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

The white-haired boy held tightly to Kurobe Nanoha Kaori's bandaged right hand, placing it beside the black-haired twin-tailed girl. His tone was gentle, yet carried a steadfastness that commanded respect.

"Hmm... I understand, Chang Rong."

The warm touch from her wrist gave Nanoha Kurobe's chaotic and clashing thoughts a beacon, allowing them to regroup and get her brain working again.

This is the infirmary; I should be a patient. Why am I here? My memory seems to have stopped at the moment I went to the incinerator room—ugh!

The stinging pain at the back of her head made Kurobe Nanoha squint her eyes in agony once again. The memories of what had happened before were like trying to find a mirror in the wreckage that had turned into shards of glass, filled with the pain of being torn apart.

The excruciating pain of these clothes tearing apart her soul forced Nanoha Kaori Kurobe to abandon the idea of ​​piecing together her lost memories from fragments in her brain.

"Anyway, I'm so glad you're alright, Kurobe-kun... But there are some things I need to tell you."

After confirming that the black-haired girl in front of him was out of danger, Chang Rong, who had been guarding the bedside, breathed a heavy sigh of relief, but soon showed a worried expression.

"In short, let me give you a general overview of the situation. Kurobe, you suffered a severe blow to the back of your head and have been unconscious for over 5 hours. Fortunately, it hasn't caused any more serious consequences."

"A heavy blow to the back of the head...like this?"

Nanoha Kurobe finally understood what the 'stinging pain' she had been feeling all along was all about. It seemed that it wasn't just a disorder inside her brain, but that her 'brain' itself had been attacked.

"In the room near the incinerator, a total of four people were found. Kurobe, who had just woken up after being hit on the back of the head; Hyokami Meruru, who was still unconscious with a rope mark on her neck and a twisted and broken right hand; Sakuraba Nana, whose left arm was severed but who had regained consciousness; and... Mizuki Chisa, the girl with long black hair who had a gunshot wound in her abdomen and was... already dead."

When Chang Rong spoke of the last time the fin was in the art, his tone was a little trembling (shaking), but he still gritted his teeth and told Kurobe Nanoha Kaori the information that had been given before.

"We're still investigating the specifics... Can you think of anything, Kurobe-kun?"

“Mizuki Chisa…that girl who always goes out with Sakuraba Nana? Why… um! Sorry, Chang Rong, I don’t think I…can remember what happened…”

The stinging pain at the back of my head felt like a red-hot iron needle; any attempt to touch upon past memories only brought excruciating, burning pain.

"Is this a symptom of post-traumatic amnesia... This is getting a bit bad—well, anyway, I understand, Kurobe-kun. Just continue to rest and I'll find out what happened as soon as possible."

The white-haired youth before her, though unable to conceal his weariness, still gave Kurobe Nakuya a reassuring smile.

Looking at Chang Rong's smile, 'Kurobu Ryu (1) Qi Yi $ Stop: 8 Naiye Xiang' was a little stunned.

—Although that smile looks almost exactly like my silly little sister's, Chang Rong and Xiao Naiye Xiang's positions are completely different... My silly little sister always hides behind me, but does this boy want to try to protect me?

That won't do... I'm the older 'sister,' so I have to protect the 'brother'— ugh!?

Nanoha Kurobe struggled to get up again, but suddenly felt a touch on her forehead. At the same time, Chang Rong, who had been standing beside her, moved closer to her.

He closed his eyes slightly and pressed his forehead against Kurobe Nanoha's forehead, using this overly 'old-fashioned' method to measure Kurobe Nanoha's body temperature.

"Chang, Chang Rong...!?"

"It wasn't very hot at first, but it feels like it's getting hotter and hotter... Has it really caused a secondary inflammation?!" Chang Rong said with some concern.

"No—I'm sure I don't have a fever, and why don't I use a thermometer to measure it?"

Kurobe Nanoka immediately pulled her head back to explain that she was fine, while swallowing hard and asking Chang Rong why she didn't use a more 'scientific and convenient' thermometer.

"Well... we don't have any extra right now, you see."

Chang Rong gave an embarrassed look and pointed to the hospital bed next to her. Kurobe Nanoha looked in the direction Chang Rong was pointing and then realized that there was a 'fellow patient' lying next to her. It was the girl who always wore a pure white nun's robe, had blonde hair, and was as soft and delicate as a jellyfish, named Ice Meruru.

At this moment, Meru was lying on another hospital bed next to Nanoha Kurobe. She had a thermometer in her mouth, her face was ashen, her eyes were tightly closed, and she had a painful expression, but for some reason, the corners of her mouth were turned up.

And on her chest lay a white-haired girl with pure, dreamy long hair, who was always tied to Chang Rong and refreshed her appearance, named 'Sato Yuki'.

When a caregiver gets sleepy, they might choose to sleep on the floor or in an empty spot on the hospital bed. But Sato Yuki simply rested most of her body on Meruru's chest. Anyone who didn't know better would think she wasn't there to visit, but rather to enjoy a free, fully-fledged artificial Simmons mattress.

Beside Sato Yuki was Alice, a girl with long blonde hair dressed in a Lolita maid outfit. Alice was nestled close to Sato Yuki, her head resting on Meru's belly, peacefully drooling as she slept.

Two long-haired little girls, one big and one small, were like two weights, transforming into a five-finger mountain to ruthlessly suppress the only nanny, Ice Meluru, who was exhausted.

Now you know why Meru looked so pale while she was unconscious – she was just suffering from oxygen deprivation due to those two idiots!

"Chang Rong, are Xiao Xue and Alice... murdering Meruru?"

Nanoka Kurobe blinked and asked uncertainly.

"Well, uh, never mind. Let me demonstrate it for you myself."

Chang Rong was embarrassed by the question and wanted to explain but didn't know how, so he decided to let Kurobe Nanoha Kaori put her knowledge into practice.

He walked over to Sato Yuki's side and picked up Zzzz's Haki Yuki as if he were holding a cat.

"Hoo..."

On Ice Seven, Meruru's pale face, which had been lacking fresh breath due to being suppressed, instantly regained a lot of its lovely color, but then:

"Waaaaah... Don't leave Meruru... Waaah..."

Meruru frowned instantly on the ice, as if she were trapped in some nightmare she didn't want to recall. Only when Chang Rong placed Haki Snow back against Meruru's chest did the nun's expression return to calm, though somewhat suffocated.

"...That's it in a way. Although I don't understand the principle, it's obvious that letting Xiaoxue continue to act as the weight will actually calm down Bing Shang."

Chang Rong shrugged helplessly, explaining, but he didn't think it was too unreasonable. After all, Xiaoxue was so cute; if he could sleep with her in his arms, it would be worth it even if he suffocated!

"This, this... then at least move Alice down first?" Kurobe Nanoha was speechless at the sight. Could it be that Meruru, who always looked so soft, pitiful and whiny, was actually a super female demon who loved weight training?

"That doesn't really work either. When I touch Alice, my eyes start to see dazzling rainbows, like I'm hallucinating after eating a mushroom..."

Chang Rong awkwardly placed two fingers in front of his eyes, making a spiral forward gesture, and said.

"...?"

Hearing Chang Rong's explosive description, Kurobe Nanoha Kaori actually wanted to try eating the sleeping Alice to see how potent it would be, that it could turn someone into a super Yunnanese person on the spot.

In short, the current situation is—

"Two [The wine gurgles~ That (I heard from Qi that Miss Liu from the Black Department has woken up from her long-term unconsciousness, is that right? Then let's start the witch's trial that has been going on for so long in a little while.]"

The warden's voice suddenly came through the loudspeaker, interrupting everyone's conversation.

"Witch's Judgment? Wait! Ice Girl hasn't woken up yet, how can we start the judgment?!"

Chang Rong frowned and immediately retorted through the loudspeaker, but the next second the furry warden flew out through the ventilation duct.

"【Because it's really almost time to get off work... working overtime without pay doesn't bring any benefits. As for Miss Meruru... leaving her alone won't affect the progress of the witch's trial, so let her continue sleeping over there.】"

"Is such a casual excuse really acceptable!? Someone was clearly killed—wait!?"

Chang Rong rushed in front of the warden to argue, but the warden easily dodged her and instead stepped on Chang Rong's head, pecking at Chang Rong's white hair with his sharp beak.

"Do I need to remind you again? Let's stop here for now. Everyone else here, except you, is just a 'witch.' Witches deserve to be judged; that's only natural."

Even if you say it like that—"Ouch, that hurts! But you still can't—Ouch, stop pecking!"

"【I'm sorry, Mr. Chang Rong, the rules state that I can't directly attack witches, but the mastermind behind this always manages to give me an endless amount of work. Since this is such a rare opportunity, please allow me to vent my frustrations on you. By the way, your hair is quite nice.】"

"If it's not bad, don't keep pecking at it..."

In the end, Chang Rong's resistance to tyranny was suppressed on the spot by the warden with absolute violence.

With Alice, who was drooling, in her left hand, and Xiaoxue, who was also drooling, hanging behind her, and with Kurobe Nanoha, who was still struggling to move, supported by her right hand, Chang Rong had no choice but to drag his family to the reception room.

The other prospective witches had already arrived at the reception room, so Chang Rong heard the annoying 'click-click' sound of photos as soon as she entered.

After settling Kurobe Nanoha Kaori on the sofa and sitting diagonally opposite Nana, whose left arm was wrapped in thick bandages, Warden Owl began his routine speech.

The gist of it is that everyone will be given about an hour and a half to investigate, after which everyone will go to the courtroom for the witch trial ceremony.

Normally, at this point, a girl with long, straight black hair would step forward to guide everyone and assign tasks. However, the student council president with long, straight black hair had already been shot and her life was 'fixed' in that underground incinerator room.

Similarly, Naoki Haka, who also possesses organizational skills, and Takahara Reika, the eldest daughter of the prestigious Takahara family, did not step forward due to their own issues.

After the owl finished explaining the rules, the prospective witches scattered like birds and beasts, each heading to different places, who knows whether they were going to 'investigate' or do something else.

—I feel that most people's reactions were too bland.

Chang Rong felt something was off as she watched the girls gradually accept and understand the fact that 'someone had been killed,' and how they quickly recovered from their brief panic.

'Tanaka Drew's' death was due to her being killed and contained by the prison authorities after she turned into a witch, which was a result of violating the rules.

However, 'Water from a Thousand Sands' was clearly killed by other 'humans,' so the nature of these two events is absolutely different for Chang Rong.

In short, what I need to do right now is—

"Xiaoxue, remember to stay by my side—"

"I'm bored, I'm going to sleep. Kid, come with me."

Chang Rong wanted to protect Liu Zuoteng Xue from being targeted by the murderer, but her own "promising" witch, Xiaoqun, seemed completely indifferent to the strange events happening around her.

The girl with snow-white hair, pulling Alice, who was half-asleep, along with the two little girls, left the reception room one after the other.

Moreover, judging from the direction they left, they were clearly heading to the infirmary... Are they really that determined to suffocate Meruru on the ice?

Who says there's no such thing as a perfect brochure? (The last part is a nonsensical string of characters and doesn't translate directly.)

...Am I just being overly anxious?

After watching the eerie videotape "The True Story of Witch Island" with Xiaoxue, which was interrupted by a murder case, Xiaoxue seemed to be in a foul mood. It was as if I had made up my mind to confess to Xiaoxue, but was suddenly interrupted by a group of boys going on a study tour, which was infuriating and disheartening.

Well, because of the murder, the number of monster 'guardians' roaming the castle has increased several times over. Although those monsters that can easily kill humans are unsettling, in other words, these things can also protect everyone from being killed by the hidden murderer.

There's a security guard near the infirmary, so unless Xiaoxue and Alice really suffocate Meruru, it's quite safe there.

Let's try investigating the case first. The first thing I should do is—

Chang Rong perked up and then turned her attention to the pink-haired girl, Sakuraba Nana, who had been sitting on the sofa in the living room since the beginning.

Nana Sakuraba was the first to wake up, but in a sense, she was also the one who suffered the most severe injuries. Her entire left forearm was severed and is still fixed in the incinerator room in the basement.

"Sakuraba-kun, are you feeling better?"

"Chang Rong, classmate...!"

The pink-haired girl, whose face was wrapped in thick bandages, saw the white-haired boy, and her previously empty eyes instantly lit up.

"I can't offer you and Mizuyu some comfort with empty words, so... if there's anything I can do, just tell me."

Chang Rong sat down next to Sakura Nana and spoke to the pink-haired girl with a forced, cheerful smile.

"I, I... Waaaaaah!"

Pfft!

The girl, who had been 'dazed', instantly shed her numb facade and threw herself into the white-haired boy's arms, bursting into tears.

Chang Rong didn't say anything, just let the girl vent about the drastic changes she had experienced, fulfilling the duties of a body pillow: quiet, to be rubbed, hugged, and squeezed, and to absorb water.

After a while, the girl nestled in his arms finally calmed down.