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

Yuuki Yukino's heart skipped a beat again.

So there really is something waiting for me?

"I hope that in that match that you yourselves decided, you can defeat Sakuragawa Nana fair and square on stage."

This is truly a huge problem!

I want to win too, but the question is, how do I win?

Yuuki Yukino inwardly complained, and even her face was starting to tense up a little, but she still forced a smile and asked, "Why?"

“I hope Cai Cai will face reality and stop pursuing a borrowed dream. Although it’s a bit despicable and not something an older sister should do, nor is it something I should entrust to you, among all the people I know, I can only ask you to do this.”

"I hope that child can re-examine her own heart and find what she truly wants to do."

Chapter Thirty-Six: Random Speculation

In the evening, on the tram to work at the coffee shop.

Nishio Reki sat next to Yuuki Yuuki, swaying back and forth with her on the train. He turned his head, which was resting against the carriage, toward Yuuki Yuuki and asked, "Are you planning to tell Minato Nana about this?"

"What?" Yuuki Yuki was holding the huge violin case, leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed, when she heard Nishio Reki speak to her, she opened her eyes.

"It's about what you told everyone at noon. Sakuragawa Aiko came to the store to see you yesterday, hoping that you could defeat Sakuragawa Nana fairly on stage."

"I didn't intend to hide it from anyone. You see, when I told everyone about this, weren't everyone's expressions quite interesting?"

"That's not a wonderful expression, everyone's just desperate, right?" Nishio Reki shook his head.

"No way, aren't we all even more motivated now?" Yuuki Yuen laughed, as if she didn't need to be involved in this matter.

"It's pressure. Today, Helica from Tenrai was nagging me about the lyrics again. There's not much time left, but I have absolutely no ideas," Nishio Reki complained bitterly. "So, Yui really intends to tell me?"

Yuuki Yukino's words and thoughts were the same; Sakuragawa Aika didn't hide anything from anyone at all.

Why do you say that?

The main reason was that Sakuragawa Aika didn't take her home at all, but instead found a decent restaurant and took her inside.

Despite Yuuki Yukino's repeated refusals, Sakuragawa Aika kept saying that someone was waiting for her.

So when Yuuki Yuki, after nervously preparing herself, entered the private room that had been reserved, she found that the person waiting for her there was completely unexpected.

My older sister was sitting at the table, where dishes that had been prepared in advance were laid out.

All of Yuuki Yukino's doubts vanished instantly, and she happily sat down next to her older sister.

"How can you go see your friend's sister without telling your friend first?" Sakuragawa Aika said mysteriously, seeing Yuuki Yukino's reaction.

To briefly summarize what happened, Sakuragawa Aika learned that Sakuragawa Nana's return to school was related to her, so she wanted to take this opportunity to teach Nana a lesson. After that, she first greeted Yuuki Tamaki, and only after Yuuki Tamaki agreed did she go to the coffee shop to find Yuuki Yuki.

Therefore, the relationships among this group are truly chaotic, and even Yuuki Yukino can't tell who has a bad relationship with whom and who has a good relationship with whom.

My sister said that she sends New Year's greetings to Sakuragawa Aika and Shirogane Rei every year, so the two of them are actually quite close, right?

As a result, two outsiders to the competition pulled him in, partly to give him some advice and partly to catch up.

Incidentally, the reminiscing made up more than 95% of the time, and after everyone sat down, the topic quickly turned into something that Yuuki En couldn't understand.

However, the reminiscing part led Yuuki Yukino to some new speculations. Although it had nothing to do with her own situation or the match between everyone and Sakuragawa Nana, it was related to Sakuragawa Aika.

"After that, I had some strange guesses. I wonder if Xiao Li could help me figure them out?"

"If it's something I can say, then of course I can."

"No need to force yourself. If you feel it's ambiguous, it's okay not to say anything."

This is a train traveling at high speed. If Nishio Reki says something he shouldn't and attracts Hayashi Keiko's other state, then it won't just be the two of them who suffer.

Yuuki Yukino would never joke about everyone's lives.

After thinking for a moment, Yuuki asked that question.

Did you know before that Sakuragawa Nana was a magical girl?

Several unexpected magical girls have already appeared. Yuuki En guessed that it was because she directly exposed Nishio Reki's identity this time that a butterfly effect was created, causing a huge change in the plot that Nishio Reki experienced.

“I don’t know.” Nishio Reki shook his head. “But I know that such a magical girl exists, but I’ve never had any contact with her, so I don’t know her true identity. If I had to give a reason, it would be that she’s too weak to be of any help.”

Therefore, it is a given fact that Sakuragawa Nana became a magical girl, but due to some strange reasons, she came into contact with him by chance.

Seeing that Yuuki Yui didn't speak and instead fell into deep thought, Nishio Reki couldn't help but interrupt her thoughts: "What's wrong? Is this what you want to ask, Yui? Or do you think you can find any useful clues from her?"

"No, I was just thinking about Sakuragawa Nana, which is also considered gossiping, right?" Yuuki Yuen shook her head, and Nishio Reki could tell that she was in a good mood today.

"What kind of gossip is this?" Nishio Reki smiled wryly.

"Of course I wasn't gossiping about Sakuragawa Nana. As I mentioned before, Sakuragawa Aika came to see me last night, and I asked her some questions about her." Yuuki Yuuki shifted her body, moving closer to Nishio Reki, as if afraid that others would hear.

This caution is necessary; openly discussing magical girls on a train is indeed a bit dangerous.

"Koyomi, Nana Minato, is she a magical girl?"

"How could that be? Even if she was once, it's impossible for her at this age." Nishio Reki denied it outright: "You think Minato Nana is a magical girl, Yuu? How could you have such a dream?"

"I already said I'm just here to watch the drama unfold, so just pretend I'm watching it, okay?"

"It's certainly possible that Minato Nana was a magical girl in the past, but she can no longer be a magical girl now, and the memories of being a magical girl no longer exist. So even if Minato Nana was in the past, the impact on her present would be negligible."

"What about Sakuragawa Aika? The manager keeps saying that she has no memory of how she hurt Sakuragawa Aika, but judging from Shirogane Rei's description at the time, surely no one would forget something so outrageous?"

Yuuki Yukino isn't exactly an old-fashioned person, but she still wants to repay the kindness shown to her.

Sakuragawa Aiko asked me to teach Sakuragawa Nana a lesson, but that alone wouldn't be enough to make Sakuragawa Nana completely let go; her inner conflict still lingered with Sakuragawa Aiko.

Therefore, the truth at that time is especially important.

Yuuki Yukina did ask Sakuragawa Aika, but Sakuragawa Aika kept dodging the question.

In summary, it boils down to the following points.

First, while it's regrettable that I got injured, I'm not that attached to the band. I can let go of even Yuki Tamaki, so there's nothing I can't let go of.

Secondly, she was ashamed to talk about the truth at the time, and it would be even better if Minato Nana couldn't remember it either, as she didn't want anyone to know.

Third, I have explained many times that what I have is unrelated to Minato Nana, but Shirogane Rei and Sakuragawa Nana both believe that I am protecting Minato Nana, but the truth is different from what they think.

Considering that Sakuragawa Aiko was found lying in a garbage dump, and her hand was also seriously injured, making it impossible for Yuuki Yuki to exert any more force, it's easy for Yuuki Yuki to think of some possibilities.

Whether it's Nana Minato's obsession with Hanzawa Kuriko, or her desire for the band not to end like this, these could all be reasons why she might become a magical girl herself.

There is a crucial point: Hanzawa Kuriko is in a state of disappearance in everyone's eyes.

Apart from the executors of St. Yuu Academy at the time, and Tamaki Yuuki who witnessed everything, no one knew that Hanzawa Kuriko was actually no longer alive.

In short, if you guessed what happened back then, it would be of great help, whether you were just watching the drama unfold or helping Sakura Aika. Even if you didn't guess, it's not a big deal.

After telling these things to Nishio Reki, Nishio Reki understood Yuuki Yukino's thoughts.

With the topic concluded, the two fell silent once again.

The tram continued to sway as it headed towards a more distant place.

In winter, it always gets dark very early in Yuehai City. Outside the car window, everything is already shrouded in darkness, and in the darkness, twinkling lights adorn this all-too-familiar city.

Yuuki Yukino looked out the car window at the street scene and suddenly spoke.

"Xiao Li, haven't we been intimate?"

"Why are you asking this?" Nishio Reki's face flushed red instantly, and he almost jumped up from his seat.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly thought of it." Yuuki Yui gently curved her eyes: "Actually, I have another question. You don't need to answer me, and you can't answer me anyway, so Xiao Li just needs to listen quietly."

Even though Yuuki Yukina said it that way, the weight and seriousness that flowed out of her was something that Nishio Reki hadn't expected.

Yuki Yukino's question wasn't so simple, but Nishio Reki had no idea what the meaning behind it was.

In the end, Nishio Reki could only give a soft reply.

"Ah."

"In Yumehara Sumireko's dream, I couldn't use the Enmusubi that Koyomi gave me, and Koyomi couldn't transform into a magical girl either. At that time, everyone was busy dealing with Yumehara Sumireko, and no one mentioned it afterward."

"Do you remember when we went to Nijiba City? Mashiro Urokin created so many fake magical girls? But in reality, they were just ordinary people who could borrow Mashiro Urokin's power, and could not be called magical girls at all."

"I tasted their magic a little and found that I couldn't create a wand. I couldn't create Mashiro Utsuro's wand in this way, nor could I create the wand that they conjured."

As Yuuki Yukari spoke, her gaze lingered on Nishio Reki: "It's exactly the same feeling I had after getting intimate with Reki."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Qualification Review

On the noisy tram, every word Yuuki Yuki spoke was clearly heard by Nishio Reki.

"After what happened with Sumireko Yumehara, I have a deeper understanding of magic. The essence of magic is a person's soul, memories, and emotions. As a combination of all of a person's feelings, even if you are not a magical girl, magic has a unique aura that is so faint that it is almost imperceptible."

"The magic that Xiaoli uses after transforming is completely different from the faint, almost imperceptible magic you possess. Although they are mixed together in a strange way, they are still independent of each other."

"The feeling I get from Koyomi's magic is just like those fake magical girls created by Mashiro Urouge."

"If Mashiro Urouge has the ability to create a group of magical girls and has also created such a huge black magic rune, if you put that black magic rune into someone's body, wouldn't that create an even stronger magical girl? I don't know, but if Mashiro Urouge can do it, I should be able to do it too."

"By combining everything I've experienced and considering the various mysteries surrounding Xiao Li, I feel like I've grasped something, but it's very subtle, and I can't give a comprehensive explanation."

"So, I'll just state the unrealistic conclusion that's on my mind, but one that I can't help but think about."

"Xiao Li, are you another magical girl I created?"

Amidst the increasingly noisy environment, the air between the girls seemed to have dropped below freezing.

They looked at each other in silence, but a single glance exchanged unintentionally spoke volumes.

The announcement of the tram's arrival broke the subtle atmosphere among the girls. The doors slowly opened with a mechanical sound, and the cool night air rushed into the carriage. The noisy chatter became even louder as passengers got on and off the tram.

"Let's go, it's time to get off." Yuuki Yuki stood up from her seat and gently took Nishio Reki's hand, as if inviting a beautiful lady to dance at a ball.

The few incoherent self-talks came to a complete end as the tram departed.

For a moment, Nishio Reki couldn't tell whether Yuuki Yuki was asking him to come along because of gossip, to fuel the bizarre speculation that Nana was a magical girl, or simply to say those words to him.

However, Yuuki Enishi's public statement was so plausible that no one had any reason to doubt it.

It makes perfect sense to ask Nana Minato for help in finding inspiration and to write out the lyrics first.

It doesn't matter whether the lyrics or the melody come first, as long as time is tight, one of them has to be done first.

That being said, it's not entirely an excuse for Yuuki Yukino to talk to Nishio Reki about those things, since this matter is indeed very important.

However, judging from the results, it was still all for naught.