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

"Hmm... That was a precious magic given to me by the Great Witch, uniquely mine... It can easily erase and kill those with witch genes. Yes, it's very powerful magic..."

"Erase the witch factor—"

I couldn't find the answer before, but because it seemed so insignificant, I hadn't thought about it deeply. I never expected to get a response from Meruru on Ice:

How does Xiaoxue plan to take revenge on humanity?

If the goal is simply to create witches, then in terms of sheer numbers, it's a case of a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

But... if the witch is merely a 'byproduct' of Yuki's plan to destroy humanity, and her true purpose is to spread the 'witch factor' as widely as possible, then the [Witch Slayer] is Yuki's nuclear button for revenge against humanity.

She spent hundreds of years, even sacrificing her life and magic, to pass on the witch factor to almost everyone, all so that one day she could use the [Witch Slayer] magic to instantly kill all those possessed by the witch factor.

Her plan to destroy the world... is almost certain to succeed. Human governments still have no means to stop the spread of the witch factor. When the witch assassin magic is activated, it can basically be said that it will also be the time when human civilization completely collapses.

However, this magic shouldn't be on Meruru. She hasn't shown a similar ability in either of her playthroughs, and she even just said something like, "I won't use the magic-killing potion unless absolutely necessary."

If Meruru possesses the [Witch Slayer] magic, she should use the Witch Slayer directly as a last resort, instead of relying on the Witch Slayer potion.

However, when you string together the words "Great Witch's Selection," "Eliminating Witch Factors," and "Special Magic"...

Nikaido Hiro thought of the pink-haired girl, Emma Sakuraba, who held onto magic until the very end and possessed even more skills than himself, comparable to Gin Senzo.

Could it be that Xiaoxue hid the Witch Killer spell within Emma...?

"Meruru, you said before that the Great Witch could save everyone? Why were you so sure about that Great Witch?"

Chang Rong pressed Ice Melulu with some eagerness, wanting to know the answer to this question. It seemed that this question had troubled him for far too long, so long that he had been searching for the answer in the past, present, and even in the future before the time travel.

"Because... the Great Witch can not only erase witch genes, but also reclaim everyone's witch genes. Although erasing witch genes leads to death, if it's 'reclaiming'... as long as they aren't completely dead and their remains can't be found, or witches killed by witch killer potions or witch killer magic, they can be resurrected by reclaiming their witch genes—"

"Hey, really?!"

"Waaaaah!? Please, please don't suddenly pounce on me, Miss Hiro! I, I might accidentally use my Witch Killer Magic on you...!"

Having heard the crucial clue, Nikaido Hiro immediately pounced on Meruru and pressed her for answers. The latter, however, was so frightened that she shrank back and uttered some harsh words that were completely different from her appearance.

—This naturally dark, twisted guy… Speaking of which, his so-called 'witch-slayer magic'—could it be that he's prying my mouth open and pouring witch-slayer potion into it?

Hiro frowned, pondering how Meruru intended to kill her, but she immediately dismissed these trivial details of her curiosity.

"Anyway, it's probably true... As long as the Great Witch returns, everything will be alright, and everyone will be saved—but, I don't really know what the Great Witch is thinking. If, if I could meet the Great Witch... I really want to know what the Great Witch is thinking..."

As Meruru on the ice talked, she started whimpering and shedding little pearls again because of her longing for the Great Witch.

"I... I really don't like what I've done... Rather than inflicting despair and pain on these girls in my search for the Great Witch, perhaps... perhaps letting everyone die easily and quickly, as in the beginning, would have been the true salvation...? But, but I really don't want everyone to die like this. If we can find the Great Witch... we can definitely save everyone. I must find the Great Witch, I must prepare the bodies for everyone's resurrection and return..."

The initial method used by human governments to contain prospective witches was: search and execution.

Simple and efficient, but meaningless; it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.

The appearance of Meruru on Ice adds a process of 'going to jail and participating in the witch's trial' between these two short steps.

She didn't want the prospective witches, born from the Great Witch, to be executed like scrap; she wanted to save them all. But she had neither the qualifications nor the ability to save anyone.

If it's the Great Witch... she'll definitely be able to save everyone, right? So, I absolutely must find the Great Witch.

Unable to contain the ever-emerging witches, the government attempted to find the Great Witch through the method of "Meru on Ice" to solve the problem at its source.

Thus, a strange 'alliance' was formed between the Iceborne Meruru faction and the human government on Witch Island. In retrospect, the Iceborne Meruru's actions did indeed extend the lives of the prospective witches.

In an attempt to save these people, she tortures and executes them. This contradictory behavior constantly tears at Meruru on Ice.

She was too foolish to think of a better way to save everyone; she was too foolish to think of a more efficient way to plunge the prospective witch into despair.

In the end, she no longer knew what she was doing. All she could do was silently pray for the deaths and curses of the aspiring witches, and welcome the arrival of the next batch of witches time and time again.

All she could do was carefully protect the corpses of the prospective witches as if atoning for her sins, and then pray that the Great Witch would respond to her, that her return would save all the tragedies and sacrifices so far, even though she herself was the mastermind behind these 'tragic sacrifices'.

"I...have done many cruel things, and I may continue to do them in the future, because, as long as I can find the Great Witch—Chang Rong-san?"

A strange sensation came from the headscarf. Meruru blinked blankly for a while before realizing that it was the white-haired boy rubbing her head through the headscarf.

“It certainly sounds like an unforgivable sin, Meruru,” Chang Rong said calmly.

"Waaaaah...! I'm so sorry...!" (兒疚旗翏%久?尹+叁〧8鹨)

"But... before you are put to trial, if that great witch can really change everything, then I think no one will accuse you anymore. So at least let's rest a bit before we find that great witch, Meruru. Neither false kindness nor fragile malice really suits you."

Chang Rong couldn't judge Meruru's behavior on the ice, but at least Meruru's pain and struggle were real.

She knew better than anyone that she was doing evil, and no matter how noble the reason, it was still evil.

Knowing that Meru on Ice wasn't a 'naive villain' made Chang Rong's deep-seated disgust for her fade a little.

As for the rest... it seems impossible to avoid the 'Great Witch' no matter what.

"Chang Rong-sang... I, I... Waaaaah!"

As Chang Rong petted her, Ice Meruru tried to hold back her tears, but she still couldn't help but transform into a jellyfish, wiping away the tears that kept falling from her eyes.

The terrifying old woman has taken over Emma Arisa's track the moment she appeared...!

Witnessing all this, Hiro was secretly amazed. Could this mean that even that scoundrel Meruru on Ice has bounced back and gotten back on the track?

"That great witch you mentioned... tsk, that nagging woman, it's her again."

Hiro Nikaido actually knew that the Great Witch, who was also Chang Rong's childhood friend Yuki, had returned to the Witch Island under the alias 'Sato Yuki'. However, that nagging girl not only failed to end everything, but continued to torment Chang Rong, causing a series of messy events, and even dragging Emma into it.

Even Meruru's left and right brain fighting each other is consistent with this; they truly are all part of the same family, big and small fry.

"That nagging, scheming woman, I'm going to give her a good beating next time we meet... and show her how Chang Rong got completely taken advantage of!"

"That's right! I...I'm going to kiss my onii-chan right in front of her!"

"Don't use me as a tool for revenge, hey..." Chang Rong complained softly as she watched Xi Luo and Coco get angry, but no one paid any attention.

"Then, then I want to join in too, and be with Chang Rong-sang..."

"You go sit at the same table as the Great Witch!!"

"Waaaaah...!!"

Meru on Ice carefully submitted her application to join the Rabbit team, and unsurprisingly, it was rejected by Hiro, who told her to go and be part of the 'Incompetent Watchers' group with Yuki.

"But... but I still haven't found any trace of the Great Witch... If this continues, I might really not be able to hold on any longer..."

The belief that has always sustained Meru on Ice is that "as long as I find the Great Witch, as long as the Great Witch launches an attack, everything will be alright." However, after so many years, there is still no news, which makes Meru on Ice increasingly hate and doubt herself.

"Regarding this—actually, I do have a few relevant clues. There seems to be a record of a ritual for summoning the Great Witch in an ancient book in the library. However, the task of deciphering it will be left to you, since it is written in witch script."

After going around in circles, the conversation returned to the main storyline, and Hiro took the opportunity to reveal information about the book on the ritual to summon the Great Witch to Meruru.

This shouldn't be a difficult task for Meruru, but—

"Witchcraft, witch-themed language... I can't understand it..."

On the ice, Meruru lowered her head, blushed, and responded softly.

"—Can you at least have some self-awareness about the behind-the-scenes dealings?! A lackey who has been by the Great Witch's side for so many years can't understand witch language! What have you been doing all these years, please tell me!" Nikaido Hiro instantly exploded. He had originally hoped that Meruru would master witch language in a day and summon the big minions, but now that plan had collapsed at lightning speed.

"Waaaaah... I'm really, really sorry...! Please, please torture me as punishment, Chang Rong-san—I, I'm very confident that no matter what, I won't be broken, I'll endure it with all my might—!"

"Ughhhhhhh!?"

Faced with Meruru's enthusiastic invitation, Chang Rong was so frightened that he let out a lowly battle cry.

"You wish! Onii-chan, ignore her. If you have needs in that area, I... I'll try my best! That's right, I have plenty of experience—plenty of experience!" With plenty of experience as an incompetent wife, Ze Du Coco stood between Chang Rong and Meruru, angrily interrupting Meruru's terrible speech.

"Hmph, a bunch of vulgar things." Hiro sneered as he half-crawled into the cabinet in the infirmary, trying to find the mysterious little blue pill that Meruru had hidden earlier.

You must have been given too little medicine before, which is why this idiot rabbit managed to kill you... This time, with the combined power of the Nine Dragons, won't I easily cut you down? At that time, no matter how much you whine and whimper, it won't help!

—I'm begging you, can you please arrange some ordinary, normal, and cute teenage romance for me?!

As for Chang Rong, she could only complain helplessly in her heart.

In short, although the process was full of twists and turns, in terms of the result, everyone was able to have a conversation with the mastermind behind everything, Meru Hime, and reached a temporary consensus on the direction of "finding the Great Witch".

The price was that an illiterate nun who was quite adventurous joined the group that sneaked out (?).

Volume 1: Chapter 153. The Mysterious Domestic Abusive Man

Generally speaking, if a person suddenly wakes up in an unfamiliar place, and everything around them is unbelievable and contrary to common sense, and the situation develops inexplicably, the unfortunate person who has woken up should find it difficult to accept the current situation for a while, right?

However, Chang Rong, who was dug out of the 'cold storage room for ice blocks used as raw materials for summer shaved ice and cold drinks', was surprisingly not surprised or confused by the current situation.

Although the overly retro and out-of-place luxurious castle decor was a bit too abstract, and although the two-meter-tall, masked, twisted creature covered in various 'weapons' didn't seem to belong to the 'human' species at all, and although the scene of a group of people seriously discussing the 'Great Witch,' a term that only appears in games and animations, was quite bizarre... even so, Chang Rong still didn't feel confused or afraid about her current situation.

It wasn't because she was particularly carefree, nor because she was born with unshakeable spiritual vision that was at its maximum upon opening her eyes. Rather, it was because everything around Chang Rong felt unusually familiar, especially the ceiling of the infirmary where she was currently located.

Even though he couldn't recall the face of 'Chang Rong' for a moment, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the ceiling of the infirmary. Even the bed that no one was currently lying on made his cheeks flush, as if some terrible ancient battlefield had taken place there.

These subtle and strange feelings of déjà vu greatly improved Chang Rong's ability to accept his current situation. Of course, the most important thing was his 'younger sister' and 'childhood sweetheart girlfriend'.

The girl with long, straight black hair and red highlights, and the short-haired girl with cute shark teeth wearing cat-ear headphones—Chang Rong felt incredibly at ease just seeing them.

Although her memories were still hazy, Chang Rong was absolutely certain that they would never betray or hurt her, just as she would never abandon or hurt them.

However, the only minor problem is...

"Hehehehehe... Onii-chan, Onii-chan~"

The girl who called herself "adopted sister," Ze Du Ke Ke, was clinging to Chang Rong's side. Her cute face was pressed against the white-haired boy, and she squinted her eyes, revealing a soft and cuddly expression like a cute mochi ball, just like when she saw a catnip. She was so incredibly beautiful! The more she rubbed against Chang Rong, the more obsessed he became.

"Once Onii-chan regains his memories, he'll turn back into the old version of Chang Rong... In that case, I have to make the most of this super rare story-limited character card, hehehe~~ This is a super rare limited Chang Rong that you can't get even after hundreds of draws..."

As Sawatari Coco rubbed against him, she murmured unintelligible words, while her childhood friend Nikaido Hiro stood beside her with a serious expression, as if he were pondering some serious and earnest question.

However, if you listen carefully, you'll find that the problem troubling this classic-style girl with long, straight black hair seems a bit subtle:

"Although the process was a complete mess and went off track, and the way we communicated and the conclusions were not quite what we expected... But this should count as successfully stopping the conspiracy, right? In that case, why don't we take advantage of this gap and replace that original skin idiot rabbit...? Anyway, this is the infirmary, and infirmaries are for doing things, right? That's right, let's do it!"

"Hiro, isn't your definition of the infirmary a bit weird...?! What, what are you doing...!?"

Seeing that the girl with long, straight black hair in front of her seemed to have made up her mind, Chang Rong hurriedly retorted that the infirmary, such a sacred place for saving lives, was for doing serious business, not for doing other things.

"Hmm... I feel like Chang Rong is about to have a big bowel movement. I really need to hurry up so I can collect the super rare achievement that's only available for one playthrough. Hehehe, then I'll be a veteran among veterans...!"

Seeing Chang Rong quietly complaining about Hiro, Hakimi Coco seemed to have made up her mind as well.

Am I some kind of elite monster with an expiration date that gets killed first in an online game...?

Although his childhood friend and stepsister provide him with a sense of security, they are also the source of most of his danger signals...