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

“Defeated by another magical girl?”

Upon hearing WuYue’s words, Bai Yu lowered her head in silence for a moment. Then, raising her gaze towards WuYue, who seemed to be suppressing something, she took a deep breath and said:

“It’s okay, WuYue… if we look on the bright side, he’s just been defeated, not purified.”

“If he had been purified by a magical girl, his negative emotions would have disappeared along with it. So… we still have a chance.”

“…”

“Of course, I know that.”

Shaking her head, WuYue steadied her emotions, her voice tinged with unwillingness and self-blame as she spoke:

“I just regret… if only we had arrived here a bit earlier, maybe we could’ve seen YouYu.”

“But… that magical girl acted faster than us.”

As she spoke, WuYue seemed to recall something, lowering her head thoughtfully. After a brief silence, she turned to Bai Yu and said:

“Bai Yu, do you remember what I told you before? I ran into YouYu on my way to school——“

“And there was a girl with golden hair by his side.”

“So, you’re saying…”

Remembering WuYue had indeed mentioned this before, Bai Yu’s tone grew a bit complicated as she asked:

“That person with him was another magical girl?”

“Mm, most likely.”

WuYue nodded, confirming the thought.

“Otherwise…”

“It wouldn’t explain why YouYu hasn’t come to us.”

Glancing at the gem around her neck, WuYue’s tone grew slightly resentful as she continued:

“That magical girl probably realized, just like us, that YouYu had turned from a human into a negative beast. So… she might’ve already fought him once without us knowing and taken him back.”

“After taking him back… she’s been watching him, not letting him go out. Even if he tries to leave, she follows him. YouYu’s current situation is likely like this… otherwise, knowing his personality, he would’ve sought us out long ago.”

“And this time, due to some unexpected event, YouYu might have transformed into a negative beast again, and that magical girl fought him to stop him, defeating him.”

After finishing, WuYue took a deep breath and continued:

“In any case, our next plan is to track down that magical girl.”

“Then, we should be able to find YouYu.”

“…Is that so.”

“Wait a minute, WuYue!”

Seeing WuYue about to leave, Bai Yu, who had been pondering something, quickly called out to her with a sigh:

“I want to confirm something first! WuYue… once you find that magical girl and YouYu, what will you do?”

“According to your theory, that magical girl fought YouYu and took him back, even kept him under surveillance. This means… YouYu is still a potential threat.”

“If that magical girl refuses to let YouYu return to your side, then… what will we do?”

“We’ll talk to her properly.”

Without hesitation, WuYue gave her answer.

“…Talk? How?”

“Until YouYu can come back to us.”

Bai Yu stared at WuYue, who answered with unwavering determination, momentarily at a loss for words.

Though she’d already decided to help WuYue bring YouYu back…

Still…

If possible, she really didn’t want to clash with another magical girl over this.

Because it would only make things more complicated.

And YouYu… who knows how this might affect him.

But for now, they could only take it one step at a time.

…

“Phew… finally home.”

After YouYu ended the battle, Liu Meng swiftly brought him back to her home. In just over ten minutes, they traveled from a distant mall to her place.

“YouYu, sit down first. I’ll get you some water.”

“Then… let me check your injuries.”

Back home, Liu Meng’s excitement gradually settled. No longer as agitated as before, she decided to follow the post-battle routine before asking the questions she had in mind.

Recalling how she’d examined herself in the past, she used mana to “scan” YouYu’s entire body. Finding no wounds, she finally relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.

“…”

Sitting on the sofa, YouYu glanced at Liu Meng, who sprawled on the couch in exhaustion. With a sigh and a smile, he said:

“I already told you I’m fine… did you really have to check so thoroughly, Liu Meng?”

“…Better safe than sorry.”

Liu Meng responded weakly.

After resting for a while, she took a deep breath, sat up properly, and started recalling the question she wanted to ask.

Thinking for a moment, Liu Meng turned her head and curiously asked:

“I have a question, YouYu. The power inside you now… it was born from the combination of my mana and your negative emotions, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Understanding where she was going with this, YouYu nodded and replied:

“Because of your wish, this mana fused with me smoothly. Now, even negative emotions can be absorbed without issue, thanks to the mana regulating them—you can sense it too.”

“Which means——from now on, even if something like today happens again, you won’t have to suffer so much.”

“Leave it to me, and there’ll be no problem.”

“…It’s like a miracle.”

After a moment of silence, Liu Meng couldn’t help but say.

“Even… this.”

Murmuring softly, she lowered her head to look at the yellow gem around her neck.

The gem shone brighter than before.

Sure enough… watching YouYu’s victory had dispelled some of the “shadows” cast by past failures.

If YouYu continued fighting and winning…

Then, influenced by him, she might be able to become a magical girl again—not because of environmental pressure, but by her own will.

When that time comes, she could fight alongside YouYu, and maybe her sister could be saved too.

Wait, speaking of her sister…

Now that YouYu could harness both negative emotions and mana, could he possibly remove the toxins from her sister’s body?

Thinking this, Liu Meng looked into YouYu’s eyes and earnestly said:

“Um… YouYu, I know this is sudden, but I want to ask you for a favor.”

“What is it?”

“Could you… help treat my sister?”