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

After the day's practice ended, everyone packed their belongings and then gathered at Lin Jiezi's house.

"Uh, everyone, please sit wherever you like, yes, please sit wherever you like... Hmm... Would you like some tea? I, I'll go buy some."

Lin Jiezi stood nervously to the side, waiting for the others to come in, appearing very uneasy.

This wasn't the first time Yuuki Yukari had visited Hayashi's house, but she only remembered that she had barged in once before for some reason, probably with Tenrai Herika, but Yuuki Yukari couldn't recall the specifics.

The room's layout remained unchanged, everything was very simple, which matched Yuuki Yuen's stereotypes about Hayashi Mustard.

But there are indeed people living here. Even Lin Jiezi, who can transform into a primordial magical girl, still has the life of an ordinary person.

Lin Jiezi was busy for a long time, then went to the convenience store to buy barley tea and paper cups, as well as some small breads that can be found everywhere in the convenience store. She then distributed them to everyone before she was done.

After distributing the paper cups and snacks, Lin Jiezi felt she should say something, so she forced out a few words that sounded a little awkward:

"Everyone, please make yourselves at home. Yes, study, that's right, let's study tonight."

Yuki En is looking forward to some fun little activities, like the King's Game, which they all played together on the night of the school trip before. Lin Jiezi can probably guess what they're thinking of, right?

On the first day, everyone was looking forward to some fun activities, but instead, they were immediately told to study.

However, it was agreed by everyone that the person in charge of the day would arrange the activities, and it was also something that everyone should do to review for the final exams. Even though there were still two weeks left, it was never too early to start reviewing.

Besides, no one was really expecting Lin Jiezi to come up with any interesting activities. They wanted to take this opportunity to review all their subjects first, so they wouldn't feel so guilty when they played around later.

This brings us to Helica Tenrai and Tomoe Inuyama. Although they don't get along well, they are exceptionally united when it comes to tutoring others.

Yuuki Yui's grades were actually quite good. Even though she inherited some of the memories, it would be difficult for her to reach the top tier of outstanding talents, and she didn't intend to do that.

Despite her social anxiety, Lin Jiezi's grades were decent. Although Sakura Hanako wasn't in the same grade as everyone else, her grades were nothing to worry about.

Therefore, with Baqi keeping a close eye on Nishio Reki and Helica tutoring Mizuno Yu, progress was indeed rapid.

What if you get tired of studying and your brain can't keep up? That's easy, just switch to another subject.

After deducting the band's practice time and part-time work time, there was very little time left. Everyone spent the whole evening studying.

Bambaka Bamba and Yuuki En's grasp of knowledge has improved.

During the study process, Sakura Hanako suggested that everyone do something else, but Hayashi Keiko stammered for a long time before finally managing to say, "I don't know what to do. Everyone should just focus on studying."

When it was time to rest, it was definitely not realistic for everyone to squeeze onto the bed. Lin Jiezi had mentioned this beforehand, but the living room was still quite spacious.

After tidying up the living room and dining room where everyone studies, and laying out the bedding that everyone had prepared in advance, it's perfectly adequate for sleeping.

Although Yuuki Yuki's house was right next door, she didn't mention whether a few people should sleep at her house, out of consideration for everyone. The time before bedtime was also very important for everyone.

However, Yuuki Yui still asked politely, "I need to go home to change my clothes and take a shower, so does anyone need to use my bathroom to wash up?"

It was indeed too slow for everyone to take turns washing up in Lin Jiezi's house, so this suggestion was reasonable. In the end, the two people who decided to go back with Yuki Yuki were Inuyama Tomoe and Nishio Reki.

Although it was Li and Baqi who were eager to sign up, and given their relationship with Yuuki Emi, it was the most appropriate thing for them to go.

Moreover, with the three of them together, no one would feel comfortable doing anything wrong, which also served as a form of mutual encouragement.

Once the decision was made, everyone immediately began to take action.

Yuki Emi's house, living room.

The sound of running water filled the bathroom as the girls leaned wearily against the sofa, each fiddling with their phones.

"Xiaoyuan, can I ask you something?"

"Huh? What?"

What do you think of Lin Jiezi?

"I think she's pretty ordinary. Her personality, the way her home is decorated, and the suggestion she made that has caused everyone so much trouble—they're all quite ordinary. But aren't most people like that?"

"That's not what I wanted to ask. It has nothing to do with the band's arrangement or anything like that. I just want to ask you, have you noticed anything?"

Yuuki Yukino put down her phone and noticed that Nishio Reki was looking at her with a serious expression.

"You mean, the original magical girl?"

Nishio Reki nodded. Even without her saying anything, Yuuki Yuuki knew that Nishio Reki had no answer.

The rules that Nishio Reki was bound by were more complex than Yuuki En had imagined. He couldn't reason the truth through a question-and-answer format like the one used in Turtle Soup. Therefore, the discussion about Hayashi Mustard could only be touched upon, at least from Nishio Reki's perspective.

As for the reason, Yuuki Yukino has a guess.

There are three targets that the original magical girl has clearly set her sights on: herself, Mashiro Urobuchi, and Reki Nishio.

The original magical girl targeted herself and Mashiro Urouge because of the special nature of their wands, both belonging to the three pillar gods mentioned by Sumireko Yumehara.

As for Nishio Reki, it's very likely that because her power is related to her Nyaruko, and her existence itself is not allowed, she is subject to even stricter control.

No matter how many things there were, Yuuki Yukino couldn't think of anything at that moment.

Yuuki Yukino shook her head and continued to share her thoughts:

"Actually, I didn't find anything. Lin Jiezi is too ordinary. I still can't be sure if this is her disguise. If she can be so completely ordinary to hide her true identity, then she's hiding it too well."

"Xiaoyuan doesn't need to worry too much. Normal communication with Lin Jiezi is perfectly fine, as long as Xiaoyuan doesn't... cough, do anything strange to her." Nishio Reki cleared his throat, seemingly implying something.

Even if he were asked to do something strange, he wouldn't do it to Lin Jiezi, right? Anyway, there are so many people who can replenish his mana!

Even if you put her into a game, Lin Jiezi's image is too ordinary; she's just a standard passerby NPC.

Lin Jiezi's current ordinariness is what Yuuki En finds most contradictory; there is a very obvious disconnect between the original magical girl and this ordinary, socially awkward glasses girl.

This sense of separation is almost like forcing two people into the same body.

Wait, two souls in one body.

Yuuki Yukino seems to have seen this situation before.

No, she didn't just see it; she experienced it firsthand.

She has a memory in her mind that doesn't belong to this world. It suddenly awakened when she was in danger as a child. Although it was like watching a movie, it didn't have much impact on her life. She just knew more things.

But what if Lin Jiezi's body contains the soul of a primordial magical girl who hasn't fully awakened?

The switch that controls the awakening of the original magical girls is held in the hands of these special magical girls, including Nishio Reki.

Of course, directly destroying the vessel of the original magical girl is also useless. Mashiro Urokin has already demonstrated to herself that once something is done that is detrimental to Hayashi Keiko, the original magical girl will also awaken.

Who says that Bachi's method of finding inspiration is useless?

Although she didn't get inspiration from the band, Yuuki Yuki genuinely felt that she had taken a huge step closer to the truth.

My head hurts, I feel really unwell, I'm going to sleep now, goodnight everyone.

Chapter 40 You're Going Too Extreme

After washing up, the three of them returned to the next room and, together with everyone, packed their schoolbags and the things they needed to prepare for the next day, and then laid out their bedding on the living room floor.

Because of their studies, no one had the energy to continue their late-night chats, so everyone went to bed exceptionally early that day.

The original goal was to get to know each other better. Although Lin Jiezi didn't do anything special, the original goal was still achieved.

Lin Jiezi is an ordinary girl who is sometimes rather boring, but she also has her own ordinary life.

If she hadn't met everyone, Lin Jiezi would probably have continued her ordinary life, right?

Sakura Hanako, however, is somewhat different from Hayashi Mustard.

"Welcome, everyone. I've prepared some drinks and snacks for you. Please feel free to help yourselves if you'd like. My mom will be working overtime at the hospital tonight, so it'll just be us here. Please make yourselves at home."

After Lin Jiezi, who was last, entered the room, Sakura Hanako closed the door to her own house. Then, while leading everyone into her home, she introduced herself to the others.

It's a very formulaic and polite speech, but it's absolutely foolproof.

That's right, it's Sakura Hanako's turn today.

Although Yuuki Emi's first impression of this place was similar to Hayashi Mustard's house, it had a more lived-in feel.

The flowers on the windowsill, the spice bottles piled up in the kitchen, and the half-read book lying on the slightly wrinkled cushion—all these elements create a very ordinary feeling.

Apart from the room where Nishio Reki is currently staying, which is filled with Hayashi Mustard's room and the large single-level house in Inuyama Tomoe's house, most of the rooms are ordinary and full of life, and this kind of arrangement will make people feel an unconscious sense of closeness.

Sakura Hanako moved a few chairs over and placed them next to the coffee table, ensuring that everyone had enough space to move around. After everyone was seated, she turned on the TV in the living room.

"Yesterday, everyone's study time seemed to be a bit too long. I think you all need to take a break, so I've compiled some information about live band performances. You can learn from this, and even if you don't understand anything, you can chat casually and relax a bit."

Just as Sakura Hanako had hoped, tonight's time was dedicated to various live band performances, covering all sorts of styles. Sakura Hanako must have put in a lot of effort to compile all of them.

Although live house performances do not prohibit audience members from talking, in that environment everyone's attention was focused on the stage, and even if they wanted to speak, they would be drowned out by the loud sound effects.

While watching on TV lacks the atmosphere of being there in person, it offers the professional camerawork of a live shoot, allows for commentary while watching, and is accompanied by snacks, making it a pretty good experience overall.

At first, the discussion focused on the band's performance, but gradually it began to stray from the topic, and eventually the content broadcast on TV became nothing more than background noise.

But this didn't stop everyone from having a very relaxing and wonderful time. Even when the last program ended and they started tidying up the living room to rest, the discussion hadn't stopped.

It allows everyone to relax without forcing them to do any overly fixed activities, and importantly, it is indeed related to the band. Sakura Hanako's plan today must have been a well-thought-out decision.

From her initial anxiety to the relief everyone felt as things got better, it was clear that Sakura Hanako was quite nervous about whether everyone would like her arrangements.

This shows the difference between Hayashi Mustard and Sakura Hanako.

Hayashi Mustard is the kind of person who is ordinary and socially awkward, but whose social awkwardness is surprisingly unique. Sakura Hanako's ordinariness is the kind of ordinariness that makes up the vast majority of people in this world.

Following the rules and working diligently in a methodical manner, one can achieve good results but never stand out. They have their own likes and dislikes, they can be lazy, and they can reflect on themselves. This can be said to be a true reflection of the lives of ordinary people.

Furthermore, Sakura Hanako cares about other people's thoughts and hopes to improve her surroundings in her own way.

It's not just about coming up with this plan for everyone and constantly monitoring everyone's reactions; it's also about working hard every day at Nijisanji to connect with others, mediate conflicts, and ensure that what we're doing can be successfully implemented.

Also, when Nijisanji fell apart, if Sakura Hanako hadn't been chasing after Tenrai Helica and Yuuki Yuuki, we wouldn't be sitting here watching the band perform today.

In summary, she's a very diligent junior student.

Yuuki once again personally experienced that although the method that Baqi mentioned sounded a bit unreliable, it was actually surprisingly effective.

Even if they didn't come up with a suitable song in the end, the experience of studying together, living together, and doing all sorts of random things together strengthened the bonds between people and will be a good memory to look back on in the future.

　However, such thoughts vanished on the third night.

The reason why Yuuki Yukino thinks this way is very simple.

Today it's Mizuno Yu's turn.

First of all, Yuuki Yui likes to observe the facilities and layout of a room as soon as she enters it, and this was no exception when she came to Mizuno Yui's house.

Slightly different from what Yuuki Gen had imagined, Yuuki Gen had thought that Mizuno Yu's house would be filled with all sorts of strange things, but it didn't seem to be like that at all.

Of course, Yuuki Yui was unaware that Mizuno Yui's wonderful gadgets had actually been hidden away, and were essentially no different.