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

It's not like we all have to squeeze together like on a school trip. Sleeping on a big bed is definitely more comfortable than everyone crowding onto tatami mats.

If someone like Yuki Yuki had never slept on a tatami mat before, they might be curious about it, but considering everything, Yuki Yuki would definitely choose to sleep in two pairs on the bed without hesitation.

Even if everyone actually lived in the same room, it would probably only cause each other a lot of unnecessary trouble.

As for what kind of unnecessary trouble it is, everyone knows the answer but keeps it to themselves.

Similarly, Yuuki Yukino didn't intend to find out what would happen in Koumori and the others' room.

As soon as she got back to her room, Yuuki Yuen immediately turned on the air conditioner to keep the room at a comfortable temperature, and then sprawled out on the bed in a sprawling position.

Since Yuuki had already offered herself to the bed, Baqi certainly couldn't just stand by and watch. She kicked off her shoes, her bare feet, still wet with water droplets, stepped onto the dry tatami mat, getting closer and closer to the bed.

Yuuki rolled around on the bed, making room for herself next to him.

Although Yuuki Yukino still didn't want to go too far on this trip, the dimly lit room, with its quietly flowing yet increasingly ambiguous atmosphere, left Yuuki Yukino with no reason to refuse if something really happened.

Anyway, she won't ask Baqi for anything.

Yuuki felt a slight sink in the soft bed as Tomoe's knees pressed against the edge. From the tremors beneath her, she could feel Tomoe climb onto the bed completely.

Yuuki closed her eyes and gently patted the sheets with her hand hanging by her side.

Baqi understood and moved even closer, placing a slender, girlish arm on Yuuki Yukino's stomach, unintentionally touching the softness beneath her bathrobe.

As Yuuki, having emptied her mind and body, wondered what Tomoe might do, all she could feel was the cool, freshly washed hair of the girl draped over her arm.

Baqi's head seemed weightless as she nestled in Yuuki Yuki's arms, like a small animal, very close to Yuuki Yuki, but only very close.

Baqi's actions seemed very ambiguous, but she never crossed the line.

"Xiao Yuan".

Baqi's breath was very light; it was almost imperceptible through her clothes.

"Ah."

Yuuki hooked her arm around Baqi's shoulder and gently patted the girl's back.

The gentle yet undeniable movements seemed to be telling Baqi that she was here, that she was truly here.

"It's really nice to lie here like this with Xiaoyuan, hehe."

Baqi chuckled twice and rubbed her chin against Yuuki Yukina's arm.

"Why did you suddenly think of bringing this up?" Yuuki Yuen opened her eyes and turned her head toward Baqi.

"It just feels so good to do this. I'll never get tired of doing so much with Yuuki. I really want it to stay like this forever." Baqi looked up at Yuuki with a silly smile, her slightly pursed lips filled with endless joy.

"Let's come back here after everything is over."

"Hey, don't give me that death flag! It's like I'm about to die." Yuuki Yui gently tapped Baqi's head.

Baqi, who was hit by Yuuki Enishi, did not show much displeasure. On the contrary, her not-so-bright expression became even more pronounced, as if it was not a complaint against her, but a kind of affection.

That's not wrong. When Yuuki Yuki said those words, her words were full of doting affection for Tomoe.

"This isn't some death flag, it's my sincere feeling." Baqi hugged Yuuki Yuuki even tighter, as if she wanted to melt her soft body under her bathrobe into Yuuki Yuuki's body like clay.

But after just one hug, as far as Yuuki Yukino was concerned, she raised her hands and rolled around on the bed twice, lying down in a place a little further away from Yuuki Yukino, yet still within reach.

The hotel bed was large enough to accommodate two girls sprawled out on it.

Baqi blinked, looked at the ceiling adorned with antique paper-cut lamps, and exhaled a long breath of warm air carrying the scent of a hot spring:

“Xiaoyuan always does a lot of dangerous things by herself. Think about it, you went to challenge the opponent of the God's Liberation alone, stayed behind to cover the retreat for Hong, Baigui and Heiyu in the next life, and even faced Hong alone before we reached an agreement with Hong. It was so dangerous.”

"Why do you always bring up these things?" Yuuki Yukino couldn't help but chuckle, finally letting out a laugh: "Isn't all of that in the past?"

Baqi does indeed often bring up these experiences that can be considered old stories. Although Yuki doesn't find it troublesome, she still finds it somewhat amusing to hear Baqi mention them all the time.

What Yuuki found funny wasn't the mockery of Tomoe, but rather the warmth she felt from knowing that someone cared about her.

"Think about it, think about it. Every time before, Xiaoyuan was willing to sacrifice herself to protect others. This kind of thing sounds... like she's an idiot, a super idiot! Who but the protagonist of a manga would do such a stupid thing!"

“I will do it,” Yuuki Yukino replied immediately.

"Damn it! Don't interrupt!" Baqi nudged Yuuki En with her elbow: "When I returned to Nijiha City again, I thought back to what had happened here before and realized how dangerous the situation was."

"How dangerous was it?" Yuuki Yukino chimed in.

"I told you not to interrupt!" Baqi pushed hard again: "Every battle, I mean every single one. If anything changes even slightly, we won't be able to lie together like this and reminisce about the past."

"So, I made a decision. Although a decision isn't something you just talk about, it's something you actually do. I want Xiaoyuan to know that at that moment, Xiaoyuan can't stop me."

Baqi stretched her hand into the air, covering the paper-cut lamp on the ceiling that was not turned on with her palm, as if she wanted to hold it in her hand with her five fingers together.

"If there is a next time, and the time after that, when someone needs to sacrifice themselves to stay behind, I hope that person is me."

In Baqi's tightly clenched hands, it seemed as if she was also holding something else.

"Don't say things like that. Who chooses to stay behind to cover the retreat, and who chooses to sacrifice themselves to save others, isn't necessarily a choice." Yuuki Yui took a deep breath of the air in the room, which smelled of both air conditioning and the sulfurous odor of the hot spring.

“It’s not necessarily a multiple-choice question.” Baqi repeated what Yuki had said, mimicking how Yuki had treated her earlier.

In fact, she could guess pretty much what Yuuki Yuki would say: Let's work together and overcome difficulties together, just like when the two of them joined forces to defeat Urouge Mashiro, and create a new future together.

"Instead of letting someone choose to sacrifice themselves so that the other person can have a future and live with regrets in an infinite future, we actually have another choice, right?" Yuuki Yui said lightly about this actually very heavy topic.

"Yes, that's right." Baqi nodded, her hair rustling against the pillow.

But what Yuuki Yukino said was completely different from what Tomoe thought.

"Wouldn't it be a perfect happy ending if we all died happily together?"

Baqi got up, grabbed the pillow under her head, and smeared it on Yuuki Yukino's face.

"Xiao Yuan! Who taught you all this nonsense? Shouldn't you be saying things like 'Let's work together to overcome difficulties and defeat all the enemies in our way'?!"

Yuuki removed the pillow that was stuck to her face, then hugged it to her chest, the corners of her lips curving into a smile that couldn't hide her teasing of Baqi, even though Baqi was a little angry because of Yuuki's words.

"Don't you know what to do?"

“Uh…” Baqi was speechless for a moment, snatched her pillow back from Yuuki Yuki’s arms, slammed it heavily onto the bed, and then lay back down angrily.

"Therefore, I cannot agree to Baqi's request to face danger alone. I don't know what the future holds, but as long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will do everything I can to survive, and so will Baqi."

Yuuki Yukino turned her head in the direction where Baqi was lying, revealing a gentle gaze.

"I know! I know! I didn't say these things because I wanted Xiaoyuan to lecture me!" Baqi pounded the bed with her little fist.

After a moment of silence, Baqi seemed to have stopped being angry with Yuuki Yuuki and nuzzled closer to her—though she hadn't actually been that angry to begin with.

"Xiaoyuan, how about we do something we're supposed to do tonight?"

Baqi couldn't suppress her impulse.

However, Yuuki Yukino never intended to refuse anyway.

"Alright, alright, let's do what we need to do tonight." Yuuki Yuen said, still staring intently at Baqi.

"Xiaoyuan, close your eyes first."

Baqi pointed to Yuuki Yuki's face, then poked it with her finger, turning Yuuki Yuki's face back toward the ceiling.

"Hmm—" Yuuki Yui responded with a drawn-out sound, using her lowered eyelids to cover the already blurry scene in the darkness.

After she closed her eyes, a rustling sound came from beside her.

Yuuki Yukino could sense what Tomoe was doing, but due to being completely deprived of her sight, she was unable to clearly perceive the other's actions.

Time passed by, second by second, perhaps not even enough to be counted in minutes, but every second felt incredibly long to Yuuki Eri.

Yuuki Yukino was tense, expectant, worried, and waiting.

Until a soft touch on her cheek, the sensation of the girl's cool lips.

Then came some small movements happening right around me.

Then, what reached her ears was the girl's soft, warm breath, which blew into her earlobe like a feather, stirring the girl's heartstrings.

Goodnight.

Finally, there was no sound at all.

Yuuki Yukina opened her eyes and saw someone lying next to her, her face still bearing the smirk of someone who had pulled off a prank and a slight flush.

What I mean by "things to do at night"—does it mean sleeping?

Yuuki Yui felt both annoyed and amused. She slightly raised her head, touched the tip of Tomoe's nose with her lips, and lay back down, turning her body so that she was facing Tomoe.

Facing Baqi, Yuuki Yukino slowly closed her eyes and uttered her final whisper.

Goodnight.

Chapter Seventy-Three: The First Day Back from the Trip

Even though Yuuki Yukari had only been gone for two days, for some reason she found herself missing Tsukishima City and the little coffee shop where she worked.

This homesickness vanished the moment Yuki Eri stepped into the shop.

Didn't I work yesterday? Why do I need to work again?

No, not yesterday. After I came back yesterday, I went to bed and slept soundly.

The day before yesterday... there wasn't one either. At this time the day before yesterday, I was preparing barbecue ingredients with Hong Moli.

Anyway, why do we have to work again?

Seeing Yuki Yuki walk into the store in her school uniform and naturally go behind the counter to put on her apron, Minato Nana immediately greeted her with an expression of deep gratitude.

"Uh... Minato-san, what's wrong?" Yuuki Yuen twitched the corner of her mouth, feeling that Minato Nana's current expression of being moved was a bit exaggerated.

"Yuki, I thought I'd never see you again!"

Minato Nana opened her arms wide, looking as if she was hesitant but really wanted to give Yuuki Yuki a big hug.

However, the two of them had never had any overly intimate physical contact before, so Minato Nana simply hugged the air and then withdrew her arm.

Given Minato Nana's exaggerated behavior, Yuuki Yukino reasonably suspects that someone is spreading rumors that she is dead again.

"So, what exactly happened?" Yuuki asked, feeling somewhat restrained in her movements.

“There are many, a great many, high school students who go out to work just to earn some money and experience what it's like to work. These people always start working suddenly! Without any warning!”

Minato Nana gestured wildly, but Yuuki Yuuki had no idea how such exaggerated physical movements had anything to do with the topic she was talking about.

"Once they've made enough money, they'll engage in revenge spending! They'll buy designer bags, spend real money on in-game purchases, or go on trips!"