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

I don't want to waste a single minute or second of this moment.

"Huh? What?" Lava Mountain Lamp replied.

Yuuki swallowed the saliva that involuntarily seeped from her mouth due to nervousness: "Just ask me whatever you want to ask me."

“I’ve already asked all my questions,” Lava Mountain Lantern replied.

"Huh?" Yuuki Yui was stunned, and her steps faltered for a moment.

Was it because I was lost in thought and didn't pay attention to what Lance asked me, so I was ignored?

"Hmm." Lamp of the volcano responded again, but Yuuki En couldn't understand this sound.

"What did you just ask?" Yuuki asked timidly.

"I'm asking you whether it's out of curiosity or if this is something important to you?"

"That's it?"

"if not?"

"Then why did you remain silent for so long?"

"Because I'm thinking."

Yuki Yori was speechless for a moment.

Okay, okay, I guess I was overthinking it.

Even the Lava Mountain Lantern can't escape the gossip-loving mindset, can it?

Yuuki Yukino timidly raised her hand and asked, "So... how's your thinking going?"

"Well, I might have to say a few words to you first." As always, Rongshan Deng spoke her mind, focusing solely on expressing her opinions.

Yuuki Yukari knew immediately that Rokuzan-den didn't seem to intend to answer her directly, so she opened her mouth and uttered a questioning voice like a beautiful girl.

"what?"

Yuuki Yukino's heart skipped a few beats. Although there had been a small incident, her curiosity about what Kouyama Tou was going to say next made her heart beat faster.

"It seems you've made considerable progress compared to the past, but it's still not enough." Raiyama Tou spoke to Yuuki Yuuki in a rare, earnest, and admonitory tone.

Although Yuuki Enishi had heard this tone before, it was always when Lava Mountain Lantern spoke to Mizuno Yu that it happened.

Lava Mountain and Mizuno Yu could be considered friends, while I was probably just a regular visitor to Lava Mountain.

The price I paid to Lava Lantern was simply to fight her... Although it was anything but simple, for some reason Lava Lantern didn't press her attack relentlessly this time, but instead stopped short of attacking, even though she knew I was holding back.

It was as if Yuuki Yukino's thoughts had been seen through by Lava Lantern.

"You haven't fully mastered your abilities yet, and your abilities aren't without cost. Even if I push you to your limit, you might not necessarily use that power to fight me to the death for no reason."

Indeed, every time she uses Nyarlathotep's power, she feels that her soul becomes more impure. If it's not absolutely necessary, Yuuki Yukino really doesn't want to use it.

However, if forced by the magma lamp, that would be a different story. Yuuki Yui had actually prepared herself to stay in bed for two days before coming here.

As if reading Yuuki Yukino's mind, Lancelot once again spoke.

"Even if you do use that ability, you can't fully unleash its power right now, even if you go all out. It wouldn't make any difference if I defeated you now. Once you've fully mastered all the power you possess, you won't need to come looking for me; I'll come looking for you myself."

It turns out that Lava Lantern didn't not want to fight me, but rather found it boring not being able to fight me at full strength, which is why I didn't mind holding back.

But doing so is indeed very much in line with Lava Lamp's personality.

"So what do you want to say to me?" Yuuki asked again.

However, Lava Lantern's answer truly surprised Yuuki Enishi.

"If you were to gain unparalleled power, I would certainly be happy to fight you, but I would like to add a word of advice: do not pursue power excessively."

This doesn't sound like something a lava lantern festival would say at all.

When chatting with Mizuno Yu, Lava Mountain Lantern kept talking about getting stronger and about trials, as if she had no other goal in life besides becoming stronger.

But now, contrary to his usual self, Lava Mountain Lamp is telling himself not to pursue power.

"Why?" Yuuki asked.

"Are you asking me why I shouldn't pursue power excessively?" Lava Mountain Lantern asked in return.

Yuuki Yukino shook her head. "No, why would you meddle in my affairs and offer advice on something like this?"

"Ah, I just don't want to see my city go through another major catastrophe, it's that simple." Lamp Lava Mountain spread his palms: "By the way, weren't you asking me which magical girls had left a deep impression on me before? Now is a good opportunity."

Yuuki Yui didn't answer, but instead expressed her desire to continue listening to Lava Mountain Lantern through her silence and questioning gaze.

Rongshan Deng didn't waste any time and spoke fluently without hesitation.

However, this information was quite unexpected for Yuuki Yuuki.

Yuuki Yuki remained in a daze for a long time until Lava Mountain Lantern finished speaking.

Until Yuuki Yuki returned home, she kept thinking about what Kouyama had said. Just thinking about it made her mouth dry.

If, just if, what Rongshan Deng said is true, then the wish I've always wanted to fulfill might be far more difficult than I imagined.

Chapter Five: The Clumsy Puppy and the Double Scarf

The daily routine continues, day after day, repeating itself endlessly.

Since that night when she had a conversation with Lampa that lasted all the way, Yuuki Yuuki has never encountered anything related to magical girls again.

Aside from the fact that the girls who stayed by his side happened to be magical girls.

Lunch provided by Nijisanji was no longer a necessity for everyone, and no one, including Helica, objected to this.

Lunch break time is precious, and while it's nice to have a lively time together, sometimes we also need some more private personal time.

Sometimes Yuuki Eri would spend her lunch break with someone or some other people in the cafeteria, on the rooftop, or on a bench in the schoolyard.

Yuuki Yui has indeed made some progress and made more guesses regarding the ever-increasing pollution in her body, but overall there has been no substantial breakthrough.

During this period, Sumireko Yumehara has been behaving very well, and has not made any unusual moves except for hiding in Yuuki Yuki's handheld console to catch Pokémon every day.

To appease Sumireko Yumehara, Yuuki Yuki bought several more games that Sumireko Yumehara had her eye on for the handheld console. Even if Sumireko Yumehara got tired of one game, there were many more waiting for her.

Yuki En's attitude towards Yumehara Sumireko was simply to maintain stability. She didn't expect Yumehara Sumireko to provide her with any further assistance; she just wanted to ensure that this bomb of a woman, Yumehara Sumireko, didn't explode in her hands.

Yuuki Yui also considered whether she should find some time to meet with Genken Mashiro and ask the person most directly involved about her experiences and her questions.

She is currently unsure whether or not Mashiro Gyoken knows anything about Sumireko Yumehara's situation, and how much she knows. It would be extremely dangerous for her to rashly approach Mashiro Gyoken before she is absolutely certain of her knowledge.

If we alert them, the consequences could be disastrous.

Therefore, confronting Genki Mashiro face-to-face is Yuuki Yuuki's last resort. Unless she has absolutely no other choice, she will never take that step lightly.

So, although Yuuki Yuuki is somewhat unwilling and eager to make a breakthrough, she can only let time slip away bit by bit.

And so time continued to flow, and Yuuki Yuuki continued to repeat the same routine of going to school, working, and occasionally meeting up with others every day.

　(The text is a jumbled collection of characters and phrases, seemingly unrelated and nonsensical. A direct translation isn't meaningful.)

"You've worked hard today too."

As Minato Nana pushed her newly purchased fully automatic floor scrubber to clean the dirt off the coffee shop's floor tiles, she stopped beside Yuuki Yukina, who was taking off her coffee shop apron, and said to her.

Yuuki took off her apron, then leaned against the bar and turned to face Minato Nana, giving her a warm smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Manager."

After saying that, Yuuki Yukino picked up the apron, folded it neatly on the bar counter, and carefully placed it in the cabinet below.

Taking advantage of this, Yuuki Yukino, who had already put down her apron, put on her coat, which was draped over the chair, and tugged at it to straighten out the wrinkles.

Minato Nana wasn't in a hurry. She just held onto the mechanical handle and waited for Yuuki Yuki to say goodbye to her as she did every day.

After putting on her coat, Yuuki Yukino casually took her handbag from the cabinet, picked it up, and waved to Minato Nana as she had hoped, walking around the counter.

"So I'm leaving now? Goodbye~"

Nana nodded: "Be careful on the road."

After finishing all that, Minato Nana turned back around and continued sweeping the floor.

This is a little habit between the two people, or you could say it's an unspoken expression of respect for each other.

"Wait a minute!"

Before Yuuki could even touch the doorknob, Minato Nana called out to Yuuki loudly, as if she had forgotten something important.

Yuuki Yuki turned back, wondering what had made Minato Nana call her to stop so hastily.

"Oh, by the way, if your sister comes home sometime, remember to tell her we're going to eat barbecue!" Minato Nana gave Yuuki Yuuki a thumbs up.

"I know, no need to say it twice." Yuuki Yuen gave a helpless, wry smile.

Ever since the incident with Sumireko Yumehara ended, Nana Minato seems to have become more considerate towards her for some reason.

As for whether it was the result of her own hard work, or whether her sister and Minato Nana had made some kind of shady deal—although it would be better to say that her sister entrusted Minato Nana to take care of her rather than a deal—it's a matter of whether it was the result of her own hard work or whether her sister and Minato Nana had made some shady deal.

In short, Yuuki Yuuki was quite happy to be treated gently by Minato Nana.

Satisfied, Yuuki Yuki pushed the door open again.

Immediately, she froze on the spot.

There were two reasons why Yuuki Yukino was stunned.

Firstly, the scenery before my eyes is completely different from when I walked into the coffee shop to go to work.

It wasn't an attack by a magical girl, of course; it was nature's doing.

Roads, eaves, flower beds—everything in sight was covered with a layer of silvery white that shimmered in the moonlight.

The snowflakes were so thick that the original color of the streets was no longer visible. The cold winter wind blew them up, creating a layer of misty snow on the snow surface like smoke.

Countless snowflakes fell from the sky, appearing like a handful of stardust under the lights of the coffee shop, dazzling and mesmerizing.

Yuuki Yukino has seen snow in her past memories; there are related fragments in her childhood memories and her memories before she came into the game.

Yuki Yukino was well aware that it was going to snow today; the weather forecast on her phone this morning had already foreshadowed this romantic scene.

Even so, seeing it with her own eyes and being personally immersed in this pure white world still brought Yuuki Eri a sense of awe and joy.

That alone was not enough to surprise Yuuki Yuki so much.

A girl stood there, in front of the coffee shop, in front of Yuuki Yukino.

Her silver hair, seemingly the same color as the snow—no, even purer than snow—shone like diamonds and swayed gently in the occasional breeze. Her fingers, red from the cold, quietly brushed aside her cheek.