The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

I got a clear look at Hoshino Utsunomiya's face.

In an instant, their identities were switched in their fantasies. The one who was actually squatting on the ground crying and being abandoned was not Utsunomiya Hoshino, but Sakura Emma.

And now.

Kind-hearted Hoshino.

Good boy Hoshino.

The pure Hoshino.

He reached out his hand to her.

—But I didn’t pat his head.

For some unknown reason, the first thing Emma Sakura uttered when she looked up was neither that she was alright nor that she was complaining about something.

"...Aren't you going to pat my head?"

Instead, he stared straight at Hoshino Utsunomiya and asked him this question.

In my imagination, I did pat your head.

Glistening tears, tear tracks on her cheeks, words spoken as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the girl tilted her head back, seeking a touch.

"..."

Hoshino Utsunomiya remained silent.

He knew he couldn't touch her, he knew he shouldn't touch her. Sakura Emma and the like were completely irrelevant. Before this, they had barely spoken.

He had no reason to reach out to Emma Sakura out of kindness.

Even out of a sense of duty, and in the face of his own feelings for the witch, he had no reason to reach out to other girls.

This is different from when they interrupted those people's verbal bullying of Nikaido Hiro.

Reaching out to an abandoned stray puppy at this time could very well result in being harassed.

But even so, even so.

Hoshino Utsunomiya still reached out her hand.

"It's okay, it's alright, you've already done a great job, you've already tried your best."

I don't know what happened, or what she encountered.

They used only the usual comforting words, and spoke only ambiguous words of solace.

A large hand gently stroked the small head, the warmth seeping down the surface. Perhaps it wasn't the warmth of the palm, but just the palm lightly resting on the head was enough to contain the heat spreading outwards.

Emma Sakura felt that this warmth had another name.

It's called peace of mind.

"hey-hey......"

Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter through her tears.

......

Emotions come quickly, go quickly, and resurface just as quickly.

Ultimately, Emma Sakura was almost comforting herself and trying to get back on her feet, even though such self-comfort couldn't cure her emotions, and even though unexpressed emotions would stagnate in her chest and one day, along with new wounds, deliver the final blow.

But she will get back up.

If Hoshino Utsunomiya hadn't appeared at that time.

If the person she had just imagined crouching on the ground crying wasn't Utsunomiya Hoshino.

If what he said didn't match his previous fantasy.

So Emma Sakura will eventually stand up.

But now, she would shamelessly beg him for the touch she lacked, shamelessly beg this very annoying guy who should have been her enemy, who had stolen her only friend.

To express the feelings that have been suppressed in one's heart for a long time.

"...I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand anything." Clutching Utsunomiya Hoshino's clothes and resting her head against his chest, Sakura Emma murmured, "Why did Hiro go to study abroad? I know studying abroad is a good thing, but I just don't understand."

"Why did Xiaoxue fall in love with someone else? I know love is irrational, but I just don't understand it."

"Why am I saying these things here that I don't even understand myself...?"

"I really, completely, absolutely, not even a little bit understand it."

she says.

Chapter 51 The Witch Just Watched

They speak in incomprehensible words, yet they understand more deeply than anyone else.

It's Emma Sakura.

They hear the words clearly, but deep down they understand them better than anyone else.

It's Hoshino Utsunomiya.

"I hate someone."

"I don't want to eat alone anymore."

I want friends.

"Hiro is gone, and Xiaoxue is the last friend I have left."

"Please, please stop taking my friends away."

Sentences came out in a jumbled mess, and even Emma Sakura herself didn't know what she was saying. Scattered thoughts accompanied her words, as if she were just saying whatever came to mind, as she poured out the broken thoughts in her heart.

At last.

After hesitating for a moment, I knew it was probably not possible.

But Emma Sakura still said those words.

"Can you be my friend?" She finally raised her head, which had been lowered. "Consider it compensation for you taking away my only friend."

Because she's afraid of being disliked, Emma Sakura sometimes deliberately acts like a failure in front of others, intentionally letting them see her in a defeated state.

A clumsy girl, an awkward girl, but a girl who loves you with all her heart.

Do you feel a strong protective instinct?

Will you become my friend?

“…” Hoshino Utsunomiya fell silent once again.

He just looked at Emma, ​​at Sakura Emma's pretty face, at her eyes, at her tearful expression that made her look like a pitiful kitten, and at her slightly hoarse voice that choked for a long time.

Like Nikaido Hiro, Sakuraba Emma is not a witch.

Previously, when she had tried every means to prevent him from seeing Yuki Tsukishiro, and when she seemed to be inclined to take over Nikaido Hiro's job.

Hoshino Utsunomiya had already asked the system.

[Host, host, Miss Sakura Emma isn't a witch, okay? Don't focus your attention on unimportant people, just concentrate on the witch!]

The system's response was almost identical to the one given when Nikaido Hiro was confirmed.

He had no reason to be killed by her, nor did he have any reason to win her over.

The more time I spend with Emma Sakura, the more time I waste.

Not to mention, this is now the time when he has already decided to completely hand over the decision-making power to the witch.

Regardless of which direction the outcome leads, he has no reason to agree to Emma Sakura's request.

He had no obligation to compensate her.

He never actually took her friend away from Emma Sakura.

Yukishiro's reduction of contact with Emma Sakuraba was her own choice. Whether it was the witch's intention or not is another matter. In the end, Hoshino Utsunomiya didn't really take up too much of Yukishiro's time.

Even during the days of bullying, if he failed to succeed in one move, he would immediately and abruptly leave.

If during his long absence, Yuki Tsukishiro still did not continue her relationship with Emma Sakuraba.

Then it's not his problem.

It's either Emma Sakuraba's problem or Yuki Tsukishiro's problem.

Hoshino Utsunomiya thought it was the latter.

Oh my god, how could this witch be so wicked?

...It was precisely because of Emma Sakuraba's behavior at this moment that Hoshino Utsunomiya was able to confront his own feelings directly.

The choice is given to the witch.

Will I, like this child, become dependent on the witch and then be abandoned by her?

“Okay.” So, looking into Emma Sakura’s eyes, Hoshino Utsunomiya softly replied, “But this is not compensation, and friends cannot be made through the mentality of compensation.”

"I just mean... well, it's fine to start as friends."

Start as friends, and stay as friends.

Although Hoshino Utsunomiya seemed to have added a lot, Emma Sakuraba clearly didn't listen much.

All she could hear was that "okay".

"That's great! Please have dinner with me every day from now on!"

she says.

......

Ah, he did reach out to Emma after all.

Leaning against the wall, she withdrew her gaze from the distance, and clasped her arms together with a slight, gentle grip.

She didn't leave.

Of course she didn't leave.

Even if Hoshino told her to go first, even if she walked away on her own initiative.