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

"There's no point in running away. Or do you think the deaths of Hossang Mag and Meru on Ice were also faked? Is this just a reality show? Give me a break. We could all become witches, and even if not today, we'll almost certainly reach that point in the future."

Nikaido Hiro's speech was calm and composed; rather than offering advice, it was more like stating an undeniably true fact.

But

—This kind of 'correct fact' is a bit too heavy for other people. What are you thinking, Nikaido Hiro?

Chang Rong originally thought that after being voted into the dark room, Xi Luo would have toned down her sharp edges, but now her remarks seemed to be deliberately trying to put herself on the opposite side of being isolated by everyone.

You keep saying 'we need to work together,' but you're almost deliberately distancing yourself from the conversation... What exactly are you planning to do?

Recalling the witch transformation stats of Nikaido Hiro that she had seen on the [YUKI Romance System], Chang Rong frowned and stared intently at Nikaido Hiro.

Volume 1: Chapter 31. The Great Investigation of Detective Tachibana Sherry!

"This is so annoying...! You keep talking about being 'correct' and 'open and honest communication,' but you won't even tell us about the magic you possess, will you?!"

As expected, after Hiroto Nikaido almost blatantly shattered the girls' wishful thinking that "there shouldn't be any more witches and murder cases," Arisa Shito was the first to lose her temper and roared in rebuttal to Hiroto.

"Ah, come to think of it, it seems there are three people here whose magic they haven't told us about all along? They keep saying they have no magic, but is that really possible? Since we're all destined to become witches, then there really can't be any naive guinea pigs who 'were mistakenly caught without magic,' right? www"

Ze Du Ke Ke also fanned the flames from the side, and with her words, all the girls in the cafeteria focused their attention on the three of them.

Emma Sakuraba, Hiro Nikaido, and Chang Rong.

"Out of more than ten prospective witches, three of them 'have no magic'? You'd better explain what's going on!"

Arisa Shito's veins were bulging. At this moment, the anger of this hooded, masked delinquent girl was completely different from before; it was a purer and sharper rage.

"Ah! It's time for me, the most lovable and incredibly skilled detective, to step up here!"

Tachibana Sherry, the blue-haired girl who always wears a detective hat and carries a magnifying glass, stepped forward with a super cheerful smile on her face.

"...Huh? No adjective fits at all." Arisa Fujito was startled by Sherry Tachibana's unexpected appearance and retorted unhappily.

"Yi, how rude of you! You should know that during the three periods of time when I'm in school, my classmate Er Du would call me 'Little Fairy' so affectionately~~"

"That's definitely not the nickname 'desuwa'!"

—To put it another way, it's something like 'little genius'? It doesn't really feel like a term of endearment... Speaking of which, I've never had a chance to talk to Tachibana Sherry.

Chang Rong looked at the cheerful, blue-haired girl and thought to herself.

Shirley Tachibana's magic seems to be "superhuman strength," an ability so ancient that it can even be said to be unrelated to 'magic.' This explains the miracle that Chang Rong shattered a 2-meter-high block of ice with a single punch when she first transmigrated.

Sherry Tachibana and 'Noble Lady' Hannah Tono seem to be the first to discover this body. If possible, I would like to learn a little about the previous information about this body, which should be of some help to my life on the prison island.

"Hehehe~~ Sherry-chan's detective lesson is about to begin, right? So first up—Sakura Emma!"

"Ah... I'm here!"

The pink-haired puppy stood up obediently instantly, just like when its name was called on in class.

"Emma's superpower is—[control over taste]!"

"Control your sense of taste?" Emma Sakura tilted her head, looking completely bewildered.

"That's right! Based on my observations over this period of time, Emma is full of energy most of the time when she eats! And she eats very quickly, and she can even eat an apple with her left hand and scoop stew with her right hand. She must have blocked out her sense of taste to eat so efficiently and neatly!"

"No, please stop talking, Sherry-chan...!"

Emma Sakura, who has a huge appetite and can eat with both hands, covered her face with her hands, steam rising from her forehead, and sounded like she was about to cry.

"It's okay, Emma. Even though I exposed the magic you were trying to hide, we're still good friends~!" Shirley Tachibana, completely unaware that she had already defeated Emma, ​​still wore a cheerful expression.

"I see... Hmm, next time I'll give you my apple and bread too, Sakura-kun."

"Waaaaah, that's not how it is, Chang Rong-jun...!!"

—Hehe, teasing the puppy is so much fun, but I don't know why I'm getting that startling gaze from Hiro's side again...

"Hmph, then next up is Hero! Hero's magic must be—[Pain Control]!"

“Interesting. What’s your theory?” Nikaido Hiro raised an eyebrow.

—Ah, look at Hiro's expression. She must be planning to admit it if Shirley's fabrication is true.

"Because in the previous case, you were hit on the back of the head by Mag-chan and stepped on the back by Mag-chan, but you didn't feel anything at all before you went to the witch trial. This must be because you controlled and blocked your sense of pain!"

"Um..."

—No, there's no need to agonize over whether to adopt such a ridiculous line of reasoning! Has your brain really been knocked senseless by Baosheng Mag?!

Looking at Hiro, who was struggling with whether or not to take the opportunity to give false testimony, Chang Rong wanted to shout out her complaints.

Well, although I don't know what Hiro is planning to do by suddenly wanting to separate herself from the group, I'll help her out a little more.

"I'm not sure if Sakura-kun can really control her taste buds, or if she just has a big appetite—"

"Kiang!?"

A beautiful wail came from behind me.

"However, I'm certain that Nikaido-san doesn't have any magic."

"Huh? Why, why? How can Chang Rong be so sure? Is there some evidence that I haven't found?" Tachibana Sherry asked excitedly and curiously.

"【False Evidence】: The logic is actually quite simple. Nikaido was previously imprisoned for working on a sewing machine, and during the trial, she was almost executed as a suspect. However, even so, Nikaido never revealed anything about her magic. Isn't that strange? She's not like the Silver Chariot; hiding her abilities so tightly is pointless."

"Hmm? Is that so? Something about Chang Rong's words feels a bit off... Oh well, that's probably it! Anyway, the last one is Chang Rong's magic!" Shirley Tachibana tilted her head, a little puzzled, but only for less than a second before she immediately pointed at Chang Rong with a cheerful smile.

"Rongrong is lying again. She always lies to Hiro. Noah is unhappy, hmph—"

"We think you should probably stop arguing."

The leaky little cotton-padded jacket looked exactly the same as before (she had noticed it before) as Chang Rong's false testimony, and even seemed to have some reservations. Chang Rong could only quickly pretend not to hear and brush it off.

What he just said was pure nonsense. There's absolutely no logical connection between 'hiding his abilities' and 'being voted out'. Chang Rong simply felt that the detective in front of her didn't actually have any real desire to 'solve the case through deduction'; he was just indulging his own cosplay desires.

Since that's the case, I can just make up any excuse to get by; this cosplayer detective probably won't care.

And indeed, that was the case; Tachibana Sherry shifted her interest to Chang Rong, and that was the end of Hiro.

"Controlling taste, controlling pain... You're not thinking of controlling vision next, are you?"

"Haha, controlling vision is my magic, Arisa!"

"Gulp...! Mind your own business!!"

Arisa's taunts failed, and instead, she was immediately red-hot by Ryota Hasumi's kind reminder, pulling her hood down and adopting a defensive stance.

"Hehehe~ Chang Rong's magic, the answer is—"

The tense atmosphere that started with Heero's speech gradually became lively and relaxed thanks to Sherry Tachibana's efforts.

Just when everyone thought the fun and absurdity would continue, something happened the next second that completely shattered everything.

The blue-haired detective still had a smile on her face. She raised her left fist, which wasn't holding the magnifying glass, and swung it at Chang Rong's abdomen without hesitation.

If it were Emma Sakura, this would probably be a puppy being affectionate.

If it were Nikaido Hiro, this would probably be Chang Rong saying something strange again and then being properly punished.

But this is Tachibana Sherry, who possesses the magic of "superhuman strength".

"Wait--"

"Well!?"

boom!!!!

A violent cracking sound, accompanied by a cloud of dust, engulfed the cafeteria.

Volume 1: Chapter 32. My punch landed...

boom--!!!

After the loud noise, the once clean and tidy restaurant was instantly turned into a mess.

The neatly arranged dining tables were now tilted and overturned as if they had been hit by a hurricane. One of the tables was even blown to pieces, with wood chips and debris scattered all over the carpet.

"Chang Rong!! Are you alright!?"

The first to snap out of her daze was Lianling Jianqi Leier Ya'er. She hung the long sword in her hand back at her waist and immediately came to Chang Rong's side, kneeling down on one knee to check on the white-haired boy lying on the ground.

"It's alright, thanks to Rhea-sama for stopping me, otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to react..."

Chang Rong got up from the ground in a disheveled state. Although her clothes were covered in dust, wood chips, and wrinkles, at least she herself had not suffered from that terrifying impact.

"I'm so glad you're alright!"

Only after confirming that Chang Rong was unharmed did Renmi Ryoya breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

Almost at the same moment that Tachibana Sherry's fist came flying, Hasumi Ryoya, who was standing next to Chang Rong, reacted immediately. She drew the longsword from her waist in an attempt to block Tachibana Sherry's attack, but Tachibana Sherry simply flicked her wrist, and the trajectory of her fist perfectly avoided Ryoya's sword.

However, it was precisely this instantaneous change in trajectory that allowed Chang Rong to barely dodge Tachibana Sherry's punch with an extremely awkward dodging posture.

After confirming Chang Rong's safety, Ryota Hasumi immediately turned her attention to the culprit behind all these changes—Sherry Tachibana.

Not only Rhea, but all the other prospective witches' eyes were also focused on this blue-haired girl who always had a cheerful and carefree expression.

Judging from the destructive power of that punch, Tachibana Sherry absolutely cannot get away with the excuse of 'just kidding'.

If Chang Rong hadn't dodged, the flying wood chips would now have been replaced by flying pieces of corpses.

Frankly speaking—this was an attempted murder committed in front of everyone.

"Sherry Tachibana...! You'd better explain your actions just now—no, any explanation is meaningless, your actions were [incorrect], and there's no room for excuses!"

Nikaido Hiro rushed to the fireplace in the restaurant, grabbed a red-hot stick from the charcoal and held it in his hand as a weapon, gritting his teeth and yelling at Tachibana Sherry.

"Sherry-chan... what, what's going on?"

"Tsk, is this what witch transformation is...? It doesn't even give you the slightest warning when it starts! Damn it...!"

"Waaaaah!? I mean, this, this is attempted murder, right!? What's going on with this guy! Ugh, so disgusting!!"

The ripples of unrest gradually spread, and amidst the constant echoes and tremors, an even more intense emotion called 'fear' was born.

—Just now, Tachibana Sherry... she really did intend to attack me, there's no doubt about that.

If other bystanders might hesitate about Shirley's actions and be unsure of her true intentions, Chang Rong, as the person involved, could be 100% certain that Shirley's initial target when she smashed the table was herself.