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

"Konken Mashiro."

"Ok?"

Genken Mashiro didn't find the title inappropriate at all. The nuns she had wiped out were all older than her, and they only obeyed Asahimi. They were only following her now because of orders.

Furthermore, since he was the one who had ruined their future, he wouldn't mind if the other party pointed at him and cursed him.

But the nuns of the Holy Church would certainly not do such a thing. Calling the Dean of the College is a professional relationship in front of outsiders. Calling Genki Mashiro by her name in private is already the most outrageous thing they have ever done.

“I overheard your conversation outside the door.”

"Hmm." Genken Mashiro nodded slightly.

Is it appropriate for you to say these things to them?

"In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with it, is there?"

As Genki Mashiro spoke, he opened a new can of juice.

Chapter 252 She Once Did It

"What did you say? Yuuki Yuuki left because of this?"

Helica's eyebrows were furrowed tightly, and she didn't know whose face to hit with her clenched fist.

Perhaps it was Genji Mashiro in the room, or perhaps it was the wall next to her, but more than any of those things, she wanted to punch Yuuki Yukino, who had vanished without a trace, in the face.

But in the end, Herika's fists just pounded the air. Any anger, amazement, or disbelief was useless. Her reason was telling her that she had to accept this reality.

“I don’t want to believe it either, but…” Inuyama Tomoe’s words stopped there. She wasn’t hesitant to speak, but rather unsure of what to say to soothe Tenrai Herika’s emotions.

Although she was trying to comfort Helica, subconsciously she was trying to find an excuse to deceive herself and calm down.

Yuuki Yukino approached Genki Mashiro, wanting to sacrifice herself in exchange for everyone having a future.

Although Yuuki Yukino ultimately did not actually go to the point of sacrificing herself, she embarked on a long journey and completely disappeared from the girls' sight.

Everyone can understand her thoughts. If Yuuki Yuuki had met someone who was particularly important to her before leaving, she might not have been able to make up her mind to leave.

So the last person she saw in Moonsea City was Genki Mashiro.

However, while we may understand, we absolutely cannot accept Yuuki Yukino's behavior.

Yuuki Yukino left without consulting anyone; it's absolutely outrageous! Outrageous! Unbelievably outrageous!

Helica bit her lower lip hard, her sharp canines piercing her soft lips and filling her mouth with a salty, metallic taste.

Hong Moli silently walked behind Bai Gui Qianyou and pulled her hand hard. Bai Gui Qianyou immediately understood and took a half step back, making her footsteps softer. Together with Hong Moli, they silently left along the edge.

With her hands in her coat pockets, Nishio Reki was wearing the black hoodie she always wore when Yuuki called her the Mysterious One. In the past, when she wore this outfit, she would always hover around Yuuki, and no matter how hard Yuuki searched, she could not find any trace of her. Now that their positions had been reversed, Nishio Reki could feel how desperate Yuuki had been back then.

Inuyama Tomoe raised her arms and hugged her shoulders tightly in front of her. She glanced at the departing figures of Koumori and Hyakki Senyu out of the corner of her eye, then looked away and stared intently at her toes.

"Never mind! I'm going to find Yuuki Yukina!" Tenrai Herika flung her hand away, ignoring the two people standing there, and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute!" Nishio Reki called out to Tenrai Herika, who was leaving. He saw Tenrai Herika stop in her tracks, turn around, and give him a look that said, "Speak quickly."

Nishio Reki opened his mouth: "Where are you going to look for it...?"

But her voice grew softer and softer, and only she could hear the last few syllables. This gradually wore down Helica's patience, and she turned and left quickly without looking back.

Nishio Reki helplessly turned his gaze to Inuyama Tomoe beside him, looking at her with pleading eyes.

She couldn't quite articulate the full range of emotions conveyed in Inuyama Tomoe's somewhat stiff expression at the time—disappointment, anger, helplessness, grievance, and so much more, too many to count.

Finally, all those chaotic emotions coalesced into a soft sigh: "Alright, let's go."

……

Even at dismissal time, St. Yuu Academy remained as orderly as ever. Girls in their school uniforms walked through the school gates one after another, chatting quietly about after-school activities and interesting school stories that girls their age would discuss.

After a while, fewer and fewer people left the school. After the temperature dropped a few degrees, the main gate of the school was slowly closed, leaving only a small gate for people to pass through.

After a long time, most of the students who stayed to study on their own or participate in club activities had already left.

At this moment, a young woman in a suit slowly walked out of the office building, unfolded the folding wheelchair she was carrying at the bottom of the steps, and helped the person walking with her to sit down slowly.

The electric wheelchair started slowly with the hum of its motor, crossed the entire playground, and headed towards the school gate.

The wheelchair passed through the small gate for pedestrians, but before it could even turn a corner, it stopped in place.

A black figure blocked the wheelchair's path with her body.

The woman in the suit who had been following the wheelchair took a step forward, but was stopped by the person in the wheelchair who raised her hand.

"Are you the only one?" Genki Mashiro lowered the hand that was stopping the secretary next to her.

"Yes, it's just me."

The girl kept her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and stepped to the side, giving the wheelchair enough room to move forward.

"You're all alone, don't be afraid..."

"Don't be afraid. Always talking about things like 'Aren't you afraid we'll do something to you? Aren't you afraid I'll lie to you?' or 'Aren't you afraid of this or that' is just unnecessary small talk. It's not cool at all, and it's a complete waste of time."

"Heh." Genken Mashiro couldn't help but chuckle. She didn't dislike this straightforward way of speaking: "So what brings you here for so long, Nishio Reki?"

With his hands in his pockets, Nishio Reki asked, "You didn't finish what you were saying earlier, did you?"

Unlike Yuuki Yukino, who is well-prepared for everything and has all her strategies planned before speaking; nor is she like Tomoe, who possesses a natural charm that makes people believe her and always gets the information she needs in a straightforward manner.

Therefore, she could only ask questions in the most suitable and direct way for her.

"Oh?" Genken Mashiro raised her eyebrows as if she found what Nishio Reki said interesting. Such a large change in expression was truly rare on Genken Mashiro's normal face: "Why do you think so?"

Nishio Reki was already on fire, not caring that she was no longer a magical girl, nor that the Sister of the Temple standing next to Urouge Mashiro might turn against her at any moment, and she was not afraid of Urouge Mashiro at all.

"I think answering questions with questions is a waste of time. To save time for both of us, you only need to answer yes or no."

Genken Mashiro shut her mouth, leaned back in her wheelchair, and cast an extremely calm gaze at Nishio Reki. However, beneath the calmness, Nishio Reki felt an undercurrent of malice rising up her back, as if it were about to devour her completely.

This is the second time Nishio Reki has faced Urouge Mashiro alone. The last time was when he had to cover Yuuki Yuki's retreat at the shrine in Nijiha City.

At that time, Nishio Reki was naive and fearless. She thought that Genki Mashiro was a crazy, mad magical girl who could drag the whole city into her own selfish desires. She believed that she could easily deal with her with the power she inherited from Yuuki Yuki.

At that time, Mashiro Urouge was unable to unleash the full power of Yog-Sothoth for various reasons. Some of these reasons were due to his fear of Eri Yuuki's power, while others were due to his need to deal with Hayashi Keiko, who possessed the power of the Primal.

However, as time went on, Nishio Reki came to understand more and more about Gonno Ken Mashiro, this uninvited guest who had never appeared in her past memories, and she also became more and more aware of the danger he posed.

This is for Xiaoyuan, this is for Xiaoyuan. As long as it's for Xiaoyuan, I can't back down.

Nishio Ryū silently encouraged himself and met her gaze head-on.

An inexplicable force brought Nishio Reki to an unusually calm state of mind. Although the events that had occurred earlier had greatly affected her mood, those troubling matters seemed to have been temporarily cast aside from her heart.

She could notice that Genji Mashiro's chest was rising and falling more, as if she had taken a deep breath and then silently sighed to complete another deep breath.

Then, Mashiro Gorgen's tightly closed lips opened once again.

"Yes."

As Nishio Reki breathed out the syllable "Ghostly Mashiro," a feeling of relief washed over her.

“I knew it would be like this. Xiaoyuan would never simply give up on the future and choose to end everything by taking her own life because she couldn’t put the power in her body into place or control it. Nor would she run away from Yuehai City and hide away by herself just because she couldn’t do it.”

Normally, Nishio Reki wouldn't directly express the reasons she was thinking, but she had a feeling that if she didn't say it, she would definitely feel suffocated.

Genken Mashiro's swirling eyes narrowed slightly, as if she had read something from Nishio Reki, but in the end she only uttered a sigh: "You really believe in Yuuki Yukino."

"Of course, Yuuki Yui never chooses the lesser of two evils. When faced with the trolley problem, she always greedily wants both. She has made this choice countless times and succeeded countless times. It's not a matter of whether you believe it or not, because she will definitely do it, whether it's for others or for herself."

As Nishio Reki spoke, her eyes were no longer only on Genken Mashiro.

She seemed to see herself that night, hiding her identity, sitting on that familiar sofa in Yuuki Yuuki's house, proposing to Yuuki Yuuki the night she would save Koumori or Hyakki Senyu.

In the memory of her other self, Yuuki Yukino did indeed give up on someone, and she did indeed go very, very far, so far that she defeated Seishine and Kuroba Reisei.

I once believed that Yuuki Yuki would be like the past, and that I would be like the one I remembered, that someone would be abandoned, and that the familiar plot would be repeated.

But no, none of them. Yuuki Yukari said she would save everyone, and she did indeed save everyone, and she truly led everyone through the difficulties that Nishio Reki thought were insurmountable, one after another.

As Nishio Reki said, it doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, Yuuki Yukino will definitely do it, because she has done it before.

Because she has done it before.

Chapter 253 A Trusted Person

"Will Yuuki Yukino really do that?"

Genken Mashiro savored Nishio Ryū's words with great interest, repeatedly rubbing his palm on the armrest of his wheelchair, looking at Nishio Ryū without comment.

Nishio Reki regained her spirits, but her momentum had weakened considerably after learning that Genki Mashiro had met Yuuki Yuuki before she left. Nevertheless, she still held on, unwilling to show weakness to Genki Mashiro.

She was not allowed to show weakness on the matter of Yuuki Yukino.

"I came here to find out what Xiaoyuan and you talked about. I only have Xiaoyuan on my mind. If you're going to say something like 'Why should I tell you?', I suggest you take it back. We don't need so much small talk. Just say what you mean."

Perhaps it was because of Nishio Reki's expression, or perhaps it was because of Nishio Reki's words, but after listening to them, Gorgen Mashiro burst out laughing.

After a soft chuckle, Gen Ken Mashiro's expression became slightly subtle, as if he wanted to continue laughing, but then he straightened his face.

"What are you laughing at?" Nishio Reki felt even more guilty. If it were someone else, Nishio Reki could use the memories left by her other self to deduce the other person's personality. That's why she was able to act with ease when interacting with others.

But not with Genki Mashiro. She had no idea what Genki Mashiro meant, nor did she know if there were any dark thoughts hidden behind Genki Mashiro's light laugh.

"I just wanted to laugh." Genken Mashiro waved his hand. "I'll tell you about Yuuki Yukino."

"Then tell me quickly." Nishio Reki urged anxiously when he heard that Gen Ken Mashiro had actually given in.

"Shall we talk right here at the school gate?" Genki Mashiro glanced at the vast academy behind him, where almost no one was coming or going, and gestured to the nun in a suit beside him.

The nun immediately walked behind Genki Mashiro, seemingly to push her wheelchair, but the electric wheelchair didn't require human assistance, so she simply walked behind Genki Mashiro.

Nishio Ryū understood and shut his mouth, putting his hands back into his pockets and following behind the nun.

The wheelchair motor started up again, accompanied by the clattering sound of the wheels rolling over the floor tiles.

"Are you alone?" Genken Mashiro asked between stammering words.

"You've already asked that question?" Nishio Reki was preoccupied with when Genki Mashiro would tell him the truth and didn't want to discuss any other topics with her.

"Is there?" Genken Mashiro asked again.

Nishio Reki was getting a little impatient, so this time he answered Gorgen Mashiro's question directly: "I don't remember. It's just that it was just me. I don't know what other people are thinking, but the only people who know what I'm thinking are myself, you, and her."

As Nishio Reki spoke, he pointed at the group, but he had already decided that if Genki Mashiro continued like this, he would turn around and leave.

Since the other party doesn't intend to speak sincerely, there's no need for me to waste my time. Although I might miss out on useful information, another version of myself has already started the source of tragedy because of my contact with Seishin, and Nishio Reki must learn from this experience.