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

That was the end of that topic. Minato Nana organized her thoughts and came to the point that she had wanted to make from the beginning.

The preceding sentences were all preparation for this statement.

"And then there's the girl with black hair I mentioned to you. She's very sensible and knows how to behave appropriately. She's a very polite and good girl."

At this point, Minato Nana suddenly changed the subject: "But her grades aren't very good. She even had to stay for extra tutoring during the midterms a few days ago."

After waiting for a while without hearing Nana Minato continue speaking, Tamaki Yuuki finally urged her, "Bad grades don't mean anything, so what?"

"How can it not mean anything? Those evil magical girls are troubled by malice in their hearts all day long. How can they concentrate on studying? In my opinion, evil magical girls should not have good grades. Otherwise, do you think they could get first place? And become student council president?"

Minato Nana stopped abruptly at this point.

These judgments are all subjective, and Minato Nana herself knows that there is no point in saying them, so she went back to the main topic she originally intended to talk about.

“I talked to that girl last night. When there were fewer customers last night, she said that she had a conflict with Yuuki Yui, and Yuuki Yui might still hold a grudge against her!”

This time, Nana didn't get a reply from Tamaki, so she continued, feeling awkward.

"When we were chatting, the topic of magical girls somehow came up, and I casually asked her what she thought about ordinary people being with magical girls."

Yuuki Tamaki's eyes flickered for a moment as he focused on telling his story, oblivious to the fact that he was still engrossed in talking about his own affairs, his eyes fixed on Minato Nana inside the counter.

"Guess what? She said that the person you like should be the person you like, and there's nothing wrong with a magical girl being with an ordinary person. If the other person is evil, then you can correct their evil or something. Sound familiar?"

Minato Nana raised an eyebrow, her tone suddenly becoming unusually relaxed.

She saw that Tamaki Yuuki answered her with a nod.

"Yes, that's what I thought too, many years ago, but I already knew it was impossible..."

The grumbling stopped there, and Nana's topic, like a game of checkers, jumped back to its original position.

"This answer might not be a problem; people will think all sorts of things, but... oh right! I remember now, we brought up magical girls because I asked her what it would be like if your sister wore a magical girl outfit."

"This is it. Her exact words were something like, 'Xiao Yuan's magical costume must be so cute.' I don't remember the exact words, but that's about it. Did you spot the key point?"

Yuki Tamaki's brows furrowed once again, as if to say, "Don't keep me in suspense."

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. She said 'magical outfit.' Kurisu also mentioned this term. It's a term only magical girls would know. It refers to the outfit a magical girl wears after transforming. Do you understand?"

Yuki Tamaki was still frowning, which made Minato Nana feel a sense of disappointment, as if she had just finished telling a joke, but the other person's lips hadn't even twitched.

"It's because of this that I suspected she was a magical girl. She spoke so naturally. Magical girls usually hide their identities, but she still let it slip."

"Oh, right, there's another piece of evidence, which is what I just mentioned about having a conflict with your sister."

"Also, she's always acting strangely, like she's worried about something, so she's a bit gloomy. I suspect it's the same as when Chestnut was affected."

"Wait, there's more, there's more..." Minato Nana searched her mind for information, trying to remind Yuuki Tamaki as much as possible, to tell her that she was not exaggerating.

She might really be exaggerating, but past tragedies forced her to do so.

Yuki Tamaki, a fellow victim of the tragedy, is acting so calmly that, in Minato Nana's view, he has absolutely no sense of crisis.

Therefore, she had to say something to make Yuuki Tamaki take it seriously.

This could be considered meddling, but since it had already come to this point, even if it was her doing something unnecessary, Minato Nana didn't want the tragedy of the past to repeat itself.

She would never say such divisive things in front of others, but since the other person was Tamaki Yuuki, and Nana Minato was a bit too outspoken.

"Yes, and also, that child's name is Nishio Reki."

Tamaki Yuuki, who had been stared at intently by Nana Minato, finally changed his expression.

"Korechi?" Yuuki Tamaki murmured the name, the tense muscles on his face relaxing. "I understand."

"What, you know?"

"Xiao Li is Yuan's childhood playmate, and they have always had a good relationship. I should have realized that the black-haired girl you mentioned is hers. Xiao Li can't possibly be a magical girl. I can probably guess what's going on."

"What happened?"

Unable to contain her curiosity, Minato Nana quickly inquired about Yuuki Tamaki's thoughts.

Seeing Yuuki Tamaki's indifferent expression, as if he were looking at an idiot, Minato Nana knew she definitely wouldn't get that answer.

"Ah, oh." Minato Nana tried to ease the awkwardness of no one answering her with a strange voice.

That's definitely not enough. For this rare encounter, she needs to find some other topics to talk about.

It was Yuuki Tamaki's idea to meet him at the shop, ostensibly to find out about her younger sister and catch up with her.

Based on what Minato Nana knows about Yuuki Tamaki, this person in front of her has no other purpose.

If she had a purpose, Yuuki Tamaki would have said so on the day she took a bath with Yuuki Yuki and then went to an izakaya with her sister.

If you want to change the subject, you can make a point about the other person's sister.

"Oh, right, I just remembered, your sister asked me today which band I used to be in. Even if she doesn't know me, she must know the name of your band, right?"

“She should know that I mentioned it to her, the last time was a few months ago, which is within the last six months.”

"Phew, thank goodness I didn't tell her."

Minato Nana breathed a sigh of relief, secretly congratulating herself on her previous cleverness.

What Huan said next was not so fortunate.

"But Yuan has a friend, a blonde, short girl, who's a fan of ours. If she sees you, your identity won't be able to be hidden."

"Hidden? I was helping you, my good older sister, hide it." Minato Nana retorted, then fell into deep thought, muttering to herself before directly denying her own memory:

"Fan? Is there such a person? I didn't know your sister had such a friend. She must have never been to my shop."

"Oh, oh, I know who it is." Minato Nana suddenly slapped her palm excitedly: "The silver-haired girl seemed to have mentioned something about a short, blond guy, that must be the person you're talking about."

"I also heard that your sister's club at school disbanded, and the girl you mentioned had some kind of conflict with your sister. Now the two of them are no longer in contact."

"I see," Yuuki Tamaki replied, his expression becoming even more relaxed.

Yuki Tamaki had an easy time, but Minato Nana had it much harder.

"I'll talk, I'll talk! Didn't you ever think about what your sister found out? How could you not tell me about something so dangerous?"

"Danger? What danger is there for you?"

"Of course it's dangerous. If your sister knew that I was the one who caused her to become like this, how do you think she would feel?"

Tamaki Yuuki didn't speak, but her nod was an acknowledgment of Nana Minato's words.

She didn't speak, but others did.

"What does it mean?"

The voice was familiar to both of the people sitting at the bar.

They would not feel unfamiliar with each other; the only connection between the two was one person.

Yuki Tamaki and Minato Nana spun their chairs at the same time, and the figure that was expected to be looking in the direction between them with a puzzled expression.

There was no sound of wind chimes when he entered the store—Yuki Tamaki hadn't even closed the door when he walked in.

Footsteps? The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice the sounds around them at all.

"Yuki, why are you back?" Minato Nana felt a little embarrassed.

"I forgot my backpack in the back, so I came back to get it."

Yuuki Yui was only carrying a bag containing Halloween costumes, proving that she wasn't lying.

"Why is my sister here?" Yuuki Yuki raised her eyebrows, making it impossible for the somewhat guilty Minato Nana to read her emotions.

Why did Minato Nana hide her relationship with Yuuki Tamaki from Yuuki Yuuki? The reason is actually very simple.

Firstly, since Tamaki Yuuki herself didn't intend to tell her sister about this relationship, there was no need for her to overstep her bounds and do it.

Secondly, the best opportunity to talk about this matter has passed. Pretending to be ignorant and saying that he did not guess that Yuuki Eri's sister was a former band member always feels like he is trying to cover up the truth.

Third, if it weren't for the foolish feelings between herself and Kuriko that she now thinks about, Yuuki Yukina wouldn't have suffered that fate. Minato Nana was too embarrassed to tell Yuuki Yukina these things.

Minato Nana's concealment, coupled with that sentence, led Yuuki Yukina to misunderstand.

“And another thing.” Yuuki Yuki’s gaze turned cold as she looked at Minato Nana. This was the first time Minato Nana had seen such emotion in the eyes of the girl in front of her.

“Miss Minato said so,”

Yuki Yukino paused again.

Although she is still using honorifics, given Yuuki Yukino's current expression, she wouldn't be surprised if she called Minato Nana by her full name.

Yuuki Yukino let out a breath, seemingly trying to calm the turmoil in her heart.

"What do you mean, 'Miss Minato is the reason I'm like this'?"

Chapter 40 Running Away from Home?

"Xiao Yuan?"

Baqi rubbed her eyes, unable to believe that the person she saw at her doorstep was Yuuki Yukino.

"Ah."

Yuuki nodded, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Baqi only questioned it briefly. Even if someone could imitate Yuuki Yuuki's appearance, the schoolbag she carried and the bag she used to carry her Halloween costume couldn't be faked.

What puzzled her was why Yuuki Yuuki would appear in this place at this time, with such an expression.

Baqi didn't ask anything. She waved her hand in front of the electronic lock, and the mechanical lock, which reflected the silver-haired girl's face, opened by itself with a beep.

Baqi pulled open the heavy security door, braced herself against it with her back, and turned to look at Yuuki Yukino, who was also looking at her like a stray pink-haired puppy.

"Come in."

I turned on the light switch in the entryway, and the room, which looked almost exactly the same as when I left in the morning, was illuminated by soft white light streaming from the ceiling.

Baqi first placed her schoolbag on the shelf in the entryway, then hooked her leg up and used her fingers to pull the gap between her heel and shoe off Little Red Riding Hood's boots, and did the same on the other side.

After finishing all that, she stepped directly onto the floor. The cool floor soothed her feet, which had been confined all day, and Baqi breathed a long sigh of relief.

Yuuki Yukino, who entered the room behind Baqi, consciously closed the door behind her, just like she always did when she came here.

I took off my shoes and put down my luggage; there was nothing particularly special about it.

Only Yuuki's melancholy expression left Baqi puzzled.

"What's wrong? Weren't you going back to get something, so you let me go first? What happened?"