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

She also understands other people better than Sakura Hanako.

Mizuno Yu brought Yuuki Yui into the discussion partly to find out if Yuuki Yui was planning something; the plans of a fallen magical girl could not be underestimated or ignored.

But Herika guessed correctly about another reason: Mizuno Yu needed to use Yuuki Yui to keep Herika in check.

Herlica's feelings for Yuuki Yuuki couldn't be clearer.

It's all too clear why Helica has become like this. Is she running away from magical girls, Nijisanji, or everything related to Yuuki Yuuki?

Helica is so easy to understand.

It was precisely because Mizuno Yu understood Helica well enough that she knew that trying to win Helica back with mere words, like Sakura Hanako had done, wouldn't work.

Only Helica herself can resolve this inner conflict.

Only when Helica confronts her own heart and stops trying to solve problems by running away can that knot in her heart be untied, and only then can Nijisanji have a chance to start anew.

Although Mizuno Yui cannot help Helica resolve her inner conflict, she can offer a small amount of assistance.

Making Helica confront Yuuki Yuuki directly is a simple, direct, but potentially effective method.

Mizuno Yu's throat bobbed a few times, then she picked up the coffee on the table and used the warm liquid to suppress her voice.

"One last question: what are your feelings for Helica the Thunder God?"

Chapter Forty-Seven: Deep Regret

"One last question: As for you, what are your feelings towards Helica the Thunder God?"

boom.

Helica, who had remained silent until now, watching with suspicion what was happening before her eyes that she could no longer interfere with, could no longer sit still and suddenly stood up from the sofa.

Why ask such a question!

Herlica slammed her fist on the heavy glass tabletop, as if it had hit a solid empty box, producing a dull thud.

Shocked by the punch, the brown liquid swirling in the coffee cup leaped over the rim, splashing onto the pure white cup wall, onto the transparent table, and submerging the music poster pressed under the glass.

The café, which wasn't noisy but was always filled with quiet chatter, suddenly fell silent, as if someone had pressed a mute button, and all sounds were sucked away in that instant.

Immediately afterwards, the table where Helica was located once again became the focus of the guests' attention.

Helica sensed their gazes, which felt like spears piercing her and torches setting her ablaze.

Helica had experienced this feeling more than once, when blaming others in the school cafeteria or when standing up for someone on the bus to school.

"What are you looking at?! What's it to you?!"

Despite her strong desire to change the status quo, Helica remains the same Helica.

The hedgehog's quills stood up again, covering its entire body and blocking the view of others, causing them to subconsciously keep their distance from it.

Hedgehogs are timid; bluffing won't make them lower their guard. Only when they hide in places where they are not easily seen can they truly feel at ease.

Before Helica could even get a reply from Mizuno Yu, she couldn't bear the fact that she had become the target of everyone's criticism. She whispered her grievances to the people around her, which only she could hear, and then sat down.

Mizuno Yuu couldn't possibly answer why Helica asked that question. Her question wasn't gossip; on the contrary, it was essential to changing the stagnant situation.

She needed to understand Yuuki Yukino's thoughts, as well as Helica's thoughts, in order to plan the next step.

"As for me?" Yuuki Yu accurately identified the key point in Mizuno Yu's question and repeated it. The breath she exhaled from her nose made it seem as if she had made up her mind to confront this sensitive issue.

The girls sitting around the table all perked up their ears, and several pairs of eyes fell on the little devil girl in the bartender's uniform standing by the table, waiting to hear the answer from Yuuki Yukino.

Although their reasons for curiosity differed, they all held their breath at the same moment.

We've now reached a crucial point.

Not as a corrupted magical girl or a member of Nijisanji, nor as their friend or enemy, but simply as Yuuki Yukino, after shedding all labels.

The answer to this question will certainly cause a slight deviation in the future course of events.

Yuuki Yukino's lips parted, and she began to utter the words that everyone had been waiting for.

"My feelings for Helica are actually..."

But a voice, louder and more urgent than Yuuki's, came closer and closer to them, eventually drowning out Yuuki's voice.

"What's wrong! What's wrong! What happened?"

Mizuno Yu noticed the discordant note that broke the perfect atmosphere: the cloaked woman who had just spoken to Yuuki Yuuki at the bar.

Judging from her age, this woman was clearly not in the same age group as me, but she was still very young and should be the store manager.

Judging from what she said after running to her desk, Mizuno Yu believed she hadn't guessed wrong.

"Excuse me, did our staff cause you any trouble?"

As the manager of the shop, Minato Nana prioritizes the customers. Without asking Yuuki Enishi the specific reason, she immediately tries to calm the customers down.

Yuuki Yukina, who seemed about to give an answer, was interrupted by Minato Nana. She pursed her lips and took two steps back to make room for Minato Nana, the shop manager, to communicate directly with the customers.

Having witnessed all of this, Mizuno Yu narrowed her eyes, her gaze fixed on Yuuki Yuki's face, who had stepped back slightly.

Herlica's overreaction to her question was unexpected, but also within Mizuno Yu's expectations.

Because of Helica's excitement, Mizuno Yu believed that her guess about Helica was correct; she did indeed have special feelings for Yuuki Yuuki.

Herika tried her best to stop Yuuki from getting involved. Considering everything that happened in Nijiba City—for example, Herika was naked after she turned off her transformation, yet there were no signs of violence against her, while Yuuki had some strange marks on her body—Mizuno Yuu had some new perspectives on the relationship between the two.

Therefore, how Yuuki Eri will react to Helica's overreaction is something Mizuno Yu wants to observe.

Yuuki Yukino seized upon this unexpected event to avoid addressing her own problems.

It was the worst possible outcome, and Mizuno Yu once again realized how troublesome Yuuki Eri was because she wasn't on his side.

Yuuki Yui never said she didn't intend to answer, but now that the store manager had been drawn over, she couldn't hear Yuuki Yui's answer.

“No.” Mizuno Yu knew that there was no point in continuing the confrontation with Yuuki Yui, so she turned her gaze away and looked at Minato Nana who had come over: “My companion got a little agitated while we were talking.”

"Yes, the seniors were just joking, it's nothing." Sakura Hanako pushed up her glasses, speaking up for Mizuno Yu, which was actually also to protect Helica's image in front of the store manager.

The situation is already very chaotic. Sakura Hanako doesn't know if her original goal—to persuade Tenrai Helica—is still possible in this atmosphere. The most urgent task is to calm the chaos and get the conversation back on track.

"is it?"

With a puzzled look on her face, Minato Nana then began to seek Yuuki Yukino's answer with her eyes.

Yuki Yui knew the guests at this table; she had mentioned to them before coming that she wanted to say a few words to her friends at school.

But knowing someone doesn't mean you have a good relationship; "friend" is just a title.

Minato Nana was worried that Yuki Yuki might have been wronged in some way—after all, Yuki Yuki was her best friend's younger sister, and it wouldn't do for her to suffer a loss in her shop.

If something really troubles Yuuki Yukino, I'll use the excuse of letting her go back to work to help her get away, and I'll just say a few words to calm these people down.

This is a unique sense of solidarity among rock musicians, or you could say they protect their own.

However, Minato Nana couldn't just send Yuuki Yukino back without understanding the situation, in case she did so and damaged Yuuki Yukino's relationship with her friends...

After all, Yuuki Yukino is Tamaki's younger sister.

Moreover, these people's behavior doesn't seem like a simple argument, but rather there's more to it than meets the eye. We need to ask Yuuki Yukino about the ins and outs of the matter.

"Yes, these are my friends from the clubs we formed together in school. Although I no longer participate in club activities, it's still nice to see them again. Even if they don't invite me, I'll come and visit when I have free time."

Nana had also heard about the club's affairs. One day, Yuuki was late for work because of this, and there was also a junior who was chasing after Yuuki, wanting to make up with her. It seemed that the girl with glasses was the person Yuuki was talking about.

"Then everyone made a joke and asked some personal questions, and my friend got a little emotional."

The information Yuki Yuki provided was enough for Minato Nana to understand the current situation. She could also guess fairly well why Yuki Yuki had been called over and why there were these minor conflicts.

The reason they came to the store might also be related to Yuki.

Although Yuuki Yukino didn't ask for help in the second and eighth sentences, since she said that, the underlying message was that I needed to intervene.

The current situation is one where "Yuki Eri would find it troublesome".

"Now that you've said your goodbyes, go back to work. They're waiting for you over there." Minato Nana waved towards the counter, as if urging Yuuki Yukino to leave.

When she turned to Yuuki Yuki's friends, Minato Nana immediately put on the shopkeeper's smile again: "I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion, but we still need Yuuki's help with the work at the shop, so can we talk about it after Yuuki finishes his work?"

Mizuno Yu nodded slightly: "It was our fault for calling Yuki over and disrupting your business."

The person who brought everyone to the store was Sakura Hanako, but when it really needed to be addressed, the person whose words carried the most weight was Mizuno Yu.

Normally, Mizuno Yuu wouldn't need to do any of this. The person who usually makes the plans and points out the direction is Helica, and the person who always comes forward to communicate is Yuuki Yuuki.

The point isn't who steps forward, but rather that Mizuno Yu guessed what information Yuuki Yuki and the shopkeeper had exchanged, causing a subtle shift in the shopkeeper's attitude.

Those subtle changes are reflected in the store manager urging Yuuki Enishi to go back to work—to extricate Yuuki Enishi from her current situation.

Yuuki Yukino showed no inclination to refuse to answer questions; on the contrary, she was very cooperative, giving the impression that she had nothing to hide.

However, judging from the results, Yuuki Yuki didn't say anything at all.

Mizuno Yu saw through the true nature of the matter, which is why she was not deceived by Yuuki Yui.

But watching helplessly as Yuuki Yui was instructed by the store manager to go back to work and extricate herself from her own problems was something that Mizuno Yui could do nothing about.

"Oh, right."

Yuuki Yukino, who should have stepped back, didn't rush to take a step; instead, she stopped.

"I forgot to introduce you, Ms. Minato, this friend of mine is a fan of yours."

"Fans?" Minato Nana was taken aback at first.

She didn't understand why Yuuki Enishi brought this up at this time.

Immediately afterward, Minato Nana remembered what Yuuki Tamaki had said to her in the coffee shop the night before:

“Yuan has a friend, a blonde, short girl, who is a fan of ours. If she sees you, your identity will be exposed.”

Blonde hair, not very tall.

It was also a bit noisy.

She's the girl who just attracted attention twice.

Even though Yuuki Tamaki knows about her, she is Yuuki Yuki's friend, but Yuuki Yuki seems to have no interaction with her at all.

The problem lies with this child and Yuuki Enishi.

Despite her own thoughts, Minato Nana didn't quite understand why Yuuki Yuki had taken the initiative to introduce Helica to her, but she certainly gave the appropriate response.

"Oh! I see." Minato Nana slapped her palm, turned to Tenrai Helika, and extended her hand to Helika, ready to shake hands: "You are it, our fan? I've heard Yuuki Tamaki mention you."