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

After a moment of silence, Nishio Reki continued speaking, his voice tinged with difficulty and reluctance to recall the past.

"Yuki Yuuki's home was also affected."

Chapter Fifty-Five: A Frank Heart, A Heart That Cannot Be Communicated

"Later, as you know, that old shopping street was destroyed because of the magical girl."

Nishio Reki paused briefly in his narration.

“My home is safe and sound, but Yuuki Yuki’s house was also affected.”

After that, there was complete silence.

Without being spoken, what had happened was obvious.

Nishio Reki observed Tenrai Herika's reaction.

But Herika did not give any clear response—except for nodding slightly as she listened.

It was as if they already knew about it.

"You don't seem surprised?" Nishio Reki raised his eyebrows and asked.

“I heard it from Yuuki Yukino’s older sister,” Herika answered truthfully.

"You've met Tamaki-neechan?" Nishio Reki raised her eyebrows even higher; this time, it was her turn to be surprised.

“Yes.” Helica nodded in agreement.

"That makes it much simpler to explain. Yuuki Yukino's parents died in that accident, but Yuuki Yukino, who ran away with us, survived," Nishio Reki continued.

"When we heard the strange noise and rushed home, the building where Yuuki Yuuki's house was located had already been razed to the ground."

"I thought Yuuki Yuu would go to an orphanage, but instead, she was taken away by her runaway older sister. The rebellious girl that everyone in the neighborhood knew suddenly became a different person after that incident. In the following years, she changed her bad habits and took care of Yuuki Yuu without leaving her side."

"At first, the neighbors were worried about whether Huan-jie could take good care of her, so they all went to Xiaoyuan's home, which is where she lives now, to visit her several times. In the end, they didn't find anything wrong, and they also asked me about Xiaoyuan's situation at school. It was about a year before they were completely at ease."

"Actually, I know that the neighbors are worried about Xiaoyuan staying with Huan-jie, but they are also trying to help Huan-jie. Without the help of the neighbors, Huan-jie might have had an even harder time during those years."

"Sister Huan herself was the same. At that time, she refused all social engagements and all jobs that required overtime, even if it meant quitting her job. Not to mention dating, she almost rejected even the most basic interpersonal relationships."

"Back then, Tamaki-neechan couldn't see anything except Yuuki. It wasn't until Yuuki entered high school that things gradually improved. She changed to a job that often required overtime and started leaving Yuuki alone at home."

When Yuuki Yui started living alone, I had a legitimate reason to visit her home every few days as her childhood friend.

My own feelings began to sprout at that time.

However, there was no need for Nishio Reki to tell Tenrai Herika about these matters that had nothing to do with Yuuki Enishi.

"Hmm." Helica listened to the story, seemingly wanting to say something but ultimately swallowing back what she wanted to say, responding with a soft nasal hum.

Nishio noticed it, but didn't ask any further questions, nor would he bother to ask a few more questions about every tiny detail.

"I've gone off on a tangent. After we moved, Xiaoyuan started to become a bit withdrawn. At that time, I didn't know how to comfort her."

Nishio Reki remembers that period very clearly.

How could she not remember? She vividly recalled the feeling of being forced to watch helplessly as that pink-haired girl huddled in a corner, crying.

The feeling of wanting to help Yuuki Yukino but finding that there was nothing I could do is exactly the same now.

"Later, during the time when Xiaoyuan was sad, I kept pestering her. I followed her after class and after school, and no matter what Xiaoyuan did, I stubbornly did this childish thing. Then, slowly, Xiaoyuan became cheerful again."

Nishio Reki spoke haltingly, recounting his past with Yuuki Yuuki.

The methods from back then are no longer applicable now; she can no longer use those naive methods to win back Yuuki Eri's heart.

What Yuuki Yuuki needs now is something else.

Before she knew it, Nishio Reki had paused for a full minute. Helica glanced at her expression and wisely refrained from urging her further until Nishio Reki realized what was happening on her own.

"After that, we naturally went to the same middle school, although not in the same class. Then we entered Yuehai Middle School together. Luckily, we were in the same class this time, but there's not much to say about that."

The end of Nishio Reki's story was somewhat abrupt, yet it seemed perfectly natural. If you were to talk about the trivial yet heartwarming little things she and Yuuki Yuuki had experienced, she could go on for three days and three nights without stopping.

But apart from the setbacks Yuuki En encountered in her childhood, there was none of those huge upheavals that she could tell Tenrai Herika.

It was like that pink-haired girl telling herself with an excited smile that she had become a magical girl in the afternoon.

It was like that night when I threw a tantrum and everything around me changed drastically.

All of it is unspeakable.

"During the time you took a leave of absence due to illness, you weren't actually sick, were you? Was it related to magical girls?" Helica asked her next question.

This isn't an outrageous question; anyone who knew they were actually a magical girl would make the same assumption.

“That’s right. Because I traveled back in time to the present, as I mentioned to you. There will always be things I need to deal with, and it’s inevitable that it will take some time.”

Reki Nishio answered.

Nishio Reki always answers questions related to time travel in this way.

"Then what happened to the original Nishio calendar after you traveled through time? No, is what you described exactly the same as what Yuuki Yukina experienced?"

Helica rubbed her temple with the protruding knuckle of her index finger.

"I have nothing to say about time travel. But I can assure you that our goals are aligned." Nishio Reki faced forward, her steps faltering for a moment before she regained her balance after a slight sway.

“You can verify all of my experiences with Yuuki Yuki with her; there will be no distortion or fabrication.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Helica seemed about to offer a few words of explanation, but then sighed and gave up: “Never mind.”

Another stretch of silence followed, with everyone lost in their own thoughts.

"Then..." Helica asked, her voice hoarse with suppressed emotion, "Then, do you like her?"

What kind of question is this? Nishio Reki was even more confused.

It seems that Helica wasn't trying to test whether Yuuki Yuki had fallen from grace.

Rather, it's about one's own feelings?

But her feelings for Yuuki Yuuki are the least needing to be tested.

“I like it,” Nishio Reki replied immediately.

“Ah…then…” Herika looked more melancholy, and opened her mouth for a long time but couldn’t utter a complete sentence.

Nishio Reki is not in a hurry, not at all.

In the midst of the fog, she seemed to have grasped the thread that carried Herika's thoughts.

This is definitely not a topic that can be discussed in front of Yuuki Yuki.

It wasn't serious at all, you could even say it was insignificant, but it was incredibly important to Helica for the emotional negotiation.

The crisis that Yuuki En perceived herself to have been essentially resolved.

"You guys, you...doing...not...H things, and stuff like that..."

All Herica could say were words that couldn't form sentences, but that was enough for Nishio Reki to understand the question she was trying to express.

"No."

Reki Nishio answered.

"Really? But you guys... But Yuuki said, you, and Inuyama Tomoe, and..."

Herlica's words became much more coherent in an instant, although she still stuttered a bit, but she was no longer as garbled as Lin Jiezi.

"No."

She wasn't lying; she and Yuuki Yuuki really didn't do that kind of thing.

At most, their lips would only touch.

There was a chance to take things further, and that very night, I was summoned to Yuuki Yukino's house under the pretext of replenishing my mana.

Originally, their relationship would have progressed further that night.

As a result, she was rejected by Yuuki Yuki, with a far-fetched and flawed reason, which is why she was so angry at the time.

Although Nishio Reki also knew that Yuuki Yuuki's reason was not a wild idea, but was completely true and reliable.

Yuuki Yukino had also told her the reason why Helica misunderstood.

Because the events of the day Yuuki Yukino recounted this were so unforgettable, Nishio Reki remembered every single detail.

"The reason for this is a bit complicated, but it's definitely different from what Yuuki told you or what you guessed. My reaction when I first returned to school was simply to go against Inuyama Tomoe. You just need to know one thing: Yuuki isn't the kind of promiscuous guy you think he is," Nishio Reki added.

When Yuuki was cornered at the stairwell and interrogated by Helica, she was negotiating with Helica under the premise that her identity had been exposed. Later, when Yuuki realized what was happening, it was too late to explain.

If those words are examined closely, it is possible to deduce part of Yuuki Yukino's identity.

If Helica truly had doubts about Yuuki Yuuki, her ramblings when she was cornered at the stairwell that night would definitely be reinterpreted.

In the conversation just now, Helica admitted that she took everything that happened that day seriously.

Based on this alone, Nishio Reki can basically rule out the possibility that Helica suddenly decided to join Yuuki Yukino's group because of suspicion.

Therefore, Nishio Reki believes it is necessary to reinterpret and recreate Yuuki Yuuki's words to some extent, in an attempt to salvage some of Yuuki Yuuki's promiscuous image in front of Helica.

As for the reason, she simply didn't want Yuuki Yukino to bear that strange label because of her momentary willfulness.

It might be unnecessary for Yuuki Yuki, but Nishio Reki stubbornly wanted to do it.

"What about her and Inuyama Hatsuki?" Helica felt a little more confident.

“We’re not dating.” Nishio Reki understood what Tenrai Helica wanted to ask. “Not yet, but it wouldn’t be surprising if we started anytime.”

Herlica's eyes gradually dimmed.

"I see."

"Ah."

Aren't you jealous of this?

Nishio Reki's heart skipped a beat.

Would I be jealous because of this?

Yes, of course. Her self-destructive behavior after being dragged back to school by Yuuki Yuki is the best evidence.

For a time, she was also pursuing Yuuki Yuki relentlessly, wanting to possess her in this way.

Although she later toned down her behavior because she caused Yuuki a lot of trouble, her feelings remained unchanged.