The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

A universal phrase, an all-powerful spell.

Suppressing the slight itch in his heart, Hoshino Utsunomiya sat down again.

Body temperature was clearly felt on the upper thighs.

Just as the air seemed about to fall into another brief silence, the system quietly posted the options again.

Let's talk about family.

Let's chat about friends.

Let's talk about love.

Let's talk about bullying.

Let's talk about our interests.

Utsunomiya Hoshino had a strange feeling that he had actually started playing with the corner of the wood.

The feeling of not having to think about what to say, with the option dialog box guiding you, is surprisingly... not bad?

If we don't talk about family, my friends feel like they'll steer the conversation towards the other two children, and if we divert the witch's attention back to them, it won't be good for them.

We didn't talk.

We don't talk about romance.

Talking about bullying can feel quite complicated.

Then...

"What are your hobbies when it's snowing?"

“Hmm…” Tsukishiro Yuki hesitated for a moment, swallowed the unspeakable special skill, tilted her body a little more towards Utsunomiya Hoshino’s side, and said, “Count.”

“Count the things in front of you: the dust in the room, the texture of the tatami mats, the lines of ants, and so on.”

Count your hair, eyebrows, number of breaths, and frequency of facial expression changes.

The witch's hair fell down from her forehead and coiled up on Utsunomiya Hoshino's thigh.

She tilted her head and turned to the side, letting the already somewhat ambiguous atmosphere become even more ambiguous.

"What about you?"

"...Me?" Sensing the strangely subtle atmosphere, Hoshino Utsunomiya looked up: "I don't know."

It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, but he simply couldn't think of anything interesting to answer at the moment.

If I had to name my greatest interest in the past, it would be saving money. I would save a meager amount of money and watch my savings grow little by little.

Unfortunately, he no longer needs to save money.

"..." Tsukishiro Yuki sighed softly, "You made me tell you, but you just brushed me off like this."

"Isn't this what you should be doing? It's what you used to love most, what you did every day."

— Bullying.

If these two people are to start talking about something, no matter how unwilling they are, no matter how much Hoshino Utsunomiya tries to avoid it.

As expected, this was the only topic that couldn't be avoided.

"..."

Hoshino Utsunomiya felt a lump in her throat for a moment.

He knew.

What has been done cannot be easily erased. Even though he tried his best to act as if nothing had happened after Yuki Tsukishiro took his outstretched hand, what was bound to happen still happened.

This is not something that can be easily dismissed with a simple statement like "Tsukishiro Yuki herself doesn't care"—a statement he once used to deal with Emma.

The witch may not care, but he cannot be indifferent.

This is 'original sin'.

If I had to describe it, it would be...

'Original Sin: The Suicidal Bully'

He knew better than anyone that this was wrong, and from that initial glance, he was more furious than anyone else.

'But he still chose bullying as his means of suicide.'

...Hoshino Utsunomiya felt that she had chosen the wrong option.

Even though they chose to talk about interests instead of bullying, the topic and the atmosphere still shifted in such a subtle direction.

"sorry."

He shouldn't have apologized.

"Don't say sorry."

She doesn't need this apology.

“You should say it.” Tsukishiro Yuki reached out and took Utsunomiya Hoshino’s hand, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, with a smile on her face:

"—'I will make it up to you.'"

Chapter 43 If We're Friends

A cool little hand grabbed Hoshino Utsunomiya's hand that was placed to the side, and her slender fingers slipped between his fingers, forcing his fingers to spread open, so that he had no choice but to intertwine his fingers with the witch's.

Hoshino Utsunomiya wanted to back down.

However, the current atmosphere seems to leave him no room to defy Yuki.

He seemed to be heading towards a situation where he would have no choice but to say those words, just like Yukishiro had suggested.

He should say it.

If you replaced Tsukishiro Yuki with any normal woman, the first thing she should say is an apology, and the first thing she should do is beg for forgiveness.

But it's because the other party is Yuki Tsukishiro, a witch.

That was also the last thing he should have said.

Admitting a mistake defines past behavior and also defines the relationship between two people.

This is the least favorable outcome for eventual betrayal.

...Sigh, I suddenly really want to hug Yuki's leg and cry, "Please, witch, kill me!"

Although it's incredibly shameful, there might actually be a chance of success.

But it's just too embarrassing.

Moreover, it would also cut off any possibility of subsequent actions.

If you're really treated like a clown, then you're doomed.

Who would actually want to kill a comedic character?

But if he didn't say these things, Hoshino Utsunomiya really wouldn't know what to say in this atmosphere.

"I--"

"—We're friends." Yuki Tsukishiro interrupted Hoshino Utsunomiya just before he could speak, saying what he wouldn't actually say: "So, this was just a joke."

This was probably the first time she had used a joke to forcefully end what she had just said.

Anything she had said or done before, even if it seemed like a joke, would be done without hesitation if Utsunomiya Hoshino agreed.

They moved closer, pressed closer, and pressed on relentlessly.

Humans are creatures that love to talk a lot, and one of the characteristics that Yuki Tsukishiro dislikes most about humans is their love of empty talk.

They try to show off and flaunt their power through words, and like to make promises that are absolutely impossible to keep in order to prove how sincere they are.

She, Tsukishiro Yuki, is different.

If they say they want to exterminate humanity, they will act to do so!

So, she was actually serious just now.

He deliberately brought up the topic, seized the opportunity to press and intimidate, and intentionally steered the atmosphere in the direction he wanted, making him feel as if he could say nothing but the words he wanted to hear.

But in the end, she brushed it off with a joke.

It wasn't because she suddenly became afraid, nor was it because her left brain was attacking her right brain and trying to withdraw something.

She just tried to think about it for a moment.

If you force him to admit that he was wrong for bullying and make him start to atone for it...

Does that mean we can't see the most fun side of 'Utsunomiya Hoshino' at all?

Sometimes, some things...

A certain degree of compliance is a good thing, but complete compliance becomes a bad thing.

This is one of the reasons why Yukishiro almost never uses the magic of 'mild brainwashing'.

Just like single-player games, moderate cheating can improve the experience, while excessive cheating can destroy it.

The most amusing thing is that he clearly knows he's wrong, but he pretends nothing happened and still subtly shows a tendency to compromise in the smallest details!

You just don't understand.

The conversation was interrupted by a joke, and the atmosphere ended with a joke.

But for the two who seemed to have only just sat down, it was clearly not going to end there so easily.

There's still plenty of time today.

Even if they remain silent for a while, there is still a long way to go before it gets dark enough that they can say things like "It's late, you should go home" or "I should take you home."

Should we continue with the initial "casual chat," or should we start a new activity and choose other options?

It seems to be a problem for both Hoshino Utsunomiya and Yuki Tsukishiro.

However, for Hoshino Utsunomiya, there seems to be an even more important problem at the moment.

"...Shouldn't we let go of his hand now?"

His hand was still being held by Yuki.