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

After a moment of happiness, Arisa, having reconciled with herself, also realized something else—her little 'quirk' didn't seem to be a psychological problem as Chang Rong had described, but rather a pure addiction.

-

Thanks to Chenguang Moxin for the sudden, albeit seemingly insignificant, gesture! I'm seriously accepting today's red bean paste bread.

Thanks to fate? Gemini for the treat.

-

4K bonus chapter today

I have diarrhea again... Sorry.

252. Emma Arisa's Leaf Fragrance: Domain Expansion!

"Uh..." "That..."

After Arisa made the statement, "I'm a masochist, and I'm confidently shining," the previously pleasant atmosphere of the date instantly froze.

Even Chang Rong, a veteran who had crammed countless episodes of Date A Live on Witch Island, still experienced a brief mental freeze after Arisa's self-destructive declaration, unsure of how to respond.

"In short... let's not talk about hobbies and interests for now!"

Finally, Arisa Fujito came to her senses and realized how strange her outburst had been. She quickly waved her hand, signaling Chang Rong to put the matter behind her.

"Didn't I mention before that I actually have another wish... Well, since we still have enough time, I'd like to trouble you with this as well, Chang Rong...!"

After rationality regained its footing, Arisa, in order to cover up her subtle remarks that were difficult to evaluate, quickly grabbed Chang Rong's hand and dragged the white-haired boy back inside the castle walls without saying a word.

"Woof...!?"

"Ok?"

As Chang Rong stepped back through the iron gate, he seemed to hear a familiar sound.

"Um... anyway, please come with me to a place next!"

However, Arisa, who was walking ahead of her, didn't seem to notice anything amiss, or rather, she simply didn't have the energy to check her surroundings. She was only focused on pulling down her hood with one hand and holding Chang Rong's hand with the other, walking forward along the anti-magic wall with her head down.

This gave Chang Rong no chance to carefully observe what was hidden in the bushes that seemed to have burrowed into the ground, and he could only follow Arisa's footsteps and move forward together.

Arisa did not take Chang Rong back to the castle. The two walked one after the other in the dim moonlight at dusk. Before long, they heard the familiar gurgling sound of flowing water in the distance. The lake that Chang Rong knew all too well appeared before their eyes once again.

"here……"

Chang Rong gazed at the clear, tranquil lake hidden among the trees, far from the castle, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Beside him, Arisa slowly walked to the lakeside, squatted down, crossed her arms, and rested her head on her hands, quietly watching the calm surface of the lake.

"I don't know why... but I really like this place, just like I used to come here often. As long as I look at this lake, I feel a sense of peace, and a lot of the pressure dissipates."

Arisa sat by the lake, hugging her knees, and whispered to the silvery-white crescent moon blooming in the lake.

"In the 'past timeline,' Arisa, you must have often come here to relax. The environment here is indeed very quiet and beautiful, a great place to unwind, but for me it's a bit..."

Chang Rong sat down next to Arisa and replied, "At least in the 'second loop world' that he knows, when Arisa was still in her prickly, rebellious phase, she really liked being alone. She was either sleeping in a hammock in the woods in the courtyard or disappearing altogether. Maybe she was just spacing out by this lake back then."

But what is honey to one is poison to another. This lake, which brings Arisa peace of mind, is a different story for Chang Rong. His several encounters around this lake have been exciting and memorable, but none of them have anything to do with 'tranquility'.

Of course, after getting to know this hooded little hedgehog better, Chang Rong realized that she, like Nanoha Kaori, didn't really like acting alone. Nanoha Kaori forced herself not to interact with others because she knew the nature of 'Witch's Judgment,' while Arisa was worried that as a prospective witch with the rare ability to inflict direct damage magic, she might accidentally hurt others, so she distanced herself from the situation.

They were all good kids after all. The so-called 'original sin' was just an unfortunate tragedy caused by various causes and effects from the very beginning. No one really carried any original sin. Just like Arisa, everyone has the right to pursue their own happiness.

"But... I don't know about other timelines, at least for me now... it's still like this, I feel happier when I'm sitting with you, Chang Rong."

Arisa raised her head to look at the boy next to her. The tangible reality and the warmth emanating from him made Arisa feel even more at ease.

Looking at the boy sitting silently beside her, Arisa, after a brief silence, gently reached out and took his hand again.

"Arisa—"

Feeling the tight grip from her palm, and seeing the girl's resolute gaze after her initial dodge, Chang Rong unconsciously held her breath.

Perhaps because this lake was once an ancient battlefield, Chang Rong even began to suspect that Arisa's so-called 'other wish' was actually—

"My second wish is... I hope... Chang Rong, you can give me a proper compliment just once."

Arisa's shy, soft voice interrupted Chang Rong's guess.

"commend……?"

"Yes, yes... Although I know very well that I haven't really been able to help everyone much, even so, I... I still really hope... to receive genuine praise from others..."

Arisa Fujito buried her head in her hood; her response just now seemed to have exhausted her last bit of courage, and she was just short of turning on her burrowing mode.

“That’s really—ah, I understand, Arisa.”

Chang Rong blinked. He wanted to say something more, but in the end he sighed and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

Honestly, I'm really quite despicable... Although Arisa was indeed one of the participants in that fierce battle in the previous timeline, it was due to special factors and external driving forces that time.

I was really judging people by my own standards. In reality, Arisa was always just a girl who craved praise and care, a gentle and kind girl with a normal view of love.

On this battleground where people pull down their pants in the blink of an eye, Arisa is like a ray of light, but her overly holy brightness stings the filthy Chang Rong.

What a... truly good girl! The only witch who doesn't intend to sleep with me, Arisa. There won't be another pure and innocent girl like her again.

After learning about Arisa's other wish, Chang Rong gently lifted Arisa's hand, kissed the back of her hand, and reached into her hood with his other hand to slowly stroke the girl's hair.

"You've worked so hard all this time, Arisa. Thank you for your kindness all this time, thank you for enduring this loneliness so as not to hurt everyone, and thank you even more for your efforts in finding a way for us to leave this place—you are far more indispensable than you think. Contrary to those self-deprecating words, Arisa, you have done so much more to truly help everyone."

"Arisa, who is always so gentle—you have done a really, really good job, you are proud of yourself enough."

"Ugh... This, this is what it feels like to be praised... I... I..."

As she was being kissed on the back of her hand, her hair being ruffled, and gentle praise was given, Arisa Fujito's cheeks visibly flushed red.

"Waaaah—but, but! You can't be too self-deprecating. Arisa, you still have a lot to improve! For example, you need to be more proactive in your interpersonal relationships. Right now, Arisa, your initiative in interpersonal relationships is almost not as good as An-An's. You must pay attention to this!"

Seeing that Arisa was about to have another nuclear explosion, Chang Rong quickly changed his approach and pointed out the girl's shortcomings, like scooping a spoonful of cold water into boiling noodles just before they overflow to suppress them.

Don't worry, Xiaoxue, I also prevented Witch Island from being attacked by a nuclear bomb today—don't ask why it would happen.

“I… I understand, Chang Rong. I will try to get closer to everyone in the future… But I’m really happy to hear your praise. I really, really feel happy—even I can allow myself to feel such happiness, right?”

Chang Rong's change of tactics did not extinguish the blush spreading across Arisa's face. She looked at the young man in front of her and asked softly, as if requesting permission.

“That’s right, Arisa, you have always had the right to feel happiness and pursue happiness. This is a happiness honor that no one can take away from you, and it belongs only to you, Arisa!”

Chang Rong rubbed Arisa's head in response. Suddenly, he thought of something and reached into his pocket to pull out a bag of transparent candies inlaid with mysterious 'blueberry jam'.

—Even though Emma made these candies with great care, it shouldn't be a problem to feed Arisa just one, right?

"Arisa, you are a commendable child, and as such, you deserve a reward!"

Chang Rong took out the bag of candy and placed it in front of Arisa, intending to emphasize in this way that Arisa's 'praise' at this moment was genuine and that she deserved it.

Just as Chang Rong took out the bag of 'Emma's Special Candy', a short, mournful whimper came from a corner not far away.

"Oh no...! Oh no...!"

The pink and white-haired girl, Emma Sakura, was currently huddled in the bushes, looking nervously at the two people sitting by the lake not far away, chatting and laughing.

After her date with Chang Rong ended, Emma did not follow the agreement made by the three of them to 'give the next companion ample private space'. Instead, she followed the two of them from a distance with a nervous expression, intensely watching everything.

Normally, although Emma might occasionally reveal a little bit of her darker side, she wouldn't actually betray her best friend like that.

But it was clear that the situation was not normal at the moment—those "candies" that were filled with powdered mysterious little pills were now in Chang Rong's hands, ready to be given to the good boy Arisa as a reward.

Although the pursuit had been incredibly arduous, the two had at least refrained from doing anything Emma feared. However, now that things were unfolding in the direction she least wanted to see, Emma was extremely panicked.

However, misfortunes never come singly—

"I called you but you didn't answer. I finally managed to find some clues and followed them all the way here—what are you doing, Emma?"

"Woof!?"

Emma was startled when Nanoha Kurobe's voice suddenly came from behind her, causing her to let out a cute whimper.

Like a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, Emma, ​​who had been intently following Chang Rong and Arisa, was completely unaware that she had also become prey, being tracked all the way to the lake by Nanoha Kaori.

"Chang Rong, let's not eat it. After all, it's Ying Yu's gift. I won't eat it... Ugh—!?"

Meanwhile, Arisa and Chang Rong, who were not far away, also heard Emma's voice. Arisa's words of excuse were interrupted by the sound of a dog bristling. The two of them turned around instantly and caught Emma, ​​who was hiding in the bushes.

"Sakuraha...? And Kurobe, what are you doing here— um, didn't we agree not to interfere with each other's dates...!"

Arisa Shito blinked, her tone a mixture of confusion and anger.

"Huh? Arisa and Chang Rong...? What are you doing here? I came to find Emma to talk about today's date—"

With a bewildered and adorable expression, Nanoha looked completely oblivious. Unlike Emma, ​​who was stalking and spying with a clear purpose, Nanoha was genuinely a bystander who was completely oblivious to the situation.

After all, although both are mysterious poisoners, Nanoha Kaori personally confirmed that the time bomb was properly planted on Chang Rong (remember to call me when you're eating chocolate), which is completely different from Emma's case.

"Um, that Arisa-chan! I...I have a reason! Anyway, that candy—"

The three prospective witches, who were simultaneously starting their Date A Live, stared at each other by the lake. Arisa Fujito was initially confused, then became furious, while Kaori Nanoha was completely bewildered and oblivious to the situation.

Emma frantically tried to explain herself, but her actions only angered Arisa.

"Candy, candy, huh...! Since you were the one who acted ruthlessly first, don't blame me for being ruthless... I'll bite!"

Driven by a desire for revenge, Arisa, who had been making excuses, suddenly snatched the bag of candies from Chang Rong's hand, took one out, and popped it into her mouth without a word, chewing it greedily, as if she were retaliating against Emma's betrayal.

"Waaaaah... No way—oh no, Arisa-chan, don't get too cocky! It's just candy, fine, you eat candy and I'll eat candy too!"

The situation took an unexpected turn, and the silly dog, whose brain had momentarily shut down, saw Arisa swallowing the pills in large gulps. On a whim, he pulled out the bag of pistachio chocolates that he had 'exchanged candy' with Chang Rong and, not to be outdone, quickly took out a piece and popped it into his mouth to chew.

"Huh... that chocolate...?"

Emma, ​​chewing on chocolate, was trying not to lose in terms of momentum to Arisa while preparing to quickly drag Arisa away before the effects of the drug took hold. On the other side, Nanoha Kaori, upon seeing the bag of 'chocolate,' was also stunned and her eyes widened instantly.

The bag of chocolates in Emma's hand looked extremely familiar; from the pistachio crumbs to the outer packaging, it all felt incredibly familiar.

Could it really be such a coincidence...? No, no, no, it must just be a coincidence—

To prove her guess, Nanoha grabbed Emma and, in a moment of impulsiveness, instinctively took a piece of chocolate and put it in her mouth.

Hmm, the smooth milky aroma, the oily fragrance of pistachios, the soft texture, the deliberately suppressed bitter medicinal taste—that's right, this batch is the one that I made with Chang Rong.

In other words, this batch of goods contained a high concentration of acinium poisoning agent.

In that instant, Arisa Fujito, Nanoha Kurobe, and Emma Sakuraba, the three prospective witches who were creating mysterious little candies, all had a strange blush rise on their cheeks.

"Chang Rong-jun—!" "Chang Rong…!" "My accomplice…!!"

The three prospective witches struck different poses, but in almost the same tone, they all looked at Chang Rong and shouted his name, all with expressions of preparing for a great battle.

"...???"