The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

but.

Why did it have to turn out like this?

In the cramped bathroom, Hoshino Utsunomiya's head was pressed against the wall, and the cold tap water gushed down, stinging his black hair. The cold water flowed down and dripped down his cheeks.

"Pat-pat-pat, pat-pat-pat."

The echoing sound of water filled my ears, and my tangled thoughts intertwined and took shape amidst the sound.

Is it fair to say that he's simply not good at bullying? Looking back calmly, I realize that what I did was a bit too mild.

If I absolutely have to say something...

It's just kids playing house.

But what could he do? He had never bullied anyone else. After eliminating those failed bullying methods, all he could do was try to learn how to bully others.

Bringing up this haphazard, half-hearted bullying scenario is only a consequence of mistakenly believing the system would bully people.

That's right, he learned this bullying tactic from the system.

Of course, Hoshino Utsunomiya wouldn't directly say, "I want to bully Yukishiro, tell me how to bully her better." His approach was, "Besides the bullying I've seen so far, what other kinds of bullying might these guys do?"

This makes the system think that he is asking this question to fill in the gaps in the problem and to address the bullying issue in a targeted way.

But in reality, they simply copied the system's solution and ruthlessly bullied Yue Daixue.

That's why the system's voice was unusually loud when he actually did it. The system, which never expected that he was going to use it to bully others, was very eager to pull him back on track.

but.

Judging from the current results, the system has succeeded, while he has failed.

How can I put it?

Hoshino Utsunomiya felt that the system had racked its brains to come up with this bullying tactic, and genuinely believed that such bullying would be effective.

Otherwise, I wouldn't believe it myself.

They wouldn't use it.

The initial intention was good, but I executed it poorly.

wrong.

The worst one is the witch. Oh my god, how could this witch be so evil?

Just thinking about Yuki Tsukishiro sitting in his seat and gently clapping her hands made Hoshino Utsunomiya feel a surge of anger.

This is definitely not an experience of having already won over the other person, nor is it a sign of increased affection.

Whose popularity is increased by playing house and bullying others?

There's only one explanation: she did it on purpose. She realized that this method was very effective against her, so she deliberately suppressed her negative emotions and controlled her dissatisfaction with herself, intentionally making this move.

...So what should he do then?

[...Host, host?]

The system's voice sounded cautiously in my ear.

Are you alright...?

“…” After turning off the water valve and shaking off the water, Hoshino Utsunomiya grabbed a towel and draped it around his neck: “I’m fine.”

Why make such a fuss?

One failure doesn't define the whole story; it merely confirms the failure of one approach and eliminates a wrong option.

He still has a chance.

[Haha... It's good that the host is alright, yes, it's good that you're alright]

Even if the system is slow, it should be able to tell by now.

My dear host has no intention of seducing the witch; everything he has done from beginning to end is for one purpose.

court death.

In order to provoke the witch, in order to be hated by the witch, and in order to get the witch to kill him.

Seeking death, begging for death, looking for death.

Die die die die die die die—

Human beings have a deep-seated survival instinct; for a normal person, the first instinct should always be to survive.

There could be many reasons why someone might contemplate suicide: they have no hope of living, they have no expectations for the future, and their heart is ashen.

But the system knows.

There is only one reason why Hoshino Utsunomiya would want to die.

It hadn't paid any attention to it; it was just a casual remark, something mentioned unintentionally.

'If the host dies at the hands of the witch, this system will send the host back to their original world exactly as they were!'

It thought it was just a guarantee, it thought it was just a safeguard.

But he took it to heart, he kept it in mind, he made it his goal, and he took action to achieve it.

The initial bucket of water was poured out for this purpose, not for any micromanagement or attention-grabbing tactics.

Its esteemed host truly only intended to provoke Xue's murderous intent in this way.

Although it's unclear whether the bath was an accident, the fact that the host promptly carried out the bullying tactics after learning about them from me at least suggests that...

That must be it.

...To be honest, the system is somewhat subtle.

It wasn't just the subtle feeling of trust in Hoshino Utsunomiya, but also a subtle sense of self-doubt.

Is it really that boring to play in the corner?!

Why are you in such a hurry to go back and die?

Isn't Miss Witch cute? Isn't Yuki pretty?

Look at that exquisite and perfect face, look at that beautiful, flowing silver hair, look at that flawless skin, look at those elegant eyes beneath those delicate eyelashes.

A delicate nose, tiny hands, and small, fair feet.

Imagine the rhythmic swaying of those legs in mid-air.

You've already held her hand! You've already washed her hair!

Her hair slipped through your hands, and even through the towel, you should have been able to feel the texture of her skin. Even if you didn't feel any of that, didn't you already breathe in her scent while brushing her teeth?

Host, you've already said her voice is incredibly cute, so why aren't you making an effort to win her over!

say!

【...】

Shouting, yelling, questioning.

The system kept these inner thoughts hidden in its heart and did not speak them aloud.

It's not that it doesn't want to persuade Hoshino Utsunomiya, nor that it thinks Hoshino Utsunomiya is unpersuasive.

However, it feels, it thinks, it believes.

This is not what it should say.

As a system, as a system that made such a promise and made its host work hard for it.

It should be said.

[Host, have you considered doing something more in line with the definition of bullying?]

Since Xue has already developed an interest in him, there's no possibility that she'll let go.

Chapter 26: Insightful Commentary on Current Popular Bullying Methods

What does it mean?

Hearing the system's voice in his ear, Hoshino Utsunomiya had only one thought in his mind.

What does it mean?

Aren't you a strategy guide system? Didn't you want me to play in some backwater and help Mu conquer the witch? Weren't you the one who most opposed my bullying of Tsukishiro Yuki?

Now you're making me the one to bully you?

......hiss.

Hoshino Utsunomiya gasped inwardly.

He suddenly had a guess.

Could it be that the system has misunderstood because it has become more affectionate towards Yuki Tsukishiro after seeing his actions?

Could it be that the system thinks... 'Yuki Tsukishiro has masochistic tendencies', so if you want to win over Yuki Tsukishiro, you need to bully her more intensely, more severely, and more forcefully...?

Utsunomiya Hoshino wasn't sure, but he felt it was very likely.

So, with a strange expression, he spoke:

"for example?"

Watering the flowers! Pouring water! Fertilizing!

It has been done for a while.

Lock her in the bathroom! Tie her up and hang her on the wall! Tear all her textbooks to shreds!

What those people did.

Steal her indoor shoes! Whip her like a top! Blindfold her and place her on a guillotine without blades, making her bite the rope with her teeth!

What those people did not do.

The system announced a string of bullying tactics with great fanfare.

"..." Hoshino Utsunomiya's already subtle expression became even more subtle.

Sure enough, you could tell that, like him, the system wasn't very good at bullying.