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

Things will get better. Maybe Father will suddenly come back one day, maybe Aunt will be in a good mood and bake me some white bread, maybe I'll learn how to weave and become a tailor...

'Get out, you're still worthless.'

When her aunt, her only relative, said those words to her with a look of disgust, Meruru froze on the spot.

She didn't know what she had done wrong today. She had done the same laundry, eaten black bread and soup as usual, and picked herbs and flowers... but why did her aunt suddenly shut her out?

Perhaps disgusted by Meruru's appearance, or perhaps out of a last shred of so-called 'pity,' the aunt told Meruru that her father had been told he was long dead, and the compensation intended for her father had vanished without a trace. Her only reason for adopting Meruru was to obtain that compensation, but some damned scoundrel had embezzled it, and it never reached Meruru, or rather, her aunt.

You're completely worthless, get out of here. Seeing your stupid face makes me furious. Keeping you around for so long has been a waste of time. Not selling you is already a favor, even though nobody would buy someone like you… Anyway, figure it out yourself.

The devastating news of her father's death and the despair of being abandoned by her aunt brought Meruru to tears again. She desperately begged her aunt to let her stay, promising to work harder, to eat less, and to do anything, no matter what, just to be allowed to stay.

Meruru's cries were met with a tightly closed door. Staring at the dilapidated wooden door that she absolutely could not open on her own, Meruru froze in place.

After a long time, realizing that she had lost her last refuge, Meruru finally took her first steps. She needed to find a place to spend the night.

Meruru wandered aimlessly through the streets, filled with regret. If she had used the time she used to gather herbs to do housework, would her aunt have thought she was somewhat useful and kept her? If she hadn't been so clumsy and hadn't been beaten by her aunt so many times, would her aunt have abandoned her?

Just thinking about it made Meruru feel like crying again. She was always so clumsy. If she just tried a little harder, everything would be fine... Hmm?

Meruru stopped in a dimly lit alley. In the alley filled with decaying peat, she saw a cat. The cat's lower abdomen was almost completely ulcerated, and its hind legs were twisted and could only tremble instinctively.

Even so, the cat still let out a soft meow, its front legs constantly gripping the ground and tightening, trying to drag its body forward a little more.

"Ah, the bread I saved up earlier..."

Meruru approached the black cat, trying to find something like a handkerchief, but instead pulled out half of her leftover black bread from her pocket.

After a brief hesitation, Meruru broke the bread into small pieces and carefully placed them in front of the struggling black cat, while gently stroking its head.

"If only I knew how to heal... then I could definitely heal both your injuries and my wounds..."

"Wasn't that your last meal? You should know this guy's beyond saving, right? Or are you one of those idiots who thinks that if you're feeling unwell, you can just eat something and sleep it off and everything will be fine?"

"Yes, I'm sorry... Huh?"

A somewhat aloof, yet very pleasant, girl's voice suddenly came from behind.

Meruru turned around and saw a girl standing at the entrance of the alley with a subtle smile on her lips.

Meruru froze for a moment. The girl before her seemed to be an independent being, detached from this world. Her long, snow-white hair, her overly elaborate and enormous hat, her luxurious shawl with patterns so intricate they made Meruru's eyes dizzy, her lace dress that remained spotless despite being stuck to the muddy ground... everything told Meruru that this girl did not belong here, or even to this world.

She was like... a snowflake, falling right in front of me, an emptiness so perfect it was utterly abrupt, as if she could vanish at any moment, both illusory and beautiful.

"Tell me, what were you thinking when you fed your last bit of food to an animal that was about to die?"

The girl stretched out her left hand and raised it high in a pose that was hard to decipher, while a mischievous smile played on her lips as she continued to press Meruru for answers.

"I...I don't know...I just feel that at least eating something would be good..." Meruru timidly lowered her head and whispered in response. The girl in front of her was so perfect that Meruru didn't even have the courage to look directly at her.

"They acted without even knowing a reason? Humans really are a bunch of hopeless idiots."

"Yes, I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...!"

"Tsk... I'm not complaining about you! Honestly, don't cry so easily."

The snowflake-like girl seemed a little flustered by Meruru's reaction of apologizing and shedding tears at the slightest disagreement. She quickly put away the somewhat arrogant attitude she had when they first met and walked to the black cat's side.

"Watch closely, those breads with who-knows-what-added-to-the-contents-them-can't save lives. It needs to be at least this level of power—"

The girl placed her hand on the cat's body, and with a flash of green light, the previously festering wounds suddenly healed, as did its twisted hind legs. The dying black cat, right before Meruru's eyes, had recovered its health in an incomprehensible way.

"Ugh, woohoo..." Meruru was so shocked by this scene that she couldn't speak.

"Hehehe, although it looks like just healing magic, I also mixed in some time manipulation and matter adjustment, you know? Otherwise, even if this guy were completely healed, he wouldn't be as lively and energetic as he is now, hehe—"

"what!!"

"Hmm...!? Tsk, the first thing you did after being healed was to breathe on me? Very well, I'll see what's going on in your peanut-sized brain. 'The Demon Who Communicates with Animals—' Hey, don't run away, come back here!"

The pure white girl, as white as snowflakes, was hit by Hakimi's breath. The black cat, which was originally half dead, immediately regenerated and activated its Spinosaurus form to pry open the girl's outstretched hand. Then it called out "Old Wu, Old Wu" twice, ignored the girl, and darted into the alley and disappeared.

"This damn little birth... Oh well, whatever, animals are all the same anyway."

The snowflake-like girl momentarily revealed a gritted-teeth, bristling expression, but she quickly adjusted her mindset and returned to the aloof and sage-like demeanor she had when she first met Meruru.

"Thank you so much...! Oh, thank you so much... You saved that cat...!"

When the girl turned her gaze back to Meruru, Meruru once again unwittingly dropped her little pearls, while repeatedly thanking the girl for saving the cat.

"Huh? Is it really that exciting? That guy just ran away like that! He won't come back as a catgirl to repay your kindness, nor will he catch mice for you or bring you dried fish."

The girl raised an eyebrow and spoke to Meruru in a mocking tone.

“That’s alright… As long as I can survive, I’m already very happy…!” Meruru said gratefully to the girl, her hands clasped together.

"What a strange idiot."

The girl snorted, but as Meruru expressed her sincere gratitude, a slight blush appeared on the girl's overly fair cheeks, a rare occurrence for her.

"Um, were you using 'witchcraft' just now? Please, please be careful to hide it, everyone seems quite afraid of that kind of power... Anyway, thank you so much for your help, but I don't know how to repay you... Oh, by the way, I'm really good at doing laundry—"

Meruru spoke somewhat in a flustered manner, sometimes marveling at the girl's power, sometimes worrying that the girl would not be exposed, and then pondering how she should repay the kindness.

"It's not 'witchcraft,' it's [magic], the greatest power in the world, but a miracle that's hard for you humans to understand. Because of omnipotent magic, you don't need to do laundry."

The girl snorted coldly, then lifted her overly luxurious and expensive long dress as if to show off.

"Waaaah... You, are you the witch?" Meruru mustered her courage, looked up slightly at the witch, and asked softly.

“That’s right, that’s exactly it. I am the Great Witch ‘Snow’. For a human like you, being able to meet the Great Witch is a million times more honorable than meeting the king.” The girl pointed to the sky again, proudly showing off to Meruru.

"What is a million..." Meruru looked puzzled. It's too complicated, I don't understand.

"Tsk... then a hundred times will do. Do you understand what a hundred times means?"

"A hundred times... Wow, that's incredible! Witch!" Meruru's surprised expression became even more excited, showing that she at least knew what a hundred meant.

“That’s right, that’s exactly the kind of ignorant yet shocked expression you get.” The Great Witch Xue put her hands on her hips, thoroughly enjoying the shocked and astonished reaction from Meruru.

"If only I could become a witch and learn that healing magic... Ah! Yes, I'm sorry, Witch, I... I still need to find a place to stay. And this time, regarding the reward... I hope you can give me a little more time...!"

Meruru looked at the Great Witch with a longing and yearning expression, but the afterglow shining in from the corner of the alley instantly brought Meruru back to reality.

Looking for accommodation?

"Yes, yes... I have to find a place to live before sunset—wooo!"

Meruru got up to leave, but the injury on her back was suddenly stretched, and the stinging pain made Meruru let out a short moan.

"You... I see. Hmph, you really are human."

The Great Witch Xue placed one hand over her right eye, using her magical illusion to glimpse the experiences of the girl before her, and let out a cold laugh.

"come over."

"Huh...?"

"I told you to come over, so... never mind." The Great Witch sighed halfway through her sentence and walked up to Meruru.

Although this 'Great Witch' is not big in terms of height or front armor, compared to Meruru, who is just a little girl and severely malnourished, the 'Great Witch' is still a 'big' witch that Meruru has to look up to see.

The Great Witch raised her right hand, gloved with black silk, and gently placed it on Meruru's head. Accompanied by a warm and comforting green light, Meruru, who had been tucking her head in, slowly raised it, and her expression gradually changed to surprise, disbelief, and happiness.

"I have healed your injuries."

"Oh, Miss Great Witch—"

"Don't rush to cry. This time, I'll be getting paid. But I don't know if you're willing to accept this reward—how about becoming my servant? Return to my manor and become my 'servant,' that's my condition."

"The Great Witch's...manor?" Meruru blinked, asking with some confusion.

"Ah, that's right. Isolated from humans, undisturbed, the most beautiful and flawless paradise in the world, a witch's paradise." The Great Witch said with a smile, her tone filled with the pride and self-satisfaction of a witch.

"However, well... most of the people living there are stubborn, old-fashioned bastards who only have tea parties, tea parties, tea gatherings, tea parties every day—unlike those reclusive old relic, I'm quite interested in you humans, you know? How did such stupid and clumsy creatures manage to crawl to this point? It's quite an interesting research topic."

The Great Witch Xue gritted her teeth and showed a look of utter indifference as she spoke. It was clear that the unchanging and formulaic lifestyle in Witch Paradise was making it somewhat difficult for her to adapt.

"In short—become my 'servant,' become my 'sample' for studying humanity, become my laundry familiar, how about it, interested?"

The Great Witch smiled at Meruru, then extended her right hand to the clumsy, tearful, but endearing girl.

Looking at those slender, beautiful, and delicate hands, Meruru felt a little shy for a moment. After all, her own hands looked very rough no matter how you looked at them. Did she really deserve to hold that outstretched hand...?

"There's no need to feel inferior; you have the right to be."

As if reading her own heart, the great witch 'Snow', as white as snowflakes, smiled. That smile was incredibly warm, like healing magic, dispelling all of Meruru's troubles and gloom.

"Great Witch, I...I'm willing...!"

Looking at those hands, Meruru finally mustered the courage to grasp them—

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"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...!?"

On the ice, Meruru stretched out her palm and pinched Chang Rong's cheek perfectly.

With her mouth pulled back, Chang Rong made a soft "ee-oo-ee" sound and groggily got up from her sleep.

"Mmm... Ah, are you awake, Meruru?"

The white-haired boy grumbled as he got up from beside Meruru, rubbing his light gray eyes as he asked in a low voice.

"Eh... Holy Son... Chang Rong-sang! You, you were protecting me? Why are you causing me so much trouble? I... I... I might as well just die—"

"Don't act like that!?"

"No, that's not right. For the Holy Son to be able to stay so close to me like this, I... I must have already died long ago..."

"You don't look like it!!"

Two sentences after just waking up were enough to energize Chang Rong; that's the true value of the biggest secret on Witch Island.

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Thanks to Chenguang Moxin for the sudden, unexpected attack.

Thanks to the player who believes in Yuuki Ryougi for the 5 blades.

Thanks to Mo Yexi for the 4 salted fish skewers and 5 spicy strips.

Thanks to the following for their generous contributions: Demon Judge Grey Knight, Bookworm 351081306288, Sage 233, Kikyo is the Best, Admirer, and Archer.

191. Ah... my holy son...

"That's about it. Meruru, your magic essentially relies on witch factors to activate, and my constitution is rather special, which is why you fainted due to the low concentration of witch factors. Um... sorry, I made you shut down."