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

—Did you see that, Rhea-sama! The social gathering you couldn't organize in the cafeteria before, I did it for you!

Surrounded by a group of people, Chang Rong put on an expression of "If I don't go to hell, who will?" and thought to himself.

Originally, everyone was in a low mood because of Tachibana Sherry's sudden 'attempted murder' in the cafeteria. However, after receiving the message in the Prison Space group chat that 'Chang Rong forced Ze Du Ke Ke into a relationship,' these girls, who were already in the throes of adolescence, rushed to the scene to watch the drama unfold.

"This guy suddenly went crazy! I was just passing by, and he suddenly pounced on me, asking if I was human while pinning me against the wall—oh my god, that was terrifying!"

The victim, Ze Du Ke Ke, huddled to one side, pointing tremblingly at Chang Rong and loudly recounting his crimes.

"Noah saw him right outside the art studio next door! Rongrong is so handsome!" Noah proudly boasted to everyone. "See that tough guy over there? That's my guardian!"

—I'm starting to seriously doubt whether Noah is genuinely innocent or just cunning... Why does every comment he makes feel like a knife to my heart?!

I never imagined that Noah's filial piety would turn sour in this way. This son has the potential to become a Lu Bu among men.

Hearing the victim's statement, coupled with Ze Du Ke Ke's disheveled and pitiful appearance, everyone's gaze towards Chang Rong suddenly sharpened.

While everyone was discussing whether to hang him or strangle him, Nikaido Hiro finally couldn't stand the farce anymore.

Was my long-planned night of witch's revenge interrupted by this idiot? And what's even more idiotic is that I actually believed the message when I saw it?

Believing that this white-haired rabbit can suddenly push other girls down and take advantage of them is less reliable than believing that Sakura Emma can ascend to heaven.

Nikaido Hiro broke through the blockade of the gossiping witches and walked to Chang Rong and Coco's side. She crossed her arms and looked down at the strong-willed white-haired boy in front of her with a queen-like aura.

"I ask you—do you have anything to say?"

"Uh, if I said it wasn't me who harmed her, but this chaotic world that ruined Zedu Coco, would you believe me?"

"Nonsense."

Hiro's answer was concise and to the point, suggesting that the island of witches was not yet tainted by divine intervention.

The current farce is actually not a big deal. Once Ze Du Ke Ke, who was frightened and activated her thorny back mode, calms down, this haphazardly arranged domineering CEO forced love CP will naturally disappear.

only……

Chang Rong secretly glanced at Sakura Emma, ​​who was releasing dark gravity factors for some reason, and Kurobe Nanoha, who was examining her spear with a serious expression.

Why do I have this feeling that if I don't explain myself clearly now, it will lead to a really bad ending, just like the one I played on Shang Yang?

But how do I put it? Has she gone overboard with her witch transformation?

Considering that we have just gone through the Tachibana Sherry incident, this reason is undoubtedly inappropriate and will only add to the pressure, just like when Teacher Da Xiang left the group.

Honestly admit that you discovered your account was canceled and you're in a hurry to find someone to confirm whether you're dead or not? Damn it, is this karma for giving too many false testimonies? When it comes to telling the truth, I guess no one will believe you.

Just as Chang Rong was struggling with how to gloss over the matter, Nikaido Hiro rubbed his eyebrows and let out a helpless sigh.

“I remember telling you before that playing pranks is ‘wrong’ in itself.”

"—"

Their eyes met, and Chang Rong immediately understood the meaning behind Hiro's words.

"【False Evidence/Agreement】: You're right, Nikaido-kun. I was too presumptuous. I didn't expect to scare Zedo-kun like that... After all, I just wanted to try using a prank I'd seen in horror movies before."

That's right, it wasn't an attack, it was just a prank, Bazinga, just kidding!

"A prank in this situation? That's so strange!"

"Haha, that's not so strange! Actually, what I wanted to tell everyone at noon was to ask everyone to rehearse and perform in a stage play! Of course, I'll reluctantly play the lead role." Hasumi Rieya laughed as she retorted to Hannah.

"Huh...? A stage play? Have you lost your mind?! Who are you trying to put a stage play in a place like this for?! That idiot warden?!"

"[I think I've seen that movie before. It's about a weasel demanding a title from a passerby, and it seems to be a theme from China? But the protagonist, the weasel, inexplicably ends up in the Milky Way galaxy and engaging in a thousand-year bloodbath with several subspace gods. What does that mean...? I don't like it!]"

Looking at the aspiring witches talking to themselves in front of her, Chang Rong felt for the first time that being surrounded by a group of divine beings wasn't so bad.

While it's somewhat illogical to justify one's actions as a 'prank' by following Hero's false testimony, the logic is surprisingly easy to accept when it comes to these extraordinary girls.

Chang Rong even began to doubt whether these people could actually pull off some kind of outrageous prank like 'Zhong Li faking his death'.

"Wait, wait a minute! Is this another sudden shift to the dumpling-making rhythm? What am I supposed to do?!!"

Seeing that everyone was about to just let bygones be bygones regarding the 'Chang Rong hunting Hakimi' incident, Ze Du Ke Ke immediately got angry and pressed for answers.

However, before Hakimi could even breathe on his face, Chang Rong stood up first, mimicking Hiro's posture before, and looked down at the furious Hakimi with an ambiguous, threatening smile on his lips.

"What do you think we should do, Zedo-kun?"

"Eek...! I, I know...!"

"Hehe, then let's continue to get along well."

Chang Rong, with a victorious air, reached out and ruffled a tuft of hair on Ze Du Coco's head. Ze Du Coco, utterly defeated, had even lost the strength to exhale...

—Hehehe, what a piece of trash Hakimi, he's even worse than that kangaroo chicken in front of my house.

In fact, another important factor that made it so easy for Chang Rongxi Luo's false testimony to get away with it was that—nobody really liked the girl named Ze Du Ke Ke.

Aside from middle-aged men like Saeki Miria who have become accustomed to the tastes of a corporate slave, almost all prospective witches don't like, or rather, aren't interested in, Sawatari Coco.

Just like now, even though she was the only victim of the 'prank,' everyone stopped paying attention to her after they finished making sushi.

"Hmm... So Rongrong doesn't want to do this or that to Coco, right? Hehehe... Noah feels even happier for some reason~~ Ugh!?"

"Please, next time I'm talking, Noah, just go and draw quietly, okay?"

After dealing with the farce, Chang Rong skillfully rubbed Nuo's head and complained softly before walking over to Xi Luo.

"Thanks a lot for your help, Nikaido-kun. Now we're even, okay? You protect me, and I'll protect you, right?"

"……wrong"

Chang Rong happily tried to get close to Xi Luo, but the latter frowned and retorted.

"What I just said could only be compared to the incident in the restaurant where everyone questioned whether I had any magic. The perjury you gave during the witch trial is much more important. It's clear that I haven't settled things yet."

"Well, it doesn't have to be calculated in such detail, does it?"

"To owe someone a debt of gratitude but not give them an equal return is not a 'correct' behavior—so what's wrong with you, and why did you suddenly fall ill?"

Hiro frowned and asked, somewhat angrily.

"I've turned into a witch, and I've been crying the whole time."

"...Should I pull it myself or do you want it to be too sweet?"

"No, no, no, I was just kidding! Oh my god!"

Hiro gradually found a way to get along with the white-haired boy in front of him efficiently. It was like Slavic-style appliance repair. As long as he started acting up, twisting his hair a few times would have an immediate effect.

"If this keeps up, my hair will replace Saeki-san and turn me into an old man before I do... Anyway, Nikaido, are you alright?"

Chang Rong asked while rubbing her head.

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Of course I'm fine."

"Hmm... It's good that you're alright. Well—oh right, I have some things to take care of here, so I'll be going now!"

Chang Rong stared at Xi Luo's blood-red eyes for a while, then nodded and quickly left the second floor, thus officially ending this farce that, in retrospect, had reduced the pressure on the girls caused by Tachibana Sherry's rampage.

"..."

Of course I'm fine... right?

The person I am now seems to be a completely different being from the person I was in the shower just ten minutes ago.

A quick review of my past actions reveals how childish and laughable they were.

So, the perfect way to kill someone is to push Emma Sakura down a garbage chute? Am I an idiot?

"Um, Hiro-chan...you said you needed to talk to me about something?"

Emma Sakura's voice came from behind him. He had planned to lure her into the shower room to kill her, but now he no longer had the chance.

"Ah, I think there was such a thing—by the way, what do you think of that guy?"

I just made up an excuse to get by.

Thinking this, Nikaido Hiro glanced at Sakura Emma.

"Huh? Um, Chang Rong-jun? We should be able to become good friends, right...hehe."

"I see."

...Am I really an idiot? Why would I ask a question that would make me turn into a witch?!

Seeing Emma Sakura's shy and conflicted expression, Hiro Nikaido was about to breathe on his own again.

at the same time--

"Achoo! I sneezed for no reason. Sneezing is an ominous sign. Maybe I should just let it go...?"

Chang Rong stood at the entrance to the staircase leading to the punishment room on the lower level, hesitating whether or not to go through the fog door that led directly to the BOSS 'Battlefield Heroism - Tachibana Sherry'.

Volume 1: Chapter 36. A Crimson Butterfly Hovered Around the Detective

Go down the stairs next to the main entrance hall on the first floor to the basement level, and the first thing you'll see is a three-way intersection.

At the end of the corridor directly opposite the stairs is the incinerator, a dangerous room that should theoretically be off-limits, yet it's completely unlocked, perhaps out of a twisted sense of humor. Anyone can come here alone during free time—or perhaps they time it perfectly, arriving with a corpse along with them, precisely when the incinerator is turned on Monday.

The passageway to the right of the stairs is the prison for the prospective witches. If you don't consider the psychological aspect, the prison cells are actually much more livable than dormitories or cubicles in big city apartment buildings.

On the left side of the seventh floor, there is a punishment room that the girls would never normally even glance at, and would avoid at all costs.

In a sense, the structure of the punishment room is more in line with people's stereotypical image of a 'prison': dark and cramped, with almost still air, no natural light, and filled with terrifying torture instruments.

It is precisely because of this terrifying and oppressive atmosphere that most girls would never dare to approach this place.

But Chang Rong is different; he's a veteran!

You bunch of young people, what are you thinking? While you were still searching for evidence outside, I was already inside the station working on a sewing machine!

To be honest, this disciplinary room is really nothing special—

Chang Rong, who thought this was what she believed, stood at the entrance of the punishment room, hesitating and afraid to go in.

His hesitation stemmed, of course, from that blue-haired, muscular detective.

What should I say to Tachibana Sherry? What expression should I wear when I see her?

Even if I admit that she saved my life and my handsome face, what she did cannot be erased now...