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

"Feel sorry"

Chang Rong responded briefly with two words, then continued to sit silently in the corner.

"Nanoha Kaori said she's baking some desserts that will cheer you up and give you a boost of energy, but because the patrols have been intensified lately, she probably won't be able to come for a while—provided that the owl continues to turn a blind eye as always."

"Um"

Chang Rong didn't even nod; she just mechanically gave the bare minimum response, using this method to prove that she was 'communicating properly'.

"Sherry and Emma went to investigate the underground cryogenic chamber. After the execution, the elevator leading to the underground cryogenic chamber is now working properly, but not much useful information has been gathered yet. Perhaps due to the complete overhaul, the cooling effect is significantly stronger than before. Until a solution is found, it seems that only by taking Arisa with us can we maintain a minimum level of exploration."

Nikaido Hiro took out his notebook, which he always carried with him, and meticulously recounted the contents of it to Chang Rong.

"Um"

"Noah... that child was hit harder than I imagined. She hasn't even been drawing during this time. She just wanted to fix the sketchbook that An'an was carrying. She said she really wanted to show you their script, but it turned into a situation where I had to drag her out to eat."

"..."

"This is the coat Hannah brought. She asked me to change out of the one you're wearing now so she can mend it. She said you're different from other aspiring witches; every piece of clothing you wear is one less, so you have to take good care of it—that's roughly what she meant."

"..."

“Leah has been trying to negotiate with the warden, but it’s just a waste of time. We’ve hardly seen the warden lately. I only managed to get this visitation opportunity because I finally caught him when he was wandering around outside.”

"..."

"Milia wanted to replace Coco in starting a live stream, but she gets nervous in front of the camera. However, when filming other people, her technique and camera work are impeccable. In short, she is hopelessly unsuitable for this line of work. After I told her the truth, Milia ran to the library crying, which was a good thing for her."

"..."

"..."

A silent atmosphere filled the punishment room, taking on a tangible form that tightly blocked Hiro Nikaido's chest, making even breathing difficult.

It's hard to believe that the boy sitting motionless on the ground, like a doll abandoned in a garbage dump, is the same person who could single-handedly make the entire cafeteria a chaotic mess (physical), the person who could gather everyone in the art studio for a social gathering, and the person who prevented Baosheng Mag from falling into witchhood.

During Ze Du Ke Ke's execution, Chang Rong did something that was unexpected—or perhaps not so unexpected: he forcibly obstructed the execution.

He took Sawatari Coco away from the courtroom and hid in the forest behind it for a time, but in the end Sawatari Coco still died, albeit in the form of a 'human'.

After that, this guy was detained for four days for violating prison rules, and today is the third day.

For three days, he had almost no clothes or food, and for two days he barely ate or drank. He also barely communicated with others. For three days, he barely moved. He just sat there, seemingly waiting for death, or perhaps already dead.

This is 'incorrect', this appearance is undoubtedly 'incorrect'...!!

"You idiot rabbit—Chang Rong!!!"

To combat this suffocating silence, Nikaido Hiro chose anger.

She roughly pulled the boy, who had become noticeably thinner, off the ground and dragged him to a mirror.

"Open your eyes and look at yourself—look at the awful state you're in!"

Even the most determined person will eventually face reality when they see their miserable reflection in the mirror.

"……Feel sorry"

However, the boy merely glanced up at his glasses, gave a brief two-word reply, and then lowered his head again.

"...!"

Nikaido Hiro was grinding his teeth to powder; if this anger could be channeled into energy, he could easily smash open the door to the punishment room.

But this anger wasn't directed at Chang Rong, but at Nikaido Hiro herself.

Why? Why was it that when I was locked up here, this guy could so easily calm me down with just a few words?

Why? Why was this guy able to easily save me from the gallows when I was about to be executed for making a fool of myself?

Why? Why was this guy able to stop me from killing Emma when I was blinded by rage and tried to kill her?

Why—why is it that I can't help him at all?!

After Zedou Keke's execution, almost everyone, after a brief period of confusion and shock, rediscovered their direction. Some of them went to great lengths for Chang Rong, while others focused on something else entirely for her sake.

He was the only one who... not only did he not know what to do, but even when he actually faced this boy, he was still completely helpless.

One's own theories of correctness, one's own rhetoric, one's own elegant and firm life beliefs—all these things are no different from garbage when faced with a teenager who is like a broken doll in front of them; they are nothing more than a joke that is not funny.

“You…you shouldn’t be like this, Chang Rong. This is wrong, this is absolutely wrong…”

Nikaido Hiro could only kneel in front of Chang Rong and take out a handkerchief to wipe the dust off his face.

"Beep beep-"

As if mocking Nikaido Hiro's meaningless actions, a shrill announcement came from the corridor loudspeaker, informing her that her precious visiting time was over.

"..."

The guard with the headband stood at the door, silently watching Nikaido Hiro with a scythe on his back, seemingly mocking her meaningless humor as well.

"Chang Rong, I... I'm awful...!"

Before coming, he had prepared countless scripts to encourage and persuade him, but all of them had been thrown into some unknown corner, and Nikaido Hiro didn't even know what to say.

"I...I'll wait for you to come out—"

Click!

The door was closed again, signaling the end of Hiro Nikaido's prison visitation time.

"..."

As Shiro left with the guard, all he could think about was Chang Rong's eyes. In the only time they made eye contact during the prison visit, Shiro saw Chang Rong's gray eyes—eyes that didn't look like those of someone who wanted to keep going. They looked more like eyes of someone who had completely given up the struggle and whose very existence was about to disappear.

—If I leave like this, there's a nagging feeling that it will make that guy disappear completely.

But now, what is there that someone like me can do...?

Whether it's Xiaoxue or Changrong, in the end, am I still the same guy who keeps spinning around in circles?

Oak $`怡弍9 abandoned Liu picked up umbrella pomegranate "..."

I don't want to, absolutely not. Even if it means becoming an 'incorrect' being—

Nikaido Hiro stopped in his tracks, his gaze coldly fixed on the guard before him.

------

Click!

The door to the punishment room suddenly opened again, and Hiro Nikaido, who had left just a few minutes earlier, returned to the punishment room once more.

The difference this time is—

"Hey, you idiot rabbit, I'm back again."

Like Chang Rong, Nikaido Hiro, now wearing a pair of handcuffs, smiled at the white-haired boy.

"...Nikaido?"

Chang Rong raised his head slightly; Hiro's lightning-fast second stint was indeed beyond his expectations.

"Hey, Ming, I was caught and put in solitary confinement by the guards because I tried to sabotage the TV in the Emu Club's main hall. As we can see from the previous witch trial, each punishment cell holds two people, so—looks like we'll be cellmates again, just like in the beginning, right?"

"That's quite a coincidence."

My 'incorrect' behavior did indeed surprise Chang Rong, but that alone was not enough.

More needs to be done to dispel the growing emptiness in the boy's heart caused by the shock of Sawatari Coco's execution.

Nikaido Hiro looked around the punishment room.

Whip, fire poker, nails, chains, candles

No, no, no, no, this isn't right, this isn't right! What was I thinking just now?!

咣 咣 咣!

"...?"

Even Chang Rong frowned when he saw Nikaido Hiro suddenly elbow the door of the punishment room with his head.

—I'm here to help this guy face reality and cheer up, not to take advantage of his weakened state and inability to resist by throwing all sorts of weird gadgets at him…!!

But... we have to think of something... huh?

Nikaido Hiro's gaze lingered on the plate placed on the table.

Yes, if that's the case, then it's 'correct'...easily correct, absolutely correct!

Having made up her mind, Nikaido Hiro walked to the plate containing her lunch, awkwardly picked it up with her hands, which were bound at the wrists, and then walked to Chang Rong, kneeling down on the ground once again.

"Humans cannot photosynthesize, let alone in a place like this where there is no sunlight at all."

Nikaido Hiro began muttering to himself, as if performing some kind of mysterious ritual.

“Since you cannot photosynthesize and obtain energy, then not eating is simply not the right thing to do.” - Isamu

Nikaido Hiro glanced at the plate, then picked up a shriveled vegetable stick.

"Since not eating is the wrong option, then I have an obligation to correct this mistake. In other words, I am the 'right' one!"

Nikaido Hiro bit the end of the vegetable strip with his teeth, then leaned forward, slowly approaching Chang Rong.

"Nikaido...?"

Chang Rong, who hadn't reacted much at first, finally took the initiative to ask the black-haired girl about her strange behavior.

"I am right, I am right, I am right, I am right..."

Nikaido Hiro completely ignored Chang Rong's question. She simply carried the food in her mouth like a dog and got closer and closer to the haggard and thin boy in front of her.

"Wait, wait a minute, Nikaido—"

Chang Rong's words were interrupted by the vegetable strips that were thrown at her. The originally wilted and limp vegetable strips twisted into a U-shape under the attack of the two of them, and finally broke.

Snapped--

Without any buffer, Nikaido Hiro's lips touched Chang Rong's chapped lips directly.

"—!?"

A light touch was far from enough. Nikaido Hiro roughly continued to shove the remaining half of the vegetable strip into Chang Rong's mouth without saying a word, until the boy was forced to his limit by this force and had to open his mouth to swallow the food that was handed to him. Only then did Nikaido Hiro distance himself again.

"Nikaido...?"