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

Chang Rong watched the rich young lady watering the flowers and muttered to herself.

"Do you, a commoner, find me strange?"

Gao Yuanlihua, who was watering the flowers, seemed to have noticed something and glared sharply at Chang Rong, questioning him.

"Huh? No... I just feel that the way you water the flowers is very... very artistic!" Chang Rong quickly gave a thumbs up and said.

"Hmph, the strange ones are those guys—a science madman obsessed with explosions, a psychopath who talks about killing all the time, someone who seemed like a top student but turned out to be a scheming jerk, someone who seemed like a pink-haired commoner but turned out to be a witch... There are no normal people in this place except for me! It would be much more pleasant for me to spend time with these flowers in the sunroom."

Gao Yuanlihua, holding a parasol, complained coldly in a dissatisfied tone.

“I understand, Miss. I also understand that feeling of sometimes feeling like life has completely gone off track and wanting to abandon everything.”

Listening to the rich girl's complaints, Chang Rong nodded earnestly with an expression that said, "I understand you, sister."

"For example, when Meruru and I were happily drinking tea in the infirmary, Meruru was suddenly tricked away by Kurobe. Just as Kurobe was throwing a mysterious blue pill into my flower tea in front of me, laughing horribly and trying to force it into my mouth, a scream suddenly came from the bathroom across from the infirmary. When I rushed over, I found Alice running away crying with a weird hairstyle, while Yuki was squatting in a corner questioning herself and growing mushrooms, and Rongrong was fanning the flames and taking pictures—when I encounter this situation, I really do feel like it's better to just destroy everything."

　"Ah...look, it seems that even commoners have their own troubles."

Gao Yuanli blinked. It seemed that in this year's "Who's the Most Miserable?" competition, she had slightly lost to this boy who looked like the male protagonist of "Gala Gemu".

"Actually, I don't have many friends. Or rather, my social circle rarely has the opportunity to make any real friends. Although I usually don't feel this because I'm too perfect, outstanding, and super rich, I realized after coming here that I seem to lack some interpersonal skills."

The young lady picked up a pot of flowers, examining and pruning them as she spoke softly to Chang Rong.

"However, because of the occasional noise from commoners like you, it's not too bad."

Gao Yuanlihua put the flowerpot aside, turned to look at the white-haired boy in front of her, and coughed lightly twice.

"Although you currently need to take care of that 'little sister,' and it seems you've already developed a romantic relationship with that Kurobe Nanoha, well... I'll be merciful and give you a chance. You—want to become my, my, my, my... head chef?"

"Head chef...?"

The abrupt introduction of the China Ichiban Line startled Chang Rong for a moment.

"No, no, no, what chef... Humph! Let's be frank, are you, a commoner, going to marry into my family? I'll recommend you through my clan!"

The young lady folded up her parasol, pointed the tip of the umbrella at Chang Rong, and asked loudly in an unquestionable tone.

"Uh, marrying into the family? How should I put it—"

"..."

Chang Rong's flustered state was laid bare before Gao Yuanlihua's eyes, and the young lady instantly showed a look of disappointment.

But it was only for a moment. She quickly coughed twice to regain control of the conversation.

"Ahem! Forget it, you're just a pretty boy whose cooking is barely passable. Wanting to eat swan meat is just wishful thinking. Go and improve your skills; at least become one of the best among the common people. Otherwise, you're not even qualified to see me!"

Gao Yuanlihua said in a firm tone.

"Damn it, you've really been looked down upon... All you can do is cook? Don't underestimate me!"

"what……?"

The white-haired boy suddenly bristled, which made the once arrogant young lady instantly become much softer and more submissive.

"I can also do somersaults!"

"What's the use of that skill!?"

"You're not allowed to slander Xiaoxue!" Chang Rong declared seriously. "You can call me a noob, but you can't call Xiaoxue a noob! Do you think I don't know whether Xiaoxue is a noob or not!"

"Who said anything about her?? Seriously... You inexplicable commoner, don't bother me!" Chang Rong is really interesting. I said that doing somersaults was useless, and he said not to bring up Sato Yuki's story.

"Okay, okay, you tyrannical young lady who uses and discards others after using them—Guwa!?"

Chang Rong waved his hand, snorted coldly, and prepared to leave, but he was almost killed by the young lady's parasol and cassock, leaving him with a rabbit head and never having to leave again.

After somewhat disheveledly dodging the repeated attacks from the perpetrators, Chang Rong emerged from the sunroom.

—As expected of the young lady of the Gaoyuan family, even if she accidentally said something inappropriate due to impulsiveness, she can quickly adjust her mindset and give each other a way out to take back her previous slip of the tongue.

If Takahara Reika were to awaken some strange fetish like Kurobe Nanoha Kaori and relentlessly pursue him, given Chang Rong's current nagging personality and inability to refuse, he might really have no other work to do 24 hours a day, just being used and washed by several prospective witches.

From a personal perspective, Chang Rong felt that all emotional connections in this place were based on the illusion of the suspension bridge effect. He didn't think that an ordinary man like himself, who had nothing but good looks, could catch the eye of a rich young lady from the plateau.

Therefore, if I were to accept their advances under these circumstances, it would be truly irresponsible of me. Look at how much the Kurobe members are suffering...

As a true Sigma man, Chang Rong currently has no worldly desires between men and women; he only wants to protect everyone from further murders.

For some reason, let alone sexual desire, Chang Rong even felt that her waist and kidneys had prematurely entered the "just keep acting up, Daddy" retirement phase...?

Maybe I should ask Meruru if she has any medication that can help with this – hmm?

As Chang Rong passed by the open space outside the entrance hall, he bumped into Ebu Mari, the girl with messy hair who always wore a white coat and thick glasses that looked like the bottom of a beer bottle.

The girl in the white coat was digging in the soil with a shovel in both hands. Beside her was a strange object whose purpose was unknown, but which looked a bit like a landmine.

"..."

"...Um, Ebe-kun, what are you doing?"

After a few seconds of silence, Chang Rong's sense of social responsibility compelled him to ask the question.

"As you can see, I'm planting landmines."

"I see—no, no, no, what's the point of planting landmines?!" Chang Rong nodded, then loudly complained and questioned.

"Are you an idiot? Landmines have only ever been used for one purpose: to blow people into the air."

"So this is obviously not going to work! Why would you suddenly blow other people up into the air?! What does that mean?!"

I thought life on Prison Island was gradually becoming more stable, but what is this guy talking about? Why does he suddenly want to cause a physical explosion?!

Volume 1: 116. Beautiful Moments Frozen in Time

"Oh, don't worry. The landmine I planted will only blow up those who are full of curiosity and exploration, who are persistent in adversity, and who have patience and willpower far beyond ordinary people~" Ebe Mari pushed up her glasses and said to Chang Rong with a smile.

"What did this character design, which sounds like a protagonist template, do to offend you...?" Chang Rong's question marks were not eliminated by Ebe Mari's explanation; instead, G was multiplying at a cockroach-like rate.

"Because for that kind of person, living on a prison island is the greatest torment, so it's better to end it quickly. Don't worry, with the combined effects of my magic and chemical catalyst, I guarantee the bill will be settled on the spot and there will be no renewal. The ease is comparable to Louis XIV's Pleasure Channel!"

Hui Bu Zhenli gave Chang Rong a thumbs up, clearly confident in her instant-explosive grenade, guaranteeing that if it didn't explode and scatter in a second, she would immediately cancel the order.

"...??"

"Honestly, you're looking like a complete idiot. I can't stand idiots—listen up, we're practically 'dead' now, both socially and physically. In other words, you and I are all dead in every sense of the word. Do you think the dead can be resurrected?"

Mari Ebe shrugged helplessly, then walked to a small tree with a white plastic bag hanging on it and earnestly told the tree trunk about her discovery.

“This island is geographically isolated; I’ve already calculated it. Moreover, it’s the government that brought us here, which means that the country will not only not come to our rescue but will be our enemy. With just a few of us, the chance of escaping and fighting against the government is a pure 0%.”

"No, there must be another way to leave here—"

"The only way is to obtain release permission from both the government and the prison authorities. In other words, we not only have to solve the mystery of the witch mutation that the government has been unable to figure out for decades or even centuries, but we also have to find a way to talk directly to the mastermind behind it all and find a way to remove the witch factor from our bodies so that we can still show the government our continued usefulness and not be discarded as pawns."

Mari Ebe slowly described the current situation of everyone, her tone neither angry nor desperate, she was really just stating a theoretical need.

"Even so, it's not entirely hopeless, is it? We still have plenty of time. As long as we unite and work together to find a solution, we'll eventually find a clue!"

"...!"

Chang Rong retorted loudly, and Kurobe Nanoha happened to pass by behind him. She stopped and listened to the two talking about 'Prison Island'. Her expression gradually became serious.

—Is there no way to escape from here? Is the ending a predetermined tragedy...?

"A lot of time? No, no, no, listen carefully—'tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…' Do you hear that? This is a countdown, a countdown for the witch factor within each of us to erode everything. The only cure for this plague is death. Its infection process is unstoppable and irreversible, just like cancer, it will eventually erode everyone. You've even witnessed what it looked like when it 'took off,' haven't you?"

Ebe Mari smiled. It seemed that she had investigated a lot of information about witch factors and witch transformation during this time and came to the conclusion that there was "no way out". She even wanted to plant landmines to kill other people who also had hope of escaping in the future, because rational despair is a kind of torture.

"I...heard it."

"That's right, we aspiring witches will all eventually become witches, it's just that the countdown timers differ—"

"No, no, no, I really heard a ticking sound, right inside that landmine," Chang Rong said, pointing to the landmine next to the girl in the white coat with a dark expression.

"Hmm... Oh dear, I think I heard that too?"

"..."

"—Hoo!!"

After a moment of silence, Chang Rong jumped up and uttered Uncle Fried Chicken's last words.

Fortunately, the landmine didn't explode in the end, but it became a terrifying thing that couldn't be removed and would explode at the slightest touch. In the end, Chang Rong could only help the head of the painting department, Mari, to bury the thing in the ground in the yard and pray that no unlucky person would actually dig it up and get hit by a veteran instant-explosion mine.

"Ok?"

After dealing with the landmine incident, Chang Rong seemed to sense some kind of gaze, but when he looked back, he found nothing.

"..."

Hiding in the corner, Nanoha Kurobe's expression grew increasingly solemn. The conversation between Tokiwa and Mari Ebe had just had felt like a stone, making it increasingly difficult for her to breathe.

After finishing his usual dinner preparations in the kitchen and praising Xiaoxue for her significant improvement this time, noting that she only got bruised four times while boiling eggs, Chang Rong ran into Alice as soon as he stepped outside.

"What's wrong, Alice?"

"Alice wants to go to the flower field," the blonde Lolita girl said to Chang Rong in a sleepy tone, rubbing her eyes.

"Well, I don't have anything to do tonight anyway, let's go." Chang Rong replied with a smile, repeatedly reminding her not to dig in the mud in the yard in the future, and then led her adopted daughter to the flower field.

"Alice is really amazing. She created a permanent field spell with just a casual move."

Upon arriving at the flower field, Chang Rong combed Alice's hair as she sat expertly in her lap, pointing to the rainbow in the sky above the flower field and remarking with admiration.

“That’s right, Alice’s magic is amazing.” Alice Misawa didn’t mince words, nodding to show that her daughter’s magic was indeed that powerful.

"If she could, Alice would like to stay here with her mom and dad forever."

The girl in his arms spoke softly to Chang Rong.

"Staying here indefinitely... To be honest, it doesn't seem like it's a bad idea for me."

Chang Rong frowned in thought for a moment, then smiled and responded.

He didn't believe that Ebe no Makoto's conclusion was true. He thought that the so-called 'witch factor' must have a way to overcome it, and that there would be no more victims in the future. If that was the case, it wouldn't be bad for him to stay on this island and live with Koyuki, Alice, and Meruru forever.

Chang Rong is the kind of person who is easygoing and content with whatever comes her way. If possible, she would be happy to live a peaceful and stable life, even on this secluded island far from the hustle and bustle of the world.

"Rong, Alice."

Xiaoxue's voice came from behind. A girl with a large lace-trimmed hat and long, snow-white hair noticed the two of them and walked over gracefully.

"Ah, it's cheap, low-quality fish mother—ugh!"