The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

So, since the words weren't spoken, let's just pretend they didn't exist.

After all, Hoshino Utsunomiya did indeed harbor considerable resentment towards Yuki Tsukishiro.

The resentment that was originally there has faded considerably with the passage of time and the blurring of the emotional perception of that memory.

But when he tried to recall and recount the story again, he began to feel resentful again.

Well...

The harm caused by unpleasant memories is never just the emotion felt at the moment the event occurred.

More often, it is the emotions that are repeatedly awakened when recalled passively or actively.

One such memory may require several, even dozens, of pleasant memories to offset it.

But if I specifically try to recall it, it still makes me very unhappy.

So...

"So when I saw her die, I couldn't understand it at all."

Hoshino Utsunomiya sighed deeply.

Why is this happening?

Even now, looking back, he can't find a reason for Tsukishiro Yuki to hang herself.

"Without warning, just two days ago I was being held by her at school, breathing heavily, like I was going through withdrawal, and then I received a message from her inviting me to her house."

"She died under the beam."

I'm starting to feel a pang of sadness.

But the girl in his arms was named Tachibana Sherry.

So Hoshino Utsunomiya didn't hug his legs and look like he was about to cry. He just bit his lower lip, picked up Sherry Tachibana, and hugged her even tighter in his arms.

A tangible feeling, a vivid touch, a vibrant heartbeat, and a pleasant aroma.

I'll feel at ease.

It's okay, she's dead. She's been dead for a long time.

I can forget her.

It's all her fault.

She committed suicide without permission.

It was her fault for no reason.

I don't need to be too sad about her death.

—Just find the next one.

Being bound by the dead is the worst thing you can do.

“…” Hoshino Utsunomiya took a deep breath on Sherry Tachibana and continued, “Wandering, wandering.”

"The chair that was kicked over, the body hanging there, swaying slightly, it was a very frightening scene."

"I laughed out of anger, I laughed out of exasperation."

"She died, and died very inexplicably."

"Did she die because of my bullying? Did she die because of my affection? Is it possible that witches are creatures that cannot bear the light, cannot touch love, and see love as deadly poison?"

Many questions remained unanswered, and even recalling this, Hoshino Utsunomiya still couldn't comprehend it.

Whether it's understandable or not is no longer important.

"But anyway, she's dead, and I should forget about her."

Gently releasing the girl in his arms and setting Tachibana Sherry down, Hoshino Utsunomiya stood up.

There was actually a constant sound in his ears.

As he reminisced, a long-lost voice gently rang in his ears.

Whose voice is that?

Well......

Systematic.

[Host, host...]

I'm back...

Although I've never actually been there...

The system, as if cautiously peeking out from behind the door, softly greeted us.

Perhaps because of reminiscing about the past, Utsunomiya Hoshino unexpectedly began to miss that voice, albeit slightly and somewhat unusually.

In my memory, it was this noisy voice that kept giving me bad ideas.

The tricks, like locking the witch in the toilet or stealing the witch's indoor shoes, were all learned from the system.

Even the words he used to reach out to the witch to befriend her were learned from the system.

If it weren't for the fact that the stupid system was indeed becoming increasingly useless, his perception of the system wouldn't actually be that bad.

But what is the purpose of playing dead for so long?

[Because the witch is watching, the host does not need to answer.]

【That's it, sorry meow...】

[It's very, very late! But it's still an apology and an expression of remorse!]

[A detailed apology will come a little later, but a full, full, full bowing ceremony... will also be done, meow...]

It wasn't exactly a sincere apology, and in fact, Hoshino Utsunomiya didn't feel that the system had anything to apologize to him for.

By the way, if I had to say something, the system should apologize for bringing him over without my permission.

However, if the system hadn't brought him here, he wouldn't have met everyone.

He felt he could understand that.

There's nothing unforgivable.

But that's not the point now...

Well, that's what I'm going to talk about now.

Please keep this safe.

What landed silently in Utsunomiya Hoshino's hand was a button that seemed ready to be pressed at any moment.

Utsunomiya Hoshino: "...?"

[Regarding the trigger conditions for 'Death Rewind,' a new 'Rewind' button has been added. Now, the host can press the Rewind button to proactively and in advance reverse time!]

[Additional explanation: It's not about killing the host to rewind time, no, no, no!]

[However, rewinding can only go back to a pre-set, unchangeable point in time, so it's impossible to go back to before arriving on the island. Please understand, host.]

[But the host can press it however they want! Press it all the time! Press it every time they wake up!]

Well, anyway...

Wishing you success, host.

The long-awaited system.

A rare move.

Some of the statements were somewhat ambiguous.

And the button that fell into my hand.

There were many things that Hoshino Utsunomiya didn't understand.

But there was one thing he understood.

If he presses the button, he will probably be able to meet the witch.

Even if the witch didn't want to see him, he seemed to be able to force her to see him by repeatedly rewinding time.

To be frank, the system's reappearance was somewhat unexpected; he had actually given up on it a long time ago.

After all, all they had gone to great lengths to obtain were a magic spell to make flowers bloom and a magic spell to make an iron bucket.

It's hard not to think of the system as a region.

But for some reason, he had a feeling that the arrival of the system was both unexpected and yet perfectly reasonable.

It should do something.

If it does nothing, but instead causes other girls to rewind time due to the murderous impulse of witch-like transformation under potentially increasing mental pressure, and causes the witch to rewind time voluntarily because she can no longer bear it and her own witch-like transformation to deepen because she doesn't want to see the girls become more witch-like, it could cause the witch to rewind time by committing suicide.

Then this broken system really should be buried.

To Utsunomiya Hoshino's surprise, the system didn't provide any magical assistance, but rather this seemingly ordinary button.

Then think back to what it said when it came back.

...Could it have been stolen from a witch?

[Stolen]

Perhaps having guessed Utsunomiya Hoshino's conjecture, the system's answer was quite decisive.

Therefore, it might take a little longer for the host to use it.

Utsunomiya Hoshino: "...?"

That's really impressive.

The master thief has arrived.

"I don't know either..."

It's nothing.

The words that hadn't been spoken yet received a response.