Whose youth romance story begins with a witch's trial?!

"No, no, you have to thread the needle from this side first, and then use alternating knit and purl stitches, okay? Milia, if you do it that way, it'll fall apart with the slightest pull!"

"Ugh... Uncle, I've never dealt with these things before... I'm super good at handling evidence, but I just can't seem to get the needle and thread right..."

"These two examples are completely unrelated... But why did you suddenly want to learn how to knit scarves—wait, there's also... cough cough, isn't that the idiot knight? He's being dragged around by the idiot girl again, as expected."

Hannah Tono noticed the detective duo, and her reaction was very similar to Emma Shiro's. She first greeted Sherry Tachibana indifferently, and then, after noticing Chang Rong, she visibly changed her voice, covered her slightly blushing cheeks with a fan, and then exchanged pleasantries with the white-haired boy.

After observing this scene for several seconds and pondering it deeply, Tachibana Sherry confidently stated her conclusion:

"Hmm, hmm, hmm—we really need to get Watson a collar!"

"Why did we suddenly come to such a bizarre conclusion?!"

Chang Rong was increasingly unable to keep up with the leader's train of thought. She had only been following the detective agency leader around, and yet the leader had put a collar on her.

"Huh? Little Rong...?"

Milia also noticed Chang Rong. She immediately and hurriedly hid the rag-like thing on the table behind her back and greeted him somewhat awkwardly.

"The hairband is missing. If you see it, remember to contact me—basically, follow orders. Now, Watson and I are going to continue our investigation in deserted areas!"

"?" "...?"

Sherry Tachibana's "Missing Hairband Notice" became increasingly abstract, leaving Hannah and Milia looking at each other with a head full of question marks.

"Oh, right—wait a minute, you silly goose, although the script hasn't been finalized yet, I sewed you a costume. You can try it on to see if it fits. If it does, you can actually wear it casually too…"

Hannah Tono thought of something, and somewhat shyly took out a neatly folded piece of clothing from under the bed, intending to hand it to Chang Rong.

"Huh? Xiao Na can actually sew her own clothes...?" Saeki Miria looked surprised. Hand-washing clothes in a place like this was beyond terrifying; it couldn't be explained simply by magic!

—Her feminine power…her feminine power is already beyond ordinary! If this continues, won't my persona be completely overshadowed by Xiao Na's similar niche…!

"Oh, right, Xiao Rong! I'm actually quite good at ear cleaning too!"

Saeki Miria suddenly remembered something and quickly patted the table, pointing at Chang Rong.

"Costumes, ear cleaning? Sounds pretty... wow!?" "That sounds interesting, but Watson has work to do, so we'll be going now!"

Chang Rong was also somewhat tired of the outfit she was wearing, so as soon as she heard that there were new skins and new gameplay to unlock, she immediately wanted to go over there.

But as expected, she was grabbed by Tachibana Sherry and dragged away in an instant, leaving only Tono Hannah and Saeki Miria staring at each other.

—Seriously… that gorilla girl is getting more and more outrageous! Using that playful detective agency as an excuse is so crude! I need to think of something… Oh, right! If I sew my 'hair' inside Chang Rong's clothes, wouldn't I be able to make that idiot knight automatically float down to my side with just a thought…?

Tono and Han Yina, their faces puffed out, watched the two strange figures leave, their backs turned, and as they died, some mysterious little thoughts came to mind.

Tono Hannah's [Levitation Magic] can currently only be applied to herself, but her [hair] will also be considered part of her. Therefore, if you put clothes with strands of hair on someone else, it can indeed make that person float for a period of time, similar to the area above an elevator shaft.

Maybe this will even unlock some poses that only exist in comics and are impossible to do in real life... cough cough cough!

Tono Hannah shook her head violently. Unlike some of the less desirable characters, the down-to-earth and pragmatic Tono Hannah, after experiencing something in her childhood, would never easily fall into hallucinations again.

Beside the rich young lady, Saeki Miria looked somewhat troubled.

—Well, I feel like my idea of ​​'giving a scarf' is just too mundane from any perspective… Is there any way to come up with something more eye-catching? Oh right, whipping someone… I've become quite the expert on that myself, so how about…

Saeki Miria recalled the bizarre image of herself giving the white-haired boy a lap pillow while whipping him until he screamed, and she frantically shook her head to shatter this grotesque scene into dust.

Meanwhile, Shirley Tachibana led Chang Rong away from the underground prison and headed to the library's recreation room on the second floor.

"Heh heh, next up is—"

"Hey... President, are you really trying to expand your information network? I get the feeling you're just showing off (making enemies) in all sorts of ways? And every time you show off, I'm probably the one who ends up paying the price...!"

Chang Rong interrupted Tachibana Sherry's steps, and asked her with a helpless and exasperated look what the blue-haired detective was up to.

"Hmm? Oh dear, Watson, you're overthinking it. You should read fewer mystery novels. You know, real-world detective work doesn't involve so many ingenious plot twists and battles of wits. It's all about meticulous investigation, the tedious gathering of information—that's what reality is all about!"

Shirley Tachibana put her hands on her hips, raised one finger, and said to Chang Rong in a serious tone.

"Ha... Although I don't read many mystery novels, I still know very well that what you were doing, President, wasn't actually gathering information..."

Chang Rong rubbed her eyebrows helplessly and sighed.

Chang Rong thought about it and realized that he had actually seen Shirley Tachibana's current series of abnormal behaviors before—or rather, he had done them himself.

After Chang Rong woke up in the infirmary, Noah gave him a painting. Although it was far inferior to Noah's spray paint art, the painting did not depict abstract 'art', but rather a real 'Chang Rong', even a colored version.

After that, Chang Rong often had conversations like the one described below.

"Chang Rongjun, you can't go on a hunger strike anymore!"

“No problem, Emma. Speaking of fasting, I’ve heard that many artists fast while painting. I wonder if Noah ate properly while painting this. Look—this is what Noah painted for me, isn’t it amazing?”—He boasted to Emma.

"Hey, Erbai? You stupid rabbit, if you want to fight the Chief Prisoner of the Otherworld, remember to be careful. That guy may not have much fighting power, but he can shake the guards very fast."

"I know, Hiro. Speaking of the warden, don't you think he's quite artistic? And speaking of art—this is a portrait Noah painted of me! Heh heh, don't be too jealous, maybe Noah just hasn't had a chance to paint one for you yet." —This is how he boasts to Hiro.

"Hey my top fan! How have you been lately?"

"Leah-sama! I've used up all my compliments for today—all of them were on the drawing Noah made for me!"

"Eh?!? Did I get blown away by a painting?!"—She boasted to Hasumi Ryoya.

That's right, Tachibana Sherry wasn't 'gathering information' at all, but rather—

"President, you wouldn't be trying to show off your assistant Watson to others, would you?"

"..."

When Chang Rong asked her question, Tachibana Sherry blinked, and the smile on her face froze as if it had crashed.

"Although this guess is a bit too common, I feel that this is the only way it makes sense—"

Hmm...maybe?

Tachibana Sherry tilted her head, resting one hand on her chin as she pondered before answering.

"I'm not really sure of the specific reason either, but... I think we need to remind everyone."

"Remember?"

"I realize that Watson is the one who will always be watching me, and I have to atone for Watson for the rest of my life."

Shirley Tachibana put away the ever-present smile on her face and looked at the white-haired boy in front of her with a calm expression, speaking softly.

—Here it comes! The president's [Gravity] magic…!

Is it true that Sherry Tachibana is worthy of being called Cthulhu? Chang Rong can never figure out what she'll say next.

"I feel like it's been hard for me to see Watson lately. Although I know that Watson doesn't belong to me alone, but... well, I still want to tell everyone, 'Watson is my Watson,' that's all."

"Is there something wrong with what I did? To be honest, I'm not really sure what to do in this situation, since I've never encountered this kind of situation before."

"Hehe, did I mess up? If I messed up, Watson, you can't be too harsh on me, okay? After all, I'm still your president, aren't I? *puffs up*"

Tachibana Sherry was talking to herself, and then, as if she suddenly realized that her current dialogue illustration didn't have any facial expression differences, she quickly changed to a deliberately angry and cute expression.

"..."

Looking at Shirley Tachibana, who was deliberately pouting in front of him, Chang Rong didn't feel any 'cuteness' or the wonderful feeling of being cared for by a beautiful girl. The only thing he felt was that strange feeling.

Although people have different personalities, their reactions to the same conversation can vary greatly. But Tachibana Sherry's reaction is not a difference in 'personality' compared to others, but rather a difference in her way of thinking, or even a difference between 'species'.

The inhuman, artificial feel of Tachibana Sherry's body was like the leg ring on Sakura Emma's body, making it hard for Chang Rong to ignore.

The blue-haired girl before him was almost indistinguishable from the empty object in the punishment room back then—no, of course there was a difference. The fact that he could see Tachibana Sherry's 'inhuman' side was the biggest difference of all.

"President."

"What's wrong, Watson? Are you planning to submit your resignation from the club? Or have you finally had enough—ugh!"

Sherry Tachibana's detective hat was roughly ruffled.

When smoothing the hair of other prospective witches, Chang Rong also had to customize different head-rubbing techniques and durations based on the different hair types, strands, and personalities of each individual.

After all, head rubbing isn't as simple as you think! Randomly touching it will only get you posted on Xiaohongshu and subjected to witch trials; only a well-honed head-rubbing technique can serve as a powerful finishing move. With my decades of experience, can these young girls withstand my skill?

However—if you're rubbing Tachibana Sherry's head, you don't need to think about any of those things at all; just put your hand on it and start the game.

"If you don't know what to do, it's okay not to force yourself. There's nothing wrong with being a fake person."

"—"

Chang Rong said in a serious tone, while the blue-haired detective girl was momentarily stunned by Wu Yiliu's words and looked up at the white-haired boy with a puzzled expression.

At this moment, her 'doubt' was not feigned; she genuinely couldn't understand Chang Rong's words.

"President, you're pretending to be like everyone else in front of everyone because you're trying to hide the fact that you 'don't have human emotions,' right? But I already knew that, so you don't really need to pretend in front of me. If you find the role of 'Tachibana Sherry' too difficult to play, then you can just give up and stop playing it."

"Not pretending, huh?" Tachibana Sherry dropped the fake expression she had forced on her face, blinked, and asked in a murmured tone.

"As the saying goes, you have to love what you do. Since I volunteered to be the detective agency's assistant, I naturally won't be picky about the president, right? Whether the president is pretentious or too lazy to pretend, it's all the same to me."

"..." The blue-haired imposter was stunned again. In all her experiences so far, this was the first time she had heard someone support her and allow her not to wear the skin of the innocent and energetic girl named 'Tachibana Sherry'.

I have always tried to act like a human, but deep down I have always known that I can never become a human.

But the white-haired boy told himself... it doesn't matter if he's not human.

This strange fluttering sensation confused the blue-haired imposter once again. She didn't know how to deal with it, but as the boy had said, she didn't need to pretend in front of him. She could just follow the fluttering sensation and act and express herself naturally.

"On another note, President, your actions just now were absolutely wrong. You were simply making enemies everywhere..."

After pouring out what she wanted to say to the 'fake', Chang Rong immediately switched back to lecturing 'Tachibana Sherry', wiping the cold sweat from her forehead and whispering that if she did that, she would easily be retaliated against.

Looking at the white-haired boy in front of him, who looked conflicted and embarrassed, the 'fake's' face once again showed that smile that made him look like a blue idiot.

"Huh? So Watson means I should sneak in quietly? I get it, I get it! Even top detectives have to learn some illegal and violent methods of evidence gathering, right? Well then, I'll go over tonight. I really can't do anything with Watson~"

Tachibana Sherry stretched out her right hand, made a face with her tongue sticking out as if to say, "I can knock you out with just one finger."

"That's not what I meant, President!?"

The study is almost full, please don't cram any more people in, it's really overflowing!

------

After a lot of commotion at the castle, Chang Rong finally managed to persuade Tachibana Sherry to stop using her supernatural powers. The two then prepared to go to the lakeside where Nanoha Kaori said she had lost her hairband to conduct a physical investigation.

"Although I knew this was an island, I usually just wander around the castle, so I never really realized it was an island."

Chang Rong looked at the bushes and trees not far away and sighed softly.

On the west side of the castle, there is a lush forest, and in that forest lies a lake.