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

"—!?"

Upon hearing the broadcast, Ari Fujito rushed frantically to the hidden passage of the Crystal Chamber. However, when she climbed down the ladder and arrived at the elevator, the elevator announced in a cold, electronic voice: "Unauthorized access denied."

"Damn it, damn it...!"

Arisa Fujito kicked the control panel frantically, but there was still no response. In the end, she could only go back upstairs down the ladder.

And just as she returned to the crystal chamber—thump!

"...!?"

Intense pain and dizziness surged from the top of her head, and Arisa Fujito didn't even realize what was happening at first.

As the crimson liquid on her forehead stained her vision, and as her body lost its strength and uncontrollably plummeted from the ladder into the dark abyss, Arisa Fujito saw, in her last moments, Noah Kinosaki, holding a heavy, blood-dripping owl statue in his hand, his eyes vacant.

"It's all your fault... If it weren't for your abilities, Rongrong wouldn't have wanted to explore the underground cryogenic chamber, he wouldn't have... wouldn't have... left Noah...!!"

"—Noah!?"

The arriving Hiro Nikaido was utterly shocked by what she saw. It took her several seconds to realize that she had witnessed Noah Kinosaki's murder.

"It's Hero... Hey, Hero... Die too, everyone... Die."

Noah Kinosaki pulled out a utility knife and looked at the long, straight black-haired girl in front of him. Her fingernails gradually grew longer, and the colored paint on her hair dissolved and rotted.

"Noah...! You..."

Hiro froze on the spot. Faced with the girl rushing towards her with a utility knife, she didn't even make any decision at first, as if she had already resigned herself to her fate.

"No, no, Hiro-chan...!!"

Just before the utility knife pierced her body, Emma Sakura desperately shoved Hiro Nikaido aside.

"Live...live on! Hiro-chan!" Although the pink-haired girl was also on the verge of collapse, she still desperately suppressed her trembling pupils and kept shouting at Nikaido Hiro.

"Xiao Ya!? That, is that Xiao Ya...!?"

Saeki Miria also arrived at the scene, and she was so shocked by the 'Noah Kinosaki' she saw that she was speechless and could hardly believe it.

“Emma…! Milia…” Hiro managed to get up and saw the two people rushing over.

"Emma...you cheating bastard...then you should start by dying..."

Noah Kinosaki raised the utility knife again. Although she looked like an ordinary girl, each swing of her knife carried a power that seemed capable of easily piercing and tearing a person apart.

Qi Yi cried out, "Ugh...!?"

puff!

The pink-haired girl let out a whimper, shrinking her neck in fear and moaning, but despite the sound of her flesh being pierced, she felt no pain.

"Cough cough...Quick, run away, little Emma, ​​little hope..."

Boom!

Milia lay on the ground, her abdomen pierced, her golden eyes gradually becoming empty and unfocused.

In the end, I still hadn't finished knitting the scarf... It's a typical procrastination trait of older men...

I want to touch that boy again, I want to wrap the scarf around his neck with my own hands, I want to...

"Milia—!! Noah, you...why...have you become a witch!?"

Hiro watched this scene with trembling hands. She watched as Noah Kinosaki pulled the utility knife from Saeki Miria's corpse, the blood on it turning into butterflies and scattering. Noah Kinosaki then slowly approached the two of them again. This time, there was no color on her body anymore, only black and white, and the scarlet butterflies hovering around her.

"Hmm, if Rongrong were here, would she praise Noah's current paintings...?"

"Quick, run! Hiro-chan...! Run! We have to escape...!"

Emma Sakura, on the verge of tears, grabbed Hiro's wrist and desperately fled back into the castle from the back.

"We need to tell Hannah and Sherry, and then have the warden initiate a witch trial. At least that way we can be protected—Sherry!"

Emma and Hiro escaped to the underground cell, where they found the blue-haired detective standing motionless in front of the iron bars.

"Oh, it's you guys~"

Tachibana Sherry smiled and turned around to greet the two of them.

“Sherry! Noah-chan, she—wait, wait, that, that’s…”

Emma gasped for breath to catch her breath, but before she could say anything, she noticed what was happening in front of her.

In the cell behind Tachibana Sherry, the lonely young lady, Tohno Hannah, a girl with the dreamlike ability of levitation magic, hung quietly on the rope, as light and beautiful as the dolls she sewed.

"Aaaaaahh ...

The two screamed and gagged.

"Oh dear, Hannah was already like this when I got here... It seems she made the decision after hearing the announcement on the radio. That's amazing, Hannah. Despite having levitation magic, Hannah overcame her survival instincts and left in this way... But it's okay if you vote me as the murderer, right?"

Tachibana Sherry smiled and addressed the two of them. She made a gesture of raising a magnifying glass, but there was no magnifying glass. Instead, fragments of a magnifying glass were scattered next to Tono Hannah's body, as if it had shattered due to the immense force applied to it in an instant.

Not only were there fragments of a magnifying glass on the floor, but a rabbit-shaped doll also lay on the cold cell floor, holding a note with very brief content:

Thank you for fulfilling my little dream. I'm sorry for deceiving you, my silly knight.

"I...we are indeed going to have a witch trial, but the one being judged is Noah-chan—Ugh!" Boom!!!

"Everyone...aren't you all going to keep looking for Rongrong...?"

The iron door of the underground prison was kicked open, and the almost witch-like Noah Shirosaki staggered in.

"Noah? Hmm... I see, I think I understand now."

Sherry Tachibana looked at Noah Kinosaki, raised an eyebrow, cracked her knuckles, and then—

"Watson's Explosive Fist!"

Before even Noah Kinosaki could react, Sherry Tachibana pounced on the witch-transformed Noah Kinosaki.

"Sherry-chan!?"

"Hey, you bastard...!?"

*Pfft!* *Boom!*

The sounds of the floor cracking and flesh tearing came simultaneously.

"Gurgle...!"

Noah was pinned down by Sherry Tachibana, her neck firmly gripped by Sherry's hands. Sherry, on the other hand, had a utility knife piercing her abdomen, but she seemed oblivious to the pain, continuing to dominate Noah.

"Cough cough...! Take a deep breath, Noah. Dizziness is normal. You haven't completely become a witch yet, so... so there's still a chance for salvation—"

Click!

The girl's neck twisted into a strange shape, and her petite body stopped struggling.

At the last moment, a rainbow reappeared in Noah's dark and chaotic pupils. It was the most precious memory buried deep in her heart—no, not just 'one memory,' but every single one.

Every scene of the white-haired boy praising his own paintings, every scene of him rubbing his head and earnestly analyzing his own work—these were Noah's most precious treasures. They prevented her from completely falling into witchhood, but instead transformed her into a colorful butterfly, which accompanied her away from the prison island.

After confirming that she had killed Noah Kinosaki, Sherry Tachibana collapsed to the ground as if she had lost all motivation.

"Although this kind of injury can be suppressed by transforming into a witch, well... Watson doesn't like witches, right? So let's just forget about it."

Tachibana Sherry smiled, but tears kept welling up in her eyes.

Honestly, what is this... You messed up my perfect facade, labeled me as someone who had to atone, and then left on your own... You're such a selfish person... How can I ever repay you, Watson?

What an annoying assistant...

"No! No, no, no—no, no, no!!"

Emma Sakura's wailing echoed through the prison. She curled up on the ground, clutching her head, and screamed in despair.

—I, I have to be strong… Chang Rongjun said he hoped I could remain rational until the very end. Chang Rongjun—Chang Rongjun, he’s dead.

It didn't disappear, it didn't leave, it really died...

Since that's the case, yes, that's right, then I might as well join everyone, that way I won't be left behind, right...?

Pfft—

This time, the scarlet liquid didn't transform into butterflies; instead, it splashed directly onto Nikaido Hiro's face, carrying with it the warmth of Sakura Emma.

"—"

Hiro knelt on the ground, trembling, and shakily took out his notebook from his pocket.

To record what happened here, and to pass on the efforts that idiot rabbit made for everyone, is the last thing I can do right now.

No, the pen is lost. No… there’s no right or wrong. I’m completely wrong… terribly wrong.

Nikaido Hiro had completely lost the strength to pick up the blood-soaked notebook.

If only I had noticed his unusual behavior sooner, if only I had followed him around, if only I hadn't put so much pressure on him...

I am the one who is wrong. Since I am wrong, then the wrong... must be eliminated.

With trembling hands, Nikaido Hiro took the utility knife from Noah's hand and held it against his pale throat.

Even if suicide would plunge me into the deepest abyss, even if suicide would utterly destroy my personality and soul... but if I could escape this reality, if I could escape this hell of "the idiot rabbit is dead"...

Well then, it doesn't matter.

The last prospective witch severed her lifeline with a metal plate—

--------

"Suddenly running into the reception room dressed in such an idiotic outfit and calling everyone over to announce something important... Are you really asking for trouble, you stupid rabbit...?"

Inside the reception room, Nikaido Hiro, his forehead bulging with veins, was frantically scribbling on his notebook while poking the cheek of heavily armed Chang Rong with the butt of his pen.

Gathering all members is a theoretically difficult task because it requires the convener to have strong persuasive and leadership qualities.

...or perhaps the organizer himself is sufficiently enticing.

In short, Chang Rong successfully gathered the prospective witches together through a mobile group chat.

"You'd better give me a reason that can be explained in 30 words or less, or you're not leaving here today."

Faced with Nikaido Hiro's torture, Chang Rong silently shrank deeper into her thick coat, then managed to utter three words:

I'm scared.

"...?"