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

...Whenever I see Chang Rong's expression, as if she's about to cry but is trying so hard to hold it in, I feel a throbbing pain in my heart.

Is this the 'pain' I had once completely abandoned? Is this the emotion called heartache? If so… I know, I really don't like this at all…

I clearly had the courage and motivation to keep going, but it felt like a joke had been played on me and the pause button was pressed... I really, really, really hate this...

"【Coo coo coo, there are still some spare medical supplies in the warehouse that weren't affected. However, only Lady Meruru knows their specific uses; this warden doesn't know much about them either.】"

In the deathly silent infirmary, the warden flew out again, but without his usual ease and confidence. Instead, he looked helpless and weary from working overtime and getting into trouble.

"I can vaguely recall some of the teachings of the Ice Meruru Cult, but... but it's completely meaningless..."

There's no way to treat Nanoha Kaori's arm on Witch Island. Even if I were given the right equipment, I would never be able to stitch Nanoha Kaori's right hand back together.

No…maybe it would work if, like what happened with Sherry, we forcibly turned Nanoha Kurobe into a witch and used her regenerative abilities to fuse her arm back together? But I don’t even know what Nanoha’s ‘forbidden’ is…

Even if Noah becomes a witch, he and Rhea can never come back... They're really, really gone...

Chang Rong covered her hair, gritted her teeth, frowned, and tried desperately to think. But no matter which direction she tried to 'think', her thoughts inevitably returned to the scene she saw in the warehouse, the image of Noah and Leia completely disappearing before her eyes.

"【So, according to the rules and regulations handbook, a witch trial will be held when a murder occurs. The witch trial will begin shortly, and we hope everyone will attend on time...】"

"Stop joking!" Arisa Fujito interrupted the warden loudly, shaking off Sherry Tachibana's hand and indicating that she would be much more rational this time and would not do anything that would incur the guards' punishment.

"There's absolutely no need for this witch trial now! Isn't this just your guards slaughtering us prospective witches?! Or are you planning to send the rest of us to the execution platform too?! Answer me, answer me, you damned stinking bird...!!!"

"【Coo coo coo, hmm... that does seem a bit strange.】"

Faced with Arisa's questioning, the warden tilted his head, showing no intention of getting angry, and nodded in agreement with Arisa's words.

"【That guard has been intermittently losing control lately, and today he seemed to have accidentally triggered an alarm—ah, the so-called alarm is an alarm device installed on the control unit. If someone attacks the control unit, it will sound a warning and send other guards over. I added this item because the chef guard was inexplicably killed before. I just didn't expect it to turn into this bizarre situation, cluck cluck cluck...】"

The warden flapped his wings in a helpless response.

"So...so you still want to kill us, don't you...!" Although Tono Hannah's face was still pale and ashen, she mustered her courage, stood up, and walked to Arisa's side to confront the warden together.

"【Oh dear, please don't say such hurtful and rude things. Although your lives and deaths are indeed none of my concern, and I don't care about your vital signs... from a personal point of view, I would still prefer that you all live peaceful and tranquil lives. After all, tranquility is the best; tranquility means no overtime or cleanup, right? Besides, you are one of the few truly 'interesting' prospective witches. It's just a pity that even you seem unable to find the Great Witch...】"

“The Great Witch…it’s that Great Witch again—you should know something about the Great Witch, right…!” Nikaido Hiro asked the warden through gritted teeth, trying to get some information out of him.

"【The Great Witch? Hmm... Like I said before, I just have a bird's head and can't remember things from so long ago. But after a hundred years of work, I'm really getting tired of being called either the Great Witch or a witch. Although I've gained some access to observe external works by interacting with humans and taking on part of the role of a human monitor in addition to being Meruru-sama's familiar, most of the videos humans film are weird and boring, and occasionally I even accidentally eat shit... *cluck cluck cluck*"

Black lines appeared on the warden's bird head. It seemed to have said something very informative, or it seemed to simply be complaining to everyone that it had been having some bad luck lately, and that all the works it was reading while slacking off were large ones.

"If I could, I would truly wish you could end all of this, but unfortunately, it seems you ultimately cannot do it."

"What are you talking about... If you're really tired of this, why don't you just release us all...!?"

Although Arisa Fujito still forced herself to put on a fierce appearance, her will was gradually reaching the limit and on the verge of collapse.

"【That was a human decision, and I couldn't interfere, hehe... If you all can find the Great Witch to end all this, I'd be happy to contact the human side. Anyway—I'm very sorry about this incident. Perhaps we really should install cameras on the guards next time, otherwise we won't know how to handle situations like this. But installing cameras means increased workload, it's a real dilemma...】"

"【By the way, since this murder was a 'guard's rampage,' there's really no need for a witch trial or any further investigation, right? I need to go clean up the scene. Sigh, I guess I'll be working a lot of overtime this time..."

"..."

Chang Rong looked at the warden who was about to leave, seemingly wanting to say something, but his pale lips parted slightly without uttering a word.

“Wait, ‘pack up’...?” Fortunately, Hiro frowned and asked a question, which made the warden slow down his flight.

"【After all, the victim hasn't turned into witch remains yet, and they'll rot if left unattended. Besides, you'd all be saddened to see those corpses, so I'll have to take care of the aftermath. Hmm... I don't have much to compensate you for this accident, so I'll permanently grant you access to the warehouse. However, I don't have Lady Meruru's convenient magic. Now that Lady Meruru is dead, I'm afraid I can't piece the body back together like before. What a hassle, cluck cluck..."】

The warden sighed and prepared to fly away. When he first came to work, no one told him that he had to learn how to assemble Gundam.

However, just as this massacre was about to end with the warden leaving, and the case being closed with the reason that 'the guards went mad and slaughtered the prospective witches'—a reason that wouldn't even require a witch trial—Sakura Emma, ​​who had been silent until now, suddenly raised her slender arm, trembling:

"Well, um... if possible, I'd still like to investigate further, and—"

Emma Sakura's face looked like she was about to cry, and her raised arm was trembling with fear.

She knew very well that what she was about to say might even lead to her being hated and isolated by others.

Even Emma Sakura herself wanted to convince herself that accepting this ending was fine. There was no witch, only a hateful guard. Noah and Rhea's deaths were an accident.

but……

But didn't Chang Rongjun tell herself? No matter what happens, no matter what she encounters, she... she will definitely make the right choice.

Since that's the case, I must... I absolutely must walk the path to the truth, even if... even if it means being hated and despised by everyone...!

Emma Sakura's hands trembled, her legs swayed and she could hardly stand, and her face was filled with a look of fear and exhaustion.

Even so, Emma Sakura mustered her courage and chose to continue despite her petite frame—

"—Furthermore, I wish to request that the [Witch Trial] continue...!!"

Emma made her request, her voice trembling but firm.

Volume 1: 136. There's no need for regrets, because we're already comrades.

"What are you doing, Emma Sakura...!?"

As expected, after Emma Sakura made her request, Hiro, who was standing next to her, immediately showed a surprised expression. She looked angrily at the pink and white-haired girl and loudly questioned Emma whether she was having an episode.

"Sakura, what are you saying...!? Isn't this the work of those wreckage?! They didn't even consider us human beings, they just killed us whenever they wanted, it's that simple... What's there to judge!" Arisa Fujito also questioned Emma with great agitation, wondering who she wanted to judge.

"It's...it doesn't need to continue anymore, Emma...Although I also want to see Noah Leah one more time, even so, restarting the Witch Trial and all that...that kind of thing, I don't want that kind of thing..."

Hannah Tono covered her mouth, desperately trying to suppress the urge to vomit. Just imagining herself standing on the podium in the courtroom again, the dizziness and fear almost completely overwhelmed her.

"Hmm... why do you suddenly want to do this, Emma? You must have a reason."

Sherry Tachibana's reaction was rather calm, but she also rested one hand on her chin and made a thoughtful expression, trying to analyze why Emma Sakuraba would suddenly take the initiative to initiate the Witch Trial at this time.

"Because, because—"

Even though she had prepared herself mentally, when faced with such questioning looks from everyone, Emma Sakura still felt dizzy and even found it difficult to breathe.

While Emma was unsure how to respond, Chang Rong stood up.

“Emma is right…we need to…initiate the witch trial.”

"Chang Rong-jun...!?"

Emma Sakura was startled; she never expected Chang Rong to stand on her side at this moment.

No… Actually, I had thought about it. If it were Chang Rongjun, the Chang Rongjun who had said those things to me before… he would definitely agree with me, understand me, and support me…!

When she saw Chang Rong agree with her, Sakura Emma almost burst into tears.

“If it's just the prison's responsibility, then there's no need to try anyone. We just need to go through the motions and get a conclusion of 'manslaughter by guards.' But... if... this is a murder orchestrated by a 'witch'... even if there's only a 1% chance, we have to consider that. Because a witch is, um...!”

"Watson!"

Before Chang Rong could finish speaking, he suddenly felt dizzy. Tachibana Sherry quickly rushed over to help him sit down on the sofa to rest. Although Chang Rong tried to struggle to get up and continue taking care of Nanoha and Arisa, Tachibana Sherry forcibly forced him to sit down.

Since returning to the castle, Chang Rong has been almost constantly busy. Whether it was discovering Noah Leya's body, moving the wounded Naiye Xiang, providing first aid and hemostasis, or the subsequent observation and care, Chang Rong handled almost everything by herself.

Although Shiro prides herself on being a well-rounded warrior, her knowledge of first aid is limited to "having heard how to properly perform CPR" and "how to properly use an AED," which is still incomparable to Chang Rong, who received further training from Meruru.

Therefore, with both physical and mental exhaustion, simply standing was an immense struggle for him. In fact, few people even knew what had kept him going until now.

"I...I'll continue to explain on behalf of Chang Rongjun...!"

Looking at the white-haired boy beside her, Emma Sakura bit her lip and forced a serious and determined expression.

"If the deaths of Leia-chan and Noah-chan... were caused by witches... then it means that there is an unstable factor among us who is about to become a witch. Even if Chang Rong-jun can suppress the witch factor to some extent, there will inevitably be unforeseen circumstances that lead to further sacrifices... For everyone's safety, we must confirm whether witches really exist. And without witch-killing potions, if witches do exist, then the only way we can fight against them... is through witch trials."

Emma Sakura looked at everyone and said in a deliberately firm tone.

If Leia and Noah really died in an accident, then there is no need to continue exploring. This is a complete dereliction of duty on the part of the prison authorities, and as prisoners, they have no room for rebuttal or protest.

But if Rhea and Noah were killed by the witch... if the 'witch' isn't found, then the 'witch,' already influenced by witchhood and killing, will inevitably commit another act of slaughter sooner or later. And if the immortal witch wants to eliminate the threat, the only way left is the witch trial on Witch Island.

"How could it be... how could there be witches... Emma, ​​your worries are unnecessary..." Tono Hannah retorted weakly, she didn't even have the energy to deliberately add any more verbal tics.

"Should the trial continue...? Even if what you're saying is 'correct,' this kind of thing... is despicable...!"

Nikaido Hiro clenched her fists in pain. She had rationally agreed with Emma and Chang Rong's ideas, but even so, she was still unwilling to conduct any more witch trials.

If the 'witch' is really brought to justice... will that idiot rabbit really be able to hold on...? What's the difference between doing this and slowly strangling him with a rope to murder him?

But... if Noah and Rhea were really murdered... that kind of thing, that kind of thing...!

The right and wrong things were all mixed up, making it impossible for Nikaido Hiro to make the right choices as rationally, efficiently, and stylishly as he usually does.

"So... do Watson and Emma think the same way?" Tachibana Sherry looked at the white-haired boy in front of her and asked softly in a gentle tone.

“Let’s…investigate, in preparation for the upcoming trial.”

Chang Rong used every ounce of strength she could muster to make her choice—to carry out the witch's trial.

“Chang Rong Jun—!” Emma looked at Chang Rong, feeling incredibly grateful for his decision to trust her.

"[Gurgle... So you're still going to investigate and hold a witch trial? You guys really know how to cause me trouble. But I've already had enough trouble today... So, the usual, let's meet in the courtroom in an hour and a half.]"

The warden grumbled helplessly; it looked like tonight would be another sleepless night of overtime.

After the warden flew away, Chang Rong looked at everyone in the room and showed a somewhat disappointed expression.

"I'm sorry everyone, but I think this is the best way to mourn Noah and Rhea-sama... There's no point in running away; all we can do now is..."

"...You all go ahead, I'll stay here to take care of Kurobe and Saeki."

Arisa interrupted Chang Rong, suddenly announcing that she would not participate in the investigation but would stay to take care of the two people in the infirmary.

“Arisa…” Chang Rong looked at this girl who was prickly yet incredibly gentle, wanting to comfort her but not knowing how to begin.

"I...I don't want to see Balloon Teacher like that, and I don't want to see Hasumi—I, I haven't even had a chance to call out Rhea's name yet, I've always called her by her surname...I've never really been able to help Balloon Teacher, I, I...Waaaaa...Damn it, what is this, waa ...

Arisa, who had been forcibly suppressing and enduring her emotions, finally broke down in tears. She tried to deceive herself, as if as long as she couldn't see Noah and Rhea's bodies, they could continue to exist in the castle.

But such a naive fantasy could not last. Arisa Fujito realized that two girls, her favorite teacher and her somewhat troublesome idol... they really left her.

"Waaaaah... Ugh...!"

Arisa, who was sobbing, was suddenly embraced. The white-haired boy walked unsteadily to Arisa's side and gently pulled the white-haired girl into his arms. He carefully stroked the spikes on her body and carefully gave her the warmth that even flames could not provide.

"Noah actually likes Arisa a lot too. She even drew a picture for you hoping you'd wake up soon. She also came to the infirmary to visit you, although she accidentally fell asleep in the end, hehe..."

"Leah has always wanted you, Arisa, to join the stage play, but the roles she assigns you are always a bit too strange, so I always end up vetoing them. Isn't she just an idol you can't do anything about...?"

Chang Rong gently held Arisa and whispered to her, as if they were having a casual chat. However, as he spoke these words to Arisa, he couldn't help but let tears well up in his eyes.

"I...I...I'm sorry..."

Arisa said nothing more. She held Chang Rong tightly, pouring out all the pain she had been holding in.