The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

Three steps.

In short, after going through the usual procedures, the first thing to do is to build a good relationship with Meruru.

After all, it's unclear whether the witch will change the rules again this time.

......

The familiar guards led the way, the familiar underground passage, the familiar meeting room.

The owl continues to spout nonsense.

As expected, the owl's words this time were different again.

But to Hoshino Utsunomiya's surprise, no new rules were added this time.

Instead... it reverted to the original, or more accurately, the earlier 'old rules'.

Yes, this time the owl didn't claim that "one of you is the Great Witch in disguise."

There was no announcement that the witch would kill randomly, nor was there any mention of point deductions or punishments.

The owl was just saying it in a very ordinary way.

We are all aspiring witches, we all deserve our fate, let's all wait here to die.

No killing, no pressure, no penalty points.

no time limit.

Hoshino Utsunomiya quickly realized it.

This is a phrase that the owl always subtly includes when describing the witch's custom rules: "That's how it should be."

If it weren't for the witch, this prison would have looked exactly like this.

The prospective witches were imprisoned and guarded according to the rules, silently waiting for them to become witches one by one, kill each other, and die.

Then, in the second year's testing, eligible prospective witches are sent in again, starting the next cycle.

It's said there's no time limit, but it's obvious everyone will die within a year.

Those who didn't die... might be killed.

Of course, these are just his deductions, based on the owl's words and the traces of the mansion during multiple retrospectives.

That may not be correct.

However, the owl's words do indeed convey the same meaning, which is basically consistent with his deduction.

What the owl says is not very important.

The important thing is...

It did not say that the witch was hiding among them.

The witch is gone.

Time became more plentiful.

The degree of freedom has been greatly increased.

...Hopefully, it wasn't a lie told by the owl to lower my guard.

Although Hoshino Utsunomiya may have many opinions about the owl, he actually believes most of what the owl says.

The words were spoken in a lazy, casual, and unintentional manner.

The rules have returned to their original state, and the candidates have clearly changed as well.

First, there's the group of acquaintances I've met before.

"I'm leaving. What you do is none of my business."

Arisa Wisteria.

Wearing a mask and speaking in a hoarse voice, the girl expressed a strong rejection of friendliness.

Seeing her again after three rewinds, Hoshino Utsunomiya was unexpectedly a little nostalgic.

"Don't rush things. For the sake of the future, we definitely need to have a brief chat first," the blonde girl in men's clothing reassured her. "After all, I still want to protect everyone."

Ryouya Hasumi.

She was a girl with leadership qualities who initially worked with Hiro to chase and kill the witch to the point of almost having a falling out.

With Hero not around, she was the most conspicuous one.

"Getting to know each other better, deepening our understanding of this place, and helping each other is the most correct suggestion right now."

She spread her hands, seemingly speaking very sincerely.

"I said, it has nothing to do with me." Coldly, Arisa Fujito completely ignored Ryota Hasumi's words, turned around indifferently, and walked out of the reception room.

"Can we go now? Noah is leaving too."

Seeing that someone seemed to be leaving, the white-haired girl did not hesitate to tiptoe, put her hands on her waist, and quickly leave the reception room.

Noah Kinosaki.

They were all acquaintances, and this was their third appearance together.

They don't have a strong sense of group identity, but they have a very strong desire to paint. They can concentrate intensely and might even forget to eat if no one reminds them.

He's a good kid.

Owl once said that she actually couldn't draw.

But as things stand now, Noah Kinosaki will definitely be going back to his cell to paint with spray paint cans.

Although there won't be any points deducted this time, the smell of spray paint in the cell will still affect others.

Remember to catch up with her and pull her into the art studio later.

The departure of the two people in succession was a slap in the face to Hasumi Ryoya. Her lips twitched slightly, but she quickly composed herself and turned to look at the others.

"Besides them, everyone should be willing to cooperate, right? Please don't make my work any more difficult. In the current situation, unity is the most important thing."

"Before you play your friendly games..." The slightly gloomy black-haired girl raised a spear that had inexplicably appeared in her hand, pointing it directly at Utsunomiya Hoshino:

"Finding out this guy's identity is the most important thing, I think."

"Why are you all acting like it's perfectly natural and accepting his existence? No matter how you look at it, he seems like the mastermind behind it all, right?"

Nanaka Kurobe.

One of the newcomers.

Her hair was pure black, not very long, but when tied up, it fell to her shoulders in low pigtails.

The girl was dressed entirely in black: a black military cap, black goggles, a black wide-collared coat and a stand-up collar top, and what appeared to be a black ring around her neck, which seemed to be a choker.

A black plaid embroidered skirt, thick black tights, and thick black ankle boots.

His entire body was dressed in black, except for his left arm, which was wrapped in white bandages.

To be honest, at first glance, this all-black outfit gives off a gothic vibe, but upon closer inspection, you'll find that it's not actually gothic at all.

She has quite a refined air about her.

She's the type that Hoshino Utsunomiya wouldn't dislike.

Of course, the fact that Hoshino Utsunomiya doesn't dislike Nanoha Kurobe doesn't mean that she doesn't dislike Hoshino Utsunomiya.

The current hostile gun barrels pointing at each other clearly demonstrate this point.

By the way, besides his entire outfit, this gun is also pure black.

Why are guns here all of a sudden...?

The dark, cold muzzle of the gun was pointed at him, its deep, unseen depths radiating a sense of intimidation.

Logically speaking, Hoshino Utsunomiya should now make the most normal human reaction to a gun threat: raising his hands to show that he has no hostility.

What could my identity be?

But he just sighed helplessly.

"As you can see, I am just like you, a prisoner locked up here."

He spread his hands.

Then, realizing that words alone were not enough, he reached into his pocket again.

"--boom!"

Firelight, gunshots, bullets.

Nanoha Kurobe fired the first shot decisively, as if to prove that the spear in her hand was not just for show.

Although the bullet did not shoot directly at Hoshino Utsunomiya as originally intended, it was only slightly deflected and fired threateningly to his side.

The bullet pierced the floor of the room, creating a bullet hole.

"Don't move!" she said coldly.

Suddenly, a tense atmosphere began to spread in the reception room. Although everyone should have noticed the gun on Kurobe Nanoha Kaori's body, no one expected that the gun would actually fire.

It was still being driven towards people.

"Answer the question and don't move around."

Nanoka Kurobe stared intently at him.

Extremely focused attention.

The gun barrel was cold, the words were cold, and Nanoha Kurobe's expression was even colder.

The threatening gun was fired, and the threatening words were spoken.

Hoshino Utsunomiya's heart must have tightened, then his movements became stiff, his body straightened, and he began to feel fear.

But he didn't.

"Stop messing around." He said calmly, ignoring Kurobe Nanoha's threat, and continued to reach into his pocket to take out his phone.

"Go ahead and shoot if you want. As long as you're prepared to kill, then shoot."

The way you hold a gun, the action of firing, the way you aim...