The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

More importantly, such an incomprehensible operation cannot be fabricated.

It seems only a real witch would do such a thing.

Although Kurobe Nanoha had never seen a witch.

If that's the case, then who did the witch play in the past?

Is she among the people Hoshino Utsunomiya is trying to like? Or among people she hasn't even met?

...Melulu on Ice?

“No, the witch wasn’t involved last time.” Hoshino Utsunomiya shook his head. “This time it’s uncertain.”

"In short, what I want to say is that the witch has never killed anyone during the few times she entered the arena."

perjury.

They will speak out, upholding the witch's false testimony.

"Even if her disguise is exposed, even if she silently witnesses me... fall in love with someone else, the witch remains unmoved."

Even Hoshino Utsunomiya himself felt a little uneasy saying those words.

But he still had to say it.

"Did you know? Witches are actually surprisingly patient."

I wonder if the witch will listen, and what she will think after she does.

"She could even watch me date for three or four days and then choose to burn herself as the end of a retrospective."

The witch who judged herself in the fire left a deep impression on Hoshino Utsunomiya.

Perhaps it was because of that incident that he had enough... trust in the witch.

Although it's strange to use the word "trust".

“That’s quite tolerant.” Tachibana Sherry nodded repeatedly.

“Eh…” Arisa Fujito was a little dumbfounded.

What is this witch?

Why does this sound so unclean to me?

They even committed self-immolation?

What's so great about this man that makes him so desirable?

She couldn't help but rub her eyes and take a closer look at Hoshino Utsunomiya.

Her clothes are quite nice, and her figure and face are also...

No, no, we can't just look at such superficial things.

Arisa Wisteria shook her head repeatedly.

"...That's just what you saw, right?" Baosheng Mag was also somewhat surprised, but she still retorted, "Maybe it was just to pretend to be a good person in front of you, to win your favor."

"Who knows what she might do to others behind your back."

So the topic eventually came back to this point.

It cannot be seen, known, or determined.

Can you really hand someone over to the witch so easily just because you trust her?

"What if you eventually discover that the witch isn't as harmless as you thought, and has actually tortured people to death long ago? What will you do then?" Hosho Mag asked Utsunomiya Hoshino with a slightly aggressive tone.

Although she may seem a bit unforgiving, she is considering real problems.

After all, it was a matter of life and death.

No one would willingly entrust their safety to someone else's hands, and no one would want a witch to arbitrarily decide their fate.

"..."

Actually, there are some other arguments to support this.

It's not just about things like feelings and trust that are hard to grasp.

It's not something that can be definitively concluded, like past experience or summarized patterns.

What also needs to be considered is the situation of the girls themselves.

The oppressive life in prison, the inescapable atmosphere, the daily fixed rules of confinement, and the guards walking through the mansion.

Staying in the mansion is not a long-term solution.

There's no way to escape, and even if you try to escape, you'll eventually be pulled back by the backtracking.

Hoshino Utsunomiya had actually considered trying to escape; at least he had thought about it when he was alone with Shiro Nikaido (the witch version).

Even if it backtracks, it's never a bad thing to give it a try.

However, at that time, he found a new goal and stopped trying to escape.

With the path to escaping the island blocked from the very beginning by time travel, the only thing that seemed like a good idea was to spend the rest of their lives in the mansion.

But upon reflection, it becomes clear that this is impossible.

Each year, a new batch of prospective witches are selected. As their transformation into witches increases due to mental stress, they eventually degenerate into inhuman remains.

At least last time, Hannah and Coco had reached a critical point.

If you don't want to see them turn into witches, you can only hope that witches have a conscience.

Or rather, not falling in love with anyone, seeking death whenever someone is about to become a witch, endlessly rewinding and resetting time...

That would be overestimating oneself.

There was a lot that could be explained to Hosho Mag, but Utsunomiya Hoshino thought about it.

No further explanation was given.

All he had to say was that.

"Then I might as well just die."

With a smile, Hoshino Utsunomiya said this.

Chapter 174 I Love You

What a simple way of thinking.

Is there anything else worth considering?

What Hosho Mag is saying is right, and his concerns are very reasonable. Utsunomiya Hoshino had considered that any explanation he could give might be found to be problematic by Hosho Mag.

But, just think of it this way.

No matter what a witch does, even if she kills many people and makes many mistakes.

There is only one thing that Hoshino Utsunomiya needs to do.

—Go to hell.

Then I might as well just die.

Stabbed to death, strangled to death, or bled to death.

Any way of dying is fine, just the literal meaning of death, the "death" that corresponds to the word "life," losing one's life, passing away, the heart stopping beating—in short, death.

Died.

then.

Backtracking.

It's that simple.

Since the witch is so attached to him, Utsunomiya Hoshino, and since the witch can rewind time as long as he dies.

No matter what the witch does, all Utsunomiya Hoshino needs to do is die, right?

Yes, she is actually very, very bad. She will hide all the people she kicks out, and then torture everyone he likes. The flames of jealousy rage with hatred, and she will kill every person he falls for.

But so what?

As long as in the end, as long as after he dies, what can be seen in retrospect is revealed.

They are perfectly fine girls.

Then there's no problem.

...What if the witch gives up on rewinding?

That's a very simple matter.

He just wants to die.

The guy who takes it upon himself to like someone, takes it upon himself to make someone suffer, and takes it upon himself to think he has helped or even saved them.

He deserves to die.

It is irresponsible to try to erase something with one's death.

But, since he's already dead, what can we do?

As for the promises of a certain system...

Don't worry, he'll commit suicide.

That kind of thing is no longer needed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The voice, the words, and the smile on Hoshino Utsunomiya's face.

As soon as those words were spoken, the girls present all clearly felt that the surrounding air suddenly became much heavier.

His voice was calm, his smile was beautiful, but what he said...

very......