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

This naturally includes 'Big Sister' as well; she must have gained the motivation to move forward during this retrospective experience.

Of course, Chang Rong was also well aware that her encouragement had also revealed something to her older sister—that she had regained her memories.

"..."

Chang Rong looked at the girl in front of him, and the girl stared blankly at Chang Rong. The two faced each other in a 'standoff'—just like before the final judgment of the witch in front of the study corridor.

-

Thanks to Chenguang Moxin for the sudden, unexpected attack.

Thanks to Luoshui Tianhui for the 9 blades.

Thank you to the older brother in the theatrical version for the donation.

(I forgot to check before 12 o'clock yesterday, I apologize if I missed anything)

-

Updates after this probably won't be as frequent as in the past few months; they'll likely slow down a bit. After all, no matter how hard we try, the honeymoon period can't last three and a half months, and eventually we'll settle into the routine of an old married couple.

241. I've found you, dear sister.

"—!"

As expected, when Chang Rong uttered those words that signified the return of her past memories, the girl in front of her, who was using Milia's face, showed a shocked and stunned expression. It was as if that 'crime' she thought she had forgotten had returned, catching her completely off guard.

The guilt that you thought you had forgiven and overcome has actually always been there, just waiting to be unearthed again and make it even harder to breathe.

The memories of personally killing loved ones and slaughtering innocent people, along with the words of the white-haired boy in front of him, surged forth from the deepest recesses of his memory like a burst dam.

After a brief pause, 'Big Sister' got up from the white-haired boy on the hospital bed and tried to leave the infirmary.

"Wait a minute, my dear sister—!"

Chang Rong suddenly reached out and grabbed the other person's arm, forcefully pulling her back.

My dear sister... As expected, as a prospective witch in the same year as Xiaoxue, you can't escape this fate of being a nobody with your left and right brains fighting each other?

She was prepared to disappear rather than not sleep with me, but just because I regained my memories, she became mentally unstable and even wanted to run away. It's really...sigh.

There's no other way. Since my older sister wants to run away, then I guess I'll have to take the initiative, won't I?

Chang Rong gripped the girl's arm tightly, and their positions were reversed in that instant.

"Although due to various moral issues, I can't take things further with my older sister who's currently disguised as Milia... but if we compromise a little, it shouldn't be a problem—"

As he spoke, Chang Rong swallowed hard. After a brief pause that wasn't exactly hesitant, he tightened his grip and pulled the 'older sister' who was trying to escape back to him.

At the same time, Chang Rong leaned forward slightly, and the two of them moved closer to each other and kissed on the hospital bed in the infirmary.

"—!"

The girl, who was trying to escape, widened her light blue eyes in an instant at the touch on her lips.

"Thank you for always loving me, and thank you for not forgetting me even when you're almost a wreck, and... thank you for always protecting me in your own way."

Chang Rong loosened his arms to create some distance between the two, then looked at the girl who was currently clinging to him, smiled, and spoke softly to her.

"Big Sister" opened her mouth, but she still couldn't say anything. Judging from the expression on her face, she was very puzzled by Chang Rong's words, which were almost a confession.

She hadn't done anything wrong, and she hadn't truly 'protected' the boy in front of her until the end. She was just a selfish and extreme person making excuses for herself.

"I'm not joking or saying anything nice, my dear sister!"

Chang Rong gripped her 'sister's' hand tightly again, holding it firmly to her chest, her tone incredibly certain, as if stating a fact that had happened countless times before.

"Although you may not know it now, in the previous timeline, although I was resurrected and woke up from the cryogenic chamber, I had no memory of the witch trial in my mind at all. I was just like a clueless newborn."

"And it was at that time that you, my dear sister, were already taking care of me all along. Even though I had no memories of you at that time, even though in my eyes you were more like a servant summoned by the 'mastermind', even though I did nothing to you at that time, you still took care of me and protected me in every way."

As Chang Rong stroked the girl's hands, he said, even though the true owner of these hands was Milia, he still hoped that through their rubbing, he could transmit this warmth to the true soul within the girl's heart, a soul that had wandered alone for so long.

"If it weren't for my older sister, I probably would have been eliminated in the Witch Trial long ago. After all, I was a complete problem player back then, and I almost always caused trouble every time I participated in the Witch Trial. You could even say that without my older sister's help, I might not even have had the chance to participate in the Witch Trial..."

Chang Rong recalled all the things that her older sister, Nanoha Kaori, had done for her in secret under the guise of being the 'hairband guardian,' from causing a scene in the courtroom to returning the blanket that Nanoha Kaori had stolen. It could be said that her older sister had always been taking care of her.

Chang Rong was even quite certain that the only reason she didn't end up like Hiro in the first playthrough was because she was a special being in 'Big Sister's' heart, someone who needed to be protected.

"This is absolutely not false evidence; it is something that truly happened!"

"..."

Listening to the white-haired boy's earnest words and feeling the warmth from his palm, 'Big Sister' seemed a little confused for a moment.

Did I really help him? Even if I did help Chang Rong, could these insignificant details really make up for the sins I had committed?

She thought she could ignore these messy problems and forcefully put an end to her relationship with Chang Rong, a relationship that had never had any future, in a self-destructive way. However, when the boy in front of her smiled at her with that gentle expression, she realized that she had never truly forgiven herself.

"...Oh right, speaking of which, when I went to retrieve the ritual sword with Meruru and Rhea before, I actually met my former companions for some special reason."

Noticing the still confused look on her older sister's face, Chang Rong decided to tell her what she had been hesitating about.

"...!"

Upon hearing information about her former companions, the girl's eyes lit up again. She looked at Chang Rong, eager to know what had happened to her former companions afterward.

"Although some people are very fixated on it, none of the companions who are closer to you and me, sister, have ever blamed you. In fact, they haven't blamed anyone because of what happened to them."

As Chang Rong said this, she couldn't help but chuckle. Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed somewhat 'funny'.

Meruru believes she is the culprit behind the tragedy of the witch trial, Chang Rong also believes she is the one who failed to save everyone, her older sister believes she is the main reason that the witch trial completely collapsed, and even Miss Lihua believes she is the fuse that caused everything to collapse.

Almost everyone felt they carried an unpayable and irredeemable sin in that witch's trial, but almost everyone had already forgiven and pardoned the original sins of others.

Ultimately, those witches trapped in the past, those almost crushed by guilt, simply lacked a hug and a word that couldn't be simpler—

“You don’t need to blame yourself, my dear sister. You’ve already tried your best, and you really don’t need to bear anyone’s sins anymore.”

Chang Rong gently embraced the girl in front of him and whispered tenderly in her ear.

"So, come with me to find Xiaoxue and then give her a good beating. That's your 'mission,' right, big sister?"

Although if we find Xiaoxue and tell her the whole story from those eccentric witches, there's no guarantee that Xiaoxue won't turn around and explode at them... But right now, this is exactly what Changrong wants her older sister to do—to stay with her until the end and drag that silly witch who loves to do somersaults back.

"..."

"Ha...really, so in the end, my big sister is just a seemingly capable but actually weakling?"

Looking at the increasingly hesitant young woman in front of him, who was always just one step away from the final step, Chang Rong sighed heavily in frustration, and then—kissed her again.

If once isn't enough, then do it again! If that still doesn't work, then keep going, keep kissing her until she completely stops wasting her energy!

"Waaaaah—!"

If the first kiss was somewhat rushed, then the second kiss was performed with a completely intimate, continuous, long, and serious attitude.

It was precisely at this moment, when the two were exchanging and absorbing the witch's essence, that Chang Rong felt a certain resonance and glimpsed fragments of the girl's past—

Nanoha Kaori and her 'older sister' are inseparable sisters. Nanoha Kaori is a little shy, awkward, and clumsy, but because her older sister always helps her, Nanoha Kaori's life is not affected too much.

Anyone who sees these two sisters will smile knowingly. Even Nanoha Kaori's family often teases her that she is a complete 'sister complex'.

But the older sister didn't think that way—she had suspected more than once that her parents loved and favored her younger sister more than she, the eldest daughter.

Such suspicions are actually baseless and lack any real evidence. Perhaps it's resentment at her younger sister's constant clinginess, perhaps it's anxiety about her own inadequacy, or perhaps it's simply some kind of 'interference' that she can't quite explain. In any case, Nanoha Kaori's older sister has always harbored such doubts.

The 'clues' that confirmed this suspicion were equally ridiculous: one evening, her mother didn't call her for dinner; her parents never greeted her at the entrance after school; and one time when they went out for a trip, her father didn't grant her requests.

The more clumsy and timid Nanoha Kaori received more care than she did, which convinced her older sister that her parents preferred Nanoha Kaori to herself.

Thinking that she would receive attention and love from her family if she were Nanoha Kaori, the older sister awakened her [transformation magic] one day.

When she saw the familiar figure she both admired and loathed most in the mirror, after a brief moment of panic, the rational and intelligent older sister quickly understood the changes that had occurred within her and the new abilities that accompanied those changes.

One weekend later, as usual, the older sister took the clingy and extremely troublesome Nanoha Kaori out to play. However, this time the older sister deliberately took Nanoha Kaori to a park that was farther away from home.

After 'settling' Nanoha Kaoru, the older sister used magic to transform into Nanoha Kaoru's appearance and secretly abandoned Nanoha Kaoru, returning home alone.

If I were to become Nanoha Kaori, wouldn't I be able to get back the love she stole from me? Since this love was originally meant for me by my parents, it would be only right for me to take it back from that thief.

At first, her parents did indeed dote on 'clumsy Nanoha Kaori' as usual, but when asked where her older sister was, 'Nanoha Kaori' replied that she didn't know and that she was probably still playing outside, her parents, who were always very loving towards 'Nanoha Kaori', showed some surprise and anger for the first time.

"Your sister takes such good care of you, so you should also care about your sister. Don't take her kindness for granted, understand?"

After being scolded by her parents, Nanoha realized that they weren't neglecting her, but rather trusting her to fulfill her duties as an older sister. They didn't spoil Nanoha either; instead, they scolded her for not taking her sister's care for granted as her own possession.

Knowing this, the older sister immediately left home and ran to the park. She found the somewhat bewildered Nanoha Kaoru on the swings in the park. Although Nanoha Kaoru had obvious tear stains on her face, she still quickly and clumsily wiped her cheeks after seeing her older sister and gave her sister her usual innocent and silly smile.

"Aren't you scared, Nanoha Kaori?"

"I'm scared... but I'm sure my big sister will find me and take me home, right!"

Looking at the girl in front of her, who was pretending to be strong for the first time instead of throwing herself into her arms and acting cute as usual, the older sister realized at that moment that she had to protect her.

Afterwards, the older and younger sisters gradually grew up. Although the younger sister was still too shy and timid after starting school, she was able to gradually integrate into the new social group.

The days passed uneventfully and peacefully—until one day on the tram home, my sister told me, somewhat frightened, a 'dream of the future' about witches and judgment.

After hearing the contents of that dream, the older sister finally understood what the purpose of her transformation magic was.

Thus, she arrived on Prison Island, a place where prospective witches were imprisoned and amidst battles and trials, under the identity of 'Kurobe Nanoha Kaori'. There, she also encountered a strange boy who called himself 'Chang Rong', and who was always accompanied by a girl with snowflake-like silver-white hair.

…………

Fragments of the past of the Nanoha sisters flashed through Chang Rong's mind. In this way, she passively learned about the story of the older and younger sisters, and at the same time finally solved a small mystery: why the older sister was so interested in her from the beginning.

The older sister, who came to Witch Island to 'protect her younger sister,' naturally developed feelings for Chang Rong, who also chose to stay to 'protect Xiao Xue.' After a brief time together, she even projected some of her longing for Nanoha onto Chang Rong, resolving to protect the boy no matter what.

Of course, don't ask why they ended up protecting him on his hospital bed.

"Hmm... Just like with Meruru before, did the resonance of the witch factor accidentally 'vision' the host's past? — Huh?"

Chang Rong shook his head to snap out of his daze from the fragmented vision, but he immediately froze in place again.

The 'older sister' he was holding in his arms at this moment was neither the face of Saeki Miria who possessed the [Exchange Magic], nor the usual masked guard with a headband.

Instead, it was... a girl with short silver-white hair and light purple eyes.

"Big sister...?"

Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar girl in front of him, but whom he had met once before, after a brief moment of shock, Chang Rong softly revealed the true identity of the white-haired girl in front of him. She was none other than the original true form of Nanoha Kaori, who possessed transformation magic.

"..."

The white-haired girl blinked, looked down at her hands, then turned to look at the mirror on the bookshelf beside her, noticing a face in the mirror that even she herself seemed somewhat unfamiliar with.

"Hmm... Perhaps it was because of the resonance that just occurred that you, Big Sister, activated your original 'transformation' magic through the factors within Milia's body, and then transformed back into your true form—anyway, this is what you really look like, Big Sister, right? Hmm, so cute!"