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

“I’ve been back in Yuehai City for so long. You all know what I’m plotting, so why don’t you just come and defeat me directly? Or expose me like Sheng Shiyin did?”

The girls were unable to answer Mashiro's question for a moment.

However, Mashiro Gorgen never intended to listen to the girls' answers in the first place. After asking the question and confirming that no one answered, she revealed the answer herself.

“Because you don’t have the confidence to defeat me, you don’t want Moonsea City to fall into chaos, and you can’t afford the cost of going to war with me,” Genken Mashiro said as she walked down into the ruins. “Actually, I feel the same way. I also want to achieve my goal with the least amount of cost, and the cost of creating chaos in the meantime is quite painful for me.”

A reasonable answer.

Regardless of what Genki Mashiro said before, Yuuki Yuuki believed that this statement must be true.

There are too many reasons why we didn't directly declare war on Mashiro, but in summary, there's only one: it wasn't worth it.

No matter what, Yuuki Yukari and her group are stronger than Urobuchi Mashiro alone. If the two sides fight without regard to the cost, the final victor will definitely be Yuuki Yukari and her group.

But the price of victory is one that Yuuki Yui is unwilling to pay: perhaps the destruction of an area, perhaps the fall of several magical girls, perhaps a new tragedy—whatever it may be, Yuuki Yui is unwilling to face it.

Ultimately, this is exactly the same as what Genki Mashiro said—to achieve the goal at the lowest possible cost.

While Yuuki Yukino was contemplating how to defeat Urouge Mashiro, Urouge Mashiro was also thinking about how to successfully implement her plan without being disturbed.

This is why a temporary peace was created.

Genken Mashiro slowly walked to the end of the ruins and headed towards the playground step by step. None of the girls who had surrounded her stepped forward to block her way.

It has nothing to do with whether they are afraid of Mashiro Urouge. Everyone knows that Mashiro Urouge poses no threat to them in the present day.

"Yuki Yui, although it was only a few minutes of fighting alongside you, it was very enjoyable. If we had met earlier, perhaps we would have all taken completely different paths."

Yuuki Enishi stood atop the ruins, her black and red shrine maiden robes fluttering in the cold, howling wind of the winter night.

"It may not be too late now."

“It’s too late, there’s no turning back.” Genki Mashiro raised her hand and waved it: “Next time we all gather together like this, I hope I can still stand on your side, instead of on your opposite side.”

……

"Alright, alright, let's go back. The instruments are still backstage, aren't they? We can't just leave them there, can we?"

Herika waved goodbye as she walked out of the school gate, leaving only her back to the others.

Anyone could easily hear the sob in Helica's voice, which she was desperately trying to hide.

"Senior Tianlei, are you crying?"

"I didn't cry!"

"But……"

"I told you I didn't cry! I didn't!"

"I clearly heard it just now, the short, blond guy cried sadly!"

"This is none of your business! Get out of here! Get out of here!"

Although the night was not perfect and had many regrets, the farce that had nothing to do with Yuuki Eri and the others but that they would definitely attend finally came to an end.

Next, all that's left is...

No, nothing is left. When they decided to come to St. Eternal Academy, they were destined to miss many things and leave behind a regret.

If someone were to ask: "Do you regret participating in such a farce?"

The girls' answers would all be exactly the same.

I won't regret it.

Because they came here, things didn't get any worse.

For these magical girls, this was already the best possible outcome.

Nothing can be resolved perfectly, such as the escape from control of the Holy Spirit, or the stage that no longer has a chance to be on. This is the most realistic aspect of life.

People want the best of both worlds, but they often waver between choosing the lesser of two evils, which is the most realistic aspect of life.

A meticulously planned performance can't be staged, but everyone should still spend Christmas together in a lively and festive atmosphere, right?

Having musical instruments is very important, but it's even more important to bring Lin Jiezi along.

With this in mind, the girls returned to Moonsea Middle School together.

Of course, this also includes Hong Moli and Bai Gui Qianyou.

Incidentally, Helica cried like a child on the way, saying things like "I'm not reconciled" the whole time.

However, all the efforts everyone made for that performance were in vain, and no one was any less unwilling to accept it.

Helica only cried for a while before wiping away her tears and returning to normal. She said something to reassure everyone, covering up her embarrassing moment.

Back at the Christmas party at Yuehai Middle School, the performances on stage were nearing their end.

However, none of this concerns them anymore.

The first thing the group did after returning to Yuehai Middle School was to go to their lounge and find Lin Jiezi.

"Ah? Um, you guys are back... I... I..." Lin Jiezi stammered, gesturing in front of everyone.

"Thank you for waiting for us here all by yourself. We'll be back with the instruments, and we'll all have a good meal together."

Helica gave a soothing remark in a hoarse voice, then left Lin Jiezi alone in the activity room, and the group headed straight backstage.

"No! No! I... what I'm trying to say isn't this... wait..." Lin Jiezi tried to explain, but found that there were no people left in front of her, so she quickly chased after them.

With only a few performances left, the girls easily made their way to the back and found the instruments they had previously placed there.

"Wait, where are you guys going?" As soon as Serizawa Riko saw the group of people who had picked up musical instruments, she immediately ran over.

"Are we going to leave with our things?" Yuuki Yuen answered for Tenrai Herika.

"Why are you leaving? Aren't you going to perform anymore?" Riko Serizawa asked, looking puzzled.

Although Baqi mocked Tianlei Helika mercilessly, it was just a provocation. Her inability to go on stage made her feel extremely frustrated.

"But our show time has already passed, hasn't it?"

"Hmm... wait a minute, let me check the program." Riko Serizawa said, taking out a program that had been folded several times from her pocket and carefully looking through it: "It really is like that."

……

"Big sister and the others are so slow, I'm hungry." Hyakki Chiyu complained as she waited outside the door, then stood there with her hands behind her back.

"Wait, my older sister sent us a message." Hong Moli was about to say a few words of comfort to her little girlfriend when her phone vibrated.

Hong Moli picked up her phone, her lips twitched a few times, and her expression froze completely.

"Mari? What's wrong?" Qianyou stopped being petulant and leaned her head close to Hong Mari.

"My sister said..." Hong Moli swallowed hard, looking speechless.

She said: "The situation has changed, I'm getting ready to go on stage..."

Chapter 103 An Outburst in Silence

Not long ago, the girls left Moonsea Middle School together to head to St. Yuki Academy.

"They all rushed out in one go, ignoring me no matter how I called them. I don't know what they were doing, but they seemed to be in a hurry, so I didn't want to stop them, right?"

Riko Serizawa quietly recounted the girls' departure to the host who came down from the stage.

The host, who had spent so much time preparing for the next program, was on the verge of a mental breakdown when he heard the news.

"What's going on? What is that? What do we do?"

Riko Serizawa stroked her chin and thought for a moment, then slapped her palm: "How about we skip this program?"

"That's true, there's no other way now."

"No, no..."

As the host spoke, a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz also rang out.

It wasn't very clear, but it was enough for the two of them to find the source of the sound.

The host and Riko Serizawa simultaneously turned their attention to the girl hiding in the corner.

The backstage lights were rather dim, making them even more blurry under the dazzling stage lights. However, they were enough to make out the girl's milk tea-colored long hair and her glasses reflecting the light.

"What did you just say?" Riko Serizawa approached the timid figure, but the other person seemed to shrink back as if afraid of her, causing Riko Serizawa to stop in her tracks.

Riko Serizawa noticed that the girl who was speaking was clenching her fist tightly and swinging it in the air a few times. These strange movements left Riko Serizawa completely baffled.

"I said, no, we have to perform!"

The girl said this.

This is that rainbow-themed girl, anyway, she's a member of the band that Riko Serizawa has listened to many times but can't remember the name of, and she's about to perform. Although Riko Serizawa doesn't have a deep impression of this girl, she remembered something after being reminded like this.

"But where are you all?" Riko Serizawa asked.

“We…are…” The girl shrank her shoulders even lower, and after a long while she couldn’t give a proper answer.

“No matter what you say, you definitely can’t perform now, right?” Riko Serizawa asked again.

“That’s right…” the girl nodded reluctantly.

“Alright then, Kujo! You can go back to announcing the program! Let’s skip this one for now!” Serizawa said to the host next to him.

"No! No way!"

The girl shouted it out.

This seemed to be the first time Serizawa Riko had heard a girl speak so loudly.

The girl stammered, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between her teeth, making the listener extremely anxious.

“We…tried our best, we didn’t want…to not get on stage, but they had other things to do, so…”

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I understand. It means your teammates have something very important to do, so they can't go on stage for the time being, but they've been practicing hard, right?"

"Mmm...mmm...yes..."

"I can't make the decision myself, but I can take you to see the chairman. However, the program still needs to continue, so the specifics will depend on the chairman's decision, is that alright?"

"Um... um..."

"So, Kujo, you can continue for now! I'll take her to see Chairman Niijima, is that alright?" Riko Serizawa patted the host on the shoulder.

"No problem, no problem."