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

"I...I'm so scared...Kurobe-san wanted to—Ugh!! I'm sorry, but just thinking about what happened back then makes it hard for me to breathe..."

—Kurobe…?

"Don't worry, Sakuraba-san. There's no need to force yourself. I will find out the truth for you and Mizuyu-san."

Chang Rong gently ruffled the pink-haired girl's hair and said softly.

He didn't think he possessed the abilities or intelligence of a detective, but right now, the only thing he had was his promise to her.

"Yeah, yeah... Chisa-chan has always been my friend, always taking care of me and protecting me... Before, it was just me receiving help from Chisa-chan, so at least this time... I hope I can help her find the real culprit too!"

"That's right, we must try our best to find the truth for the deceased."

Looking at the pink-haired girl in his arms, whose eyes were gradually becoming more determined, Chang Rong nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of which... if we find the culprit, will we be released? Now that the witch has been found, everyone will be safe, right? Maybe I can go home, and maybe even transfer to Chang Rong's school to start a new life—but, but my left hand..."

"Let's see if Hikami-san can think of a solution after she wakes up. Doesn't Hikami-san have healing magic? She'll definitely be able to heal your arm, Sakuraba-san!"

"Hmm...yes, that's right, we'll have to trouble you, Ice Girl!" Sakuraba Nana nodded, her initial disappointment rekindled by Chang Rong's hope.

Seeing the pink-haired girl in front of him smile again, a thought gradually took shape in Chang Rong's previously confused and bewildered mind:

—In order to protect Yuki and to get Sakuraba's life back on track, I must find the 'witch'.

Find the witch, judge the witch, and everything will be resolved... That's right.

Chang Rong clenched his fists. He didn't know what he could do in this trial, but he knew that he had to do something to protect the people he cherished.

"Chang Rong, um... I know it's strange to say this now, after Qian Sha left, and before the witch has been found, but... um..."

Sakuraba Nana's cheeks suddenly flushed, and her tone became flustered.

"Um... after everything is over, could I... submit a letter of confession to you again?"

"^q^ Huh?"

"I...I know Kurobe is your girlfriend, but...but, Kurobe and I are different types, right? Maybe you, Changrong, want to try something different, or maybe I can be your backup option—waiaaaaah, what am I saying? I'm so sorry!!"

"^q^Eh???"

Chang Rong watched as the pink-haired girl initiated a second confession, began arranging her own identity, and then ran away on her own.

The life I was originally looking forward to, where Gala gives wood to the male protagonist, isn't it... a bit out of place?

------

While silently chanting, "I already have Xiaoxue, I have Xiaoxue, I have Kurobe, no, no, no, I have Xiaoxue..." Chang Rong put away her fantasies about the sour smell of love and arrived at the underground crime scene, the incinerator room.

Sakuraba Nana's arm was still fixed in mid-air, and Chang Rong felt incredibly disappointed just looking at the scene.

"Chang Rong, you're here." Kurobe Nanoha Kaori nodded to Chang Rong.

"Um, something came up and I was a little delayed... Wait, what's going on? Uh, Ebe-kun?"

Chang Rong nodded and greeted Nanoha Kaori, who had already arrived, then looked at the girl with messy hair, wearing a white coat and thick glasses, who was the prospective witch 'Ebe Mari' who possessed the [Explosion] magic.

The girl in the white coat stood in the corner of the room, holding something that looked like a rifle.

Although this girl had already pulled out a landmine while casually pulling it out in the cafeteria, the thing in her hand now still made Chang Rong, who had mistakenly entered the knife-fighting room, break out in a cold sweat instantly.

"Oh, do I need to explain this? Just think about it logically and you'll understand. I'm keeping an eye on that 'suspect,' otherwise what if she destroys the evidence?"

The girl in the white coat pushed up her glasses and answered.

"No... well... let me use logic to ask you questions. First, where did you get that gun? Second, Kurobe can't be considered the prime suspect yet. Third, you're aiming at the entrance gate, which is me."

Chang Rong stepped back to avoid the line of fire while complaining.

"Oh? Is that so? How about this?" Ebe Mari moved the muzzle of her gun, this time aiming at the floor between the two of them.

"...[False evidence] That's right, this angle is perfect for threatening Kurobe-kun."

Chang Rong didn't know the destructive power of giving a sniper rifle to an idiot, but he had personally experienced the situation of giving a sniper rifle to a blind person.

I have no idea who this gun is pointed at!

"Tsk, I really don't understand these things. Although they're easy to make, using them is another story—hey! By the way, Kurobe, you take this gun. If you do anything suspicious, I can give you the order, and you'll be dead instantly. Perfect!"

"Uh? Hmm... Thank you, you're a really nice person."

With a bewildered look, Kurobe Nanoha took the magic spear that the girl in the white coat was hand-crafting, carried it on her back, and nodded her thanks to Ebe Mari.

— At times like this, complaining is pointless; just pretend you didn't see it...

Chang Rong is increasingly realizing the undeniable fact that these prospective witches are essentially all gods.

"Let's continue with our previous topic. Kurobe is undoubtedly the prime suspect. Look, this is [Sakuraba's severed arm], this is the [fire axe] that Kurobe Nanoha is holding, and there's also a [pistol that's been fired twice] and [a water bottle] in this incinerator. In other words, Kurobe Nanoha first shot that Disciplinary Committee member, then when faced with Sakuraba's desperate counterattack, she swung the fire axe to sever her arm, and then almost strangled Hioka who rushed over. If someone hadn't arrived in time, she could have killed three people in one go. What a terrifying woman."

"I also searched the other two gun barrels. One bullet seemed to have disappeared and could not be found at all, while the other bullet hit the wall behind Mizuki Chisa when she died."

“No, no, no, we’re all 00-year-old girls, how could there be such a big difference in combat power? Unless someone’s magic is ‘superhuman strength,’ but none of us are like that, right?” Chang Rong immediately refuted Ebe Mari’s reasoning.

"Really? That's hard to say. Kurobe's magic is called 'Vision,' but she's never used it, has she? And that rich young lady doesn't seem to have mentioned her magic either."

"..." Faced with the questioning, Kurobe Nanoka remained silent and did not respond.

"Proving it is actually quite simple... Here's a piece of paper, and I did something to it... Can you visualize what it is?"

With her still-bleeding index finger and thumb, Ebe Mari picked up a piece of paper and handed it to Kurobe Nanoha. Due to the blood seepage, a circular pattern could be seen on the paper.

"—You bit your finger and drew a circle on it."

“Great! Well, it seems you really do have illusion magic.” Ebe Mari nodded, crumpled the paper into a ball, and threw it into the incinerator next to her.

—No, I can't complain. If I do, I'll lose, and it'll make Kurobe a suspect again…!!

Chang Rong never imagined in her life that the biggest challenge during the investigation phase wouldn't be finding clues, but rather, damn it, not laughing.

"Now that we've cleared Kurobe of suspicion, can we continue the investigation?"

——Chang Rong…

Seeing the white-haired boy blocking her way, Kurobe Nanoha Kaori was momentarily dazed again.

"It only cleared me of suspicion of using magic. Kurobe is still the prime suspect, and that hasn't changed."

"Then let's talk about evidence and the truth—how are you feeling, Kurobe-kun?"

Chang Rong, without backing down, uttered harsh words to the somewhat eccentric girl in the white coat, then asked the black-haired twin-tailed girl behind him, Kurobe Nanoha.

"I...uh, I'm fine—oh!?"

"Hmm... Are you sure you don't have a fever? Your temperature does seem a bit high?"

"No, no—and Chang Rong, please don't suddenly lean in and touch your forehead to mine again!"

"Huh?"

Nanoha Kurobe quickly stepped back to distance herself from Chang Rong, but she immediately realized that there were other people around. This meant that she had to continue to maintain her persona as Chang Rong's girlfriend in order to protect the boy from being targeted by strange individuals.

Nanoha Kurobe's theory is easy to understand: on this island battle royale stage, the closer and more closely the team sticks together, the less likely they are to become victims of the witch.

If someone can form a close relationship with Chang Rong, then if others want to harm this white-haired boy, they will immediately consider the existence of his 'girlfriend'. The girlfriend will definitely do her best to investigate the ticket seller for Chang Rong's sake, which would make the risk of exposure too great, thus giving up any evil intentions towards Chang Rong.

That's right, it's all for the sake of protecting our little group and Chang Rong. I don't mind suffering a little physically, and you don't need to thank me too much, Xiao Xue.

"What I mean is—if you want to measure body temperature, isn't there a better way?"

"Even better? Wait, wait a minute, Kurobe-kun, what are you doing... Waaaaa!"

Nanoka Kurobe quickly moved closer to Chang Rong, taking the white-haired boy's right hand in a semi-forceful manner and guiding it towards her neck. Then, following the opening of his black mesh shirt, she explored deeper into his collarbone—

"Click, click, click!"

"Ugh—!?"

A series of camera shutter clicks brought the panting, flushed-faced Kurobe Nanoha back to consciousness, and also gave Chang Rong a chance to free his arm and create some distance.

"Hmph, I really am a natural-born photographer! I always manage to capture amazing moments!"

Wearing a newsboy cap, carrying a shoulder bag, and sporting a neat head of short black hair, the tomboyish, dropout, Ronfute, appeared at the door at some unknown time, holding an old-fashioned camera that didn't even have film in his hand.

"Fute..."

The reporter girl, wearing a newsboy cap, smiled and held up her camera, while Kurobe Nanoha adjusted her shirt collar and walked straight towards the reporter girl.

"What's wrong? What happened? Anai, are you alright? That's great—wailing!?"

One second, Junfut was happy that one of the small group members, Kurobe Nanoha, was safe. The next second, Kurobe Nanoha grabbed her collar and shook her wildly. She had no idea why Kurobe Nanoha had suddenly gone berserk.

Wow, what a bunch of nagging bastards! Thank goodness they're not my clique, or I'd look pathetic.

The girl in the white coat, who was squatting to the side studying the arm that was fixed in place, thought to herself.

Volume 1: 98. Snowflake Fragments, Part 8

In short, after giving the 'despicable reporter who ruined their plans' a good talking-to, the group resumed their investigation of the crime scene.

However, they still had very few clues. In fact, because no one had the ability to perform autopsies and the warden was completely indifferent and too lazy to provide any help, the group did not even know the time and cause of Mizuki Chisa's death.

"This can't go on... If this continues, Kurobe-kun..." Chang Rong's expression gradually became anxious as he rubbed his eyebrows and muttered to himself.

This case is currently a complete "black box." One of the victims, Nana Sakuraba, seems to be terrified of "Nanoka Kurobe," but Kurobe herself has no memory of the incident.

Others also believe that the most likely culprit is Kurobe Nanoka.

The only chance to turn things around is on Ice Meruru, but she has not yet woken up due to insufficient blood supply to her brain caused by being strangled.

I just sent a text message to Xiaoxue, but she hasn't responded except for the message showing that she's read it.

No, Xiaoxue did reply with a garbled message, but after Changrong analyzed it seriously for a long time, he finally concluded that Xiaoxue accidentally sent it by randomly pressing keys.

This appliance killer...

With less than half an hour until the witch's trial begins, if no useful clues are found and Meruru remains unconscious, attending the trial will only result in Kurobe Nanoha being sent to the execution platform...!

"No... this won't do..." Kurobe Nanoka suddenly spoke up.

"Chang Rong... perhaps, perhaps it really was me who killed Shui Youqiansha...?"

Behind her came the slightly trembling voice of Kurobe Nanoha. This girl, who occasionally gave people a strange feeling of being an 'older woman', was now on the verge of mental collapse.

No matter how much investigation is conducted, it is meaningless. No new clues can be found, and the old clues cannot be pieced together to form a complete picture. All that can be done is let time pass, allowing the doubts in one's heart to gradually grow.

The other prospective witches also arrived at the crime scene one after another. The young lady, Takahara Reika, did not come in because she was afraid of the severed arm. However, the girl who called herself the culprit, "Vulture" Kou Yuanyuan, just like Ebe Mari, came to the same conclusion as the others after a little investigation: Kurobe Nanoha was the murderer.