The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

"It's Miss 'Meru-onna'."

"Please come to the courtroom after you have composed yourself."

"Next up is the 'Witch Trial'."

Chapter 93 As long as everyone has fun, that's the most important thing.

"Although there will be no trial or execution, please do your best to vote for your 'Great Witch' so that such things will not happen again."

That concludes the owl's broadcast.

With a crackling sound, a flash of white light appeared on the screen before it went completely black.

After a brief silence, there seemed to be some movement outside.

As expected, someone died.

—But why was it Meruru who died??

Hoshino Utsunomiya was already feeling a bit drowsy, and the lingering pain in her brain made her completely dazed.

What does it mean that the deceased was "Meru on Ice"?

Where's my witch? You just killed a witch as big as me?

"Hakiton, are you sure that Meluru on Ice is a witch?"

He asked with a furrowed brow.

【Huh? Ah? That's right? No matter how you look at it, Miss Meruru is definitely a witch!】

[Huh? Dead? Wait, wait, wait a minute... Dead? No, that's not right...]

How could he die? How could he die?

...The system also seemed quite confused and bewildered.

"Well, um... since the witch is dead... well, that's it..."

[Since everyone around is aspiring witches, why don't you scan them every day to see who's becoming more witch-like and about to become one, and then strive to die at the hands of a witch!]

As if somewhat resigned to its fate, the system uttered this string of words without taking a deep breath.

"..."

They completely silenced Hoshino Utsunomiya.

It's precisely because he also didn't want to see other witches irrevocably descend into ruin and unable to return to human form that he was so conflicted about finding a ready-made witch to beg her to kill him, isn't that right?

If I could happily wait for them to turn into witches, why would I bother chasing after Meruru so much?

...This stupid system is probably unreliable.

Hoshino Utsunomiya was in a real headache. His head was already aching, and the system's annoyance only made it worse.

"咚咚-"

Just as Utsunomiya Hoshino was about to sort out the current situation again and think about what to do today.

There was a knock at the door.

"Utsunomiya Hoshino, are you awake?"

A sound came from outside the door.

Hoshino Utsunomiya stood up and opened the door.

Standing at the door was Nikaido Hiro.

Behind her, the other girls also seemed to have come out of their cells.

Unsurprisingly, there was no Meruru on Ice.

Hasumi Rhea's expression was not good, Sakura Emma looked at him sadly, and even Shirosaki Noa, who should have been clueless, showed a sad expression.

Tachibana Sherry, on the other hand, remained inhumanly behaving, blinking and scratching her head as if nothing had happened.

...She beat me up yesterday, and Meruru, whom she was protecting, died.

But is this really how it's performed?

"..."

As for Nikaido Hiro standing at his door, his expression was quite serious.

Before Hiro could say anything, suddenly, an extremely loud bell rang out in the underground passageway.

"Boom-"

The solemn tolling of the bells resounded throughout the entire prison.

"Dudu-"

Everyone's phone vibrated; everyone had received the same text message.

[The witch's trial is about to begin]

Please make sure you bring your mobile phones and assemble in the courtroom as soon as possible.

[Anyone who does not comply will be forcibly removed by the guards.]

Along with the mass text message arrived a tall, imposing guard.

He didn't even need to speak; just standing there exerted a strong pressure on everyone, making them forget about gossip and obediently follow the guards toward the courtroom.

However, even so, there were still a few bolder individuals who wanted to seize this opportunity to whisper something.

For example, Nikaido Hiro, who took the initiative to knock on the door of Utsunomiya Hoshino.

"Utsunomiya." Nikaido Hiro leaned closer to Utsunomiya Hoshino. In order to keep her voice down so that Utsunomiya Hoshino could hear her, she didn't care too much about physical contact and pressed her body against his side. Her breath seemed to brush against his earlobe.

"You...did you already know this would happen?"

She frowned and asked in a low voice.

Hoshino Utsunomiya knew that what she was referring to was Meruru's death.

...That seems to be true in the eyes of others.

Knowing that Meluru Icewalker would die, knowing her fate beforehand, is why he was so anxious to find her and pursue her so urgently, because he had something he wanted to say to her alone.

"I do not know."

Having created a slight distance, avoiding the prickly strands of hair that were poking at his cheeks, Hoshino Utsunomiya spoke the truth.

There is no need to lie.

If he had known Meruru was going to die, he would have definitely grabbed her and run away, committing a grand suicide in the sunlight.

"You don't know? How could you...?"

How could you not know?

Nikaido Hiro was about to ask him that question, but he quickly noticed the subtle detail of his slightly distancing gesture.

So she shut her mouth.

She got it.

It's not that he didn't know, it's just that he said that because he was talking to her.

If Emma had asked, he would probably have hesitated for a moment before nodding.

If Emma were to approach, he probably wouldn't deliberately keep this distance, but would simply sniff her scent as if nothing had happened.

It wasn't that she was jealous of Emma. Emma wasn't enough to make her jealous, and she didn't feel that way about Utsunomiya Hoshino either.

However, considering their relationship and their current estrangement, it's hard to believe.

As expected, I couldn't help but sigh.

But that's understandable, since I haven't really built enough trust with Hoshino Utsunomiya, and that was the case yesterday as well.

As she deliberately said those words, she intentionally revealed a look of disdain.

It's unlikely that their relationship will progress much further.

Seeing that Nikaido Hiro seemed to have finally distanced himself from Utsunomiya Hoshino, Sakura Emma seized the opportunity and quickly moved closer.

"Hoshino, are you alright?" she asked worriedly. "You suddenly fainted yesterday, and I was so worried about you."

"Even though Sherry said that you fainted because you went to the shower to steal, steal, peep... and saw something you shouldn't have seen, I don't believe a guy like Sherry."

The girl quietly revealed what she actually cared about, subtly shifting her gaze to observe Utsunomiya Hoshino's reaction.

"...I'm fine." Although there was still some lingering pain where she was hit, Hoshino Utsunomiya didn't intend to make Emma worry too much: "But spying? Hmm, maybe that's true."

Let's try to shift our focus. If we keep denying it and Emma finds out that Shirley knocked her out...

Even though Emma Sakura is not good at expressing malice to others, she will still stand up for her friends.

Hoshino Utsunomiya did not want to see this happen.

"Eh?!" Emma Sakura's eyes widened, and she almost couldn't keep her voice down: "Yes, yes, that's true???"

"Waaah..."

Good morning, I should have gone to shower first...

In that case...

Emma Sakura remained silent.

Utsunomiya Hoshino: "..."

The attention was successfully diverted, but judging from Emma Sakura's reaction, it seemed to have been a little too successful.

But even if it doesn't succeed.

...They have arrived at their destination.

In the time it took to exchange a few casual words, the guard led them to the courtroom they had visited the day before.

The morning courtroom, unlike the afternoon, is bathed in a dazzling, shimmering light emanating from its stained-glass windows.

What remains most prominent are still the witness stands and the central round platform.

This time, he no longer needed to run laps around the sidelines; he could simply walk down the aisle and stand in the witness stand.