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

The student council president with long, straight black hair, and the elegant disciplinary committee member, Nikaido Hiro, squeezed into the innermost part of the hospital bed. She asked Chang Rong with great concern, and one could even see the lingering panic and fear on her face.

"Uncle, I was almost scared to death... Xiao Rong, your right hand was practically just bone holding it together back then... Waaah, no, no, Uncle, I'm just thinking about it..."

Saeki Miria stood to the side, her face ashen. Judging from her reaction, her right wrist, wrapped in several layers of bandages, must have been in a very bad state at the time.

"Anyway... well, everyone, can you all calm down first?"

Chang Rong rubbed his eyebrows. Dizziness, tinnitus, and persistent drowsiness made it difficult for him to concentrate, and the kindness of the girls crowding around him was even more overwhelming.

"Um, sorry everyone, I understand how you feel, but this will only backfire. Let's not all rush over here at once."

Nikaido Hiro nodded, gesturing for the prospective witches to spread out a bit. In this unusual situation, no one joked or played pranks anymore; everyone obediently stepped back, allowing Chang Rong to finally breathe some fresh air instead of being drowned in the bed by the prospective witches.

—It gives me a strange feeling of lying on the dragon throne waiting to be chosen as a concubine.

Watching the prospective witches disperse, Chang Rong muttered to herself. However, this slightly mischievous thought was quickly extinguished by Ice Meluru, who was sitting on a chair not far away.

No, rather than saying she was 'sitting in a chair,' it would be more accurate to say that Meruru Ice was completely bound to a chair. Her hands and feet were tied, and a guard with a hairband stood beside her, with a huge scythe above her, giving the impression that DIO was holding a road sign and ready to behead Jotaro at any moment.

"Meruru...?"

"Chang Rong-san...! Waaah, it's really, really good, really... you, you're still alive...! Ugh—!"

The moment Melulu and Chang Rong's eyes met on the ice, she, who had been sitting motionless with her head down, hurriedly twisted and tried to get closer, but was almost immediately stopped by the guard next to her who used a sickle to strangle her neck.

"No, don't move... Meruru-chan! My magic is the real 'Witch Slayer'—if you try to get close to Changrong-kun again, I... I really will take action, I'm not lying to you... My magic is no joke!"

The pink and white puppy, Emma Sakura, also raised her hand in a gesture of intervention, while simultaneously conveying her magic to Meruru. Even if you are an immortal witch, she has the power to kill Meruru.

"【Witch Slayer】... As expected, as expected, the Great Witch... She didn't choose me. But please do it, Miss Emma. It's enough to know that Chang Rong-san is alright. Please... give the witch the judgment she deserves."

Upon hearing that Emma Sakuraba possessed the 'Witch Slayer' magic, Meluru Ice showed a surprised expression at first, but she did not become hysterical or twisted with anger. After a brief hesitation, the pure white nun simply smiled at Emma, ​​waiting for her death.

"Ugh... Meruru-chan...?" Emma blinked. Meruru's reaction on the ice was completely beyond Emma's expectations. The pink and white-haired girl didn't know how to put her raised hand down for a moment.

"Oh my... After a failed murder attempt, you choose to use this self-inflicted injury to try and escape punishment? What a brilliant performance, even I'm completely captivated, hehe..."

Suddenly, Baosheng Mag said with a smile, and the prospective witch, who was also somewhat confused, regained her 'killing intent' towards Meruru after Mag's 'explanation'.

“That’s right…it must have been a ruse…! That guy even mixed alcohol and juice to cover up the smell and color of the sleeping pills. This was definitely a premeditated act that was planned in advance!” Arisa Fujito agreed, citing the drink she had at the table earlier as proof.

"Nono Noa agrees too...! How could they do this to Rongrong...? Unforgivable...!" Noa Shirosaki angrily raised her paintbrush in agreement.

“If it weren’t for Chang Rong’s special constitution, she might have really killed you… Damn it! I thought this guy could really turn over a new leaf…!” Nikaido Hiro clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth and saying regretfully, seemingly blaming Chang Rong’s current situation on his own carelessness.

"As expected, this girl is completely... even Onii-chan's sincerity can't move her. Enough said, let's just finish her off!"

"Wait, Coco! Everyone—what exactly happened!? Let me at least find out what happened first...!"

Chang Rong became more and more confused as he listened. Apart from the fact that this group of prospective witches wanted to kill Ice Meluru, he had no idea what was going on.

Meruru committed suicide, didn't she? Why is everyone treating her as the murderer...?

"...Then let me recount the situation at that time, although it's mostly a translation of what my older sister saw and experienced."

Nanoha Kurobe came out, tugged at her cycling helmet, and recounted in detail what happened when Chang Rong lost too much blood and fell into a coma.

The warden was the first to receive the information. After discovering that Chang Rong had lost too much blood, the warden immediately contacted his older sister, who was stuck to other wreckage, via the public address system.

The older sister, who was cleaning, rushed to the scene where Chang Rong and Meruru were unconscious as soon as she heard the broadcast. Based on her assessment of the situation, she determined that Chang Rong's injuries were more serious, so she carried Chang Rong to the infirmary and then woke up Nikaido Hiro, who was still unconscious.

Hmm... My older sister said it's not convenient to reveal how she woke Heero up, but it certainly wasn't as simple and brutal as punching him in the stomach to make him vomit...

The reason for choosing Herro wasn't because he "feels good," but simply because I felt he was better able to handle such emergencies. That's about it.

"Don't talk about anything that's not necessary," Hiro said, veins popping on his forehead, interrupting Kurobe Nanoha's somewhat off-topic remarks.

After regaining consciousness, Hiro immediately provided first aid to stop Chang Rong's bleeding, and the others gradually awoke from their comas. Everyone then realized Meruru's problem and went back to the flower field, where they found her still unconscious. Judging from the blood on Meruru's mouth and body, it seemed she had attempted to kill Chang Rong with an excessively brutal and cruel "biting" motion.

"...That's about it."

Kurobe Nanoka looked at Chang Rong and finished her case report.

"So it's pretty clear now. This time, even Hannah couldn't get involved. It was a murder case that was purely orchestrated by Meru on Ice!" Sherry Tachibana cheerfully declared, holding up a magnifying glass. This time, even Hannah didn't complain, and almost everyone accepted this conclusion.

"No! Meruru didn't mean to hurt me, she was—"

"No...you're right. I think Chang Rongsang is...in the way, so I want to get rid of him. It's simple, isn't it?"

On the ice, Meruru interrupted Chang Rong's explanation with a smile, admitting her guilt.

Meruru, you rascal...!

Now it is crystal clear that this pure white witch... is praying for her own witch's judgment.

From other people's perspectives, Meruru on Ice does indeed possess all the qualities of a witch on trial.

Even if I were to try to explain the 'truth' now, I'd most likely just be seen by others as someone with an excessive amount of saintly compassion...

But clearly, that's not the case. This trial isn't up to you to decide, Meruru Ice!

Want to end it all? Not so easy!

"Since this guy has said so, then we should hurry up and kill her... Emma, ​​hurry up and take her down...!!"

"Wait a minute, Coco-chan, don't you guys think there's something strange about what happened during the case just now?"

Chang Rong interrupted Ze Du Ke Ke, who was in Spinosaurus form due to stress, and struggled to get up. He refused the help of the others, leaned against the wall, and struck a pose that he considered handsome.

"Strange...? Onii-chan, you look really strange right now..." Sawatari Coco looked at Chang Rong with some concern.

"That's right. How did the warden know about this? Was he the first to discover it?"

“He must have just happened to see it during his patrol…” “No, no, no, that guy is completely retired now, why would he be bored enough to go on patrol—you agree, Warden?”

Chang Rong looked at the warden sitting on the IV stand to the side and steered the conversation toward him.

"【Coo coo coo... Please don't ask such an awkward question to this cute bird... After all, it was Lady Meruru's request, so I can't reveal too much..."

"Meruru's request...? You mean, you were summoned here by Meruru?" Nikaido Shiro asked, frowning.

"【Coo coo coo... That's right... The Creator is such a fussy fellow, and so is the Master... My bird life is truly a complete disaster, coo coo...】"

The warden turned his head and sighed, while the prospective witches looked puzzled. If Meruru was trying to kill Chang Rong, she shouldn't have bothered to wake everyone up.

"Not only that, but something is actually missing from the scene—the Witch Killer Potion labeled 13."

“Witch Slayer Potion…!? I’ve already disposed of it all! Warden, you bastard—” Ze Du Coco said incredulously, her eyes wide, then glared fiercely at the warden beside her.

"Oh, is this it? I kept it because I felt it was wrong to litter... Turns out it's a very important item~?"

Baosheng Mag, who had been watching the show from the side, suddenly smiled and took out a transparent glass bottle from his sleeve. The bottle was indeed printed with the number 13.

"【Gurgle... Ah, this was indeed my oversight... That was an early version, its potency wasn't that great. If used according to the standard dosage, it would only cause a state of suspended animation. However, it looks like she drank it all in one go, gurgle... As expected of Lady Meruru, that was supposedly super bitter..."

The warden tilted his head and made a cute face, then was hit by a medicine bottle by Ze Du Koko.

—Marg...?

Chang Rong ignored the farce unfolding around her and instead looked at Bao Shengma, a question forming in her mind.

The existence of the Witch Slayer Potion isn't exactly a secret to everyone, and Mag should also know about the 'Potion 13'.

If they had simply seen the Witch Slayer potion near Meruru, this whole blunder would never have happened. Perhaps the great Sherlock Holmes couldn't grasp the truth, but Hiro and Emma—and even Mag herself—should have quickly deduced that it was Meruru's unilateral act of suicide.

Is Mag trying to test my stance? Is she trying to see if I will still lend a helping hand to Meruru when everyone is eager for the witch to be judged, or if I will follow the 'public opinion' to protect myself and comply with the judgment that Meruru herself desires?

...Anyway, that's not the point right now.

“That’s right, Meruru carried a bottle of Witch Killer Potion and swallowed it. I chose to dilute it with my blood in order to neutralize the effects of the Witch Killer Potion.”

With evidence and witnesses available, Chang Rong's explanation, though much weaker, was far more effective than before. The witches, initially furious that Chang Rong had almost gotten into trouble, gradually calmed down and began to understand the true nature of this 'murder case'.

"But, but... why did Meruru suddenly take the Witch Slayer Potion... and why didn't she make any explanation for herself...?" Sakura Emma asked in a puzzled voice. She already knew the whole story of this case, which could hardly be called a 'case', but she just couldn't understand Meruru's inner thoughts.

This is because—

Chang Rong's open mouth froze for a moment.

If Meruru were to say "to atone for her sins," while it would be a perfectly realistic and standard answer, it would also make her a sinner in everyone's eyes, which would only make her more determined to seek her own death.

We need to give Meruru a reason, a reason to live, a reason to escape the identity of a 'sinner'...

This is my willfulness, but it's also 'revenge' for your self-centered behavior, so don't blame me, Meruru.

Thinking of this, Chang Rong coughed lightly twice.

"Because—Meruru fell in love with me at first sight, but she was too shy to confess in front of everyone, so she used sleeping pills to knock everyone out to create an opportunity. And to ensure that the confession would be successful, the inherently troublesome Meruru also carried a bottle of 13 water to threaten suicide."

"...Huh? No, that's not it—"

"But!" Chang Rong emphasized, completely overshadowing Meruru, who looked bewildered and tried to explain.

"But as everyone knows, I am a pure Sigma man who has transcended base desires! So I said on the spot, 'We can't be together, do it if you dare'—and Meruru actually did it."

Chang Rong shrugged and said, "You're so brave to drink this."

"Eh?!" "Love at first sight." "—Confess." "Or threaten suicide...?"

"No, no, that's not it, I really want to... Waaah... Everyone, everyone, please listen to me...!"

As Chang Rong explained, the prospective witches instantly flew into a rage, while the pale defense offered by the person in charge, Jellyfish Mother, was buried beneath the surface, ignored and disregarded.

"Ahem! Everyone, please be quiet—! When I bled to save Meruru, she finally realized her mistake. This kind of landmine-like behavior of threatening suicide was too childish, and the collective drugging was even more unacceptable! Meruru understood that love is not a forced transaction but mutual affection, so in order to atone for her sins, she promised me that she would contribute her strength to finding and torturing the Great Witch in the future—that's all."

Chang Rong clapped his hands, completely covering up the whole story with false evidence.

"No matter what, you can't say something like 'Go ahead and do it if you dare,' desuwa!" "Idiot monster... didn't you ever consider the possibility that it might be a real drug...?" "Waaaah... It's all because I told Onii-chan that the Demon-Slaying Drug had been disposed of that Onii-chan was so brave... Everyone, you should just torture me, meow..."

A group of aspiring witches surrounded Chang Rong. Some were torturing him for his recklessness, while others reflected on how they had messed things up because they hadn't handled things properly.

"Are you really a jellyfish?! Threatening to kill yourself with a magic-killing drug, is your brain only filled with liquid? You idiot jellyfish!!" "Falling in love with Watson at first sight, that won't do~? NG, NG~!" "Waaaaah, I'm sorry, Meruru-chan, I, I even doubted you..."

Another group of prospective witches surrounded Ice Slayer. Some were torturing her in a way that was too offensive, some questioned why she fell in love with Chang Rong at first sight, and others kept bowing their heads and apologizing, looking incredibly soft and gentle, completely different from the previous 'Witch Slayer'.

"Waaaaah... I, I'm not... But, but... I do like Lord Changrong... But, but I really don't... Waaaaah!"

As for Ice Meruru, under the interrogation of everyone, her brain was completely dried up, turning her into a puddle of jellyfish mud.

late at night--

"Lord Changrong..."

On the ice, Meruru timidly peered into the infirmary.

Chang Rong was lying on the hospital bed. Beside her, Nikaido Hiro lay like a fierce dog, making Meruru afraid to approach easily. But Chang Rong gently stroked her black hair.

The infirmary was completely silent, with only occasional short murmurs like "I'll fuck you to death... Stop fucking me, bro..." escaping from one's sleep.