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

"Ah...that's true."

Chang Rong gritted her teeth and endured the pain of the bandage being torn off her wound, while recalling her previous interactions with Tachibana Sherry as she listened to her words.

Back then, it was I who asked Nanoha Kaori to help me pick the lock to get to the punishment room to treat Tachibana Sherry's wounds; now, it's Tachibana Sherry who's treating my wounds in the infirmary.

"By the way, Watson, do you remember when I said I 'killed someone'? This wasn't a joke or a prank; it really happened to this little girl named 'Sherry Tachibana' who doesn't understand human emotions, okay?"

"—"

Shirley Tachibana took out a new bandage and, while unwrapping it and wrapping it around Chang Rong's arm, began to recount her experiences before arriving at Prison Island in a conversation that sounded like it was on a weather.

"Hmm... Although I'd like to tell a story with some twists and turns, actually, when I think about it carefully, my story is really boring. It's so boring and clichéd that if I used it as a background story for a villain in a detective novel, it would make readers boo."

Tachibana Sherry spoke in a calm tone, laughing as if she were recounting something trivial, not her own, but that of someone who had died long ago.

"I grew up in an orphanage before being raised by my current parents. But Sherry was probably not very lucky. There was no love or hope in the orphanage she was in. All she could feel was endless violence and abuse."

“She would be beaten for waking up a little late in the morning, for accidentally dropping her spoon while eating, for turning over in her sleep at night, for reasons she herself didn’t understand—day after day, year after year, it was like there was no end to it.”

"At first, Sherry would cry and be afraid like a normal child because of this violence and abuse, but even so, the way those adults treated Sherry-chan did not change. It seems that her crying and begging for mercy cannot save her! In that case, she can only learn to adapt, right? So—Sherry-chan numbed her mind and made her body no longer sound the alarm for 'pain'."

"But as expected, even though emotions gradually fade during self-isolation, pain is still the hardest thing to get used to completely. So on a very ordinary day, a staff member, as usual, took out his belt because Sherry accidentally spilled water on her clothes while drinking. But this time, Sherry didn't silently endure it, but wanted to fight back a little."

"The result was really incredible! Sherry-chan just swung her fist slightly, and that staff member's head exploded like a watermelon. It was super powerful! I was stunned for a long, long time before I realized, 'Oh, I killed someone.'"

"Humans die very easily, don't they? So this kind of thing should be quite common, right? More than the fact that someone died, what I was thinking about at the time was 'I'm going to get scolded for having blood on my clothes'—but don't worry, the other people who came didn't blame me. After the initial panic, everyone seemed to treat it as an accident, and after that, other people's attitudes towards us became much better, which is incredible."

"In any case, although Sherry later met her gentle and kind adoptive parents, it seems that Sherry's heart remained completely stuck in that moment when she killed the staff member—until I met you, Watson."

Shirley Tachibana finished bandaging Chang Rong's shoulder, then walked up to him, squatted down in front of him, and smiled.

"Would you accept such a wicked Sherry, Watson? Or would you realize that Sherry-chan is ultimately just a non-human monster, and therefore keep your distance?"

Looking at the innocent smile of the blue-haired girl in front of him, Chang Rong sighed and reached out his right hand to pinch the tip of her nose.

"Whoa—!?"

Shirley Tachibana never expected Chang Rong to pinch her nose under such circumstances, and she fell to the ground.

"Whether you want to move on from the past or atone for your actions, it's your decision, Sherry. All I can do is stay with you until the end, that's all, right?"

Chang Rong smiled and reached out her hand to Tachibana Sherry.

"...That's quite a sly answer, Watson."

"However, from my own selfish perspective, Sherry, you were right after all. This situation should fall under the category of self-defense. After all, Sherry, you didn't know about your [Super Strength] magic back then, right? In that case, you didn't have the subjective intention to kill, and objectively speaking, what happened to you already meets the criteria for self-defense—oh right, I'll ask Saeki-san later, she should be quite knowledgeable about this kind of thing—oohhhhh!?"

"You idiot Wing, after saying those nice words about chess, there's no need to keep thinking about this kind of thing so seriously, Watson."

Chang Rong'er was still seriously considering how to handle the lawsuit against Ju Xue Li when, in the next instant, the sullen Ju Xue Li slapped her shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain.

"I'm sorry... But Sherry, aren't all your joys, sorrows, and every other action a sign that you've found your true self? No matter how many times I say it, you're no longer that flawed, emotionless being. You're a genuine human being with the right to pursue happiness, so it's okay to be a little more confident, right?"

"Be more confident... Hehehe, this is the first time someone has told the invincible, cute, weak, witty and lively little fairy to be more confident. Watson, you're really strange. All my friends only tell me to 'put away that weird confidence that has no reason'?"

Shirley Tachibana rubbed her hair and smiled, at the same time the last weight in her heart was finally lifted.

The boy before her not only accepted his identity as 'Sherry Tachibana', but also his identity as 'non-human'. He was even willing to share the sins 'Sherry Tachibana' had committed in the past with her.

What a greedy fellow! He unconditionally loves everything about me. At that rate, wouldn't I be left with nothing but...

"Hua Sheng, you need to get better soon, otherwise if you hurt yourself or something, it will be embarrassing if your left hand wound gets aggravated!"

"So what do you want...!?"

"Well, well, well, actually, it doesn't seem like it's not so bad to just go straight for it now? It might hurt a little, but Watson, you can just bear with it, right~?" Tachibana Sherry waved her arms, warming up while glaring at the white-haired boy in front of her.

“No, well, these kinds of jokes aren’t actually funny after hearing them too often. Sherry—uh, it’s a joke, right? It must be a joke…” Chang Rong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, not because his arm hurt when he changed the dressing, but because of the oppressive feeling he was under in front of the terrifying blue-haired girl who was devoid of blood and tears.

"Watson, you're so cute! Are you the kind of person who gets tricked into bed and only cries after the deed is done, saying it wasn't a joke? That kind of feeling isn't so bad, is it? In fact, this kind of Watson is more interactive?"

"Don't treat me like some weird stress-relieving toy! I have to make this very serious—now is definitely not the time to do those strange things, and I haven't even thought about it!"

As a tough, Sigma man, Chang Rong's mind is currently focused on the secrets of this prison island, such as the nature of the [Great Witch] and the [Witch Factor]. Romance and such would only hinder his progress!

"Hmm, after all, Watson, if you agree, then it won't be the strong alkali game anymore, right? Sherry-chan may not know much about things between men and women, but I have plenty of strength and methods~!"

"Are terms like 'force' and 'method' really used in normal male-female interactions?"

—Damn it… I feel like ever since the attack by the wreckage, Sherry Tachibana has become more and more devoted to her desires… Although she paid extra attention to me when she founded the detective agency, back then Sherry wouldn't have these mysterious 18+ options popping into her head the moment she sees me…

Wait, is it a side effect of being 'witch-ified' back then?

According to the testimony of Ms. Hiro Nikaido, who declined to be named, people affected by 'witchification' will inevitably have their thinking become extreme and aggressive.

Considering that Coco mentioned that when Hero played his 'first playthrough,' he grabbed a fire poker and a headband and the guard exploded right at the start, it's clear that becoming a witch can indeed make someone more extreme.

Although the group doesn't know why Shiro has been able to restrain herself from killing him so many times, judging from Shiro's testimony and the situation of Baosheng Mag, 'witchification' does indeed affect other people's way of thinking.

Thinking of this, Chang Rong immediately looked at Tachibana Sherry with a serious expression.

"Shirley, have you been having those uncontrollable, seemingly extreme impulses and desires lately?"

"Hmm~ Asking a girl about something like this directly is so unromantic, Watson! Even I would get shy, *puffs up*"

"No... I mean, uh, impulses other than towards me," Chang Rong added quietly, wiping his sweat.

"No! Sherry is doing great lately, but it seems like Hiro and Emma are watching me more and more lately, and even Hannah is giving me weird looks now, umm... this is going to be troublesome!"

Let's not ask what's difficult for you...

"That's good. We still don't quite understand the specific mechanisms of witch transformation, and... I still don't know how I killed the [Remains] back then. Maybe I'm not an ordinary human myself, but rather... *splat*!"

Chang Rong frowned. He had several guesses about why he was able to kill the remnant that should have been 'immortal and indestructible', but almost every guess could only prove that the boy named 'Chang Rong' was no longer a normal human being.

Rather, Chang Rong could still comfort himself by deceiving himself that "the Yuki system's values ​​have a bug." However, after experiencing the wreckage attack and his wound recovery speed, which far exceeded that of normal people, everything almost proved that he, the old popsicle who was born from the freezer like a monkey king, was getting further and further away from the word "ordinary person."

Just as Chang Rong was frowning in thought, he felt a tight embrace on his chest. It turned out that the blue-haired girl had hugged him.

"Watson doesn't care whether I'm human or a monster, so I don't care what Watson is either~ No matter what, even if you're a wreck, even if you're a witch, even if you're a long-decayed corpse—Watson is still my Watson, the one I must atone for."

"—Hmm"

Chang Rong already knew that Tachibana Sherry was that kind of person. Although her carefree and easygoing nature usually made people's heads jump, there were also moments, like now, that made Chang Rong blush.

These words, spoken without any pretense and from the heart, sounded overly straightforward, but it was precisely this straightforwardness that made Chang Rong instantly shy and unsure how to respond.

"I... um... well, I'm not sure what's wrong with me yet. Thank you for bandaging me, President. I... I'll be going now!"

Chang Rong quickly broke free from Tachibana Sherry's gentle embrace, shaking his head to cool his cheeks as he turned to leave the infirmary. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he might accidentally develop an irreversible relationship with the blue-haired idiot.

"Hmph, how adorable, Watson—by the way, Watson, remember not to wander around, okay? And don't go to any places that look dangerous either. Hmm, should we find some self-defense weapons or something? Maybe Watson should just stay in his room?"

Shirley Tachibana immediately transformed into a mother hen, admonishing Chang Rong as if she were a child going to school for the first time, urging him to be extra careful.

"Hmm... I understand, President."

Hearing Tachibana Sherry's concerned words, Chang Rong's face darkened, and he reluctantly agreed before leaving the infirmary.

"Um……?"

Shirley Tachibana tilted her head, looking puzzled by Chang Rong's somewhat unusual behavior.

Volume 1: 102. I am a Sigma man, not a male mother!

After having her bandages changed at the infirmary, Chang Rong bit her right fingers, pondering her next goal.

—Sure enough, it wasn't just Emma, ​​even Sherry treated me the same way… This can't go on, I need to find someone who can replenish my 'elements'…

Hiro? Heh, I'm not an idiot, that definitely won't work. Kurobe-kun? I've hardly seen Nanoha Kaori lately, and even the 'hairband guardian' who's supposedly Nanoha Kaori's older sister isn't very common anymore. I wonder what they're up to.

Lady Tohno? That's not a good idea. In a sense, Lady Tohno is a Stand user similar to Saeki. Going there now would just be asking for trouble...

Noah—yes, Noah will definitely be fine!

Chang Rong went through the list of prospective witches in her mind, and the image of the rainbow balloon in the palette instantly came to mind.

Raising a child for a thousand days is all about putting them to use in times like this! My little darling Noah, you must know what filial piety means!

Chang Rong made a decision immediately, and with a maniacal smile on her face, she walked towards Noah's Study on the second floor.

"Boom boom boom——"

"Noah is drawing. Is something the matter?"

Noah's voice came from the studio. Since the An An incident, Noah, who used to prefer painting in the underground cell, basically spent all his time in the studio except when he was under house arrest.

Not only that, Noah's enthusiasm for painting has also increased a lot. However, she no longer sprays paint everywhere like before, but instead, she will seriously paint and sketch the pictures that interest her, just like a proper painter.

"It's not really a big deal—"

"Ah, Rongrong~!"

Chang Rong pushed open the door and greeted Noah, who immediately put down his paintbrush and came over happily after seeing the white-haired boy.

"Hehehe, Noah didn't cause any trouble today, did he?"

Chang Rong skillfully stroked Noah's head, asking him with a smile.

"No, no, no, no~ Noah listened to Hiro today and didn't cause any trouble for everyone."

Noah responded proudly, his face beaming with a look of pure bliss.

"Great! Consider this a reward for good boy Noah. Is there anything Noah wants?"

"Hmm... Noah does have one, Noah wants to take off Rongrong's clothes to draw~"

"No, no, no, this isn't suitable. How about we try another one...?"

Seeing Noah suddenly reach out to pull off her clothes, Chang Rong quickly stopped the little balloon and asked her if she had any other wishes.

"Hmph... Rongrong, you big liar!"

Noah made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction and complaints.

I don't know what happened to E Daoqi, but ever since the last time Noah painted on his bandages in the X Medical Center, Noah seems to have awakened a new love for art and is now always dedicated to using himself as a canvas for body painting.

Sometimes when Chang Rong returned to her room, she would see a freshly filled glass of water on the table, and Noah would be standing next to the desk, excitedly asking her if she was thirsty and if she was, she could have some water.

Considering the strange, unsettling blue hue of the liquid in the cup, Chang Rong could only awkwardly smile and say she wasn't thirsty. Then, she faced off against Noah's pouting and complaining expression, finally watching her little darling leave.

Although all signs indicated that Noah's heart was gradually changing, Chang Rong thought it over and over again and finally decided that it was just Noah's innocent remarks, just a child's clever idea. What could go wrong? Just leave it alone!

It must just be the innocent confusion of adolescence.