The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

I saw that face from my memory, a face that was about to become a nightmare.

“Hoshi...no...?” she murmured, uttering his name.

"Yes, it's me."

Affirmative answer.

Then, in the next moment after realizing, distinguishing, and affirming.

The sudden embrace around her neck caused tears to stream down her face.

"Hoshino Hoshino Hoshino Hoshino Hoshino——"

The emotions being vented are simply the names being called out.

Ryota Hasumi burst into tears.

But after crying, the brain comes to its senses again.

"...Huh?"

Releasing her embrace, Ryota Hasumi grasped Hoshino Utsunomiya's shoulders and pulled away slightly, repeatedly looking at Hoshino's face.

I couldn't help but reach out and touch my neck, touch my Adam's apple, touch and touch and touch.

In good condition.

"Hoshino, you're not dead?"

It was only after a long time that I realized this was the reality.

......

Chapter 173 Then I'd rather die

"Yes, I'm still alive. If you want to confirm, feel me as much as you want."

Hoshino Utsunomiya nodded.

"However, let's go to the reception room first to explain more."

"The cells are still too crowded."

There was no time for Hasumi Ryoya to think about why the supposedly dead Utsunomiya Hoshino had come back to life, nor was there time for her to think about how to apologize properly.

Hoshino Utsunomiya got up and led the group toward the reception room.

Guided by his figure, Ryota Hasumi finally noticed the three people beside her.

The familiar Nanoha Kurobe, and two completely unfamiliar women.

"?!" The feeling of being stared at made her realize very quickly that she was behaving very badly.

Tears welling up in her eyes are unsightly, her weak appearance is unsightly, everything about her is unattractive.

"Well, um, just now..." Having calmed down a bit, she instinctively tried to explain, "I'm not usually like this..."

But in the end, what came out were such weak and powerless words.

With her head lowered, Hasumi Ryoa didn't want to be seen for the first time.

Hoshino Utsunomiya walked in front, followed by Nanoha Kurobe, with Ryota Hasumi bringing up the rear, and the other girls in the middle.

Pushing open the door to the reception room with practiced ease, Hoshino Utsunomiya glanced at the ventilation ducts.

After confirming that the owl wouldn't fly out, he glanced at the girls with a somewhat helpless expression.

"Let's start with the usual practice and introduce ourselves."

Although he basically knew everyone's names.

The only one I didn't know was that blonde, innocent-looking hot girl.

"Ah... I am Saeki Miria... Nice to meet you... Ahaha... Sigh."

With a smirk, she uttered the girl's name among the names that were being mentioned.

Saeki Miria.

That's how she refers to herself.

Some hesitation, some unspoken words, some sighs.

She wasn't very satisfied with her self-introduction.

...How embarrassing.

“‘Saeki Miria’.” Utsunomiya Hoshino turned to her alone, deliberately, and pronounced her full name: “Yes, I understand, thank you.”

[Miss Saeki Millia is not a witch.]

A voice of denial came from beside me.

He put down the snack.

But Saeki Miria was a little flustered.

Why did you suddenly call me by my full name instead of everyone else's? Did I say something wrong? This self-introduction was definitely a failure... wasn't it?

A major failure...

"Now, may we speak, Mr. Hoshino?" Hosho Mag urged.

Arisa Wisteria chimed in:

"Where is this place? Why are we here? And also..."

"—What does 'rewind' mean?" Tachibana Sherry chimed in, humming, "I'm still most curious about this."

That sounds really interesting!

“If you want everyone to understand the current situation, let’s start with magic.” Hoshino Utsunomiya extended his hand.

The iron bucket landed in his hands.

"Everyone here is aspiring witch, and you should all know what magic you possess."

Apart from Emma Sakura, who has never been able to figure out what kind of magic she possesses, all the girls he has encountered so far have their own magic.

"Really?!" Sherry Tachibana's eyes widened. "Can I do magic like that too?!"

She didn't realize she had any magic.

"Lift me up," Hoshino Utsunomiya simply told her. "With one hand."

So, quite decisively, Tachibana Sherry reached out and easily lifted Utsunomiya Hoshino up from under his armpit with one hand.

"Put me down," he said.

Having landed back on the ground, Hoshino Utsunomiya pointed to the table in the middle of the living room.

“You can try this too.” Before Shirley could actually try it, he continued, “You are very strong, much stronger than the average person.”

"This is your magic, 'super strength'."

"Others should also have their own magic, so I won't ask you to tell me yourselves."

Actually, he had no idea that the others possessed any magic.

After all, there's no need to use magic.

All I know is Sherry's superhuman strength, Hannah's levitation, Meruru's healing, Shiro's death rewind, Coco's clairvoyance, and Noah's liquid manipulation.

There are quite a few, but the holders have basically all been kicked out.

"Oh, I see." Shirley Tachibana suddenly realized, "I thought it was just because I was strong, but it turns out it's magic."

"Hehehe..."

The girl scratched her head.

“When talking about magic, one cannot help but mention ‘death reversal’.” Hoshino Utsunomiya shook his head and continued to explain:

"As the name suggests, it is a magic that allows one to rewind time after death."

"It's not my magic."

"But after I die, I can indeed retain this memory and return to this point in time, which is why Nanoha Kaori talks about 'rewinding'."

"I did indeed revisit those times, just as she thought."

What has been acknowledged is the existence of death regression.

Hoshino Utsunomiya had actually been troubled about whether or not to tell everyone about this, and whether or not she needed to explain this point.

But after thinking about it for a long time, it seems there's no reason not to explain.

I didn't mention it before because it wasn't necessary. Bringing it up would only create more trouble of explaining, and I wouldn't understand the witch's thoughts.

But if he were to speak frankly on the spot when it was overheard, it wouldn't actually have any impact on him.

On the contrary, it helped him gain some of the girls' trust.

Anyway, if I don't say I'm the riddle teller, I'll definitely be suspected and distrusted like last time, and like Nanoha Kaori, someone will think I'm a threat and come to kill me.

To avoid this situation from happening, Hoshino Utsunomiya felt it was best to make things clear.

One time is enough to die because of being misunderstood.

"Let's put the details aside for now and get back to the magic."

“Originally, there would have been an owl doll claiming to be the warden flying out of this ventilation duct.” Hoshino Utsunomiya turned her head again and glanced at the ventilation duct:

"It will notify everyone on the screen in the cell to come here to explain the situation, and that inhuman guards will lead everyone here."

"But this time, I didn't see the guards or the warden."

This is a variable.

"So I'll have to explain it for it," he said.

"Each of you will have a cell phone in your pocket, which can only be used and communicate with each other within the prison. It connects to the prison's local area network and contains an app called 'Witch's Compendium.' Open it, and you can see the relevant rules and explanations related to witches."

I won't go into detail about that.

Repeated platitudes only need to be said once.

Things like preparing witches, national policies, witch transformation, and remains.