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

"And then?" Nishio Reki's eyes, which had just softened, sharpened again.

Helica, who was being stared at like that, touched her fingers, intertwining two fingers together and fiddling with them.

"Then, I... replenished my mana..."

"Did you come here just to show off to me?" Nishio Reki slammed his chair back, stood up, and turned to leave.

"No! Of course not! How could that be!" Herica leaned her upper body over the table and struggled to grab Nishio Reki's clothes so that he couldn't leave her openly.

"You want to hear me out? Can you let me finish?" Helica tugged at Nishio Reki's arm and looked at him with hopeful eyes, indicating that she wanted him to sit down again.

Nishio Reki rolled her eyes, sighed helplessly through her nose, and sat back down in the chair she had pulled out, but the distance between her and Helica was even greater than before.

"Go on."

"Well, you know I like Yuuki Yuki, right? So I went in, intending to find out what Yuuki Yuki was thinking. Then I thought, since Yuuki Yuki tricked me, I have to trick her back."

As Helica spoke, her face turned completely red. In the end, she simply covered her face with both hands, hiding her shy expression, and occasionally made a strange "uh-huh" sound.

"Then, well, I was too shy, so I acted very, very forcefully, so I used a belt, and... I tied it around Yuuki Yukina's neck, and then..."

boom.

Nishio Reki stood up even more decisively than before, and turned to leave without a moment's hesitation.

"Wait! Wait a minute!" Helica, disregarding how shy she was, scrambled over the desk they used for meals and grabbed Nishio Reki in a flurry: "I haven't finished talking yet, where are you going?"

"So you're just here to show off." Nishio Reki tried to shake Helica's hand off, but couldn't.

"No! I already said no, can't you just let me finish?" Helica grabbed Nishio Reki's clothes and stomped her feet repeatedly, like an ant on a hot pan. "And didn't you say before that you were going to help me, right?"

Yes, Nishio Reki did say something like that before. When Helica told her in Nijiba City that she wanted to confess to Yuuki Yuuki, she felt self-loathing and thought she was not worthy to stand next to Yuuki Yuuki. As if destroying herself, she agreed to help Helica pursue Yuuki Yuuki.

But then, on the eve of Halloween, Yuuki Yuki completely cleared away Nishio Reki's self-blame and self-loathing, giving Nishio Reki the opportunity to face his own feelings.

Looking back, I realize I was perhaps too humble in the past. When it comes to things I want to do and people I like, Nishio Reki could have been much bolder.

"Right? You said you could help me with Yuuki Yukino's matter, right?" Helica grabbed Nishio Reki's sleeve and shook it several times. "Besides you, I don't know who else to talk to! Anyway! It's a really troublesome situation!"

“I did say that before.” Nishio Reki nodded, acknowledging Helica’s statement, which made Helica’s eyes light up with anticipation.

That glimmer of light that had just begun to ignite was extinguished by Nishio Reki's next words.

"But the past is the past, and the present is the present. Don't confuse the past with the present."

Helica quietly let go of her hand.

Isn't she clear enough about Nishio Reki's words and the impatience she showed when she heard her say those things?

As someone who also harbors special feelings for Yuuki Yuki, Helica knew without even thinking what Nishio Reki would think.

If it were Ba Qi or Li who said something like that to me, I would probably just leave cursing and swearing, and maybe even kick them a couple of times in anger.

Looking back, it was utterly unreasonable of me to bring this up with Nishio Reki.

"So, what exactly are you trying to say?" Nishio Reki pulled his chair further away and plopped down.

"Are you still willing to listen to me?"

"Anyway, that's the kind of person you are, and you've already made me unhappy enough," Nishio Reki scoffed.

“Oh, okay, okay, here’s what happened!” Helica cleared her throat, puffed out her cheeks, and took a long time to gather her thoughts.

"I... I don't know how to express my feelings. I also feel that I am special to Yuuki Yuuki..."

Helica is indeed special; Nishio Reki knows Yuuki Yuuki's preferences.

Given that Yuuki Yuuki has completely turned to the dark side, as Nishio Reki already knows, she still makes a point of capturing Helica and giving her a good beating before turning her into her own personal body pillow. No one would believe that she doesn't have special feelings for her.

"Then, all I could do was... well, act very assertive, you know? I mean, control Yuuki Enishi in my own way... otherwise, I'd be too shy to do anything!"

"But, but I think I went too far! It was like harassment! You understand? You should understand, right?"

"That's right, I want to hold her hand, I want to hug her, I want to... basically, I want to do more with Yuuki Yuki, but whenever I try to get close to her, I don't know what to do!"

"Because I'm really shy! But I also want to... and... and I feel like I'm doing something like a pervert... so..."

Herica spoke incoherently, gesturing wildly with both hands in front of Nishio Reki, trying to make him understand her meaning.

"Alright, stop talking."

Nishio Reki abruptly interrupted Helica's incoherent and nonsensical remarks. Listening to Helica talk about such inexplicable things, Nishio Reki felt as if his own mind was about to go crazy.

Helica's words were incoherent, but Nishio Reki could understand what she was trying to say.

Yuuki En once used this word to describe Helica the Thunder God: "Proud and Sinking".

Nishio Reki even consulted Yuuki En to learn what exactly Ao Chen was all about.

"So-called arrogance is using a very strong exterior to hide one's fragile heart. Look at Helica, she's always cursing and acting rashly, wanting to lead everyone by herself. It's all a reflection of her lack of self-confidence."

This is how Yuuki Yukino explained it at the time.

"Lack of confidence?" At that time, Nishio Reki also failed to understand what Yuuki Yukino meant.

"Yes, that's right, it's a lack of self-confidence. Of course, you can't generalize. I'm only referring to Helica Tenryu. She plays an ideal version of herself in an exaggerated way, using hurting others to protect herself."

"Isn't that terrible? How can someone be so selfish?"

"Yes, she's really terrible. Xiao Li is absolutely right. Not only do we think so, but she thinks so herself. After doing something excessive, she falls into self-loathing. In short, she has a very troublesome personality."

This is how Yuuki Yukino explained Helica's personality to herself at the time, and Nishio Reki thought Yuuki Yukino's assessment was very insightful.

This should be the "sinking" part of "proud and sullen", right?

Nishio Reki summarized Helica's statement in a simple way, and what Helica wanted to express was not complicated.

Because Helica really likes Yuuki Yuuki and wants to get close to him, even be intimate with him, but she's too shy to confess her feelings directly to him, so she pretends to be completely unashamed when she's with him.

Then, the specific manifestation of Tenrai Herika's pretense of not being shy at all was that she engaged in extremely greasy harassment of Yuuki Yuuki like a pervert.

As a result, Herica successfully pushed Yuuki Yuki once, but the negative feedback was that Herica became even more shy after that, and now she doesn't even know how to face Yuuki Yuki.

This is like how a primary school boy expresses his feelings for a girl by relentlessly bullying her.

This is utterly absurd! Helica is a current high school girl, she's not some elementary school boy anymore! No! She's never been an elementary school boy!

Oh, and also, she's now worried that doing this might have caused Yuuki Eri any psychological trauma, so she came to me for relationship counseling.

That's right. These kinds of emotional matters can't be discussed with Nijisanji, nor can they be directly told to Yuuki Yukino. Deciding to be Helica's wingman in Nijiha City makes me the most suitable person to do so.

The question is, is there any need for emotional counseling for this kind of inexplicable behavior?

Nishio Reki had only one assessment of Helica's actions.

Are you crazy?

Chapter Sixty-Seven Travel Plan

"Huh? Xiao Li had a nightmare? What kind of nightmare was it that kept Xiao Li awake all night?"

Upon hearing that Nishio Reki had a nightmare, Yuuki Yukino, who had extensive experience with such things, immediately approached him with an expression of someone who had been through it all, and cautiously began to inquire about the situation.

Inuyama Tomoe also curiously joined in. After spending some time together, Tomoe and Reki's relationship had become much more harmonious. Even though Tomoe didn't acknowledge Reki as her friend, her attitude towards him had changed drastically.

“Yes, I dreamt about Yui…” Nishio Reki hesitated, swallowing back the contents of the dream—her own memory: “Yui died.”

"Huh? So you came so early today just to spread the word that I'm dead?" Yuuki Yuen smirked, looking incredulous.

Yuuki Yukino's strange thought process made Nishio Reki's originally heavy mood less serious for a moment, but the impact of the bad experience from last night until now was definitely not something that could be made to disappear without a trace with just a few words.

"Of course not! I was also very saddened by Xiaoyuan's death!" Nishio Reki replied, lifting his head from his seat.

“Indeed, I would feel unhappy if I dreamed that something happened to Xiaoyuan.” Baqi nodded in deep understanding, then gave Nishio Reki a thumbs up: “But it’s okay, dreams are always the opposite of reality.”

"The opposite?" Nishio Reki had heard this before. She didn't need comfort or anything like that; she just wanted an excuse to make herself feel better.

“Yes! On the contrary, I know someone who dreamed that she was blown up by a tank cannon.” Baqi eagerly began to tell her story.

"And then? Did she blow up the tank?" Yuuki asked, cooperating with Baqi. She was also very curious about what Baqi was going to say.

Baqi shook her finger mysteriously: "No, no, no, she was later killed by an anti-tank gun."

"Are you sick in the head?" Nishio Reki blurted out.

What Baqi was talking about was really nonsense. The first thing that came to Yuuki Yuuki's mind was a pig dreaming that he became a sailor and eventually turned into ham, which was much more interesting than what Baqi was talking about.

Really? Both seem pretty bad.

Baqi's jokes may be corny, but they are undeniably effective.

After venting, Nishio Reki felt much better.

She knew she would have to tell Yuuki about Helica, but she felt it was better not to tell her yet.

If Inuyama Hatsuki heard this, she would definitely be very unhappy, and seeing Hatsuki unhappy would make her unhappy too.

"By the way, Xiaoyuan, what are you planning to do so early in the morning?" Nishio Reki finally returned to the original topic.

Yuuki Yukina came to find him first, but Nishio Reki was still immersed in the triple annoyance of waking up from a nightmare and Helica's venting. Yuuki Yukina, who keenly sensed that something was wrong with him, asked him what had happened before he mentioned having a nightmare.

"Ah, well, it's a bit difficult to say." Yuuki Yuen scratched her head and turned to look at Inuyama Tomoe beside her.

But Baqi didn't seem to be going to answer for Yuuki Yuuki at all. Instead, she crossed her arms and gestured towards Yuuki Yuuki with her chin, indicating that Yuuki Yuuki should speak for herself.

Compared to Helica Tenrai, Yuuki Yuuki's struggle was much shorter; after scratching her hair again, she made up her mind.

"Xiao Li, can you work for me for two days this weekend?"

"why?"

It makes perfect sense to ask Yuuki Yukino for her reasons. No matter how much Nishio Reki values ​​Yuuki Yukino, he wouldn't just go and work for her without a clear understanding of the situation.

Recalling the way Yuuki Yukino looked at Tomoe earlier, a guess immediately formed in her mind.

"Are you two going on a date?"

It wouldn't be surprising if Yuuki Yuki and Inuyama Tomoe went on a date, but it's a bit unfair that they made me work on the date.

Unfortunately, it's not impossible for Yuuki Yuki, that scumbag pink-haired girl, to do such a thing. While she cares about herself, she also does some extremely despicable things.

"It's not a date, I'm just planning to go out and have some fun for a couple of days."

What's the difference between that and dating?

Nishio Reki felt a little uncomfortable, but he couldn't blame Yuuki Eri.

Yuuki Yukino is free to decide when and with whom she wants to go out.