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

"Waaah...?" Alice blinked as she tried to use magic, her expression becoming somewhat tense.

"You lazy daughter—you're always sleeping in, clinging to me while I'm cooking, constantly making me squirt colored light into your eyes, and you make a mess of the kitchen seasonings. I really need to teach you what filial piety really means!!"

"Oh, Alice's never made seasonings before—waaaah!?"

Alice's confusion remained unresolved, and this spoiled brat finally experienced a lesson that many people learn on their path to adulthood—that parents are always right.

You dare talk back? Fine, then I'll let you talk back to me as much as you want. This is the reality of evil adults!

"Wow... This is too exciting... I... I think I should think about it some more—Wow!"

"Don't go, Leia-sama! This wonderful stage play is only missing you as the star...?"

Ryota Hasumi's common sense is being tested—the golden retriever, whose virtue failed the test, tries to run away, but is caught by Chang Rong and instantly refined.

At this moment, Chang Rong held Leia's cheeks in his hands, and the two looked at each other. If it weren't for the fact that Meruru was desperately doing a plank on Chang Rong, the kind of plank that would get her fucked if she failed, and the two veterans were lounging on either side with their tongues sticking out, then this scene would have been somewhat romantic.

"A stage play...? Um... what kind of stage play is this—"

“It’s very simple, Rhea-sama.” Chang Rong said with a gentle smile, stroking Rhea Hasumi’s cheek.

"I'll play the sword in the stone, and Rhea-sama, you play the scabbard. I'll play Hou Yi, and Rhea-sama, you play the sun. I'll play the assassin, and you play Melody—"

"What, what is all this?! It's not like this in the stage play—woof woof!?"

Hasumi Ryoua, who had been dedicated to writing terrible scripts, was finally brought to justice. Caught, she was forced to accompany Chang Rong in one nonsensical but purposeful 'stage play' after another. At this moment, Ryoua, the idol who usually shone brightly on stage and sweated profusely, was also glistening with sweat, but her panting made it impossible for her to sing a single word. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Sister Yang had come to fill in for her.

On the deserted Witch Island, humanity's most primal impulses were being unleashed without restraint. And because this was happening within the realm of consciousness, even if someone begged for mercy, saying they really couldn't take it anymore, a mysterious pile driver would grab them back with the excuse, "I think you can still go on," and continue.

The 'overtime' finally came to an end—until the witch factor completely marked the girls.

"Alice... I really like you... I like you so much, if I could... I would like to become Chang Rong's... Hmm, I guess I should be more in line with the law."

The blonde Lolita girl nestled in Chang Rong's arms, a satisfied smile on her face as she whispered something.

"This young lady...tsk! This young lady isn't good at saying those cheesy lines, after all, it was always other boring guys saying them to me before. Anyway—you absolutely must find me. No matter what I become, no matter where I am, no matter how long it takes...you commoner...you have to take responsibility...!!"

The young lady complained angrily, saying that it was obvious that being killed by a commoner and then repeatedly killed in the end, finally being cornered at the fountain, made her feel very embarrassed.

"We will definitely meet again—we definitely will, we will."

Having entered a period of clarity, Chang Rong looked at the two with a resolute expression, nodded emphatically, and made her promise.

I was unable to save you all... Even though I was eventually redeemed, this 'redemption' came too late.

We'll definitely meet again someday... and when that time comes, let's all have a tea party together. And then, just like today, let's chat, joke around, and most importantly—sharing our dreams for the future.

Watching the two of them get up and walk towards the entrance in front of her, waving and smiling as they left, Chang Rong clenched her fists.

The story of the past has come to a temporary end, but it is only a temporary end. Someday in the future, after all these storms have passed, this story can certainly be rewritten.

I'm not like An'an, that procrastinator. I would never accept a story that ends abruptly halfway through.

I will definitely find you... I definitely will. This is my final promise, and it is a promise I absolutely must keep no matter what.

"Chang Rong, are you... alright?"

Leia looked at Chang Rong with some concern, and the latter responded with a smile.

"I'm fine, but Rhea-sama, you were shouting so earnestly just now. Are you sure your voice is okay? Should we have Meruru make some more herbal tea or something?"

"Forget, forget what just happened...! No... no, you can't forget...! You have to remember, Romeo! Don't leave here and pretend nothing happened or anything like that... understand?"

Leia blushed instantly and quickly waved her hands, but then she remembered something and, still blushing, declared that she absolutely had to remember what happened on the border between life and death today. Otherwise, wouldn't she have been inexplicably taken advantage of by her top fan for nothing?

After the two veterans who had won the trophy were completely outmatched, they left the stage. The final winner... as expected, was only me, Hasumi Ryoua!

"Speaking of which, Meruru—"

"I...I'm still supporting you, Lord Changrong...! Please, please favor me even more...!"

Chang Rong looked at Meruru on the ice and found that she had been doing a plank at his command since the second half of the competition, and she was still doing it now, her face red and her breath coming in heavily.

...In a way, she might even be a fitness icon? All I need to do is pay her some "feeding" to get her started and let her experience the benefits, then I can watch her play by herself.

In any case, the 'tea room' had fulfilled its purpose. Fortunately, Meruru was able to use magic in the realm of consciousness, which allowed the three of them to return to the elevator clean and dry, instead of being dripping wet and unable to even take a step.

Upon arriving at the elevator, the pitch-black void reappeared before them.

After a brief exchange of glances, the group stepped into the void, ending this little interlude.

Just as Chang Rong was being swallowed and enveloped by nothingness—

"These young people nowadays... they really are... well, they're not to be underestimated... they're really impressive..."

In a void, Chang Rong heard a sound, or rather, 'certain sounds'.

Those were the great witches who should have disappeared long ago.

Today’s update is 8K, [14-4=10] chapters

After three months of perfect attendance in the serialized series, I'm finally paying off my debts. After that, I can probably relax a bit.

Thank you so much for your support all along, I'm so happy!

227. The Witches' 'Original Sin': The Cause of Everything

"Young man...young man. You have come from another world, enduring countless hardships and wanderings to arrive here. Open your eyes now."

"Uh...?"

I thought that stepping into the void would allow me to return directly to reality, but it seems that I have encountered a new situation that is completely unexpected.

The surroundings were still pitch black, but this time the panic and suffocation that had deprived us of our five senses did not exist. Instead, a gentle voice that sounded strange, like a group of people gathered together, came from the darkness.

"Although... well, although you're really something, young man, considering Xiaoxue's situation... we don't have much of an opinion on your behavior."

"Behavior, opinions...? What are you talking about...? Wait, are you a witch? One of the other 'great witches' like Yuki?"

Completely unable to understand the other party's words, Chang Rong still hurriedly asked the voice if it was a 'long-dead' member of the same clan that Xiao Xue had identified as such.

"The Great Witch? That's right, but thinking about it, this term was probably added from you guys, and since it fits the feeling, we've stuck with it—"

The surrounding void of darkness vanished instantly, replaced by a somewhat familiar flower field. However, this time, the high walls built with anti-magic stones were no longer visible around the flower field; instead, there was an endless expanse of azure sea.

Countless 'witches' whose faces were obscured sat on benches in the flower field by the coast. They circled the round table and looked at Chang Rong. Then one by one they 'disappeared' until only one 'witch' remained, wearing a mask, with long silver braided hair, a huge witch's hat, and a black cloak with a pink inner cloak, still sitting to the side looking at Chang Rong.

Although I felt a strange sense of déjà vu about the witches who had just disappeared and the masked witch who kept rubbing against the table, I decided to pretend I didn't know anything for now.

Chang Rong suppressed her urge to complain about things unrelated to the conversation and came to the table at the witch's invitation.

"Hmm... Hmm... Not bad. After careful observation, at least in terms of appearance, it's not a bad point, after all, it's Xiaoxue's favorite."

The witch looked at Chang Rong through the mask, sized him up, and then nodded, stating her conclusion.

"I don't know what you're considering, but I'll just ask directly—why did you take that approach when faced with the human invasion? It may seem strange from my perspective to ask this question, but... there must have been a better solution back then, right?"

Not knowing how long this 'dream' would last, and ultimately not knowing whether the 'witch' at this moment was a real person, Chang Rong simply threw out the question he most wanted to solve at the moment, which was also the origin of Xiao Xue's journey to this point—the witch's extermination incident.

The near-omniscient and omnipotent great witches were slaughtered by humans who didn't even know how to efficiently boil water. This inexplicable event was not only a taboo for the great witch Yuki, but also a problem that Chang Rong couldn't understand.

"Oh dear, I thought you would be the gentle and considerate type who knows how to take care of a girl's feelings, but you came right off the bat? Well—you're right about one thing, humans. You really have no right to question us like this."

"Well……!"

The witch, who originally gave off an aura that made her seem like someone you could find anywhere in a library, suddenly exuded a terrifying and oppressive aura that made it hard to breathe.

Just as humans instinctively feel fear when facing a hundred-ton king, Chang Rong almost immediately sensed an absolute, overwhelming force and threat emanating from the other party that could easily kill him.

"From beginning to end, it has been you humans who have been unilaterally invading us, and now you ask us why we don't fight back. Is that mockery? If so, then you have done a very good job."

“I don’t intend to mock anyone, but this question is really important to me and to Xiaoxue!” Chang Rong gritted his teeth and replied. Even if the other party could easily annihilate him, it didn’t matter, because this question had troubled Xiaoxue for far too long. If he could get the answer, at least he could tell Xiaoxue the whole truth when they faced each other.

"Hmm... Alright then, before I answer you, let's make a choice first."

The masked, silver-haired witch snorted coldly. She stretched out her right hand, put her thumb and middle finger together, and rubbed them together for a long time like a fly rubbing its hands. Finally, she snapped her fingers.

With a dull snap of the fingers like a fart, a doll suddenly appeared and floated between Chang Rong and the Great Witch. Judging from the doll's hairstyle and huge round hat, it was Chang Rong's childhood friend, the Great Witch Xue.

Along with the Snow Doll, there was also a jewel-encrusted, exquisitely crafted dagger. The 'Masked Witch' held the dagger in her right hand, the tip pressed against the doll's chest.

"As fellow witches, we naturally have the ability to kill that child, Xiaoxue. She is the instigator of all this, the one who has tormented you so much, even forcing you to participate in witch trials time and time again and face tragedy, right? So now I'm giving you a choice: as long as we kill that child, the last witch will perish, and all the anomalies will end. How about it?"

“Kill—” Chang Rong froze, her eyes widening as she stared at the witch in front of her.

"Of course, since it's a choice, there has to be another option—" The witch changed her style and conjured a rose made of crystal, sculpted like an ice sculpture, in her left hand.

"Or, you could choose to protect her, become her true 'important person,' and live a happy life in anonymity with her. As for those young witches infected with the witch factor, I believe they will be able to evade the pursuit of other humans, or be able to reconcile and coexist with human society?"

"..." Looking at the dagger and rose that the witch had placed on either side of the Xiaoxue doll, Chang Rong fell into thought.

No, calling it 'thinking' is a bit too complicated. In reality, Chang Rong hardly thought at all and directly gave his answer:

"I won't choose either one. I won't hurt Xiaoxue, but I also won't just protect her like this."

"...Hmm?" This time it was the Great Witch's turn to sound puzzled.

“I would never hurt Xiaoxue, no matter what she has done to me, I know it was never her intention—but that doesn’t mean I’m going to unconditionally protect this idiot. If you make a mistake, you have to correct it; if you make a mess, you have to fix it. I will never pat her on the head and say ‘you’ve done enough’ until those guys have finished cleaning up all the mess she caused!”

"All I can do is find her and help her get everything back on track, no matter how long it takes—that's all."

Chang Rong looked at the Great Witch with a firm expression and gave her answer.

"Waaaaah... Waaaaah, what kind of speech is this... No wonder Xiaoxue is completely obsessed... Cough cough cough, alright, at least we've felt your sincerity, so we've decided to approve it for now."

The silver-haired witch was somewhat embarrassed by Chang Rong's words. She shook her head from side to side, then coughed twice to indicate that he had passed.

—What is this supposed to mean? Meeting the matchmaker… no, meeting the girl’s parents?

Chang Rong muttered to herself, while the witch on the other side took action again. However, this time she didn't snap her fingers awkwardly. Instead, she had a small creature that looked like a winged lion bring over a plate with tea and snacks.

“Let’s just consider what we just talked about as a witch’s inappropriate prank—as an apology, please have some tea.”

The masked witch handed Chang Rong a teacup and some cookies. Although it's best not to accept food from others when you're out and about, Chang Rong compared their fighting strength and realized that she didn't have the option to refuse in the first place.

Chang Rong brought the teacup to his mouth—his previously feigned relaxed expression instantly froze. After a brief moment of adjustment, Chang Rong hurriedly reached for a snack and put it in his mouth—only to be petrified a second time.

"How is it? How does it taste?" The witch tilted her head and leaned closer to ask Chang Rong expectantly.

"This taste...is...unbelievable."

Chang Rong swallowed hard, thought for a long time, and then forced a smile in response.

—This is awful! This is awful! What on earth is this?! Could it be that the food on Prison Island wasn't intentionally made bad by Meruru, but rather she was simply replicating the ancient witch's meals from Witch Island?

"Hehe, it tastes awful, doesn't it? Everyone else ran away looking terrified, so I thought I'd ask you to finish it off for me."

"If you know it tastes bad, then don't serve it! The taste is so awful that it makes me wonder if you're planning to kick me out!"