Raising magical girls, and leave them with eternal regret?!

The once chaotic daily life had finally resumed once again.

It had been a week since Night Demon’s second attack, and under WuYue’s care, YouYu had finally recovered completely, with his previous wounds now fully healed.

Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, WuYue made a request to YouYu—

She wanted him to take her out for some fun.

In fact… this is exactly what she said at the time:

“YouYu… this Saturday, you have to take me out! Even if… it’s just a simple shopping trip!”

Her tone was both serious and commanding.

When YouYu curiously asked her why, she responded—

“Because this is your punishment, YouYu! A punishment for the mistake you made before!”

“…”

After hearing her words, YouYu immediately decided that he had to take her out no matter what.

Because… he might have already guessed the reason why she was acting this way.

Their relationship with Bai Yu had noticeably softened in the past few days. It was no longer awkward or stiff like before. They were able to “normally” communicate now.

Of course, this was likely an exception for WuYue.

As for why… well, it wasn’t that Bai Yu treated WuYue coldly or excluded her in any way. Rather, the way Bai Yu spoke to WuYue was more like “a senior caring for a junior.”

Simply put, she treated her like a child.

Before, when it was just WuYue and YouYu happily spending time together, she hadn’t noticed this.

But… ever since Bai Yu appeared—no, to be precise, ever since the “reformed” Bai Yu appeared…

She had vaguely become aware of it.

If YouYu’s attitude toward her wasn’t as obvious, Bai Yu’s attitude was clearly written all over her face—

She saw WuYue as an innocent yet kind and passionate little sister.

In the present, whenever they talk, Bai Yu no longer brings up her past with YouYu, nor does she mention Negative Beasts or the evil Cadres. Their conversations were simple, ordinary exchanges, nothing more.

But… when WuYue wasn’t paying attention, like the last time she finished her training alone, she had gone out by herself to buy water so that YouYu, who was still recovering, wouldn’t have to move around unnecessarily.

When she returned to the training grounds, what she saw was Bai Yu and YouYu, happily engrossed in conversation.

“……”

Even though she caught her own name in passing from their conversation, she couldn’t make out what they were talking about, and she didn’t really care. At that moment, her only concern was the question gnawing at the depths of her heart—

Why was this strange, aching feeling rising within her again?

She had been trying her best these past few days to avoid such thoughts, doing everything she could to keep these emotions from affecting her.

Because she didn’t want this feeling to impact YouYu or disrupt the fragile peace they had recently achieved.

She didn’t want this emotion to affect the relationship between YouYu and Bai Yu.

But…

She couldn’t help it.

If she continued suppressing it, something unexpected—something bad—might happen.

So, this time, whether it was for her sake or theirs…

She allows herself to be “selfish” just once.

————

And that was how everything began today.

“……”

Walking through the bustling streets, YouYu glanced at WuYue beside him, who was cheerfully humming a tune under her breath. He couldn’t help but reflect on the situation.

“It seems this method really did work just as I thought… it’s allowed me to gather quite a bit of negative emotion.”

Although part of the reason for YouYu’s conversations with Bai Yu over the past few days was to test how effective his method was for harvesting negative emotions, the larger reason was something else—

WuYue’s birthday.

Her birthday wasn’t far off now—just about a week away. So naturally, YouYu had to start planning how to give her an “unforgettable” birthday.

But… that led WuYue to notice his frequent talks with Bai Yu and, consequently, misunderstand them.

Sure, it was a bit troublesome, but it wasn’t too much of a problem. After all, being able to gather some negative emotions from WuYue while preparing for her birthday was a win for him.

However, it’s worth mentioning that even when talking with Bai Yu about WuYue… Surprisingly, he managed to gather negative emotions from Bai Yu as well.

Though, the amount was much smaller compared to what he got from WuYue.

Still, it was something he had to keep an eye on. For now, he had no idea where Bai Yu’s negative emotions were coming from, and though he had tried probing subtly several times, he still found nothing.

“……Forget it, I’ll deal with that later.”

For now, he needed to focus on WuYue. If he ended up making her upset today, it could spell trouble.

Plus, despite his motives, his fondness for beautiful things meant that he genuinely wanted to see her happy.

With that thought in mind, YouYu glanced around, and his eyes landed on a nearby pastry shop. After considering for a moment, he turned to WuYue and said:

“WuYue, that pastry shop over there looks pretty nice. Want to go check it out? Maybe we can find something you like and bring some back.”

“Eh? Hmm… Well, I’m not really into pastries, but since you’ve already said it, let’s take a look!”

WuYue froze for a moment before smiling and responding.

“Great! Let’s head over now!”

Nodding, YouYu led WuYue toward the pastry shop.

Once inside, YouYu accompanied WuYue to browse the cakes, casually—and perhaps a bit deliberately—asking about her preferences. He subtly inquired about what kind of shapes and styles she liked.

After gathering the information he needed, YouYu led WuYue to a part of the shop that clearly caught her interest, encouraging her to browse. At the same time, he headed to the other side to order her a custom birthday cake secretly.

“Hi, I’d like to order a custom… hmm, is everything okay?”

As YouYu approached the counter to speak with the employee, he noticed that the person behind the register kept their hat pulled low, avoided eye contact, and seemed slightly nervous.

“Excuse me, hello?”

Growing suspicious, YouYu observed the employee more closely. It didn’t take long before he caught sight of something unmistakable—long blue hair peeking out from under the hat.

“……”

Given recent events, the situation felt a little ‘too’ coincidental. To confirm his suspicions, YouYu leaned in closer and spoke in a low voice.

“Bai Yu… it’s you, isn’t it? WuYue’s not here right now. She’s in the restroom. You can lift your head.”

“……”

The blue-haired employee visibly flinched at his words. After a moment’s hesitation, the employee—or rather, Bai Yu—sighed, lifting her head and revealing her familiar face.

“Yes, it’s me… I didn’t expect you two to enter the shop where I work.”

“No wonder you knew so much about how cakes are made and sold back then. Turns out this is where you work.”

Surprised, YouYu glanced back at WuYue and then at Bai Yu, his tone becoming a bit teasing.

“Honestly, there’s no need to hide from WuYue like that. It almost feels like… you know what I mean, right?”

“……I’d rather avoid unnecessary trouble. Besides, you two are out together today, aren’t you? I don’t want to ruin your plans today because of me.”

“Is that so? But today, you’re just a regular shop employee, right? Think of yourself as an NPC. She won’t come after you.”

“Anyway, after this, we’ll just go about our own business—you and your job here, while WuYue and I enjoy our day out.”

“……”

“Can I take that as you mocking me?”

“Mm… I was just stating facts, actually.”

“……You!”

Watching YouYu act as if everything was perfectly normal, Bai Yu couldn’t help but clench her fists. However, after holding the tension momentarily, she sighed and relaxed her grip.

“Fine, just hurry up and place your order. It’ll be trouble if WuYue comes back and sees me.”

“Alright, then—”

“YouYu! I’ve picked out what I want to buy!”

Just then, WuYue came running over, her timing uncannily perfect.

“!!”

“Tch! I’m going to leave for a while. I’ll get someone else to take over!”

While YouYu remained calm, Bai Yu, on the other hand, panicked. Without wasting a second, she decided to “escape” and dump the work onto another colleague!

After hurriedly saying that, Bai Yu quickly made her exit to avoid being spotted by WuYue.

“Huh? YouYu, I thought I just heard a familiar voice… Was that… Bai Yu?”

“……Really? You must’ve misheard. She’s still at work right now; how could she possibly be here?”

“Mm… is that so? YouYu, you sure know a lot about her…”

“……Didn’t she mention that last time?”

Seeing WuYue’s scrutinizing gaze, YouYu couldn’t help but feel speechless. It was as if she was constructing a whole narrative of “crimes” against him in her mind. It was a bit unnerving…

If she suddenly pulled out a line like, “WuYue: I can smell her on you!”—he could only say she was a god.

“Excuse me, are you here to order a custom cake?”

Just then, a voice interrupted YouYu’s train of thought.

He turned his head and saw a young girl with blonde hair styled in twin ponytails.

It seemed she was the employee Bai Yu said she would hand over.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Nodding, YouYu was about to give her the details about the cake.

Then… It was also at that moment.

Mamba’s voice rang out once again——

“YouYu, this person… is a magical girl.”