The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

"...Eh?" Tsukishiro Yuki's lips parted slightly, and the witch immediately looked puzzled. "Why?"

Why, why, why?!

Isn't the atmosphere great right now? Isn't the feeling wonderful right now?

We held hands, pressed our bodies together, ate a couple's meal, played feeding games, sucked each other's fingers, and I even bought you clothes.

Now you're telling me it's getting late and we should meet again tomorrow?

It's already late! You said the same thing when we were at your house last time!

“Yeah, that’s right. I still think…” Hoshino Utsunomiya looked away, “It’s important to maintain a certain level of ‘distance’ between friends.”

There is a unique distance between strangers and friends, but there is another distance between friends and lovers.

If this boundary is crossed.

Then we'll have to come clean.

Tsukishiro Yuki: "......"

'What friends should do'

When Hoshino Utsunomiya uttered that word, even with all the resentment and dissatisfaction in her heart, Yuki Tsukishiro could only swallow it all.

She understood why Hoshino Utsunomiya had suddenly and unusually called off the date.

...She pushed the pace too fast.

With limited time and a fast pace, the excuse that these are things friends would do together is no longer enough to fool people.

So, what about 'mild brainwashing'?

...That won't work either. Mild brainwashing isn't true hypnosis; it requires a trigger where the other person has a tendency to agree with it.

Using it now would obviously not be accepted.

"Okay." After a moment's thought, Tsukishiro Yuki quickly suppressed her anxious dissatisfaction.

We must not be anxious, impatient, or hasty.

But going back without doing anything wasn't her style.

“Then let’s go back together,” she said.

We came together, so we should go back together too.

Holding hands, body to body.

Yuki Tsukishiro reached out her hand again, wanting to take Hoshino Utsunomiya's hand once more.

But she couldn't pull it.

"You should go back first," he said, avoiding Yuki's hand. "I'll rest for a while before I leave."

Yuki Tsukishiro's outstretched hand remained suspended in mid-air.

Her fingertips were only a few centimeters from the back of his hand, but those few centimeters were a distance that was impossible to grasp.

This is his safe distance.

“Hmm…” Tsukishiro Yuki pursed her lips.

If I say I want to wait here until he's rested before we leave together, will he agree?

No, let's not push too hard.

“…Hmm.” After hesitating for a moment, Tsukishiro Yuki nodded gently. “Then, I’m leaving.”

There was no attempt to persuade them to stay, no voices pleading for their return.

The witch turned around.

They walked away in the direction they had left.

Watching Yuki Tsukishiro disappear, Hoshino Utsunomiya finally let out a long sigh of relief.

The emotions are complicated, and the feelings are tangled.

On one side is an irreparable mistake, and on the other is a sudden realization of one's true feelings.

If one could simply acknowledge these feelings, naturally enjoy this ambiguous atmosphere, and accept all intimate actions with the witch as a matter of course.

He would have chosen to pursue the enemy from the very beginning.

Although Hoshino Utsunomiya doesn't think she has any special skills in winning people over, if she really likes someone, she should make an effort, shouldn't she?

but.

The problem is coming.

Moonlit Snow.

Miss Witch, are you being sincere?

The photos he unearthed from his memory were all the Tsukishiro Yuki he had seen to this day.

At first, the quiet and smiling victim, and then the girl who always turned the tables and completely ruined his bullying plans with unexpected actions, finally shook hands and naturally became his friend.

For the first time, she revealed a smile full of lively emotion.

The joking words, the playful gestures, the fleeting glance back, and the ambiguous atmosphere that permeated the air.

I have fallen into the witch's trap.

Will they be bound to death by a rope around their neck, or will they get what they want?

—It all depends on the witch's choice.

Chapter 50 Finding a Stray Dog

Hoshino Utsunomiya quickly composed herself.

Ultimately, there's nothing to hesitate about.

The desire to go back is real, and the feeling of being moved is real too.

If you can't win a witch's heart, then you might as well let the witch strangle you to death.

Either way, I got what I wanted.

So there's nothing to hesitate about.

The reason he urged Yukishiro to leave was because Hoshino Utsunomiya knew very well that the fact that the witch was right next to him would seriously affect his thoughts.

Once you realize you've started to care, you'll naturally care even more.

However... if that's the case...

"Waaah, waaah..."

My thoughts were interrupted by a faint sob that could be clearly heard amidst the surrounding noise.

The crying sounded somewhat familiar, but it didn't seem that familiar either.

Unable to quickly regain his composure after being interrupted, Hoshino Utsunomiya decided to go over and see what was going on.

The people crying on the side of the shopping street are either women who have been dumped or men who have been abandoned.

Normally, Hoshino Utsunomiya would never join in this fun.

Others' joys and sorrows have never been his concern.

But today is an exception.

It was this exception that allowed him to see the person squatting next to the trash can, hugging their legs, burying their head, and sobbing softly like an abandoned stray dog.

A girl with pink highlights.

Sakura Emma.

"..."

Stray dogs mostly share one characteristic.

They all had owners, and they all experienced love.

After acquiring something once possessed, one mistakenly believes that such a life will continue forever.

Lost, gone, abandoned, stolen...

Unexpected events always come before tomorrow.

The cold reality will turn around and pour ice water over their heads in the next moment.

Having once received love, and then lost it, feeling the coldness, I reminisce about the love I once felt, while simultaneously hoping that I will regain it in the next moment.

Imagine, if someone were to reach out their hand at this moment.

It may behave much more obediently, clingily, and understandingly than before.

Or perhaps, because they hate themselves for losing this love, they will act much more fiercely, warily, and hostilely than before.

I've heard this is called the abandoned cat effect.

The cat was abandoned, the dog was mentioned, but ultimately it was what was in front of Hoshino Utsunomiya at this moment.

are people.

So he thought, whatever the reason why Emma Sakuraba chose to cry here.

He should have reached out his hand.

With a soft sigh, Hoshino Utsunomiya squatted down.

"Are you alright?"

He asked softly.

Hoshino Utsunomiya did not take it upon herself to touch Emma Sakuraba's little head, even though the little pink puppy curled up with only its head showing was very tempting to rub its head.

However, this level of physical contact clearly exceeds the boundaries of the two relationships.

Ultimately, to him, Emma Sakuraba was nothing more than a 'witch's friend'.

He had no intention of patting her head, but Emma Sakura was different.

Hearing the seemingly hallucinatory sounds around her, Emma Sakura suddenly raised her head. The tear stains at the corners of her eyes hadn't been wiped away yet, and her expression was still blank. She was dazed and confused, her eyes blurry.