The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

His body stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered. Hoshino Utsunomiya reached out and grabbed Sherry Tachibana's hands, intending to pry them open.

However, before he could even grab her hands, Tachibana Sherry quickly let go of them and released him.

"Hmph, are you tempted?" she asked, tilting her head up in a way that was quite puzzling.

“…” Hoshino Utsunomiya paused for a moment, then put his hand back on the doorknob and opened the cafeteria door.

He walked into the cafeteria, glanced around the seemingly empty space, and then replied:

"No."

The stiffness of the body is an instinct, not a sign of an accelerated heartbeat.

Similarly, I wasn't tempted.

Hoshino Utsunomiya walked into the cafeteria, but Emma Sakuraba was a little dumbfounded.

"Eh, Yuki, Sherry-chan?" Emma Sakura exclaimed, trying to reach out her hand and lift her leg, but for some reason her limbs felt stiff. She could only awkwardly say, "What are you doing... ah."

"Why would you suddenly do something like that...?"

Although she had thought Sherry's actions were strange before, and that she only clung to Hoshino in an instant, she really didn't expect that Tachibana Sherry would so quickly skip the initial probing and even the question of 'can I?' and take the initiative to hug Hoshino.

She only managed to hug him because of the atmosphere of a long-awaited reunion; when she tried to hug him again after the atmosphere had faded, he refused.

"Hmm?" Tachibana Sherry tilted her head, and after a moment she said in realization, "Oh, that one just now?"

"Hmph, let me tell you, Emma, ​​based on my keen detective instincts, there must be some special clues that Hoshino mentioned earlier when he said he 'had a favor to ask' Meruru, which he just glossed over."

"My intuition tells me it might be romantic feelings!"

Shirley Tachibana, hands on her hips, said:

"So I gave it a try."

"And then I discovered an astonishing fact!" Here, she deliberately kept her in suspense, waiting for Sakura Emma to swallow slightly before whispering in her ear:

"I suspect... Hoshino is actually a virgin."

Sakura Emma: "?"

Is there anything that needs to be explained?

If Hoshino wasn't a virgin, does that mean he and Yuki had already done everything together?

That's definitely not the case.

Emma Sakura didn't think so.

Seemingly sensing Emma Sakura's confusion, Sherry Tachibana chuckled.

"I've heard that many boys have a strong aversion to dying as virgins. You could say that if a boy has any request at the end of his life, the most likely thing he'll ask is for a girl to help him lose his virginity," she said with great seriousness.

So—

"I'll leave after I finish eating."

Sherry Tachibana's voice was interrupted by Hoshino Utsunomiya.

"If you want to talk, you can do so here."

He seemed not to have heard Tachibana Sherry's guess at all, and just urged her to say this.

"Hey, no, no, I want to eat with Hoshino." Upon hearing this, Tachibana Sherry stopped mid-sentence and hurriedly left Sakura Emma behind, rushing into the house: "What's good to eat?"

The girl peeked out and saw the neatly arranged buffet food.

It's not sticky.

What she saw, Hoshino Utsunomiya, who had entered earlier, could also see.

The sticky, gooey meal has been transformed into what appears to be a fairly normal dish.

Miso soup, fish, green vegetables...

What does it mean?

Where's the sticky texture I was promised?

Even the food in the cafeteria has changed?

What were once difficult-to-eat dishes have unexpectedly become standard Japanese meals.

The sense of unease in his heart grew stronger, but after glancing at the two girls at the door and taking a moment to feel his own shrunken belly, he realized that something was wrong.

Hoshino Utsunomiya decided that he should eat first and think about the consequences later.

They sat down, took the tray, and began to eat.

“Mmm mmm mmm—”

The girl at the table made eating noises without any sense of urgency.

"Thank you for your hospitality!"

Hands clasped together, words of thanks.

Lunchtime passed in the blink of an eye.

Hoshino Utsunomiya didn't say much, but set off again to wander through the mansion, searching for Meruru on Ice.

...Not found.

It wasn't in any of the rooms on the first floor, nor in the library or recreation room on the second floor, nor was it hidden in the punishment room or incinerator underground.

Outdoors?

In the flower field?

At the lake?

Hoshino Utsunomiya didn't know that he could find the person he was looking for in this not-so-large cage.

"Hmm, it seems there's no sign of Gulu here either."

Every time she arrived at a new place and was disappointed, Tachibana Sherry would nod and say this.

"Hmm, it seems there's no sign of Uluru here either."

She didn't seem to have called out the name correctly even once.

"It's Meruru."

Even when Hoshino Utsunomiya casually corrected her, she just chuckled, scratched her head, and tilted it as she said:

"Oh, right, right, it's lululu."

In comparison, there's Emma Sakuraba.

Good girl Emma Sakuraba will gently follow Hoshino Utsunomiya's ideas. Since Hoshino wants to find Meruru, regardless of whether the purpose is to get rid of that identity, she will help him find her.

"Miss Meruru, where did you go...?"

The pointer ticks away.

Hoshino Utsunomiya ultimately failed to find his witch in those three hours.

"Dudu..."

The owl's text message arrived again, and the tall guard began his patrol.

Forced to return to prison, Hoshino Utsunomiya was once again locked up.

"..."

The cell door was locked again.

There are nine hours left until the end of the day.

He sat quietly back on the bed, his gaze fixed on the closed door, but his pupils were unfocused and dilated.

Fleeting consciousness, time as perceived in the body.

"Speaking of which, why do you try to speak like Meruru?"

Suddenly, Hoshino Utsunomiya asked this question.

The system's words were intermittent, accompanied by wailing sounds, and its previous words all carried a strong flavor of "Ice Cream."

【Huh?】

Ah, this, that...

[...because it seems the host quite likes Miss Meruru.]

The system was clearly not expected to ask such a question suddenly, and after hesitating for a moment, it answered hesitantly.

I'm sorry, I'm not going to learn anymore, boohoo...

"...I didn't mean to criticize you in this regard."

To say whether you like Meruru or not...

Hoshino Utsunomiya felt that she definitely liked him.

I like the witch's tearful, painted face, and I like her considerate gentleness, but if I had to say what I like the most, it would definitely be her attitude of acting decisively even though she is extremely unwilling.

Decisive and efficient.

"Just asking casually."

After he finished speaking, the empty solitary cell fell silent once again.

Hoshino Utsunomiya watched the clock tick by, silently counting down the days, waiting for the last free time of the day to arrive.

This time, we definitely won't let Meruru escape again.

He refused to believe that opening the door on time and going out would prevent him from catching the witch, unless the witch stopped pretending and cheated by opening the door early.

Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?

He felt it was unlikely.

The time spent counting seconds felt surprisingly long, and I wondered why a certain witch would have such a hobby as counting.

Is it the feeling of aimless wandering that you enjoy? Or is it the pleasure of letting time slip by unnoticed?

He didn't know; he just felt it was a waste of his life.