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

“Yes.” Helica still wasn’t thinking, she just wanted to hear Mizuno Yuu tell her the conclusion as soon as possible.

"It's not what you think about me asking you to pay attention to Yuki. It's not that I trust Yuki; quite the opposite, it's precisely because we trust her that we need to pay special attention to her."

Mizuno Yu explained her plans.

"It's too hasty to conclude that Yuuki has nothing to do with these things based on our belief alone. It's irresponsible to you, to me, and to Yuuki. Only after we are completely sure that Yuuki is on our side can we ask her to assist in our investigation and find out that pink devil who has not been heard from until now."

Herlica snatched the stack of photocopies and clutched them tightly in her hand.

"As long as we keep an eye on Yuuki and confirm her innocence, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Chapter Eighty-Six Climbing

The weather isn't very good today.

The time displayed on the phone screen had already jumped to 10, but the sunlight still timidly hid behind the thick clouds, unwilling to give these expectant girls even a second glance, proving its existence only with such a small, insignificant act of charity.

The bus wheels kicked up dust as it sped along the unobstructed highway, leaving the steel jungle behind. The scenery outside the window became increasingly empty, even excessively so.

Helica leaned against the car window, resting her elbow on the open window frame and propping her chin up.

Lin Jiezi was sitting next to her, staring intently at the back of the seat in front of her, lost in thought.

Helica glanced at Lin Jiezi, then turned her attention back to what she was holding.

It was a stack of photocopies of surveillance screenshots, which Mizuno Yu had given him a few tens of minutes earlier.

Just as Mizuno Yu said, the picture was very blurry, and Helica could only barely make out the features of the people in it.

Many students sneaked out at night, and Herika saw many familiar faces on the screen.

There were also students who didn't return home at night. Mizuno Yu's guess had some flaws; she hadn't included some students who ran away and never came back.

At the very beginning of the first semester, there were no worries about further education or entering the workforce, nor much academic pressure. Choosing this time for the study trip was based on these considerations.

Carefree—relatively speaking, such girls tend to be more indulgent.

In summary, Mizuno Yu's conjecture narrowed down, but Helica's workload was still considerable.

"Why is the sky so gloomy today? Is it going to rain?"

"No, no, the weather forecast said it was just cloudy today."

"The weather is terrible; it's not good to go out in this weather."

"Don't say that. I just think it's cooler on cloudy days, so I won't be all sweaty when I climb the mountain later."

There were quite a few passengers on the bus, but it was not noisy at all; there were only some whispers.

All the passengers who board this bus have only one destination: the Hongyeshan Scenic Area, which is about an hour's drive from the city.

This gave Helica ample time to carefully examine everything that Mizuno Yu had given her.

But Helica didn't want to look. The gloomy sky, the roar of the engines, the occasional whistle, and the whispers of other passengers were all distractions that made it impossible for her to concentrate.

The loudest noise was in Helica's mind.

Herlica tilted her head and looked through the gap in the seat at Yuuki Yuki, who was resting with her eyes closed, and Inuyama Tomoe, who was sitting next to her, before leaning back in her chair.

Even though she could reach out and touch the other person's shoulder, the distance felt like an insurmountable chasm, making Herika feel that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't cross it.

Forget it, don't think about it anymore.

Helica reminded herself of this and closed her eyes in a gregarious manner.

The noise around me seemed to grow louder.

Even after the bus pulled into the station, the disturbing noise had not subsided.

Even as she climbed the mountain steps, the noise that had driven Helica almost crazy still lingered in her ears.

"Xiaoyuan, that short, blond girl is so strange. She was fine this morning, but now she's wearing a sour face, like everyone owes her something."

Everyone noticed Helica's unusual behavior, and Baqi bluntly complained to Yuuki about Helica's strange behavior as she walked ahead.

Yuuki Yukino could also see that Helica's condition had worsened before she set off.

Is it related to Mizuno Yu calling Helica out?

Mizuno Yu is much more perceptive than herself and would definitely notice Helica's unusual behavior this morning. Since she didn't know what had happened last night, her inquiries reminded Helica of what happened last night—this explanation makes perfect sense.

Yuuki Yukino couldn't think of any other possibility besides that talking about magical girls could make Helica withdrawn.

Although Yuuki Yuuki has no experience in romance or confessing her feelings, not having experienced it doesn't mean she can't guess Helica's thoughts.

Helica's heart is incredibly soft, something Yuuki Yuki already knew. Without the thorns protecting her, Helica is easily hurt.

After all, he is Ao Chen.

Pretending to be strong and acting as if nothing happened is not that easy at all; Helica's despondency was not without reason.

"After going through something like that, no matter how hard you try to hold on, you'll still feel disappointed. Not everyone is as easily satisfied as you."

Yuuki answered in a low voice, afraid that Helica would hear.

“I’m not easily satisfied, I’m very greedy.” Baqi pouted and glanced at the dejected Helica walking ahead. “When are you planning to tell her the truth?”

“It’s definitely not possible now. She’s still heartbroken over that incident. We’ll have to wait until she’s back at school, or on her way back.” Yuuki Yui stroked her chin thoughtfully. “In short, there’s absolutely nothing the two of us can do to help her right now.”

Yuuki Yukino was seriously considering the feasibility of the matter, and the time she chose to be honest with Herika about her attitude that she did not intend to be in a relationship was also after careful consideration.

It's understandable that Helica is so down after what happened last night.

Unfortunately, Yuuki Yuuki guessed wrong this time. Her own heartbreak did have a great impact on Helica, but that wasn't the whole story.

Heartbreak doesn't mean there are no more opportunities. Helica can create more opportunities to get in touch with Yuuki Yuuki in the future and steal her heart.

But if Yuuki Yuki truly stands on the opposite side of hers and is fundamentally different from them, then nothing Helica does will make a difference.

In principle, they were destined never to be together.

Helica didn't want to think too much, she just stared at the steps under her feet and mechanically repeated the action of alternating her legs as she climbed the stairs.

Perhaps things aren't so bad. Just as Mizuno Yu told her, what she needs to do is not to find evidence of Yuuki Yu's crimes, but to prove Yuuki Yu's innocence.

But she was afraid. She was afraid of uncertain things, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, Herika would feel terrified.

"What's wrong? Why do you look like that?"

Another person, whom Helica didn't know how to face, came closer and walked alongside her.

It was Nishio Reki, the person who promised to help him, but ended up being tricked by his own impulsiveness.

"It's nothing," Helica said, unable to say anything else.

"I'm sorry about what happened last night." Before Helica could say anything, Nishio Reki apologized first.

“What do you mean?” Helica looked up from the stone steps beneath her feet.

"I yelled at you, grabbed your clothes and pinned you against the wall. I was too impulsive." Nishio Reki gritted his teeth without showing any emotion: "Your confession to Yui has nothing to do with me."

"No, it's okay. Without you, I wouldn't have woken up so quickly." Helica's words were half true and half false.

No one spoke to each other, just like the silence that followed last night after Nishio Reki loosened Helica's collar.

It's impossible to say that Helica was completely unconcerned when Nishio Reki pinned her against the wall.

Just as Nishio Reki said, it was her own freedom to confess to Yuuki Yuki. Although she had betrayed Nishio Reki, who wanted to help her with her plans, it would ultimately not cause Nishio Reki any loss.

Nishio Reki's reaction was really too much. If Helica hadn't heard Nishio Reki say it herself, she would have suspected that Nishio Reki and Yuuki Yuuki had some special relationship.

But it was precisely because of Nishio Reki's sudden and incredibly serious attitude and his first display of anger that Helica was able to calm down.

Without the composure she displayed when she was frightened by Nishio Reki, Helica might very well have used the battle with the pink demon last night as an outlet for her emotions—or perhaps self-destruction.

It's the pink devil again.

"I know you're not feeling well. If you're unhappy, don't force yourself."

Helica understood what Nishio Reki was referring to; she did indeed look unattractive with her current overflowing negative energy.

Forcing yourself to travel with a group of people can create a tense atmosphere and ruin the mood of others as well.

But if you don't stay with the group, you might seem like you don't fit in.

Herlica turned her head and glanced at Yuuki Yuki, who was following behind her and whispering something to Baki.

"It's okay. School trips are only meaningful when everyone is together."

She had another reason for following them. Although she was worried about what would happen if Yuuki Yui really was one of those corrupted magical girls, or if she was in cahoots with them, she couldn't give up the mission that Nishio Reki had given her.

She really wanted to personally clear Yuki Eri's name.

Nishio Reki sensed Helica's feigned nonchalance but didn't call her out on it.

"Don't take last night's events too seriously. Xiaoyuan isn't the type of person you'd want to date."

This is somewhat of an afterthought, and it contradicts what Nishio Reki had said to Helica earlier. She herself knows that this is a very weak consolation.

Nishio Reki was ultimately on Yuuki Yuuki's side. Unlike Tomoe, she didn't oppose Helica. However, her reason for comforting Helica was simply to make the team more cohesive and to make Yuuki Yuuki and her school trip go more smoothly.

She did this for Yuuki Eri, no, for herself.

However, Helica didn't take it to heart at all.

The reason she was in a bad mood was never that Yuuki Yukino had rejected her.

Or rather, it wasn't just Yuuki Yukino who rejected him.

She was worried that she had fallen for someone she couldn't love, that her feelings would never be reciprocated, and that she would have to turn against the person she loved, completely severing ties with them.

Although that outcome was only a possibility, and the possibility was slim, Helica was still afraid.

However, upon seeing Nishio Reki walking beside her, Helica suddenly thought of a way to put her mind at ease.

"Nishio Reki, you came back from the future, right?"

Helica suddenly asked a question that had nothing to do with mountain climbing or school trips.

"Yes."

Nishio Reki answered, just as she always did when asked this question.

"In the future you've envisioned, have I ever had any contact with Yuuki Yuuki?"

Helica remained calm, though the knot between her brows still seemed tightly tied, she appeared more relaxed.

This is a good sign.