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

“I became twisted and paranoid because I was afraid to touch ‘love’, and even killed Meruru because of it. But it is precisely because of this experience that I feel so happy to be standing in front of you, Brother Chang Rong.”

Baosheng Mag shifted his gaze to Chang Rong. In the instant their eyes met, Baosheng Mag once again revealed a genuine, innocent, and happy smile.

"【Hey... Chang Rong, I love you.】—So, are you... satisfied with this first honest confession from someone who's just beginning to understand love?"

“Marg…”

"Waaaah! NGNG—! At a time like this, Xiaorong, you should be praising me, Uncle!" "Don't let this kind of bad woman bewitch you, Onii-chan!"

Seeing that the atmosphere between Chang Rong and Mag was so delicate that it was about to turn into something more intimate, Milia and Zedu Coco quickly rushed over to disrupt things.

"Hmm...! Anyway, this method really works! And even though Mag regained her memories, she didn't experience any side effects—"

"The side effect is that I love you even more, my husband~?"

"...At least there are no side effects, so the others can also regain their memories!"

Chang Rong didn't respond to Marge's words, but instead spoke with some excitement.

Chang Rong had initially thought that the death reversal magic wouldn't be able to retrieve everyone's past memories, but Mag's success rekindled her confidence.

Finally, I can chat with the club president again about the detective agency's daily cases and that strange encounter by the lake; finally, I can play the princess and knight's bedchamber role with Hannah again; finally, I can tease Arisa's former delinquent mode; finally, I can openly criticize Rhea-sama's talent as a comedian; finally, I can complain about Nanoha Kaori's continued habit of stealing my bedding; finally, I can praise Noah's imaginative artistic creation of using paint to cosplay a rainbow; finally, I can tease An An about her humorous command to "become my dog"—

Finally, she could tell Emma that she was always annoyed by Hiroha... Wait, Emma?

Chang Rong suddenly thought of something.

Generally speaking, the KDA of the witches who have regained their memories is around 1, and the innocent ones are even worse, with KDAs of 0 or even negative. Even if they regain their memories, at most they can just be 'good buddies' and forgive and forget each other.

But if I remember correctly, the warden mentioned something when explaining its observer status: Emma awakened the [Witch Slayer] magic at the end of the first timeline and even used it.

The Witch Slayer was a magic that Xiaoxue prepared for the destruction of the world, capable of annihilating all life containing witch factors. However, due to Xiaoxue's spread over the years, almost everyone in the world has been corrupted by witch factors.

In other words... among the 13 prospective witches, there seems to be a mysterious pink-haired puppy whose KDA will reach over 80 billion after regaining her memories...?

Upon thinking of this, Chang Rong's smiling face, which had been looking at Marge, instantly froze.

Thinking back to Emma's subtle, devilish yet cunning expression as she stole the O drug before him, Chang Rong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead without making a sound.

I'm going to be the new kill leader, is that for real?

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Endured

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Thanks to Chenguang Moxin for the helpful tip!

Volume 1: 287. Erbanmu's memory...

Retrieving memories from past timelines—this was, in Chang Rong's original imagination, a double-edged sword. After all, while regaining memories from past timelines could make everyone cherish the hard-won peace they have now and truly transcend the past, it could also cause some minor fluctuations in the currently relatively stable interpersonal relationships.

For example, Chang Rong once learned from Ze Du Ke Ke's narration about the entanglement between the president and Miss Hannah, a pair of star-crossed lovers, in the 'first timeline'.

As Hannah Tohno's transformation into a witch deepens and she teeters on the brink of collapse, in order to maintain the gentleness and kindness in her heart, she chooses to ask Sherry Tachibana to kill her herself before her rationality is completely consumed by the witch's transformation. This is a truly poignant and moving realization.

Of course, the subsequent mysterious actions of the club president, which ultimately resulted in a near-collapse of Emma's mentality due to the one-death-one-feedout scenario, are another story altogether...

In short, Chang Rong was always worried that the relationship between everyone would become very delicate after regaining her memories, but with the guidance of Marge and the encouragement of Milia Coco and others, Chang Rong finally chose to take this step.

After having Hiro try to distract Emma for the time being, Chang Rong contacted the other prospective witches and they all came to the entertainment room to participate in the 'Second Memory' retrieval ceremony.

Although Chang Rong had specifically emphasized to these prospective witches that they didn't need to rush to retrieve their memories if they weren't ready, he was somewhat surprised that almost all of them resolutely chose to seek out their past memories. Their reasons were also very similar—only by completely severing ties with the past could they wholeheartedly face the future.

Chang Rong was completely won over by everyone's awareness, but after using the combo of [Exchange Magic] + [Clairvoyance Magic] to retrieve their memories, Chang Rong's worries did indeed come true.

The relationships among the group, which had initially stabilized, were ultimately affected after each person regained their memories from the previous 1-2 timelines.

However, the way this influence was exerted was something Chang Rong had never expected at all—

"Seriously... I never would have guessed that you, this gorilla girl, were so cunning. You actually managed to win Chang Rong over back then. Were you just pretending to be all sweethearts all along?"

"Hehehe~~ I told you I'm the smartest, most handsome, most talented, and cutest Sherry-chan! Hehehe, how about it, Hannah, were you startled? Watson and I have long been soulmates, so the winner of this witch resurrection ritual will definitely be this sickly detective, Miss Holmes!"

"What are you going to use to win the championship? To toss Chang Rong around like a house? You definitely can't do that without superpowers, but I'm different. As long as I sew a doll for that idiot knight, I'll easily get his favorability!"

Hannah Tono and Sherry Tachibana were exchanging statements. After learning that Sherry was the champion of Season 2, Hannah's expression of shock was far greater than her surprise when she found out that she had been 'killed' by Sherry Tachibana. Instead, Hannah angrily questioned Sherry about how she managed to win Chang Rong's heart.

"Hiss hiss hiss... hiss hiss hiss...?"

"Big sister... Waaah... I'm sorry, big sister—you've done so much to protect me, but all I could think about was sneaking away, and I never even thought about letting you find a way to eat too—"

The headband guard looked at his younger sister, Kurobe Nanoha, who was clinging tightly to him, with a confused and bewildered expression. After Nanoha regained her memories, she vividly recalled all the little things her older sister had done for her in the first and second playthroughs.

Especially when recalling how her older sister was still by her side on the eve of her witch transformation and collapse in the second playthrough, Nanoha could no longer hold back and immediately rushed to the headband guard, repeatedly apologizing and thanking her.

"—" The headband-wearing guard stretched out twisted black tentacles and gently stroked Nanoha Kaoru. Although his younger sister had been undermining him and running away, she was still the cutest and most beloved younger sister he wanted to protect.

"When the ceremony takes place, I will definitely... um, let my older sister enjoy the sight of Chang Rong and me wrestling together from the VIP seats, how about that? Let's do it this way then, I still have to apologize to everyone for my blunder at the end of the second playthrough... hmm?"

"Hiss hiss hiss!!! (You cheap little sister, I should probably get rid of her sooner rather than later!)"

Nanoha Kaori looked up and said firmly, while the hairband guard, unsurprisingly, bristled again. The two tragic sisters, who had once faced death together, were now entangled and pulling each other's hair.

"Waaaaah... Why are all these memories those kinds of things... I think I should just find a way to disappear from them..."

"Take a deep breath, Xiao Sha! It's normal to feel dizzy... Uncle, I know how you feel. Just remember to take deep breaths, and don't let the past catch up with you and swallow you up. You can do it, Xiao Sha!"

In the corner of the recreation room, Arisa Shito, a girl who had finally become more cheerful and stopped covering her face with a black mask, was now huddled in the corner with her head in her hands, looking defensive. Even Miria Saeki, who came over to comfort her, was at a loss.

Arisa Fujito never actually took anyone's life, whether in the 'first playthrough' or the 'second playthrough'. She truly embodied the 'soft hedgehog' persona. Although she appears to be full of thorns at first glance, she never actually hurt anyone—except herself.

"Intentionally acting like a loner, dressing in rags thinking it's cool, saying tough things to Yingyu, striking weird poses by yourself, getting excited and trembling with excitement after being reprimanded by Chang Rong... I'm no longer pure, so I guess I have to start over—"

"Don't think too much about it, Xiao Sha! Everyone goes through that phase, it's all in the past now, isn't it!"

In other timelines, Arisa Fujito, who still has the "gloomy delinquent" persona, looks back on the past and despairingly discovers that on Witch Island, all she does is Jiahao, and she does nothing serious but acts cool.

It was as if she had accidentally clicked on a deactivated account and found it filled with all sorts of amazing, niche, and treasure-like posts, as well as incredibly dark and disturbing selfies of Jiahao. What could she do now? Only commit suicide...

For Arisa, who was immediately put into Yamato Nadeshiko mode by Chang Rong at the very beginning of her third playthrough, her past selves from the first and second playthroughs became her greatest enemies on Witch Island.

"I'm sorry, Noah... I never imagined I would do something like that... I hope you can forgive the mistakes I made in the past..."

"Noah has never been angry, after all, Noah knew from the beginning that Leia was an idiot."

"Ugh... I'm not stupid..."

"Hehehe, the Leia back then wasn't the Leia that Noah truly knew, so there's no need for Leia to take it to heart. The Leia that Noah knows is a cool idiot, just like Rongrong, who would always step forward to protect everyone no matter what the situation is like!"

"Haha, you're still a fool after all... But I'm so glad you can forgive me, Noah."

Ryota Hasumi, who used to always try her best to attract everyone's attention, did not do anything outrageous after regaining her memories. Instead, she honestly apologized to the colorful little balloon that she had hurt in the first playthrough. She neither bragged to her best friends about who had been hit by Chang Rong, nor was she so embarrassed by her own extravagance that she squatted in the corner and covered her face.

Little Balloon Noah didn't seem to care much about Leia's earnest apology. She showed a somewhat innocent smile, stood on tiptoe and forcefully raised her palm. With Leia bending down to meet her, she imitated Chang Rong's usual way of ruffling Leia's short blonde hair, forgiving Renmi Leia in this gentle way.

Noah Kinosaki really didn't care about what happened in the first playthrough. In fact, most of the prospective witches didn't care much after regaining their memories. On the one hand, those past memories seemed unreal when recalled now. On the other hand, when everyone was reorganizing their memory disks, they basically assumed that they had fast-forwarded through the 'first playthrough' where Chang Rong was the popsicle hider from beginning to end.

Having regained his memories, Noah was no longer concerned about Rhea, who killed him in the first playthrough, nor about Nanoha, who was crushed at the end of the second playthrough. Instead, he was concerned about the girl named Alice.

"Hmph, Noah is the ultimate victor. Alice is just a defeated opponent who never got to eat Rongrong's food!"

"Alice... was able to turn Chang Rong's OO into color. It really startled Meruru and me at the time."

"Nono nono!?"

One second he was boasting to a non-existent mental opponent that he was the victor, and the next second Noah was so frightened by the overwhelming amount of information in Rhea's words that he instantly turned into a faded being.

"You big-chested idiot, go apologize to Uncle and Emma for me, or I'll make sure you get a double beating from Arisa and Nanoha...!"

“Well, that kind of thing won’t do, Miss An’an… You can’t let someone else bear your sins. I will honestly accept my own judgment, so Miss An’an, please muster up your courage and apologize properly to Miss Milia and Miss Emma?”

"Tsk—she's just a jellyfish that's only been cleansed up a few days ago, and she's already lecturing me...! Of course I'll go find Uncle and Emma, ​​but... why do I feel like I'm just a nobody on Witch Island? Something must be wrong!"

The perpetually sleepy-looking, gloomy bean sprout girl, Natsume Anan, pouted and waved her overly loose sleeves in protest, both shy and complaining.

In the first timeline, Natsume Anan, under the influence of the witch factor, attempted to murder Emma out of jealousy that Emma had taken away her companion Milia, but ended up accidentally killing Milia instead.

An An felt guilty about this, but before apologizing to Milia Emma, ​​what troubled An An even more at this moment was her experience on Witch Island so far.

In the first playthrough, I killed someone because I was throwing a tantrum and accidentally hit an ally. In the second playthrough, I just wanted to scare Chang Rong, but Coco, who had seen the first playthrough's timeline, ended up killing me as a soldier.

I'm just a complete nobody! Something must be wrong! How could someone with such a lovely and profound personality, and a porcelain doll-like beautiful appearance, perform like such a nobody after two playthroughs!

Even in the third playthrough, if it weren't for Mag's mischievous actions, I'd probably still be the writer Xiao Chunu who never sees the light of day... I shouldn't be like this! I must have touched someone's cake, I must have been cursed by that great witch!

Oh Meituan, oh Qiaole Capital, you've won.

"Although I know you're feeling very bad right now, Miss An'an, please don't take it out on me..."

"We don't care! It's right to beat up the shady dealings!"

Annoyed, Natsume Anan kept punching Meruru's outer armor with her little fists, making Meruru extremely embarrassed. She could only endure this barrage of literary punches without tears in her eyes. It seemed that she would not be able to get away for a while to apologize to the people she had hurt.

Chang Rong, who was watching the somewhat chaotic scene from a short distance away, blinked and felt incredibly amazed by what she was witnessing.

The return of everyone's memories did cause some commotion, but these 'effects' were far less turbulent than Chang Rong had originally anticipated. The biggest upheaval, as it stands, was An An's furious outburst at Meruru's chest, as she realized she was just a nobody.

Indeed, some people have fallen into self-doubt, but the problems they doubted were not as severe as Chang Rong had originally anticipated. The person with the deepest self-doubt is currently Hasumi Ryouya, the cool prince-like idol who keeps reviewing where she went astray, recklessly heading down the wrong path of becoming a 'dumb comedian'.

Some relationships that were originally stable have also developed into disagreements, but the rifts are not as deep or painful as Chang Rong had originally anticipated. The biggest disagreement is currently between Tachibana Sherry and Tono Hannah. As the second and third brothers of the sworn brotherhood, Hannah is currently questioning Sherry about what kind of unorthodox speedrunning methods she used to become the S2 champion.

Looking at the chaotic and noisy group of aspiring witches in front of her, Chang Rong's lips curled into an undisguised smile.

If we can say that being able to arrive here and initiate this miracle of the timeline is the inevitable result of Hero's persistence, Chang Rong's efforts, and Emma's enlightenment, then it is a natural outcome.

So, the fact that everyone can face their past memories with equanimity and continue to joke and laugh with each other as always is a miracle that belongs to everyone's shared growth, the accumulation of three cycles, and the convergence of countless pains and tears, which is the final result.

Perhaps when they first arrived at this witch's island, the aspiring witches standing here were all innocent beings carrying their own wounds, unwilling to show their pain to others.

But after going through this long journey together, the girls standing in front of Chang Rong now are capable of standing on their own. Although they have not completely shed their immaturity, they have matured and grown up.

If it were them, no matter what setbacks they encounter in the future, they would surely be able to muster the courage to take steps forward with their heads held high—hmm?

As Chang Rong was reflecting on this, she suddenly realized that the prospective witches, who had regained their memories, had unknowingly broken free from their previous commotion and were all looking up at her.

"—" "...?"

The atmosphere suddenly became a little strange, but for Chang Rong, this 'strangeness' felt like something she had just encountered recently.

The first to break the deadlock was the S2 champion—

"Hey Watson... could you come with me for a little stroll by the lake? Just the two of us—"

With Sherry, who has regained her memories, extending an olive branch to Chang Rong, the prospective witches all get angry.

"Ah! You gorilla woman, trying to run away again! You idiot knight, you'd better be my fashion model!"