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

Hearing Chang Rong's heartfelt praise, Nanoha Kaori swallowed hard. As for the hairband-wearing guard beside her—

"Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!"

"Waaaaah, don't suddenly pounce on me, you silly sister!!"

The guard rushed towards Chang Rong with a "I can't hold it in anymore, I'm going to stab you to death" attitude, but was then grabbed by Naoya Kaori and forcibly dragged out of the infirmary.

"Um... if it's cute, I'll try even harder next time...!" "Hiss, hiss hiss hiss!!"

Nanoha Kaori said this with a flushed face, and then reluctantly left the infirmary with her older sister.

"...?" Chang Rong blinked. What exactly happened just now? Was it a skit? She hadn't done anything, so why did her older sister suddenly seem like she was about to explode?

"【Gugu, there's a reason why you're so easily swayed by fans who have no idea what they're doing, Mr. Chang Rong.】" The warden tilted his head and complained.

—This feeling of being completely clueless about 'acting cute,' but that 'cluelessness' actually becomes an endearing quality, is quite similar to Hero.

After the Kurobe sisters left, Chang Rong realized that something seemed off today, so she immediately began preparing for the next contestant.

"...What? He's actually awake."

Sure enough, Natsume Anan, a lazy girl wearing an overly loose lace-trimmed dress that looked like she was dragging her feet, peeked her little head into the infirmary.

"Is there something you need, An'an?" Chang Rong asked with a smile, while one hand was behind her back, ready to strike.

"Well, it's nothing... You're sick, right? So I... well, I'll treat this as a special perk during this special time, allowing you to rub my arm—it really is just a special, limited-time perk!"

Natsume Anan pouted and snuggled up to Chang Rong. Then, without saying a word, she plopped down on him, twisting her body to press against Chang Rong's front. Her fluffy, silver-white hair cascaded down, and her sleepy purple eyes looked at Chang Rong with a hint of expectation.

"Is that so? Then I shall humbly accept your invitation, great writer."

Chang Rong raised her hand and placed it on An An's head, feeling the tingling sensation on her scalp. An An, who had been tense, instantly relaxed, and her previously aloof and arrogant face revealed a soft and cute expression.

"Hmm... It's clearly just a sadistic, stupid monster... Hmm, it feels really good—"

As An An was sighing, she noticed Chang Rong's right wrist out of the corner of her eye. It was wrapped in an overly thick bandage. Although it could move slightly, the thought of Chang Rong's right hand looking almost severed when he was found still sent a chill down An An's spine.

"This right hand...did you tear it open yourself back then? Just to save that kind of guy—ugh!"

With a loud thud, a crisp flick came from An'an's forehead.

"Not 'that kind of guy,' it's Meruru." Chang Rong flicked An An, correcting her on the name.

"Hmph... So what's so special about her... Well, it's just because of those indecent breasts..."

“If it were An’an, I would do the same.” Chang Rong pinched An’an’s nose and responded first.

"Hmm—!? Us...? Cough cough, this, this is only natural!" Natsume An'an's cheeks flushed instantly as she listened to Chang Rong's calm tone, which sounded like a simple statement of facts. But she immediately snorted a few times, covered her head with her sketchbook, and responded with an air of self-righteousness.

"That's right, that's right. After all, great writers deserve better protection."

“That’s it… mmm, mmm…” An’an nodded, then quickly nestled in Chang Rong’s arms again, enjoying her hair being ruffled and made more and more fluffy.

After becoming Chang Rong's stress-relieving toy for a while, An An suddenly remembered something.

No, that's not right! We're not here to be rubbed and kneaded by some stupid monster! We're here to do something big, something big!

"Ugh! The farce is over! You stupid monster, give me—"

"Crack!"

As if she had anticipated this, Chang Rong raised her wrist and, before the hypnotist An An could issue the command, swung something over.

After a while, Natsume An'an came out of the infirmary with her hair even more fluffy. The little writer had veins all over her head. She had an apple stuffed in her mouth. Although she tried to bite it off, her mouth was too small and she was slow. She could only hold the apple with both hands and carefully leave.

It was like experiencing a real-life version of "Okay, stop talking" in a fruity way.

—An'an has a cat-like personality, and I feel like Shiro was like that at first too, but my An'an has become much more well-behaved now!

"Waaah... An'an suddenly ran out... Did she cause you any trouble, Xiao Rong?"

Saeki Miria, who called herself "Uncle," hurriedly caught up with Chang Rong, asking him questions with a mix of embarrassment and nervousness.

"No, An'an is very well-behaved." Chang Rong gave Milia a thumbs-up to reassure her.

As long as An An's amazing wisdom and hypnotic magic are not used, then she is a fluffy, well-behaved child, and there is no problem with this logic.

"Well, that's good..." Milia breathed a sigh of relief. Then the two looked at each other but no one spoke, and the scene fell into an awkward silence.

"Hey, Xiao Rong! Speaking of which, I suddenly had a thought, how about we try using a swapping spell? Xiao Rong, you must be bored lying around like this all the time, right? Want to give it a try...?"

Milia quickly looked for a topic to talk about. She moved closer to Chang Rong and tentatively asked the boy in front of her, extending her palm.

“Exchange…no, no need, Milia. I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t feel right…besides, my constitution is rather special, so let’s not take the risk.”

Chang Rong rubbed his hair and responded softly. For some reason, he didn't want Milia and the 'patient' to switch bodies at all.

"Yes, really? Indeed..." Milia nodded awkwardly with a forced smile, while withdrawing the hand she had finally mustered the courage to extend.

However, Milia was, after all, a mature office worker, and she immediately clenched her fist and placed it in front of her chest, striking a pose of encouragement.

"No, but no matter what, Xiaorong, you must act within your capabilities, okay! This time, no matter how you look at it, it was still... well, still a bit reckless!"

"Sorry..." Chang Rong rubbed his hair and apologized, while Milia's eyes immediately lit up, revealing an expression as if she were seeing a newly summoned witness.

"Sorry won't do! We have to teach Xiao Rong a lesson!"

"A lesson? Wait, wait a minute, Milia, I'm still a patient—ooh...!"

Chang Rong belatedly realized that he had been tricked by the shameless "corporate slave uncle," but before he could even defend himself, Saeki Miria had already launched her offensive.

"Hehe, huff huff huff..."

A few minutes later, Chang Rong lay sprawled on the hospital bed, making incomprehensible noises and drooling. Her eyes rolled upwards uncontrollably, leaving only a hollow and empty gaze. She looked as if she had finally reached her breaking point and had been completely ruined.

In the infirmary, I encountered a strange person patting my head. Their maternal glow was dazzling and hard to avoid. I tried my best to get patted until my tongue stuck out.

"Rongrong! I'm here to help again! This time I even bribed Arisa with a painting beforehand. Heh heh, this time I'll definitely make Rongrong drink this 'Spring Sleep Unaware of Dawn'—Milia?"

"Is that Noah? Um—Xiao Rong is resting right now, Noah, you can't disturb him, okay? It's perfect that you're here too, Arisa. Don't just stand at the door, the weather's so nice, how about we go for a walk in the countryside together? A walk in the countryside~!"

"Saeki, what are you doing here? A picnic or something like that doesn't really suit me... I'm just here to check on Chang Rong, I won't do anything, and also to keep an eye on Balloon-sensei from doing anything weird— ugh!? I told you, I don't go on picnics—"

"Nono nono no...!?"

This time, Little Balloon Noah seemed determined to succeed. She had even bribed the Humanity Testing Instrument, Arisa Wisteria, beforehand, and brought a net to catch the warden.

But man proposes, God disposes. Noah, who was fully prepared, was dragged out of the infirmary by Saeki Miria, who seemed flustered for some reason, before he even saw Chang Rong. The grand Witch's Great Water Boil Operation ended prematurely before it even began.

"Oh dear, even our Noah is completely under Milia's thumb. If Hero saw this, he'd probably be furious..."

Chang Rong looked at the scene before her with such emotion, and it was at that moment that she suddenly realized something—

-

“I’ve realized… I’ve been thinking about you almost all day. No matter who the girl in front of me is, I’m still thinking about our promise, Hiro.”

In the infirmary late at night, the boy sat on the hospital bed, looking at the black-haired girl in front of him and speaking softly.

----------

Thanks to Chenguang Moxin for the helpful tip; I'm going to buy an ice cream cone now.

Thanks to Reinforce the Wall, I will always love Honkai Impact 3rd, Admiral, vFulingv for the donation.

212. My Hero (Part 1)

From the moment I opened my eyes, from the moment I saw those black hairs with red highlights, from the instant my gaze met those ruby-like eyes, I've been thinking about one question—

Do such beautiful, adorable girls, like those in paintings or fictional works of art, really exist in reality?

However, the beautiful black-haired girl in front of him not only existed, but she even hugged him and told him personally that she was his girlfriend.

Such a near-perfect girl is my 'girlfriend'...? Because it feels so unreal, it's almost like a self-doubt stemming from low self-esteem, making it completely unbelievable to me.

However, although I lacked the courage to believe, I was unwilling to take my eyes off her, so... I chose an extremely opportunistic approach, which was to be passive.

If I do nothing, if I simply let her do as she pleases, and she still chooses me under these circumstances... then perhaps this isn't some shameful dream for self-gratification, or some kind of mischievous prank.

"...Hmm, I didn't expect this to happen."

Listening to the boy's confession, Hiro clicked his tongue and frowned. He was somewhat dissatisfied and regretful about how he had handled things in levels 1 and 2.

—I should have known better than to start this way! I originally wanted to make our relationship clear from the beginning and then feast on the rabbit meat, but my overly perfect personality, great appearance, and all-around abilities actually startled the naive Chang Rong, even making him doubt whether he was worthy of being her 'boyfriend'...

Hiro felt a little annoyed. If he had been more composed when he pulled Chang Rong out of the ice, and said that their relationship wasn't that intimate, their relationship might have warmed up even faster.

After all, not everyone can be a gigolo with a clear conscience. When faced with such a perfect young woman saying "we are engaged" in front of you, some people will instinctively question what they have done to deserve such a beautiful wife.

Of course, this is all hindsight. At that time, Heero was still being corrupted by her witch-like state, so it was unlikely that she could have played it safe.

"Although some reasons prevented me from taking things further with you, Hiro, I was truly captivated by you during our subsequent interactions."

Chang Rong looked at the black-haired girl in front of her, her face filled with longing.

"Hiro, you are really cool. Whether it's your decisive and correct way of doing things, your ability to easily unite everyone to overcome difficulties, your reassuring courage and will, or your determination to always be firm and clear about your goals... I admire and aspire to any of these qualities of yours."

"White, you idiot rabbit, there's no need to be so cheesy... You're exaggerating a bit too much, I really want to slap you on the back—"

"...It's just that this kind of personality, where they're quick to argue and their communication style is really a bit too much for me!"

Chang Rong swallowed hard and quickly waved his hand, as the saying goes, no one is perfect. Nikaido Hiro, who was usually almost unbelievably perfect, would speak up whenever Chang Rong wanted to show her some respect.

The things they said were nothing more than, "There are four ways to headbutt a rabbit to death," "Is the work of the disciplinary committee called a private meal? That's called an investigation," and "There are two rabbits in front of my house, one is a benevolent rabbit, and the other is a righteous rabbit," which made everyone burst into laughter. Pointing at Hiro, they said, "Hiro, you didn't headbutt the rabbit zone again today!" For a moment, the atmosphere was filled with joy.

"Who told you to keep seducing me like that, how could I possibly resist..."

Hero blushed, snorted coldly, and turned his head away. If he was always being harassed, why didn't he look for the reasons within himself? Why did Hero only target you and not Emma? Answer me!

"Well, um... anyway, let's get back to the topic."

Chang Rong coughed awkwardly twice. The atmosphere had been set up quite well just now, but as soon as Hiro opened his mouth, he went off into the bizarre direction of comedy again. What was this, the realm of Yamato Nadeshiko?

"Hiro, you must have witnessed a lot of despair, experienced many separations, and lost many companions before you went back to the very beginning... And the end before that return must have been a cruel scene that you didn't even want to touch in your memories."

Chang Rong spoke gently, looking at the girl who had returned once again across time and space.

"Uh...yes, yes." Hiro nodded awkwardly, quickly indicating that Chang Rong was right!

I really don't want to recall the scenes from before the flashback. Those scenes were indeed quite 'cruel' in a sense, and most people would never be able to do that.

"That's why I've always wanted to strive to become someone who can catch up with Hiro, someone who is worthy of you, Hiro."

Chang Rong clenched his fist, his eyes fixed on the girl who was now so close to him, the one he considered his goal.

“Coco-chan is a girl who makes me feel at ease; just seeing her, just holding her in my arms, makes me feel safe. And Hiro… you are the one who gives me ‘courage,’ making me feel that all this tragedy and the past can be corrected, everyone’s ‘hero’—”

"It belongs to you, Chang Rong."