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

But will doing this really prevent you from regretting it?

Helica didn't know, but in any case, she didn't want to, and couldn't, continue to maintain the status quo.

Not maintaining the status quo doesn't mean throwing a tantrum at your travel companions to ruin the atmosphere, nor does it mean stubbornly repeating your mistakes and waiting for forgiveness, and it certainly doesn't mean trying to take off the clothes of someone you like and causing them trouble.

All of this was done terribly.

Herlica felt that by doing this, she was getting further and further away from the girl she admired and the person she wanted to become.

I found a relatively flat step, brushed the dust off the steps with my palms, patted my hands repeatedly to remove the dust from my palms, and sat down amidst the pungent smell.

"It's really cold at night."

As Helica spoke, she wrapped her clothes tighter around her shoulders.

Although Nijima City is larger than Tsukimi City, its views are much clearer, at least for the hot spring inn located halfway up the mountain.

Looking up, you can see a starry sky that is similar to yet completely different from any you have ever seen before.

It was much wider and more distant, just like the distance between myself and the heart of that unreachable girl.

But the autumn sky is also dim, with very few bright stars remaining, as sparse as a handful of salt sprinkled on a dark curtain, yet stubbornly shining.

"Perseus is too hard to see..."

The girl murmured to herself, then lay down with her arms outstretched, searching for familiar stars in the night sky.

After lying down, the starry sky seemed closer to her.

It's also much clearer now.

Fomalhaut.

The girl's slender finger pointed to the brightest star in the night sky, but it was only the brightest star, the only first-magnitude star in the night sky.

"Tusikong".

The girl's finger moved, pointing to a fainter star further south.

After a moment's hesitation, the girl's finger slowly fell, finally resting on the incredibly dim star near the horizon, almost completely obscured by the distant mountains.

"Phoenix Six... So you can see the Autumn Triangle in Rainbow Leaf City."

Helica pursed her lips, unsure whether she was smiling or not.

I really want her to see it too.

Helica muttered to herself, closed her eyes, and imprinted that dim starry sky into her heart.

"What are you talking to yourself about?"

A familiar question rang out from above.

Herlica opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the girl's nightgown collar drooping due to gravity, and the faint curve of her skin visible through the collar.

Helica might not have a strong impression of the pajamas, but she would never mistake the light, girlish voice and the signature pink hair with the distinctive smell of charcoal and sulfur after soaking in a hot spring.

"Yuki... Yuki, what are you doing here? Weren't you already asleep?"

Herlica's eyes widened in surprise. She shuffled off the ground a few times, her coat falling onto the steps, leaving her exposed to the cold wind. She then hugged her shoulders tighter.

"Because you went out quietly by yourself, I was a little worried, so I came out to check on you and found you talking to yourself."

Yuuki picked up Helica's coat from the ground, draped it over her arm, turned away from Helica, gently patted off the dust, and shook the seams on the shoulders with both hands.

"It's nothing, I just couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk. What's there to worry about? I'm not a child anymore," Herika mumbled, repeating the sentence unclearly several times.

“I’m worried, aren’t I? Because you’re not a member of our group?” Yuuki Yu said, opening her coat and draping it over Helica’s shoulders through her long hair that fell to the steps.

"Is that why?"

Helica hugged her knees under her pajamas, curling herself into a ball, and pulled her coat over her shoulders, tucking her legs into the coat's embrace.

"What?" Yuuki Yuuki asked, puzzled.

"I'm asking, is it because I'm a member of your group that you're taking such good care of me? Because the teacher asked you to? Because I'm a problem student? Because..."

Herlika's gradually agitated emotions were quickly cooled by the cold wind, and her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost impossible to hear what she was saying.

It wasn't that I couldn't hear it; the apology was very clear.

"Feel sorry."

Helica realized that her bad habits were hard to break, and that negative emotions would surface whenever she wasn't careful.

Because of her childhood experiences? Or a lack of education? The reason is actually not important. What matters is that she has come this far.

Helica was already overwhelmed with worries about tomorrow's confession plan, and then so many unpleasant things happened today, leaving her feeling exhausted.

“I’m sorry, I’d like to be alone for a while.” Helica lowered her head, and then even her neck shrank under the raised collar.

Yuuki Yukino, who had been stunned by Helica's words for a while, opened and closed her lips a few times, lifted the hem of her pajamas, and sat down next to Helica's shoulder.

Yuuki Yukino had no intention of cooperating with her, which surprised Helica, who was about to say something but had her mouth shut forcefully.

No one spoke; there was nothing left except the sound of the wind blowing through the falling leaves.

After a long while, Yuuki Yuki finally spoke.

"Helica has been apologizing all day."

Yuuki Yukino directly refers to herself by her name.

They agreed to call each other by their first names when they first went to see the stars.

However, this small agreement was not well fulfilled.

Sometimes circumstances don't allow it, and sometimes it's out of shyness.

"Ah."

Herlica's face began to burn, and she couldn't think of anything better to say in this situation.

“I don’t care about Helica because of those things.”

Yuki Yuki spoke again, very slowly, making sure Helica could hear every syllable clearly. Just by listening, Helica could feel Yuki Yuki's careful consideration of each word.

Whether it was out of concern for misunderstanding or not, Herika was able to directly sense Yuuki Eri's intentions.

"Herika has helped me many times..."

Yuuki Yukino paused for a moment, seemingly feeling that this explanation was not satisfactory to Herika, or perhaps not to herself. After a long while, Yuuki Yukino spoke again.

"I'm just concerned about Herika, there's no other reason, and it has absolutely nothing to do with what other people have said to me. It's just that I want to care about Herika."

Although Yuuki Yuki's logic was somewhat chaotic, Helica was able to clearly understand what Yuuki Yuki wanted to express.

"I know."

Helica said in a low voice.

Helica certainly knew.

If you calm down and think about it for a moment, you'll realize that Yuuki Yukino's true thoughts are nothing like the nonsense Helica spouts when she's throwing a tantrum.

Because you were asked to do this by someone else? Because you pity yourself? Because you're a problem student? Is that why you came out to care about me?

No, that's not the case. Yuuki Yukino isn't the person who takes care of her because of those reasons.

Yuuki Yukino is indeed a gentle person. Although she may have some little secrets that she doesn't know about, and although her behavior sometimes deviates from her inner thoughts, Yuuki Yukino is just that kind of gentle person.

Saying she's gentle isn't entirely accurate; Yuuki Yukino is indeed very gentle, but her gentleness is quite limited.

Only a handful of people are qualified to receive Yuuki Yuki's kindness—Yuuki Tamaki, Inuyama Tomoe, Nishio Reki, and everyone in Nijisanji. Others have only a casual encounter with Yuuki Yuki.

From the very beginning, I was a special person to Yuuki Yuuki.

But it's not that special.

In Yuuki Yuuki's eyes, she was not that special person.

Of course, it's not meant in a derogatory way. In Yuuki Yuuki's eyes, she was just Tenrai Helica, not a troublesome problem student, nor a burden she wanted to get rid of.

Yuuki Yukino seems to be able to see through her own character, and always treats herself in a very equal manner.

Sometimes it's compliance, sometimes opposition, sometimes joking around, sometimes mischievous pranks, but never once is it about compromising to take care of oneself.

That's why Helica told Yuuki Yukino about her past, which she didn't want to talk about.

That's why Helica fell so deeply in love with this person.

“I know,” Helica repeated.

That's why Helica gradually couldn't suppress her feelings and wanted to confess to Yuuki Yuuki.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Heartfelt Intentions

The wind seemed colder at night.

Even though Helica wrapped her coat tighter around her shoulders, her fingers still trembled slightly from the cold.

Wearing only pajamas outside is a bit too light.

Through her golden bangs, she could see Yuuki Yui beside her shivering from the cold, breathing warm air into her palms and rubbing them repeatedly to keep them warm.

It turns out that Yuuki Yuki also felt cold.

Helica felt she had to say something.

If there's nothing left to say, Yuuki Yuki might have to leave his side.

Perhaps it was because the night was too cold, or perhaps it was because I was just too boring.

In short, Herlica had to say something.

"Fate, it all happened in that last round of the game just now, I..."

However, Helica still couldn't utter a complete sentence, carefully considering how she should explain this final little episode to Yuuki Yuuki.

Whether we talk about it or not doesn't really matter, since it's all in the past anyway.

But Helica still wants to salvage some of her past image.

Even if doing so might seem a bit naive.

However, Yuuki Yuki clearly misunderstood her meaning.

"Don't force yourself to do things you don't like. Didn't we say that before? If you encounter an option you don't like, you can refuse it directly. The purpose of our game is to build good relationships with everyone and help us get along more harmoniously, not to embarrass anyone, right?"