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

"Never mind, as long as it tastes good, that's enough!" Baqi, who was always straightforward, suggested, "Why don't you give it a try?"

"it is good."

The girls each picked up a piece and brought it to their mouths.

From that day on, in Yuuki Yuki and Tomoe's private conversations, Hyakki Senyu gained a new title that was extremely chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur).

Cookie Fairy of the New Century.

Goodnight everyone, and may you enjoy paying off your debts.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Daily Preparations

Even though Yuuki Yuuki had visited the coffee shop where she worked just the day before, when she walked into the shop again today, she felt as if she had met an old friend she hadn't seen in a long time, and she inexplicably felt a sense of nostalgia.

It's been a while since Yuuki Yuki started working at Minato Nana's shop, and the long-awaited vacation made her feel a little out of sorts, but it also proved that she had a very fulfilling day.

Yuuki Yuuki felt as if she had been away for a long time, and the coffee shop had become unfamiliar. The more direct reason was that all the decorations she had bought the day before had been placed in various corners of the shop by Minato Nana.

The originally spacious interior was adorned with black ribbons embroidered with openwork pumpkins and ghosts. An exaggeratedly large pumpkin head with its mouth wide open, seemingly discarded to the side, appeared to be mocking every customer who entered the store with unbridled Halloween special.

The ceiling is covered with ghostly dolls and pumpkin paper sculptures, creating a Halloween atmosphere. Black bats are scattered in various small corners. The intentional mess gives the coffee shop a mysterious and dangerous veil, which attracts interested customers to come in for an adventure.

The withered tree that Yuuki En had gone to great lengths to bring back was covered with small plastic pumpkin lanterns, each containing candy prepared for the guests.

Yuki Yuki has to admit that Minato Nana, as a former band member, truly brings that abstract aesthetic to life in her hands.

"Wow, I thought I'd have to put in a lot of effort to decorate with Miss Minato tonight."

After looking around every corner of the store, Yuuki Yuen exclaimed with heartfelt admiration.

"Hmph, how could I possibly delegate all the work to Yuuki? Do you think I'm such a heartless boss?"

Minato Nana's expression clearly showed that she was very satisfied with her arrangements. The dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep looked like medals, highlighting the glory of Minato Nana completing such a huge project all by herself.

Yuuki Yukina originally wanted to say something like, "You're such a heartless boss!", but after seeing Minato Nana's smug expression, she swallowed her inappropriate words.

Instead of complaining about Minato Nana, Yuuki Yukino started to review the task she had given Yuuki Yukino yesterday.

"Oh right, how's the recipe I gave you yesterday? Did you manage to get it working?"

Throughout the conversation, Minato Nana's gaze remained fixed on the handbag in Yuuki Yuuki's hand; it must contain what she needed.

After Yuuki Yuki took out a simply packaged cookie from her handbag, Minato Nana's eyes lit up.

"These are all our results, and there's no way to replicate them. We'll sell as many as we can." Yuuki Yuen placed several boxes of cookies on the bar in order, and the cookies of various shapes immediately took up a large area.

The appearance of these cookies drew the attention of the customers in the store, with most focusing their gaze on the items that Yuuki Eri had taken out.

Minato Nana had recovered from her initial excitement upon seeing the cookies. After counting the number of cookies, her eyebrows furrowed together.

"that's it?"

"That's all I have to say, were you even listening to me?!"

It's already quite an achievement to have this level of production.

A simple recipe doesn't mean a simple taste. The cookies made under Hyakki Chiyuu's guidance far exceeded Yuuki Yuen's expectations. The first batch was quickly devoured by the four people in Yuuki Yuen's house.

Then, at Yuuki Yuki's repeated requests, the four of them divided the work and turned the remaining ingredients into steaming hot cookies.

However, the process relied entirely on Qianyou's intuition, and no one could pinpoint the exact proportions of each ingredient. Furthermore, it was unlikely that Qianyou would be called upon a second time to help make cookies, so these cookies could never be replicated.

Fortunately, there are only a few days left until Halloween, which is well within the shelf life of the cookies, so there will be no problem selling them until the end of Halloween.

The only question is whether the current inventory is enough to last until then.

"Hmm...it feels a bit small." Minato Nana took a pumpkin-shaped piece and put it in her mouth. "But it tastes good."

"I'm so glad you like it." Yuuki Yukari was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

"But there aren't enough cookies. Won't they sell out in no time? But it's okay. I also found a recipe for pumpkin cake online. You can try it."

As Minato Nana was speaking, she was about to pick up her phone to send the latest recipe to Yuuki Yuki's phone, but Yuuki Yuki quickly interrupted her.

"No way!"

"Can't I even let you leave work early today?" Minato Nana launched a bribery offensive.

"That's out of the question, there's no room for negotiation!"

Thinking of yesterday's disastrous experience, Yuuki Yukino, realizing that she was indeed not suited for baking, righteously and directly refused.

"What a pity. That cake was so simple and cute. I thought it would attract a lot of customers."

Minato sat back down behind the bar, looking dejected. Her words were all directed at Yuuki Yuuki, suggesting that if force didn't work, she should try a more subtle approach to get Yuuki Yuuki to agree to her request.

"If you're interested in pumpkin cake, you should look at pumpkin lanterns instead."

Yuuki Yui maintained her firm stance and had no intention of continuing the topic. She took out the pumpkin lanterns that the group had dug together yesterday from the bottom layer of the bag that had just contained cookies.

Although Yuuki Eri was relegated to a corner to watch over the withered tree when buying pumpkins, Koumori's eye for quality was very reliable. The pumpkins she selected were of moderate size and round shape, and each one received high praise from Minato Nana.

Carving a pumpkin lantern isn't difficult; the key is creating an atmosphere of teamwork, and the final result is quite good.

"Oh! Oh! Isn't this wonderful!"

As Yuuki Yukino unwrapped the newspaper that had been used to protect the pumpkin lantern, Minato Nana's eyes lit up once again.

Judging by appearance alone, each one that Yuuki Yuki brought out was much better than the one that Minato Nana made herself and put on the bar.

It was indeed a lot of fun for everyone to dig up pumpkins together. They chatted about things that had nothing to do with magical girls, did the same thing together, and spent a happy time while doing their job.

But the thought of having to eat pumpkin porridge made from scraps for the next few meals made Yuuki Yuki unhappy.

While it's not impossible to throw them away, we should still be frugal, as it's a traditional virtue of ours.

Minamoto enthusiastically picked up each pumpkin and examined it closely. After rummaging around behind the bar for a while, she took out a bunch of small candles that she had prepared beforehand. She carefully stuffed the candles into the pumpkin pieces and then excitedly placed them on each table.

With its atmospheric decorations, candlelight reflected from the mouths and noses of pumpkins of various shapes, and the faint fragrance of scented candles mixed with the coffee aroma unique to the café, Yuuki Yuki felt a sense of pride.

This simple yet fulfilling sense of accomplishment makes Yuuki Eri feel more truly alive in this world.

"Oh right, Yuuki, I've thought of a really fun activity. We can add a lottery element, right? Everyone who buys coffee at the store will have a chance to win a prize. Maybe that will attract more customers?"

Minato Nana had just placed the last pumpkin lantern and snapped a few photos with her phone when she suddenly remembered something before she even returned behind the bar.

While Yuuki was wondering what Minato Nana was talking about, Minato Nana was already pointing enthusiastically at the withered tree decoration that Yuuki had brought back, which was already covered with small plastic pumpkin baskets.

"With every cup of coffee you buy, you can pluck a small pumpkin from the top. Inside are candies, snacks, and other little things, plus coupons for our store! Isn't that great!"

“Oh…oh oh!” Yuuki Yui nodded.

Minato Nana quickly walked a few steps to the withered tree placed in front of the shop, picked a small pumpkin from the tree and handed it to Yuuki Yukino.

Open the lid on the pumpkin, and a strawberry gummy lies quietly inside. Yuuki Yuen tears open the gummy's packaging and pops it directly into her mouth.

"Yes, it's really good." Yuuki Yui nodded.

"Are you referring to this idea, these little pumpkins, or that gummy candy?" Minato Nana was waiting for Yuuki Yukina's approving expression.

"Both are good."

Yuuki Yukino's praise was genuine; she would never have imagined that she would be invited to such a small event.

It's just a regular lottery, with prizes that are basically worthless candies, but the Halloween and pumpkin-themed packaging, the added ritual of picking them from the tree yourself, and the slight gambling element do attract a lot of customers.

This style always makes Yuuki Eri always think of her father (without her hand on the screen) and unintentionally reminds her of the TV program on CCTV where they smashed golden eggs.

The small pumpkins on each guest's table showed that the event had already started ahead of schedule.

"It's really great, I never thought you could do a lottery like this."

"Right? Those pumpkins were super cheap, I bought a lot," Minato Nana said happily.

The coffee shop was indeed much busier on the weekend than usual, especially with the help of the small activities carefully planned by Minato Nana and the extra tables at the entrance, Yuuki Yuki was busy all evening.

After finally waiting for the crowds to recede, Yuuki Yuki collapsed weakly onto the bar. Halloween hadn't even started yet and she was already this busy. Yuuki Yuki had no idea what kind of hell she would face when the Halloween event officially began.

Actually, when Yuuki Gen was initially asked to ask Tomoe and Riku for help, Yuuki Gen refused.

It's impossible for Nana to simply tell Yuuki Yuki to call them over, and they would all come eagerly to help. Besides, I always feel that something might go wrong if everyone were together.

But with today's job, Yuuki Yuki has to admire Minato Nana's foresight.

That being said, I haven't asked Nishio Reki for his opinion yet, and I haven't decided on my Halloween costume.

It's not like three magical girls could actually transform and then serve dishes to everyone, right? While it sounds nice, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble.

Letting a magical girl know your identity is completely different from letting an ordinary person know your identity.

Of course, this was just some random thought during a break; I'll have to prepare the actual outfit for Yuuki Yuuki myself.

While Yuuki Yuuki was lost in thought, the door to the coffee shop was gently pushed open.

"Welcome! What would you like to drink?" Yuuki Yuki sprang up like a spring, flashing her signature service smile.

It wouldn't be surprising if someone who walks into a coffee shop were to walk into a small bar.

But would this guy come here to drink coffee when he's bored?

Chapter Twenty-Six: Fallacies

"Welcome! Wait, it's you?" Yuuki Yuu's attitude changed drastically as she looked at the familiar face.

"Yes, it's me. Are you not satisfied?"

The person who walked into the coffee shop was wearing an oversized, seasonal coat, underneath which was a uniform from some unknown store.

The office worker with red highlights pulled up a chair and sat down at the bar as he spoke.

"It's not a matter of being satisfied or not, it's just... a bit unexpected." Yuuki Yui gestured with her hands in the air.

"What are you doing? Take good care of the guests." Minato Nana punched Yuuki Yuuki on the head, stood next to her, and took over the reception work.

It was less of a reception and more of a casual chat.

"Little Sister Lava Mountain, what brings you here today?"

Lava Mountain Girl...

Neither Lava Lantern's height nor her temperament seems to be worthy of the title "Lava Little Sister".

This was just a thought to myself. Since Lantern of the Lava Mountain is still a magical girl, it means she's not that old. Compared to Nana Minato, who will be turning thirty in a few years, she is indeed a little sister.

If you treat Sakura Hanako like a child, the age gap between Lava Mountain Lantern and Minato Nana will only widen, not shrink.

So, despite being called that, Rongshan Deng didn't seem unhappy.