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

"What's going on outside?" Hearing the commotion outside, Inuyama Baqi put the small pendant she had just picked up back on the shelf and turned to look through the shelves at the door.

The argument outside the door was nearing its end, and with shelves hanging with various small decorations obscuring the view, Baqi couldn't see what had actually happened.

"They must be arguing," Yuuki Yui looked over as well, but apart from a few people standing there, she didn't see anything useful.

The arguing over there had completely stopped by now.

Compared to the students at Moonsea Middle School who would gather around to watch the slightest commotion, the tourists in Rainbow Leaf City were much more mature.

Most passersby glanced back to confirm the direction from which the conflict occurred before turning away, with only a handful standing still to watch the situation unfold.

Yuuki Yui had no intention of getting involved in this kind of boring gossip, so she lowered her head and turned her attention back to the products on the shelf.

Lin Jiezi is still waiting outside. If you're really curious about what happened, just ask Lin Jiezi later. There's no need to make a special trip to see it.

Instead of wasting time, let's hurry up and finish shopping with Baqi, and then go out for dinner together. That would be the best way to repay Lin Jiezi for waiting.

But these shouts and curses gave Yuuki Yuuki a bad feeling.

It's not good to leave Lin Jiezi there; it would be bad if she got caught up in the argument.

Let's call her in first.

When Yuki Eri walked out of the store, Hayashi Mustard, who was sitting in the chair, had already disappeared.

No matter how socially awkward Lin Jiezi is, she is still a sensible middle school student. She is not a child who will obediently follow bad guys if given a piece of candy.

Moreover, Lin Jiezi's politeness has reached an insane level; she wouldn't even refuse Helica's torment, and leaving herself and Baqi here alone is something Lin Jiezi would never do.

For example, if she wanted to go to the bathroom, Lin Jiezi would definitely run into the room first to tell Yuki Eri before going.

No, Lin Jiezi will hold it in until Yuki Yuki has finished shopping at this store before bringing it up.

problem occurs.

The idea popped into Yuuki Yuuki's mind in an instant.

If the person who disappeared were anyone else, Yuuki Yuuki wouldn't be worried at all; at most, she would just make a phone call to ask where the other person was.

But that person was Lin Jiezi, a socially anxious woman who seemed unable to take care of herself, who suddenly disappeared in this unfamiliar city.

This left Yuuki Yukino no room for wild thoughts.

Could it be that the argument was directed at Lin Jiezi?

But why Lin Jiezi? Is there anything special about her?

There are too many things I can't figure out. Instead of wasting time thinking about these things, I'd rather spend that time searching for Lin Jiezi.

“Baqi”.

Yuki En tried her best to make her trembling voice sound less disheveled, her gaze fixed on the chair where Lin Jiezi had sat.

There's no need to elaborate further; just looking at the empty chairs in the shop, Baqi knew what had happened.

Baqi had some understanding of Lin Jiezi's personality, and coupled with Yuki Emi's serious expression, she didn't dare to say anything more.

"Ok, I know."

It's not too late.

The wide street made everything clear at a glance. Two or three minutes wasn't enough time for Lin Jiezi, who had been tired all day, to walk too far. Now that Lin Jiezi's back was out of sight, the only places she could be were the few side streets and alleys.

Just then, something even more perplexing happened to Yuuki Yuuki.

Although it was only for a moment, Yuuki Yuki still felt the magical power that suddenly surged in the vicinity.

The magic dissipated too quickly, making it impossible for Yuuki Yukino to recognize who the owner of that magic was, but it certainly wasn't someone Yuuki Yukino knew, such as Nishio Reki or Tenrai Herika.

Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, Yuuki Yuuki still wants to go and check on the source of the magic.

When Yuuki Yukino re-entered that alley, the scene before her made her unsure whether to breathe a sigh of relief or become tense.

Lin Jiezi, her clothes slightly disheveled and her eyes brimming with tears; Sheng Shiyin, standing innocently beside Lin Jiezi; and a girl whom Yuuki En didn't recognize, standing to the side with her hands hanging down.

Judging from the fact that the girl stood respectfully behind Saint Shiyin, she must have been one of the accompanying nuns who had changed out of their nun's habit.

"Lin Jiezi!"

Yuki En, unusually, addressed Lin Jiezi by her full name and quickly approached her without revealing her inner anxiety, checking her body for any other marks.

Although her hair and clothes were a bit messy, she didn't look like someone was about to do that kind of thing to her, and there wasn't enough time in the world.

Lin Jiezi's current state is more akin to someone whose clothes were disheveled during a scuffle.

"What happened, Lin? Did she do anything to you?"

Yuki Enishi stepped back a little, placed her hand on Hayashi's shoulder, and asked Hayashi about her recent situation with concern.

"She's fine, I didn't do anything."

Before Lin Jiezi could answer, Sheng Shiyin went ahead to answer Yuki Yuki's question.

As Seishin spoke, Inuyama Tomoe's finger twitched, her bent finger poised to pull the trigger.

If Saint Shion makes any unusual move, even at the risk of being exposed, Baqi will transform to protect Yuuki Yukino.

But not now.

"What happened?" Yuuki Yui shielded Hayashi Keiko with her body.

It's not hard to deduce that Lin Jiezi's current predicament was not caused by Sheng Shiyin.

Lin Jiezi's animal-like habits made it easy for him to glean information from certain places.

If Sheng Shiyin had done something, Lin Jiezi would have been even more frightened. Similarly, if Sheng Shiyin had said something to Lin Jiezi, Lin Jiezi's gaze wouldn't have been filled with such trust as it is now.

“I was just passing by when I happened to see one of your group members being led into an alley, so I followed to check it out and found out she was being extorted, so I stepped in to help,” Sheng Shiyin replied.

"You're really that kind?"

Having a history of tricking herself into returning to St. Yuu Academy, Inuyama Tomoe did not trust what Seishion said.

Yuuki Yui winked at Tomoe, then tilted her head slightly behind her. Upon seeing Hayashi Keiko beside her, Tomoe suppressed her opinion of Seishin and remained silent.

"If I weren't so kind, this student would have been blackmailed long ago. If you don't believe me, just ask her."

There was really no need for Sheng Shiyin to lie. Even if she did lie, it would only be about "just happened to be passing by nearby".

They said they just happened to be passing by, but were they actually monitoring my every move?

I was so excited about shopping that I didn't even notice the other person was secretly watching me. I should avoid doing this in the future.

First, verify the authenticity of the words spoken by the Holy Hymn.

"Is that so?" Yuki Yuki turned back to ask Hayashi Mustard.

Lin Jiezi nodded in affirmation of Sheng Shiyin's statement: "Yes, yes. She...she saved me..."

But what was that flash of magic?

Calling the police, asking others for help, arguing with reason... there are a million ways to drive away extortionists. Although transforming is indeed one way, there's really no need to transform, right?

The problem is that Yuuki Yukino can't bring up the transformation in front of Hayashi Mustard, because doing so would undoubtedly reveal to Seishin that she is also a magical girl.

We can't ask Sheng Shiyin here whether she transformed in front of Lin Jiezi. By the time Lin Jiezi reveals this information, Sheng Shiyin will have already gone back, and we won't be able to force her to reveal her purpose.

If I ask indirectly, will there be no problem?

"Thank you for helping her. May I ask how you managed to drive away those extortionists?"

"Yuki Yuki, don't you know her? It's the kind of way you're most familiar with." Seishine rolled her eyes. "Wait a minute, if you don't know her, how did she get here so quickly?"

Using their own weapon against them, Yuuki Yukino now experienced the same unpleasant feeling that Sei-on had on the train.

The way I asked the question was flawed. If I hadn't been so impatient, the answer I gave might have been completely different.

Did Lin Jiezi see Sheng Shiyin's transformation?

If she could, Lin Jiezi would definitely be able to understand what Sheng Shiyin was saying.

"Oh, I see. Well, thank you so much." Yuuki Yui said this with a warm smile, but there was no real gratitude in her tone.

No, it's still very strange. The extortionists just happened to target Lin Jiezi, and Sheng Shiyin just happened to arrive and save the day.

There must be something fishy going on here.

In Yuuki Yui's view, it's more likely that all of this was orchestrated by Seishine herself, who sent others to extort Lin Jiezi amidst the chaos, and then appeared as a matter of course...

But what was the purpose? Did Sheng Shiyin want to get me to make a move through this method? Or was she trying to curry favor with me? Or something else entirely?

Before understanding the details, Yuuki Yuki could only deduce to this extent. She made this deduction based on bold assumptions. Before having accurate clues to confirm her conjecture, anything is possible.

"You're welcome. Just make sure to protect the people around you." After being thanked so dryly by Yuuki Yui, Seishin narrowed her eyes and concluded the simple conversation with a sentence that was sure to have a deeper meaning: "Rainbow Leaf City is not Moonsea City. Be careful here."

Watching Seishin's departing figure, Yuuki Yui became even more convinced that Seishin was staging her own drama.

This is provocation; Sheng Shiyin is provoking herself.

It means that in an unfamiliar city, in front of fellow students on a school trip, one cannot freely transform oneself and is therefore at their mercy.

Is this self-directed and self-acted extortion farce just a way for Sheng Shiyin to show herself in a bad light?

And she even had to remind herself to be careful, which meant that Sheng Shiyin might have some other actions to take?

But after calming down and thinking about it a bit, although Sheng Shiyin's idea was a bit far-fetched, she didn't seem like the kind of person who would do something so out of character.

That's so childish, it's like showing off your fangs, it's not something Saintine, who has a secret magical girl nun group, would do.

That means there's more to the story.

In that case, the remaining two days of the school trip might not be so easy for me.

Not far away, a nun who had just walked out of the alley and changed into her everyday clothes, who had remained silent the whole time, asked in confusion.

"Lord Saint, why go to the trouble of taking care of the people around Yuuki Yukino?"

"It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. You heard it yourself, those two extortionists are magical girls. I also told you about Yuuki Yukino's stance on the train; she doesn't mind others knowing that she's a magical girl."

Saint Shion glanced back at Yuki Yui, who was talking to Lin Jiezi in the alley. After noticing her, Yuki Yui put on a business-like smile and waved vigorously at her.

"So do you think Yuuki Yuuki would just stand by and do nothing if she found out that her classmate had been attacked by other magical girls?"

“I think it’s possible,” the nun replied.

"That's why I said you don't understand Yuuki Yuuki at all. Although I don't understand her well either, I really want to." Seishin adopted a more lecturing tone.

"Yuki Yuuki isn't the type to easily abandon those around her. Looking back at all her battle records, aside from the destruction of public facilities, she's almost never had any casualties, right?"