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

"Huh? The red one is actually Hiro...?!" Hasumi Rhea exclaimed in shock.

"No matter what, it can't be a lobster... A red lobster is cooked, isn't it?" Naoka sighed and checked the drawing again, but still couldn't make out the outlines of the three people involved.

"What's a lobster...?" Hannah Tono tilted her head.

"Noah... Noah's really going to get angry!"

"Pfft!!?" "Ugh...!?" "Wait... paint is so hard to wash off clothes!"

The little balloon exploded completely, and in an instant, all that remained in the live stream was the overly artistic RGB body painting. The last shot showed the older sister, covered in spray, rushing towards the four people with veins bulging on her head. After that, only the wailing sound that was abruptly cut off remained.

"^q^ Oh dear, the live stream signal is bad."

"Is this what you meant by 'super friendly'...? Does it mean the balloon teacher explodes and scatters everywhere?"

Chang Rong silently turned off her phone, while Arisa's question, though barely audible, was so resounding and thought-provoking that Chang Rong didn't even know how to respond.

"Hitting is a sign of affection, right... Anyway! Arisa, this won't do! You should have used a Fireball Jutsu on me first, followed by Orochi Nagi, and finished me off with Hinokami Kagura, instead of hiding in the bushes like a potato mine!"

Chang Rong quickly changed the subject. While explaining the normal procedure for meeting people to Arisa, he took the initiative to move closer to Arisa and forcibly pressed himself against her, ignoring her somewhat agitated appearance.

"There's a swordsman mixed in, right...? Um, sorry, I'm sure my pessimistic attitude has dampened everyone's spirits..."

Arisa muttered a complaint under her breath, then tugged at her hood. Instead of distancing herself from Chang Rong again, she shyly apologized in a low voice.

"No, no, no, from a certain perspective, the more Arisa who surrenders directly, the better for them. It won't spoil their fun at all."

Chang Rong wiped his sweat and retorted with a wry smile, "This group of people has almost all turned into ruthless killers in their pursuit of the trophy. If they encounter a player like Arisa who's just giving away points, they'll probably be too happy to even have time to react. They'll probably treat her to some snacks at lightning speed."

"You mean the prize for the champion... Hmm, although I really want it too... But making excessive demands will only cause you trouble, right? And to be honest, I'm really not suited to participate in this kind of event."

Arisa looked at the faint flame flickering on her fingertips and whispered. Although she also coveted the legendary 'Grand Prize', the thought that she might succumb to the temptation of desire and make excessive requests that would bother Chang Rong, as well as the disgust she felt for the possibility of hurting others, made Arisa ultimately choose to squat here as a potato mine.

"Hmm... If you really aren't good at this kind of thing, Arisa, I won't force you."

Chang Rong smiled and rubbed the Fireball Rat beside her. This so-called "chicken dinner competition" was a strange event that was temporarily put together to clean up Meruru's mess, so it was understandable that Arisa was unwilling to participate.

"However—there is one thing I must make clear."

"What's wrong... Ugh—!?"

Chang Rong suddenly looked at Zifang Arisa with a serious expression, and without saying a word, he reached out and directly grasped Arisa's hands.

"Wait, wait a minute, be careful not to get burned!"

"It does feel warm to the touch, but it's not 'hot' at all! Although you were startled by my actions, Arisa, you still didn't hurt anyone!"

Arisa frantically tried to pull her hand back, but Chang Rong was very firm. He held Arisa's hand tightly with a slightly stinging force, and even lifted her palm to gently rub against his cheek.

"That, that's because... Waaaaah... This, this is too close..."

Arisa tried to explain herself, but her words were ultimately shattered by Chang Rong's overly 'intimate' behavior towards her.

"Heh, Arisa, you're really naive, aren't you? We almost did *that* in bed before—"

"Well, wasn't that an accident...? And, and... um, sorry, um. If Chang Rong has those kinds of needs... I, I'm not against trying. Although I can't recall how to please you more effectively right now, but... I, this humble woman, will try my best...!"

Arisa's cheeks were even redder than the flames on her fingertips. The hooded girl initially tried to explain herself in a flustered manner, but soon, Arisa swallowed hard, as if she had made up her mind.

At this moment, Arisa was curled up in the bushes, kneeling in a proper posture. If you ignored the leaves clinging to her body, she looked exactly like a classical Yamato Nadeshiko, nervous and excited yet trying her best to observe etiquette as she prepared to serve her husband for the first time.

“^q^Waaaaah…”

Chang Rong, who originally only wanted to tease Arisa a little, was almost knocked to the ground and lost his life by Arisa in front of him.

Unlike the period before she hadn't regained her memories, Chang Rong had now retrieved the memories of the first and second playthroughs, including the memory of her 1v5 battle with the white-haired girl in the study and bedroom.

At this moment, Arisa has objectively had such and such with him, and subjectively she also hopes to have such and such with him—in other words, there is no reason not to have sex with him…!

But that's not a real reason to engage in combat during a tense and exciting battle royale! Even if we take a step back, the Warden's clone is still recording! What message would that kind of footage convey to the human camp? Showing off?!

Chang Rong's big head desperately clung to his small head, and at the same time, he realized that the bottom line of human beings is indeed something that gets lower and lower with each occurrence.

Back then, I repeatedly refused the invitations from the prospective witches to have a meal together, simply because I couldn't get over that hurdle in my own heart.

After being eventually won over by the president's long and intense offensive, he gradually became less resistant. Later, in order to embolden Hero for his farewell, he even reluctantly agreed to the earth-shattering final battle with the witches, including Arisa.

Now... after casually beheading Hirokoko and regaining his memories, Chang Rong, who is now standing here, has become a truly grotesque creature who starts his farewell conversation with the departed soul with "Want to have some fun?"

I feel like if I keep going like this, the day I get closer and closer to being torn to pieces and killed by someone using magic/fire stick/hand tearing/rope hanging/fire/lawyer's badge/sniper rifle/simple spear/paintbrush/ceremonial sword/modified knife/hypnosis/magic potion... I should be a little more careful and not go too far.

The only good news is that I can't figure out how Coco will get rid of me, will it be a three-person attack?

Arisa...a terrifying woman...! She almost pulled off a seduction that even Emma couldn't manage, thankfully I'm Sigma, a true man!

"...?" Arisa blinked and looked at Chang Rong, completely unaware of the kind of internal struggle the boy in front of her had just gone through in his mind.

"Ahem—that kind of thing is still too hasty. It's my fault. I shouldn't have joked like that with you, Arisa. What I really wanted to say is... if you don't believe in yourself, then try believing in me."

"Believe...Chang Rong?"

“That’s right, Arisa, you’re afraid that one day your abilities will get out of control, afraid that you will hurt others uncontrollably, right? Even if you don’t want that to happen at all, you don’t have the confidence to believe that you can really control it—if that’s the case, then Arisa, you should try to believe me.”

Chang Rong raised her hand and gently stroked Arisa's white hair with red highlights at her temples, then lightly placed her palm on the girl's cheek.

"Because I know very well—better than anyone else in the world—that you, Arisa, are an extremely kind and good girl who would never hurt anyone. I have such a firm belief in you, without the slightest doubt."

The boy's light gray eyes met Arisa's red eyes until they could only see each other's reflections.

"--Well, there is one exception, of course, which is when you go into the kitchen, Arisa. In those cases, you might cause a little trouble for everyone."

After a brief silence, Chang Rong awkwardly rubbed her hair and added an explanation. It must be said that, under certain circumstances, Arisa's destructive power is actually quite high.

"Hmm... I might be happier if it weren't for that last sentence..."

Arisa lowered her head and muttered softly, while a smile once again appeared on her cheeks.

"Why, Chang Rong, do you trust me so much? No, I don't really need to ask this question. Nor do I need to know the answer... To be trusted by you like this is already a miracle that I dare not ask for more."

Arisa looked up at Chang Rong, her smile incredibly gentle and innocent, making it impossible to connect the Arisa of this moment with the rebellious girl who would unconditionally love everyone at the beginning.

But Chang Rong knew very well that this was the real Arisa Fujito. Whether it was her feigned fierce appearance or her inner desire to be scolded, it was all just an outer shell used to cover her overly innocent and soft heart.

—Although doing this is not in accordance with the rules, and may make Chang Rong misunderstand that I am the kind of person who is very casual... But, even so, at this moment I also hope that I can... be able to turn back into the original 'bad kid'.

Arisa looked at the boy in front of her who was also smiling at her, who had always trusted her unconditionally and always protected her in his unique way. Finally, she mustered up her courage, took the initiative to approach Chang Rong, and pressed her lips to the boy's lips.

"—"

Feeling Arisa's clumsy yet tender and burning kiss, Chang Rong felt not only joy at being with Arisa again, but also a little confused.

What was I supposed to do? How did I end up kissing Arisa without even realizing it?

"Hoo..."

Coming to her senses, Arisa was already slumped in Chang Rong's arms. For the overly innocent Arisa, this 'intimate kiss' that had just occurred based on her own will was the limit of what she could do at this stage.

Unlike the previous kiss when Chang Rong went into a berserk mode due to an overdose of Meruru's witch factor, this time Arisa initiated the kiss entirely on her own initiative.

At least for Arisa, the kiss in the bushes of this courtyard was her true 'first kiss,' one that deserves to be remembered for a lifetime.

But... come to think of it, why is it that after kissing Chang Rong, although I did experience satisfaction and shyness at first, after cooling down a bit, I felt a strange emptiness in my heart, like, "That's it?"

This feeling is almost like saying... kissing is just something that teenagers do when they're young and don't know any better, and it's not something that can be taken seriously.

—Oh no, could it be that I'm actually far more promiscuous than I thought...? Kissing isn't enough anymore, I need something more stimulating to satisfy me...?

At the thought of this, Arisa's cheeks instantly heated up at lightning speed.

However, Nikaido once said that his relationship with Chang Rong was indeed very close in the 'second timeline'. Could it be that... this 'close relationship' refers to the fact that I have already... done that with Chang Rong...?

Arisa's mind became more and more confused as she thought about it. Looking at the white-haired boy who was now serving as her pillow, she felt more and more that the two of them had indeed engaged in a much more intimate act than just kissing.

But... even if you think that way, it can't be an excuse! Chang Rong is doing something important for everyone's future right now, and I can't hold him back because of my own selfish desires at this time... If I really want to work towards becoming his partner, what I should really do at this time is to unconditionally trust him, accompany him, and respond to him.

Since that's the case—

"Well then... let's fight!"

"Way!?"

Arisa suddenly stood up from the grass, intending to prove to Chang Rong that she would try to believe in 'Chang Rong who believes in Arisa'.

However, to Chang Rong, Arisa's behavior was somewhat out of line. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Jiaxin was going to kill her after having her way with the kiss...

"No... I, I didn't really mean to attack you, I just... Anyway... I'll try my best to prove that your belief in me was right, Chang Rong...!"

Arisa clenched her fist and looked at Chang Rong, speaking earnestly. Seeing Arisa's slightly clumsy yet adorable and earnest expression, Chang Rong finally understood Arisa's thoughts.

He shook his head and chuckled as he got up from the bushes, cracking his knuckles, ready to play along with the little hedgehog who was always arguing and fighting but had never hurt anyone.

"Then... please be careful, Chang Rong. I'm about to unleash a flame..."

Arisa first bowed respectfully to Chang Rong, then raised her palm towards Chang Rong.

The next second, a spark the size of a burning match head pierced the air, laboriously crawled to Chang Rong's front, and smashed onto his coat with a soft thud before disappearing completely.

"What a terrifying fire attack! As a Sigma man, I really have to counter you with this reverse attribute attack. Take this!"

Chang Rong laughed as he picked up a dead branch from the ground and threw it at Zifang Arisa. The latter smiled and slightly raised her hand in a 'defensive' posture, then flung out a slightly larger spark as a counterattack.

The two chatted and laughed, playing and frolicking in the courtyard, as if the hellish battles that were constantly unfolding on Witch Island didn't exist. (And indeed, they didn't.)

This carefree, innocent childhood friendship was completely disrupted by the arrival of that woman—

"0v0 I came over because my phone kept beeping... and what I saw was really funny, Watson~~"

Tachibana Sherry, a delicate and frail wheelchair-bound detective girl in blue, greeted Chang Rong and his companion with a bright smile as they played around.

"Huh? Sherry—we're fighting!"

Chang Rong, who was engrossed in his friendly interaction with the real Yamato Nadeshiko, belatedly noticed that Sherry had also arrived in the courtyard at some point. He swallowed hard and hurriedly tried to explain.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it. Watson, you must be having a life-or-death battle with Arisa, not laughing and playing with her in the bushes, whispering sweet nothings, maybe even kissing her and starting a game, right? Hey, right?"

"Haha... Miss Holmes, what are you saying..." "0v0..."

Chang Rong chuckled and ruffled her hair, looking like she was wondering, while Tachibana Sherry remained smiling and motionless.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and then—

"Run, Arisa! We can't beat this guy!!!" "Watson, you idiot—!! You've already openly started forming an alliance, haven't you!!"

The two, who were using the guise of 'war' to flirt, are now being truly and completely targeted by the real 'incarnation of war'.

Just as Tachibana Sherry transformed into a tornado, preparing to destroy the mysterious white-haired man surnamed Chang—

"Saeki Miria—! I never expected you to have such a strong fighting spirit...! It seems I've been underestimating you all along!"