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

Xiaoxue responded with a smile, looking forward to seeing what kind of cute and interesting expression the boy in front of her would show when he knew about their past relationship as 'husband and wife'.

After cuddling for a while, the two white-haired creatures got up and greeted another morning on Prison Island. After the routine of getting ready and washing up, everyone prepared to gather and head to the restaurant as usual.

"Hoo hoo hoo... Sorry, I need to catch up on my sleep today, and I'm going to get the photos developed later... You guys go ahead and eat."

Futter, yawning and huddled under the covers, her hair a mess, seemed to say that she had perished in her battle with the monster in her blankets and needed to be remembered forever.

"Time to get up and have breakfast, Alice... Um, Miss Gao Yuan, are you alright?"

When Chang Rong greeted Alice in the morning, she noticed that Alice's roommate, the blonde twin-tailed young lady Gao Yuanlihua, seemed to be acting strangely.

Normally, this young lady would force herself to get up at this time, gritting her teeth and tidying her appearance while fighting off sleepiness. But today, she sat on the edge of the bed, biting her fingernails in an extremely inelegant and unrefined manner, as if she were anxious about something.

"Why can't I ever finish cutting them... Damn it, these nails just keep growing! This bed makes me feel nauseous just lying on it, damn it, damn it... Ugh!? I, I'm fine—!"

The young lady frowned, her face ashen, and muttered something to herself. When Chang Rong asked her with concern, she belatedly realized what was going on and gave a random, offhand reply.

"Young Miss? Do you have a fever? Or are you feeling unwell—"

"I already told you I'm fine...!! Stop pretending to be nice and disgusting. You're just after my status and position anyway!"

"……Well!"

Suddenly, Gao Yuanlihua yelled at Chang Rong. Her sudden outburst even startled Alice, who immediately left the cell and huddled beside Chang Rong. Only then did the young lady belatedly realize what was happening. She tugged at her hair and shook her head violently from side to side.

"I...I'm fine, I just had a nightmare...Don't worry about me."

"Do you need me to bring you breakfast? Do you want to go to Meruru to get some calming medicine?" Chang Rong was startled by the girl's actions, but she still asked her softly.

"...No, really no need. I'll just sleep a little longer."

The young lady waved her hand as if she were exhausted, then lay back down on the bed, unilaterally ending the conversation.

—Gaoyuan, are you homesick, or has something happened to you?

Good morning... Xiaoxue, Changrong.

"Good morning, Kurobe-kun... Didn't you get enough rest either?"

Chang Rong's thoughts were interrupted by Kurobe Nanoha's greeting. He looked in the direction of the voice and found that the black-haired girl with twin tails and a cycling hat, who was usually able to cheer up and face prison life, looked somewhat haggard today.

The gaze that usually lingered on his furry body with the same look one would give a predator was replaced by a somewhat vacant look and dark circles under his eyes.

"I'm fine. I guess I was just sleeping in the wrong position last night. Anyway, I'm looking forward to having your breakfast today, Chang Rong."

Kurobe Nanoka forced a smile and spoke in a tone similar to her usual one, which temporarily put Chang Rong's doubts aside, and she led everyone to the kitchen.

"So—today's breakfast is pancakes and fried bacon. Pancakes are actually quite simple to make for breakfast; all you need is a water bottle as a container for flour, eggs, sugar, and a measuring cup. But this simple method yields a delicious flavor, making it a recipe suitable for all ages and a must-have for every household, understand?"

"I understand, I clearly understand...! I will study hard, Master Changrong...!!"

"Hehe, pancakes are easy to make—" "Xiaoxue, what you're holding isn't flour, it's baking soda."

Inside the kitchen, Chang Rong, the 'personal chef,' was preparing breakfast for the aspiring witches while also carrying two burdens, a small fish and a large fish.

On the ice, Meruru clenched her fists with a serious and determined look, wanting to learn cooking skills, while Xiaoxue pretended to be nonchalant, but was actually nervously and carefully observing Chang Rong's movements, and then added various ingredients used for alchemy to the bowl.

"Meruru, do you also want to learn how to become a qualified woman?"

After accidentally spilling eggs on her hand for the third time, Xiaoxue, who was invited to the audience by Chang Rong, asked Mei Lulu in a somewhat dissatisfied tone.

"Well... because... because... I've been waiting for my most beloved family member. If possible, I hope to make all sorts of delicious food for her in the future!" Although Meru's tone was as soft and hesitant as ever, it was mixed with a sense of hope and determination.

"...Yes, there will definitely be opportunities in the future. Keep it up."

Xiaoxue smiled at Meilulu, which made the latter show an even more energetic and happy expression.

After banning Xiaoxue, this unstable and creative AI, the breakfast proceeded smoothly.

"Rong, could you come to the recreation room later? I have something I want to talk to you about."

After breakfast, Xiaoxue stood on tiptoe to stack the plates and put them away in preparation for cleaning, while looking at Chang Rong and saying something.

"Okay—uh wait a minute, Xiaoxue, do you remember what we ate the first time we went to the aquarium?"

Chang Rong nodded in response to the invitation, then suddenly remembered something and quickly wiped the cold sweat from her forehead before pressing the silver-haired girl in front of her for answers.

"Hmm... it's called 'Krusty Krab' burger, right?" Xiaoxue tilted her head, not knowing why Chang Rong suddenly asked about it, but still carefully recalled and replied.

“It’s me, it’s me—okay, I’ll go to the recreation room in a bit.” Chang Rong nodded; at least the ‘Xiao Xue’ in front of him had passed the human-machine verification.

Chang Rong suspected that the castle was sometimes 'haunted', and the evidence was that she would occasionally receive invitations from people, usually asking her to go to a room where there would be almost no one at that time.

As a result, when I went there, the other party would always break their promise and not show up at all. Even if I went to check the accounts afterward, the other party would just frown and ask if I was delirious and hallucinating, because I never said anything like "meet at a certain time".

However, Chang Rong was certain that it was not a hallucination, because every time she would coincidentally meet Kurobe Nanoha, who was also invited, and then Kurobe Nanoha would use a way that didn't even qualify as a reason, like "Since you're already here," to pin her against a bookshelf/curtain/wall/fence/hospital bed/sofa/monitor, and so on.

After several encounters, Chang Rong, who was constantly startled, was almost certain that the castle was haunted. Something would disguise itself as someone else to deceive her and would enjoy seeing her embarrassed and ashamed appearance.

Thankfully, this time it wasn't possession by a ghost. When Chang Rong arrived at the screening room, he pushed open the door and indeed saw Xiao Xue, as well as Rong Fu Te, the newsboy-hat-wearing photographer who had been dragged over to act as the projectionist again.

"All set, now all I have to do is press the play button—so, I'll have to take a taxi back by myself again to give you two some intimate time, right?"

After fussing around for a while, Futter wiped his sweat and, while patting the old-fashioned projector, said to Xiaoxue.

"No, you can stay and watch if you want, but it's just a 'documentary'." "Huh??"

Unlike usual, Xiaoxue didn't threaten to spit on Fut to drive her away this time. Instead, she said it was fine for her to stay.

Ignoring Fute, who was wondering if she had entered the wrong timeline, Xiaoxue walked up to Chang Rong, stood on tiptoe, and gently stroked the white-haired boy's cheek.

"You... don't need to answer, Rong. I won't let you judge anything anymore... I just feel I need to tell you all this. Because no matter what, I—"

I will always love you.

Xiaoxue didn't finish her sentence. She smiled at Chang Rong and pressed the play button, once again playing the videotape titled "The Witch Island Chronicles."

"Witch Island? Does it refer to this prison island? Why is it called that? Waaaaah, don't kick me!" "Keep quiet if you want to see."

"I asked with some curiosity," Futter said, but was immediately punished by Yuki, who strictly adhered to the rules of the screening room.

“The witch…” Chang Rong sat to the side. He wasn’t sure what connection this documentary had with Xiao Xue, but he knew for sure that it held extraordinary significance for her, and he had to watch it carefully.

"Ring ring~~!"

"Hmph, this time it's your fault for not muting your phone properly, Xiaoxue—Guwa!? Why, why am I the one who got kicked again...!?"

The piercing ringing came from Xiaoxue's pocket, and Fut immediately showed a gloating expression and laughed, only to be knocked down again by the double-standard witch's flying kick.

"Because I am the great witch, Alice?"

Xiaoxue unlocked her phone and paused, startled by the message on the screen. The message said Alice was in the study and wanted her to come over.

"Hehe, so you finally know to rely on your dignified and reliable mother, huh? You human brat, you're not entirely hopeless... Um, you guys keep an eye on things for now, I'll be right back, Rong."

Xiaoxue quickly adopted a childish expression, imagining a future timeline, then shook her head and left the screening room, telling Chang Rong to continue watching.

—Phew… I feel a little relieved by this. I guess I'm still that indecisive person after all.

After leaving the screening room, Xiaoxue sighed and gave a self-deprecating, helpless smile.

Although I was prepared to tell Wuxia everything, for some reason... when the time actually came, I felt a little like retreating and running away. This kind of "hands-off" behavior of letting Chang Rong watch it herself made me feel much more relaxed.

I... don't want to destroy humanity as much anymore. But even so, the mere existence of [Snow] remains the greatest threat to others. If I truly want to end all of this, I must disappear.

However, I don't intend to disappear... I want to live with Rong. I know this is purely a willful request, but even so, I still want to live with Rong.

Oh, right. Bringing Meruru along wouldn't be a bad idea; she seems to like Rong quite a bit too. No wonder she's the child I raised; she has good taste! Heh heh, being able to appreciate Rong's goodness, she must be a good child!

In that case, I could reluctantly adopt that Alice brat. And if, just if, Rong and I have a child, then I can let that brat experience the punishment of being tormented by other brats, hmph...

Click—

While fantasizing about the decadent yet blissful and lazy life of the future, Xiaoxue pushed open the library door.

"...?"

Then, Xiaoxue stood frozen in front of the library door.

What I was seeing was quite inexplicable. Suddenly, a cherry tree in full bloom, reaching all the way to the ceiling, appeared in the center of the previously empty library room.

Pale pink cherry blossom petals drifted down to the ground like snowflakes, with a few occasionally floating before settling onto strands of golden hair.

Before the suddenly appearing cherry tree, Misawa Alice, a Lolita maid-dress girl who always looked sleepy and somewhat malnourished, sat quietly under the cherry tree. Her empty eyes were open, and she let the bright red liquid slowly flow from her body, washing away and supporting the scattered cherry blossoms, like a barge sailing on a sea of ​​blood in hell.

Alice?

Xiaoxue's pale white eyes trembled as she tried to focus on the girl under the cherry tree, but before she could confirm, a figure suddenly darted out from a blind spot behind her.

boom! !

Before the forgetful witch could even use any magic, her consciousness was brutally stripped away.

Snow's magic is [Forgetting], which allows people within a certain range to actively or passively forget any specified matter.

On the first day of arriving at Prison Island, Xiaoxue cast a passive spell on Chang Rong with extremely detailed conditions: "Anyone on Prison Island who harbors hostility towards Chang Rong will immediately forget their murderous intent."

However, the more sophisticated the operation, the more difficult it becomes to maintain. Therefore, after casting such a detailed spell on Chang Rong, Xiao Xue only cast the spell on herself to forget all her past existence records. This spell could only be used to conceal her identity and could not be used to prevent others from harboring ill intentions.

Witches are not human, but sometimes the 'malice' that humans possess is indeed beyond the understanding of witches.

------

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Xiaoxue...Xiaoxue, are you alright...?!"

Meruru's voice reached her ears, barely managing to rouse her somewhat broken thoughts.

"Ugh... I, what is this—ugh!?"

Xiaoxue groggily woke up from her coma, and the first thing she saw was the blood-stained kitchen knife in her hand.

"Kill, kill—this guy is a shamrock...a witch!!!" The young lady who arrived shouted in a panicked voice as if she was about to vomit.

"Xiaoxue... what, what's going on...? Was that Alice...? Xiaoxue, you... killed Alice?"

Nanoha Kurobe also rushed over after the commotion. Her face was ashen and her voice trembled as she looked at the almost incomprehensible scene before her.

"It's that witch again... Waaaaah, I've had enough...!" The girl, Lu Ren, screamed, clutching her head.

"Sigh... As expected, it happened. A murder. I knew it would turn out like this sooner or later. But on the bright side, at least that witch hasn't completely turned into a madwoman who kills anyone she sees, otherwise we would all be dead here." The girl in the white coat pushed up her glasses, shrugged, and spoke calmly in a tone that was nothing new.

"I...it's not me, Alice...Rong, Rong—"

Surrounded by a crowd, holding a murder weapon, with the prepared witch Alice's corpse nestled beside her, Xiaoxue felt as if everything happening before her eyes was gradually fading away. An indescribable, unreal, and ethereal feeling was eroding her body and consciousness.

Should I use magic... to erase everything before me, to reduce it all to nothing? Should I, should I erase all of this experience with my own hands?