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

"But since we've chosen double bass, it's not easy to showcase each person's unique characteristics."

"That's precisely why I asked you for help, Minato-san. I'm sure you can come up with a solution, right?"

"It's not like I couldn't think of anything, how about bassist and lead vocalist?"

"No, I'm the lead singer."

"Is it like the feeling of different vocal parts in a chorus?"

"It sounds simple, but it's not that easy."

"Let me think about it some more."

After the two of them talked for so long, Yuuki Yukino was able to understand everything.

Yuuki Yui doesn't understand music, but she knows how to cook, so it's much easier to make an analogy with cooking.

If a band is a dish, and each instrument is an ingredient, then the bass is definitely a side dish used to adjust the flavor.

Without this side dish, the dish would be incomplete. However, if there are too many side dishes, they will either affect the overall taste of the dish or even overpower the flavor of the main dish. Alternatively, they will become a useless dish that is neither worth discarding nor worth eating, making up a lot of the dish but with very little flavor.

Eating isn't just about being able to eat; Helica wants the dish she cooks to taste good. Although she's currently adding whatever ingredients she has, that doesn't mean Helica has to give up entirely.

What Helica needed to do was to harmonize the different voices without erasing their individual characteristics.

To be honest, Helica thinks it's quite difficult.

Not to mention Helica, even Yuuki En, who didn't know much about music, felt its difficulty.

Let's get everyone working together.

Yuuki Yui is doing something similar, bringing together magical girls like Tenrai Helica and Mizuno Yu; corrupted magical girls like Koumori Mari and Yumehara Sumireko; and special magical girls like Nishio Reki who has a secret.

Even setting aside the differences in each person's personality, and discarding the aversion to the corrupted magical girls that the original magical girl imprinted in their souls, it would be difficult to achieve such a thing.

It would be impossible for people to have lunch together in one room, go to a live concert together, and even form a band like this.

How did I manage to do that?

I don't know, even Yuuki Yukino herself doesn't know.

Perhaps it was the power of Nyarlathotep, or perhaps it was a fragment of his soul that existed within him but has now vanished—these are all unrepeatable coincidences and miracles.

And then there's the kind of determination that comes from not wanting to be defeated and reduced to a velvet ball, which is why he wants to clear his name.

Yes, it's a literal cleansing now, getting rid of the black magic markings and preventing myself from being further consumed by darkness.

Time is really running out.

Yuuki Yukino was thinking about things unrelated to the band, while Tenrai Herika and Minato Nana were figuring out how to fit two basses into the same band. For a moment, everyone in the coffee shop fell silent, with only the conversations of the few customers who hadn't left yet remaining.

"Miss Minato, how did you compose and write lyrics before?" Helica seemed to be giving up, slumping into her seat and banging the back of her head against the soft sofa back several times.

Starting with composing music and exploring how Minato Nana composed music before, that's the beginning of tonight's discussion.

Her tone, expression, and actions all proved that Helica had been completely drained.

"How did we compose the music? Good question." Minato Nana's eyes suddenly lit up as she began to tell Herika Fei about how the Rose Garden handled such problems, as if it had happened just yesterday.

Even after so much time has passed and so many complicated things have happened, Minato Nana still talks about it with great enthusiasm.

That is the irreplaceable treasure in Minato Nana's heart.

"Most of the time, we feel like, 'Ah, I need to make a new song,' or we've had some inspiration. It's pretty much the same thing. When we need to, I'll think about the theme for this song."

"Hmm, and then what?"

"Music can express a lot of things. I will turn my inspiration into music, not the tunes you hear, but just a melody that I think is feasible. It can be considered improvisation?"

"Oh, improvisation."

"After I finish playing these, Ryou will play them out properly based on what I played. Although they are rough, they are the prototype. Based on that prototype, Aiko will insert the drum beats to grasp the rhythm, and then Lizi will tidy it up and turn it into a piece."

However, when mentioning Rei and Aiko, Minato Nana's expression still becomes somewhat somber. Even if Minato Nana doesn't say anything, she doesn't have much of an impression of what happened between her and Aiko back then, but when the past is mentioned, she still sighs with a sense of loss.

"Is this the end?" Helica asked.

"Not yet, this is just a first draft. After Chestnut finishes refining it, everyone will check it. If it doesn't pass everyone's scrutiny, the piece can't be presented to the audience. Actually, at this stage, everyone will be quite satisfied."

"But...it can't be that simple, can it?"

"Definitely not. Huan is the most difficult part to deal with. The first draft that everyone put forward is actually an inspiration for Huan. If it is feasible, Huan will take the initiative to make changes. If Huan feels that there is no need to make changes, then everyone will have to give up."

"If it doesn't work, should we just give up?"

"Yes, Tamaki always says that if we can't be satisfied, the audience certainly won't be satisfied either. So actually, the most important part of the work, the work of transforming our feelings into something expressible, the work of conveying emotions to the audience, is all done by Tamaki."

"So, it turns out that Yuuki Tamaki was the one who ultimately made the decision?"

"Yes, if conditions permit, Yuuki Tamaki is actually the most suitable person to teach you music composition. If you trust her a little, it's not a bad idea to entrust everything to her."

"So if I go to find Tamaki Yuuki..."

"But that's impossible. Huan has been incredibly busy lately. Let alone something as time-consuming and laborious as arranging music, she doesn't even have much time to rest."

Nana Minato is absolutely right. My sister mentioned last night during a casual chat that she's been incredibly busy with work lately.

That said, was my sister really that powerful and trustworthy?

"Yuki Yuki! Yuki Yuki!" Herika shouted several times.

Yuuki Yui, who had been secretly eavesdropping over there, straightened up and gave a questioning hum: "Hmm?"

"Is your sister very busy lately?" Helica asked loudly.

"I don't know, but the last time I saw my sister was when we were attacked by that pink demon," Yuuki Yui shouted a little louder.

Herlica and Yuuki Yuuki's two sentences also attracted a lot of attention. Many guests turned their heads to listen to their conversation, and some even discussed things like how scary the pink demon was.

It's a novel experience to shift the blame onto yourself.

But Helica understood that she meant the day of her fight with Sumireko Yumehara.

Besides, the infamous reputation of the pink devil is exceptionally useful.

"Oh, okay, it's alright, it's alright, go back to work!" Tenrai Herika, who had been standing and talking to Yuuki Yuuki, pondered for a moment before sitting back down dejectedly.

However, although what Minato Nana said sounded a bit like "rough," it was still easy to understand.

From the conclusion onward, the arrangement process of Rose Garden cannot be replicated.

Each of them knew their own role: the rhythm of the drums, the melody of the keyboard, the emotions of the lead singer, and so on. Every member was personally involved.

The creative process itself is a form of practice. When everyone collaborates, a piece of music naturally emerges.

However, this is something that ordinary girls like Yuuki and her friends, who have just started playing musical instruments, cannot imitate.

Let alone creating, if everyone could simply write down what they want to perform in a meticulous and orderly manner without making any mistakes, Yuki Eri would already be incredibly lucky.

Moreover, Helica wants to perform an original piece. The premise for everyone to write down what they need to perform is that there is someone in the team who can be responsible for the team's sheet music so that everyone can practice normally.

Think about it carefully. A group of people have to practice for a month to the point where they can perform on stage, and Helica has to create original songs. Even if magical girls are synonymous with miracles, these miracles don't work in this kind of situation, do they?

Ah, despair, Yuuki Yukino is so hopeless.

Working is so hopeless, the band situation is so hopeless, and the fact that I'm corrupted is even more hopeless.

Just as Yuuki had guessed, Helica and Minato Nana were already talking about the past of the Rose Garden band, while Helica's original goal of asking Minato Nana for advice on arrangement had long been forgotten.

Well, this isn't so bad either; a messy existence is part of youth.

There's no point in listening to Nana and Helica's idle chatter anymore, and I can't get a word in edgewise anyway, so I'd better just focus on my work.

As Yuuki Yuki pondered this, she lazily turned back behind the counter to continue serving customers.

This is a coffee shop, not a crowded fast food restaurant. Even when it gets busy, it won't be too over the top, and it's rare to see a situation like Halloween.

Even though Minato Nana half-jokingly and half-seriously asked Yuuki Yukino to go to work, there wasn't much Yuuki Yukino could do.

Although bar staff are a must.

But what happened next gave Yuuki Yuki a strong sense of déjà vu.

The girl who pushed open the shop door went straight to the bar, looked at Yuuki Yukino's face, and then looked around the shop.

Having found Nana's location, the girl didn't hesitate for even half a second and walked straight towards her.

It's not just a sense of déjà vu; Yuuki Yuki also evokes a strong sense of crisis.

Isn't that thing already in the past?

Sakuragawa Nana, what's she doing here again?

Chapter Twenty-Five: Major Historical Issues

The person who came in is... Sakuragawa Nana?

What is this guy doing here?

What happened just yesterday, with Sakuragawa Nana running away again, makes Yuuki Yuuki think that her presence here now is definitely not just for a simple coffee.

They came looking for Minato Nana as soon as they entered the house; they're up to no good.

This isn't something that can be easily dismissed with a few words of advice.

But Yuuki Yukino is an employee here, so she can't refuse to serve her...

Or rather, to prevent.

Using almost her fastest running speed, Yuuki Yuki rushed out from behind the counter and chased after Sakuragawa Nana's retreating figure.

This is a coffee shop, and it's still open during business hours. We can't let Sakura Nana run wild like we did yesterday.

Even Yuuki Yuki didn't dare to run too fast while chasing Sakuragawa Nana, for fear of causing her to be stressed again.

If this gets out of hand, it could really disrupt the coffee shop's normal operations.

However, Yuki Yuki needed to make several turns to catch up, unlike Sakuragawa Nana who had a clear path, and the distance was also longer. By the time Yuki Yuki caught up, Sakuragawa Nana had already arrived in front of Minato Nana.

This guy!

Yuuki Yukino secretly clenched her fist, looked at Tenrai Herika, whose expression was equally unfriendly and seemed ready to erupt at any moment, and then gently shook her head.

No, I can't act impulsively, and I can't let Helica act impulsively either, otherwise the situation will get even worse.

Yuuki Yui took a deep breath, calming the turbulent emotions surging in her chest.

"Excuse me, sir, how can I help you?"