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

Yuuki Yuki did clearly tell him that he didn't understand how Yuuki Yuki left Sakuragawa Nana there, but regarding the battle, Yuuki Yuki simply said, "She attacked me, but it was completely ineffective."

Since I'm just killing time anyway, asking a few more questions won't hurt.

"Is this your first time meeting the Pink Devil?"

Helica's seemingly casual yet pointed question stirred up a huge storm in Sakuragawa Nana's heart.

The tone sounded as if he was asking himself a question.

There was absolutely no third magical girl present during my first confrontation with the pink demon!

The senior's tone didn't sound like a question at all; rather, it sounded like he was asking for an answer, as if it were a fact.

Could it be that they found a loophole in their own words or expression and saw through the lie they were about to tell?

With keen observation, sharp reflexes, and clear thinking, this senior is indeed unfathomable. Fortunately, I didn't try to be clever, otherwise I certainly wouldn't have been able to fool him.

Since that's the case, let's tell this senior everything we know and think.

"No, no, I had an encounter with the Pink Demon before, and I was immediately struck by her power, which is why I..."

"Oh? When was that?"

"Just a short time ago, yes, this week..."

Sakuragawa Nana recounted the events of that night to Tenrai Herika with utmost seriousness.

Of course, from another perspective.

Chapter Thirty: Tiny Pink Hair? The Pink-Haired Darling!

"No way, you short, blond guy, you've even learned how to give psychological counseling? Hahaha, that's not like you at all!"

With her hands in her pockets, Inuyama Tomoe watched Tenrai Herika laugh so hard she almost fell over.

"Stop talking nonsense. What's wrong with letting me experience being a magical girl senior?" Helica's face was flushed with embarrassment as she kicked Inuyama Tomoe from behind.

There was Yuuki Yuki between Herika and Inuyama Hatsuki. Her kick didn't hit Hatsuki, but instead caused Yuuki Yuki to stumble.

Yuuki Yukina was jolted several steps before she could barely regain her balance. As if nothing had happened, she patted her butt, which Helica had kicked, and said, "Isn't there Sakura Hanako? She calls us senpai all the time. Haven't you had enough yet?"

Having accidentally injured Yuuki Yukino, Helica scratched her head a little embarrassedly, and her behavior became much more subdued from her initial overly excited and aggressive state: "Oh dear, Sakura Hanako is different."

Baqi interjected, "What's different?"

Herlica shook her finger: "Sakura is polite to everyone, so she doesn't get that kind of thrill. Besides, Sakura's respected senior is that big idiot Mizuno Yu. No matter what stupid things Mizuno Yu does, Sakura will act like she doesn't see it. If this continues, I'm worried that Sakura might catch her influence."

"It's probably not contagious, right? Haha, Sakura is quite opinionated, she's just a little too serious." Yuuki Yuuki chuckled dryly.

Sakura Hanako's personality is that of a very serious type. Although she doesn't have a high presence in the original game, she is the kind of person that everyone can remember. She has no obvious flaws, and even if people don't like her, they won't hate her.

But for Yuuki Yuuki now, it's no longer a game at all.

There are reasons why Sakura Hanako turned out this way.

If it weren't for the fact that Yuuki Yuki and Inuyama Tomoe happened to be investigating Kuroba Reisei that day and hadn't run into Sakura Hanako, and Mizuno Yuu hadn't conveniently rescued Sakura Hanako from her clutches, the two of them wouldn't have such a good relationship.

Oh, right, does this mean that Helica Tenryu happened to save Nana Sakuragawa, so Nana Sakuragawa would have complete faith in Helica Tenryu?

I guess you could say that?

If we rewind a little, last night Tianlei Helica listened to Sakuragawa Nana's heartfelt confession for a long time, otherwise she wouldn't have been ridiculed by Baqi today.

Most of what Sakuragawa Nana confided was things that Tenrai Herika already knew. For example, the first time she met Yuuki Yuuki was because she wanted to get revenge on Minato Nana. The reason she wanted to get revenge on Minato Nana was because Minato Nana had done something outrageous to her sister.

Helica already knew all of this, and Sakuragawa Nana's explanation was vague, omitting names like Minato Nana. So, in summary, it wasn't as detailed as what Helica had recently learned herself.

That makes sense. Not revealing one's identity is a rule for magical girls, and it seems that Sakuragawa Nana has no intention of making an exception for her senior.

In order to get some useful information out of Sakuragawa Nana, and to earn praise from Yuuki Yuuki, and also to do something for Minato Nana, Helica endured her impatience and listened to the whole thing.

This was one of the few times in Helica's life that she had this kind of patience, and because of it, she did gain some information.

For example, Sakuragawa Nana only recently became a magical girl. Because she had just entered middle school and couldn't adapt to the new environment, she simply stopped going to school and worked at a shop. Then one day, she became a magical girl.

Well, so you're also a band girl who doesn't go to school?

We don't know if Nana Sakuragawa will play in a band or not, so we can't say for sure, but she does fit some of the stereotypes about Helica.

Aside from these, Sakuragawa Nana talked about how scared she was, how she wanted to become stronger, and how she had people she wanted to protect.

That's right, most of it is actually just like taking out the trash and expressing determination.

Looking back, I was really flattered by Sakuragawa Nana calling me "senpai" so often, which is why I had so much patience to listen to what she had to say.

Not only did Helica listen, but she also actually acted as a mentor to Nana Sakuragawa.

She instilled in Sakuragawa Nana everything about magical girls, including the principles of facing one's fears, being honest with others, and not causing trouble for others.

So, the things Baki said when she mocked herself, though Helica didn't want to admit it, were actually true.

That said, why did Tenrai Herika run out today and walk on the street with Yuuki Yuki and Tomoe?

The group's purpose, of course, was to buy musical instruments.

Yuuki Yukari and Tomoe explained that they had wandered around the shopping street for a long time but hadn't seen a suitable musical instrument. Finally, after dinner, they found a music store in the distance, but it was too late, so they transformed and flew there.

Although it sounds a bit off, it's still somewhat plausible.

Helica had reasonable grounds to suspect that the two guys were hiding something from her, but she couldn't find any evidence.

In short! Yuuki Yuuki still doesn't have a musical instrument, and she has to work at night, so it's impossible for Herika not to be anxious.

So, for various reasons, such as buying musical instruments, discussing Sakuragawa Nana, and asking about yesterday's events, Helica came along.

Besides, opportunities to spend time with Yuuki Yuuki are rare, and although Inuyama Tomoe is by her side, there's nothing she can do about it.

……

The last day of the week finally brought a peaceful end to this incredibly tumultuous week.

The process of buying musical instruments went exceptionally smoothly. Everyone went to the music store that had been closed the night before due to a lot of delays. They took a good look around inside and successfully found an instrument that Yuuki Yukino absolutely loved.

The first impression that Keytar gave Yuuki Yuuki was that it was a twin-mounted cannon for a ship girl. Its red and gray paint job, exaggerated yet ergonomic design resembling a battle axe, and its excellent configuration made Yuuki Yuuki unable to move away from it from the moment she saw it.

In the end, Yuuki Enishi bought the guqin for 160,000 yen, and then excitedly carried her guqin home without even eating out.

Once home, Yuuki Yukino couldn't wait to open the packaging and start exploring how to play with this novel little thing.

After getting used to its unique way of using it, memories of being praised by my roommates in the university dormitory and their astonishing piano skills all came back.

Afterwards, Yuuki played the electronic keyboard at home for an afternoon, and only reluctantly put it back in its case when it was time for her part-time job, having to say goodbye to her beloved keyboard.

Although she didn't actually part ways with Aegean, Yuuki Yukino thought for a moment, then simply slung her violin bag over her shoulder and headed out.

Having my beloved instrument behind the counter makes even part-time work more motivating.

The next day was just another ordinary day at school, the only difference being that Yuuki Emi happily carried her zither back to school.

This isn't something to show off; these are clever little gadgets we use during lunch breaks.

Of course, there's also a desire to show off.

That morning, many of Yuuki Yuuki's classmates who noticed her different appearance that day came to greet her and curiously asked her why she suddenly wanted to play a musical instrument.

"Well, isn't there a Christmas party at the end of the year?" Yuuki Yuen scratched her head and explained to the other classmates surrounding her.

"Yeah! Yuuki is actually going to perform up there! I can't wait!"

Don't worry! We'll definitely cheer you on!

"Speaking of which, Yuuki, your instrument case looks unusually big. What instrument is it? A guitar?"

Yuuki Yuen smiled mysteriously: "Hehe, this isn't a guitar or bass, it's a keyboard, the kind you can carry on your shoulder. Using this keyboard, you can jump around on stage like a guitarist."

Explaining keytar to ordinary people is too complicated, so Yuuki Yukino chose a simpler way of saying it, but her words caused quite a stir.

"I didn't know there were such musical instruments! This is very enlightening. You must show us when the time comes!"

"Can we see Yuuki-kun bouncing around? Just thinking about it makes me so cute!"

Even Inuyama Tomoe, who was sitting at the same table as Yuuki Yuuki, was intimidated by this aura. She secretly moved to Nishio Reki's side and whispered in his ear, "I mean, is Yuuki really that popular?"

"Of course, she's Yuuki, and Yuuki is the best." Nishio Reki looked pleased with himself for being praised and crossed his arms.

Baqi rolled her eyes: "Of course I know Xiaoyuan is the best, but... I've never seen such an exaggerated display before."

"You transferred here later, so of course you don't know. Xiaoyuan has always been a celebrity in the class. Even if everyone is not that close to Xiaoyuan, they can still talk to her very naturally. I dare say that no one in the whole class dislikes Xiaoyuan."

"dislike?"

"It's definitely not that kind of liking, it's just that Xiaoyuan is actually very popular with people."

"But I've heard so many rumors and gossip about Xiaoyuan, and there must be even more I don't know!"

"It's precisely because she's Xiao Yuan that they act this way. Aside from Xiao Yuan, there's probably no one else they can gossip about so freely and openly, right?"

"Why? It's just gossip, but it's still pretty annoying."

"It's not because Xiaoyuan is easy to bully or anything like that. Nobody would bully Xiaoyuan. It's only if someone says bad things about Xiaoyuan that they get condemned. I think it's because Xiaoyuan has a natural charm that allows her to get along with everyone, right?"

"Hmm... okay, I feel a little lonely seeing Xiaoyuan like this."

"But then again, even though Xiaoyuan gets along well with everyone, she spends all her time with you. Shouldn't I be the one who's more lonely?"

"You?" Baqi turned her head in surprise to look at Nishio Reki's calm expression.

She was surprised that Nishio Reki would say such a thing, which was completely different from her impression of him.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Nishio Reki tilted his head and casually brushed a handful of his long hair behind his head.

"No, it's nothing." Inuyama Tomoe moved her head away and continued to look at Yuuki Yukino, who was surrounded by the girls.

The girls were still chattering away, asking Yuuki Yuuki questions. Just as Nishio Reki had said, the reason they gathered around Yuuki Yuuki wasn't just because of gossip or anything like that.

They were genuinely curious about Yuki Yuki's changes, had high expectations for her performances, and sincerely hoped for her to improve, which is why they gathered together.

Xiao Yuan certainly has her own unique charm.

"By the way, Yuuki-kun, are you playing solo or in a band?"

"Yeah, yeah, I wanted to ask that too!"

"Yuki, can you sing on stage? I've always thought Yuki's singing is amazing, it's like heavenly music!"

Being surrounded by so many people, even if it wasn't the first time, was something that had happened a long time ago for Yuuki Yuuki, and she was actually a little embarrassed.

"Haha, well, I have indeed formed a band, but I'm not very familiar with it yet, and the lead singer position has already been decided, so singing might not be enough for everyone. At most, I can only do harmonies?"