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

The headband guard might indeed feel self-loathing for her appearance, but if that were the case, she probably wouldn't risk being 'roasted' to get close to herself.

Another reason why the older sister doesn't allow Kurobe Nanoha to touch her might be Nanoha's [Illusion Magic].

The headband guard should know that he is suffering from amnesia, so currently only the headband guard has information about the 'Previous Witch Trial'.

Furthermore, since the wreckage is closer to an object than a person, it is more likely to trigger Nanoha Kurobe's vision.

She might not be driven by self-loathing, but by fear—fear that Kurobe Nanoha's [Vision Magic] would glimpse some truth through her.

If that's the case... Chang Rong decided to respect her 'older sister's' choice.

Even if the price is that I might be executed on the spot in the warehouse by Kurobe Nanohaka right now...^q^

Let's think about how to escape first...wait?

"What is this?"

Chang Rong spotted something in a corner of the warehouse: a thicker, warmer coat than the fancy, thin clothes everyone else was wearing.

Volume 1: Chapter 111. In short, it's the usual trope of lifelong regret.

Thick coat, confirmed. Fire axe, confirmed. Flashlight, confirmed. Emergency rations, finished as snacks on the road. Lighter, confirmed. Kerosene lamp, confirmed. Spare batteries, confirmed.

On the way to the underground freezer, Chang Rong happily munched on compressed biscuits while checking the makeshift gear she was wearing.

Although it was secretly picked up from the warehouse while Kurobe Nanoha was throwing a tantrum with her older sister...

It's terrible to have something stolen on your first visit to someone's house, but considering that Nanoha Kaori usually turns on auto-pickup mode as soon as she enters her room, this can be considered a small act of revenge!

Chang Rong pulled her hat down over her ears, sent another text message to Renmi Ryoya to say that everything was OK and she would be back before dinner. Then she went to the Crystal Chamber, opened the door, and skillfully lifted the corner floor tile to reveal a hidden passage connecting to the underground.

Previously, I hadn't explored this place further due to concerns about warmth, but now that I've found warm clothing in the warehouse, it's definitely more convenient to come alone.

"Well……"

Sure enough, upon seeing the dark underground passage, Chang Rong felt a piercing pain in his left chest once again. He leaned against a nearby bookshelf, silently waiting for the dizziness to subside, then took a deep breath, climbed down the ladder, and returned to the elevator shaft.

This place can be considered his 'birthplace'. Generation after generation of Galaga and RPG predecessors have proven that the beginning and the end are always intertwined. Chang Rong also vaguely felt that he could find some proof of the beginning in this cryogenics room—although this proof probably wouldn't be what he wanted.

call……

As the elevator doors descended and opened, icy white smoke was exhaled with each breath, the moisture freezing instantly in the air. Each breath felt like a hot-tempered gangster clone, relentlessly attacking his nasal cavity and throat.

The temperature here seems much colder than last time, feeling at least -30 degrees Celsius or even lower. Although the winter coat I'm wearing prevents my body from screaming and trying to escape like last time, the cold air still keeps seeping into my body through the gaps and thinner parts.

The heat from the kerosene lamp in his hand was only enough to keep his arms and hands from freezing, far from enough to provide a heat source for his body.

"Why are you making it so cold? Damn it... Is this some kind of AAA quick-frozen, freshness-locking witch wholesaler?"

Chang Rong endured the excruciating pain on her exposed cheeks, as if someone were peeling away layers of skin with a planer, while complaining about the observation and control room.

I told Saeki Miria before that scarves were useless, but now that I want peaches, wouldn't it be amazing to be able to cover my face with a scarf? Or at least I'd like to have a mask like Arisa Kaho's.

Previously, he had only glanced at the console briefly and was hesitant to draw conclusions, but after careful observation, Chang Rong was now certain that he genuinely did not understand how to operate these consoles.

It's like how it's actually very difficult for a person to damage an airplane by randomly fiddling around, because they don't even know how to turn on the main power supply, let alone break it or tear off the buttons.

Still can't open that heavy door connecting the freezer and control room. So, the only option is to crawl through the ventilation duct...?

Chang Rong walked to the bottom of the ventilation duct, raised his hand to grab the edge of the duct, took a deep breath and focused his energy in his dantian, then suddenly jumped up and used his arms to perform a perfect pull-up—failure.

Even after a few more attempts, it was still a series of predictable failures.

...I've decided! After I leave here, I'm absolutely going to go crazy lifting weights until my head is practically pointy!

The ventilation duct itself is only a little over two meters high. People of similar height as me and Rhea can reach the edge of the ventilation duct with a little effort. However, this height makes it impossible to use the "emperor-like" strength to lift oneself up. One has to use the muscles in one's arms to pull oneself up, which is a bit too much to ask of a frozen salted fish.

Chang Rong grumbled as he returned to the elevator shaft and the corridor on the next floor. He dragged the A-frame ladder he had seen earlier into the elevator, and then dragged it into the control room with a series of groans and groans. The messy process made Chang Rong wonder what he was doing here. Was it performance art?

After setting up the ladder, Chang Rong climbed to the ventilation duct, swallowed hard, and crawled into the duct—only to get stuck.

"...The winter coat is too thick, I can't get through at all!"

The clothes meant to protect them from the cold had become an obstacle, and the pack on their backs was like a cork in a wine bottle, completely blocking the ventilation duct.

So the fact that you have to drop your backpack when leaving the Dutch evacuation point in Tarkov is a simulation feature...

Chang Rong, who had been stuck in the ventilation duct for half a day, pulled his head back and gritted his teeth as he stared at the small fog door in front of him that was completely unresponsive.

There is another way right now: drop your backpack and take off your coat, crawl inside and rely on the physical strength of a sports student and the heat from a kerosene lamp to tough out the investigation.

The problem is, while it's easy to climb over the ladder, how do you get back once you're in the freezer? Are there stepladders there too? What if you jump over but can't get back... then you'll have to go back to where you came from and continue being a veteran freezer user?

In that case, the other prospective witches would probably...

For a moment, Chang Rong had a 'hallucination' (imagined) of some terrible scenes —

[The following is just a possible bad ending, and may differ slightly from Chang Rong's imagined scenario.]

The first to realize something was wrong was the adorable golden retriever idol, Ryota Hasumi.

"Why hasn't Chang Rong replied yet... All the text messages I sent him are still 'unread'... This has never happened before."

Ryota Hasumi frowned as she looked at the private chat interface on her phone. After hesitating and pacing for a while, she finally shook her head and decided to confront Nanoha Kurobe on the spot to find out what was going on.

"Chang Rong... is missing? I... I don't know."

Faced with Rhea's question, Kurobe Nanoha was equally confused. She had been so busy fighting with her sister (the headband guard) over her brother-in-law that she hadn't even noticed that a thief rabbit had entered the backyard of her warehouse and was running wild.

"That idiot rabbit has probably just run off to cause trouble again... Good, very good. It seems my previous methods of discipline were too lenient. This time, when he comes back, I'll definitely make him stick out his tongue, roll his eyes, and cry for mercy..."

After learning that Chang Rong was missing, Nikaido Shiro, with veins bulging on his forehead, gripped his pen tightly and frantically drew little figures on the Book of Hatred.

"Hehehe~! This is the time for Sherry-chan to conduct a major investigation! Mystery! The disappearance of assistant Watson! Once Watson is found by my investigation, Sherry-chan will have to conduct her own major investigation~"

Shirley Tachibana pulled out her magnifying glass, full of enthusiasm. For her, this solo hunt was the best opportunity to hunt. If she could catch one, she could enjoy a delicious meal while the others were still searching. Even if the other prospective witches came knocking later, a half-dead rabbit would be useless to them.

"It must be because of your gorilla-like XYY desires, you stupid knight, that scared you into hiding! Girls should have some self-awareness! What kind of girl are you, always spouting such awful things!" The young lady complained, secretly hiding the rabbit doll in her arms.

The scene where Emma Sakura handed Chang Rong an apple pie in the cafeteria deeply impressed Hannah Tono. As a fan of romance manga, she was also looking forward to personally giving the gift to the white-haired boy, which would definitely be much more romantic than the gorilla girl or Emma!

"Ugh... The confrontation with Leia-chan was already exhausting enough, and I haven't even replenished Chang Rong-kun's energy yet..." Sakura Emma mumbled listlessly, her head down. She and Hasumi Leia had fought for a long time for control of the sunroom, and although they ended up evenly matched, she had to replenish the physical and mental energy she had expended by rubbing against Chang Rong.

“Xiao Rong must also want to have his own independent living space... After all, he's different from us. Xiao Rong is a normal teenage boy, isn't he?” Saeki Miria smiled and raised her hand to indicate that everyone seemed to be going too far. If they continued to seduce him like this and someone actually died, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to handle the situation.

"Scolding... If I were to scold him... would he feel like he's rebelling against the Heavenly Gang and retaliate in an even more intense way... Guhe, guhehehe..." Arisa Fujito was once again immersed in an extremely terrible fantasy from which she could not extricate herself.

The aspiring witches each harbored their own secrets, but since this wasn't the first time Chang Rong had inexplicably and briefly lost contact, no one took it too seriously.

However, when breakfast time came the next day, the white-haired boy still hadn't appeared, which gradually made the prospective witches feel uneasy and nervous.

"You idiot rabbit...you really need to be taught a lesson. Just you wait, daring to skip school for a whole day and night, that's 100% absolutely wrong, I'm really going to kill you..."

Despite spouting harsh words, Nikaido Hiro didn't even record the morning attendance, instead hurriedly searching for the white-haired boy.

"Watson, are you getting revenge for my joke in the infirmary? If so, you've succeeded! I'm... super nervous right now, much more nervous than I look...!"

Although Tachibana Sherry wore a reassuring smile as always, anyone could tell that this fake smile was a complete waste of the blue-haired detective's energy. She didn't even have the energy to make the smile move, as she was busy searching for traces of her assistant.

"Hmm... It's not in the hidden warehouse either, could it be in one of those hidden passages...? No, that shouldn't be... I knew it, I should have just closed the warehouse door and left Chang Rong there..."

Nanoha Kurobe attended breakfast after a long absence, but when she realized Chang Rong wasn't there, beads of sweat visibly appeared on her forehead. The castle's hidden passages were also riddled with deadly traps; a single misstep could lead to death.

"What's going on... that guy... could he have run away behind our backs?... Impossible, he would never run away alone, after all, he said those things to me—damn it, if only I could have helped him...! Anyway, next time we meet, I'm definitely going to give that guy a good beating and then let him give me a good scolding!"

Arisa slammed her hand on the table, sending sparks flying from her palm. Beneath her mask, Arisa's expression was one of utter turmoil and distress. She hated this feeling of wanting to muster the courage to do something, yet being utterly powerless to help. Ultimately, she could only alleviate her anxiety by uttering harsh words.

"To make Hiro anxious and Noah angry... Noah has decided that after finding Rongrong, he'll be fed up with all the formalities and this time he'll just use force to take Rongrong to the art studio and give her a good lesson in body painting and nude modeling!"

The aspiring witches were all talking about what they would do after finding Chang Rong, but they were also searching for the white-haired boy with the same fervor as if they wanted to turn the castle upside down, while constantly bombarding him with text messages.

But... the prospective witches still couldn't find any trace of the boy.

Although some people suspected that Chang Rong might have left secretly on her own, this speculation was quickly extinguished as soon as it began to ignite.

Initially, almost half of the people suspected that Chang Rong might be behind the 'behind-the-scenes maneuver', especially after the scene where he lured the warden to the judge's bench in the courtroom, which seemed to suggest that he was not being manipulated by a mastermind.

But after spending time together, the girls could vouch for Chang Rong with their own lives, believing he was absolutely not behind the scheme. Hiro even believed that if that idiot rabbit were given the choice between escaping and everyone else leaving safely, no matter how many times, he would mindlessly choose the latter.

It was this trust that was driving Hero to the brink of madness. She no longer cared about right or wrong, whether she needed to follow the rules, or whether she should eat on time—she just wanted to find that familiar, idiotic rabbit as soon as possible, and then push him to the ground and lecture him for a whole day and night.

But she still couldn't find any clues... She couldn't find any of the prospective witches.

Even if you question the warden, he just tilts his head and mumbles something to indicate that he doesn't know the situation—he probably really doesn't know, because from the beginning he has never treated the people in the prison as 'human beings'.

Boom! ! !

Loud crashes echoed from the library as Shirley Tachibana repeatedly smashed bookshelves with her fists. When asked why she was doing this, she simply raised her bleeding hands and laughed, saying, "I had a feeling Watson might be hiding around here~"

In the courtyard, Tono Hannah scrubbed the uniform jacket that had once belonged to Chang Rong over and over again, not caring that her fingers were already bleeding. She just kept washing the clothes with a somewhat vacant look in her eyes. It was as if, as long as she could wash the clothes completely clean, that silly, lost knight who would always wear clothes torn and that she had to sew herself back would reappear in front of her.

Saeki Miria initially tried to reassure everyone, but as time went on, she gradually stopped talking and instead huddled alone in a secluded corner, staring blankly at the 'ridiculous' scarf in her hands, no longer having the motivation to knit the next stitch. Her hands, restless and unsure of where to go, opened and closed aimlessly, but the mature boy who had always frantically hinted at his own indulgence in physical pleasure was no longer within her reach.

Nanoha Kurobe locked herself in the hidden warehouse. She lay silently on the cold stone floor, occasionally getting up to bake something, but each time she only managed to produce charred, failed attempts. But it didn't matter anymore; the person who liked to eat it was gone, wasn't she?

Noah painted the studio walls scarlet again and again, then covered them with white, repeating the process over and over. But no matter how many times she repeated it, no one would push open the studio door, smiling and patting her head, saying she was truly a great artist, while somewhat awkwardly advising her that this was a bit of a disturbance and asking if she could change her artistic approach.

Arisa Wisteria squatted by the lake, frantically waving flames at the water until she was exhausted or had burned everything around her to ashes. She gritted her teeth, her bloodshot eyes wide open. When she felt sleepy, she swallowed pills like she was drinking water. Anyway, no one would scold her, never... Even if she caught a rabbit this time and roasted it properly, no one would reprimand her again...

In the entertainment room, Leia practiced her gestures in front of the mirror, striking various inviting poses, but no matter how she struck them, they were all stiff and devoid of any grace. She was used to acting, used to convincingly portraying lifelike figures on unresponsive objects, but this time, it was as if she had forgotten all the acting skills she had learned, acting as foolishly as a naive child. Because she realized that something had completely vanished from her sight, never to return. No matter how magnificent her performance, the familiar cheers from the audience would never be heard again.

Hiro Nikaido flipped through her notebook again and again in her cell. The pen she used for taking notes was long gone. But there was nothing worth recording now. She simply kept going over the various entries about the white-haired boy, calculating how many more punishments she needed to equalize his "merits and demerits." But no matter how many times she calculated, this debt would only ever be a tangled mess that could never be settled. Occasionally, a sound would reach her ears, making Hiro momentarily think that the silly rabbit had returned, but the next second she would realize it was just Emma Sakuraba sobbing in the lower bunk.

That idiotic rabbit who let me torture him to my heart's content, who was practically a walking 'misfit'... is really gone.

You're right, Chang Rong... I'm the one who's wrong. I'm the one who's been doing the wrong thing all along. So... so can you please come back soon? My mistakes, my hypocrisy, must be judged by you... because only you are truly right...!

Nikaido Hiro covered his cheek with the notebook, letting the liquid spread and flow the ink on the paper.

Then—Hasumi Ryoya killed Kurobe Nanoha Kaori.

"Chang Rong must have been murdered by her!! He left with Kurobe Nanoha in the end, she's the murderer, the killer...!!!"

Hasumi Rhea was executed while roaring, while the other prospective witches in the witch trial court remained almost deathly silent.

“Everyone…we can’t let this get us down!” Emma Sakura stepped forward and mustered her courage to speak to the crowd.

"We absolutely cannot lose another comrade! If it were Chang Rongjun, he would definitely—Chang Rongjun…"

Emma Sakuraba choked up as soon as she uttered the name she had just said.

What if it was Chang Rongjun? But I'm not Chang Rongjun, and besides, Chang Rongjun... has already disappeared...

Emma Sakura collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, and the witch's trial was adjourned.

Then, the warden brought new news—[Coo coo coo... While disposing of the remains of the dead and the witch, we found Mr. Chang Rong's body in the underground cryogenics room].