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

[I feel like I have some memories here, memories of Noah and me. But... um, am I mistaken?]

Natsume Anan turned the sketchbook to Chang Rong's perspective, but she herself was staring straight at the empty wall in front of her.

“A wall? Hmm, I feel like I have some kind of memory of this place... and this wall looks a bit too out of place.” Chang Rong followed An An’s gaze to the wall, and he also felt that this place was ‘missing something’.

—Oh right, I should go ask Coco and Hiro; they're experts in the field of intelligence.

Being around smart people does seem to make you stupid. Chang Rong has even become too lazy to try to analyze and find memories or answers herself. Instead, when in doubt, she just shouts for Xi Luo to save her.

The invincible Hero will definitely use her unparalleled experience and memories to solve these problems!

It would be even better if she could restrain herself from taking care of me too...

Chang Rong was about to go downstairs when Xia Mu An An looked at the white-haired boy in front of her and frowned slightly.

—Is this guy…the 'human canvas' that Noah has been thinking about all along? He clearly doesn't seem to have any special features, and he even looks like one of those frivolous and stupid harem protagonists…why is Noah so concerned about him?

An An thought of her roommate, Noah Kinosaki, who was also an 'artist' and a 'child', and thus they quickly became companions and talked about everything.

Noah may seem uninterested in anything at first glance, but she has a special enthusiasm for this white-haired idiot, which naturally makes Noah's good friend, Natsume An'an, also somewhat concerned about Chang Rong.

Hmm... how about we try to get to know him a little better? If this guy really is just a complete idiot, or a 'monster' that threatens Noah, then I'll personally deal with him!

Thinking of this, An An sighed slightly, then tapped the glass next to her with her sketchbook.

"Ok?"

As expected, Chang Rong's attention was drawn back to the sound of knocking, while An An immediately continued scribbling on the paper:

[Consider this a way to pass the time and a rare opportunity for research—tell us, what does 'amnesia' feel like?]

"Amnesia? Hmm... how should I put it? It's a bit like watching a movie when you're super tired and not fully awake, then taking a long nap, and then trying to recall the movie's content after waking up. Although I can barely remember some of the big framework and storyline, I can't recall many of the details at all. Only when I watch it again do I suddenly realize 'I've seen this part before'."

"For example, this corridor... I vaguely remember playing and fooling around with Coco-chan here. And the library next door... uh... I seem to have a bit of a resistance to memories of the library, especially the parts related to 'teachers'..."

When Chang Rong glanced at the library next door, the hairs on her skin stood on end. It seemed as if a terrifying, twisted female tutor lived there, someone who cared nothing for teaching but nurturing people. Luckily, she didn't have such a person around her, or she would look terrible!

"And what about us? Do we also feel a sense of déjà vu?" Natsume Anan raised an eyebrow slightly, it was hard to tell if she was playing a prank or genuinely bored and curious.

"As for An'an—well, although I don't remember it very clearly, but... I think An'an and I have become friends."

Chang Rong looked at the fluffy, loose-fitting girl in front of him, pondered for a moment, and then smiled and said.

“…Hmph.” An’an was silent for a moment, then snorted in her cute voice, and immediately began to draw on her sketchbook.

Using this kind of line to start a conversation would be the most boring and simplistic way to do something in a novel; it's not romantic at all.

"No, um, I wasn't trying to pick her up..."

Chang Rong retorted in a low voice, saying that she was just stating what she felt through her déjà vu, but Natsume An'an ignored her and continued writing, seemingly getting more and more into it.

The moon is beautiful tonight.

I'm asking you, are you my Master?

I'm going to kill you.

An'an, is she the girl who can become my mother?

"...See? My sentences are much better than your nonsensical attempts at flirting, aren't they?"

Natsume An-an held up her sketchbook high, even puffing out her small chest, with an expression that said, "I'm amazing, please praise me."

"But aren't these all plagiarized? And Hiro didn't say 'I'm going to kill you,' he should have said 'I'm going to ram you to death'—Ouch! Stop, stop filming!"

Chang Rong pointed out Natsume An'an's plagiarism, which instantly enraged the latter, who then raised her sketchbook and began to beat Chang Rong mercilessly.

"We...we were merely demonstrating...!"

An An was so angry that she even forgot her "three-no literary girl" persona. She retorted angrily and then picked up her sketchbook again.

[I'll show you right now, my original, elegant, sophisticated, and meaningful pickup lines! Hmm...]

[When God closes a window for you... He'll... He'll open a door! And that's exactly what happened with you; you opened a hole in my heart—how about that!]

"It sounds like the confession of some serial perverted cardamom slayer—I already said it hurts, at least don't hit me with the corner!"

Lies don't hurt, but the truth is the sharpest knife. With one precise sentence, Chang Rong once again broke through An An's defenses and was chased down and hit with a sketchbook.

Just as An An was torturing Chang Rong, a large door suddenly appeared inexplicably in the previously empty wall in front of them.

"Huh?" "...!"

Chang Rong and Xia Mu An'an were startled by the sudden strange phenomenon. They blinked, and finally, after An'an shook her head left and right like a rattle drum, Chang Rong volunteered to approach the door.

Carefully grasping the handle, I turned the knob to open the door—

The door that appeared in the empty wall did not reveal any mysterious or terrifying scenes inside; behind the door was just an unused room piled with paintings and other odds and ends.

"It seems to be just an abandoned room used to store various materials. It doesn't look very big, but it does have a balcony."

Chang Rong walked into the room and looked around. Although the room was dilapidated and covered in dust, it evoked a strange feeling in Chang Rong.

"Hmm...it looks somewhat familiar..."

Finding that Chang Rong was alright, Xia Mu An An cautiously crawled in like a hamster.

However, the moment Natsume An'an stepped into the room, the next second—

Click!

The once-open door was suddenly slammed shut by some external force. Not only that, but the 'door' itself seemed to melt into ice in the sea, disappearing almost instantly without a trace.

"...Huh!?"

Chang Rong realized something was wrong and rushed towards the door, but all he heard was a dull 'thud!', which sounded like an elbow hitting a wall.

Not only that, Chang Rong immediately looked at the balcony, but there was a window between the balcony and the room, which she could not open or break through no matter how hard she knocked.

"This situation..."

"..."

Chang Rong and An An stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"It's a locked-room murder...!" "[A room where you can't leave unless you do XX...!]"

The two simultaneously stated their assessment of the current situation, and then stared at each other blankly once again.

This time, however, An'an blushed and shrank behind her sketchbook after only a few seconds, tearing off the words on the sketch paper and throwing them away.

Volume 1: Thanks to Brother USSR for the Silver Treasure Chest

Who understands? Last night before bed, I casually glanced at the backend and found another treasure chest popping up—a truly heartwarming moment...

Thank you so much for your support, brother! You're awesome! I'm truly grateful.

This time, adding +6 would be even better.

Actually, I was planning to slack off a bit for the two weeks around the Lunar New Year, but since all the top players have already opened their treasure chests, I have no choice but to continue updating.

Thank you again for your support!

Volume 1: Chapter 162. The Room Where You Can't Leave Without XX

"Huh? I didn't see what you just wrote, An'an—"

There's nothing there.

Chang Rong blinked. The contents of Natsume An'an's sketchbook had been physically and quickly deleted, so Chang Rong hadn't even seen what Natsume An'an had written.

In short, let's get out of this dilapidated house as soon as possible.

Natsume Anan picked up her sketchbook and waved it around a couple of times, trying to physically skip over the topic.

"You're right, we need to find a way to get out of here first."

Chang Rong nodded in agreement, then began to look around the room where the two were. As mentioned before, at first glance, it looked a bit like an abandoned and forgotten studio room. On the long table against the wall were some painting supplies that were covered with dust. The walls were covered with peeling wallpaper that had long been decayed and mottled, and a few paintings that had been weathered and eroded beyond recognition, with only some patches of color barely visible, hung on them.

The balcony directly opposite the main entrance offers a commanding view of a corner of the atrium from the second floor. Opposite the balcony, you can see another room with a similar layout, which, based on the map I've seen before, is probably the balcony of the recreation room.

However, the path to the balcony was blocked by a glass door. No matter how much Chang Rong pounded, hammered, pushed, or pulled, the glass door remained motionless, as if it were fixed to the space itself.

After several more attempts, Chang Rong was basically certain that unless he summoned the humanoid walking ram, Shirley Tachibana, he or An An would not be able to open the glass door on their own.

Even worse, the 'door' that had suddenly appeared in front of the two of them vanished abruptly after An'an stepped into the room. The place that should have been inlaid with a wooden door was now bare and empty, just like the abrupt and blank view the two of them had seen when they looked at the room from the corridor.

"I can't feel the doorknob or the door frame by touch; it's like the door just vanished right under my nose. And for some reason, there's no cell phone signal here, not even on Witch Island..."

Chang Rong took out her phone and tried to call other people. Although she had exchanged numbers with everyone in the meeting room, the only person she could reach was Xia Mu An An, who was locked up with her.

"Waaah... Although I don't understand what's going on, it seems like we really are trapped in a secret room..." Chang Rong blinked and finally had to admit that the two of them were indeed 'imprisoned' in a dilapidated room filled with clutter.

Upon hearing this conclusion, Natsume An'an, who had been looking sleepy, suddenly showed a panicked expression. Her purple eyes, hidden by her bangs, stared at Chang Rong, and she quickly scribbled something on her sketchpad.

【What have you done?! Whatever tricks you pulled, get back to normal right now! Otherwise, we won't let you off the hook!】

Natsume Anan held up her sketchbook and glared fiercely at Chang Rong, trying to provoke him and tell the white-haired boy in front of her, "I'm not someone to mess with, I'm terrifying, shine my shoes."

"If only it could be restored, but it's obvious I'm one of the victims too, An'an." Chang Rong sighed helplessly. He wasn't the kind of pervert who liked to pretend to be a victim and witness the despair of unlucky souls falling into a trap from a first-person perspective. At least the real mastermind wouldn't use such a lame way of portraying the escape room atmosphere as 'elbowing at the wall and almost getting killed by it'.

"...We don't believe your nonsense." An An frowned, and her petite body, hidden behind the sketchbook, deliberately tensed up, trying to make herself look more aggressive and imposing.

"If you don't believe me... then An'an, how about you restrict my movements? Make sure I don't do anything weird or underhanded, then you'll feel much more at ease, right? Waaaaah, you're really going to do this, An'an!?"

Chang Rong smiled and put his arms together in front of An An, striking a pose as if asking her to handcuff him. He originally intended to use this method to show his sincerity and dispel An An's doubts. However, the gloomy and sleepy furry girl did not get Chang Rong's good intentions. Instead, she actually picked up a roll of old tape from the table next to her and wrapped it around Chang Rong's wrist with a creaking sound.

"Phew... Hmm, that's fine..."

After a series of struggles, Natsume Anan, panting and whispering, wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked with satisfaction at the white-haired boy who was now squatting in the corner with his hands bound.

"This is a big problem... What we need to do now isn't fight amongst ourselves, but find a way to get out of this locked room." Chang Rong sighed. He was just saying it casually, and you actually took it to heart!

No wonder Shiro and Coco warned us to be careful of Natsume An'an; the child's mental state does seem a bit strange.

We don't need your help, you mastermind! We can escape on our own!

With a confident and determined expression, Natsume An'an wrote this in her sketchbook. Then, she simply ignored Chang Rong and began to investigate the room on her own. Of course, to call it an investigation was an overstatement. An'an mostly wandered around like a headless fly, occasionally picking up something, tilting her head, pretending to examine it, and then putting it back, repeating the same cycle over and over.

After 'investigating' everything on the table and floor, Natsume An'an's gaze fell on the bookshelf and filing cabinet in the corner. The top of the filing cabinet almost touched the ceiling, and it was at least 250cm tall. With An'an being less than 1.5 meters tall, even if she stood on tiptoe and jumped, she couldn't reach the top. She estimated that if she called Tono Hanna over, she could barely use levitation magic to check if anything was hidden on it.

By the way, if a locked-room murder were to actually happen, Miss Hannah could temporarily impersonate the suspect, making it a highly cost-effective and multi-beneficial solution.

Unfortunately, they still couldn't get in touch with Miss Tono. An An herself didn't intend to give up. She struggled to move the painting frame in the corner to the filing cabinet, using it as a stepping stone to carefully search the filing cabinet.