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

She has found the answer that best suits her at this moment and that best follows her heart.

"Xiaoyuan, weren't you just asking why I called you out?"

As the girl spoke, she raised her hand, gathered a strand of cherry blossom hair, and gently cupped it in her palm before presenting it to herself.

Then, the girl lowered her head, letting a strand of cherry blossom hair touch her lips.

Immediately, the pink color slipped away from my palm.

"The weather is nice, I want to see you."

Chapter 126 A Lively Assorted Hot Pot

"Oh dear, it's so cold, so cold!"

Yuuki Yui kept rubbing her hands together, breathing warm air into her cold, reddened palms, and then kicked her shoes off at the entrance.

"Ah, Xiaoyuan! Welcome back!"

Inuyama Tomoe immediately came out of the room to greet them, reaching out to take the shopping bag containing groceries from Yuuki Yuuki's hand.

"Ah, thanks."

This is Yuuki Yukino's first sentence.

Why are you in my house?

This is Yuuki Yukino's second sentence.

Baqi snapped her fingers and said matter-of-factly, "Ah, because Xiaoyuan said she wanted to eat mixed hot pot, I came straight here! I didn't expect Xiaoyuan to be not home, and it's quite cold outside, so I waited inside."

Although it was indeed Yuuki Gen who suggested the mixed hot pot, after searching around with Koreki, Yuuki Gen still felt it would be better for everyone to have a lively time together.

In Yukien's view, barbecue, hot pot, BBQ, and home-style dishes are the four kings of gatherings.

We've already sampled enough barbecue in the past few days; there aren't any suitable restaurants for home-style dishes, and it's too late to cook them ourselves; as for barbecue, the barbecue here is completely different from the barbecue in Yuuki Eri's previous life.

All things considered, hot pot is the most suitable option.

However, hot pot is actually divided into two types: shabu-shabu and sukiyaki. If everyone is shabu-shabu together, it might be a bit too slow.

Then the answer is easy to determine.

However! Yuuki Yukino never said that anyone could just walk into her house!

Baqi could tell from Yuuki Yuki's expression that she had indeed gone a bit too far. It would be fine if Yuuki Yuki broke in through a window when she was home, but it was not good to sneak into someone else's house when no one was home.

"I'm sorry, I was a bit too presumptuous. I should have waited obediently at the door for Xiaoyuan to come back." Ba Qi lowered her head, looking like a wounded puppy. "Or... should I go out and stand in the corner as punishment for a while, and then come back in?"

"Never mind, I'm not angry anymore, but you should have told me first," Yuuki sighed.

"Yay!" Baqi rushed over and hugged Yuuki Yuuki tightly. "I knew Yuuki was the best!"

A faint voice came from behind Yuuki Yuuki.

"Even so, could you let me in first?"

Baqi then noticed that behind Yuuki Yuki was a black-haired girl with an unusually fierce expression, also carrying two large bags, who was staring at her with eyes that seemed to want to kick her out of the window.

……

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Inuyama Baki sincerely poured hot barley tea for the two people who had taken off their coats and were sitting in front of the coffee table, and repeatedly apologized with her palms together.

"There's nothing for me to apologize for." Nishio Reki picked up the barley tea in the glass and warmed his hands, which were still numb from the cold, with the hot liquid.

Baqi walked around the coffee table and sat down on the other side of Yuuki Yuki: "Speaking of which, why are you two together?"

"I can't carry all that stuff back by myself."

Yuuki Yukina sipped her barley tea, smiling as she pointed to the ingredients that had been placed on the ground and hadn't been processed yet, as well as the enormous package that Nishio Reki was carrying—a package that was absolutely not to be underestimated.

Baqi nodded understandingly; it was indeed inconvenient for Yuuki Yukino to carry so much stuff by herself alone.

However, that is on the premise that Yuuki Yuuki does not transform.

However, as far as transformation is concerned, it doesn't matter who Yuuki Yuuki chooses, and Tomoe doesn't care about such things.

If she really cared, she would have fought with Herlicado several times over long ago.

After warming herself up with barley tea, Yuuki stretched, rolled up her sleeves, and went into the kitchen.

"Yuan! Is there anything we can help you with?" Baqi got up right behind Yuuki and jogged into the kitchen.

Nishio Reki was a little slow, but by the time Yuuki Yuki turned around, she was already waiting at the kitchen door. Hearing what Baqi said, she nodded in response.

"Wash your hands before you go into the kitchen!" Yuuki Yuen said, shaking her finger as she wrapped a scarf around her neck. "Later, Xiao Li can help me wash the new pot, and Ba Qi can help me prepare the vegetables."

After being assigned a task by Yuuki Yuuki, the three of them immediately began their work, with the sounds of rushing water and clattering kitchen utensils becoming the background noise in this peaceful atmosphere.

Of course, there were also the sounds of girls talking.

"By the way, Xiaoyuan also said that we can bring our favorite ingredients, and snacks are fine too. Did you bring anything?"

"I did say that, and I specifically said that you absolutely cannot bring chocolates with liqueur fillings!"

"Why don't you believe me, Xiaoyuan? I brought beef, beef, and it's very high-quality beef!"

……

A knock sounded at the door, and the blonde girl and the gray-haired girl, holding hands, brushed the snowflakes off their shoulders and entered the room one after the other.

"Good afternoon, Big Sister, Yuuki Yuki, and Nishio Reki." Koumari helped Hyakki Chiyuu take off her outer garment and draped it over the chair along with her own.

Yuuki waved the kitchen knife in her hand: "Oh! Good afternoon! Come and help!"

“I knew it would be like this.” Hongmo smiled knowingly, picked up the tote bag she had brought and walked toward the kitchen: “I didn’t prepare any ingredients for the mixed hot pot, but eating only mixed hot pot is a bit monotonous, so I brought some easy-to-make side dishes.”

"Even for simple dishes, Mari's cooking skills are trustworthy."

Hyakki Chiyu, who was already sitting obediently on the sofa and staring intently at Koumori, added that she put aside the barley tea cups that several people had drunk from on the coffee table and began to take out various snacks in order and arrange them on the coffee table.

With Hong Moli joining the kitchen, it became even more lively.

"Baqi, make sure to cut the roots of the enoki mushrooms cleanly, and wash them thoroughly. Even mass-produced enoki mushrooms are quite dirty!"

"Xiao Li, remember to carefully separate the cabbage leaves, because the core and leaves ripen at different times."

"Hong... uh, it's nothing. Just do it at your own pace. I just feel like it's a bit inappropriate to call out to everyone else and then not call out to you."

While adding seasonings to the broth containing kelp and bonito flakes, Yuki En directed the others to work.

Although Yuuki Yuuki could do these tasks by herself, it would definitely be more fun to do them together in a lively atmosphere.

The deliciousness lies not only in the finished meal, but also in the time we spent working together.

……

After all the ingredients were prepared, Sakura Hanako knocked on the door.

"Happy New Year to all my seniors! Although it's not New Year's yet, Happy New Year anyway."

Sakura Hanako, carrying a large suitcase, bowed to everyone without even putting the suitcase down, and then carried the suitcase into the living room.

"I brought oranges! It's definitely New Year's, right? I wonder if the seniors bought any oranges?"

“Indeed, Xiaoyuan only prepared the hot pot ingredients and didn’t consider snacks or anything like that at all.” Baqi stroked her chin thoughtfully and nodded, giving Sakura Hanako a thumbs up: “Thank you for your hard work! Bringing oranges was a huge help!”

As Baqi spoke, she turned her thumb toward Hyakki Chiyu: "Hyakki's sweets too! Without these sweets, someone might have to go out and make a trip. It's so good that we don't have to go out in such a cold winter."

Hyakki Chiyu blinked innocently, tilted her head back and swallowed a large piece of cake, licked the remaining cream off her lips before speaking: "Don't be polite, big sister. It's more fun to share good food."

“That’s right! Don’t be so polite!” Sakura Hanako, who had already squatted down and started picking out the oranges from the box one by one and putting them into the fruit plate handed to her by Nishio Reki, waved her hands repeatedly: “My thoughts are similar to those of Hyakki… classmate. It’s more fun to share with everyone.”

When the topic of the Hundred Demons came up, Sakura Hanako's tone was still a little awkward.

"And one more thing," Sakura Hanako said, then sheepishly covered her eyes with her hand, rubbing her hair with her knuckles. "Hyakki-kun, we caused you quite a bit of trouble before, didn't we? I thought you really wanted to..."

“I’ve always remembered that. You hurt Mari quite badly.” Chiyu put down the next piece of cake she was about to put in her mouth, turned slightly with her legs together, and faced Sakura Hanako: “Your ability is the biggest obstacle to my ability, and I should eliminate this crisis.”

Gasps filled the room, and even Sakura Hanako's face darkened slightly.

The two sides did have conflicts before, and since I hurt the other party so badly, the conflicts were actually quite significant.

Whether it was waiting for Mashiro's press conference or when Sakuragawa Aika invited everyone to a barbecue party, they didn't have a chance to say more than a few words.

Sakura Hanako had hoped to use this opportunity to ease tensions between the two sides, but it seems that may not be so easy.

“However,” Hyakki Chiyuu said, still with that enigmatic expression, as she handed another piece of cake from her plate to Sakura Hanako, “it’s always better to have one more friend than one more enemy, so let’s share this delicious treat.”

"Huh? Hmm." Sakura Hanako was slightly taken aback, then stood up and took a few steps closer, reaching out to take the cake that Hyakki Chiyu handed her: "Let's share it."

“Oranges.” Hyakki Chiyuu pointed to the box of oranges at Sakura Hanako’s feet.

"Oh." Sakura Hanako suddenly realized, picked up a few oranges and handed them over.

……

"good evening."

As Yuuki Yui was putting the ingredients into the pot one after another, Mizuno Yui followed her in.

Baqi immediately spotted the contents of the bag that Mizuno Yu was carrying: "Oh! Clams! These are especially delicious in a mixed hot pot!"

“That’s right. I think it’s worth a try.” Mizuno Yu nodded.

Sakura Hanako clapped her hands in praise: "As expected of your senior, you easily thought of food that we couldn't even imagine."

Hong Moli stood up from the sofa surrounded by many people and took the bag of clams: "Then I will clean them and put them in later."

"Is there anything else I can help with? I'm happy to assist you."

"No need, we can start eating once Lin and Tianlei arrive!"

……

Just a few minutes later, Helica, carrying Lin Jiezi, appeared at the door.

"I...I brought drinks for everyone. They're from the convenience store...juice, and...potato chips..."

Lin Jiezi, who was pushed through the door first, stood frozen at the entrance like a wooden doll, holding up the oversized convenience bag in her hand as if she wanted to show it to everyone.

"Thank you for your hard work, come in!" Yuki wiped her hands, took the bag from Lin Jiezi's hand, and pulled Lin Jiezi into the room together.

"Ha! I knew she wouldn't come alone! So I brought her here. I was very prescient, wasn't I!" Helica patted her chest, smugly following as she entered, closing the door behind her to keep the cold outside.

"Indeed, did you bring anything, senior?"