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

Even if we can't compare to professional musicians, our current skill level is more than enough to perform at a student gala.

After hearing Helica's words, the girls looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

Seeing everyone nod in agreement, Helica slapped the table and continued speaking.

"That's right! Don't worry about what others say. Just perform to your best ability. Anyway, this is our first and last time on stage, so just perform with confidence. And don't be afraid of making mistakes. Completing the task is far more important than making it perfect!"

From Helica's words, Yuuki Yuuki sensed something was amiss.

Is Helica trying to comfort herself?

It's not so much that I'm comforting myself, but rather that I'm comforting everyone.

As for why he wanted to comfort everyone, the reason is not hard to guess.

Before leaving, Tianyin said that among the entire band, only Helika and Baqi could be considered decent, and that he could barely be considered himself. The level of the others was below average.

However, no one seemed to take Tian Yinxiang's words to heart. Everyone knew that what Tian Yinxiang said was true, and there was nothing to refute, so there was no need to get angry about it; it was better to just treat it as a noise.

The person who brings up the matter and comforts everyone when no one else has taken it to heart or even needed to mention it is actually the one who cares about it the most.

Just like what Helica just shouted, "Don't talk about her friends!"

Helica was probably pretending to be calm when she said these things because she was worried that others would be angry about this as she was.

Based on Yuuki Yuki's understanding of Helica, the calmer Helica appears, the more chaotic her inner world is.

As Yuuki Yui pondered these things, she glanced at Helica, who was speaking calmly and composedly, out of the corner of her eye.

"Alright, alright! That's enough for today! Everyone get some rest. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so let's have a day off. We'll practice one last time on Christmas morning. No objections? Everyone's okay with that, right?"

When Helica mentioned Christmas Eve, she secretly glanced at Yuuki Yuuki, causing Yuuki Yuuki, whose colleague was also secretly watching Helica's expression, to have no choice but to look away. The anticipation in her eyes was self-evident.

But perhaps because she has grown since then, or perhaps because of what happened at the hot springs in Rainbow Leaf City, Herica ultimately didn't say much.

Helica's statement immediately received a response from everyone.

After quickly tidying up their belongings or wiping their faces with tissues from the table, the girls picked up their instruments and prepared to leave.

It wasn't until after leaving the family restaurant that Yuuki Yuuki suddenly realized a problem.

Although it wasn't a big deal, Yuuki Yukino still cared about it quite a bit.

When Helica mentioned Christmas Eve, she clearly glanced at me. She must have had some other idea in mind—she probably wanted to spend Christmas Eve with me.

Herika Tenrai wasn't the only one with unusual feelings for him, but Yuuki Yuuki didn't receive any invitations on Christmas Eve.

It's so late, and the people who like me are still sitting there.

There was no need to prepare for exams, no need to prepare for the band, and no need to work. Yuuki Yuki had a completely free day, even on Christmas Eve, a special day. It was quite strange that everyone actually let Yuuki Yuki have so much free time.

Oh well, today isn't completely over yet, and there's plenty of time until tomorrow night. We can just wait it out.

After saying goodbye to the girls, Yuuki Yukino set off on her way home.

But something just doesn't seem right.

Of course, it wasn't about why no one else invited her to spend Christmas Eve! Yuuki Yukino was self-aware enough to know that she was actually quite cute.

Pshaw, no, that's not it. The wrong one is Helica the Thunder.

I'm going to perform on stage the day after tomorrow, so it's definitely not good to push myself like this now.

Sure enough, I should go back and take a look.

……

Just as Yuuki Yuki had guessed, Helica was very concerned about what Tianyin had just said.

Helica really wants to compete with Nana Sakuragawa in the field of music, but she also has to admit that the band they have formed now can't compare with Nana Sakuragawa in the professional field.

Helica didn't want to lose, she absolutely didn't want to lose.

But accepting reality is also part of growing up. Now that everyone has accompanied her to this point, Helica can no longer ask others to do more for her.

However, I still didn't want to lose!

If I could perform better, would I be able to beat them?

Maybe I need to work even harder and use a more passionate singing voice to move others.

No, we can't resort to such underhanded methods. We must defeat our opponent fairly and squarely through our own strength.

But if I don't do this, what other way do I have to beat my opponent?

No, no, even if we win like this, it's meaningless; there's no sense of victory at all.

Ugh, this is so annoying, I'm so fed up.

Helica really didn't know what to do.

Helica randomly picked a stone brick on the sidewalk, brushed off the snow, and curled up to sit on it.

The cold winter air stole the warmth from her body. Helica thought this would make her calmer and more clear-headed, but in reality, it only made her more confused.

Then again, why would I do something so foolish?

That's just like being an idiot. If doing this could be better than Sakuragawa Nana, then everyone should come out and sit in a row on the roadside.

Helica slapped her cheeks and got up from the ground.

After standing up, Helica felt dizzy again, so she slapped her face a few more times.

"Hey, hey, are you alright?"

A voice that was both unfamiliar and somewhat familiar came from behind Helica, causing her to turn around and look.

This is what it means to meet your enemy on a narrow road.

Herlica hadn't forgotten the face of that silly guy who said his friends were completely useless, and the guy didn't seem to have forgotten Herlica either, the short girl with super long blonde hair.

"Oh! It really is you! What's your name again? Oh right, you haven't told me your name yet, but I remember you, you're from the band that's going to compete against Cai Cai!"

Tianyin slapped his palms several times.

"No, that's not what I want to ask. I want to ask you, why are you standing in the street slapping yourself?"

Chapter Sixty-Two: Is this a middle school student from XX Middle School?

It didn't take long for Yuuki Yuuki to find Tenrai Herika's trail on her way back.

Or you could say that Helica's situation at the time made it difficult for Yuuki Yuuki not to notice.

"I didn't slap myself! I didn't!"

“I saw it all. It wasn’t enough that you were sitting on the side of the road slapping yourself in this freezing weather; you had to stand up and slap yourself too!”

"That was to make me more aware!"

"No need for explanation, I understand."

"You don't understand anything!"

Yuuki Yuuki couldn't mistake Helica's voice, but the person standing there arguing with Helica looked strangely familiar to her.

That height, that brainless voice—it feels like I just saw him once tonight?

Oh right, she's a member of Sakuragawa Nana's band, I think it's called Tianyin.

Wait a minute? Who?

How did the members of Sakuragawa Nana's band manage to start arguing with Tenrai Herika in the short time I was away? Was this really not a premeditated fight?

Could it be that Helica sent everyone away just so she could have a showdown with the other side?

No, that's too far-fetched, the imagery is too gory. Yuuki Yukino doesn't dare to think about it at all.

What are you waiting for? Quickly separate the two of them!

"Don't fight, don't fight!" Yuuki Yuuki ran two steps, squeezed one foot into the gap between the two, and spread her arms wide to protect Tenrai Herika behind her.

"Who argued with her?!"

“We didn’t argue. I was just worried about why she was sitting on the side of the road slapping herself.”

Yuuki Yukino was taken aback upon hearing this.

Slap yourself in the face?!

Helica was actually that remorseful?!

It seems she was under too much pressure. I hadn't realized how serious that matter was for Helica; it was my mistake.

But it's not too late to discover it now; there's still time to properly soothe Helica's emotions.

Performing on stage is a minor matter; it would be terrible if it caused Helica psychological problems.

"I didn't slap myself!"

“I clearly saw it, but you’re just too embarrassed to admit it. I’m just worried about you.”

"I already said it was to clear my head!"

"I've never seen anyone so clear-headed."

"That's just who I am!"

Yuuki Yuuki became increasingly confused. Just as Helica rushed past her and together with her again, she grabbed Helica by the waist and pulled her away a little, placing her on the ground like a wooden doll.

After questioning the two separately for quite some time, Yuuki Yukino finally understood the whole story.

She had just finished eating when she saw people sitting pitifully on the side of the road, slapping themselves one after another. Even though she was in a band, she had never seen such a scene before, so she came over to join in the fun.

Then she discovered that the girl sitting by the roadside was Tenrai Herika, and Tenrai, who was even more curious about why someone would slap her, asked her very directly.

And then? Then the two of them started arguing, and the noise alerted Yuuki Yuuki, who was searching for Helica. And that was the end of that.

Yuuki had seen plenty of people slap their own cheeks to clear their heads. Although it was a bit of a shame that she hadn't seen Helica do such a cute thing herself, Yuuki believed that Helica wouldn't slap herself for no reason. If anyone was going to slap someone, it would be Helica slapping someone else.

As for why Helica sat by the roadside instead of going home, Yuuki Yukino didn't know the reason.

However, if you were to guess, Yuuki Yukino would also guess that it was this Tianyin Sheng in front of her who was behind this good deed.

It was because she said many things she shouldn't have that Helica fell into a state of mental distress.

However, Tianyin thought that Helica was troubled by something, but she didn't think about herself at all. Even if she was stupid, she would know that some of the things she said that night were really too much.

Seriously, Yuuki Yukino didn't even know that Tensei was naturally cunning, yet she used those words to provoke Helica, or was she just too dense to know what to say or not to say.