The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

This is clearly not a way to die a joyful death.

The moment those two words were uttered, a somber atmosphere began to spread outwards, and a heavy feeling pressed down on one's heart.

hum.

It was like hooking onto a weight, like adding weight to a pole, like hanging sandbags on your feet.

Shirley Tachibana's smile vanished instantly.

Even she could understand the profound meaning behind the words 'hanging'.

The underlying keyword is 'suicide'.

Similar to jumping off a building or lying on train tracks, but perhaps even more serious, suicide is a more desperate act before death.

The first two methods of dying are relatively straightforward; at least in the moment before death, there is probably no pain.

Although it might feel like you're troubling others, it carries a strong sense of transferring your own pain onto others.

But at least it's relatively straightforward.

But hanging is different.

The rope, prepared by hand, was used to suspend the rope upwards.

They built a high stack of seats and climbed up.

The foothold, gently kicked away, hangs suspended upwards.

Finally, in despair, with no way to struggle or resist and certain death looming, they...

Died.

Well...

Choosing this way to die might seem pathetic and infuriating, but in their eyes, it might be the only way to resist and find release.

That......

Is there any need to ask?

What was the reason for choosing to die?

Shirley Tachibana bit her lower lip.

"Is it... bullying?" I couldn't help but ask softly.

Since it's someone Hoshino likes, they're probably around the same age.

The reasons why such a girl would choose to die.

Besides the pressure from family, there's probably only the pressure from school.

If we infer from this, Hoshino's anger might stem from the fact that she chose suicide instead of seeking his help.

The feeling of not being trusted, the feeling of being let down, turned into the curse that came out of my mouth when I thought about it.

“…” Hoshino Utsunomiya fell silent.

Sherry Tachibana is surprisingly perceptive in certain matters.

Or rather, even if it's just random talk, it has a feeling of hitting the truth.

...She's right.

But he had no way to deny it outright.

After all, if we were to take a more serious approach, there might only be one reason that could explain Yuki Tsukishiro's suicide.

'bullying'

The bullying, which wasn't actually bullying, achieved its intended effect at that moment.

So he really does hate bullying.

I also hate myself for actually choosing to do that back then, for even thinking about doing that.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Hoshino Utsunomiya nodded again.

"Ah."

It's bullying.

I did it.

Perhaps because he still couldn't easily understand his own emotions back then, when Utsunomiya Hoshino's memories were awakened and he recalled the past.

They made a wrong judgment quite naturally and arrived at a biased conclusion.

There's nothing we can do about it.

After all, Hoshino Utsunomiya is such a bad person.

“If she hadn’t died…” Tachibana Sherry hesitated for a moment, but still asked, “What would Hoshino have done?”

If she hadn't died, and if she had asked you for help, the past you hoped to return to would have been rewritten.

What will it be?

Even though this might erase the experience of how they met, Tachibana Sherry persisted in asking the question.

Perhaps, in a sense, this question is actually asking a question.

If it weren't for this prison, this mansion, and this island...

It was an ordinary encounter, but what kind of ending will she and Hoshino Utsunomiya have in their relationship?

That's what they're asking.

Even if that woman, whose appearance and personality were unknown, and whose name was unknown, had absolutely no relation to her.

Hoshino Utsunomiya: "I..."

What would I do?

How can I possibly understand my past thoughts now...?

People can never truly understand their past selves, even if the time interval is very short.

Ultimately, humans are such fickle creatures. It's not just about looking back at your childhood self now; even if you look back at your yesterday self today, you'll come to the same conclusion.

That guy is an idiot.

Hoshino Utsunomiya truly felt that she had been an idiot before.

However, if the girl wanted to peek into his original thoughts at this moment...

Hoshino Utsunomiya felt that she could still try to recall how she felt back then from her memories.

"I can......"

"...You want to marry her?"

What came out of his mouth were words that even he himself found somewhat perplexing.

Did I actually think about marriage back then?

He's so young, acting like a complete virgin. He's only slightly nice to himself and a little bit in love, and he's already fantasizing about the future after marriage.

That's quite an imagination.

"Eh???" Distracted by this answer, Tachibana Sherry cried out, "What...what...what does that mean???"

Why did we suddenly jump to the topic of marriage?

So it wasn't a secret crush after all?!

"Wait, wait, what's the relationship between Hoshino and that person???"

She waved her hands repeatedly, trying to ask the question again.

"A couple?!"

Hoshino Utsunomiya shook his head: "It shouldn't be."

His relationship with Yukishiro was somewhat complicated; even looking back now, it would be difficult to call it a romantic relationship.

After all, no one has confessed their feelings to her.

"Then why would you even think about marriage?!" Tachibana Sherry couldn't understand.

Even for Tachibana Sherry, marriage was probably a rather important matter.

So sacred.

At least for young girls, they clearly still harbor dreams of marriage.

“…” Hoshino Utsunomiya sighed, “I also want to know why.”

They weren't in a romantic relationship, yet they couldn't stop having these thoughts.

This cannot be explained away simply by saying he was a virgin.

"How should I put it regarding my relationship with her..."

"It's a bit hard to describe."

It's very difficult to describe.

The relationship was already ambiguous, and after her death, it became even more difficult to define.

“First of all, it should be me who was bullying her unilaterally.” Hoshino Utsunomiya began to try to describe the relationship.

He hadn't thought about this memory in detail for a while, and if he didn't sort it out, he wouldn't be able to explain it clearly himself.

Sherry Tachibana: "...?"

What?

Does Hoshino bully people?

Hoshino does bully people, but it's the kind of bullying where he doesn't care about himself or his own worth.

He's the kind of person you'd really want to punish.

The only time he acted in a way that resembled bullying was towards Arisa...

Is that considered bullying?