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

Before Yuuki Yukino's expression became even more confused, Seishin realized what kind of mistake she had made.

“I didn’t explain clearly, I was a little too hasty. Let me start from the beginning.” Sheng Shiyin muttered to herself, her tense facial muscles gradually relaxing, and she put on a more serious expression: “You’re being watched.”

"Me? Being targeted?" Yuuki Yuuki was taken aback when she heard this, and then she thought of the person that Seishine was referring to: "You mean the person from last night, she's targeting me?"

Aside from the guy with the paintbrush, Yuuki Yuuki is familiar with all the magical girls.

It couldn't possibly be that Mizuno Yu and Tenrai Herika set their sights on me after meeting me once in the middle of the night, could it?

“That’s right, it’s her.” Saint Shiyin said righteously, “You have the ability to break even the most unshakeable rules, and she happens to need the help of such power, so we absolutely cannot let her have any contact with you, absolutely not.”

"Then how did she know I had..." Yuuki Yui immediately grasped the key point in Seishin's words. A slightly puzzled look flashed across her eyes, and then she stared intently at Seishin, who was sitting on the bed.

Yuuki Yukino didn't say anything, but her meaning couldn't be clearer.

Saint Shion guiltily looked away, which only confirmed Yuuki Yui's suspicions.

Saint Shion must have revealed some things about herself to that magical girl after she left.

Is pretending to help her out of a predicament and then kicking her out also part of the Saint's plan? To create an environment where the two of them can be alone?

It's not impossible, but it conflicts somewhat with Sheng Shiyin's performance today.

Saint Shion is now acting very urgently, and coincidentally, the other members of her school trip are waiting for her. It seems that neither side wants to waste time testing each other.

Yuuki Yui stopped hiding her intentions and asked the most crucial question in a simple and clear manner.

"What exactly happened last night? Who was that person? What did you tell her? And what kind of crisis am I facing now? I feel I need an explanation."

"Yes, you're right, I do need to give you an explanation." Seishin secretly rubbed her fingers together, talking more to herself than to Yuuki Yui, using this method to help herself make up her mind.

"Your Excellency, is it appropriate to discuss these matters with her?"

The nuns nearby spoke up, expressing their opposition to Saint Shiyin, but refrained from being too explicit due to their status.

“It’s alright. She won’t leave easily if we don’t give her a reason,” Sheng Shiyin insisted.

“But we can still…” the nun persisted.

"Can we forcibly subdue her and send her back? By transforming? Putting aside whether you can even do it, are you going to have Yuuki Yuki transform here and then guide Mashiro-nee... to Urouge Mashiro?"

Saint Shiyin took a deep breath, her expression revealing helplessness.

"Do you think I want to say these things to Yuuki Yukino?"

"Finished talking?" Yuuki Yui sat there, watching this unexpected little episode.

"You flatter me." Sheng Shiyin, wearing hotel slippers, got up from the bed and pulled up a chair to sit opposite Yuuki Yuki.

This small gesture actually made Yuuki Yukino feel quite favored.

Saint Shiyin did this because she wanted to have an equal conversation with herself.

"Let me ask you a question first, Yuuki Yuki, how much do you know about us?" Seishin didn't waste any pleasantries and went straight to the point.

“I know almost nothing,” Yuuki Yui replied.

If Seishion is willing to speak, she will definitely tell the truth. If Seishion is deceiving herself, then it will definitely conflict with the game's settings that Yuuki Yui knows.

Therefore, Yuuki Yuki's answer is perfectly correct.

"Don't you know Him, whom our church believes in?"

"I don't know." Yuuki Yuen shook her head.

"You must have heard the legend of the Moon City, right?" Saint Shion asked, "About the god who suddenly appeared and granted everyone's wishes."

“Mm.” Yuuki Yui nodded again.

"That deity is our faith."

"At the same time, she was also the first magical girl, the origin of magical girls."

Chapter 81 The Story Before It Begins

In an era rife with war and plague, a young girl suddenly appears, wielding her miraculous power to grant wishes to others. She protects the villagers from the ravages of nature and external enemies, ultimately transforming Moonsea into a thriving settlement.

The protagonist of this story, the girl who brought good news and a future to Tsukimi, is their faith, the being they should serve—this is what Seishin was told from childhood.

The girl who brought about the miracle was named Rise Tsukimi.

"This is the kind of existence we believe in," Seishin explained their faith to Yuuki Eri.

Such beliefs are not unusual; people have always had worship and faith in other things—faith in fire, faith in blood, faith in the golden tree, faith in ancestors…

It is only natural to have faith in a legendary deity who has made contributions to one's people.

In some classical stories, there are also instances where a village builds a temple to worship a hero who is still alive after being rescued by him.

Therefore, Yuuki Yui did not intend to say anything about the faith in Saint Shion.

Moreover, the person Saint Shion believes in is very likely a real historical figure.

"I've heard about all of these to some extent. And then what?" Yuuki Yui didn't intend to discuss this issue any further and urged Seishin to move on to the next topic.

"After that, there are some stories you've absolutely never heard of. They involve a corrupted magical girl." Saint Shion paused to gather her emotions before continuing her narration.

Since the girl who brought miracles descended upon the Moon Sea, she not only brought hope and a future to the Moon Sea, but also a new possibility.

It is the possibility of giving girls the power to fulfill their wishes—the possibility of ordinary people becoming magical girls.

The exact timeline is not recorded in the legends, but magical girls began to appear one after another from a certain day.

The exact timeline is not detailed in the legends, but from a certain day onward, some magical girls who were supposed to spread hope and good news to people began to fall into darkness.

Perhaps due to some dark thoughts, or perhaps due to some negative impulses, for reasons unknown, those magical girls who have fallen into darkness have begun to extend their evil claws to those they are supposed to protect.

"No one knows who the first magical girl to fall into darkness was, but according to records, the first magical girl we worship disappeared along with that first magical girl to fall into darkness."

"Although the original magical girl is no longer here, the influence she and that corrupted magical girl have had continues to this day."

“Those corrupted magical girls were branded with the mark of sinners, which was also the holy mark branded on the original magical girls to guide them.”

"The purpose of branding the holy marks is to enable all magical girls to find those corrupted magical girls who do not want to see the light of day, and to bring down the hammer of judgment on them."

"From that time on, the war between magical girls and the corrupted magical girls branded with holy marks began and continues to this day."

These stories have indeed never been mentioned, not even by Nishio Reki, who previously explained the origins of the festival.

But these stories are very simple and easy to understand, giving you the feeling of listening to a wise person speak.

To be honest, it's hard to say what the flaws are, but when Shion said those words, she clearly stood on the opposite side of the corrupted magical girls.

It was as if the matter of her corruption had nothing to do with her.

Yuuki Yukino could ask about these minor details later; so far, she had only heard some legends about the origins of magical girls, which had nothing to do with her.

Yuuki Yukino wanted to push the topic a little further.

"I see, and then what?"

"Did you know that there have always been magical girls in Moonsea City?" But Shion was still pushing the conversation forward in such an inefficient way as asking questions.

Either Sheng Shiyin is deliberately stalling for time by keeping herself here, or Sheng Shiyin hasn't actually figured out how to tell her these things yet.

"I know." Yuuki Yui temporarily followed Seishin's pace to maintain the connection between their brainwaves.

Saint Shion thought for a moment, then continued, "You know that every battle between magical girls inevitably affects innocent people to some extent, right?"

“I know.” Yuuki Yui nodded again to indicate that she understood.

In her first encounter with Helica and the others, Yuuki Yukino smashed a huge crater at the intersection below her own house. Later, when Nishio Reki tried to stop Koumori, the destruction she and Kuroba Kiyome caused at the festival was even more devastating.

"As you know, being a magical girl isn't actually a dreamy or desirable profession."

The hymn defined its own church.

"Our church is such a cleanup organization."

From minor damage caused unintentionally by magical girls to surrounding facilities, to the complete razing of an area to the ground, the church to which St. Shion belongs is responsible for handling all property losses and ensuring the safety of people's lives.

Like a charity organization dedicated to cleaning up after magical girls, it invests a lot of manpower and resources to help Moonsea City, which has been ravaged by magical girls, recover as quickly as possible and maintain the normal operation of such a huge machine as Moonsea City.

"Although we are a secret organization unknown to anyone, we have played a huge role in the affairs of magical girls in the entire Moonsea City. Many people involved in related matters know that there is such a charity-like organization contributing to it."

"Saint's voice is explaining."

“Earlier, before I was born, our church did experience a huge financial crisis. The church at that time was not capable of completing such a huge task on its own. Therefore, we had no choice but to change our strategy and establish the current Holy Eternal College.”

"After that, based on our past experience in church structure and management, we used this as a blueprint to provide the best education in Moonsea City for all kinds of outstanding children, and became an indispensable part of Moonsea City."

"The huge cash flow from tuition and donations nurtures outstanding individuals, who then contribute a small portion of their earnings back to the college. This model has allowed St. Eternal College and our church to survive to this day."

"At the same time, these people can also become a shield for St. Yuu Academy. With their influence, St. Yuu Academy's assistance can be made more covert. Many people may guess that magical girls and St. Yuu Academy have a close connection, but smart people will not delve into the truth."

Yuki had never heard of this story before, and if Seishin hadn't told her herself, she probably would never have imagined it in her entire life.

However, there are some things that pique Yuuki Yuuki's curiosity.

First of all, let's not discuss why this church should be responsible for the mess left after magical girls' battles, nor why Seishine should support the corrupted magical girl to become the student council president. I've never even heard of this church before.

The hymn has always referred to "our church".

But this amount of information is already quite substantial. Yuuki Yuki has been wanting to complain about why the scenes in the game are restored the day after the magical girl battles, as if nothing had happened, and why they are also quickly repaired in reality.

With such an organization operating behind the scenes, this kind of bug-like existence in the world can be reasonably explained.

"It's not just the destruction; injuries and deaths are also within the scope of our church's handling. However, there's very little we can do in this area. At most, we can only provide substantial compensation and establish orphanages to provide shelter for homeless children."

Saint Shiyin was silent for a moment, then continued.

Yuuki Yuuki had also been to the orphanage, the one they had visited when they volunteered to keep the club afloat. It was said to have been established to house children affected by the magical girl attacks.

"Furthermore, although it sounds despicable to say this, we took advantage of those children, we took advantage of their pain..."

Saint Shiyin said this out of the blue.

Yuuki Yui didn't respond; she sensed that Seishion had already gotten to the point of the day.

"You're also a resident of Moonsea City, and a fallen magical girl as well, so you know, right? In the past, fallen magical girls were always dealt with in the end. Justice always triumphs over evil." Saint Shion's topic had drifted off-topic again.

Perhaps she's still struggling with something.

“I know,” Yuuki Yui replied succinctly. “My house was destroyed because of the magical girl’s attack.”

"But now the magical girl system in Moonsea City is completely unbalanced. The defeated Kuroba Reisei, Yuuki Yori, Inuyama Tomoe, Koumori, Hyakki Senyu, and even my sister can't defeat Lava Mountain Lantern, none of them are beings that those magical girls can handle."

Saint Shiyin called out the names as she spoke.