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

"They don't even want to say a single comforting word... How could this kind of advertising possibly be effective—huh?"

Before the young lady could finish her rant, a sudden commotion erupted from the distant castle.

Countless veterans, veteran mega-levels, veteran promax-levels, all lying dormant and hidden in some unknown corner, slowly moved towards the stage, towards the 'talking, zakozako~ walking witch factor'.

They're here, they're here—

-

Thanks to Chenguang Moxin·Fulan Hongxia for the unexpected help!

Thanks to Admirer hjhwal for the food!

223. My World's Number One Idol

"Waaaaaah..."

These 'super veterans,' who could probably summon ancient heroic spirits if thrown into a summoning circle, were mostly quite slow in their movements and didn't have the oppressive power of a humanoid tyrant like a Licker. However, the sight of the dark mass in front of her still gave Meruru an overwhelming shock.

"I...I...we...are we really okay...?" Meruru shrank her head and asked in a low voice. She had indeed prepared herself mentally, but seeing this scene, which resembled a cafeteria opening for lunch, still brought a considerable shock to the jellyfish.

"Show me some of the aura of someone in the shadows! This kind of footage is commonplace for me, nothing to brag about, nothing to be taken seriously!"

The young lady gritted her teeth and spoke loudly. Although her tone was not weak at all, her trembling legs betrayed the fact that she was also afraid.

"It's alright, Miss. We're all here for you. Please show these lowly bumpkins what the highest etiquette of the Gaoyuan family is." Chang Rong sensed the tension between the young lady and Mei Lulu. He came to their side and smiled as he tried to soothe their anxiety and fear.

"--Well, that goes without saying! You, the commoner, are the one who should be scared and run around in circles, only to get caught and eaten by them."

The young lady snorted in rebuttal. It was quite strange, really. Whenever she breathed on this commoner, the fear and irritation would disappear.

"This...this is simply...this is simply—"

When Hasumi Ryoya saw this scene, her voice trembled, her hands clenched tightly, and her whole body shook uncontrollably.

"Hey, Leia, are you nervous too? Why don't you take a deep breath—"

"This is absolutely amazing!!"

"Aha!?"

Suddenly, Ryota Hasumi burst into laughter, her eyes shining, her excitement and fervor almost bursting forth uncontrollably.

The young lady was startled by Leia's 'leopard transformation', while Chang Rong, standing to the side, looked at Lianjian Leia with an expression that showed she was not surprised at all.

After all, Rhea was someone who could be corrupted by the witch factor and become a legendary figure just for the sake of 'grabbing attention'. Now, with these 'audiences' in front of her, a number that would have been impossible to gather in a lifetime on the original Witch Island, she had to consider whether this was her only chance in this life.

"Then let's proceed according to plan—" "Everyone!! Welcome to the first 'Witch's Rest' Elysium Concert!"

Before Chang Rong could even announce the start of the operation, Ryota Hasumi flipped over and leaped to the center of the stage, raising her microphone and energetically greeting the countless wreckage.

"Hiss...?" "Hiss—"

Some of the debris was stunned by this sudden scene, and in doing so, they blocked other debris. Under this artificial 'traffic jam,' many pieces of debris actually looked like they were attending a concert as they crowded around.

"I am your idol, Hasumi Ryoua. Although I haven't yet reached the top of the Budokan, I believe that with everyone's support, one day I will definitely become the brightest and most dazzling idol star. So, without further ado—"

Snapped!

With a cool snap of her fingers, spotlights on both sides of the stage shone brightly, and the huge speakers placed on both sides began to play the accompaniment. A powerful melody began to play, seemingly the intro of a song that wasn't so old, but was indeed once very popular.

"Destroying the media with an invincible smile? Hiding secrets that others only perceive as mysterious?"

As Hasumi Ryoua spoke, more of the wreckage temporarily stopped moving forward.

While some animals in nature can sing, the act of giving meaning to lyrics and incorporating them into rhythm and music is something that only humans can do.

The voice representing 'humanity' resounded throughout Witch Island, keeping those remnants who had not yet completely lost their way in place.

"A genius-level idol~?"

"Oh my savior, oh my saving grace!!" Chang Rong shouted from below to help with the harmony. After confirming that some of the debris had already piled up, he quickly patted the young lady and Meruru, who were immersed in Rhea's performance at lightning speed.

"Wow... Miss Rhea, wow, wow... Wow, wow, wow... You're so amazing, you're shining so brightly..." Meru was completely stunned by Rhea's performance. She had never truly opened her heart to these aspiring witches, so naturally she had no way of discovering each of their most radiant and beautiful moments.

"Mmm...really? This is really good...super good! I've already approved of you! No, but you can't get complacent because of this!"

"As expected of someone who can rival Alice for the position of being the one to please Daddy, he certainly seems to be no ordinary person..."

"Well, I'm really happy that you guys enjoyed Rhea-sama's concert, but we still need to get down to business for a bit...?"

Chang Rong awkwardly gestured to the three of them not to get too caught up in the performance. It wasn't that Chang Rong was cold-hearted or heartless; it was mainly because if the debris really did surge over, the others could continue enjoying the performance, but she was afraid she would be turned into a piece of dried rabbit meat and distributed as a secret snack at the concert...

"Oh...yes, that's right!"

The young lady blinked and came to her senses. After noticing the somewhat bizarre and comical scene of the 'audience' gradually crowding together, she decisively activated the 'Blooming' spell.

In an instant, countless plants sprouted and bloomed out of thin air on the open ground in front of the stage. These vines spread and grew wildly, forcibly restraining all the debris that had been blocked in front of the stage.

Not only were there vines used for physical restraint, but also many colorful flowers blooming simultaneously. These flowers possessed varying degrees of paralysis and hallucination effects. Although the remains themselves were almost beyond the definition of 'human,' they were still carbon-based life forms. Under the influence of the flowers, many of the remains gradually settled down completely, watching Rhea's performance on stage without moving.

"Hmm... Not bad. The flower seeds and roots you found can actually control those strange things."

The young lady wiped her forehead and looked at Meruru beside her to offer her praise.

"Waaaah... But, but I couldn't find all the plants that Lord Changrong requested... Those wondrous plants that can spit out peas, produce the sun, and jump up to smash things—I, I really can't find them..."

Meruru didn't smile when she heard the young lady's praise. Instead, she felt a little embarrassed and awkwardly tried to shrink her head back.

"Wow, there really are plants like that? No, there must be, or rather, there must be some in my backyard, that's for sure!"

The young lady was taken aback when she heard about those 'plants', and then quickly said that she definitely grew pea shooters at home.

—At least when it comes to being stubborn despite lacking common sense, Miss Hannah has completely mastered the essence.

Chang Rong thought to herself as she looked at Li Hua's feigned composure.

Either this young lady has a Dave living next door, or the Highland family's main field happens to be plant biology and genetics, and they also have business dealings with an umbrella company.

But now is not the time to investigate what's in the young lady's backyard—

"Go, Meruru! Now! A significant amount of the wreckage has been completely contained. It's all yours now!"

Chang Rong looked at Mei Lulu, nodded to her, and said.

"I...do I really...go?" Meruru hesitated, looking at the glass filled with clear liquid beside her with a somewhat hesitant expression.

“You have to go. Although there are many ways to ‘help someone pass away,’ only you, Meruru, can do this, and it has to be you. Only by doing this yourself can we move forward. Remember, this time it’s not about killing anyone, but about personally atoning for past sins. Even if you can never repay them, you still have to keep repaying them.”

"……I see."

Looking into the earnest and resolute eyes of the white-haired boy in front of her, Meruru felt herself being infected by that same resolve.

I must move forward; waiting for salvation is impossible... Lord Changrong didn't abandon me, so... so I must also try to move forward.

Having made this decision, Meru on Ice finally raised the cup and walked toward one of the unstruggling remains not far away.

"Are you... a little thirsty? Please, please have some."

Meruru timidly walked to the wreckage and held the cup containing the clear liquid to its mouth.

"Hiss hiss hiss—hiss hiss hiss hiss (This wine has power) hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss—! (Ah, I'm relieved!)"

After a brief pause, the large, white, transparent liquid residue dissipated on the spot.

"May you...find your own happiness..."

Meruru prayed softly, then raised her hand and cast a [Restore Magic] spell on the empty glass. A flash of green light appeared, and the transparent liquid reappeared in the glass.

Is it very unscientific? Yes, it is very unscientific. But please don't forget, everyone, this is Green Skin... this is the realm of magic.

Although Meruru is actually unable to use healing magic due to the scarcity of witch factors, and although the current 'restoration' is a complete physical destroyer that appears out of nowhere—because Chang Rong whispered in Meruru's ear, biting her cheek and pinching her neck hard, telling her 'You can do it,' Meruru still managed to do it, just because Chang Rong believed she could!

So, the second cup of mysterious sweet water was poured into the mouth of the second wreckage—then the third, the fourth…

In such a simple and unadorned way, Meruru sent all the almost unresisting witch remains to the afterlife.

However, this one-on-one service wasn't very efficient, and many pieces of debris still struggled to break free of the vines and rush towards Chang Rong. Of course, Chang Rong hadn't initially expected to clear all the debris in this way.

His main purpose in doing this was to have Meruru personally 'release' these remains, allowing her to fully participate in this 'Witch's Rest Concert'.

"This is absolutely not a lie, I love you all~?"

After the song ended, a portion of the wreckage successfully ascended to the heavens—it was absolutely amazing!

"Alright, next up is the second song! Everyone, please join me in getting the atmosphere heated up once again! Everyone, raise your hands, okay?! The second song is—The World's Number One Princess!"

"Hiss hiss hiss—!!"

Several wrecks, who had been trying to break free since earlier, raised their already twisted hands and finally broke free from the control of the vines. They ran straight towards Chang Rong without any hesitation.

"Hiss hiss hiss!!! Hiss hiss hiss—! Hiss!?"

Clang!

The wreckage roared and charged forward, but was grabbed by the young lady and subjected to a German-style back throw!

"As expected... as long as you believe you possess this power, then you can really control it easily—go and reincarnate, you old bastard!"

"Hiss—Guwa! Aba...Sayounara!!"

The young lady turned around and threw the wreckage into the white light outside the entrance hall, where it instantly turned into a cloud of relieved powder that scattered in all directions.

"Although I feel that even without the power of belief, Miss, you could do this kind of thing..."

Chang Rong muttered under her breath, while watching helplessly as several more remains that had managed to break free were tossed into the white light of rebirth by the young lady like trash bags.

“However—this is precisely the power we possess as ‘humans,’ right, young lady?”

Chang Rong dodged the thrown debris and smiled as she spoke to the humanoid pile driver, wondering if she could still be considered a 'human'.

The initial plan was to deal with these selected "high-strength troublemakers" using a long gun and a revolver (the bullets would make the invincible Meruru Star find a way to reverse the electricity meter). However, unexpectedly, these so-called "high-risk targets" all turned into spinning tops in the hands of the young lady, and they would start spinning in place as soon as they touched them.

"Power..."

After casually throwing another piece of debris into the entrance hall with a fadeaway jump shot, the young lady looked at Hasumi Ryoua, who was still shining brightly and tirelessly on the stage.

"You'd better keep a close eye on me, or I won't know where I might run off to!"

"Actually, I'm even more timid than I appear—I've always felt that I've never truly succeeded at anything. Everything I've gained and possessed has simply been a 'reward' that I'm entitled to because of my status and background." The young lady said, rubbing her overly long blonde hair with a self-deprecating smile.

"But unfortunately, my 'background' itself is full of loopholes, like holding gold on the edge of a precarious cliff. I might lose everything at any moment, and when that happens... I might have nothing left."

"But—but this time it's different…! When I saw the child shining, I finally realized that even if it was insignificant, even if it seemed like I was patting myself on the back, I had indeed changed some people and helped some people become better."

The young lady turned her gaze away from Leia and looked at the white-haired boy beside her.

"If it were me now... even if I were facing that door, I would probably have the courage to take a step forward."