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

"It's already one in the morning, oh, almost two in three minutes. You called me and woke me up just to tell me your sister had a nightmare?"

The tone on the other end became somewhat unfriendly, and the grumpiness from being woken up was unleashed all over Yuuki Tamaki:

"So what? Tamaki Yuuki? What do you want me to do? Listen to your sister's complaints? Analyze your nightmares like a therapist? Or lie down next to your sister who's about to graduate from middle school and sing her lullabies?"

“She said she dreamed of a destroyed city.” Tamaki Yuuki completely ignored the sarcastic remarks: “She just came back from Nijiha City last month.”

After saying that, Tamaki Yuuki added, "I stayed at the hotel that was destroyed because of the magical girl."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before someone finally managed to squeeze out a dry sentence.

"sorry."

"That child was probably thinking about something from his childhood," Yuuki Tamaki said softly, in a declarative tone.

There was another brief silence on the other end of the phone.

"sorry."

"Nana, I didn't intend to talk about these things. The past is the past, and there's no point in dwelling on it now." Yuuki Tamaki said, opening the lighter and relighting the flame.

"I just suddenly really want to know, when you and Chestnut were together, how did you two get along?"

"..."

"Also, have you ever regretted being with Chestnut?"

In the room, Yuuki Yukino, who had closed her eyes again, tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

That dream was too real; the real Yuuki Yuuki couldn't tell whether it was a dream or reality.

If it were a dream or a comic, the scenes you dream about would definitely come true, right?

But thankfully, this isn't a created world.

If there really is a creator in this world, what kind of feelings would she have when she created a world where magical girls have to fight in this way?

Perhaps we should ask the game's developers about this.

But some of the patterns in this timeline are so incomprehensible yet so irresistible.

As Yuuki Yui stroked the black demonic mark branded on her stomach, she couldn't help but wonder: if she was being targeted by that thing, did she really have a future?

If the world we live in now is also a dream, and after waking up I'm back in my dorm room, with a game half-finished on my computer under my bed, and my phone screen stuck on the anime I watched last night...

If that's really the case, then it's actually better.

At least that way I wouldn't have to face that almost hopeless challenge.

Despite the complaints, life goes on tomorrow.

Moreover, Yuuki Eri seems to have grasped some patterns.

The next day.

"Xiao Yuan! Bai Gui said he's going to try a new restaurant today. Do you want to come along if you're free?"

As soon as Yuuki Yuki entered the classroom, Inuyama Tomoe immediately turned around from her seat and began planning her plans after school.

"Ah, well..."

Seeing that Yuuki hesitated slightly, Baqi grabbed Yuuki's hand and shook it coquettishly.

"Please, Xiaoyuan doesn't have anything to do right now!"

"Who said there's nothing to do? I still need to prepare for my college entrance exams!" Yuuki Yui pouted and couldn't help but laugh out loud first: "Alright, let's go together then, but let's make it clear beforehand, eel rice and family restaurants are out of the question."

"Yay!" Baqi clenched her fist happily, then belatedly realized that her joyful expression had turned into a teasing smile: "Xiaoyuan doesn't go to the Rainbow Club anymore, so why is she still so hung up on these things?"

“There will always be some psychological trauma!” Yuuki Yukino also grabbed Baqi’s hand and acted coquettishly.

"That wretched shorty with blond hair! He actually gave Xiaoyuan psychological trauma. He really deserves a good beating!"

Baqi feigned anger, forcefully swinging her clenched fist in mid-air as if doing so would strike Helica the Thunder God.

"Stop joking around. You're not allowed to transform without my permission or any reason, understand?" Yuuki Yuya pretended to be unhappy and pointed her finger at the air a few times.

"Okay! Don't attract the attention of magical girls, right? But there aren't any new magical girls in this city, are there?"

Baqi wanted to argue a bit more, but when she saw Yuki's feigned serious expression, she wisely shut her mouth and didn't continue arguing with Yuki.

"Okay, okay, I already know!"

The current relationship between Yuuki Yuki and Inuyama Tomoe is no different from when they first met.

No transformations allowed, no conflicts allowed, just a peaceful life.

There was no need for the Nijisanji's usual lunch break gatherings, nor for going to the sports storage room to eat bread with Helica—although Helica would most likely still be eating her bread there anyway.

However, Yuuki Enishi can almost always spend her lunch break with Tomoe or Nishio Reki.

The only difference is that Yuuki Yukino no longer needs to carefully hide her identity.

However, Yuuki Yuuki's reason for not transforming is no longer fear of a certain magical girl discovering her identity, as a magical girl already knows her true identity.

The reason wasn't that he was afraid of being targeted by magical girls. In fact, some magical girls had their eyes on him, including the legendary magical girl from the furthest away.

However, these troubles don't come looking for them on their own. At least since returning from the school trip, there hasn't been a single situation where Yuuki Eri's transformation is required.

Of course, putting all that aside, the life Yuuki Eri has been dreaming of in the past is exactly what she has been living now.

"The headmaster didn't show up again today, but everything at St. Yuu Academy is as usual. Qianyou is also advising me to just quit being the acting student council president, but I think this is part of the training process, right?"

After Hong Moli finished speaking, she picked up her chopsticks, took a slice of beef from her bowl, and casually stuffed it into Qian You's bowl.

"Ha, Hong, it's a real shame you didn't see it. That girl, Seishin, was crying so pitifully." As she spoke, Baqi reached into Yuuki Yukino's bowl with her chopsticks, picked up a whole piece of pork chop, and crunched it in her mouth.

"My older sister has said it so many times, I'm a little doubtful, will she actually make that kind of face?" Qianyou naturally took the slice of dead (dream beef) that Mori had brought her, kissed Mori's cheek very naturally, and then asked in return.

"Of course! Of course! It should have been filmed, but it's such a shame we can't use our phones during the transformation." Baqi became more and more excited as she spoke: "Don't you think so, Xiaoyuan?"

"Ah, yes, yes! It's so pitiful, being surrounded by several magical girls. It's such a shame you didn't see it." Yuuki Yuuki, who had been lost in thought, paused slightly when she heard her own name mentioned, and then joined the conversation.

It's already great as it is now. We have new friends we know well; we have noisy guys who don't need to cooperate with us for ulterior motives, and we don't need to take care of socially awkward girls who can't keep up with everyone's thinking; our outings are also very fulfilling, and everyone will unconsciously cooperate with each other's actions.

This kind of life should make me very satisfied.

But is that really a good thing?

Chapter Two: Let's Go Get a Job!

"Hmm, not bad. If we had that power, we could definitely defeat that birdman."

Lava Lantern clapped her hands, deactivating her transformation, and the burning giant sword disappeared with the last wisp of flame.

"Ha, ha... Even so, I'm still far behind you. I really don't know what kind of monster you are."

A girl with skin the color of melting milk chocolate sat down on the ground in the black mist, complaining loudly. The black mist surrounding her expanded like cotton candy, completely engulfing her entire body.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the thick, dark fog dissipated into the air like dandelion seeds being blown away, leaving not a trace.

From the dissipating black mist, the figure of Yuuki Enishi and Inuyama Tomoe, wearing the long-sleeved uniform of Tsukimi Middle School, sitting panting on the ground, appeared before Lava Mountain Lantern's eyes.

Then the two of them lay on the ground in a spread-eagle position, their chests heaving as they greedily inhaled the fresh air, looking up at the full moon in the sky, feeling their strength slowly returning.

"Me? To be honest, there are very few magical girls who can defeat me right now. The one standing over there might be one. The others are probably a bit of a challenge. Even that nun you mentioned who can draw could barely be considered half of them before she left Moonsea City."

Loomaki patted his pants, sat cross-legged in front of the two people, and then waved to Nishio Reki, who had been watching with his arms crossed since the start of the battle.

"Come on, sit down too. Standing is tiring."

"Ah."

Nishio Reki agreed, took a few steps and moved between Lava Mountain Lantern and the people lying on the ground. He gathered up his uniform skirt, bent his knees and sat down to the side, resting his head on his knees that were pressed against the edge of his skirt.

As soon as Nishio Reki sat down, Kouyama Touka raised her hand and stretched it out towards Nishio Reki.

"How did you make this thing? It can even isolate magic, preventing other magical girls from detecting what's happening within its range. This is pretty useful."

However, the hand did not land on Nishio Ryū's shoulder, but instead patted his own crossed thighs, clearly acknowledging Nishio Ryū's meaning.

"It's a skill, something you can't learn." Nishio Reki's words sounded very perfunctory.

If it weren't for Nishio Reki mentioning that she could create a special barrier to conceal magical power, and that there was such a barrier near her house, Yuuki Yuuki might still not understand why no other magical girls appeared when she fought Nishio Reki for so long during her berserk state.

This method of concealing magic is absolutely useful for any magical girl, and it's understandable that Nishio Reki doesn't want to talk about it.

Rongshan Deng knew this, so he didn't ask any further questions.

Moreover, Lava Lamp didn't really care about this ability; he just beat up whoever came to him.

After exchanging a few words with Nishio Reki, Laughter Mountain turned his gaze back to Yuuki and Yuuki, who were lying on the ground panting, and began to give them free post-match coaching.

"The way your skill works is by fusing your two magic powers to some extent, creating a new magic that drives you to maintain that state, right?"

"More or less," Baqi replied in a breathless voice between gasps.

"Besides the scent of your two magic, there's something else. If I'm not mistaken, it's that thing that gives you the ability to traverse space and suddenly appear at impossible angles during battle. This ability doesn't seem to have anything to do with you yourselves."

Lava Lantern stroked her chin, pondered for a while, and then recounted what she had experienced during the battle.

Her reasoning was absolutely correct. To be able to discern so much in a fast-paced battle, Lava Lantern was indeed a terrifying fellow.

The M'Sh'H, also known as the Dark-skinned Beauty state, which can only be used by Yuuki Yuki and Inuyama Tomoe working together, is indeed only possible because Nyarlathotep borrowed a portion of Urouge Mashiro's power.

Instead of dwelling on the matter, Rongshan Deng directly analyzed the problem.

"The problem is, the problem is very serious. What if your enemy is unwilling to engage in close combat and instead harasses you from afar with magical attacks? What do you do then? Use that spatial teleportation ability to get close to your opponent?"

"Furthermore, your attack methods are too limited. Even in close combat, you are easily disadvantaged by the enemy's strange abilities. Moreover, you rely on claws, which are a combination of offense and defense. If your enemy breaks through your defense, you will lose your means of attack as well."

“For example, just now, your offensive was completely suppressed by me, so you had no means to defeat the enemy and could only be beaten down by me until the end. Battle is not just a contest of ability and magic power. What you lack is skill.”

As he analyzed each point, Rongshan Deng traced lines on the ground with his finger, finally erasing the marks.

"So, you still have a long way to go if you want to become strong!"

"Oh! I know!" Baqi, who was lying on the ground, raised her fist, waved it in the air, and shouted in a not-so-spirited voice, then slumped her arm down.

If Mizuno Yu were here, she definitely wouldn't have been so perfunctory as Tomoe.

If it were Mizuno Yu, she would probably jump up from the ground with great ambition, straighten her whole body, make a very chuunibyou (delusional) expression, clench her fists, and shout something like, "I know, I will definitely walk the path of the strong."

However, Yuuki Yu couldn't even recall what her last words to Mizuno Yu were.

After the hot spring hotel was destroyed, the Yuehai Middle School team boarded a rented bus overnight and returned to Yuehai City.

Fortunately for the teachers and parents, all the students from Yuehai Middle School who had set off for their school trip the day before returned to Yuehai City safely.