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

Xiaoxue is an eccentric, indecisive person who likes to fight between her left and right brain, a fact Chang Rong knows better than anyone. Hoping that she'll suddenly have a breakthrough and become decisive and efficient, taking the initiative to handle everything, is more likely than hoping the earth will stop spinning and she'll explode on the spot.

So, so... if I had known more about Xiaoxue back then, if I had made a little more effort and taken a small step forward... wouldn't I have been able to touch her true heart a little?

When she ran to me, panting, in her final moments... she must have wanted to say something. She must have been prepared for something at that time, but in that very instant, her 'original sin' found her and judged her in an almost coincidental yet inevitable way.

She paid the price for her arrogance, her confusion, and her hesitation. The death of the person she cherished not only failed to shield her from this price, but instead became an even heavier original sin for Xiaoxue.

However... although I don't know the exact reason, I'm still alive, I'm still here...! That means there's still a chance, isn't there! There's still a chance to meet Xiaoxue again, a chance to confront her about the feelings she truly hides in her heart, a chance... for her to do something for everyone who passed away.

You're the Great Witch, aren't you? You're the all-powerful Great Witch, Yuki. The fact that Meluru on Ice is chasing after you almost like a madwoman means you must possess the power to change all tragedies... right?

"Idiot rabbit!!" "Chang Rong-jun...!"

Emma Hiro's voice came from behind.

"Oh dear, thank goodness. I thought you, Watson, had suddenly decided to have a tug-of-war with the roof beam... If that were the case, I would have had no choice but to jump along with you, wouldn't I?"

When Shirley Tachibana found that Chang Rong was alright, she breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a thumbs up after watching the videotape.

"Xiaoxue... I remember now, she's my childhood sweetheart, and also the great witch—"

"That would be too terrible."

Chang Rong was interrupted by Xi Luo, whose face turned ashen. She seemed to have remembered something after seeing the photo.

"Oh no?" Chang Rong blinked.

"If, if the 'Xiaoxue' in the photo you mentioned is the Great Witch... then she—she's already dead!"

"—?"

Chang Rong was stunned by what Hiro said, and for a moment she couldn't even understand the meaning of his words.

"Xiaoxue is dead...and she was killed by Sakura Emma, ​​who drove her to suicide...!!"

"...Hiro-chan?"

Faced with Hero's almost roaring words, Emma's eyes widened instantly.

Volume 1: 142. The Wrong Person... Was It Me?

"You have the qualities I've been searching for, so let's be friends."

That was the first thing she said after she saw me.

The girl's name is 'Tsukishiro Yuki'—to be honest, the name is not important at all. She probably just used magic to randomly put someone else's identity on herself.

Although Yuki Tsukishiro appears to be the kind of girl who is not good at socializing and is somewhat dull, the moment she saw him, she took the initiative to approach him and said some ambiguous opening remarks about making friends.

Thinking to myself, "What an interesting person," I accepted Yuki's invitation in a very elegant and proper manner, and began to take care of this transfer student as the student council president.

There were rumors that she was actually a ninth grader at another school, but for some reason she went back to the eighth grade to repeat the year. However, these rumors quickly dissipated like snowflakes, and I didn't pay too much attention to them.

Within two days of meeting Yuki Tsukishiro, I realized that she was a problem student in every sense of the word.

Her grades were terrible, even worse than Emma Sakura's, to the point that anyone who saw them would shake their head in despair. Furthermore, her interpersonal skills were practically nonexistent; although she rarely initiated conversations with anyone, except for myself.

She's frighteningly lacking in common sense. While everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon and talking about the latest popular TV dramas and cartoons, she just looks confused and completely doesn't understand our conversation. When asked about her hobbies, she'll use such a lame excuse as "somersaults," making everyone feel awkward.

If there's one 'advantage'... no, it can't really be called an advantage. For some reason, Yuki Tsukishiro's housekeeping and cooking skills hover around the passing mark in a rather subtle way. No matter how you look at her, she seems more like the kind of person who's completely useless at life.

In short, Yuki Tsukishiro is a complete idiot. She's a bit obsessive and sometimes a bit too dull, but she's also a problem girl who puts in a lot of effort when it comes to things she's interested in.

As the student council president, I wouldn't normally ignore a student with such a problem, especially since Yuki Tsukishiro has taken the initiative to stick close to me. Therefore, I will devote more energy to taking care of her. This process reminds me of Emma Sakuraba.

Emma and I have been playmates since elementary school. Although Emma is not as hopeless as Yuki Tsukishiro, she is still a silly, problem student who will get herself all ragged if not taken care of.

After starting junior high, Emma and I saw each other much less often because we were in different classes. Also, I've been spending a lot of time with Yuki Tsukishiro lately. I hope Emma won't get upset about it.

While I have had such concerns before, I usually just laugh them off.

Although they've grown a little distant, they still see each other regularly. Besides, Emma is just a small fry, so letting her roam freely occasionally isn't a big problem. But Yuki Tsukishiro is a big fry; if she's not taken care of properly, who knows if she'll get stranded and suffocate.

I have limited energy, so Emma should understand why we haven't been seeing each other as often lately.

As a result, I soon saw the scene of Yuki Tsukishiro snuggling up to Emma, ​​her classmate, going to and from school together and sticking close to her.

"Xue is amazing, Hiro-chan! I feel so happy and fun whenever I'm with Xue...!"

Emma Sakuraba approached him with such an innocent expression, showing off her new friend, Yuki Tsukishiro. As for the old Hiro? He's been put on the shelf.

"Emma is such a terrifying child... If it weren't for Rong, I might have fallen into Emma's clutches very soon..."

Yuki Tsukishiro appeared before her with a solemn and sentimental expression, showing off her new friend, Emma Sakuraba, beside her.

What are you guys doing... stirring things up?!

Seeing the two of them running up to me, exchanging intimate and happy smiles like best friends who felt like they'd known each other forever, I admit my brain did freeze for a few seconds... minutes.

In short, Emma, ​​Xiaoxue, and I later became a small group on campus, often chatting and playing together during breaks, lunch breaks, or after school. Although it was generally quite fun, every time I had to tutor these two, I had an urge to hang myself on the spot.

In addition, Xiaoxue would sometimes suddenly space out, staring at a corner or distant trees and buildings without moving, as if she were lost in some kind of fantasy.

She would often accidentally utter the name 'Rong', and then happily declare that 'Rong' was a treasure that belonged only to her. But she would quickly put on a lonely and sad expression and say that she had lost this treasure with her own hands.

But I couldn't find any information about this person at school. Even when I pressed Xiaoxue for details, she would just suddenly start doing somersaults and refuse to continue the conversation. This made me pretty sure that this guy named 'Rong' was a pathetic, imaginary friend that Xiaoxue created to escape reality. And this made my desire to take care of Xiaoxue even stronger.

Sometimes she would show an expression of enjoyment, but other times she would suddenly turn her head as if she had come to her senses, muttering something like, "You are a witch with great potential, you are destined to become Rong's wife, how can you be so depraved...!", and then turn her head back to continue indulging in the gentle embrace of love.

In every sense of the word, he's really a nobody...

Campus life was peaceful and happy, but then I had to go abroad as an exchange student for six months. Considering that Emma's "misfit index" was much lower than Xiaoxue's, I entrusted Xiaoxue to Emma before I left. Emma looked very serious and said that she would definitely do her best to take good care of Xiaoxue.

However... when I returned to campus, I didn't receive Yuki Tsukishiro's usual somewhat silly smile, but instead... news of her death.

After I left, she was severely bullied, and eventually, unable to bear the humiliation, she ended her life by hanging herself.

My friend, my cherished companion, my irreplaceable friend—and so easily lost his life to a rope.

This is incorrect, without a doubt—absolutely incorrect, not a single bit correct…!!

I will never compromise on the act of suicide that took Xiaoxue's life. It is the most wrong thing to do in the world, so I will never condone it!

As for Emma Sakura, she disappointed me, betrayed her promise, turned a blind eye to Xiaoxue's plight, and accomplished nothing.

She really is evil—

"No, that's not right, Hiro-chan...!!"

Nikaido Shiro's statement was suddenly interrupted by Sakura Emma, ​​who mustered up her courage. In an instant, Shiro also returned from his memories of the past with 'Tsukishiro Yuki' to reality, to the library on Witch Island.

"What are you trying to say, Emma? Are you trying to explain that you didn't turn a blind eye to the bullying Yuki was experiencing? No... if Yuki is indeed the Great Witch, then the bullying she suffered might very well have other motives..."

"What are you saying, Hiro-chan? Yuki has never been bullied...?"

"...?"

Seeing the genuine confusion on the face of the pink-haired girl in front of him, Nikaido Hiro hesitated. The pink-haired little idiot he remembered, while possessing some cleverness, was never quite this blatantly lying.

"Xiaoxue...she passed away because of an illness, didn't she? You even flew back to the hospital specifically for that, but after talking to Xiaoxue, you froze when you saw the envelope she left for you. After that, you...you suddenly stopped talking to me and deliberately distanced yourself from me...because you're the student council president, the other students are afraid of getting into trouble and stopped chatting with me and being friends...That's how it should be!"

Emma Sakura clenched her hands, mustered her courage, and finally 'complained' to the long-haired girl in front of her.

No one has ever been bullied. If anyone has ever been bullied, it would be Emma Sakura herself, who was subjected to passive-aggressive isolation and bullying by the student council president, Hiro Nikaido.

"What...!? I... this can't be—no, that's not right, I clearly remember... it was Emma who turned a blind eye to what happened to Xue—wailing...!?"

Faced with Emma Sakura's loud rebuttal, Hiro showed an extremely shocked expression, stumbling as he tried to refute, but was unable to articulate his proud 'correct' theory.

While Hiro was reeling from another 'fact' from Emma, ​​she suddenly remembered a scene.

It was dusk, near the end of the school term. The three of them sat on the balcony, watching the red sunset in the distance and chatting about trivial things.

When the conversation turned to "what you hope to do in the future," Heero answered "politician/statesman" almost without hesitation. For her, this was an inevitable experience in guiding the world towards a righteous and just future.

Emma's answer, "Having 100 friends and being very popular," was a meaningless and childish response that served no purpose other than making it easier for Pinduoduo to cut her losses.

Hero had expected Yukishiro to respond with something no better than Emma's, like "Great Witch/Magician," but her answer, "A virtuous and qualified wife," was even more bizarre in a way, leaving Hero stunned for quite a while.

What is this guy, who has absolutely no connection to the Yamato Nadeshiko, talking about? If we're talking about the Yamato Nadeshiko, then among the trio, only I fit the description, right?

As they chatted, Emma dozed off at some point. She lay on Yuki's lap and snored softly, while Yuki gently stroked Emma's pink and white fur with a look of affection.

"Hehe, unlike Meruru and Alice, she's a new breed of daughter... no, more like a pet? Hehe..."

“Sleeping in a place like this is clearly ‘incorrect’.”

Yukishiro looked at Emma in her arms and said something that was hard to understand, while Heero sighed and shook his head.

"Hey, Hiro—"

Yuki Tsukishiro suddenly looked at the black-haired girl, whose snowflake-like face still held a smile.

"To me, Hiro, you're the 'wrong' one."

"Varied--!?"

Hiro was taken aback by Tsukishiro Yuki's sudden yawn and didn't even know how to respond for a moment. At the same time, he frantically woke up all his idle brain cells and held an emergency meeting to think about whether he had done anything stupid that would get him points deducted.

But Yuki Tsukishiro didn't pay attention to Hiro's flustered and gesticulating appearance, and continued to smile and murmur softly.

"Emma too, what a bad kid... Heh, meeting you guys has once again disrupted my initial plans... Honestly, maybe I really am the kind of idiot who always likes to waver and be indecisive."

"What are you talking about, Xiaoxue? What's right or wrong?" Hiro frowned and pressed for an answer.

"I... have an original sin. I once defiled the innocent with my own hands, and I also buried the innocent with my own hands... Although I want to make amends for all of this, I cannot. When I spread the witch factor before, I never thought about taking it back, so the magic I needed most was also lost, and I can only absorb that magic again through a certain ritual. But... well, my time is running out, and the loss of the witch factor will make me truly disappear this time."

Yuki Tsukishiro stretched out her palm, looked at the life line in her palm, and said softly.

"Is this the novel setting you came up with, Xiaoxue? It's a good strategy, but I want to make some modifications. There are too many proper nouns, and there are also some riddles. Readers might find it annoying at first." After thinking for a moment, Hiro offered a pertinent and practical suggestion.

"Hmm... Hiro, you'll probably have a hard time finding a boyfriend in the future, right?" Xiaoxue asked with a smile.

"Wh-what...!?" Hiro was completely baffled by this guy's antics. She was the student council president of the Yamato Nadeshiko school, how could she not have a boyfriend?!

After a brief joke with Hiro, Xiaoxue smiled and continued her story.

“You are my last original sin, and also the luckiest bond I have ever had… Hiro, you are the hero destined to correct all tragedies, and Emma… she is the angel destined to protect the ‘button’ with her kindness. That’s why I gave her the last button, because I believe… if it’s a good girl like Emma, ​​she will definitely be able to protect all of this.”

"What are you talking about, Xiaoxue?"

"Hmm... it's a compliment, Hiro. If it were you... I believe you could definitely do it. Although... the price is that I might have to hurt you again."

Yuki Tsukishiro stroked Emma in her arms and smiled at Hiro Nikaido. The smile looked beautiful, but it was also incredibly lonely and sad.

After that day, Yukishiro began frequently taking sick leave from bed.