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

"here it is?"

Back on the ground, Chang Rong looked around. This place looked like the rooftop of a building, and judging from the track and field not far away, it should be the rooftop of a school.

"This is the junior high school that Hiro-chan, Koyuki, and I attended together."

Emma placed her hands on the railing, smiled, and looked down at the track and field not far away.

"Xiaoxue used to attend the same school as Chang Rongjun, but later, because Chang Rongjun had an accident on Witch Island, Xiaoxue transferred to our school in order to find the [Death Rewind] magic."

"That idiot is always slow at everything, even when it comes to taking revenge on humanity, he's always dragging his feet, but he was decisive when it came to taking action..."

Chang Rong rubbed her hair, her tone a mix of helplessness and感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion).

In his memory, 'Sato Yuki' was always slow and leisurely in everything she did. At first, Chang Rong thought there might be something wrong with this girl (referring to her brain), but now, considering the other great witches who were all unreliable, it should simply be that the 'witch' race, which is a long-lived species, is generally prone to malfunction.

If Xiaoxue had continued to take her time after that witch's trial, she might have realized that she hadn't died, but had been resurrected by the witch's genes, and perhaps none of these subsequent events would have happened.

But when faced with her own death, Xiaoxue acted almost immediately for the one and only time. It was her actions that entangled Chang Rong's fate with that of the other 13 prospective witches.

"Xiaoxue is such a wonderful child. She always gives people a protective instinct. When I spend time with Xiaoxue, I can vaguely understand why Shiro-chan is willing to play with me."

Emma walked around the railing, took off her boots, and swung her feet back and forth on the edge of the rooftop, smiling as she looked at the sunset in the distance.

"Back then, we would often sit on the rooftop with Hiro-chan and Yuki, doing nothing but staring at the sun and chatting about trivial things."

"Although it doesn't feel very safe... this place is really nice." Chang Rong leaned gently against Emma, ​​feeling the breeze and the setting sun caress her body.

These are fragments of memory, moments so clear and beautiful, proving that this landscape was indeed deeply etched in Emma's mind.

"Sometimes I complain about Yuki, why did it have to be Yuki who dragged me and Hiro into such a cruel event? But sometimes I miss Yuki, because the time I spent with her was really, really happy. And sometimes I'm afraid of Yuki, because she always inadvertently reveals that strange feeling that doesn't belong to humans."

"But... after everything we've been through, if I could see Yuki again, I think... I would definitely smile, hold her hand, and bring her to Hiro-chan so I could say 'long time no see' properly."

"No matter how our friendship started, no matter what else was mixed in with it, I have never held a grudge against Xiaoxue, because it was Xiaoxue who allowed me to meet Chang Rongjun after experiencing so much."

Emma looked at the boy beside her. In her memory, the rooftop belonged to three girls, but now, under the afterglow of the setting sun, the rooftop belonged only to Sakura Emma and the person she loved.

"Chang Rong-kun... I really, really like you... whether before or after regaining my memories, whether in the past or the future, whether before or after the time travel. So—even if it means competing with Hiro-chan or even Xiaoxue, I, I will absolutely not back down!"

"Emma—"

Looking at the girl shimmering in the warm sunset, Chang Rong felt her heart race for a moment.

She may feel lost, she may feel desperate, she may feel disheartened, she may hesitate to move forward, but in the end she will muster her courage and move forward with that cowardly yet incredibly gentle and kind heart. This is the girl named Emma Sakuraba.

"So, Mr. Chang Rong, regarding compensation for 80 billion people..."

"I've used up my last chance to be willful!!"

A terrifying existence who is never full in any sense—this is also a girl named Emma Sakuraba.

Accompanied by Chang Rong's loud complaints, Sakura Emma successfully regained her memories from the first two playthroughs.

"How are you, Emma, ​​Rong—does anything feel wrong?"

Upon returning from the screening room of the memory fragments, Milia's concerned voice immediately came through.

"Hehehe... I'm sorry to have worried everyone, Milia-chan, I'm fine."

Emma shook her head and smiled at Saeki Millia, then raised her hand and shook hands with her, in this way letting everyone know that she was perfectly fine.

"Emma! Are you alright—"

Hiro, who had been left behind earlier, also came over and immediately went to her childhood friend's side to ask what had happened.

"Hiro-chan..."

Emma Sakura noticed her best friend with black hair and red highlights and smiled as she leaned close to Hiro's ear.

"Hiro-chan—you can't beat me, because I now have the experience of Speed-Pat Emma, ​​who is far ahead of me..."

Ta-da!

Accompanied by mysterious background music, Heero stared wide-eyed in shock, while Emma gracefully walked away, leaving everyone with a mysterious and terrifying silhouette.

“Sakuraba… Emma—!”

"I already told you, Hiro-chan, you're no match for me anymore—Woof!? Woof woof—"

Then Emma was caught up by Heero, whose head was covered in bulging veins, and she attacked Heero's fingers hard with her face.

"..."

Looking at Emma, ​​who had become docile again after being trained by Hiro, Chang Rong helplessly rubbed his face.

Although the shared experiences in the fragmented memories didn't lead to Emma's substantial evolution, they certainly inflated the little dog's confidence and lust even further...

"Hey Onii-chan...did you do something weird with Emma in the second playthrough?"

Zedu Coco frowned and asked Chang Rong, since there was no such person as Chang Rong in the first playthrough. Emma, ​​who had regained her memories, suddenly became arrogant (although she was immediately tortured by Hiro and deflated again). This change could only be understood as her regaining some key memories from the second playthrough.

"For Emma to suddenly become so assertive, it must be something extraordinary~ Hey Watson, Watson, can you tell me what kind of experience made Emma suddenly become more arrogant than our president, the S2 champion~?"

"...No, it's nothing, President. You're definitely overthinking it, haha. Do you think I'm going to create something with Emma somewhere no one knows?"

Chang Rong was covered in cold sweat, swallowing hard as he tried to fool Tachibana Sherry, who had appeared beside him without him noticing and was looking at him with a smile.

I absolutely cannot let these people know that I can create 'non-existent memories' through some kind of magical combo, otherwise, I'll be facing an endless hell of despair...!!

-

My stomach acted up again, and it didn't get better until after 7 pm. Sorry.

My mind is still young, but my body is honestly reminding me of my real age in various ways...

Volume 1: 290. The section on waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump

Helping everyone regain their memories was definitely the best thing I ever did in the 'third timeline'!

Although Emma had a minor, subtle conflict with herself while retrieving her memories, causing her to look at herself with almost drooling eyes after returning from the fragmented memories to reality... but putting aside the silly dog ​​for now, at least for everyone else, retrieving everyone's memories is definitely a brilliant move!

Chang Rong had been worried that one of the prospective witches might be unable to hold back and try to sneak away. In fact, Rhea and Meruru, who hadn't actually eaten, did sneak away less than two hours after the agreement not to eat together.

However, after everyone regained their memories, these aspiring witches, who had excess energy and nowhere to release it, finally found something new between 'trying to sneak out' and 'working hard to improve their skills in order to win the championship'—that is, reviewing each other's performances.

Despite possessing all sorts of magical abilities, living on a special witch's island, and having different setbacks and painful pasts, these aspiring witches are ultimately just girls who have just entered high school, full of curiosity about everything, and eager to enjoy a daily life filled with friendship and youth.

The memories that were suddenly retrieved in the first and second playthroughs immediately became the topic of conversation among the girls.

"Hmph, as expected, this Sherlock Holmes' methods are the most ingenious. If I hadn't deliberately given Emma a flaw, Hannah would have really been considered a suspect and judged to have committed suicide, right?"

Inside the reception room, a group of girls sat together chatting. Suddenly, a blue-haired girl wearing a detective hat stuck out her finger, stuck out her tongue, and gave a cute, silly laugh.

"I won't be mistaken for a suicide victim! I'm a user of levitation magic, after all...! And your method of moving houses to create a locked room is utterly ridiculous!" Tono Hannah was so angry that she floated up. She was clearly the victim, so how could she be treated as a suspect in the post-match debriefing?!

"Hmm... If we analyze it rationally, the method on the ice is more sophisticated. At least from what I heard about what happened afterward, if Kurobe hadn't interrupted the trial by serving the food in a super-disintegrated, quick-frozen, pre-prepared way, Sakura would have really been executed for making such a nonsensical statement as 'Arisa-chan wants to eat a roasted medicine bottle.'"

Arisa, with one hand supporting her chin, was seriously considering which of the cases in the first and second playthroughs had the most ingenious methods, unlike Sherry who was half-joking.

"Kiang...!?" The little dog, caught in the mysterious AOE, instantly made an adorable sound effect of being hit, blushing and shrinking its head. Every time it barks, it gets roasted like a medicine bottle and gets nagged for a lifetime.

"Waaaah, I took advantage of Arisa's kindness and killed her. I... I am truly guilty... But because I promised Lord Changrong that I would become strong and bravely bear everything, I... I will not apologize—Pfft!?"

"That's not what Onii-chan meant!"

The tentatively designated mastermind, Ice Meruru, awkwardly clasped her hands together in repentance. However, halfway through her repentance, she remembered Chang Rong's words and immediately withdrew her confession. This action naturally displeased Ze Du Coco, who then unleashed a cat punch at Meruru's front armor.

"Hehe, everyone, stop arguing. It's obvious that my method is more sophisticated, isn't it? Whether it's the misleading manipulation of my own magic beforehand, the alibi created using Coco's live stream, the top-notch work of engineering like assembling the simple spear, or the precise etiquette of popping Noah's little balloon at the end, it can be described as a masterpiece of criminal art, right?"

As the conflict escalated, Hasumi Ryouya smiled, stood up, placed one hand on her chest, and announced to the crowd with unwavering certainty and confidence.

“But Emma immediately saw through this art~” Shirley retorted with a grin.

"It's more accurate to say it's riddled with flaws; there are traces everywhere at the scene..." Meruru added in a low voice.

"And Hasumi, your stubborn refusal to die in the later stages of the trial was a real turn-off." Arisa gave a serious negative review.

"Ugh...! I'm so sorry, I didn't expect to cause everyone so much trouble..." Faced with the barrage of attacks from everyone, Hasumi Ryoya, who had just been so confident, suddenly became much more docile.

"Hmph, so it seems my methods are still the best, right? Hey Watson, you think so too, don't you?"

"—way!?"

This pointless discussion was likely to continue for a while, but then a person who started the discussion suddenly changed the subject, and Chang Rong, who had been sitting quietly and happily watching the drama unfold, was instantly targeted by the group.

"No, no, no, that method of tossing houses around is too ridiculous. Onii-chan still prefers my method, right? That's a mechanism that I racked my brains to come up with!"

"Lord Changrong... Even Miss Arisa acknowledges my methods. If it were Lord Changrong, you would surely choose to bestow this blessing upon me...!"

"Despite its flaws, I believe I am absolutely unbeatable when it comes to elegance! Right, my top fan?"

As Sherry started, all the prospective witches instantly crowded around Chang Rong, vying to show off that they were the real kill king. On the contrary, Sakura Emma, ​​who actually possessed 80 billion kill book layers, smiled silently and was pushed to the side.

—Is this some kind of hellish joke?!

Surrounded, Chang Rong was drenched in cold sweat. Life on Witch Island was far from smooth sailing; all sorts of unexpected events happened every now and then. But even so—being questioned by a group of people about whose murder method was more skillful was just too absurd and hellish!

Chovy, if you guys want to chat, at least chat about something nice! What's the point of talking about whose crime methods are more elaborate? Besides, aren't all these suspects losers who were voted out one by one by the devil of law? A bunch of losers wanting to compete for last place?

If someone actually carried out a perfect, flawless murder, like a work of art, then we probably wouldn't be sitting here happily discussing this topic.

Chang Rong was pleased that everyone who had regained their memories was so open-minded and easygoing, but wasn't this a bit too open-minded?

"It doesn't feel as powerful as the young lady's... ability to create a 'group explosion'."

Completely unsure how to respond to this topic, Chang Rong casually threw out a line, taking advantage of the moment when everyone was discussing, "Who is the young lady? Hannah? Hannah doesn't have K/DA either?" and quickly said, "You give me Luda."

There are still 3 days until the witch's resurrection ceremony officially begins. Although the first two days passed smoothly thanks to the new topics of conversation among those who regained their memories, Chang Rong gradually realized that everyone had become more serious about competing, and today they were even comparing whose KDA was more impressive…

It seems that Emma and Rhea Meruru were not joking when they said it. The prospective witches on this witch island really intended to compete for the title of No. 1 on the day of the witch resurrection ceremony.

...Brother Kidney, let's be willful one last time. You have to hold on, my brother!

After running away with a guilty look on his face, Chang Rong returned to the art studio.

"I think it needs some revisions...! I saw through the demon within Emma, ​​which is why I used the excuse of venting my frustrations to carry out my assassination plan against her. However, Emma used her sweet words to deceive the foolish old man first, which caused me to be outmaneuvered—"

"Oh, go on, An'an, I'm listening~ And I'll relay it to Emma and Sherry later. Sherry seems to be very experienced in getting people to write their manuscripts~?"

"Ugh...! If only I hadn't asked you to be the editor...!"

"Since An'an intends to record the true history, she can't make things up. But... hehehe, we can write tens of thousands more words about Rongrong and Noah's romance~"

"Sorry, this room is full. My torturous love affair with that stupid monster is the main theme of this book. But Noah, you're my good friend, so I'll mention you briefly in the epilogue. Aren't I generous enough?"

"An'an is an idiot...!"

"Noah is the idiot—that bean sprout with messy hair and a tangled quilt in that illustration isn't me! Draw me properly instead!"