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

"As expected of Rhea-sama! By the way, how long was this stage play originally scheduled to be?"

"120 minutes! I plan to use a single, continuous shot. How daring is that? But speaking of which, the 10 minutes that are cut will only be used for sponsor commercials—"

"NEXT"

Chang Rong smiled as he directly killed the mysterious script of Hasumi Ryoya. It was clear that even though this idol had matured and even evolved in a strange and wrong direction, some things would not change.

But that's fine, anyway. Every time Hasumi Ryoua prepares for a stage play, a bloody incident always occurs just before the performance. For everyone's safety, it's better to make her give up on that idea sooner rather than later.

It wasn't me who refused to perform with Rhea-sama; it was this chaotic world corrupted by witch genes, and this witch island swept up by fate!

"What, how could this be, Romeo!? I had clearly planned to use the movie 'Hachiko Sleeps Soundly in His Owner's Arms for 7 Hours' to shed my image as a flashy but unrealistic idol!"

—Judging from the name, it seems like Rhea-sama just wants to be held by me while sleeping... By the way, wasn't it supposed to be 120 minutes? How did it become 7 hours?

Chang Rong rubbed her eyebrows helplessly. If she had known it would turn out this way, she should have hardened her heart and refused to let Leia come along.

This girl's ability to act as a third wheel far surpasses her achievements in stage plays. Chang Rong doesn't even know how she'll find the time to chat with Meruru about the 'previous witch trial' and the 'Great Witch'.

I should have seriously prepared my emotions and words along this journey, so that this pure white nun would truly try to confront her past sins, and incidentally, stop her from being so prone to inappropriate talk...

It's all because of this golden retriever idol next to me; now my mind is filled with her idiotic stage play scenes!

All I can say is thank you to An An for volunteering to write the script for the stage play instead of letting Leia improvise, and I'm even more grateful to An An for being such a procrastinator, making it impossible for this stage play to ever be performed.

The three arrived next to the 'Goblin Room' that served as Chang Rong's bedroom. Although the interior decoration of this 'Water Elf Room' was exactly the same as the one next door, as long as the carpet in the corner was moved, a secret entrance connecting to the underground freezer could be seen.

However, this time, because the information had been leaked and even Meruru herself had surrendered, the entrance to the basement was left wide open.

"Sigh...this is it."

Chang Rong pointed to the ladder passage with a somewhat exhausted tone, saying that it seemed he would not be able to find an opportunity to privately confront Meruru in court for the time being.

I should have secretly taken a bone before coming here, at least then I could have found a chance to send Leia-sama away—no, no, Leia isn't a real dog!

If you really want to attract her, you at least need something that can genuinely grab her attention. Like myself—no, no, no, that would be like throwing good money after bad, completely putting the cart before the horse!

Chang Rong shook her head frantically, trying to banish those absurd 'methods' from her mind. Seriously, she's a rising star in the idol world? Just standing next to me makes my head spin with her image—Hame Ryoua…a terrifying woman!

"?"

Thinking of this, Chang Rong looked at Renjian Leia with admiration, while Leia tilted her head and looked confused. But after 'thinking for a while,' she still gave Chang Rong what she thought was a cool and cheerful smile in response.

"...It's nothing, Rhea-sama."

Chang Rong turned her slightly flushed cheeks away and forcibly looked away. After all, she was a prospective witch who possessed the magic to control eyes. Just a slight eye contact with her would create an attraction that made it impossible to look away.

However, the prerequisite for activating this magic is that Rhea-sama must obediently turn off her microphone, or simply go to sleep on the spot.

"Speaking of which, this place is really amazing. Normally, you only find a small number of modern gadgets in certain rooms inside the castle, but this basement is full of what looks like really advanced technology, with all these pipes, steel bars, gears and stuff. It's pretty cool!"

In the basement corridor, Hasumi Ryoya was quite fascinated by the scene around her; indeed, the basement's decor could be described as 'out of place'.

"Hmm... This place was specially modified by humans later, and I don't really understand many of its functions... When I first discovered that there was something that could produce boiling water just by pressing a button and waiting a few minutes, I was really shocked...!"

Meluru on the ice said with some trouble in her heart, "She is in charge of managing the dark secrets of Witch Island, but she herself doesn't know anything about these things. Even jellyfish feel a little embarrassed."

"I can't even imagine what kind of cruel trials and tribulations you, Meruru, went through to finally learn how to use a smartphone."

Although she used an accessible mode for the elderly, Meruru did not give everyone a spinning wheel phone as a means of communication, which is already a commendable achievement.

"Well, actually, it was the warden who taught me... but there are still many functions that I don't understand at all... Sometimes some strange windows will pop up on my phone automatically. I want to close them, but they just keep popping up from one window to another... In the end, I inexplicably ordered a bunch of products whose effects I don't understand at all... In the end, I had no choice but to completely shut down the network on Witch Island."

As she spoke, Meru sighed helplessly, as if she were regretting something. However, she immediately patted her cheeks with both hands.

"No, but! Perhaps this is the right thing to do, right? After all, the rule I initially envisioned was 'one hour of internet access for every person killed,' but if we actually did that... we would only be burdened with more sins, wouldn't we...?"

Meruru looked at Chang Rong pitifully, while the latter rubbed his eyebrows, unable to utter a single word of comfort.

—The pop-up window at the start of the screen, is it you who protected the aspiring witches...?

No wonder a fool's sudden inspiration is more lethal. If Meruru really did that, putting aside the veterans, at least Chang Rong's generation would definitely explode without even having a chance to successfully transform into Hao Mao.

Fortunately, in the end, Meruru only chose the most basic method of 'showing horror movies, eating thesis defenses, and secretly cricketing behind people'. To be honest, apart from forcing everyone to use Akaishi, the other projects were essentially just Meruru's self-satisfied behavior of thinking she was 'evil'.

Thinking about it carefully, the relationship between Meruru and the witch factor is somewhat like the story of "Kobe and I combined for 81 points, and Zhao Yun and I charged in and out of Changban Slope seven times." Even if Meruru is left alone, these aspiring witches corrupted by the witch factor will eventually break down; the only difference will be the time it takes.

This is an 'inevitable result' that cannot be interfered with by external forces. Chang Rong had already clearly realized this during the previous witch trial.

Even though she tried her best to comfort everyone, the final result was still an undeniable tragedy. Perhaps the young lady's tragedy was related to Meruru's whispers, but what about Nana? What about Nanoha-neechan?

It's even possible that because of the existence of Meruru, a jellyfish that floats around and can heal injuries, the pressure on everyone might not increase so quickly.

...No, that would be to absolve Meruru of all responsibility, and such an idea is too frivolous and one-sided.

Regardless, Chang Rong lamented that Meruru's dark history was like a never-ending minefield on Witch Island, as she followed the two to the end of the passage, heading towards the elevator door, which was both the underground core area and the witches' graveyard.

"Um... this elevator seems to detect the number of prospective witches. If it exceeds two at a time, it will stop running... It was originally designed for three people, but something seems to have gone wrong and it now only holds two..."

Meruru arrived at the elevator and pressed the button, explaining to the two people behind her at the same time.

"Why is it designed to limit passengers to three?" Hasumi Ryoya stepped into the elevator first, observing the flashy-looking metal gears as she asked with some curiosity.

"Well, this... I'm not really sure either..."

Meruru couldn't answer Hasumi Rhea's question and could only grumble and mumble to herself.

—It couldn't be that someone saw some river crossing problem and came up with this idea on a whim, could it?

Recalling what happened when she and Xiluo Keke took the elevator back to the ground, Chang Rong thought with an embarrassed expression.

For example, if Rhea goes down first, then I will be pushed down by Meruru who can't hold it in any longer. If Meruru goes down first, then I will be pushed down by Rhea who can't hold it in any longer. Oh no, isn't this a dead end?

Fortunately, due to her special physical condition, Chang Rong was not caught up in the elevator's bizarre overweight mechanism. Hmph, everything is still within my plan...!

"Um... I remember there was a way to change the settings, but I forgot the specific method..."

"No need to trouble Meruru, just come up directly."

"Huh? Then, wouldn't that trigger an overweight warning—no, it doesn't?"

Chang Rong pulled Meruru, who was still scratching her head at the control panel, directly onto the elevator. When she found that the elevator did not sound an alarm, Meruru blinked and looked extremely confused.

"Meruru, are you the mastermind...? Why do you seem like you don't know anything? I feel like even Romeo is more likely to be the mastermind than you." Rhea asked, one hand on her hip, puzzled.

On the ice, Meruru knew nothing about these things, while Chang Rong, who should have been a complete 'bystander,' knew them all like the back of her hand. This scene was indeed a bit confusing.

"I... I am indeed the mastermind... and a mastermind who has committed an unforgivable crime..."

Melulu responded weakly, but as she spoke, her tone became low and somber.

Meruru had taken the elevator many times, because in most witch trials, Meruru on Ice couldn't always remain hidden at the back. Quite a few times she was 'murdered' or 'executed' early on, after which she would take the elevator to the basement to wait.

After Chang Rong's 'death,' Meruru would often come alone to the basement's freezing area late at night, silently praying in front of Chang Rong's ice cellar, hoping for her unrealistic forgiveness.

However, Meruru had never felt this suffocating sensation during any previous elevator ride.

To her left, Hasumi Ryoa stood with one hand on her hip, half-jokingly teasing herself. She was the new generation of witch trainee, representing the 'future,' and a kind person unaware of her sins.

And on her right... was her own Holy Son, who was also a survivor of the former witch trial who had witnessed her sins but had forgotten them due to 'amnesia,' representing the 'past.'

No… I don’t want to face the sins I committed with my own hands in front of them. I know it’s a fact I have to face, but it’s still… too cruel.

After receiving Chang Rong's forgiveness and being 'reborn' by being nourished by his blood, Meruru became fully aware of the sins she had committed.

The witch's remains, which she had originally regarded as 'dead objects' through drugs, magic, and self-deception, now seemed like pairs of deadly tentacles, intending to drag her completely into the abyss as the elevator descended.

Once the elevator reaches the lowest point, he will have no choice but to once again... use his retrieved memories to witness, beside Lord Chang Rong, the countless sins he has committed over the past century...

Thinking about this, Meru felt her heart was about to stop. And it was at that very moment that the elevator stopped moving.

Boom—Clang!

"Huh...!? What, what's going on!"

Rhea instinctively tried to protect the two of them, and after a jolt, the elevator doors opened in front of them.

Behind the door was an unseen darkness. There was neither a door leading to the underground freezer/execution platform, nor was it a wall artificially constructed between floors; it was truly pitch black in the literal sense.

"Eh...? I, I don't know, I've never felt this way before—hmm!?"

Confused, Meru stepped forward to observe the situation, but the next second, she was as if grabbed by something and forcibly dragged into the dark void outside the elevator, like ink falling into an inkstone.

"Meruru...!?" "Ugh—!!"

Chang Rong shouted, while Renmi Ryoya, standing to the side, barely made a sound.

In that instant, Chang Rong realized the crucial difference between himself and Hasumi Ryoa. The moment Meruru vanished into nothingness, Chang Rong thought that Nanoha Kaori's illusion had indeed never been used in the basement; in other words, Meruru might have fallen into a trap. If so, then he had to find a way to gather information and try to break it.

But Ryota Hasumi followed right behind Meruru on the ice and slipped inside.

She still wanted to protect everyone as always, an almost instinctive urge that didn't require any thought. She rushed straight to the person who needed protection the most at that moment, Meruru on Ice.

—I should stay calm and at least contact everyone. There must be a more reasonable solution than just rushing in like this.

Chang Rong stood at the boundary between the elevator space and the void. He watched Leia disappear and desperately tried to figure out how to deal with this sudden situation.

Contact Nanoha by phone to create a hallucination, find the information, and ask Mag to investigate the relevant ancient texts. Then, use everyone's strength to dismantle this 'trap'. If it's truly beyond repair, have Hiro use Rewind.

The approach is clear, and that's exactly how it should be done. If you want to try to save someone, you should first understand the situation, instead of just rushing in without thinking.

"..."

Stay calm? Everyone knows you should stay calm in a crisis, but what if you're walking a harpy penguin and it suddenly charges at a jellyfish without warning? How do you stay calm then?

...Leah, you—you stupid golden retriever!!!

The instant Leia's figure disappeared, Chang Rong plunged headlong into the void outside the elevator.

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Thank you for your unexpected support, Chenguang Moxin!

Thank you to White Tea Deer, Qiuqiu Qiuqiu, and Yadmiller for the feeding!

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Today's bonus chapter is 0.5, still 27 chapters short. At least it counts as a bonus chapter... right...?

It's really not my fault; blame the tower climbing for being too captivating...

In short, tomorrow will definitely be a dragon!

219. Da Rong Wang's solo clearing of the top-secret prison map is verifiable (10K)

"Well--!"

Chang Rong gritted his teeth and followed closely behind Leia and Meruru, rushing directly into the void outside the elevator.