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

Mizuno Yui solemnly scanned the two tense figures, but Inuyama Tomoe and Tenrai Herika's eyes were completely fixed on each other.

Mizuno Yu gestured to Sakura Hanako with her eyes, then slowly shook her head.

Although Sakura Hanako was somewhat unable to accept that everyone was fighting amongst themselves at this time, she obeyed her senior and quietly grabbed the corner of her uniform.

Another chair was moved, its sound like tearing silk in the eerily quiet room.

"That's enough, now is not the time to have a fight." Nishio Reki tried to pull Inuyama Tomoe's arm, but couldn't budge it.

Then Nishio Reki pulled a second time, and this time he didn't feel any resistance.

Inuyama Tomoe staggered a few steps to the side as she was pulled by her, then angrily shook off Nishio Reki's hand, grabbed her skirt and flattened it under her, then plopped down on the table next to her, hugged her shoulders and turned her head to the side.

Nishio Reki glanced again in the direction of Tenrai Herika. Inuyama Tomoe had already given in, so for Herika, taking another step back now would be the best option.

This is also a further choice by Nishio Reki.

"Helika, you're not the only one who's worried about Xiaoyuan; we're all the same."

That's all I have to say; that's enough.

Nishio Reki thought that although she wanted to say a few more words of advice to Helica, they were all the same age, and she knew the principle of moderation. The rest was up to Helica to figure out on her own.

“I know.” Herika clenched her fists tighter, and suddenly raised the hand holding the towel as if she were about to smash it to the ground.

But Herika's hand didn't suddenly fall. Instead, it hung limply as if it had lost all its strength, and the towel slipped quietly from between her fingers to the ground.

Helica bent down and picked up the towel, which had fallen to the ground and was stained with several obvious dirt marks, and placed it on the table behind her. Her expression became even more gloomy.

"But Yuki Yukino won't be coming back."

Chapter 256 In That Rainy Season

"Yellow-haired dwarf! Is she crazy?!"

Inuyama Baki's voice broke the silence in the room.

"You're such a grown-up, yet you're standing there in the rain like a child. Is that cool? Is that stylish? Does it make you look pathetic? No! Not at all!"

"And she's so willful, she can't control her emotions at all. If something doesn't go her way, she turns around and runs away. If she doesn't understand something, she runs off to do something stupid! She's not a child anymore! Can't you stop making decisions on a whim?"

"She just sits there and doesn't say a word. She won't answer anything I ask her. Can't she just talk to me properly? Can't we communicate with each other? Honestly, why is it so hard to talk to her!"

"We're all under pressure! We've all been working ourselves to the bone because of Xiaoyuan, and now she's suddenly gone, then suddenly she's back with a sour face! It's like she's the one who's working the hardest, and we're all just slacking off! That's not how it works!"

"She... Ugh! I'm so angry! I'm so angry!" Inuyama Tomoe plopped down in a chair, hugging her shoulders and sulking.

But now no one can argue with her anymore. Helica the Thunder God just left the room silently, leaving everyone there standing there.

Before leaving, Herika only said, "Yuki Yuuki is gone forever," leaving everyone with many unanswered questions.

"Sigh!" Ba Qi sighed heavily again, glancing at the others with annoyance. Her tone was unfriendly but not aggressive, giving the impression of a cute little tantrum: "What are you looking at?"

Mizuno Yu didn't add fuel to the fire by following Baqi's awkwardness. Instead, she focused on Helica's reaction and concluded: "Tenrai has met Yuuki."

“Of course, I could tell.” Ba Qi said, crossing her legs. “If she couldn’t find Xiao Yuan, she would never have come back. She’s just a stupid person who likes to overthink things.”

Sakura Hanako sounded a little angry: "Alright, stop talking badly about Tenrai-senpai!"

After all, Inuyama Tomoe is a fallen magical girl. Even if she abandons the connection of her identity, Tomoe has laid a hand on them, and her interactions with them are not as numerous as with Heracles. If Sakura Hanako were to protect someone, she would definitely protect the person she is close to.

Mizuno Yu spoke up, but she was defending Inuyama Tomoe: "Inuyama did nothing wrong. If Tenrai hadn't been given some stimulation in that situation and had instead been shown concern directly, Tenrai would have been even more upset. It's just that Inuyama's actions had the opposite effect."

Ba Qi rolled her eyes to herself: "I never thought that way. I just wanted to know how Xiao Yuan was doing. I just wanted to curse that blond shorty a couple of times. Don't try to flatter me."

That's what Baqi said, but everyone had a pretty good idea of ​​what she was really planning at the time.

Sakura Hanako's expression softened slightly, and the reasons why Mizuno Yu interrupted her twice were now clear, but some questions remained unanswered.

"Seniors, if Senior Tianlei has really found Senior Yuki, why aren't you curious about where Senior Yuki is now?"

Inuyama Tomoe answered immediately: "I'm curious, of course I'm curious where Yui is, but even if we asked her, would that short, blond girl answer? Judging from her appearance, she must have come straight back after seeing Yui, straight back, you understand? She didn't even go home, she came straight to the Nijisanji activity room. She was probably quite traumatized, so she didn't know where to go."

"But...but, if it were Helica, she wouldn't know where to go. And you...you still say that about her." Lin Jiezi muttered softly.

"Sigh, that's why I don't know if I did something wrong. It's all my fault for putting pressure on her at a time like this." Ba Qi stopped being stubborn and sighed helplessly.

Nishio Koyomi beckoned with his finger, attracting everyone's attention with the sound of tapping on the table.

"Alright, things are as they are now. I also really want to know where Xiaoyuan is, but we might not be able to get the answer from Helica. Even if she does, it's questionable whether Xiaoyuan will still be there waiting for us to find her. We also need to investigate what Helica means by saying that Xiaoyuan won't be coming back. We already have one problem after another. Instead of thinking so much, let's try to calm Helica down first. Any objections?"

Mizuno Yuu nodded heavily: "I agree. Yuuki's matter is important, but Tenrai is also our friend, and her matter is equally important. If we can't even pay attention to our friends in order to solve Yuuki's troubles..."

“Then we would be really negligent!” Sakura Hanako continued, clenching her fists, “and continued what Mizuno Yu had said.”

Although Lin Jiezi did not agree further, she kept nodding.

Meanwhile, in the corridor outside the club activity room, which is separated by only one wall.

Helica clenched her fists tightly, the veins on the back of her hands, wet with rain, becoming especially prominent as she strained.

She raised her fist, then lowered it again, and after several attempts, she finally took that step.

However, it faces the opposite direction from the activity room door.

As the footsteps grew fainter, Helica's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.

……

evening.

Minato Nana expertly took out her key and opened the door, but instead of going in and closing the security door behind her as usual, she turned around in the entryway and spoke to the girl following behind her.

"Come in, come in."

Helica hesitated, but did not move.

Minato Nana tugged at Herika's clothes and pulled her straight into the room: "You've already come this far, what are you hesitating for? Come on in!"

After entering the room, which wasn't very large and had relatively simple furnishings, but was cluttered with all sorts of random things, Helica stood at the entrance, stunned, like a wooden statue.

Minato Nana looked at Helica, put her hands on her hips, and repeated her words with a few different details: "What's wrong? We're already here, what are you still thinking about?"

"I just feel that it's a bit inappropriate for me to come to your house with you like this, and that I'm bothering you too much?" Herica answered honestly, not at all like her usual impulsive self who ran to the coffee shop to forcibly kiss Yuuki Yukino. Instead, she looked like a well-behaved girl.

"You're wandering around the coffee shop in the rain, and you don't know anything when asked. It's obvious you're in some trouble and have nowhere to go, right? In that case, I can still accommodate you here. Besides, when Huan ran away from home and started our band, she stayed at my, Ling's, Aike's, and Lizi's houses for a long time. We didn't have much money back then. Now I'm doing pretty well, and you're my fan, so consider this a fan service."

Minato Nana grabbed her hair and gave Helica a victory sign.

“So, Miss Minato, you also… after seeing me… well, you saw that I even closed the shop and took me home, and I feel a little embarrassed.” Helica lowered her head.

"It's okay, it's okay. Opening a shop is all about having fun. Actually, I made quite a bit of money when I was in a band, and I've been running a coffee shop for so many years. Even if I don't do any work now, I can definitely stay at home for a few years on this money."

"That's not what I meant..."

"Besides, I can't just leave you all soaking wet, can I? Some things are more important than work or making money." Minamoto moved her head left and right a few times. "Alright, come in first. I'll go make you some hot water. Take a good bath now and don't catch a cold."

One hour later.

Minato Nana's furious voice echoed in the living room, accompanied by the sound of her fists slamming on the table.

"What the hell is this?! I came to see the band! Not some gimmick! And certainly not some forced emotional drama! Can't you guys use your brains when you're making band-themed works?! Anyone with a brain couldn't write this! It's infuriating! It's infuriating!"

"Um... Miss Minato?" Herica, who had just come out of the bathroom, stood cautiously by the sofa where Minato Nana was sitting, looking a little lost.

"Ah." Minato Nana finally came to her senses, suppressing her furious expression and speaking softly, but her face, flushed with anger, had not subsided: "The underwear is one I haven't worn yet, but the rest are old clothes. Do they still fit?"

"Yes, it fits perfectly."

Herika shook her head a few times, while looking at her shirt again. It looked pretty new, a bit loose for Nana's height, and not exactly a perfect fit, but it was still better than her own clothes that were soaking wet.

"Sit down for a while. I just heated up some milk for you. This was originally prepared for Xiao Laishi," said Minato Nana, pushing a steaming cup of milk from the coffee table towards her.

Helica's eyes widened with wariness: "Little Reincarnation?"

“Yes, it’s right there.” Minato Nana pointed to the side.

Herlica saw a small, jet-black cat lying at the far end of the sofa, staring at her with its bright yellow eyes. Its drooping face seemed to be full of resentment.

"Pfft." Helica couldn't help but laugh out loud, but her laughter seemed a little forced.

Minato glanced at Helica's smile but said nothing, though the corners of her mouth also turned up a few degrees.

Herika sat down next to Minato Nana, glanced at the band program playing on TV, and sipped her milk with both hands.

The milk was warm, but not hot. Helica didn't know how many times Minato Nana had heated it, but she had heard the microwave go off more than once in the bathroom.

The band's song was still playing on TV, but the volume had decreased considerably. The milk in Helica's glass was also decreasing with a slurping sound.

When the glass of milk was completely empty, Helica put it back on the coffee table.

She noticed that Minato Nana glanced at the cup she had placed on the coffee table, but quickly looked back at the TV. During this time, Minato Nana didn't say a word.

“Miss Minato?” Helica called softly.

"Hmm?" When Minato Nana heard someone call her, she immediately changed her posture, shaking off her previous laziness and sitting up straighter.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what happened to me?” Helica asked.

"Why would I ask you? If you want to tell me, you'll tell me yourself. If you don't want to tell me, even if I ask you, can you tell me?" Minato Nana answered matter-of-factly.

“That’s true.” Helica, like the little black cat named Little Rebirth, pulled her feet back from under the sofa and curled up on the sofa, hugging her knees.

The band on TV was still performing some incomprehensible little skit, and all that was left in the living room were lines like "knight," "doll," and "forgotten," and the purring of a sleeping cat.

“Oh, right,” Minato Nana suddenly spoke up again, “Actually, there’s another reason why I brought you back.”

"Mmm," Helica replied, her eyes glued to the television program through the narrow gap between her arms and her hair.

Although she didn't really look into it, at least it provided a place for her restless gaze to find rest.

"It might sound strange, but I think I see my immature self in you." Minato Nana leaned on the coffee table and propped her face up with her hands.

Helica listened quietly to Nana Minato without saying a word.

"I forgot whether I told you this or not, and I don't know if anyone else has told you this either. Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore. Before the Rose Garden was disbanded, maybe during the period when it was only in name, I had a fight with Hanzawa Kuriko. At that time, I didn't know what I should do or where I should go, but I just ran away on my own."

After speaking, Minato Nana closed her lips, and the sound of an acoustic guitar came from the TV again. The blonde lead singer sat in a chair and sang a captivating song with her slow, rhythmic playing.

The song was halfway through when Minato Nana finally spoke.

"No, seeing you reminds me of myself back then. If someone had given me a hand back then, I might not be like this now."

At this point, Minato Nana shook her head again: "No, actually someone did help me, but it wasn't in the way I wanted at the time. In any case, my past is what it is, but I don't want others to follow in my footsteps, even though I couldn't change anything back then either."

Herlica's eyes flickered like loosened stones, but she said nothing.

"Oh dear, you wouldn't understand any of this nonsense I've said. Anyway, everyone has a youthful phase, ptooey, ptooey, as if I'm some kind of old man now. Let me put it another way, everyone has an immature phase. Even now, I'm doing a lot of immature things, and I won't say things like others do: 'Oh, you should go home, you should be sensible, you should make sure you don't regret it, you should do this and that,' it's useless. You just need to do what you want to do right now."