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

The warden ignored the commotion and, like a corporate slave eager to leave work, continued to read aloud about the various aspects of this 'prison island'.

When the warden mentioned that the 'prospective witch' would uncontrollably kill people due to the impulse to become a witch, and that the survivors would have to initiate the 'Witch Trial' to find the murderous witch, the girls in the reception room erupted in an even bigger commotion.

[Um, could you guys continue with the protest and stuff after I get off work? I really want to leave early... You can check the rest of the content on the Witch Encyclopedia app on your phones—speaking of which, there were some hiccups when the higher-ups approved the arrest operation this time... Sigh, don't always order around such a cute owl.]

The guy who called himself the warden flew up to Chang Rong and turned his head 90 degrees to stare at the white-haired boy.

【635—Chang Rong, right?】

"It's not that high."

"It must be referring to your number," a black-haired girl with pigtails wearing goggles and a cycling hat couldn't help but mutter under her breath.

"A serial number? It seems so."

Chang Rong remembered that her cell did indeed have this number written on it, and the number ●●● was one place higher than her own.

"That's it then, since you're the only male here... Well, it seems the national agency made a small mistake when taking in these prospective witches, and you were also taken in as a prospective witch. However, after a re-examination by the 'Witch Hunter' (a government-developed machine to detect witch factor concentration), it can be confirmed that you do not have any potential to transform into a witch. Therefore, the government will send a special plane to send you back."

"Uh……?"

Chang Rong was completely taken aback by what the owl had said.

First they said witches were monsters and destined to kill each other, then the next second they suddenly said they'd arrested the wrong person and were even politely offering to take me back in a private jet.

You... are actually a pretty nice person.

Volume 1: Chapter 55. 'Kurobe Nanoha' and Kurobe Nanoha (6K)

[What I said before wasn't a joke. The mental state of the prospective witches is extremely unstable. This prison has housed witches before, but the outcome is always the same. Before you're killed by some strange area-of-effect attack, you'd better come with me to sign a confidentiality agreement and then evacuate.]

Warden O stretched out his wings and, before the group of witches could erupt in a frenzy and start killing, quickly signed the paperwork and ran away.

Oh dear, are you worried about your personal safety? Don't worry, the guards over there won't be hostile towards humans.

The white-haired boy didn't follow. The warden tilted his head, thinking that Chang Rong was afraid of the guard beside him, and began to explain.

"When you said 'the ending is always the same,' what did you mean...?"

[The prospective witch was killed by the witch, and the witch was contained and controlled—I hope you can understand, because I really want to go home.]

The warden shook its wings, clearly eager to clean up this mess before getting entangled with the other prospective witches.

“I understand. As long as we stay here, someone will inevitably commit murders due to witch transformation, and this cycle will continue indefinitely. Everyone will only have two choices: be contained as a witch, or die as a ‘prepared witch (human)’.”

【That's right, exactly. Although theoretically, as long as we find the 'Great Witch'... oh dear, please just pretend I didn't say anything. Giving cute girls unrealistic fantasies is a sin, so please join me—】

"But I refuse!"

"...Coo coo?" The warden made a puzzled sound.

Now that I know this is the case, I can't leave here.

"..."

Chang Rong's resolute response caused the girl behind him to pause in surprise.

"Well... alright, then I should thank you. At least you've saved us a lot of trouble. So... please try to choose a clean and tidy way to die, so our cleanup won't be too difficult."

The warden did not question Chang Rong's choice further. After learning of the boy's determination, he flew away and disappeared through the ventilation duct.

"【Witch】There's also a 【Witch Judgment】...That's ridiculous."

After the warden and the 'guard' left, Chang Rong finally relaxed his clenched fists, took a deep breath, and turned to look at the girl.

"Rong, aren't you afraid of dying?" The girl tilted her head and asked the white-haired boy with some confusion.

"It's alright, I'm the protagonist. Everyone knows that protagonists don't die; instead, they're surrounded by admirers and roaring with joy!"

The girl skillfully struck Chang Rong's shinbone, shattering his scumbag declaration.

"Pfft... Ah, sorry."

Perhaps the two seemed too out of place in this chaotic and tense environment where everyone was on edge, because the black-haired girl with pigtails who had been standing next to them earlier laughed.

“I am Nanoha Kurobe. Although I don’t know whether what that owl said is true or false, the fact that so many people were sent here at the same time without their knowledge shows that there is indeed a huge force behind it. That’s why I hope to work with you first.”

"Hello, Kurobe-kun. I'm Chang Rong, and this is ●●●. I understand what you're thinking, but why did you want to find me?"

Chang Rong reached out and grasped the girl's hand, while simultaneously raising his leg to dodge the girl's kick from behind. He then asked, "..."

“You chose to stay in this place to protect that child, didn’t you? And your words aren’t empty ‘false evidence.’ On the way here, you genuinely protected others. Like you, I also have a younger sister I want to protect no matter what. For her… I will definitely leave this place alive.”

Nanoha Kurobe's expression was serious and resolute, which made Chang Rong's impression of the girl in front of him much better.

She was much calmer and more composed than the many girls who were preparing to abandon the demonic path. Moreover, she immediately realized that on Prison Island, whether it was to prevent being killed or to prevent being framed and voted to death, sticking together was the most effective way.

Moreover, she, like herself, sees herself as a protector. Since that's the case—

“Foolish humans, I am not a ‘child,’ but a great—great witch.”

The girl suddenly snorted and said, but for some reason, she clearly paused halfway through her sentence.

"Great potential...? It's quite novel to use this word to describe a [witch]. But speaking of witches, consider it an admission ticket to extend an olive branch. My magic is [Vision], which allows me to obtain information behind things by touching them, but unfortunately, this ability is not very stable at the moment."

Kurobe Naoka Kaori proactively revealed her Sulfur Demonic Energy Scar. In this environment, hiding one's trump card is a gamble, and revealing it to others is also a gamble. The girl named Kurobe Naoka Kaori chose the latter.

"Um... I've been wanting to say this for a while now... your hand is injured...!"

Before Chang Rong could respond to Kurobe Nanoha's friend request, a girl dressed in a pure white, nun-like habit, with long blonde hair, humming and making a face that looked like she was about to drop pearls, also came over.

"—"

When the 'Great Witch' saw the blonde nun, she paused for a moment, but in the end she just lowered her head and kicked Chang Rong.

Judging from the angle and force of the kick, it seems to be a mix of frustration and excitement. It's truly baffling what this witch is thinking.

"This wound? It's just a cut from a piece of metal. It shouldn't be a big problem. I'll disinfect it in a bit. I saw on the map that this prison has a medical room."

"No, no, that won't do...! The wound needs to be treated as soon as possible... Ugh...!"

The blonde nun placed her tearful hands on Chang Rong's palms, and a pale green light appeared, followed by a warm, slightly itchy sensation from the wound.

Immediately afterwards, the wound that had been cut healed completely.

"Uh……"

Chang Rong blinked. There were only two possible interpretations of what she was witnessing.

First, after years of relentless training by the 'Witch of Great Potential,' he finally succeeded in forging the sword and became a newtype capable of healing its own wounds.

second--

"Your [magic] is healing. It's a very practical and gentle magic. Shall we work together? Considering the nature of this magic, someone might be specifically targeting you."

Nanoha Kurobe frowned and gave a brief analysis, then immediately invited the blonde nun to join the team.

"I'm... I'm being targeted...! How could this happen... I... I just wanted to help everyone... Ugh!"

The blonde girl looked like she was about to cry from fright. If it weren't for ●●● being right next to her, ready to kick her, Chang Rong probably wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to go up and help her, and also to bully her a bit more.

However, the freer Kurobe Nanoha was not subject to these restrictions. She tightly grasped the blonde nun's hands and moved closer to her.

"I need your strength. You are indispensable if I want to survive in this place. If possible, would you be willing to help me in the days to come, nun? In exchange, I will definitely protect your gentleness."

"Waaaaah... So close, so close... I, I am, I am... Ice, on the ice... Meruru..."

The girl who calls herself Ice Meluru seems to have no resistance to Kurobe Nanoka's direct yet gentle personality. She immediately becomes even more vulnerable, stammering and unable to figure out whether she wants to accept Kurobe Nanoka's invitation.

Just as Chang Rong was about to observe the movements of the other prospective witches, the sound of a camera shutter caught his attention again.

"Snap—hmm, I captured a really good shot!"

The camera girl who almost gave the guard his first blood in the corridor because of her erratic behavior earlier has somehow appeared beside everyone.

The girl had neat, shoulder-length black hair, wore a brown newsboy cap, and a dark coat that was a size too big for her. The pattern of her mesh pleated skirt looked like a camera viewfinder. She carried a shoulder bag and held the source of the shutter sound in her hand: an old-fashioned camera.

"Candid shot? I remember you said you were out of film? Seriously, next time you should pay more attention to your surroundings! Not every time will an idiot come to your aid—ah, Kurobe-kun, I wasn't talking about you. Right, I meant most people will just stand by and gloat, maybe even saying something like 'stupid humans'—that kind of cringeworthy chuunibyou!!!"

Chang Rong was initially furious and wanted to teach the camera kid a lesson, but halfway through her speech, she accidentally hit Kurobe Nanoha Kaori with an area-of-effect attack. Later, during the attempt to make amends, she successfully angered Miss Da Youxu, and was finally knocked out and sunk by a single kick.

"Waaaaah, Mr. Chang Rong... you're going to die from this medicine, waaaaah...!" Meru immediately rushed over to try to treat him, but the next second she was shocked by Chang Rong's calves, which had been forged into Adamantium alloy through countless trials.

“Chang Sang is right. Although we don’t know the inside story of this prison, the fact that we are now prisoners is an unavoidable fact. Since we are prisoners, we can only follow other people’s rules until we find a way to escape, understand?”

Nanoha Kurobe gently, but with a hint of scolding, persuaded the camera girl.

"Hmm... I really hate rules, you know? But since it's Nanoha-neechan's request, I can only reluctantly try to follow it—by the way, I'm 'Rong Fut,' and as for my magical abilities—hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm!!"

The girl, who called herself Fut, pulled a piece of paper from her shoulder bag, stuck it in front of the camera, and made humming and groaning noises.

Within seconds, colorful, photographic patterns appeared on the previously blank paper.

In the 'photo,' Chang Rong is lying on the ground with her mouth open and eyes closed, looking like she's been humiliated. Meru is squatting to the side in a panic, while Nanoha is facepalming, speechless at this scene that looks like a third-rate comedy.

"This is my magic, [Mind Writing]. As the name suggests, it's about writing down what you see or perceive. It's a pretty useless magic, but I love it so much that I would never trade it for anyone!"

Fute patted his barren chest proudly, while Chang Rong looked thoughtful upon hearing this.

"Rongrong, let me ask you something—what would happen if you smashed the camera while activating your ability?"

"Smash the camera...? No! The camera is my life!" Forte thought for a few seconds, then immediately held the camera tightly to her chest.

"The order is wrong, it should be 'Second Life,' the second one. Anyway, why don't you try smashing the camera while thinking 'I'm going to investigate this whole mess'? Maybe it'll have a miraculous effect, woohoo!!"

Chang Rong, who had just gotten up, was sunk again before he could say more than a few words.

"Ignore this idiot, he's always been this kind of... really stupid idiot."

The girl wanted to use a different word to describe Chang Rong, but after a moment of hesitation, she could only repeat it in a cute but illiterate way.

"That's great, that's great. If it were really destroyed... well, the funding would be hard to get approved..." Meruru, on the other hand, seemed relieved for some reason.

"In short, although we've been through all sorts of ups and downs, since everyone wants to survive and prove that idiot warden wrong, then let's all work together and give each other our guidance."

Chang Rong stood up and looked at the girls. It was clear that in the short time it took to get there, his little group had been formed.

[Healing] Meluru on Ice, [Vision] Nanoha Kurobe, [Nen Writing] Junfut, and...

"By the way...you always said you were a witch, I didn't expect it to be true...so what kind of magic do you have?"

Chang Rong looked at the girl, who blinked, seemingly considering whether to answer seriously or just give a perfunctory reply.

After a few seconds, the girl made her decision.

"My magic is—"