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

Nishio Reki: "An unknown place."

Finally, there's Inuyama Tomoe: "The blond shorty is troublesome."

"Hey!" Helica slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "When you mention Nijisanji, shouldn't everyone immediately think of magical girls? And that white-haired idiot! What do you mean by writing about blond-haired... or 'I'm troublesome'? Are you looking for a beating?!"

Baqi innocently held the sign up even higher, showing it off to everyone: "Because you're such a nuisance. Did Mizuno Yu really come up with this game?"

"I only said that we need to find a way to connect everyone's hearts. The method is not important; what matters is the result," Mizuno Yu replied while wiping the whiteboard in her hands.

Qi Lin Si Liu (“Didn’t we still not get in touch? Everyone’s answers are completely different!” Ba Qi banged on the whiteboard.)

"Let's play until everyone agrees on the answer!" Helica was not discouraged at all: "Third question! What comes to mind when you think of Moonsea City? Three! Two! One! My answer is still magical girl."

"The Moon Sea Tower is very tall."

"It's where I was born."

"The seniors are all very capable."

"The eel rice is terrible."

"Xiao Yuan is here."

"Xiao Yuan is very cute."

Helica's lips twitched a few times: "Don't reach a consensus in a place like this!"

“But Yui is really cute.” Nishio Reki blinked and answered sincerely.

“I think so too.” Inuyama Hatsuki also gave a thumbs up.

“That’s true… no! That’s completely wrong!” Helica had barely agreed when she gritted her teeth in anger: “Never mind! Fourth question! What comes to mind when you think of Yuuki Yukino?”

"A reliable senior".

"Pink Devil..."

"I told you not to drag me into this!"

……

"This won't work at all! Everyone's answers just don't match up!"

Helica, utterly dejected, collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"I'm so tired, I don't want to play anymore." Inuyama Tomoe lay on the ground like a lump of mud, occasionally wriggling a little bit towards Yuuki Yuki.

“Me too.” Yuuki Yuuki’s gaze seemed lifeless as she leaned against the corner of the wall, hugging her knees in a withdrawn manner.

"Wouldn't it be better if everyone didn't demand so much original music?" Mizuno Yu, seemingly tireless, sat upright as she poured hot tea from the hot spring shop into the teacup on the table, asking the question.

Helica didn't voice any objections as everyone expected, but instead glanced weakly at Mizuno Yu.

The song that Herika composed for Yuuki Yuuki and sang only for her in the hot spring was an outburst of countless emotions accumulated over the years and after meeting her. Such an outburst is exhausting and cannot be sustained by Herika again.

Simply put, Helica has completely lost her creative inspiration. She feels like she's been drained dry, and if she were inflated, she might just fly away like a balloon.

Although she still didn't really want to give up, she began to agree with Mizuno Yu's words a tiny bit more.

Mizuno Yu took a sip of the scalding hot tea and continued speaking.

"There are less than two weeks left before our performance, and we still have no inspiration for the new piece. We're going on stage to fulfill Tianlei's wish and to make our last days at Yuehai Middle School more meaningful. But will this really make things more meaningful?"

The girls looked at each other, and none of them uttered a single word of agreement or disagreement.

Mizuno Yu didn't care whether anyone responded to her thoughts, and continued talking.

"If we force ourselves to finish this piece, it may not be a piece that can move people or satisfy us. It is important to compete with Sakura Nana, but it is even more important that we can stand on this stage and give all the students in the audience, as well as ourselves, the most perfect answer we can do."

"Therefore, shouldn't we also consider what we should do if this piece is never completed in the end?"

This is a retreat, a thought many people have had, but many have not been able to articulate it clearly until today, when Mizuno Yu personally conveyed it to others.

But what Mizuno Yu said wasn't wrong at all. In the past few days, everyone had been arguing for a long time about wanting to compose music and wanting to understand each other better, but they still hadn't been able to get a satisfactory answer.

Yes, in the end, this is just a suggestion, a possibility, but so far everyone is just joking around, although it is undeniable that everyone's joking around has made these past few days very enjoyable.

But can this kind of playful antics really continue for a week without anyone getting bored?

If this behavior continues, will it really lead to a satisfactory outcome?

Maybe yes, maybe no, but in order to ensure the smooth running of this performance, leaving a vacant seat for a do-or-die gamble is indeed not as prudent as everyone preparing for the worst first.

If Mizuno Yui sets this precedent, everyone will easily be satisfied with settling for second best, and this song that belongs to everyone will ultimately never be born, which is an indisputable fact.

Jiecheng Yuan had considered this matter, and even thought it would be blown up on the very first day. It is truly remarkable that someone has managed to speak out about it in this way at this point in time.

Yuuki Yu thought that Mizuno Yu's words would make the atmosphere even more awkward, and that the already tense atmosphere created by Mizuno Yu's wand would be broken by Helica's thunderous rage.

But this time, what she thought was completely different from what actually happened. Everyone—including Tenrai Herika—was seriously thinking about what Mizuno Yu had said.

After a long silence, everyone's attention turned to her from time to time, and Helica, the Thunder Goddess, spoke up first.

"otherwise……"

Herika stammered, unable to utter the words stuck in her throat for a long time, but just by looking at her expression, you could tell what she was probably going to say.

Or should we just give up on the new song?

Inuyama Tomoe rolled over on the ground, sprawling out and loudly drowning out Helica's silence.

"How about we all schedule the new practice pieces for tonight? It's my turn tomorrow, right? We can rent a practice room tonight. My place has enough space for everyone to practice. Don't worry! I'll give you an absolutely hellish, intensive training session!"

Although Baqi was exhausted, she maintained a lazy posture, but what she said was surprisingly convincing.

They neither directly denied Mizuno Yu's idea, but put the new song to fill the performance gap on the agenda, nor did they deny everyone's efforts for the new song, and continued the nonsense that everyone had agreed to.

Most importantly, aside from the fact that the idea itself is not problematic, there were not many people present who could refute and reasonably refute Baqi.

Therefore, it's very comfortable to be around a girl like Baqi who is intelligent and straightforward.

"Anyway, I don't need to participate in practice, you guys can practice however you like." Lying on the ground, Nishio Reki raised his head and said weakly before burying his head back into the tatami.

"You have to write lyrics, no slacking off." Baqi hooked Nishio Reki's bathrobe with her foot, making Nishio Reki move aside unhappily, out of Baqi's attack range.

On the other hand, Mizuno Yu, who had brought up the topic, timely triggered her own smooth little combo because of the keywords.

"Hellish, devilish training—that certainly sounds like a challenge. Since Inuyama has already made up his mind, I will certainly throw myself into this brand-new trial with boundless joy. Please, go ahead and torture us—no, go ahead and use the challenge to cleanse our minds and bodies!"

Helica's mouth opened slightly, then her expression hardened, and she laughed loudly as usual, saying, "This is a very proper exercise! Don't talk about it like some pervert craving lewd play!"

Phew, thankfully, we've managed to get through this difficult time, right?

After hearing the song Helica sang to her, Yuuki Yuuki never wanted to create a song for everyone.

It wasn't just for Helica, but for everyone, and also for his own little schemes.

She also wanted to give this band a perfect ending.

However, this matter does not seem to be so simple.

At least for now, Yuuki Eri has encountered a fatal problem.

It came so suddenly, catching everyone off guard.

The changing room in front of the hot spring.

"Ah, so comfortable, so comfortable. It feels like I took a bath in a wooden tub before leaving, and my body feels so relaxed." Yuuki Yuki stretched lazily, pulled the bath towel off her body and tossed it aside.

"Tsk." Tenrai Herika glanced at Yuuki Yuki's waist and clicked her tongue in displeasure.

Baqi approached fiercely like a puppy, using her body to block Yuuki Yukino's path: "What are you doing! Don't look around!"

"Then I'll look at you?" Helica pouted, and actually glanced at Baki.

"You're not allowed to look at me either!" Baqi bared her teeth and stuck her tongue out at Herika.

"Alright, Senior Tenryu must have been looking at Senior Yuuki's Black Demon Mark, right?" Sakura Hanako stepped forward to smooth things over.

The Black Magic Mark is something that no magical girl can ignore. Even now, Sakura Hanako still feels an instinctive aversion when she sees the Black Magic Mark with her own eyes.

However, the urge to exterminate the corrupted magical girls is eventually overcome by reason, and at most, one will only feel a little awkward.

“Tch, Sakura Hanako is right, what I was looking at was the Black Magic Pattern.” Helica readily admitted, “These things actually have different colors and shapes?”

“Our power and desires are connected. Everyone’s abilities and wands are different, so it’s no exception that there will be great differences in black magic patterns,” Mizuno Yu analyzed seriously.

"They follow a pattern, but don't overthink it," Nishio Reki said, adjusting his hair as he spoke.

"Oh dear, even if it's just us here, let's not discuss this kind of topic." Yuuki Yuen turned around, walked around behind Baqi, and started looking for her clothes in the basket.

While doing these things, Yuuki Yukino caught a glimpse of Hayashi Keiko staring intently at her out of the corner of her eye.

Oh well, my identity has already been exposed, and we've all soaked in hot springs together, so there's nothing wrong with seeing the black magic pattern.

Wait a minute, Lin Jiezi is looking at her black magic pattern?

Was she originally able to see the Black Demon Mark?

Perhaps because there are two completely different souls inside Lin Jiezi, she was influenced by the original magical girl and was therefore able to see them?

No, something feels off.

Although Lin Jiezi doesn't usually talk much, the way she looked at me was a bit too creepy, wasn't it?

Even if you can't see clearly without your glasses, you shouldn't have that kind of look in your eyes, right?

That look in Qi Ling's father's eyes was just like...

Yuuki Yukino finally realized what she had been thinking was wrong.

Lin Jiezi's gaze was exactly the same as that of the empty shell girl with Lin Jiezi's face that Yuki En had encountered several times.

But there are still some differences.

Lin Jiezi, who is standing here, is no empty shell.

She is the owner of those empty shells, or the original entity.

She is the original magical girl.

As she thought of this, Yuuki felt a strong force on her arm, pulling her aside and causing her to fall to the ground before she could react.

"Run!"

It was Nishio Reki's voice, along with the black magical water ripples that spread out as she transformed.

But something else came even faster.