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

"Meruru—are you still trying to kill yourself?"

Chang Rong noticed the jellyfish by the wall and looked at it, asking softly.

"Waaah... I... even if I wanted to atone for my sins, there's no way now..."

On the ice, Meruru poked her fingers with her head down. The magic-killing potion was completely under control, and the witch-slayer magic was in the hands of the little dumb dog. The restraints that suppressed magic could only suppress her restoration magic, not kill her body. This put Meruru in a bizarre situation where she could not even die.

"Moreover, before I sought redemption and death... I want to know—Lord Changrong, why... did you save me?"

Meruru didn't dare look at Chang Rong; she could only stare intently at the ground and ask in a low voice.

"Because I don't like the afterlife."

"...Huh?"

"What does happiness in the next life have to do with you now? If you really want to pursue happiness, you should start working hard for it now, right?" Chang Rong looked at Meru on the ice and said softly.

"But, but, I am clearly a deeply sinful sinner..."

"Well... to be honest, I did have an inexplicable 'hatred' for you at first, but strangely enough, now when I see you, that 'hatred' that I can't even understand myself has disappeared."

Looking at the girl in front of him, Chang Rong's last bit of 'discomfort' towards Melulu on the ice vanished completely the moment she lay dying in front of him.

This may sound selfish, and I know that not everyone can forgive me.

But... I'm sorry, I am indeed a selfish person, everyone. At least, at least for me—Meru's atonement on Ice ended at that moment.

"It's a cliché, but—perhaps the 'mastermind' on Ice, Meruru, died when she swallowed the Witch Slayer potion, and what's left here is just an ordinary, clumsy jellyfish that wants to find happiness and get the Great Witch's help to restore everything, right?"

“Lord Changrong…I…I am the kind of person…” Meruru’s voice trembled more and more.

"Someone like you has the right to seek happiness—don't forget, you have my blood flowing through your veins now. Even for my sake, you have to live on, and live seriously, understand?"

Chang Rong answered first. As Chang Rong spoke, Ice Meruru came to Chang Rong's side. She slowly knelt in front of Chang Rong, holding Chang Rong's right wrist with both hands as if she were holding a baby, and pressed her palms against her cheeks.

Large tears streamed down Meruru's cheeks, but at that moment, the pure white saintess wore an incredibly happy smile.

"I understand, Lord Changrong, my... Holy Son, my—"

My happiness.

I have found it, I have found my own happiness... I have found this happiness that I can grasp with my own hands.

As for the Great Witch...? Hmm, the Great Witch? I'm not very familiar with her, maybe I should just take her back and recycle her.

Meluru on Ice [99/100]

The Timid Angel → The Happy Jellyfish

--------

【52.5-6=46.5】

Brother Long is truly a dragon!

208. Buhao, the mysterious con artist, is about to break the cauldron!

—Thinking about it carefully… ever since Hiro dug the ice block out of me, although I wouldn’t say I was ‘tired,’ I’ve definitely been quite busy.

Explore the castle to dismantle traps, get to know everyone and improve relationships, build a confessional to become a confidant (although the progress of several tasks is rather delicate), cook in the canteen, and most importantly, be a true Sigma man to prevent being inexplicably tricked into a dark room to teach and educate by some prospective witches.

Optimists will think that this misstep is just a prelude to a better opportunity, while pessimists will think that if this misstep happens, then the boss, Lao Feng, has also ascended to heaven.

Chang Rong considers herself an optimistic person, so instead of complaining about her embarrassing state of lying in a hospital bed, she prefers to treat this break as a real "break," an opportunity to simply laze around and rest without having to think about anything else—except that she is indeed itching to cook for everyone.

However, despite these plans, the reality was completely different from what he had imagined...

Chang Rong, lying on the hospital bed, slumped over and looked toward the main entrance not far from the infirmary. The room, which should have been providing quiet services for patients, was bustling like a live shopping TV platform, with shouts, rebuttals, and debates that had been going on since the beginning.

There's no way to get a quiet rest...!

The root cause of this unrest is a question that no one can escape in a sense—what do we eat?

"I tried baking some blueberry bread, and although the first batch wasn't quite 99.9% pure blue, I'll try harder next time—"

“PASS. Although it smells very sweet, and I have to admit that the purity is already very high, Naiba Kaori, you forgot the most important thing—that is, patients are not suitable to eat high-oil and high-sugar foods while recuperating!”

"How...how could this happen...!" Kurobe Nanoha Kaori, who had been looking forward to this exciting moment, suddenly felt like her world had collapsed.

At the entrance to the infirmary, Kurobe Nanoha Kaori held a plate of toast with a mixture of anticipation and shyness. However, before she could personally feed Chang Rong her daily dose of Baby Blue and hear his exclamation of "Too, too, too!", she was stopped at the door by Nikaido Hiro and given a scathing critique.

Standing ramrod straight, with a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, Hiro was like a human scanner, scrutinizing the approaching prospective witch without any attempt at concealment. She then scribbled in her notebook and finally concluded: not approved.

"Hiro-chan... this, this is what I tried to make... my best omelet rice...!" Sakura Emma held up a plate with a crooked-looking omelet rice on it, but with a down-to-earth and cute feel to it.

"Your intention is commendable, Emma. But this is basically just fried rice. Where's the wrapping? Don't think you can fix it by pouring egg on the leak. Some things are broken, and that's that. And this is the bitter fruit you sowed yourself by only caring about eating other people's 'cooking waste' in your home economics class instead of paying attention to the lesson."

"Waaaaah... So, does that mean my friendship with Hiro-chan can't be repaired anymore...?"

"I, of course I didn't mean that...! But a friend's mistake is still a mistake, this kind of food is 'incorrect,' Emma... well, I'll take care of it for Chang Rong!"

"Hmm... Even this can't shake it. It seems Hiro-chan is serious..."

Seeing her childhood friend, Nikaido Hiro, looking both shaken and regretful, yet still resolute in her refusal to back down, Emma Sakura could only hang her head and leave with the plate of omelet fried rice that could turn Gordon Ramsay into a fiery chili pepper.

"Hey hey~! When you're sick, you really need to eat something high-energy, right? This is Sherry-chan's special compressed egg; it gets bigger and taller when it gets wet, one egg is better than six eggs—"

"This is practically near-future technology, like emergency battlefield rations! PASS!"

"Eh...!? I guess boiled duck eggs would have been better after all..."

"It has nothing to do with the breed of eggs—it's so heavy, did they really only compress six eggs!?"

Hero originally intended to pick up the egg and send Tachibana Sherry away like a broken bone, but the moment he took the boiled egg from Tachibana Sherry's hand, it felt like a lead ball, and Hero almost pulled it to the ground.

"Maybe 16? Hmm, I can't remember, hehe~!"

Could the final evolutionary path be six nuclear bombs...?

Hiro wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, took notes, and then stopped Tachibana Sherry outside as well.

After that, several more aspiring witches brought over their specially prepared "patient meals".

Milia offered instant noodles and ham without any sincerity. When asked, "Where's the sincerity?" Milia pointed to the canned fish with a puzzled look and said that there was sausage and canned food. This was already the best sincerity for an overtime meal. I can't exactly conjure up a mysterious, hot Eastern woman for you, can I?

—This guy's attitude towards 'eating' is just like that of a typical overworked middle-aged man...

Noah brought over a drink that supposedly replenishes electrolytes and looks beautiful, almost like a flowing rainbow, which even Hero found incredibly amazing.

However, for some reason, after taking the photo, Chang Rong did not drink it all on the spot. Instead, he called the warden and said he wanted to "reward the hardworking patrolman, that bird."

Although Noah vehemently objected and complained that the drink he had painstakingly made couldn't be given to a bird, after the warden took a few sips and fell fast asleep, oblivious to the bird's presence, Noah simply vanished. Chang Rong was left wiping his sweat and smiling wryly, thinking, 'Noah must have accidentally put the wrong ingredients in again.'

It seems that with the repentance of Ice Melulu, the mysterious light blue sleeping sweet water that was originally banned has made a comeback.

This "patient meal operation" was much larger than originally expected, and even Natsume An'an chose to come and join in the fun.

An An served several boiled potatoes. At first, Hiro was a little confused by this dish, which was too basic and unpretentious. But An An put her hands on her hips and hummed and hummed, indicating that this was not an ordinary stewed potato, but a special stewed potato that she had enchanted!

Aside from the fact that the skin wasn't removed and some clumps of dirt were still visible, Hero couldn't see any magic in it. Was it filled with stuffing? Was it broth from stewed potatoes? Or was it some kind of emerging molecular gastronomy?

Out of curiosity and because potatoes are indeed a relatively healthy food, Hiro made an exception and allowed Natsume An'an to pass the test of being a sick person's meal.

An'an approached Chang Rong and clumsily began mashing the potato with a spoon. Then, she gently scooped up pieces of potato and brought them to Chang Rong's mouth. The next second—

"[I command you, what you are about to eat is not stewed potatoes, but the ultra-ultra stewed potatoes with the most amazing clothes-ripping effect!]"

"It really is magic!" Shiro, veins bulging, pulled out the Seven Wolves of Air and ripped away the mysterious hypnotist.

"Hmm... isn't this a bit too harsh, Nikaido? Everyone just wanted to show their concern for Chang Rong in this way, but your actions are a bit too aggressive."

Witnessing the entire torture of An An, Arisa Fujito frowned and questioned Hiro while secretly stuffing the Oreo combo she was holding deep into her clothes.

"Is it too harsh? Perhaps it is a bit too harsh for you half-baked people, because when it comes to food for patients, you have to be prepared to die!"

"Ugh, do I really have to die..." Chang Rong muttered to herself as she lay on the bed.

"You think it's harsh just because that's all the level they've reached—fine, then let me show you what a proper patient meal really looks like."

Hiro snorted and took out an exquisite Japanese lunchbox. Inside, she found grilled fish, sesame spinach, whole grain rice, and radish slices neatly arranged. Although it looked simple, it exuded a sense of refinement from the inside out.

"Hmm... As expected of Hiro-chan..." Emma blinked. Nobody likes encountering someone who points fingers and criticizes, and what's even more annoying is that this person who points fingers and criticizes actually has the ability to do so.

"It's been a great help to understand the differences between specialties. Now, everyone, please leave the infirmary in an orderly manner so I can slowly feed the patients to replenish their energy—"

"Chang Rong is anemic right now, right? When you're anemic, it's actually not a good time to eat spinach, because it can hinder the absorption of iron."

Just as Hiro was triumphantly announcing his victory as a foregone conclusion, Hasumi Ryoya, who was standing next to him, suddenly remembered something and pointed to the sesame spinach in the lunchbox.

"Goo—!? Is there such a saying...!" The previously composed Hiro suddenly widened his eyes, looking at Rhea with disbelief.

"Yes, because I often take care of my mother, I have some knowledge in this area."

"Damn it, how could I make a mistake like this... Wait, wait a minute, actually this spinach is genetically modified, it won't have those side effects—"

"Even if you turn into silicon-based, it won't work! Don't try to lie and be stubborn at a time like this!" Tono Hannah shouted, completely shattering Hiro's attempt to stubbornly cling to life.

Unexpectedly, he transformed into a hellish chef, and after torturing everyone involved, he ended up taking down his own entire team as well. Suddenly, Chang Rong's meals for patients became a real problem.

Just as Hiro was thinking of a remedy, Chang Rong coughed lightly twice.

"I appreciate everyone's kindness, but... actually, I'm not very hungry yet because I just ate the fruit, bread, and milk that Meruru peeled for me," Chang Rong said with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Huh—!?" The prospective witches were all stunned. While everyone was showing off their skills, it turned out that someone had already raided their base?

All eyes immediately turned to Bing Shangzhong, who had been unusually quiet from the start, sitting not far from Chang Rong.

"Um... rather than thinking about how to make it perfect, it's more important to just make it first, right... for all you low-ranking witches who didn't even get a taste of the soup...?"

On the ice, Meruru timidly smiled at everyone, but no matter how you looked at that soft smile, it gave people the feeling that "this guy seems different again."

Meluru on Ice is a Stand user with growth potential! Including this 'sleeping pill confession incident', this is her third transformation. Her stats were already high, and now it seems she has gained a growth bonus in her temperament. Damn, who can resist her? Nobody can resist her!

As expected of the terrifying landmine woman who would threaten suicide at the slightest disagreement, she is truly terrifying...!

At that moment, everyone had to quietly raise the priority of this threat from the woman who was initially ignored and thought to be just a serious stunt.

"Ugh……"

Looking at the crowd in front of her who had been arguing about "patient meals" until now, Chang Rong sighed helplessly, but a smile remained on her lips.

The chaotic scene before me seemed somewhat familiar. In fact, it was as if, as long as I triggered the lying-on-the-plank CG, it would inevitably turn into this kind of bizarre and chaotic situation.

"Everyone—uh!"

Chang Rong tried to get up and say something, but as soon as he leaned to the left to try to prop himself up, a dazed feeling pulled him back onto the bed.