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

"...Huh?"

Ice Meruru, who had been hunched over awaiting judgment, blinked. She cautiously looked at Chang Rong, only to see the boy standing with his hands on his hips, looking incredibly confident, as if he had complete faith in his own reasoning.

"Well, that... that's right! I've always lived in a very remote church, so... that's why it's like this. Although I've tried very hard to fit in with everyone, there are still many flaws, right...?"

Ice Melulu quickly echoed Chang Rong's words, agreeing with his guess. She never expected that the 'character design problem' that she had been racking her brains for decades without finding a solution would be so easily solved by him with an incredibly reasonable and reliable OC.

"I knew it... Although it's not good to criticize other people's lifestyles, I think Meruru, you need to catch up with modern society sooner rather than later. After all, everyone is more impatient now. If it weren't for our Xiaoxue being so out of touch, often acting like an old lady who doesn't understand anything and being a tech geek, most people would probably have a hard time communicating with you, Meruru."

Chang Rong patted Meruru on the shoulder and spoke earnestly to the reclusive nun (?) from Greenland. These days, it's the age of common sense; this kind of old-fashioned attitude isn't so appealing anymore! Besides, she'd be competing with Xiaoxue.

"Well, actually, I haven't been communicating with everyone this often before... People as amazing as Chang Rong-san are really, really rare... I'm so happy to be able to chat with Chang Rong-san and everyone like this, and even go out and play together."

Meru responded softly on the ice, a smile spreading across her face. The nun amidst the flowers appeared so pure and innocent at that moment, like a fragile work of art that did not belong to this world.

"Hmm... I really don't know about your previous lifestyle and habits, Meruru, but let's try to think more positively. Even if you think of it as a way to make the best of a bad situation and deceive yourself, since you haven't had any contact with the outside world or other people, why not use this inexplicable 'witch trial' incident as an opportunity to slowly make friends with other people? Don't worry, I'll be there to help."

Chang Rong smiled at Meruru. Although they couldn't change the objective fact that they were currently being held hostage by the 'mastermind' and subjected to a witch trial, they could at least try to adjust their mindset.

Upon hearing these words, Meruru's eyes widened. She stared blankly at Chang Rong for a while before snapping out of her daze and nodding hurriedly.

"No, that's right... Hehehe, want to be friends? I, I'm so happy, this is the first time someone has said something like this to me... Ah! Another, another four-leaf clover! This is really rare... If Chang Rong-san doesn't mind, I'll use this one to increase your 'luck value'...!"

On the ice, Meruru found another rare four-leaf clover among the flowers. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she shyly held the clover in her hands, holding her breath as she tried to tuck it into Chang Rong's forehead and temple.

For a moment, the flower field was filled with a joyful atmosphere. The old nun from a remote area with few friends and the white-haired boy from the city with plenty of experience in raising witches had an incredible encounter.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the flower field—

"Hmm... I've been observing for a while now, Xiaoxue, do you think there's a possibility that your Onii-chan, Arong, is actually a scumbag?"

Wearing a newsboy cap and carrying a handbag, the self-proclaimed 'photographer' girl, Futt, fiddled with an old camera that didn't even have film in her hand. She looked at the two people chatting and laughing not far away and asked the girl 'Snow' beside her, who wore a huge top hat, a white lace dress, and had long, snowflake-like hair.

"...Nonsense, what are you talking about?"

The girl, who called herself 'Sato Yuki', stroked the hair of Alice, a blonde Lolita maid-dress girl who was sleeping with her eyes half-closed in her arms, while frowning and asking what kind of electricity Futter was sending.

"Look, Xiaoxue. I remember Anai said she was Arong's boyfriend, right? Since Arong and Anai are already a couple, no matter how I look at it—Arong's relationship with Meruru doesn't seem quite right!"

Fute pointed to the flower field in the distance and smiled at each other, occasionally touching each other's hair and rubbing each other's shoulders as they loudly complained to Xiaoxue.

"This kind of behavior—eating what's in one bowl while also wanting what's in the pot—is clearly what you'd call a scumbag, right?" Futter raised her camera and pressed the shutter, capturing this decisive evidence! Although, since she didn't have film, she could only use [mental writing magic] to imagine it in her mind.

"Idiot. Putting aside Nanoha Kaori for now, at least Rin and Meruru will definitely not end up together, hehe..." Koyuki seemed completely unfazed by Futter's conjecture, responding confidently.

"Huh? Why are you so sure, Xiaoxue?" Fute blinked and asked. This little girl, who seemed to be Chang Rong's younger sister and also had a bit of a brother complex, was unusually able to make such a calm and professional judgment.

"Knowing is knowing, just like humans know that everyone will die. Does it need an explanation?" Xiaoxue blinked her silvery-white eyes and said calmly.

"Wow, that sounds like the domineering statement of a final boss, a villain who destroys the world...!" Futter exclaimed.

—Hmph, foolish humans. I watched Meruru grow up from the bottom of her heart. How could Meruru, who has never even met a suitable male, possibly develop those kinds of human feelings?

Sato Yuki thought to herself with great confidence, "That Meruru is just a jellyfish, no need to care. How could she possibly steal Rong's heart?"

Once I bring Rong home and we become legally partners, I can tease her about what they're going through at the ceremony. I bet Meruru has a really funny expression on her face then...hehe...

"But Meruru has started putting flowers in Arong's head! Meruru is laughing so happily, and her blushing is so cute... Speaking of which, do ordinary friends really do that?" Forte pointed to the two who were having more fun in the distance, waking the great witch from her daydream.

"Hmm... well, so what? Flower arranging is normal... I can do it too." Sato Yuki bit her lip and continued to stubbornly insist. She picked up a thorny rose from beside her and frantically tried to put it on Alice's head while she was sleeping in her arms. However, after breaking a few strands of golden hair, she still couldn't get the rose on Alice's head.

"Oh, that young lady has come over too. Meruru seemed to show a terrifying expression for a moment, but she quickly returned to her normal self—the young lady walked straight towards Arong without hesitation! That young lady beat Arong to his knees, she must want to take Arong back to be her bandit husband!"

Having completely transformed into a war correspondent, Caterpillar, Futter continuously relayed the current state of the battle in the distant flower field.

"...Humans are just like that. When their own small group falls apart, they will immediately try to join other circles in order to seek a sense of security. There's nothing to worry about."

As the Great Witch fiddled with Alice's hair, tying knots to the roses, she gritted her teeth, trying to maintain her composed and shrewd demeanor.

"After Nana was executed, it's true that Miss's social circle was forced to be reshuffled. So, she came to find Arong to form an alliance? If so, the way Miss is turning her head away with a blushing face and handing Arong some kind of carefully wrapped gift is also a necessary action to integrate into the inner circle, right, Xiaoxue?"

"Rong, you idiot...!"

As Futter continued to broadcast the battle, the Great Witch finally lost her temper. She wanted to let these ignorant humans know what the Great Witch's wrath was.

The king descended from the sky, his eyes blazing with fury!

Sato Yuki stood up, her forehead bulging with veins, and walked directly towards Chang Rong's direction.

"Pfft...! Ugh...?"

Alice, who had been lying obediently on Xiaoxue's lap, was suddenly thrown off. She knelt on the ground, rubbing her eyes in a daze, and looked around in confusion. Her head was covered with a mess of colorful flowers and petals, like a spilled palette. She looked like a child who had suddenly fallen into the ground and was at a loss.

"Oh dear... I feel like Xiaoxue's childcare skills can only be described as tragic."

Futter shook her head, unable to utter a single word of comfort.

However, there was no need to offer comfort, because on the other side, Xiaoxue aimed at Chang Rong's calf and executed a spinning knight kick. That overly cool move quickly drew the attention of the self-proclaimed photographer girl once again.

------

"...What's going on?"

Inside the infirmary, a black-haired, twin-tailed girl in a cycling hat, 'Kurobe Nanoha Kaori', carrying a magical spear conjured by a mysterious, bespectacled research freak, looked at the scene before her with a puzzled expression.

Sato Yuki, a white-haired girl who belongs to the "Chang Rong Group" and is suspected to be Chang Rong's younger sister, is lying on the hospital bed, glaring angrily at everyone with a look that seems to want to bite, trying to cover up her embarrassment in this way.

Xiaoxue's right foot was wrapped in a thick bandage, while the girl with [healing magic], Ice Meluru, was carefully casting magic on her ankle while crying beside her.

"Weren't you going to pick flowers in the flower field? Is this an activity that could cause you to twist your ankle?" Nanoha Kaori tugged at her cycling helmet. She prided herself on her intelligence, but she still couldn't figure out the cause and effect in this situation.

"...The somersault might be unnecessary; the combined flying kick makes the move more difficult than expected." Xiaoxue turned her head away, biting her lip and complaining softly.

"Even if it were me, I would absolutely not speak up for you this time, okay? There's no doubt that this is something you brought on yourself..." Chang Rong said helplessly, rubbing his calf. Xiaoxue should take full responsibility for this mess.

Kicking the shin is one thing, but why use such a difficult and fancy move? In the end, he even twisted his own ankle. What a top-notch pig nose.

"Rong, you bastard—tsk, humanity might as well just perish together...!"

Lying on the bed, Xiaoxue became anxious. She breathed on Chang Rong and then made an extremely mysterious gesture of pointing to the sky, as if she was about to unleash some incredible magic.

"Don't destroy humanity for this reason..." Nanoha Kaori sighed, rubbing her eyebrows helplessly. She had lost count of how many times she had regretted her initial choice of sides. Why were there so many weaklings and nobodies in this team?

"Ugh... just bear with it a little longer. My family will definitely find this place soon! At that point, my personal therapist can easily heal this level of injury. Besides, those perverted bastards who locked us up in this place will definitely be found and dealt with sooner or later...!!"

The blonde twin-tailed young lady gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and said fiercely.

"Waaaah... Please, please don't..." Meruru, who was next to the young lady, shrank back in fright.

"Well, that... because my magical healing effect has a limit, if I heal your wounds all at once, it might give me away—I mean, it might cause various complications. So, so Xiaoxue, you need to rest for at least a day or two."

Meruru withdrew her magic, and the pale green light dissipated. However, it seemed that Xiaoxue would need to rest for a while before she could use her flying kick again.

"Meiruru, you unfilial son... well, fine." Xiaoxue glared at Meiruru on the ice. She didn't even go to treat her own mother. Did she even know what filial piety meant?

However, the Great Witch quickly remembered that she was currently in a state where her cognition was obscured by the [Forgetfulness Magic], and therefore could not recognize her as her daughter in Meruru's eyes.

There's nothing I can do... After all, I raised her with all my love and care. Even though she evolved into a jellyfish by mistake, I can't recycle her energy and make a new one.

For now, all I can do is lie in this infirmary and recuperate in a quiet and elegant manner.

"Mom is an idiot."

"I'm not...!!"

Alice, the adopted daughter, casually uttered a single sentence that instantly made the elegant Great Witch furious once again.

Seriously... It's difficult. Does this mean I really don't have the talent to raise children...?

Having raised two daughters in a row to be out of shape, the invincible, omniscient, and supremely powerful Great Witch had to begin to question herself.

The commotion caused by the 'veteran magic roundhouse kick' subsided temporarily. After everyone learned that Xiaoxue's simple pig-nose maneuver was not serious, they all returned to their cells, leaving only Chang Rong, who was in charge of the care, in the infirmary.

"Um... Chang Rong-san... I, I'll help too."

Meru timidly peeked out from the ice, wanting to come to the infirmary with Chang Rong to take care of Sato Yuki.

"Meruru? No need, I'll take care of Xiaoxue. In fact, I'm used to this kind of thing."

Chang Rong sat beside the hospital bed, stroking Xiao Xue's long hair as she fell asleep after her puffed-up hair, and smiled back at Mei Lulu.

"Please, please let me help too...! After all, it seems that Xiaoxue's condition is somewhat related to me..." Meruru said, bowing her head somewhat embarrassedly.

"Don't say that, it's all Xiaoxue's own fault—besides, the rules here on Prison Island say that only one person can take care of a patient, Meruru, you should go back quickly." Chang Rong opened his phone, fiddled with it for a bit, and then pointed to a line in the 'Prison Management Manual' on the screen.

"Waaaah, right, right, there was this too..." Meruru's eyes widened, looking belatedly realizing something, and she quickly crawled out of the infirmary.

—Meruru, although she's a bit clumsy, she's really a kind child...

Chang Rong smiled and sighed inwardly. Not long after Meruru left, the blonde nun returned once again, but this time she brought a silly bird with her.

"【Coo coo... um... because this is a special case, two people are allowed to take care of the patient together... coo coo... that's it...】"

"Chang Rong-san, um... it seems the prison has agreed!" Meruru said excitedly to Chang Rong.

"Ah, uh... really? It's quite a humane flexible prison." Chang Rong blinked. No matter how you looked at that silly warden, he looked like a corporate slave who had been suddenly dragged out of his sleep and forced to work overtime. There wasn't a trace of the domineering aura of the number one person in charge of the prison island.

In any case, Meruru ended up staying in the infirmary to take care of Xiaoxue, who had twisted her ankle.

Taking care of patients is a very tedious job in many ways, but having two people can alleviate a lot of the boredom.

Since Xiaoxue was still sleeping, Chang Rong and Mei Lulu naturally started chatting.

"Actually... I used to live with a very gentle person who took good care of me." Meruru said softly, sitting on the sofa by the balcony, a faint smile on her lips, as if she was recalling that past.

"Although she's a bit clumsy, she takes care of me meticulously and earnestly. Even if she doesn't quite understand many things herself, she still finds ways to solve problems. She really, truly is my favorite 'family member'..."

Meruru clasped her hands to her chest, speaking in a prayer-like manner about the various trivial matters between herself and that 'family member'—all incredibly mundane daily occurrences that would be criticized as boring in a stand-up comedy show or as cheap filler to earn money in a novel.

"But...then, because of a certain event, she changed, a very obvious, almost 180-degree change...she stopped smiling at me, stopped spending time with me like before, and even left home without any further response—was I abandoned by her? Was it because I wasn't good enough, that I couldn't help her...? To this day, I still haven't received an answer from her..."

Meruru lowered her head, and the veil that wrapped around her fell down, completely obscuring the face of the holy nun, leaving only her soft, timid voice that sounded like she was about to cry.

"Hmm... how should I put it? Just from the description, it seems like he's a very fussy person who's also a bit of a split-brain."

“…Eh?” Meruru blinked.

"In this situation, instead of letting things fester internally, my advice is to torture that guy severely!"

"Torture...?" Several question marks appeared above Meruru's head.

"That's right! That kind of person will definitely show up again sooner or later, because someone as indecisive as her won't really be so heartless as to just run away. And when you meet her again, Meruru, just go for it!"

"A...A go up??"

"And it can't be a weak, soft attack; it has to be a charged, powerful strike, a critical hit, a head-on blow! The kind of attack that leaves her utterly humiliated and forced to respond! For example—yes, for example, you ask her like this: 'Do you even consider me family? If not, then I'm going to marry that blond guy at the village entrance, have kids, and never come back!' That's the feeling that forces her to give an answer!"