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

'Recreation Room Balcony'

【Sakura Emma】: The bushes in front of the study.

[Nikaido Hiro]: If you shoot a crossbow bolt into the study from this spot, you can indeed create an 'artificial secret room' effect.

[Arisa Wisteria]: But we all had alibis when Natsume An was murdered, right? So the culprit was still Kurobe Nanoha! She crouched in the bushes waiting for Natsume An to arrive, seized the opportunity to pull the trigger of her crossbow, and sent An's body being carried into the study by the impact—

[Nikaido Hiro]: Then Kurobe Nanoha Kaori hid the crossbow, left her footprints in the white powder corridor, opened the door and shouted to attract everyone's attention - if she just wanted to commit suicide, I think Nanoha Kaori could have found an easier way?

[Arisa Wisteria]: Tsk...!

[Nikaido Hiro]: Don't forget, this isn't a courtroom. The idiot rabbit standing on that judge's bench and the warden don't have the real ability to determine the truth. This is ultimately a ritual to outline the 'truth' using logic. Compared to Kurobe Nanoha's 'more likely' but 'illogical' situation, I'm more inclined to believe that someone is deliberately using everything laid out so far just to cover up her stench as a witch.

Having been voted out in the previous round, Nikaido Hiro had already seen through the true nature of the so-called Witch Trial.

Perhaps the 'chain of evidence' doesn't have to be complete, but as long as your 'chain of logic' is more convincing, you can still find the real witch.

Chang Rong: ...How about we commit suicide?

Chang Rong suddenly suggested that everyone join the group and start a fight, which surprised everyone.

【Sakura Emma】：Chang Rong-kun...?

[Nikaido Hiro]: Is your rabbit head really about to fill up...?

[Chang Rong]: I'm serious. If everyone chooses 'accident/suicide' as the conclusion, then... no one needs to sacrifice themselves, right?

[Nikaido Hiro]: What exactly are you trying to do...?

[Warden]: I'm sorry, that's impossible. *Coo coo coo*—At least not in this case.

The warden, who had never interfered with the witch trials, suddenly spoke up.

[Warden]: Although I don't usually interfere with the outcome of your witch trials, if a trial concludes that someone is 'unable to commit suicide' and there are suspects, then the 'suicide theory' will not be accepted. Hehehe... Please find or bring out a witch as soon as possible.

After saying that, the warden returned to his dazed state.

Chang Rong: ...

[Sakura Emma]: Chang Rong-kun? Um... I don't know what happened to Chang Rong-kun, but everyone, everyone wants to find the real culprit, for the sake of the dead and for the sake of those who are still alive, right?

Chang Rong: -- Yes, you're right.

Chang Rong nodded, but did not respond further. Instead, she frowned deeply, a stark contrast to her demeanor at the start of the witch's trial.

Emma Sakura looked at Chang Rong as if she wanted to say something, but she opened her mouth, then shook her head, clenched her fist, and continued with her own reasoning.

—Has Chang Rongjun already realized something? But...even so, I can't let the truth go unpunished...!

Nikaido Hiro also looked at Chang Rong, his expression a mixture of worry and annoyance.

The discussion continues...

【泣-鏾0咝/酒妻|I寺樱羽艾玛】： In short! Hiro-chan is right. What we should be discussing is not 'why Nanoha Kaori is doing so many inexplicable and abnormal things,' but rather why these inexplicable things are happening in the first place!

[Sherry Tachibana]: I get it, I get it~! In short, it means don't think about the geniuses, but focus on the case itself, right~!

[Saeki Miria]: Speaking of amazing people, haha... there are quite a few...

[Noah Kinosaki]: What is a 'god-like person'?

[Ze Du Ke Ke]: Go look in the mirror and you'll see!

[Hannah Tono]: Hurry up and continue discussing the case!

[Sakura Emma]: Huh, sorry Hannah-chan…! Actually, what I wanted to say was that, based on the current discussion, the killer's biggest intentions are to 'forge an alibi' and 'hide the body,' so we should—

[Saeki Miria]: Reverse the thought process!

[Sherry Tachibana]: So only those with alibis are suspects, right? Hmph! I knew you were the culprit, Hannah!

[Hannah Tono]: It's you, you gorilla girl!!!

[Sakura Emma]: Well, it's not like everyone's a suspect... If we want to fire the crossbow hidden in the bushes, we need to use a certain item. That's right, it's the one we haven't found yet—

What items can be used to remotely fire a crossbow?

'The Vanished Kite String'

'Rusty balcony railing'

'An'an's Dog'

【Sakura Emma】: The kite string that Leia-chan couldn't find should have been used to set up the mechanism for remotely activating the crossbow.

[Hame Ryoua]: Using kite string to fire a crossbow? That doesn't sound very flashy. If it were me, I'd definitely use it to create something cool—

【Nikaido Hiro】: Even a kite string can't extend too far, and it will break when it encounters a series of bends.

【Sakura Emma】: So the culprit chose to set up the 'tether' in the 'air'. The location that would allow the kite string to be easily 'connected' without being blocked by obstacles is precisely the 'bush in front of the study window' and this spot—

Where did the prisoner extend the kite string that triggered the crossbow?

'2nd Floor Recreation Room Balcony'

'Basement Level 1 Prison'

'Atrium'

【Sakura Emma】: The balcony of the entertainment room on the 2nd floor—that is, the location where Chang Rongjun and Coco-chan were during the competition.

For the third time, all eyes in the courtroom converged on Ze Du Ke Ke and Chang Rong.

[Chang Rong]: Isn't that a bit of a stretch, Yingyu? How could you possibly control a crossbow in the bushes in front of the study from the balcony? Don't go around making things dirty.

Chang Rong was a little angry at being suspected, and he quickly asked Sakura Emma if her reasoning was pure nonsense.

【Sakura Emma】: No... Theoretically, it should be fine. The distance between the two places is not long, and the castle structure is lower in the front and higher in the back. Therefore, when standing on the balcony of the entertainment room on the second floor of the central courtyard, you can barely see the bushes near the entrance.

[Chang Rong]: But how do we ensure the stability of the 'kite string' trigger? We can't just hold it like that forever, can we?

[Sakura Emma]: The kite string connecting to the trigger of the crossbow in the bushes should have been pre-secured; this evidence proves it.

How is the kite string secured to the balcony?

'Rusty balcony railing with strange marks'

'Use 'Fix' magic'

'By faith'

[Sakura Emma]: There's a strange white ring on this section of rusty railing. Combining this with Nanoha Kaori's vision of 'the railing being wrapped in something,' we can conclude that the other end of the kite string connecting the crossbow was tied to the railing.

[Arisa Wisteria]: But wouldn't that really prevent them from being discovered?

【Sakura Emma】: It's hard to notice a kite string in the air on a sunny day, but even so, that 'tethering line' almost gave it away because something happened—

What unexpected incident occurred during the game that proved the traction lines were already in place at that time?

'Hannah Tono's Kite String Broken'

'Ryota Hasumi's Assembled Kite Disassembly'

'I secretly rubbed against Chang Rong's arm while Hiro-chan was presenting the award'

【Sakura Emma】: Hannah-chan, do you still remember your 'Frenchman' kite?

[Hanna Tono]: Of course I remember! I accidentally made a mistake and the kite string broke—ah!

【Sakura Emma】: That's right. Even if Hannah made a mistake in your magic control, it shouldn't have resulted in the 'kite string breaking'. The real situation should have been that your kite string was cut by the 'crossbow guide wire' that had been set up beforehand.

[Chang Rong]: I see. Sakura, you mean only I could have arranged all of this in advance, right? Hehe... I really can't refute you.

Chang Rong sneered twice, and his actions stunned Ze Du Ke Ke and Ying Yu Emma.

But soon, Emma Sakura once again carried out her mission as a pure 'demon of law'.

【Sakura Emma】: No... Chang Rongjun can't do that.

[Chang Rong]: But such complicated preparations, can't I be the only one who can secretly do them at night? Because you guys are all grounded at night, right?

[Sakura Emma]: Regarding this... actually, the access control system wasn't functioning properly last night. Chang Rong-kun, you should have realized that too, right?

Emma Sakuraba said somewhat awkwardly and shyly.

[Nikaido Hiro]: ...?

Hero, who was sleeping soundly, looked completely bewildered.

[Sakura Emma]: Nanoha Kaori seems to frequently short-circuit the underground access control system's power, and as a result, last night it seems that none of everyone's doors could be locked properly. However, it seems that only me and —Sawatari Coco know about this.

[Ze Du Ke Ke]: Ha... really?

[Hannah Tono]: Stop Stop! You mean Coco was going in and out of the cell last night? I'm her roommate on the lower bunk, I didn't notice anything like that!

[Sakura Emma]: That's because—

Why wasn't Hannah Tohno awakened last night?

'Empty glass bottle with residual blue liquid'

'Drug B'

'He was knocked unconscious like a nobody, just like Hero.'

[Sakura Emma]: This bottle was found in Hannah-chan's room—

[Sherry Tachibana]: Ah! Isn't this the sleeping pill that Noah, Shiro, and I all certified as delicious?!

[Nikaido Hiro]: ...I've never had it. Also, let's not talk about this again.

[Hannah Tono]: Huh!? Oh, sleeping pills? No wonder I overslept this morning for no reason—hey, Coco, what's going on...?

[Ze Du Ke Ke]: Tsk... Who knows, you were just sleepwalking...?

【Sakura Emma】: Moreover, I was very curious from the beginning why I heard a 【sound of something cutting through the air】 last night, and even suspected that An An-chan had been murdered last night... But now I finally understand that the 【sound of something cutting through the air】 last night was the sound of a crossbow firing a crossbow bolt with a kite string attached from the second-floor recreation room balcony towards the 'bush in front of the study door'!

[Chang Rong]: Your guess is too idealistic! Coco is such a nobody, how could she possibly avoid those guards and move around during her confinement period?

【Sakura Emma】: Didn't Nanoha Kaori send out the guard duty roster that you can read and write before? There is a period of time in the early morning when there is no guard in the castle.

(This was during the time Emma left the study...)

[Chang Rong]: No—these processes, which are impossible to verify, are completely meaningless to discuss!

[Sakura Emma]: It has meaning...! Nanoha Kaori's appearance was an accident, and this accident caused Coco-chan's plan to hide An-an to fail. This also meant that she didn't have a chance to retrieve the evidence—that crossbow should be in the bushes right now!

【Tachibana Sherry】: ...Oh! No wonder Coco, who is usually so lazy, suddenly ran to the balcony of the recreation room when we were walking around. She probably wanted to get rid of the kite string.