The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

Hiro sat on the edge of the bed, kicking his legs back and forth.

"..." Her reaction seemed a beat slow; she didn't turn her head, but listened attentively and replied:

"do not know."

"do not know!"

She stopped kicking, opened her arms, and then turned around to hug Hoshino Utsunomiya.

"I don't know," she said.

She hugged him tightly, slid down, and rested her head against his lower abdomen, whispering:

Will Hoshino also disappear?

This time, the girl finally revealed a hint of her deeply hidden pain.

Hoshino Utsunomiya felt that he had completely understood.

He reached out and slipped his hands through the girl's arms from top to bottom, then lifted her upper body, once again, actively lifting her entirely onto his body.

"I will not disappear."

This time the actions were more intimate, and the words were gentler.

"I'm right here."

He said.

"Mmm," she responded softly.

Now the situation of the fourth backtracking is clear.

Everyone in the prison has vanished: the witch is gone, the warden is gone, the guards are gone, Emma, ​​Sherry, Hannah, Noah...

They're all gone now.

There are no new recruits.

An empty cage, a cold and impersonal mansion.

Hiro Nikaido awakens alone, then explores everywhere, but finds nothing but himself.

Therefore, her attachment erupted to a degree far exceeding that of Emma.

Therefore, her feelings for herself swelled at an unimaginable speed.

There will be problems, there will definitely be problems.

However, if left unattended, even more serious problems will arise.

He had to respond to all her needs at times like this.

"I want to be ○".

—Apart from this.

"..."

He completely ignored the murmured voice, pretending not to hear anything, and Utsunomiya Hoshino released Nikaido Hiro's body and stood up.

"Cheer up, smile." Turning around, Hoshino Utsunomiya crouched down, raised her hands, and poked Nikaido Hiro's cheek with her index finger, drawing a smile on her face:

"Everyone else escaped being arrested, only we were left here. Isn't that a good thing?"

At least he no longer needs to worry about anyone dying in front of him; even the death of his only lover, Hiro, would cause time to rewind.

"No guards, no warden, no confinement." Besides the lack of people, there were also these other things missing.

"Then what are we still doing here? Let's escape!"

The only conclusion that will be reached is this.

Escape from birth.

They escaped from the cage.

No matter where you escape to, no matter what place you flee to, you must return to society and to the city.

He had considered escaping before, but he didn't because of the guards and knew he was being monitored.

But he also thought that if he really fell in love with someone, he would definitely plan an escape from prison.

Now is the time to plan and execute.

It's even simpler than under normal circumstances.

No one restricts your outing time, and there are no guards like those who watch over your violations.

Although only the two of them were left, they were enough to escape.

"...Escape?" The hope he offered didn't seem to ignite any spark in Nikaido Hiro's eyes.

The smile that had been forced on her face collapsed again after Hoshino Utsunomiya let go of her hand. She lowered her head and whispered:

"What good will it do after we escape?"

“I remember what the warden said every time, every single time.” She mentioned the missing owl.

What did it say?

Hoshino Utsunomiya was momentarily stunned.

“Even without the witch, we were already abandoned by the country,” she said.

Hoshino Utsunomiya remembered.

Yes, the owl did say that, and it always says it at the beginning of any explanation.

It will explain what a witch is, it will say that a witch is the embodiment of evil that brings disaster, and it will say that, through legally mandated checks, everyone has been found to have witch genes.

Being taken into this prison is recognized by the state.

They should spend the rest of their lives in prison anyway.

Even if they escape, in the outside world their identity would probably just be 'people who have long since died'.

My account has been closed.

It no longer exists.

If you want to be a mouse, if you want to hide, if you want to live under an assumed name...

Then you can easily escape.

That's roughly the attitude that Hiro is showing right now.

“But people always have to interact with society and other people,” Hoshino Utsunomiya said softly.

After all, humans are inherently social and group animals.

“If you don’t see people for too long…” he hesitated for a moment, “you’ll turn into a witch.”

If Hero becomes a witch, she will kill herself, as promised.

Perhaps provoked by the keyword "witch transformation," Hiro suddenly raised her head and shouted at him:

"Then I'll become a witch!"

This time, Nikaido Hiro no longer denied the possibility of becoming a witch, nor did she confidently declare that she would never become a witch.

She lost absolute faith in herself and chose to give up on herself.

"..."

Hoshino Utsunomiya was somewhat speechless.

"I just want to stay here with Hoshino forever." Having calmed down a bit, Nikaido Hiro looked at him: "Is that not allowed?"

He said some very touching things.

There are only two people, and only each other for the rest of their lives.

On this isolated island.

“...Even if I said it was possible, the conditions wouldn’t allow it.” Hoshino Utsunomiya didn’t answer the question directly: “If even the guards are gone, we’ll have trouble even getting food every day.”

"If we don't escape soon, staying here will only lead to running out of ammunition and food, and then we'll be stuck in a vicious cycle of starving to death, time rewinding, starving to death, and time rewinding."

He stopped mentioning psychological issues and instead brought up physiological ones.

Very serious.

Also very realistic.

It's a problem that we must consider, one that we have no choice but to consider.

He couldn't even be sure if he would have a bite to eat now that Hiro had been in prison for who knows how many days and he had just woken up.

“It’s not a problem.” Nikaido Hiro shook his head: “There’s a warehouse outside the mansion with lots of supplies.”

Hiro provided a completely new piece of intelligence.

storehouse.

She probably discovered it during the few days before she woke up.

"Location?"

"Behind the prison."

Hoshino Utsunomiya began trying to search through her memories.

In order to find a suitable place for Noya's studio, he searched most of the area around the mansion. Although he did not search carefully for more spacious places such as the lakeside, Hoshino Utsunomiya should have some impression of most places in this prison.

If it's behind the prison...

There was an iron gate there that was clearly not allowed to be opened.

"Behind the iron gate?"

“Yes.” Hiro nodded slightly. “I managed to open the door. There are many things inside.”

"Enough for us to live together for a very, very, very long time."

The girl seemed eager to persuade Hoshino Utsunomiya to give up everything and live with her on this deserted island.

But these are not enough.