The Witch Trial Begins with the OO Buckethead Zombie

Utsunomiya Hoshino: "...?"

What does it mean?

What does it mean that a situation has arisen? What does it mean that only one person's identity can be confirmed per day?

So I actually ended up in a werewolf game?

And he even got a prophet's badge?

A master prophet, ready to investigate and eliminate on the spot, huh?

I'll beat you to death, you piece of trash system!

Feeling a slight headache, Hoshino Utsunomiya rubbed his head but still didn't utter a curse.

Instead of pointlessly cursing, we should first think about who to investigate.

Actually, this problem isn't hard to solve. It's simply a matter of choosing one of two options. Either way, he won't investigate Emma and Heero. The only people he needs to confirm are the two girls whose names he just learned.

Meru on Ice and Arisa in Wisteria.

Although Meruru's eyes are always filled with tears, she is surprisingly approachable.

Arisa is quite aggressive, but she also has a clear sense of distance.

Either choice is reasonable.

and so.

"Check the ice."

He chose Meruru.

[Received. The results will be available once the host meets with Miss Meluru on Ice again!]

...So you can't scan from a distance, huh?

I laughed in exasperation.

That's it.

The question I most wanted to confirm was answered, and the scan results weren't urgent.

Although someone will die after today, he should have made the most of the remaining 24 hours, but being anxious won't change anything.

Anyway, this house is so big, we'll run into each other again soon.

As he wandered around the corridor, he unknowingly circled back to the entrance.

To the left is the former reception room, and to the right seems to be the exit of this mansion.

...It appears to be unlocked.

So, is there an even bigger cage outside?

"Oh."

Unable to help but chuckle at his own thoughts, Hoshino Utsunomiya shook his head.

Who can say that Earth isn't an even bigger cage?

To him, the whole world was a giant cage.

They didn't care where they were locked up.

Without any intention of opening the door to go out and see what was going on, Hoshino Utsunomiya turned around and headed back towards the reception room without hesitation.

Come to think of it, Emma seemed to have pulled me aside to say something privately.

but.

When Hoshino Utsunomiya reopened the door to the living room, he couldn't find Emma Sakuraba inside.

He only saw the one person left in the reception room: Ice Meluru.

[Witch detected: 'Meru on Ice']

The moment their eyes met, the system's voice rang out.

Witch, confirmed.

......

I've won the lottery!

At this moment, Hoshino Utsunomiya had only one thought in his mind.

Now he really finds Ice Rider Melulu pleasing to the eye no matter how he looks at her.

The gray pupils were pleasing to the eye, the bangs on his forehead were pleasing to the eye, the tears that kept welling up in his eyes were pleasing to the eye, and the expression of wanting to cry but having no tears was very pleasing to the eye.

While a one-in-four chance isn't low, finding your target on the first try is incredibly lucky.

I am indeed destined to meet a witch.

"Hoshino-san...?"

The trembling voice of Ice Melulu echoed inside the room.

Hoshino Utsunomiya resumed his footing after pausing, stepped into the reception room, and casually closed the door again.

"Click".

With a slight sound, the closing door confirmed in their minds a signal called 'being alone together'.

"On the ice..." Hoshino Utsunomiya hesitated for a moment, then smiled, "Can I just call you Meruru?"

There was no need to build rapport before, but now that we've confirmed her identity as a witch.

The task at hand is quite obvious.

I need to find a way to make it seem natural for the other party to kill me.

To create an atmosphere where the other person has absolutely no way to refuse, under the influence of this atmosphere, make a request to her, begging her to kill me, asking her to kill me.

The vague thoughts quickly became clear the moment Meruru spoke on the ice.

The plan took shape in no time.

Although the time spent together was incredibly short, both the trembling voice of Meru on the ice and the constant brimming of tears in her eyes clearly conveyed to others that she was a cowardly child.

Hoshino Utsunomiya wasn't sure if this was the Great Witch's true nature, or if the child the Great Witch was impersonating was just like that, since no one really knew Meluru Ice.

But no matter how you look at it, a bullying tactic that has already failed once is unlikely to succeed again. At most, bullying Meruru now will only make her cry on the spot, but it won't make her take any action.

If Meruru wasn't actually a witch in disguise, there might be concerns about the mental stress exacerbating her witch transformation. But since she's confirmed to be a witch, there's no need to worry about that.

Anyway, she was going to kill randomly anyway. As long as I can get her to focus her attention on me, and as long as I'm the only one left for her to kill randomly, that's fine.

"Hey, hey, hey, Coco, that's fine, as long as you don't mind that I called you Hoshino without my permission..."

Startled by being called by her first name, Meruru seemed to shed a few tears, which welled up in her eyes. She shrank back and looked around nervously.

"That's good." Hoshino Utsunomiya nodded gently and began to walk around the reception room.

Previously, I was preoccupied with the situation of the guards and the owl, and later I was in a hurry to check with the system about the witch's situation, so I didn't observe carefully.

Now, looking at it from different angles, you can really feel it.

This reception room was indeed more eerie than I had imagined.

Chandeliers, decor, a burning fireplace, and high-tech screens create an atmosphere that's not as oppressive as a basement cell, but it's not far off either.

Most importantly, a huge crossbow was hanging on the wall.

The murder weapon was visible to the naked eye; its metallic texture and cold crossbow made it an object that should have immediately attracted attention and been used as a murder weapon.

But probably no one would use this thing to kill someone.

Don't witches all have magic? That stuff is so much more useful.

He paced back and forth in the reception room, his footsteps lightly treading on the plush carpet on the floor, making a soft, muffled sound.

As if applying pressure, drawing Meruru's gaze around the room, Utsunomiya Hoshino broke the silence and suddenly spoke:

"Have you understood the situation?"

He was referring to the rules that the owl had just explained.

The most difficult and crucial point in his carefully crafted plan was...

As expected, it's still about striking up conversations.

Hoshino Utsunomiya had no experience in striking up conversations; her only two experiences in actively making friends were simply reaching out her hand to send a friend request.

If it passes, it passes; if it doesn't pass, it doesn't pass.

However, to achieve the atmosphere he desired, a relationship of strangers forced into a cage upon first meeting was not enough.

Let's find a topic first, then an excuse.

The most suitable topic is none other than the situation the owl just mentioned.

Although it seems a bit awkward to talk about this kind of thing with the mastermind behind it all, it doesn't matter, since she still has to act anyway.

Since she's going to act, she definitely has to take on this topic.

"......should?"

Are there any suspects?

"Mmm."

Melulu on the ice shook her head repeatedly.

"What a coincidence, I don't have any either."

"..."

"Today, one person will be killed by the Great Witch."

"......Um."

Hoshino Utsunomiya stopped some distance away from Meruru and leaned against a chair.

Asking the Great Witch who she suspected the Great Witch was impersonating, and saying such obvious nonsense, Utsunomiya Hoshino felt that she was a little bit bad at speaking.

No, it seems like I can't get to the topic I want to talk about, no matter how long I try.