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

Even Yuuki herself was unaware of the emotions behind those words.

She only said this to two people.

The other one besides Helica is named Inuyama Tomoe.

It's not about rejecting her feelings or distancing yourself from her; it's simply about telling her the truth.

Herika firmly grasped the meaning behind Yuuki Yuki's actions.

"Mmm." Helica's lips curled up slightly. Even though she pursed her lips to avoid revealing her true feelings, it was clear that she was happy.

“I wouldn’t either,” Helica said softly, shaking her head. “Dating a corrupted magical girl is absolutely impossible.”

The sound of metal buckles was exceptionally clear in the quiet night. Helica placed her hand in front of her and untied the belt from her jeans with one hand.

Herlica raised her hands and carefully and meticulously fastened the belt around Yuuki En's waist.

The jet-black leather belt still smelled of leather, as well as a faint scent of laundry detergent and the girl's own fragrance.

Those scents were so close to Yuuki Yuuki, and the sash, still warm from the girl's body, wrapped around Yuuki Yuuki's neck, passed through the buckle, and tightened around her neck.

Herlica moved so slowly, as if she were tying a tie for her partner who was about to leave in the morning.

Before she could completely choke Yuuki Eri, Herlica stopped, twirling the leather belt in her hand before gripping it tightly.

"But, isn't it only right that the evil magical girl who played so many pranks on me deserves some righteous punishment?"

Helica, who had been expecting a clear answer from Yuuki Yuki since she entered, didn't need one this time.

Herlica gently pulled on her belt, bringing Yuuki Yuki to her side.

Pulling on the belt that connected the two, the blonde girl craned her neck and leaned in, sealing Yuuki Yukino's burning desire with her cool lips, and all the words she could utter.

This time, there was no more malicious bite, and it was no longer brief.

Autumn generally refers to September, October, and November.

However, in the public's perception, after Halloween, on the last day of October, autumn should be over, followed by early winter when people wait for snowfall.

This season, as long as the deep kiss Helica offered, faded away as the girls slowly parted ways.

But the last night of autumn was still long, long enough for the girls, who had all kept silent after that long, lingering touch, to have enough time to put their unspoken feelings into action.

Before dawn, Tenrai Herika had ample time to help Yuuki Yuuki put back on the nightgown she had personally removed, to cover the exhausted girl with a blanket, and to wait with her in her sleep for tomorrow to arrive.

"Ah... Achoo!"

Sakura Hanako, standing at the corner downstairs, hugged her shoulders and sneezed.

"Mizuno-senpai, how much longer do we have to wait?"

When asked the question, Mizuno Yu raised her head and looked up at the room upstairs that was never lit, as silent as the night itself.

"Let's go back."

"Go back? But what if something happens to Senior Tianlei? I mean, what if our guess is wrong, what if Yuuki Yuen did something to Senior Tianlei, and Senior Tianlei is alone..."

Sakura Hanako was surprised by Mizuno Yu's sudden decision. Exhausted from the battle that night, she forced herself to stay awake and waited here for the dangers that Helica might encounter when she ventured into the Demon Cave alone.

"Tianlei won't come out."

As Mizuno Yu spoke, she turned and walked back the way they had come.

"But if Senior Tianlei doesn't come out... doesn't that mean she's in danger?"

Sakura Hanako glanced upstairs, then at Mizuno Yu's receding figure. After hesitating for a moment, she caught up with Mizuno Yu's pace.

Who is in danger?

Mizuno Yu's usually serious tone now carried a hint of playfulness.

“Of course it’s Senior Tenrai! Otherwise, could it be Yuuki En?” Sakura Hanako replied immediately.

"Sakura, what do you think Tenrai is doing right now?"

"What are you doing? Senior Tenrai, she..." Sakura Hanako thought for a moment, her cheeks flushed red, but fortunately, in the middle of the night when even the streetlights were off, nothing could illuminate her embarrassment.

After a brief silence, only the girls' disordered footsteps gradually gained rhythm and became synchronized.

"Senior, let's go back."

Chapter Sixty-Five: An Ordinary Today, Towards Tomorrow

On the first day of early winter, the school was as peaceful as ever, just like any other ordinary day before the snow had fallen.

Whether it was the Halloween revelry of many students last night or the battle between magical girls near Moonsea Park, after a night of silence, they were no longer mentioned, as if they had never existed.

After all, no matter what happened in the past, today is just an ordinary Thursday, and there is still work and study to do today.

Everything was as usual.

"Student, this is a prohibited item and you are not allowed to bring it into the school. According to the regulations, we will confiscate it. After school, please bring an explanation to the student council to take it back, understand?"

Today, Azusa Niijima, the student council president of Yuehai Junior High School, also took the lead by standing at the school gate, randomly checking students' backpacks for prohibited items.

"After the midterm exams, many students have become complacent. Dear students, your future goal may not be to go to college, but learning will always be beneficial to you."

Before class today, the homeroom teacher suddenly had the idea to give the students a moral education session. This kind of thing happens every now and then, and everyone is used to it.

Yes, as always, everything is so ordinary and beautiful, and life always moves forward.

For Yuuki Eri, in particular, being able to settle down and enjoy an ordinary life is already a luxury.

Although Li told herself that the pollution of the Black Demon Pattern might erupt at some point, nothing like that had happened since the day she encountered the fragment of Lin Jiezi.

Just because something didn't happen doesn't mean it didn't exist. Yuuki Enishi still cherishes every ordinary day she's experiencing now.

"By the way, Hong sent a message that Saint Yuu Academy did indeed issue an announcement stating that Saint Shion has resigned from her position as dean and that Saint Mashiro has taken over the position. That woman really wasn't lying."

During lunch break, Inuyama Tomoe, who was sitting in the corner of the cafeteria with Yuuki Yuki, swallowed a mouthful of fried pork cutlet, put down her chopsticks, and suddenly brought up the matter from before.

“Even if she lied to us, it wouldn’t do Mashiro any good, and besides, she has no reason to lie.” Yuuki Yukino put down the chopsticks she was about to pick up. “Does Kurenai have anything else to say?”

"Because she is still acting as the student council president, she knows a little more. It is said that the other shareholders of the academy do not quite agree with this matter."

Saint Yonyou Academy is, after all, a prestigious private school. While cultivating talent, it also has many shareholders. Its overall structure is more like a company than a school, and the students sent to the school are more like investments from wealthy people.

Of course, providing your child with the best education is not only an investment but also an expression of love for them, and there's nothing wrong with that.

However, it's understandable that they would have objections if such a school, which is structured like a company, suddenly replaced its head dean with someone they didn't know, and who wasn't even a member of the "Saint's" family but an adopted daughter.

"What about Mashiro Gakuen? He can't just beat up all the shareholders one by one, can he?"

Yuuki Yukino made the joke casually, but she was genuinely curious about what the future would hold.

Even if the shareholders don't agree, Mashiro Gakuen certainly won't compromise, given the dual reasons of being a magical girl and needing to protect the place that Hijiri, whom he's never met, values.

“No, that’s not it. Hong said that Genki Mashiro directly slapped a set of rectification plans onto the faces of those shareholders, literally their faces, and then said to them: ‘If anyone can come up with a better plan than this, then that person will be the chairman.’”

"And then?" Yuuki Yui found this matter increasingly interesting.

Of course, this is only from a casual, gossipy perspective. Yukihara doesn't find the matter of Mashiro returning to Tsukishiro City interesting at all.

"Then, Xu Yanzhenbai's plan was flawless and insightful. Every point pointed out the current problems of Saint Youjiu Academy, and the solutions were all fully feasible. The shareholders put away their sour faces and happily agreed."

"Oh." Yuuki Yukino hadn't expected this result: "What did Hong say?"

“Hong said she read it too. If she could come up with a proposal as excellent as Genki Mashiro’s, she would never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of her life.”

"Is it really that powerful?"

“Yes, Hong told me herself. I can show you the chat history if you don’t believe me.” Baqi took out her phone from her pocket, scrolled through it a few times, and placed the message Hongmo had sent her while getting her hair cut in the middle of the screen. She then pushed it from the dining table to Yuuki Yuki.

Yuuki picked up her phone and scrolled through it. There was indeed a lot of content. What Baqi said was not an exaggeration at all, or rather, it was quite restrained. It was only about the plan of Urouge Mashiro. Koumari praised it highly.

If you were to pinpoint the two people that Koumori dislikes the most, it would definitely be Kuroba Laisei and Genki Mashiro, the two who caused her so much trouble. Even so, the fact that Koumori still gives such a high evaluation shows that Genki Mashiro is indeed quite something.

Yuuki Yui glanced at the phone casually and handed it back to Baqi: "What about the investigation that Genki Mashiro mentioned?"

"There's no progress, and there's no way there could be any progress. It's only been a morning. I know Xiaoyuan might be very anxious, but there's no use being anxious. That woman openly told us the direction of her investigation; she definitely didn't have good intentions."

Baqi picked up a small handful of rice and put it in her mouth, chewing as she answered without affecting her clear pronunciation.

"Besides, Xiaoyuan, if it were so easy for Hong to find out, she would have already discovered that something was wrong with Saint Youyou Academy."

Indeed, Koumori and Mizuno Yu are similar, both being meticulous types. Moreover, she is the student council president and had spent so much time with Kuroba Kisei before this. If there were any clues, she wouldn't have suddenly discovered them this morning.

In other words, the problematic part is most likely in an area that Hong Moli has not yet encountered.

There's no need for Baqi to relay these words; she can just find a time to talk to Hong Moli directly.

But there's no need to rush. It's unrealistic to solve the problem in a short time. Taking steady steps, one at a time, is the best option.

Although Yuuki Yuuki was somewhat unwilling to deal with these headaches, it could be considered a form of escapism.

However, acting rashly might play right into Genjiro Masashiro's hands, and it's not a viable option.

Yuuki Yukino's contemplation was misinterpreted by Inuyama Tomoe as her anxiety over the lack of progress, leading her to comfort Yuuki Yukino instead:

"Oh well, there's no use thinking about it now. What's done is done, let's eat first."

Yuki didn't need to explain everything to Baqi clearly, especially not this kind of explanation that would sound like she was being argumentative. So she picked up her chopsticks and continued slurping her large bowl of ramen.

"Oh, right."

After taking a few bites, Baqi seemed to suddenly remember something and gulped down the food in her mouth.

"Xiaoyuan, I just thought of something else. You did so many terrible things to those short, blond-haired girls yesterday. They must hold a grudge, right? Could they cause you trouble in the future?"

"Just think about it, if those magical girls at school were to lay a hand on Xiaoyuan, she would definitely feel very troubled, right?"

Theoretically, Baqi's concerns are reasonable, but in reality, they are unnecessary.

Yuuki Yui didn't tell Baqi that Herika had come to her house in the middle of the night to confront her, and she wouldn't be foolish enough to tell Baqi that. It has nothing to do with trust. If Baqi knew what Herika had done to her, she would have torn her apart.

But after talking with Helica that night, Yuuki Yukina realized that the other members of Nijisanji could probably guess what she was planning. Although they didn't approve of her actions at all, they wouldn't treat her as an enemy.

Of course, it's impossible for her, as a fallen magical girl, to brazenly return to Nijisanji. Not only would the other members feel somewhat awkward, but even Yuuki Yukino herself would feel it's not quite appropriate.

This is why, even after resolving all the issues, she and Baqi still ate takeout together in the cafeteria at noon.

On the contrary, since Hong Moli had helped him so much, he had to find a way to reward them.

"Probably not. Even if something goes wrong, I can handle it. Besides, the people who need to worry are Hong and the others, right?"

“Indeed, it’s worrying to fight alone in the Holy Age Academy,” Baqi nodded in agreement.

"I'm not talking about fighting alone or anything like that. The two of them risked their lives to help us, so we should do something to show our appreciation, right?"