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

Nishio Reki hasn't taken it out for a long time, and there's no need to do it now.

In the corner of the room, the piled-up Lin Jiezi remained as usual, stacked together like building blocks in a posture that no human could achieve, their empty eyes sending chills down one's spine.

"A room full of these things would definitely give you nightmares."

Nishio Reki muttered to himself, seemingly trying to convince himself why he was dreaming of that scene again.

Although it wasn't a dream, it was a scene that actually appeared in Nishio Reki's memories.

With a sigh, Nishio Reki walked to the refrigerator and, under the dim light inside, took out a can of ice-cold cola from among the many ready-made foods.

This is Yuuki Yukino's favorite drink. Even though Nishio Reki knows that Yuuki Yukino might not necessarily come to visit, she still prepared it specially.

Of course, if Yuuki Yukino doesn't come, it wouldn't be a big deal for her to drink a can by herself.

Carbon dioxide gushed from the pulled tab, flowing over the girl's lips, down her throat, and across her chest, causing her to wince involuntarily.

After swallowing a mouthful of carbonated beverage, Nishio Reki felt more awake.

My finger touched the phone screen, and the cold light reflected the current time, as well as the last message Yuuki Yuki sent her about the Duchy.

"Miss Kotobuki said that Halloween might be very busy, and she plans to invite you and Baqi to help out. The job is simple: just wear Halloween costumes, record the orders placed by the customers, and then hand over the prepared food to the customers."

“Bachi has already agreed. I want to ask what you think. If you don’t want to, you don’t need to force yourself. This is just Minato Nana’s stubborn opinion. Don’t take it too seriously.”

The second message came shortly after the first, both in the evening, but Nishio Reki never gave a formal reply.

If you simply swipe away from the chat box, the message won't be marked as read, so Yuuki Yuki probably doesn't know that she has already read it.

Nishio Reki was naturally very happy to work with Yuuki Yuuki.

But Nishio Reki didn't know whether he should agree.

She had no idea how Yuuki Yukino would view her.

Because it is Yuuki Yuki, and because Yuuki Yuki is very gentle, she generally will not express overly obvious malice unless it is someone who is very bothersome to her.

Especially for herself, as Yuuki Yuki's childhood friend, Yuuki Yuki would be even less likely to show indifference towards her.

It was Yuuki Yukino's gentleness that prevented Nishio Reki from seeing through her thoughts.

After all, she had done so many things that would bother Yuuki Yuuki.

He was vague about Yuuki Yuuki, and most of the time—almost all the time—he relied on the memories in his mind to recreate the path that led him to the end.

Even if that path inevitably leads to nothingness, I must make some changes.

But the situation is now out of Nishio Reki’s control. What kind of ending will this story have? Even Nishio Reki himself doesn’t know.

So just be yourself as you always have been.

He stood by Yuuki Yukino's side, doing his part for her as before, and together they struggled beautifully until the very last moment.

As Nishio Reki drifted off into a daze, the carbonated beverage in the can dwindled, and his consciousness began to fade.

"Hey! Wake up! How come you slept on the sofa all night?"

A familiar, coquettish voice woke Nishio Reki from his sleep. The morning light was already streaming into the room, and the carbonated drink spilled on the floor was emitting a sweet smell.

Nishio Reki rubbed his sleepy eyes and lifted his head slightly.

In her vision, the figure of the pink-haired girl standing in front of her began to become clearer and clearer.

"Ok?"

But the owner of that figure shouldn't be here.

Nishio Reki shook his head vigorously a few times and squinted, trying to make the hallucinations he was experiencing in his half-dreaming state disappear as quickly as possible.

But such dreams seem nice, as long as they're not the nightmares that wake you up like before.

Surrounded by sweet dreams, Nishio Reki longed to sleep a little longer and linger in the gentle embrace.

Thinking this, Nishio Reki reached out and, in a daze, grabbed the slender wrist of the girl in front of him.

"ah?"

With a gentle pull from Nishio Reki and a gasp from the girl, she fell into Nishio Reki's soft embrace.

What hits the nose is a unique aroma, different from carbonated drinks, with a refreshing lemon scent and a hint of lavender.

A shampoo and laundry detergent that Nishio Reki was very familiar with, and the girl that Nishio Reki was familiar with.

But Nishio Reki, still not fully conscious, didn't care about such details; she just wanted to linger a little longer in this wonderful dream.

On a whim, Nishio Reki put his arm around the girl's shoulder and shifted his body to make room on the sofa just big enough for the girl to lie down, bringing the two closer together.

"Xiao Yuan..." Half-asleep, half-awake, Nishio Reki uttered a dream, his body beyond his control, and moved his face even closer to the girl.

She could feel his hot, flustered breath as he got closer.

Facing the warmth blowing on her face, Nishio Reki brought her face even closer, slightly parting her lips, opening and closing them several times without making a sound.

Before his breathing became completely erratic, Nishio Reki rubbed his face against the girl's shoulder.

Their breathing gradually became steady, both their own and hers.

This posture did not last long, nor could it be maintained for long.

When Nishio Reki truly felt himself hugging someone and squeezing onto the sofa, his last bit of drowsiness vanished instantly.

Suddenly opening his eyes, Nishio Reki saw a pink-haired girl's face that looked ripe, and water stains on the girl's chest.

Where did those water stains come from?

Nishio Reki subconsciously touched the corner of his mouth; the drool that had flowed from his lips while he was sleeping hadn't dried yet.

Realizing what had happened, Nishio Reki yelled and then, as if electrocuted, kicked Yuuki Enishi, who had been sleeping next to her just a second before, off the sofa.

Yuuki Yukina rolled on the ground, then her head hit the lid of the coffin placed in front of the sofa with a dull thud.

Then, right in front of him, Yuuki Yuki curled up in a ball, covering her head like a boiled crayfish, rolling around on the ground howling in pain.

It took about ten minutes for the chaotic yet not so chaotic situation to finally settle down.

The spilled drink was thrown into the trash can, and the floor was mopped several times to remove the stains.

After mopping the floor, Yuuki Yuki was wearing Nishio Reki's uniform. The clothes she had worn when she arrived had been taken off and piled in the corner of the sofa.

Yuuki En sat sullenly on the sofa some distance away from Nishio Reki, with a bump on his head from the earlier collision and his face still flushed from the earlier incident.

“Um…” Nishio Reki swallowed hard, moistening his parched throat, and secretly glanced at Yuuki Yuuki’s current expression.

She had to say something to ease the awkwardness, but Nishio Reki herself was the culprit behind it all.

Half asleep, he pulled Yuuki Yuki into his arms and used her as a human pillow. He acted coquettishly towards her for a long time, and evenly smeared his drool on her clothes. Finally, he kicked her off the sofa.

He himself is guilty, and his sins are unforgivable.

These actions will probably cause my favorability towards Yuuki Eri to drop drastically.

But Nishio Reki couldn't stay silent forever: "Um, Yui, it's just..."

Yuuki Yukino raised her eyes and looked in her direction, her eyes asking herself a question.

"Sorry……"

"Ah, never mind, it's good that you're alright." Yuuki sighed, rubbing her hair, probably rubbing the big bump she had just gotten from the collision.

Nishio Reki asked timidly, as if Hayashi Mustard had possessed her, but she was still able to speak in complete sentences without stuttering.

"But why did Xiaoyuan suddenly come?"

“I messaged you yesterday asking if you wanted to come help out at the coffee shop, but you didn’t reply. You didn’t read my messages all night. I was worried something had happened to you, so I came to your house to check on you.”

Yuuki Yukino raised her phone, which was stuck on the page that Nishio Reki hadn't read.

The reason he didn't reply was because Nishio Reki was still struggling with whether or not he should accept Yuuki Yukino's request.

To be more precise, Nishio Reki didn't know if his involvement would cause trouble for Yuuki Yuuki.

Baqi dislikes V Yiqi VIII and is happy with herself, as Xiwei Li knows.

During the school trip, it was Baqi who specially came to drag me along, and at that time I had similar dilemmas.

But if that's the case, shouldn't I agree?

However, the unread chat box caused Yuuki Yuuki to misunderstand, and she even came to her house.

It was because I didn't explain myself clearly again.

"When I got to your house, I saw you sleeping on the sofa. Did you get drunk from drinking Coke?"

Yuuki asked, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"No, no, that's not it." Nishio Reki coughed. "I just went to sleep before I saw the message."

"What about Coke?"

"I had a nightmare in the middle of the night, so I got up and drank a bottle of Coke. I fell asleep halfway through it."

"So it really is Drunken Cola?" Yuuki Yukina joked, conveying her relief to Nishio Reki.

"Maybe?" Nishio Reki couldn't help but chuckle. "So, does Yui want a drink?"

"Drinking cola first thing in the morning is not healthy at all."

Don't you want it?

"want."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Do You Like Me?

Sipping an ice-cold cola, and listening to Nishio Reki give a detailed explanation of what happened that morning, Yuuki Yukina finally understood the cause and effect of the series of events that had occurred earlier.

Nishio Reki woke up in the middle of the night, sat down and drank a can of cola, and then inexplicably fell asleep. When he woke himself up, he was still in a daze and hugged him.

Although Yuuki Yukino didn't really want to believe it—if Tomoe said it, Yuuki Yukino would absolutely not believe it—the fact that Nishio Reki was genuinely startled when he woke up was undeniable.

Even if being scared can be faked, drooling while lying on one's own chest cannot be faked. No active high school girl would do something so damaging to her image.

Although it sounded strange, Yuuki Yuki believed the story.

Constantly being distracted, Yuuki Yukino almost forgot her original purpose for coming here.

The vast majority of the reason was concern for Arata, but if Arata had any safety issues, then the enemy would at least be at the level of Lava Lantern. Therefore, Yuuki Yuuki guessed that even if something happened to Arata, it would be something like illness, which is why she decided to come and see for herself.

Part of the reason was that she guessed that Li might be struggling again, just like when she invited her to join the school trip, and she had to give her a push.