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

Chapter 52 I know

The routine of Rainbow Society's volunteer activities involves meeting at a certain place in the morning, heading to the orphanage together, spending the morning with the children, and then leaving before the children's afternoon nap.

Every time, the teacher at the orphanage would invite everyone to stay for lunch, but of all those invitations, only the one time Yuuki Yukino came alone did she actually stay.

At the time, Yuuki En had some suspicions about the place and used the excuse of visiting the children to investigate the orphanage, although she didn't actually get any useful clues.

However, the minor details learned during the previous mission, which failed to yield any clues, have become a powerful weapon that Yuuki Yuki can utilize this time.

But now is not the time to take out the weapons.

After sending all the children to the cafeteria, the teacher, as always, invited them to stay for lunch.

“Ah, well, we’ll just…” Helica politely declined as always.

But this time, things didn't unfold as usual. (Lingmeng Liuer; Ershan? Shi Ba)

"Okay, then everyone can stay for lunch."

A voice emerged that contradicted the opinions of the vast majority.

It's Yuuki Yukino's voice.

The girls were all more or less surprised and subconsciously looked at Yuuki Yuki, quite puzzled by her suggestion.

Even the teacher was a little surprised, but Yuuki Yuki was definitely the soul of the team, and only she would make everyone choose to do it first and then believe it.

Having been reminded by Yuuki once, Helica could somewhat guess what Yuuki was investigating, and immediately changed the subject: "That's not bad either. The teacher has invited us many times. Why don't we stay this time?"

With Yuuki Yukino agreeing, Helica chiming in, and no one in the entire Nijisanji having any objections, the matter was settled.

And so, after the girls put the children to bed, they sat down in the cafeteria with the teacher.

Perhaps because there were too many people, the teacher prepared a new meal for everyone, and it wasn't until halfway through the lunch break that everyone was able to eat their hot meal.

But the wait was definitely worth it. Although it wasn't a very lavish meal, there was a wider variety of dishes than the usual casual meals people eat.

After thanking the teacher and exchanging a few more polite words, the girls began their lunch.

Halfway through lunch, Yuuki Yuuki finally put down her chopsticks under everyone's gaze and started chatting with her teacher about everyday things.

"Mr. Murakami, when I was playing with the children just now, I noticed that Kasumi Wakayama seemed unhappy. Do you know what happened?"

Murakami is the teacher's surname; no one knows his full name. Wakayama Kasumi is the little kid that Yuuki Yuuki had to talk to for a long time before she could calm down.

"Kids get upset over little things. She's a sensible child; even if she's upset, she won't throw a tantrum and bother others. Didn't you talk to her? Didn't she say why she was unhappy?"

The teacher spoke kindly, stacking the chopsticks together on the plate.

“She said she’s going to elementary school soon and won’t be able to play with her teachers and friends anymore, that’s why she’s unhappy,” Yuuki Yui answered, then threw the teacher a completely new question: “Teacher, why didn’t you tell us about this?”

“This was decided a few days ago, so it’s normal for the children to be a little sad about it. I didn’t expect them to be so sensitive. I should thank you for comforting Wakayama for me,” Murakami-sensei replied.

"It's nothing, just a small favor." Yuuki Yuen had a gentle smile on her face, but a sharp glint shot from her eyes as she looked at Murakami-sensei: "I heard from Wakayama that several aunties came to see them."

“Yes,” Mr. Murakami readily admitted. “Because these children will be leaving our kindergarten after they enter elementary school, the person in charge of the school that takes them in always has to come and see for themselves.”

“Oh, I’ve heard about that too. I heard there are three schools.” Yuuki Yui nodded.

Mr. Murakami nodded in agreement: "That's right. Children can choose their own future schools, and the school leaders can also get a look at these children in advance. Isn't this a two-way selection process?"

“Indeed.” Yuuki Yuen picked up the hot tea on the table, but only brought it to her lips without drinking it directly. Through the rippling tea, the sharpness in her eyes was no longer hidden.

"Didn't anyone from Saint Yuuyu come this time?"

It's already the dead of winter, but the kindergarten's heating is very good; you don't feel cold at all while staying in the room.

But as soon as Yuuki Yuki uttered those words, the temperature in the entire room plummeted by several degrees, making everyone feel a chill down their spines, as if they had been thrown out the door.

Murakami's expression froze slightly, but he quickly recovered. However, his usual gentle demeanor seemed to turn into a cold mask, making it impossible to read his thoughts.

No.

Finally, Mr. Murakami put down the chopsticks he was about to pick up.

The fact that the other party did not deny it surprised Yuuki Yukino.

But just as Yuuki Yuki had noticed, the other party was indeed the one who truly knew the truth.

The first thing that made Yuuki En realize something was amiss was what Kowakayama said about taking everyone to a room and having several aunties introduce them.

Children don't know what this is about, but for Yuuki Yuuki, this kind of pattern is all too familiar; it's like a job interview for Lin Ling*meng.

No, it doesn't just look like an interview; it's an actual interview.

In reality, there is only one actual interviewer.

Before answering this question, let's consider the situation here.

This orphanage is also the only orphanage in Yuehai City.

It is true that it exists in the form of a kindergarten.

But why is this a kindergarten, and why does it have to be a kindergarten?

Yuuki Yukino already had an answer to this question in her heart.

Because this is mandatory, this orphanage must be the "only" orphanage in the entire Yuehai City, and it must also be a "kindergarten".

The vast majority of children became orphans because their families were attacked by magical girls. Saint Shion also mentioned that the nuns of the Sanctuary are selected from among the orphans.

That stable source of students is this orphanage, which is why it must be the "only" one.

Children who have not yet entered primary school have not yet fully formed their values. They are nurtured through a unified education to facilitate future selection, which is why this place must be a "kindergarten".

That's right. Children in elementary school and above are supported by various welfare institutions to live in boarding schools. This is all to make way for the only orphanage. It is something that has to be done under the interference of the church.

At this point, the answer is already obvious.

The only interviewer at that seemingly job-hunting event was the church located beneath the Holy Eternal Academy. The church's purpose was simply to cultivate suitable nuns to serve as a force for maintaining stability in Moonsea City.

The other aunties, the representatives of those schools, were only there to participate because of this special format.

Even those in charge at other schools couldn't guarantee whether Yuki Eri knew the truth about this unusual interview.

Originally, Yuuki Yuuki had no doubts about Murakami-sensei, but when Yuuki Yuuki came here last time, one of Murakami-sensei's remarks was somewhat inconsistent with the current situation.

When Yuuki En had lunch with Murakami last time, the main topics were only two: where the children would go after graduation, and the life of the deceased kindergarten principal.

As Murakami mentioned last time, some students would be adopted by a mysterious welfare organization, which is the Sacred Yūgyu Academy that Yuuki Yuuki speculated about.

Most of what Murakami said is true, because it makes perfect sense.

But she also said, "But none of the welfare organizations contacted me about adoption or anything like that when the children graduated from preschool."

This statement, however, contradicts what Yuuki En heard about the interview today.

The mysterious welfare organization exists, and Yuuki Yuuki firmly believes that it is the power of the Sacred Yūgyu Academy, but Murakami deliberately confuses the concept of time.

There should have been an interview first, followed by the so-called adoption, rather than some welfare organization contacting them.

Under normal circumstances, it would be perfectly acceptable to simply explain things to Yuuki Yuki; there is absolutely no need to lie to her.

But Murakami's statement obscures a trivial reality, and Yuki Eri's existence is normally impossible to verify.

Shortly after the interviews, the children will be sent away, and Yuuki Enishi will have no way of knowing that such an interview had taken place.

As for the news about the deceased dean, how much of it is true and how much is false is even more intriguing.

Xiao Ruoshan reminded Yuki En once, and Yuki En also checked online. During the time period that Murakami-sensei mentioned when Director Hojo was murdered, there were no magical girl attacks on the orphanage at all.

Not to mention the orphanage, there wasn't a single attack in the entire Moonsea City news related to magical girls that could roughly correspond to the timeline.

Kowakayama stated that the time of Hojo's murder was before the festival.

However, Mashiro Gorgen's large-scale purge of all the magical girls in Moonsea City, and the subsequent battles fought by the magical girls, occurred much later.

By simply looking at the timeline, it becomes clear that the murder of Dean Hojo was also quite suspicious.

Of course, these are just Yuuki Yuuki's speculations, and they are still some distance from reality.

Therefore, Yuuki En needs to test her teacher.

If Murakami-sensei knew nothing, he could easily steer the conversation back on track.

Yuki Yuki never expected that Murakami would admit it so openly.

Not only did she admit it, but she also kept staring at him, which made Yuuki Yukino, who should have been the one questioning him, feel flustered.

"What's wrong? Have you finished eating?"

The two chopsticks in Murakami's hand tapped together, making the atmosphere at the moment even more subtle.

Murakami's subtext, Yuki Eri, is clear—have you finished speaking? If you have, then this lunch, that is, this conversation, can end.

How should I ask this question?

If you ask directly, you're just going along with what the other person says, which makes it easy to be overwhelmed by their momentum and lose control of the conversation.

If she didn't ask, Yuuki Yuki had no doubt that the other party would just put an end to the whole conversation like that.

That's why Yuuki Yuuki doesn't like dealing with these adults.

If you're going to ask, it's better to talk about this.

"Mr. Murakami, when did you start working here?"

"It's been a few years now."

"Do you know Mashiro Gyoken?"

"I know."

Mr. Murakami tilted his head, revealing an even more meaningful expression.

Chapter 53 A Teacher

"Do you know Mashiro Gyoken?"

"I know. (Cold Doctor)"

Murakami answered so quickly, as if he hadn't thought about it at all, or even heard what Yuuki Yuki said before he gave his answer.

Could it be that the other party has been waiting for me to ask this question all along?

If Murakami stammers, changes the subject, denies it outright, or tries to cover up the truth, Yuuki has ways to deal with it.

However, Yuuki Yuki was the only one who hadn't considered the situation where the other party was being so cooperative.