The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

It's not clear yet what issues can't be resolved once things are explained.

If Milia had told him sooner that she actually liked him, she might have fallen in love with him long ago.

"Eh, that's a really wicked owl." Tachibana Sherry looked surprised, then quickly remembered what Utsunomiya Hoshino had said on the first day:

"Is that the owl who calls himself the warden?"

An owl who calls himself the warden, preparing the remains of the witch's end.

"Yes."

Sherry Tachibana showed an understanding expression: "I see."

A monster who doesn't understand human nature...

Wow, that actually seems quite fitting.

But being called a monster must be very upsetting, right?

"Waaah..." Should I cry a little more?

But why bring this up all of a sudden?

Oh, right.

Is Hoshino trying to fall in love with me, but because of my inhuman nature, he can't easily fall in love with me?

So, do I need to admit that I am a human being, or do I need to admit that I am not a human being?

"Does Hoshino like non-human things?" Tachibana Sherry asked casually.

Let's ask first, then we'll decide.

However, for some reason, the moment such a question was asked...

Hoshino Utsunomiya was clearly taken aback.

"..."

Is it something inhuman?

If I had to say, wouldn't witches be considered non-human beings?

It definitely counts.

There's no need to force a definition. Witches are inhuman, remains are inhuman, and owls are inhuman.

I already find it hard to understand inhuman witches, and I am well aware that witches are incomprehensible non-human beings.

If we're going to discuss this from that perspective...

He definitely 'dislikes' non-human things.

But now that things have come to this point, Hoshino Utsunomiya has started to want to reconcile with the witch.

Ultimately, he had no real grudge against the witch.

I've also gone through two time travels and missed seeing Hero and Emma...

Hmm... I have a feeling you're thinking about other girls.

Shirley pouted.

A touch of jealousy and possessiveness creates a girlish charm.

"But what's the answer?"

Then, curiosity arose again from further questioning.

“…I don’t know.” Hoshino Utsunomiya gave a seemingly perfunctory answer, saying quietly, “I can only say that I don’t know.”

Best answer: I don't know.

"Perfunctory!" Shirley Tachibana rebuked loudly.

"It's Sherry who's being perfunctory, isn't it?" Accused, Hoshino Utsunomiya finally looked directly at Sherry Tachibana. He took a few steps and approached Sherry Tachibana, who was holding a chair.

He bent his knees slightly, lowered his body, and reached out his hands to cup the girl's cheeks.

A thumb gently strokes the cute little face.

"Sherry was deliberately avoiding the question, trying to confirm my attitude, and pressing me for my thoughts."

Although it looks like a yandere pose, unfortunately, Hoshino Utsunomiya doesn't have that kind of overly strong possessiveness.

Sherry Tachibana: "......"

"Hey, you've been found out." Tachibana Sherry gently pushed away Utsunomiya Hoshino's hand and chuckled twice. "Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it."

"After all, if I don't know Hoshino's preferences, wouldn't it be even harder for Hoshino to like me if I said something wrong?"

With her hands folded and resting on the back of the chair, the girl rested her head on her arms, using them as a pillow.

“But if all you want to hear are the lies you want to hear, it’s hard to truly like someone.” Hoshino Utsunomiya remained standing in front of the girl, resting his hands on either side of the backrest.

It was a bit unexpected that the hands that were cupping her face were pushed away, but the words being spoken now seemed to be just right to steer the conversation in that direction.

This is the appropriate way to start a conversation.

“Sherry must have had those too,” Hoshino Utsunomiya said. “The pain of her family of origin, the trauma of her childhood and all that.”

To be honest, these things are kind of standard equipment for aspiring witches.

Hoshino Utsunomiya even began to suspect that the reason the witch allowed him to fall in love with each of them was not out of frustration and despair, but because she wanted him to save them.

Although she felt that her ability to save the girls was inherently arrogant, after thinking about the results so far, Hoshino Utsunomiya decided that if she was arrogant, so be it.

What if the witch really thinks that way? Just what if?

In short, at this moment, Tachibana Sherry was slightly evasive and seemed hesitant to speak.

Hoshino Utsunomiya reasonably suspected that the girl might have some kind of past trauma.

"Yes, I do." Tachibana Sherry nodded readily. "Hoshino wants to hear it?"

If someone asks that question, it's because they want to hear it.

Um... I don't really want to say it, but if I say it's to make him like me...

but......

“I’ve heard that saying before, Sherry.” With a slight upturn of her lips and a hint of allure in her smile, Tachibana Sherry said, “Is it that one? You’re going to add ‘I want to fuck you’ after that, right?”

"When I, Shirley, was recalling the pain of the past, shrouded in the shadows of history, and crying with tears streaming down my face, you were by my side, listening to my outpouring, comforting me, advising me, soothing me, and finally taking advantage of my vulnerability!"

As she was speaking, Tachibana Sherry suddenly sat up straight and then extended her index finger.

“That’s a great idea, Sherry, I’ll go along with it.”

She nodded repeatedly, then shook her head wistfully: "But I can't guarantee whether it will work."

“After all, Sherry…” She paused slightly, brushing a strand of hair that had fallen across her face behind her ear, revealing her small ear: “I’m a little different from normal people.”

"Please be mentally prepared."

Tachibana Sherry is about to recount her past.

"it is good."

Hoshino Utsunomiya pulled over a chair and sat opposite the girl. The backs of the two chairs faced each other, and both of them straddled the chairs, their arms reaching out to hug the backs of the chairs around their waists.

With a creak, Shirley Tachibana rocked her chair again.

Let me recall briefly.

"Shirley, I'm an orphan who grew up in a welfare institution."

His expression wasn't sad, nor did it show any indifference.

Tachibana Sherry did not show any sadness about her orphan birth.

He simply propped himself up with his hands, using the backs of his hands to support his cheeks, his gaze drifting off to who knows where.

"The adults there are so wicked."

"Perhaps it's because they don't like children? Or perhaps they feel that orphans are helpless and alone, or maybe they are under a lot of pressure in their own lives, are in a bad mood, and hate children crying or something like that."

The reasons she listed were not reasons she knew, but rather guesses she made afterward when trying to think about 'why'.

"They're hitting the kids!" Shirley Tachibana clenched her fists. "Punching! Kicking! Slapping!"

They even hit children!

"It hurts so much when you hit me, I feel like crying so badly."

Despite saying this, Tachibana Sherry didn't feel any urge to cry from the memories.

"But crying makes it easier to get beaten. Not wanting to be beaten only makes you get beaten. Beaten, beaten, beaten, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

"I dare not cry, I cannot cry, but as for who I can ask for help... there is no one." Tachibana Sherry shook her head: "After all, it's the adults who hit the children."

"What should I do? I can only adapt to it, right? Tell myself it doesn't hurt, tell myself there's nothing to cry about, and don't dwell on this pain."

"You can become numb, it's like you've already become numb."

My heart became numb, my emotions began to wane, and the emptiness began to spread.

The initial cracks and tiny holes began to erode outwards from this moment on, gnawing at the beating heart in his chest.

Even if the heart still retains its beating shell, how hollow it will be inside, gnawed away...

Even Tachibana Sherry herself didn't know.

“But I’m still afraid of pain.” Tachibana Sherry’s tone shifted as she raised her hand and tugged at her cheek: “It hurts.”

"I don't like the feeling of pain, I hate pain, I'm afraid of pain."

"Please stop hitting me, please stop hitting me."

"If you hit me again..."

"I just wanted to rebel."

Slight pain lingered on her pulled-up cheek as Tachibana Sherry released her grip, and her supple, pretty face returned to normal, though a faint red mark remained.

“I rebelled,” Shirley Tachibana said.

With a casual gesture, Tachibana Sherry raised her fist.