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

After all, it's always been others knocking on or prying open my bedroom door before, so it's quite novel for me to be the one banging on other people's doors today.

"—"

Noah behind the door didn't reply, but the sounds of brushes and spray paint could be heard from time to time, along with the sounds of drawing paper being torn and crumpled, and then being struck against pipes.

"Um, Noah?"

"Noah is in seclusion!"

Noah's lazy and innocent voice came through the crack in the door.

"I heard about the deadline from An'an. Noah has already tried his best, everyone can see that, no one will blame you and An'an (probably)!"

"—Noah also needs to go into seclusion, Noah, Noah noah... Noah wants to draw what he wants to draw!"

—Hero, did you hear that? Noah uttered a passionate line like she wants to be the Pirate King/Naruto!

Chang Rong was surprised to find that Noah, who she had always thought had a very laid-back personality, had such awareness. She suddenly felt that her child had matured.

"I understand. Well then, Noah, good luck! I'll always support you! But don't be too busy, remember to eat on time, drink plenty of water, and don't sit for too long, get up and move around—"

"Rongrong, you're so annoying!" Noah's voice rudely interrupted Chang Rong's admonition through the crack in the door.

"Gulp—cough!? Annoying, annoying..."

Chang Rong instantly knelt down and turned to ashes. In his extreme anger, he even spat out a mouthful of old butterflies.

—Hero, did you hear that? Noah's overly mature, she's gone through her rebellious phase...!

"...Noah doesn't like this. Everyone praises Noah, especially Rongrong and Hiro-chan. Noah wants to openly reciprocate Rongrong's pride in him... So Noah will work hard!"

"Noah..."

Chang Rong wiped her eyes with a look of relief. Although he was going through a rebellious phase, he was still her good daughter-in-law.

Go Noah! As long as you don't draw anything that could eat us all up in one bite, I, Rongrong, will definitely support you!

Letting go occasionally is also a form of love. Besides, this great god of the Wood Realm, Galakrond, is extremely busy today. Even if things can't progress with Noah, there are still tons of places to go!

With that thought in mind, Chang Rong took out a map and began to ponder where to go next.

Hmm... there's really not much to think about. I came to see Noah because An'an was under a lot of pressure and I was afraid she'd explode. Since Noah and An'an's situations are relatively stable right now, I don't really only have one option—

That's right, let's get some goods from Sister Kurobe!

The toast Chang Rong had eaten before had already made her feel like ants were crawling all over her body, and the cookies she was fed today made her collapse on the ground, her limbs twitching, her eyes rolling back, and her hands making a "V" sign and oh oh oh oh.

I could have endured this for a long time, but I was guarded by an old lady in the prison canteen on the island. My father went straight to the prison and I touched the purest goods on the entire prison island.

Today, no matter what, I'm determined to get Kurobe Nanoka to reveal the secrets of her baking ingredients and kitchenware! To achieve this goal, I'm willing to go to hell, starve myself, get cancer, shave my head, and wear a naked apron in a campervan...!

Having prepared himself for BreakingBread, Chang Rong walked towards Kurobe Nanoha Kaori's cell.

however……

———Underground Prison———

"It feels so quiet."

On the basement level, in the cell corridor that was originally meant for the girls to rest and sleep, only the young lady, Hannah Tono, was in her room at this moment.

Good afternoon, Miss.

"Huh? Oh, it's you, Chang Rong. Weren't you dragged around by that gorilla girl or the disciplinary committee member today?"

"Please don't describe your knight as some kind of magical cat or a personal accessory, okay...?"

Hannah Tono was sitting at a table in her cell, sewing something. She greeted Chang Rong when she saw him.

By the way, this table was specially brought from the restaurant by Tachibana Sherry at the request of Tono Hannah.

'Anyway, even if we all go to the cafeteria together, we won't need that many tables. Bringing them back is making the most of them, desuwa!'

—That's how Hannah Tono excused her actions, but in reality, she did do a lot of mending work with that table.

Although the food was utterly inedible, although the 'prison guards' were monsters who would slaughter prisoners at the slightest provocation, and although special events that occasionally made hearts race and blood boil occurred...

However, some aspects of this prison are inexplicably lax; at least when it comes to cell decor, the warden seems to completely neglect it!

Sakura Yu, Emma, ​​and Nikaido Hiro lived in the second cell of the second cell in the same building. Their cells were quite normal, like the default starting characters' initial equipment in a game. Chang Rong could even hallucinate Nikaido Hiro standing at the door, nodding as she looked at the cell.

"Yes, this layout is 'correct' for a cell blockade of dangerous prisoners."

It's tough on Emma, ​​at least from her appearance, she should be the kind of girl who would put a few flowers in her room and change her sheets and blankets to pink.

Nanoha Kaori's cell was completely empty, with no belongings in sight. Upon inquiry, it was learned that Nanoha Kaori had already moved to the secret base she had mentioned earlier that day.

This place should be quite a secret, but Nana Kaori told Chang Rong beforehand that there's a hidden warehouse behind the castle. Let's go check it out later.

Rhea-sama and Uncle Milia share a room. The only unusual 'furniture' in the room is a full-length mirror and a table that looks like a courtroom speaker's table.

The punishment room (where Ryoumi was dragged from) was where Ryoumi practiced her acting and corrected her posture in the cold mirror. This had become a part of Ryoumi's life.

As for that 'defendant's table,' even Hasumi Rhea didn't know what Milia's motives were in bringing it over. All she knew was that Saeki Milia would take some time each day to stand in front of the table, bang on it a few times, and then point at the air.

The club president, Tachibana Sherry, and Jiahao, a masochistic woman named Arisa, share a room. Chang Rong is very curious about how these two 'amazing people' manage to live together peacefully.

Surprisingly, Tachibana Sherry didn't create any strange little objects or furniture. And Arisa Fujito, who was thought to be the most rebellious and delinquent, also didn't cause any trouble, making her a model prisoner.

To be honest, this is a bit too much of an example... Emma's daily leg bindings are already strange enough, but Arisa Fujito goes even further by proactively fastening the leg shackles and chains first thing every morning. That takes incredible self-discipline...

The mastermind behind it all, the ice skating specialist, shamelessly booked a private room, but unfortunately, there were no clues in the room.

That makes sense; if there were any clues, the other prospective witches would have already uncovered them.

If you really want to find the secrets hidden by Ran Mouri on the ice, you'd have a better chance of finding out by becoming a tomb raider in the underground freezer—provided that the salary-obsessed owl can put all the 'dead witches' in the freezer equally.

Noah and An An share a room filled with crumpled pieces of paper, suggesting that these two artists' battleground extends beyond Noah's studio; they've also spent much of their confinement battling the 'monster that devours inspiration' in their cell.

...That's true, but at least tidy up a bit. That wretched Natsume An-an, it's all because of your laziness and slovenliness that our Noah isn't cleaning properly either!

While inwardly praising Noah for his angelic kindness and willingness to indulge in the antics of his bad friends despite his poor choice of companions, Chang Rong cleaned up the pile of drawing paper and draft paper scattered on the ground.

--Um?

Chang Rong squatted down and rummaged through the crumpled paper, and accidentally discovered a small bottle in the corner under Natsume An'an's bed.

The small bottle contained a pale blue, transparent liquid. The bottle itself was similar to the medicines in the medical room, except that there was a sticky note on the outside of the bottle with the letter "B" written on it.

...Could it be Pepsi? I'm not sure, but how about I try a bite?

Chang Rong's brain has been completely messed up by Kurobe-nee. Even if you tell him that the bottle contains glass cleaner, he will probably just say "I don't know" and then take a couple of sips.

Of course, Chang Rong suppressed the strange urge to open the bottle and drink immediately. He simply tidied up the papers the two had scattered and then left the cell.

"Well, it's a bit strange to say this all of a sudden—Chang Rong, you're really good at housework."

Tono Hannah leaned over and glanced at the now-tidy room, whispering something.

"Yeah, I find that strange too..."

Chang Rong rubbed his chin thoughtfully in response.

Logically speaking, a lazy bum like myself shouldn't be very good at housework, but after arriving here, I'm able to do everything efficiently and in an orderly manner. Perhaps the old man who accompanied me after my transmigration is a perfect, elegant, and time-stopping sage.

"You must also have someone you need to take care of—"

"Ok?"

"Nothing, nothing, desuwa!"

Realizing she might have let something slip, Tono Hannah hurriedly covered her face, but in her haste, she accidentally grabbed the fan instead of the thing she had been mending earlier—a chibi-style doll that looked somewhat like a rabbit.

"Young Miss, what's that in your hand—"

"Huh? Waaaaaah!? This...this is nothing! You didn't see it, you didn't see Desuwa!!"

Hannah Tono belatedly realized what was happening, and her cheeks instantly flushed red. She quickly hid the doll behind her back, and because of the excessive redness, she floated up and stuck to the window frame used for lighting, looking like she was about to start making paradise.

"Okay, okay, I didn't see anything, alright!?"

Chang Rong was also afraid that she might be accelerated to a new world without realizing it, so she quickly waved her hand to indicate that she was just a passerby.

"Ugh... if you're seen, then so be it. I'm sewing 'dolls' for you, of course—I'll just pick one to sew for you, just to practice with you, that's all!"

Hannah Tono didn't have the ability to fabricate evidence like Hiro Nikaido, which could even fool herself. After her initial panicked attempt to cover it up failed, she immediately and honestly took out the doll and handed it to Chang Rong.

"Wow...so cute!" Chang Rong held the doll in her hands. Even though it was just an unfinished product, you could still tell how exquisite and adorable it was.

"No, not at all... but I'm glad you like it. I still need to make some for other people too."

"I genuinely think it's super cute! So—"

"So, so?" Tono Hannah swallowed hard, blinked nervously, and looked at Chang Rong with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

"So, have you considered turning it into an IP? Selling it as toys would definitely make a fortune! Then my 1680 Bitcoins would be settled... No, not only that, maybe it can be the starting point for a business empire, and I could establish Arasaka Company and become the top dog in Coconut Juice City—"

"Let's talk about that kind of thing after we can leave here, desuwa!" Tono Hannah shouted.

"That's right, we must leave here together, Miss Tohno!"

"Together...?"

"After all, I am a knight, although I've almost forgotten that fact..."

The white-haired boy's words left Tono Hannah somewhat dazed, and by the time she came to her senses and wanted to say something more to Chang Rong, the boy had already left the room.

They were spouting some incomprehensible conversion formula, like "how many cookies can one doll buy?", which was infuriating.

...It's really amazing. Even without deliberately pretending to be a 'young lady' in his presence, I don't feel any pressure.

However, Yi Qi, this seemingly unreliable knight, ultimately realized that he was just a princess dreaming of being a rich young lady.

Hannah Tono realized that she didn't seem to care much about this issue.

——Atrium————

On the way to the warehouse at the back of the castle, Chang Rong saw Rhea Hasumi, Sherry Tachibana, and Coco Saeki in the courtyard. They were gathered together, seemingly discussing something. Among them, Rhea-sama, who was the most outstanding in both height and temperament, was holding a kite in both hands, striking a super silly pose and 'whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~'

"...What are you doing, Rhea-sama?"

Although I made up this "chief fan" title on a whim to save my life, it's still a label that's been attached to me.

The idol of the top fan is making such a disgraceful face, I can't just sit idly by, I have to correct my behavior.

"Oh! Changrong, we're discussing holding a kite-flying competition tomorrow, would you like to participate?" "Ah, Huasheng, Huasheng~~!"

Ryota Hasumi stopped her strange movements and greeted Chang Rong cheerfully. Sherry Tachibana, standing nearby, also bounced around and waved.