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

However, there was nothing they could do. Yuuki Yukino was plotting a grand conspiracy, Inuyama Tomoe was missing, and the only two people who could accept Yumehara Sumireko were Koumari and another member of the same corrupted magical girl group.

So far, it seems that Koumori and Sumireko Yumehara get along quite well.

However, Nishio Reki and Hanzawa Kuriko, who came to find them, were not happy.

"Aren't you... going to say something?" Nishio Reki asked, forcing himself to speak.

Hong Moli's tone wasn't bad, but it was also a bit awkward.

"I'm not Yuuki Yuuki either, so even if I tried to persuade her, it would only have the opposite effect."

Yumehara Sumireko chimed in from the screen: "You're right! It backfired! You were right not to try to persuade me!"

"But there's strength in numbers, right? Sumire, we've played together before, haven't we? Let's play together again after we rescue Eri, okay?" Nishio Reki asked in a coaxing tone.

Sumireko Yumehara answered decisively: "No! Anyone else is fine! She almost killed me! Only her! Absolutely not!"

Nishio Reki then asked, "Is it not even possible for us to act together?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Sumireko Yumehara refused outright.

Nishio Reki was making one last attempt: "This is for Eri."

Sumireko Yumehara hesitated visibly for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

Just when Nishio Reki thought things were turning around, Yumehara Sumireko loudly refuted him.

"That's not OK."

Taking this opportunity, Koumori also spoke up.

"As you can see, if Sumireko Yumehara doesn't agree, there's nothing we can do to force her."

Afterwards, Koumori took Yumehara Sumireko back to her room, where Hyakki Chiyu, who had been sitting on the sofa without saying a word, finished Koumori's sentence.

Sumireko Yumehara felt guilty for her impulsiveness yesterday, but no one could come up with a solution, and Sumireko was very anxious.

In the previous battle, Sumireko Yumehara's magic power was greatly depleted, and she could not replenish it using conventional methods. Activating Divine Release to allow Sumireko to come out and talk to everyone was not an option, but her magic power would definitely not be able to sustain it.

Even though Sumireko agreed with their idea, it would be difficult to quickly replenish her magic power for the next battle. Moreover, without a reasonable battle plan, a rash attack would only lead to repeating the same mistakes.

However, the magical girls' morale is low right now, and it's difficult to even gather them all together, let alone hold a strategy meeting. That's why Koumori didn't force Sumireko to agree to Hanzawa Kuriko's request right now.

Indeed, morale is a big problem. The girls have been outmaneuvered by Yuuki Yukino time and time again and have suffered losses one after another. Even if they could win a battle, now that the morale of the army has collapsed, it will be difficult to win.

It was only at this moment that everyone realized just how important Yuki Eri had been as a lubricant between the two sides.

Even if morale is low, we still need to get everyone together, right?

With this in mind, the two decided to target the remaining corrupted magical girls, namely Miyashita Mia and Tsukimi Rie, as their next target.

The fact that they didn't explicitly say they were going directly back to Hoshimi City when they left yesterday suggests that they still care about helping Yuuki Eri.

However, despite their good intentions, after a night of calm, once the two of them reflect on their actions, they might change their minds and even return directly to Hoshimi City.

Rather than looking for the other three, it's better to bring these two wavering fighters over first.

Nishio Reki's idea was good, but reality rarely goes as planned.

“Yuki Yui has indeed helped us a lot, and we’ve also caused her a lot of trouble. We’re not ungrateful people…”

Miyashita Miya said with a troubled expression.

Nishio Reki knew that she would definitely add a twist later, and the content before the twist would all be useless generalities.

Sure enough, Miyashita Mia's turning point came naturally.

"However, we also fought for Yuuki Yuki. I had my magic drained by Yuuki Yuki in Hoshimi City. Megumi came all the way here for my sake. But we also returned to Tsukimi City with you and fought Yuuki Yuki. But at this time, is Yuuki Yuki someone we can defeat?"

Hanzawa Kuriko had never directly fought against the current Yuuki Yuki, but she knew from snippets of conversation among other magical girls just how terrifying the current Yuuki Yuki was.

But this time, Hanzawa Kuriko did not back down in the slightest. Instead, she directly questioned the corrupted magical girl she had never met before.

So, are you going to give up?

Miyashita Mia looked troubled, and the question rolled around in her throat for a long time. In the end, she couldn't answer Hanzawa Kuriko's question directly. Instead, she turned to Nishio Reki as if asking for help.

“Nishio Reki, although you used us for Yuuki Eri's sake, you did help us find our current life through a difficult path. Without you, we might not be where we are now…”

"Just tell me straight," Nishio Reki sighed, unwilling to hear her preamble.

"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point." Miyashita Miya shook her head helplessly:

“If there is a sure path to victory, or a path to victory that can be seen, we can do our part, but… I cannot risk our lives for a mere possibility.”

Chapter 290 I Don't Want to Say Anything

The pairing of Nishio Reki and Hanzawa Kuriko was first directly rejected by Yumehara Sumireko, and then subtly rejected by Miyashita Mia and Tsukimi Rie.

What a bad start!

Nishio Reki originally thought this trip would go relatively smoothly, at least Koumori and Hyakki Senyu wouldn't have too much trouble, but he didn't expect to encounter so many setbacks.

However, the remaining magical girls are members of the Nijisanji who have always been by Yuuki Yuuki's side. In terms of their relationship with Yuuki Yuuki, they are no less close than Koumori and the others, and they spend more time with Yuuki Yuuki.

If I ask them for help, it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Having experienced previous failures, Nishio Reki was actually less confident.

"Should we still go to the remaining ones?" Nishio Reki asked Hanzawa Kuriko tentatively.

Chestnut answered resolutely, "I will go. Even if no one helps me, I will definitely go alone. But if I can find one more helper, the success rate will be a little higher."

"Is it really necessary for you to go to this extent for Xiaoyuan? To atone for your sins?" Nishio Reki turned his head and asked.

As for Hanzawa Kuriko, Nishio Reki still couldn't see her as an older sister like Yuuki Tamaki or Minato Nana. Firstly, Hanzawa Kuriko's image didn't seem very mature, and secondly, she was sometimes quite childish, unlike her seniors.

"Didn't you hear what I told Yuki Tamaki before?" Hanzawa Kuriko retorted, but after taking a few steps, she contradicted herself.

“I don’t have that deep feelings for Yuuki Yuki. Even when she was little, I didn’t meet her many times. Similarly, I don’t have the impulsiveness of a young person anymore. But I just feel that I need to do this, and it has to be done by me.”

Hanzawa Kuriko's words sounded like she was confiding in a complete stranger, while the other half of her words were so thinly veiled that they were practically about to be torn apart.

She did all these things because Yuuki Yukino helped her despite past grievances.

"So you're going to go this far?"

"Yes, that's why I'm going to go this far."

……

The next target is Sakura Hanako. The reason for approaching Sakura Hanako first is not complicated: she helps out at the hospital where her mother works, that's all.

Although she was supposed to be helping out, Sakura Hanako wasn't a professional medical worker. She was just helping with odd jobs that anyone could do, such as delivering materials, guiding patients, or calling a nurse for them.

For Sakura Hanako, this was one of the better news Nishio Reki and the others received today.

“I can help, but there’s not much I can do. I’m not good at fighting at all; the most I can do is help with healing. Also, although I’m not familiar with Hanzawa… Miss Hanzawa, I know that Miss Hanzawa genuinely wants to help Yuuki-senpai, so I’m willing to help.”

Sakura Hanako's words also took a turn, but they weren't as forceful as Miyashita Mia's.

"However, I think if we're going to set off again, we can't just blindly keep going. We don't know how Inuyama-senpai is doing right now, and if another senpai gets hurt... Anyway, I think we should discuss it together before making a decision."

In short, perhaps Sakura Hanako realized that the two of them were now isolated and helpless, so while she didn't directly refuse, she also didn't directly agree.

After leaving the hospital, the next person to look for was Mizuno Yu.

One of the main reasons why Nishio Reki and Hanzawa Kuriko went to each of them one by one was that after everyone's failure yesterday, the entire chat group was as quiet as death, and it would probably not be appropriate to send messages directly.

Perhaps Sakura Hanako rejected him because of this?

Sakura Hanako's explanation may not have been very clear, but Mizuno Yu's was different.

"We don't have a reasonable plan right now, nor are we confident of winning. It's not worth taking any rash action. We should use this time to think about where we can make a breakthrough. That would be the most reasonable course of action. I have some ideas, but I've rejected them all. If you have any better methods, please share them so we can discuss them."

His thinking was clear and his words were reasonable; he quickly explained the reasons why the previous people had hesitated.

However, Mizuno Yu's calmness now seems somewhat cold and inhuman.

Nishio Reki immediately voiced his objection: "By the time we come up with a solution, who knows what Origami will do next."

“No, I don’t think so. We still have time,” Mizuno Yu retorted.

Under the questioning gazes of Hanzawa Kuriko and Nishio Reki, Mizuno Yu began to explain.

"Yuki chose a very clever time to make her move, right after we left Yuehai City. Without a doubt, she seized the opportunity to return to Yuehai City in some way, cause such a big commotion, and even fight us twice. It must have taken a lot of toll on her."

“Of course, but if we drag this out, aren’t we just giving Xiaoyuan time to recover her magic? And what’s the necessary connection between this and the time we have?” Nishio Reki asked.

"Of course, when she attacked us, Yuuki's magical armor had not changed, which means that she had not yet fully integrated the power of the Three Pillar Gods. To do this, a large amount of filth—power extracted from people's negative emotions—is essential, and a large amount of magical power is also required. Yuuki Yuuki probably cannot do it in a short time."

“She won’t make a move on Rin until Yuuki Yui has completely integrated the power of the Primordial Darkness into her own body. And, do you remember? Asahi Miya once said that to integrate the power of the two, a suitable vessel is needed. It won’t be easy for Yuuki to meet all these conditions at the same time.”

“In that case, I have a hypothesis,” Mizuno Yu said at the end. “Although Yuuki Yu is pressing us step by step, she is using advance as a form of retreat. Whether it is her battles with us or the monsters she placed in Tsukimi City, she is buying herself time.”

Despite the fact that Mizuno Yu's opinion contradicted his own, Nishio Reki had to admit that Mizuno Yu's words made sense.

Actually, Koumori had hinted at similar thoughts earlier, but because Sumireko Yumehara was making a fuss, she didn't express it as clearly as Yui Mizuno.

"Since Yuuki Yui is buying herself time, why..." Hanzawa Kuriko pondered for a moment before asking Mizuno Yui a question for the first time, and it was a very humble question.

Before Hanzawa Kuriko could finish her question, Mizuno Yu spoke up as if she had foreseen the future: "Even if Yuuki Yui is buying herself time, she's not just doing that. If we act rashly, we'll be picked off one by one like before, which would play right into her hands."

Hanzawa Kuriko nodded knowingly: "So whether we launch a direct attack on Yuuki Yui or wait, it will be as Yuuki Yui wishes. We must come up with a solution within this timeframe."

Mizuno Yu nodded repeatedly: "That's right, so either we concentrate enough power to directly resist Yuuki Enishi, or... we can only try to break through from the side."

The idea of ​​having enough power to directly confront Yuuki Enishi sounds like a fantasy, and the idea of ​​coming up with a way to fight against Yuuki Enishi seems like a pipe dream to the girls.

After saying goodbye to Mizuno Yu, the atmosphere between the two became much more somber.

The only good news is that no one has made any definitive statements; they are all in a state of semi-agreement. As long as there is a method that can convince everyone, they will all take action.

"There's one last stop left, shall we continue?"

Nishio Reki sought Hanzawa Kuriko's opinion again. The setbacks he had encountered since morning had completely worn down his enthusiasm.

It's clear from Hanzawa Kuriko's demeanor that she no longer has the same unwavering resolve she had when she told Yuuki Tamaki that morning that she would definitely help Yuuki Yukino.

Hanzawa Kuriko sighed.

"Go."

And the final stop, without a doubt, is Helica the Thunder.

As for Helica, she should receive some good news, right?

With this in mind, Nishio Reki knocked directly on the door of Tenrai Herika's house.