The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

If I had to convince myself, Xue's usual smile is actually quite silly.

Tangtang, silly, and adorable.

But she was so humble.

She would cry and clutch her clothes, begging herself not to hate her; she would kneel on the ground and wriggle, saying that she was Hiro; she would insist with unwavering determination, "I am Tsukishiro Yuki."

......oh.

If that's the case, then perhaps the last sentence wasn't a lie.

But why would I have such a thought?

How could she be snow?

I.

Hoshino Utsunomiya hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

No, we can't dwell on this issue anymore.

Returning to the previous question, since we've already decided to treat her as Xue during the Q&A session, let's treat her answer as the correct one for now.

The reason why Xue committed suicide.

Because she had planned this all along, she had actually been plotting for a long time and had once intended to abandon the plan, but she picked it up again because of her own mistakes.

Because she distrusts relationships but is hesitant and timid, she implicitly places herself in a subservient position, which is why she wants to test and confirm her feelings through suicide.

In fact, this kind of mentality is common in children.

Children often think about this when they are scolded by their parents or when they are not expected to be.

If I jump off here right now and hurt myself, you'll see how much you'll cry then!

I will study hard and diligently, I will study until I vomit blood, I will study until I end up in the hospital.

You'll realize your mistake once I'm in the hospital!

Tsukishiro Yuki's answer gave Utsunomiya Hoshino that kind of feeling.

The difference is that most children only think about it, or they study hard for a while, then get tired and fall asleep, forgetting everything after waking up.

But Yuki Tsukishiro was very decisive; she turned around and hanged herself.

That......

What else could he say?

I can only blame myself for not confessing my feelings, for not giving her enough security, and for not realizing that her mind was full of such messy thoughts.

It's all her fault for messing around, misunderstanding things on her own, and getting upset on her own. She wouldn't say a word and then hanged herself on the spot.

If only we could make things clear.

If it can be detected.

...But things have already progressed to this point, so there's no need for regrets.

The real problem is...

How did she know?

Hoshino Utsunomiya has accepted the reasons for suicide given by Yuki Tsukishiro.

It's stupid, clumsy, and naive.

But ironically, he could accept this reason.

So, regarding the suicide attempt alone, he made peace with it.

Let's put aside the other manipulators' operations in the prison and the mansion for now; at least for this immediate issue.

Hoshino Utsunomiya chose to reconcile.

However, he has reconciled, but whether Tsukishiro Yuki will reconcile, and whether she can accept his next answer... remains to be seen.

But then it comes down to the issue of Tsukishiro Yuki again.

Well.

Just answer the question.

If she really, really cares about this purpose.

That......

"Actually... how should I put it?" Hoshino Utsunomiya was a little unsure where to begin. She wanted to scratch her head, but her hands were held down by Yuki Tsukishiro.

Feeling his hand move, Yuki hesitated for a long time.

He let go of her hand and got up.

then.

She took Utsunomiya Hoshino's hand and placed it on her thigh.

"Touch, touch your leg, and then speak properly," she whispered.

It's not that she suddenly had a brain fart and wanted to be touched.

However, she would find it hard to bear if she had to hold Hoshino down but couldn't do anything about it.

However, it seems unrealistic to expect Hoshino to take the initiative to do anything for her in this situation.

After thinking for a long time, she remembered something.

Hoshino seems to quite enjoy touching legs.

Based on all the movies I've watched so far, including the one where he played Hero, he would always touch the leg of the girl next to him from time to time during conversations.

Just pressing and touching it casually.

It expresses a certain degree of closeness while also giving people a feeling of being needed.

If it doesn't make you disliked, it's definitely a good approach.

Yuki Tsukishiro wants to restore that sense of closeness.

Even before her suicide, it seems that Hoshino Utsunomiya never actively touched her legs.

“…I won’t touch your legs anymore.” Hoshino Utsunomiya got up, but didn’t pull her hand away. Instead, Yuki Tsukishiro pulled her hand back and placed it on her lap.

"I will explain it properly."

With her free left hand scratching her hair, Hoshino Utsunomiya opened her mouth.

"I am not actually a person of this world."

To be honest, we should start from here.

"It should be possible to find out, right? A sudden transfer to a new school, no family ties, living alone in a house, and almost no savings."

"Before I met Xue, I had no relationships with anyone in this world."

"So, in a sense, I came here specifically for the snow."

This is probably the kind of purpose that witches hate the most.

Impure feelings and approaching someone with ulterior motives lack the sense of destiny and chance, and are tinged with a deliberate calculation.

You could clearly feel the girl's stunned expression through the skin on her hands.

“Someone… well, not really a person.” Hoshino Utsunomiya pondered for a moment, deciding to give up on describing something like 'system'.

This thing is actually a very abstract concept. The fact that he could fully understand the system the moment he heard the term and quickly and decisively get started using it is just because he has read too many novels.

"But it's okay to treat it as a person."

"Someone kidnapped me from my original world and told me that I would receive a reward if I dated a witch."

Yuki's breathing stopped.

The words she least wanted to hear, the worst-case scenario, actually happened.

The master's mission has begun.

Tears welled up in her eyes once again, and a lump formed in her throat.

The first time I've been interested in someone, the first time I've liked someone, the first time I've gone through all sorts of trouble for this person.

Is this really the result?

Waaaaah—

Humans are good and bad, humans are so hateful, humans deserve to be destroyed!

She pressed her lips together tightly, sucking them in, and with her right hand, she gripped the hem of her skirt so tightly that it taut.

She was about to cry.

But then I suddenly realized that there were contradictions in Utsunomiya Hoshino's words.

Wasn't it supposed to be about you dating me?

Why do you want me to kill you?

Isn't this a contradiction?

Yuki Tsukishiro forcefully suppressed the urge to cry and turned her head to stare longingly at Hoshino Utsunomiya.

Hoshino Utsunomiya didn't seem to care and continued speaking softly.

"However, considering that dating might be too difficult for me, or rather, it's quite unfair to just drag me into this without asking my opinion."

"That guy also made me a promise."

"If I accidentally die at the hands of the witch along the way, it will take responsibility and send me back exactly as I was."

The contradiction disappeared, and the answer was revealed.

It's still a mission.

...It still sounds like there was a purpose behind the contact.

But for some reason, perhaps anticipating the worst possible outcome, Yuki Tsukishiro had a strange feeling.

If Hoshino wasn't following someone else's instructions and came here with the intention of dating me...