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

"While the outcome is indeed the same, there are still some differences between opening a door with a shotgun and opening a door with a wire..."

Chang Rong started to miss Nikaido Hiro a little. After all, when they chatted, she was the one who was in charge of playing pranks, while Nikaido was the 'normal person' who was tortured and abused.

As a result, when he faced Tachibana Sherry, this blue-haired genius, he was forced to experience what it felt like for a normal person to be tortured by a genius.

"So, what are you doing here, Popsicle-kun? Are you planning to kill me? It should be easy now! After all, this is a prison specifically for imprisoning witches, and it seems there are items here that can suppress our witch magic."

Shirley Tachibana twisted her body and tilted her head to indicate that the ropes binding her seemed to have the effect of suppressing magic.

—Suppressing magic? That makes sense. Since it's an execution ground for witches, it's impossible that there aren't any tools or weapons specifically designed to counter them.

"There are a lot of scary-looking props on that table over there! Even Popsicle could probably take me down easily with those things, but I'm afraid of pain, so it's best to choose a prop that can kill me in one hit, okay? If that doesn't work, you can synthesize a simple spear or something, since the weapon's attack power increases with the number of times it's synthesized, right?"

On the table next to the wooden stake tied to Shirley Tachibana were various props laid out, which looked quite familiar to Chang Rong, since he had seen them before when he and Hiro were in jail.

Rather, the fact that Heero was able to find the least lethal 'ruler' among these weapons to chop herself vertically shows that she was rational and restrained enough.

—Hmm? This looks pretty handy.

Chang Rong's gaze locked onto one of the props that gleamed with a cold light.

"Of course, if I could, I definitely wouldn't want to die! After all, this place seems to hold a ton of interesting cases waiting for me to solve— ugh, whoa!? Popsicle-kun, what are you holding? Well, that kind of thing shouldn't be able to 'kill in one hit,' right!?"

The talkative Shirley noticed the weapon in Chang Rong's hand, and her tone suddenly became somewhat flustered.

It was a rusty and worn handsaw. Judging from the sharpness of the blade, it would probably take a lot of effort to cut the black bread in the cafeteria.

"Waaaah! Even if you're going to dismember me, at least figure out the order! Kill me with that hammer or rope first, then break me apart!! We advocate killing, not torture, stop, Stop—"

Snap, snap, snap—plop!

Shirley Tachibana, who was twisting and turning on the wooden stake, suddenly fell down, and the ropes that were originally tied to her wrists and ankles were sawed off and scattered.

"Huh? So, Popsicle-kun isn't here to kill me?" Tachibana Sherry picked up the detective hat that had fallen to the ground, put it on her head, and looked at Chang Rong curiously.

"Use your detective brain to think about it," Chang Rong said sarcastically, tossing the handsaw aside.

"Hmm... I see, I see! Everyone's about to launch a full-scale attack on the mastermind behind Prison Island, so I'm needed to lead the charge, right? No problem, Popsicle-kun, let's charge out together!"

"I specifically sought you out, not so you could drag me down with you to my death!?"

Chang Rong quickly slammed on the brakes, feeling that if he had been a second later, this guy would have gotten himself into a terrible bad ending.

"Let's get down to business first—treat the wound."

Chang Rong'er opened the shoulder bag she was carrying; it was stuffed full of various medicines, bandages, and disinfection supplies she had taken from the infirmary.

The thought that Emma had painstakingly categorized and sorted all these medicines would just be carelessly stuffed into my bag and taken out, and that Emma would have to cry and re-sort them later, gave me a strange, forbidden kind of pleasure.

"Eh... I already said I'm fine, the bleeding has stopped, and it doesn't hurt at all?" Tachibana Sherry blinked, a rare look of confusion on her face.

"Whether you're in pain or not is none of my business. Choosing how to treat your wound is my own right."

"That's a completely domineering and illogical statement~"

Shirley easily pointed out Chang Rong's 'false testimony', but she did not continue to refute it. Instead, she let Chang Rong take off her tattered dark coat.

Beneath the shawl-like coat, numerous scattered wounds and bruises were visible. Although the bleeding had indeed stopped, they still looked rather pitiful.

Most of the wounds were scratches of varying depths. Judging from the broken floor at the entrance of the punishment room and the flying bricks and stones, most of them were secondary wounds caused by fragments from the violent impact when the floor was broken.

I don't really want to keep thinking about how that huge crater came about... Anyway, I absolutely can't provoke this guy, not at all.

Chang Rong had no doubt that the blue-haired girl in front of him could compress his 500GB mechanical hard drive brain into the size of an M.2 solid-state drive simply by clenching her fist.

Which is the world's most powerful compression software? Shirley Orange, of course! Or maybe WinRAR or 7Z?

After taking out purified water, gauze, disinfectant, and other medical supplies from her shoulder bag, Chang Rong turned around again to help Ju Shirley treat her wounds.

Just after he turned around, he saw an unfamiliar figure in his field of vision.

No, it wasn't exactly unfamiliar; it was clearly still the superhuman detective girl named Tachibana Sherry. It was just that, for some reason, Tachibana Sherry had taken off her outer clothes, revealing a white shirt and a sky-blue skirt, leaving only pure white underwear covering her body.

Volume 1: Author's Note on the Release of the Book

It feels so unrealistic, it's already on sale, it's a bit unbelievable.

Thank you to everyone who has read this far, and thank you to everyone who has supported me with tips, monthly tickets, and actively participated in the discussion.

I'll try to update a few more chapters tomorrow at 12 PM, but it's unlikely I'll be able to update as much as before (like the previous 10 chapters). I'll try my best with 3 or 4 chapters.

Also, after it's published, I might resume the slower pace of daily updates of 4K words initially. I need to accumulate some drafts and also find time to organize the outline for the subsequent plot.

It's fine to write casually when it's free, but since it's now a paid service, I'll have to put in more effort.

I'll start updating more chapters to pay back all the treasure chests you've opened, the tips you've given, and even the hate mail you've sent, once I'm more familiar with the release schedule.

Thank you again for your support.

Volume 1: Chapter 44. Our lives are being torn apart by the blue idiot.

"Ju-kun, you you you you—%%￥＃＆*"

Chang Rong's will is being tested...

Having been single since birth for so many years, never having been in a relationship or even kissed, Chang Rong never imagined that the first time she would see a girl appearing before her in only her underwear would be in this way and under these circumstances.

"Huh? Popsicle-kun, didn't you say you were going to treat the wound? This would be more efficient, right?"

The cool-looking Shirley tilted her head and began to analyze why the boy in front of her had such a strange reaction, as if he had been electrocuted.

"Why do you and that Kurobe guy have such strange definitions of 'efficiency'?"

One thought knocking wasn't efficient enough, so he pried open the door; the other thought getting dressed or changing medicine wasn't efficient enough, so he stripped naked.

"Seriously, you were the one who said it wasn't you, Popsicle-kun, but now you're making this weird face. It's so nagging!" Tachibana Sherry pouted and complained with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, you're blaming me now! It was clearly you—"

Chang Rong's veins were bulging, but he paused halfway through his sentence.

It's not that I'm afraid of angering her and then slapping myself against the wall so hard I can't even pry myself off... Absolutely not.

Sherry Tachibana's current reaction is clearly not at all like that of a 'normal teenage girl'. And the reason for this abnormal state should be the same as before—she has never had a pre-set template in her life to skillfully deal with the current situation.

This malfunctioning machine... cough cough, this blue-haired detective with an overly pseudo-human feel might indeed be the most 'rational' being in a sense.

When faced with an unexpected situation, a normal person would likely respond according to their own personality. However, Tachibana Sherry seems to lack the 'emotional' aspect, and can only rely on historical experience to make similar analogies to seemingly plausible situations and respond in a similar manner.

If we analyze this from a purely rational perspective, then the Blue-Haired Detective's current actions are actually quite convenient. Many wounds that were previously invisible have been exposed, making cleaning, disinfection, and bandaging much simpler.

So... the key is yourself.

One's own attitude will determine the 'nature' of Tachibana Sherry's behavior.

Faced with such a cute yet almost completely open girl, could he really not have any evil thoughts?

Don't be ridiculous, that's impossible...

Hmm, it doesn't seem impossible after all?

Chang Rong blinked and suddenly realized something: its invincible second brother had no objection; it had agreed.

Rather, looking at Tachibana Sherry, all I could think about was the endless war god's true form of some blue idiot...?

Playing with frozen frogs, working as a customer service representative (desuwa), invading Earth with inkjet printers, having the worst luck in eight lifetimes being entangled by Sister 4's little sheep, being dragged into the water and sleeping in the stable by a reincarnated hero from another world, and only knowing how to concentrate ice—

"Shirley, please sit down."

Chang Rong moved a small stool out from the side, revealing a Bodhisattva smile, and with a heart as still as water and as calm as a mountain, let Tachibana Sherry sit in front of her.

"Why does it feel like Popsicle-kun suddenly calmed down?" Tachibana Sherry tilted her head, not knowing what was going on, but still obediently sat down in front of Chang Rong.

"It might hurt a little when it's being disinfected, so don't move around too much."

"Hmph, as for pain, I'll make sure it never comes back!"

—Are you afraid of pain or not?

It is indeed a completely unpredictable and unobservable chaotic entity. The difficulty level of the strategy in Galagumo is probably that of the final hidden boss that can only be challenged after completing all routes.

After realizing that 'we can explore Tachibana Sherry later,' Chang Rong stopped overthinking and focused on bandaging the girl's wounds little by little.

At first, Chang Rong was a little worried. She wondered if she, a useless person who could only put on a band-aid for a cut on a book page, was capable of treating other people's wounds.

But when I actually tried it, I found that I was surprisingly quite skilled at it.

Rinse the wound with clean water, carefully wipe away the surrounding dust and foreign objects with a wet wipe, treat the wound with disinfectant, pray that Shirley Tachibana won't have another stinging muscle, and then wrap it with a bandage.

Hehehe... It seems like it wouldn't be so bad to take over the role of the healer for Rumia on the ice! Maybe then I can even have some real close contact with the cute girls besides the blue idiot, just like how Galagrik always acts!

Of course, it would be even better if everyone could avoid getting injured.

The scattered wounds had been mostly treated, but the remaining wounds made Chang Rong frown.

There was a cut on Tachibana Sherry's side. Unlike other injuries, this wound on her abdomen was much deeper, and it was even slowly oozing blood.

Judging from the shape of the wound, it was likely caused by a direct attack from the guard.

"Why didn't you tell me and the young lady before?"

"What? What?" Shirley, who had been sitting obediently in front of Chang Rong, tilted her head.

"The wound on the abdomen is not a minor skin injury. If it is not treated, it could cause problems—inflammation and abscesses are secondary issues. If it is left untreated, it could even lead to excessive blood loss."

While Noah's Blood Butterfly magic avoided some of the gory scenes that would overwhelm the girls, it also made it impossible to directly assess the severity of the wounds, as is the case now.

"Hehehe, it doesn't matter, I probably won't die anyway~! I don't feel it's that serious." Tachibana Sherry responded cheerfully as always.

"How could it be nothing? No, I can't handle this wound myself. I need Kurobe-kun to come and help... No, should I just go to the warden? I remember that in special circumstances, prospective witches can be treated in the infirmary—"

Chang Rong took out her phone to ask for help, but as soon as she opened the dialer, her wrist was grabbed by Tachibana Sherry.

"This won't do, Popsicle! What if the warden doesn't agree? Then your secret sneaking out will be exposed! And then Popsicle will be considered a bad kid and arrested!"

"Whatever, it's not like I haven't been in this place before. In fact, I'm way more experienced than you. Hmph... Damn it, I've spent less time in the bedroom than in the punishment room. What's the point of bragging about something like that...!"

Comparing seniority to the point of jail time—saying something like that not only lacks maturity, but also leaves one speechless with nothing to say in terms of comfort.

"So Popsicle is the kind of guy who goes to jail~~ But even so, we still can't go to the warden, it's too dangerous!"

"Then I'll contact Kurobe first. At least we need to find a way to stitch up the wound."

"In this situation, won't Popsicle-kun be mistaken for a bad guy and shot dead on the spot by Nanoha Kaori~~?" Tachibana Sherry deliberately covered her face with her hands and pretended to be shy. However, neither her tone nor her expression showed any shame about being alone with a man and a woman wearing only underwear.