walking quite a distance.

Apart from a few elderly people who stubbornly choose to retire here, and office workers who work nearby and are busy during the day and night, almost no one comes to this area.

Nishio Reki doesn't have a high need for travel, and when she does travel, she chooses to fly. This underdeveloped area has become the best place for her to hide herself.

Although there was no need to continue hiding after Yuuki Yuuki came knocking on my door, there was nothing wrong with living here.

Besides, the rent has already been paid, so it would be a shame to not stay.

Nishio Reki usually walks to and from school, and once he passes the commercial area, he almost never encounters anyone from the same school walking the same way.

But we've already been away from the commercial area for ten minutes, so why is someone still following me ever since I left the school?

So someone is following me?

But why? What is it about me that makes me worthy of being secretly followed?

Perhaps it was because I walked towards this remote area every day that I was targeted by someone with ill intentions?

Even if she is followed by someone with ill intentions, it doesn't matter. Nishio Reki possesses the power of a magical girl, so even if the other party really has ulterior motives, she can ensure her safe escape.

Besides, not everything has to be solved by magical girls. If a pervert really follows you home, calling the police is undoubtedly a better method.

However, she can't just leave it unattended, otherwise the other party will definitely follow her to her home. Just because Nishio Reki isn't worried about being affected doesn't mean she can let the impact continue.

I first took out my phone and pretended nothing had happened to check.

As Nishio Reki thought about it, he took out his phone, turned on the front camera, and held it up to his face to show the image behind him from his shoulder.

The person following behind was wearing the uniform of Yuehai Middle School. Because of the distance, it was not easy to see the other person's face clearly.

First, we can rule out Yuuki Yuki. If it were Yuuki Yuki, she wouldn't be keeping a distance behind you. Besides, even if it's blurry, you can still tell the difference between long hair and short hair Nishio Reki.

The combination of "remote area," "JK (high school girl)," and "stalking" always feels very strange.

The idea of ​​following someone while they're in uniform is quite ingenious.

You shouldn't assume the other person is following you; you need to confirm it further.

To confirm his hypothesis, Nishio Reki deliberately took a longer route to a more remote area before finally returning to the correct route home.

Sure enough, the girl following behind him also took a longer route, keeping pace with him.

Now it's certain that the other person was secretly following me.

Preserve the evidence and report it to the police.

Nishio Reki used two fingers to zoom in on the screen, revealing the girl's face through the blurry image from the front-facing camera.

Hmm? Why does this person look so familiar?

Nishio Reki held up his phone, rubbing his eyes as he looked at it intently.

Isn't this person Inuyama Tomoe?

In the phone screen, captured by the camera, Inuyama Tomoe raised her hand and waved it at herself a few times.

This wasn't a sneaky stalking; it was blatant tailing!

The question is, why is this guy following me?

Could it be that the Dark Ones have finally come to seek revenge for what happened?

It's quite possible that Tomoe didn't act rashly before because of Yuuki Eri's restrictions, but it's understandable that Tomoe would want to settle scores with her for letting someone fall into darkness and get involved in the conflict between magical girls.

Although it wasn't my fault.

There's still some distance between them, so I'll figure out a way to shake her off.

Wait a minute, why is Baqi running towards me on my phone screen?

Nishio Reki didn't know why she was running, but she just felt that Tomoe was terrifying when she suddenly started running wildly.

After being chased by Baqi all the way, a panting Nishio Reki stopped downstairs at his house, supporting his aching knees.

"Hey! Hey, you black-haired riddle teller, why are you running away?"

Baqi, as if nothing had happened, crossed her arms and took a few steps to Nishio Reki's side, patting him on the shoulder.

As Nishio Reki exhaled the air from her alveoli, her scalding breaths seemed to ignite her body, turning her exhalations into a sharp, engine-like hiss.

"It's all because you followed me all the way and then suddenly chased after me."

"Oh! This! Because Xiaoyuan didn't tell me your exact address, I had to come with you to find you." Baqi replied matter-of-factly, as if she was completely unaware that her behavior was almost equivalent to being a lovesick fool.

After catching her breath, Nishio Reki put on a stern face, behaving as she usually did, and her tone instantly became calm.

"So, is there something you need?"

"Well, of course I'm here to settle accounts with you."

Chapter Forty-Six: The Weight of Trust

Inuyama Tomoe was completely at a loss when it came to dealing with Tenrai Herika's invitation to join her on a school trip.

If Helica has already become suspicious of her and Yuuki, then no matter how she tries to get away with it, the result will only increase the suspicion.

Yuki Eri also mentioned it a little.

Nishio Reki is likely the key to breaking the deadlock in dealing with Tenrai Helica. If it can be confirmed that Nishio Reki has joined the team, then there is a possibility that things will turn around.

Yuuki Yukina explained many reasons for wanting Nishio Reki to join, as if afraid that Tomoe would misunderstand. These included: introducing a third-party force different from both sides; Nishio Reki having previously helped her hide her identity; and Nishio Reki and Helica having some kind of consensus.

Inuyama Tomoe couldn't think of anything too troublesome, nor did she want to.

But she figured something out: since Nishio Reki was the key to breaking the deadlock, then she should just let her join.

I also have a score to settle with Nishio Reki.

After school, Baqi followed Nishio Reki openly, pondering how she should start the conversation with him.

The two of them didn't have a good relationship to begin with, and if it weren't for Kaname, Inuyama Tomoe really wanted to shoot Nishio Reki in the head a few times.

You can't upset Xiaoyuan. To solve the problem, knowing how to start a conversation becomes an art.

This deliberation led to the conclusion that they were almost at Nishio Reki's residence.

Huh? Is Nishio Reki secretly watching me on his phone? What's going on? Is he too embarrassed to say anything?

Let's get straight to the point and say what we mean!

Inuyama Tomoe jogged a few steps, intending to catch up with Nishio Reki.

Huh? Why is she running too?

Is it because you're shy that you want to dump me?

no way.

After a while, Inuyama Tomoe chased after Nishio Reki's back and ran all the way over, finally stopping downstairs at Nishio Reki's house.

You should get along well with Xiaoyuan, but you don't necessarily have to get along well with this guy.

Whether it's letting himself fall into darkness or trying to steal Xiaoyuan away, it's all hateful.

Even the matter of Xiaoyuan's blue horse is something that Wu Jiuliu finds very annoying.

"So that's why! I'm here to settle scores with you!"

Then Baqi, being stubborn and argumentative, said something like this.

"Are you here to take revenge on me?"