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

"This means... the Three Kingdoms were unified under the Jin Dynasty?" Chang Rong pondered as she looked at the remaining large circle and replied.

"What does that mean? In short, this circle refers to everyone on the inner island, including the warden. The stone inside represents Watson, and the stone on the edge represents Mag. How about that? Isn't it easy to understand?"

Shirley Tachibana smiled and looked at Chang Rong, confident that her explanation of the current situation on Witch Island was concise and clear.

"Uh... hahaha, at least there's still Mag..."

Looking at the lone pebble surrounded by the circle, Chang Rong swallowed hard and avoided meeting Shirley's gaze, instead focusing her attention on Mag at the edge of the circle.

What's going on? After all this time, it turns out I'm the one who was cornered and ganged up on and beaten up?

I'm going to beat up the trainee witches, really?

Chang Rong couldn't help but think of the 'weird silver party' that Nanoha had hallucinated before. It was clear that if the time by the lake last night wasn't enough, it meant that... there was at least one bigger thing waiting for him in the future.

In short, through Shirley Tachibana's explanation, Chang Rong did indeed understand the strange situation on Witch Island before he woke up. To be fair, Witch Island was much better than the girls' dormitory; the 13 people there were only three separate groups, which was quite innocent.

"So Watson, you should understand now, right? Hannah and Rhea's relationship has suddenly become so close, chatting and laughing and working together... This is definitely an anomaly, Watson! A super terrifying and super exciting anomaly is unfolding on Witch Island, and you might be the next one, puffing up in anger!"

Shirley puffed out her cheeks and waved her two branches, which was more like a coquettish gesture than a tantrum.

"So how can this be considered an anomaly...? Isn't it just that two people have become closer?"

"No way! I already said that no one should change this much in such a short period of time, and this change isn't just an individual's anomaly, but almost everyone has been affected! For example, Rhea—well, um… Rhea doesn't seem to have changed much?"

When Tachibana Sherry talked about Hasumi Ryoa, she suddenly fell silent. It seems that this cool and dashing idol has never been able to shake off the label of a comedian.

Although she occasionally reveals a surprising display of feminine charm that can make your eyes widen, ultimately, she is still just a comedian!

"No, no, Léa isn't as proactive as she used to be! Before, Léa would always take the initiative and shoulder any responsibility, but now she just quietly listens to other people's opinions. Isn't that strange?"

"Hmm... I see."

Seeing Tachibana Sherry holding up her finger and speaking eloquently, Chang Rong finally realized the reason.

Sherry considers herself a 'detective,' although her case-solving rate is currently -1 (meaning her own murder case remains unsolved), her investigative and observational skills are indeed quite good. The lingering memories from her first and second playthroughs, accumulated in her mind, naturally make her confused and perplexed by the changes in everyone around her.

Of course... a bigger reason is that these people did indeed undergo significant changes in the third playthrough, such as Rhea and Shiro.

A girl can become a woman in an instant; all it takes is breaking through that barrier, and everything will fall into place naturally.

Damn it, looking at it this way, it's no wonder that Xiaoxue suddenly became so feminine and even offered to do housework overnight; she must have done something with me...!

"Hmm? Chang Rong—what are you doing squatting there?"

"Wow!"

Chang Rong, increasingly suspecting that he had already graduated from Xiao Xue and Chu Nan, accidentally made a noise while pupating the pupa, which alerted Leia. Leia looked at the two people crouching in the bushes and immediately noticed Shirley's overly shabby hiding method and the wriggling white rabbit.

"Hehehe, we've been spotted! Run, run, Watson!"

Instead of panicking after being discovered, Shirley Tachibana, who was standing next to him, happily grabbed Chang Rong's arm and pulled him out of the courtyard to run away without saying a word.

The series of actions was so fluid and natural that Chang Rong couldn't help but wonder if this seemingly carefree, blue-haired detective had planned from the very beginning to present such a picture of star-crossed lovers running away hand in hand in front of everyone.

"Gorilla Girl... Stupid Knight? What's going on... Seriously."

Seeing the two people dart out one after the other, Tono Hannah had no choice but to stop what she was doing and frown as she looked at their backs.

"Chang Rong has really had a tough time. She was locked in the basement all night yesterday, and today Sherry is making her run around everywhere." Leia shook her head helplessly, her tone filled with the ease of someone who had already won the battle.

"But speaking of which... I always feel that Gorilla Girl—I always feel that Sherry has been acting strange lately." Hannah looked away and hung the clothes back on the clothesline.

"That's weird?"

"Hmm... Considering it's that gorilla woman, it's probably just my imagination... But... I feel like she's been acting all restless lately, like she's not paying attention to anything, like... how should I put it, like a heartbroken little girl who's been dumped—no, no, but that's definitely just my imagination, Desuwa!"

Tono Hannah quickly waved her hand. That's a gorilla woman, a creature that's impervious to reason and whose heart might even be a power plant. Would she really feel like she's been 'heartbroken and lost favor'?

But... that smile on her face just now was definitely the happiest and brightest I've seen in a while. I really don't understand her.

-

Thanks to Chenguang Moxin for the salted fish spike feeding.

I didn't check the backend yesterday, so if any kind brothers have given me some food, I would be extremely grateful!

257. I'm acting so strange, Watson!

Rather than 'searching for mutations,' it looks more like a date...

After working with Shirley, Chang Rong gradually realized this.

Although she said, "This is a super tense and exciting group possession incident!", Tachibana Sherry didn't actually do anything special. In the end, she simply dragged Chang Rong around, like a lioness showing off her prey or a fisherman showing off his newly developed airplane.

Chang Rong had originally planned to tease and remind Shirley to focus on her work, but when he saw the happy and innocent expression on Shirley's face, all the words he wanted to say were swallowed back down, leaving only the thought of joining in her silly antics.

This is Tachibana Sherry, the freest woman on the entire Witch Island. While others have to come up with excuses to date Chang Rong, Tachibana Sherry only needs to grab Chang Rong and run away!

"Hey Watson, did you see that?! Meruru didn't drop any little pearls just now! I even told her things like, 'Medicines keep disappearing from the infirmary, your management skills are just tragic,' to provoke her, but Meruru just smiled awkwardly and nodded, saying she would increase the supervision later, instead of curling up in a ball while dropping little pearls. This is unusual, Watson!"

"This is indeed surprisingly hard to refute... Logically speaking, it should be a conspiracy, but the most memorable thing is the jellyfish that likes to drop small pearls. It feels like Meruru is tragically unqualified as a conspiracy... By the way, Sherry, how did you know that the medicine in the infirmary often gets lost?"

Chang Rong was quite surprised by Meruru's change. After a heart-to-heart talk with the veterans to resolve her inner conflicts, Meruru was no longer the jellyfish with only the image of the Great Witch in her mind, constantly dropping little pearls. Her change and enlightenment were visible to the naked eye, but her lack of common sense and natural naiveté, to put it bluntly, was a problem of intermittent Alzheimer's, which would probably take some time to resolve.

"Hmm? Hmph, this is basic reasoning, Watson! Because the beds in the infirmary always inexplicably become a mess, but there aren't that many patients on Witch Island. Considering that everyone's sleeping quarters have already been decided, it's unlikely that someone is using the infirmary as a bedroom. So the conclusion is obvious—someone must be secretly stealing medicine from the infirmary, which is why they accidentally made a mess of it, right? It can't be that someone stays up all night and goes to the infirmary every day to do something inappropriate for children, hehehe~!"

"That's right..."

Chang Rong nodded guiltily in agreement. Although Tachibana Sherry's reasoning was completely wrong, both in its process and its conclusion, it still sent chills down Chang Rong's spine. While he admitted he wasn't among those who stole the O drug, he had indeed been rolling around in the hospital bed.

"Found Coco! Coco is actually playing a telepathic game in a corner all by herself! Hmm... Although Coco's ability to squeeze into all sorts of weird corners is indeed a mutation, her hysterical behavior of talking to herself in the air gives people a sense of reassurance that she hasn't changed at all."

"Huh!? What's wrong with you, you super-strong detective... I'm seriously discussing important life matters with 'my favorite'! It's not some kind of hysteria, right, Onii-chan!"

The bottom-side anchor (who has graduated) Ze Du Ke Ke's orange headphones popped out from the corner. The black-haired girl with orange highlights complained and argued angrily while looking at Chang Rong for help.

"Hmm... Although there is the magic of seeing far, judging from the result, Coco-chan, you were indeed just talking to yourself, right?" Chang Rong concluded after a rational analysis.

"No, no! When I chat with 'My Push,' I do get inspiration and conclusions!" Zedu Coco blushed instantly, activated her Thornback form, and waved her hands angrily as she retorted.

"Well, for example—in my conversation with 'My Fan' just now, I've already decided what profession my future child with my brother should pursue! Considering my own experience, I have to rule out gluttonous idiots, yakuza Yamato Nadeshiko, detectives, lawyers, special forces soldiers, actors, painters, writers, con artists, doctors, delinquents, shoujo manga heiresses... So, among the remaining professions, 'bodyguard' is definitely the best, right, brother! It's good for protecting family and it's also very cool!"

"Although I sensed a strong subjective intent, and some of them weren't even professional, and that 'child' was a bit of a concern... But bodyguard? They're really good, just like an older sister, right?" Chang Rong forced herself to ignore a lot of things she wanted to complain about and question, and smiled as she responded to Ze Du Ke Ke.

"—Even bodyguards won't do, they're too dangerous. We really should find someone else!"

"Why?!" Chang Rong was completely baffled as to why Ze Du Ke Ke suddenly changed her expression again.

“0v0… Watson can be so stupid sometimes that I want to slap his head and see if I can fix him!” Tachibana Sherry, who overheard their conversation, exclaimed with a smile.

"Please don't—even if Crazy Diamonds came, they probably couldn't piece it back together!"

Chang Rong hurriedly and fearfully refused Tachibana Sherry's repair request, but in the end he still couldn't understand why Ze Du Ke Ke suddenly changed her mind. He could only sigh, "Ha, women," and then Tachibana Sherry dragged him away again.

"On another note, if it were Watson and me—"

After parting ways with Coco, Shirley, who was walking ahead, suddenly remembered something. She blinked and looked at the white-haired boy, her tone revealing a rare hint of shyness and anticipation.

"If we're just hypothesizing, simply hypothesizing about our next generation—"

"You should inherit Mother's family business and become the next Sherlock Holmes, right?" "Of course you should inherit Sherry's arm strength and become a fighting expert!"

"...Watson, you really know how to find a way to die~~"

The two laughed and dreamed about the future, and then the next second Chang Rong personally experienced Tachibana Sherry's arm strength, which was comparable to that of fighting genius Hanayama Kaoru.

Fun fact: Never compliment a girl on her strength, no matter what, even if she really is incredibly strong.

Speaking of fighting geniuses, have you heard the story of 'The Witch's Journey'? In the second year of the Yuanhe era, a young girl arrived at Witch Island—

"Huh? It's Rongrong~!"

As we passed the second-floor art studio, little artist Noa Shirosaki, who was leaning on the table at the studio entrance, suddenly perked up. She jumped off her chair and excitedly came over.

"What are you doing here, you stupid monster? Are you so bored that you're seeking comfort from me? Oh well, then I'll reluctantly—ooh…!?"

Behind Noah, Natsume Anan, the other member of the 'Creative Duo', also pulled her head out of the scrap paper after hearing Noah's voice.

An An deliberately feigned a nonchalant, somewhat impatient and helpless tone, and prepared to get closer to Chang Rong. However, she suddenly noticed the client who commissioned the article next to Chang Rong, a mysterious blue-powered detective. She was instantly terrified and quickly shrank behind Chang Rong, staring intently at Tachibana Sherry with her purple eyes.

"Is this... here to urge you to finish the manuscript...? But I can't even deliver the prologue...! Even aggressive urging won't work! You stupid monster, you're right here. I, I'm not afraid of you now. You super strong woman, don't you dare to mess with me!"

An An huddled behind Chang Rong, peeking out half her head and huffing at Ju Shirley as she spoke fiercely.

"Yes, Watson, did you see that? That's an anomaly too!"

Faced with An An's breath, Sherry was neither angry nor scared. Instead, she looked at Chang Rong with a knowing expression, proving that Natsume An An had also been affected by this "exchange incident".

“An’an used to be a gloomy, sleepy, silent, and unapproachable brat who wouldn’t talk to anyone, but now she’s completely different!”

"No, no, no, this is definitely 100% your fault, Sherry!" Chang Rong quickly retorted. An An's current habit of yawning whenever she sees Sherry can be traced back to the time when An An interfered in the battle royale game, causing Sherry to lose and resulting in Sherry retaliating by commissioning her to write an article.

"Huh... you stupid monster, how could you... well, whatever, you're right. I don't know what you're talking about, but it's all because of you, you super-strong woman!"

An An was stunned for a moment. In her memory, she should have only told Milia about being threatened by Sherry to force her to finish her manuscript. Logically speaking, Chang Rong should not have chosen to stand on her side so quickly.

But since even the stupid monster is on my side, it proves I'm right, hehehe!

An An stopped thinking about it and became immersed in the feeling of being protected by Chang Rong. He visibly swelled up and completely ignored the objective fact that even if Chang Rong tried to protect him from Tachibana Sherry, it would only be a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

"What? It was clearly An'an who messed things up back then, preventing me from catching Watson... Besides, isn't it a writer's duty to write novels? Just like a painter has to paint—wait, huh?"

Sherry had intended to use Noah as an example, but then she realized that Noah, the girl dressed like a colorful balloon and resembling a palette, wasn't painting at all, and there weren't even any paintbrushes or watercolors on the table.

"No, no, no... Noah is starting to feel that perhaps Noah isn't suited for this line of work..."

Noticing Chang Rong's curious yet worried gaze, Noah shrank back and muttered dejectedly in a low voice.

"What's wrong, Noah? Aren't you a famous balloon artist? Why are you suddenly saying things like that?" Chang Rong quickly asked what was going on.

"Hero said that having a passion for this field isn't enough... The competition in the art field is extremely fierce. A half-hearted attitude won't get you anywhere. You have to be prepared to either starve or start a world war if you don't succeed—"

"Which art student who failed the exam are you talking about?!" Chang Rong was becoming more and more convinced that Xi Luo's level of 'childcare' was just as bad as Xiao Xue's, which could only be described as tragic.

What does it mean to teach a child to draw, and then a few years later the child goes on a blitzkrieg in Poland?

"Noah used to just doodle randomly, and he was happy just to scribble all sorts of messy lines on paper. Later, with the help of magical AI, he could create a picture with a single click without even having to think about it... But now, Noah has a picture he really wants to draw, and after he started drawing, he realized that he can't draw anything well at all... Now, not only are his fans disappointed and turning against him (referring to Arisa), but he also has to be subjected to intense torture by Heero every day. Noah... really doesn't want to draw anymore..."

Noah Kinosaki slumped in his chair, his body burned to ashes, leaving only snow-white ash.

"Don't say that, Noah. Sometimes it's not necessary to follow Hero's pace and standards completely. Just take your time... Speaking of this half-finished painting... Hmm, is it a scene of everyone watching a battle royale broadcast together in a flower field?"

Chang Rong quickly rubbed Noah's head to soothe the little balloon, while noticing the half-finished painting on the side. After staring at it for a while, she quietly asked Noah a question.

"Eh? Rongrong, you noticed...?" Noah, who had been hanging his head, suddenly raised his head, and his rainbow-like eyes sparkled again.

"Hmm, unlike before, it was much easier to see the scene Noah was trying to convey this time. This shows that you have made a lot of progress, Noah! Although you may still be close to zero, going from negative to zero, from giving up the control of AI to picking up the paintbrush again yourself, this progress itself is already very commendable."