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

"So this is your backup plan, Chang Rong-jun... Hehe, don't underestimate me, Chang Rong-jun. Even I've improved over time. At least I can't be easily satisfied with just a chocolate-covered liqueur candy..."

Emma Sakura expertly unwrapped the chocolate and popped it into her mouth. Then she licked her fingers and continued looking at Chang Rong. Her pale, empty eyes, combined with the gesture of licking her fingers, gave off a kind of bewitching and forbidden allure.

"I need to eat food, and I need to mooch off Chang Rongjun too, only then can I be considered healthy... Huh? What, what's going on... Woof...? @△@??"

thump!

Emma, ​​who was just licking her lips and making grand pronouncements, suddenly lay down on the ground with an adorable expression, looking incredibly peaceful, clearly having a sweet dream.

"It's sleeping pills. I added sleeping pills. And to cover up your nose, Emma, ​​I specially made it into a liqueur-filled chocolate container. Of course, the dosage is very small, only enough to make you dizzy for a dozen seconds at most."

Emma, ​​who had just been taken down by Meruru with a sleeping pill mixed with alcohol, was soon taken down again by Chang Rong using the same trick.

As for the origin of this stuff, it's related to a street artist who wishes to remain anonymous. To prevent himself from being outmaneuvered by Balloon Teacher's increasingly sophisticated water-boiling skills, Chang Rong had no choice but to begin researching the properties of these mysterious pale blue sweet liquids.

"Hmph, no wonder she's Emma, ​​the one I lured away with chocolate chip cookies back then. Even though she says she's grown up, she's still no different from the girl who crawled into my bed back then. No... maybe it's because Emma's current state is a bit special, so even after growing up, she still couldn't escape my trap."

Chang Rong calmly analyzed and pondered.

"Emma's vacant eyes and frantic state must have been caused by hunger and the inability to find food."

"Eh!? So Emma turned evil because she wasn't full!" Chang Rong's conclusion was so absurd that even Ze Du Ke Ke next to him couldn't help but think that the corpse was talking.

"Ugh... Well, after all, no one cooks during a battle royale..." Emma, ​​who was standing next to her, got up from the ground again and muttered to herself, feeling a little embarrassed and shy.

"At first, I was actually a bit lost, unsure how to participate in this battle royale, and even considered finding a place to hide first. But... then I went to the kitchen and found nothing edible, and everyone was busy competing, and in that instant, I finally realized that this couldn't go on... If I wanted to eat sooner, I had to kill everyone and end this battle—"

"This reason is too ridiculous!? And it turns out that Emma's state wasn't acting, but a real personality shift caused by hunger leading to murderous intent!"

Zedu Coco stared wide-eyed at Emma with a look of 'So strong!?' and exclaimed loudly.

"In short... I never expected to have my magic banned, and to be killed by Chang Rong-kun in this way... I ate the chocolate because I trusted Chang Rong-kun, this is just too much...!"

As Emma spoke, she revealed a pitiful expression of utter distress. She knelt on the ground with her legs in a duck-like position, looking both helpless and pathetic.

"I'm so sorry, Emma... It's all my fault for taking advantage of your trust. I promise it won't happen again, okay? *rubs and rubs*"

Chang Rong, who was just feeling smug about winning the battle of wits, felt a pang of guilt when he saw Emma looking like a stray dog ​​soaked in the rain, on the verge of tears. He rushed over and apologized while frantically rubbing Emma, ​​even though he was yawning incessantly from being drained of energy by the demon.

"Woof woof... Since Chang Rongjun has apologized like this, then, then I'll... um, if it's okay, I'll also rub this side of my belly a little..."

"Emma is indeed a cunning and mischievous child!!"

Seeing Sakura Emma taking advantage of Chang Rong's guilt and even going so far as to hook her arms and expose her belly, shyly asking for more, Ze Du Coco finally lost her temper completely. She activated her spiny back form and breathed on the unclean Emma, ​​while also pouncing on her, trying to break off a piece of Onii-chan from the pink-haired little dog's mouth and share it with herself.

In an instant, the cruel scene of 'Zedu Coco choosing to fight Emma to protect Chang Rong but being brutally murdered by Emma, ​​witnessing all of this, Chang Rong painfully killing Emma to avenge Coco, and then kneeling in front of their corpses, weeping' transformed into Chang Rong using both hands simultaneously, sometimes rubbing Coco's head, sometimes having his hand bitten by the dissatisfied Emma, ​​forcing him to yawn while rubbing the dog's head, and later even scratching Coco's chin with his left hand and rubbing Emma's lower abdomen with his right. He was practically begging for a good pounding with his mouth when he wasn't using it.

"[Coo coo coo, I'd better stop recording first...]" The warden on the side seemed to have experienced this situation many times before. If this kind of footage were leaked, the impact on teenagers would be immeasurable.

In conclusion, although the process was somewhat despicable and disgraceful, and we had to provide after-sales service for both the pink and white puppy and the orange cat, the participants in the battle royale have shrunk again, which means that the day when the competition ends and Emma can eat freely again is one day closer.

After Emma Coco's kill replay finished playing, Chang Rong, who hadn't yet decided on her next move, suddenly had her phone ring. It was a call from Ice Meluru.

"Lord Changrong... please, please save me...! I'm currently in the underground prison. I originally wanted to apologize to Magsang and talk about the Great Witch, but, but Magsang suddenly... Ugh!? Please, please don't do this, Miss Magsang...! Although I don't know where you got the demon-slaying potion, but, but, that's not something to joke about—Ugh!?"

beep-

Some calls, without any beginning or end, were simply ended unilaterally, leaving only a monotonous busy tone on the other end.

"Marg, Meruru...!"

The phone call just now instantly reminded Chang Rong of something that happened in the second time around: the same phone call, the same murderer and the same victim, and the same keyword 'Demon Killing Potion'.

Judging from Meruru's tone on the other end of the phone, she seemed to be being hunted by Baosheng Mag, and Mag's 'hunting' seemed out of place in this battle royale, which was essentially a performance.

"I need to go to the underground prison. Emma, ​​Coco, you guys go to the flower field first!"

Without further hesitation, Chang Rong immediately went to the bedrooms of everyone on the lower level of the castle after receiving Meruru's call.

"Be careful on the road, Onii-chan—oh, you're walking so fast."

Before Ze Du Ke Ke could even finish saying hello, Chang Rong had already jogged away and disappeared from their sight.

"Onii-chan, I feel like I'm getting busier and busier lately... Before (when I had amnesia), I still had time to wander around, but lately I'm so busy that it's hard to even see you, meow."

Looking at the once again empty and silent corridor, Ze Du Ke Ke sighed softly with a hint of helplessness.

"Yeah, aside from being able to mooch off Chang Rongjun for a quick energy boost just now, it seems like Chang Rongjun is always busy..."

After receiving Chang Rong's favor, the cat and dog both showed pitiful expressions and sighed as their owner left.

"However, Emma, ​​don't be too pessimistic. Although it may take some time, there's always a chance, right? There's no need to be too impatient, and don't try to seduce Onii-chan with those little tricks anymore!"

Zedu Coco tried to comfort Emma, ​​but then she started to get a little grumpy. She knew Chang Rong's personality very well; he could only be manipulated at will by someone as wicked and seductive as Emma.

"Um, I'm sorry, Coco-chan... but I really do like Chang Rong-kun."

"Eh?!? No, it doesn't seem that strange at all."

Zedu Koko was initially startled and almost exploded at Emma's abrupt confession, but she quickly calmed down. Thinking about it carefully, there was nothing surprising about Emma liking Chang Rong; after all, this guy was one of the participants in the "Study Room Final Battle."

...In a sense, he could even be considered the 'initiator'!

"Although Hiro-chan has finally made up with me and even apologized for those days in junior high, but... well, Hiro-chan's big change is probably because of Changrong-kun, right?"

Emma Sakura rested one hand on her chin, looked up, and said thoughtfully.

“Well, that guy has indeed changed a lot after all.” Zedu Coco echoed Sakura Emma, ​​while recalling her memories of Hiro in her mind.

From the second timeline, when she was framed by everyone and thus betrayed by all, to the desperate attempts to dodge arguments in the courtroom to keep things moving forward...

Hmm, it seems like Hero hasn't actually changed much? Or rather, he's become even more monstrous and chaotic in some ways...?

Just as Zedo Coco was pondering whether Hiro was a 'growth' or a 'rollback version', she suddenly noticed that Emma was staring at her the whole time.

"Thinking about it carefully—I feel like Coco-chan has changed a bit too. I feel like you've become more... well, more 'stable'?" Emma stared at Ze Du Coco up close, just like L staring at Yue and saying, 'You're gay, aren't you?'

"After all, I've been through a lot too~"

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I feel like when you talk about Chang Rong-jun, you've become more... relaxed and less anxious than before. Why is that?"

"Meow!? This... this might be what they call maturity...!"

Zedu Keke was startled. Ever since Chang Rong used her as a condom, her anxiety about the sadistic white-haired man had almost disappeared.

Although the method used was somewhat crude and inhumane, and even more so than joyful, it caused backaches, leg cramps, and calf pains... Chang Rong's actions still proved that in his heart, Ze Du Ke Ke was also an indispensable and special existence.

After verifying and confirming each other's uniqueness in this way, Ze Du Ke Ke naturally stopped being as anxious as she had been at the beginning.

"If that's the case, I feel like there's a hint of 'superiority and pity' in Hiro-chan's eyes when she looks at me... What's going on, Coco-chan...?"

"Waaaaah—I...I don't know!"

Coco, who was stared at by Emma with an empty gaze again, quickly surrendered. However, there was still plenty of time left for the Cat TV show.

—Emma, ​​don't summon the devil of magic in a situation like catching someone cheating! And, to be honest, in the third playthrough timeline, Emma, ​​you're the challenger!

Zedu Coco thought to herself, "That's what I'm complaining about so loudly."

However, she knew very well that if her other good friend from the 'Unbreakable Alliance,' Hiro-chan, didn't come to her rescue soon, it would only be a matter of time before she confessed everything about her and Chang Rong under the pressure of the Demon of Law...

Thanks to Chenguang Moxin for the salted fish spike!

Thanks to the mystery enthusiast for the 10 blades.

Thank you so much, Doubi686, for the golden treasure chest!!

238. Marge: Are there really any normal people left here?

On the other side, after receiving a call from Meruru, Chang Rong went straight to the underground cell on the first basement level of the castle without any delay.

It's called a 'prison,' but since even the perpetrators have confessed and accepted their punishment, it has now been transformed into a strange place that resembles a girls' dormitory.

In the 'second timeline', because the mastermind Meruru was killed by Matou's 'divine intervention' as soon as she appeared, prison management became much more relaxed.

Everyone gained some DIY cell customization privileges, but the original appearance of the cell was still visible overall, with only some small props, ornaments, and decorations added.

However, this time, because Meruru has fully confessed, everyone's living conditions have completely surpassed those of 99% of the boarding students in the mysterious Eastern country. The double bed with the soft mattress alone is completely unrelated to a 'prison cell'. I don't know how the ice skating commissioner obtained the approval from the national authorities.

After passing several rooms decorated in a feminine style, Chang Rong saw an even more incongruous scene in the innermost room, which originally belonged to Meruru—

The girl, dressed in a nun's habit and wearing a headscarf, lay motionless in the cell, crimson liquid continuously oozing from her chest. Beside her on the floor lay a familiar ceremonial sword stained with blood, and even more conspicuous was a transparent glass bottle, labeled "[13]", with only a few drops of liquid remaining.

This scene felt so familiar, the only difference from the case in my memory being the absence of Noah's splashed paint and the different room where Meruru collapsed.

Oh right, we're missing Hero, who's sleeping soundly and we could give him a back massage.

"Meruru? Meruru—!!"

Chang Rong shouted loudly through the iron bars, but the blood-stained nun did not respond at all. She simply lay quietly on the floor, letting the blood corrode and stain the white nun's uniform that symbolized purity and innocence.

"Damn it... I'm coming right now!"

Chang Rong hurriedly opened the iron gate next to him and rushed into the room. Since there was no stepping stone to hope here, Chang Rong ignored the footprint issue that might clear Hannah's suspicion and went straight to Meruru's side.

"Meruru! Don't scare me. A little bit of disguise is enough, stop messing around!!"

Chang Rong came to Meruru's side and quickly squatted down to check on her condition.

Just as Chang Rong arrived at Meruru's side, Meruru, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly turned around. From that movement, there was no indication that she was injured, and under the cover of the white gauze, Meruru's hair was not the long, shimmering golden hair, but rather short black hair with purple highlights.

'Merulu' turned over and smiled as she took out a small knife from her bosom. If she could take advantage of the moment when the other party was stunned and plunge the knife into his chest, then this hunt would be a great victory for her.

however--

"He's going to die now, Brother Chang Rong... um?"

'Meiruru,' or rather, the con artist Baosheng Mag, who was disguised as Meruru, was stunned the moment she turned around. Chang Rong, who should have lost her judgment due to panic, instead grabbed the fruit knife and held it to the side. The unsharpened metal piece didn't even need to move after Mag turned over; it was directly pressed against her fair neck. With just a slight movement of her wrist, she could 'show off her singing voice'.

"That was quite a clever feigned death, Mag. But unfortunately for you, you've met a true Sigma man, which is me!"

After taking advantage of the situation to 'eliminate' Baosheng Mag, who had outsmarted himself, Chang Rong coldly put away the fruit knife and reached out to help Mag, who was dressed in a nun's habit and lying on the ground in an unexpectedly alluring and seductive pose, to get her up.

"...At what point did you see through it, Brother Chang Rong? I thought you would panic more and fall into the trap directly."

Marge did not take Chang Rong's outstretched hand. Instead, she propped herself up and slowly stood up, wiping the red paint off her face with a tissue. She asked in a somewhat serious tone.

Unlike his usual casual, unintentional lies, Baosheng Mag genuinely believed that his plan could deceive Chang Rong, or at least allow him to see Chang Rong's adorable panicked state.

However, Chang Rong used this trap to 'kill' himself first, which means that he probably already knew his plan before entering the room and when he saw 'Meiruru's' corpse, which is something that Mag couldn't understand at all.

"The reason? To be honest, I don't really want to answer this question, because you might get angry when you hear it, but—there are just too many loopholes, almost bugs everywhere."

Chang Rong raised his index finger and shook it from side to side. Although he said, "I don't want to expose your secrets," the expression on this Sigma man's face was so smug and infuriating. It was clear that this rare intellectual battle had truly given Chang Rong a great time.

"First of all, there's Meruru's phone call. If it were the Meruru of the past, she might have thought about 'apologizing' to someone. But the Meruru here on the ice has already expressed all her regret and remorse. Now, she can only atone for her sins with her actions. Moreover, Meruru's obsession with the Great Witch is no longer so morbid and profound. Therefore, Meruru's words on the phone sound very strange."

"Oh dear... I had no idea about that... When exactly did that child change so much?"