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

[Everyone]: ...

(Waaaaah... I'm being treated like a pervert by everyone, including the warden...!)

Select: 'An'an's Identity'

[Chang Rong]: No, it's not just about appearance. As a 'failed writer,' even if An An is attacked, she would only be dragged to a dark room in the basement and imprisoned by the attacker, right?

[Sakura Emma]: The basement... Hmm, that's a good idea, Chang Rong-kun...~

[Sherry Tachibana]: —v—……(Kissing a fan)(Murder)

[Nikaido Hiro]: You clueless rabbit... you really need to be locked up in the basement and taught a lesson... (veins bulging)

(Huh?! What's with this super ominous atmosphere, like we've entered a bad ending...?)

Choose: 'An'an's Magic'

[Chang Rong]: Ahem, putting aside her identity as a writer for now, An An's identity as a 'witch' is certainly confirmed. And since she possesses brainwashing magic, how could she possibly be attacked head-on?

Chang Rong gave false testimony. As someone who had personally experienced hypnotic magic, he knew very well that An An's hypnosis was not as omnipotent as imagined.

If someone truly harbors murderous intent and intends to kill An-an, then An-an's hypnosis will definitely not be effective on that person.

However, this information is a complete 'blind spot' for the other aspiring witches.

[Arisa Wisteria]: Ugh...!

[Nikaido Hiro]: That's true. If the attacker had been Milia or Noah, An An might not have had a chance to use her magic because she was off guard—hmm!?

Nikaido Hiro muttered to herself, but the next second her expression instantly turned serious.

[Ze Du Ke Ke]: Um... Among the people who didn't participate in the kite competition, was Noah Kinosaki one of them?

With Sawatari Coco's words, everyone's attention was now focused on Kinosaki Noah.

[Noah Kinosaki]: Uh...Noah? Noah would never kill An An...Noah would never do that!

【Sakura Emma】: Calm down, Noah-chan! We're not saying we've identified you as a suspect... but could you tell us what you were doing during the kite-flying competition?

(Noah... Impossible, it can't be Noah's. There's no need to ask. Isn't it obvious at a glance!?)

Chang Rong broke out in a cold sweat; the topic of the trial seemed to be heading in the direction he least wanted to face.

[Noah Kinosaki]: Noah... Noah was just drawing... in the prison cell—

【Arisa Wisteria】: I can attest to that.

Chang Rong: Zi Teng, my classmate!

As Arisa spoke, Chang Rong's gaze towards Arisa instantly changed from "OD Ghost Fire Jiahao's delinquent sister, a biological pathogen that Noah absolutely must not come into contact with" to "a cute, shy, and just not good at speaking best friend who is perfect for Noah's friendship."

[Wisteria Arisa] The balloon teacher, Mr. Emu, had been in the cell with Natsume Anan, drawing up a script. Midway through, Natsume Anan left the room and... was killed in the study. But Mr. Balloon remained in the cell until he heard the notice of the witch's trial, only wiping his nose three times, humming five songs, and discarding thirteen sheets of scrap paper.

[Noah Kinosaki]: Huh...?

[Hannah Tono]: Wow, how do you know so much about this?! That's terrifying!

【Arisa Wisteria】: Why? There's no why. As a fan, isn't it only natural to silently watch over and support our beloved teacher?

[Everyone]: ...

(As always, Arisa was completely oblivious to her fanatical idol-chasing behavior, but thanks to her, Noah was completely cleared of suspicion of being absent.)

Chang Rong breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, an even bigger problem was presented to everyone—

With the enthusiastic comments from Arisa Fujito's fans, the situation returned to the point where only the mysterious jungler, Nanoha Kurobe, had no alibi.

[Hanna Tono]: Well, haven't we come full circle again?

Taking the long way is my shortcut!

After a round of discussions, the only progress made was in uncovering the mysterious short video that the warden had been browsing while slacking off.

Volume 1: 76. Courtroom Debate (Part 2)

[Tachibana Sherry]: Hmm~~~ As expected, the culprit can only be Nanoha Kaori, but how did she do it?

【Wisteria Arisa】: In the end, no one knows how powerful An An's 'hypnotic magic' really is. Maybe she can just grit her teeth and get through it.

【Sakura Emma】: ...Is that really true?

[Nikaido Hiro]: If it really is Kurobe Nanoha, then her behavior is actually hard to explain. 'Killing someone, staying at the scene, and fabricating a persona to 'look most like the suspect, therefore definitely not the suspect'—this kind of ambiguous character setting—didn't I just experience something like that as the protagonist? And you've proven with facts that if it weren't for Rhea and Chang Rong's help, you wouldn't have considered the possibility of 'blind spots,' and would have simply voted the person out.

Nikaido Hiro's tone was somewhat angry, and it was clear that she was still extremely unhappy about the series of events that happened to her in the first round of witch trials [not only was she hit on the head and had her back stepped on, but she was also unanimously voted to be thrown onto a sewing machine, and even almost had to swing on a swing in the trial court].

If Chang Rong hadn't stepped in at the last minute to give false testimony to garner votes for herself, she might have really been smeared to death by Baosheng Mag.

So if Kurobe Rena and Yoruichiro really are the murderers, her act of self-destruction can only be described as extremely thoughtless.

[Saeki Miria]: Hmm...you're right, Nanoha Kaori was probably the first to discover the body, but if that's the case...the discussion is going to stall...

[Sherry Tachibana]: Oh right! I just remembered!

Shirley clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention.

[Sherry Tachibana]: Since the reason for the creation of the locked room is 'footsteps', then the culprit can only be Hannah, who has levitation magic, right!

[Hannah Tono]: I was right next to you, you gorilla woman desuwa!!!

Hannah Tono instantly bristled.

【Sakura Emma】: No...maybe...maybe there is a way to kill An An-chan without being present—like some kind of mechanism?

[Kurobe Nanoka]: A mechanism? But when I arrived at the study, I didn't see anything special.

[Sakura Emma]: But there really is something that shouldn't be there in Chang Rong-kun's study, it's just that—

What 'thing' shouldn't be in the study?

'Wound rubber ball'

'New Script'

'Nikaido Hiro'

【Sakura Emma】: -- This little ball looks deflated and has strings wrapped around it.

【Ze Du Ke Ke】: Is it a cat teaser? A cat toy?

[Chang Rong]: If you want to play, you can find me, Coco-chan, I'll play some big games with you~

【Zedu Cocoa】: Eeeeeeeeeeee! ?

【Arisa Wisteria】: Big, is it big...? How big is it? You can take me with you...!

[Chang Rong]: Hey, hey, hey! ?

[Sakura Emma]: Ahem... According to Noah-chan's testimony, this ball was found behind the door, and Nanoha's vision seemed to say that this rubber ball was 'hit' by something. Therefore, what hit this ball must have been—

What struck the ball?

'An'an's body'

'Study Room Door'

'Kurobe Nanoha'

【Sakura Emma】: This is the door to the study.

[Nikaido Hiro]: Did the study door hit the ball?

【Sakura Emma】: Rather than 'smashing', it would be more accurate to say 'bumping into'.

[Nikaido Hiro]: The study door is indeed well maintained, and the hinges all work properly. If you push the door hard, you can indeed hit the rubber ball behind the door.

[Noah Kinosaki]: Noah also likes to play catch!

[Hanna Tono]: Getting your foot caught in the door and playing catch are two completely different things... So what? What does this prove about Desuwa?

【Kurobe Nanoka】: Because it's made of rubber, it will be subject to a reaction force. The door to Chang Rong's room isn't very heavy; with enough force... it can be 'bounced' back.

[Saeki Miria]: Um... Uncle, I'm a little curious, really just curious... Why do you three know so much about Xiao Rong's bedroom door?

[Sakura Emma]: kiang! ? Um, that... this...

[Nikaido Hiro]: (False testimony) Since I helped find the room, it's normal for me to know about the room.

【Kurobe Nanoha】: (False evidence) I hallucinated.

As a result, only Emma Sakura couldn't come up with a reason, and she was stared at by everyone's questioning gaze for a long time.

【Sakura Emma】: Waaaaah... Anyway, if you position the rubber ball correctly and then apply force to the study door from outside the 'white powder corridor' area, the room door can bounce back and close automatically.

[Tachibana Sherry]: Hmph, if it were me, I could make the wall crash into me even without a bouncy ball, right?

[Hanna Tono]: Isn't that just a simple demolition?

(Is this a murder case committed by an agency? In that case, the alibis established before the crime will have to be completely overturned...)

(It couldn't be her..., could it?)

[Ryouya Hasumi]: In short, I understand! After killing Anshan An, I threw her into the room and, relying on the momentum of Anshan hitting the door, the door closed again after bouncing like a ball!

[Arisa Wisteria]: Can you please stop spouting all sorts of nonsense every time?

【Sakura Emma】: Well, that... Rhea-chan is right this time, Arisa-chan.

[Arisa Wisteria]: Huh!?

[Ryota Hasumi]: Huh!?

[Hannah Tono]: What are you talking about?! So you're really just spouting nonsense you don't even believe yourself to get attention?!

[Ryota Hasumi]: Ahaha... How could that be? Oh well... Anyway, Emma is right!

[Sakura Emma]: To be more precise, the statement "thrown into the room" is a bit ambiguous. An'an-chan... she was probably struck by the force of the crossbow bolt piercing her body and then stumbled into the study. Because it was a long-range kill using a crossbow, there wouldn't be any footprints left in the white powder corridor—all the previous deductions about the [secret room] were actually misleading. This mechanism... is probably much simpler than we imagined.

[Yue Lianjian Leia]: Yi, you just said 'Yi Jian: Yi' chess against Yi Ba Er - then tell me, where did the murderer (Shi Ba Zai) fire the crossbow bolt to achieve the effect of 'hiding the body in a locked room'!

【Sakura Emma】: Considering the orientation of An An's body and the two conditions of 'having to smash the study door'... it can only be here.

'The bushes outside the study window'

'Small window in the atrium'