The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

Hoshino Utsunomiya felt that she should calm down.

However, just as he was about to push Emma away, or wait for Emma to react and get up on her own, just as Utsunomiya Hoshino was having such a plan.

The other two, who were just as bewildered as Hoshino Utsunomiya because of Emma's abrupt action, each made their own reactions.

Nikaido Hiro, who should have spoken out to refute these incorrect words and coldly rebuke them, gripped her left hand tightly. Emma seemed to be completely invisible to her; she was just staring intently at Utsunomiya Hoshino.

Then, he fell silent.

Hero remained silent, but some others could not remain silent.

"Ugh, being locked up with your partner is awful, isn't it disgusting!"

As soon as she stepped out of the room, the gray-haired girl, her face contorted with rage, looked at the two embracing each other with utter disgust and cursed aloud.

Despite being verbally abused so harshly, Sakura Emma, ​​who had buried her head in Utsunomiya Hoshino's arms, didn't seem to have any intention of letting go of his embrace.

Unfortunately, Hoshino Utsunomiya is clearly not the type to remain unmoved and nonchalantly enjoy the warmth of a girl's body when she is mistaken for a couple hugging and being scolded in public while embracing a 'friend' like this.

After being pointed at and scolded like that, he could no longer consider Emma's feelings. It was time to stop trying to comfort her. A hug to calm her down and settle her fear would be enough.

"I'm sorry, but I'm sorry we're not a couple."

Restraint, distance, and apology.

Pushing Emma away, Hoshino Utsunomiya apologized and clarified the situation.

Without Emma blocking his view, he was finally able to see the other person's face clearly.

Her short, messy gray hair, the cross-shaped hair clip resembling a dagger, her bright, scarlet eyes, and the faint red and black eye bags were all visible.

The girl was wearing a mask, a black mask that covered half of her face.

A dirty black hood, so irregular it seemed to dissolve, covered her small head, highlighting the bright red dyed beneath her gray hair.

The gaze moves downwards, where glaring bandages, collars, and chains extend from the collarbone down to the armpit.

The outermost layer was likely a cloak, but considering the girl's hood, it somewhat resembled a bloodstained nun's habit from who-knows-where—a black outer layer and a red lining...

The style of the long dress is even more indescribable. It still has a red and black color scheme, but it is covered with thorny white stitching. When paired with the cloak, it looks like a nun from who-knows-where.

Two small weighted iron balls were wrapped around his ankles, and multiple iron rings resembling barbell plates were wrapped around his wrists.

Full of non-everyday themes.

Fortunately, Hoshino Utsunomiya did not find any inappropriate tattoos on the girl's body; the crisscross pattern on her body was simply drawn with a ballpoint pen.

So, is she a good girl...?

Her tone was a bit aggressive, and with a mask on, she looked a bit like a delinquent.

The sweeping gaze quickly returned to its original focus. Utsunomiya Hoshino's apology had clearly not been well received; her brows furrowed slightly, the girl said with even more disgust:

"It's even more disgusting when people who aren't a couple are hugging and cuddling together."

The atmosphere shifted again toward estrangement.

Just when Hoshino Utsunomiya thought it would be just the four of them, the last person arrived late and pushed open the door.

"No, let's not fight..."

She straightened her back for a moment, then hunched over again, and in stark contrast to the delinquent girl from before, she stepped forward as a nun, a figure of healing and dominance, to prevent the atmosphere from escalating.

"No, no, let's go to the reception room first... Isn't the warden waiting for us there?"

As she spoke, she glanced up at the guards behind Hoshino Utsunomiya, seemingly unintentionally.

So, quite at the perfect moment, the guard gently tapped the ground with the handle of his huge scythe.

The crisp sound represents a warning of urgency.

The gray-haired girl fell silent, and Hoshino Utsunomiya had no intention of arguing with her.

The immediate priority is to figure out the current situation: the cells, the warden, the guards, and the fellow inmates who seem to be all women.

If he disobeyed and was killed by the guards instead of dying at the hands of the witch, he really wouldn't know who to complain to.

Seeing that no one else seemed to be opening the door and coming out from behind, Hoshino Utsunomiya didn't say anything and turned around to follow the guard.

Emma Sakuraba, who had been pushed aside, tiptoed and moved quickly toward Hoshino Utsunomiya's side with noticeably lighter steps, trying to catch up with him.

But the next moment.

The white-clad nun then squeezed between the two, becoming an insurmountable barrier between Hoshino Utsunomiya and Emma Sakuraba.

"If you two aren't a couple, it would be best to keep some distance..." she said softly, offering kind words. "After all, that lady just said that, so we'd better not go too far..."

Hoshino Utsunomiya thought he was right and had no intention of objecting.

So the guard walked in front, the three walked in the middle, and Nikaido Hiro and the gray-haired girl were at the very back of the group.

Walk through the corridor and climb the stairs.

The dimly lit corridor suddenly felt much more spacious.

Hoshino Utsunomiya discovers that their cell seems to be underground.

The magnificent yet outdated Western-style mansion seems to be the main theme of this building.

Is the basement a prison and the ground floor a Western-style mansion?

What medieval style?

Soon, they pushed open the heavy door and arrived at their destination.

The meeting room mentioned by the warden.

The large, dimly lit room was illuminated only by a few candles and a giant chandelier in the center, with the most eye-catching light coming from the screen in the very center.

It's lit up, quite brightly.

When Nikaido Hiro, who was at the very back, also entered the hall, the hall door creaked shut.

There was no clicking sound of the lock, presumably just to indicate that everyone had arrived.

Before their arrival, no other inmates had arrived in the room.

In other words, there really were only five of them.

Even half of them were acquaintances.

"..."

Gathered, waiting.

Although they had gathered here following the warden's instructions, none of the five present seemed inclined to speak up before the warden even appeared.

Needless to say, Hiro has been in that state since just now, making Hoshino Utsunomiya wonder if she also needs a hug to soothe her emotions and calm her mind.

Unfortunately, his relationship with Hiro wasn't much better, so there was no reason for him to hug her or do anything unnecessary.

Ultimately, Emma was already superfluous.

If it weren't for the fact that he seemed to have actually fallen for the witch Yukishiro back then, and had even considered staying.

There's no way he could become friends with Emma.

Doing things that involve connections with other people will ultimately become shackles that constantly bind you.

If you can't stand it, you can reach out and help.

But they won't become friends.

'There's no need to waste too much energy on people who aren't witches.'

That's what the system says too.

However, her friendship with Emma has become a fait accompli, and it seems that she is gradually becoming more dependent on herself.

She should still have Hero as a friend.

...I need to find a way to get her back to Shiro, otherwise I won't be able to die cleanly.

In short, Hiro probably won't speak, and Hoshino Utsunomiya doesn't seem to have any intention of talking to anyone else.

All he had to do was wait for the warden to appear and clarify the current situation.

As for developing unnecessary interpersonal relationships, that is secondary.

Unless everyone present is a witch, there is no need to interact with them.

As for Emma...

She seemed eager to come closer and whisper something to him, but unfortunately, the nun with pale blonde hair had been blocking her way since earlier, and looked like she was about to bar her fangs and bite him.

If the gray-haired delinquent hadn't interrupted her with that romantic remark earlier, she probably would have had to find a way to get around to the other side instead of being so easily stopped by the white-haired nun.

The gray-haired delinquent girl simply watched everything unfold before her with cold eyes, remaining silent.

So, although it's quite helpless, who can break the current silence?

She's the only one left.

"Well, um... although I don't know the situation, I think we should all introduce ourselves first..." the blonde nun said timidly. "I, I'll go first."

"My name is, Ice Maiden..."

she says.

As soon as she finished speaking, and everyone's attention was focused on her, Hoshino Utsunomiya finally had a chance to take a closer look at the blonde nun.

Slightly graying golden-white hair with a subtle gradient color, beneath the obvious bob hairstyle, is silky long hair draped with a white wig.

Cross headdresses of varying sizes were sewn onto one side of the headscarf. Although this would probably cause the headscarf to keep tilting and slipping to one side, and the center of gravity of the head to shift, it seemed to be of little concern to her.

The girl had gray eyes, and for some reason, those eyes always gave the impression of being filled with tears, often carrying a sorrowful air.

Perhaps she's very good at crying.

The pure white gloves, the layered white cake dress, and the extremely gorgeous dress made Hoshino Utsunomiya almost hallucinate that of a wicked woman who had committed suicide.

Fortunately, the two dresses are not very similar.

The only thing they had in common was probably their white pantyhose.

Meruru's shoes on the ice are white flats, a stark contrast to Yuki's thick black leather shoes.

Leather shoes are obviously stuffy, while flat shoes are relatively better.