novelraw Chapter 9 : Chapter 9
Chapter 9 : Chapter 9
Chapter 09: You’re Supposed to Put Witches on Trial—Why Are You Putting Me on Trial?!
The distance from the cell to the courtroom was much shorter than expected. Chang Rong had just gotten his phone back and had not even had time to cram by consulting the YUKI Romance System when the two of them had already arrived at the corridor outside the courtroom.
It looked like the “sewing-machine duo” were the last to arrive. The other girls had already gathered in front of the heavy doors, each wearing a grave expression, their thoughts clearly all over the place.
“So this is the courtroom door? Feels like even I would need at least seven or eight punches to break it open. Amazing~”
Of course, as always, the only one who seemed completely out of place was the blue-haired girl holding a magnifying glass—Ju Xueli, the self-proclaimed detective. She looked less like someone about to attend a trial and more like a child who had just entered an amusement park and found everything fascinating.
“Hiro-chan, Chang Rong-kun! I’m so glad you’re both okay...!”
Emma Sakura rushed over the moment she saw them arrive safely, her voice full of relief.
“What could possibly happen when I’m stuck with someone like him...?” Hiro turned her head away and replied impatiently.
“Eh? Th-this strange atmosphere... looks like Chang Rong-kun is really amazing after all~”
Emma froze for a moment. Her pink eyes swept quickly over the two of them before locking onto Chang Rong. Her tone was still soft and cheerful, but her eyes—utterly devoid of light—were somehow deeply unsettling.
—W-why are you staring at me like that? You’re the one who told me to get along with Hiro!! Now that I actually did, you don’t like it!?
This pink-haired girl was definitely not as innocent and soft as she looked...!
“Chang Rong, Noah wants head pats.”
Just as Chang Rong was about to suffocate under Emma’s tenfold gravity-like stare, the girl who looked like a walking color palette approached him as well.
“Heh, I knew it—my head-patting technique is unbeatable. That Nikaido just hasn’t experienced the finer things in life. Here we go, pat pat pat pat pat—”
“No-no-no...~~” Noah made a strange little sound, but judging by her expression, she seemed to be enjoying it very much.
“Good girl, good girl, good girl—ugh!”
Chang Rong’s face was full of doting delight one second, and the next, he suddenly felt a sharp gaze pierce straight through his back.
“Getting this close to someone of the opposite sex you just met is incorrect, Noah.”
Hiro spoke in a scolding tone.
“Hiro is stupid. Noah likes Chang Rong.”
Noah replied simply.
So they were not unfamiliar with each other after all. In fact, they seemed rather close—just currently at odds?
None of that mattered.
What mattered was—
“Chang☆Rong☆”
Hiro once again entered full murderer mode. Her blood-red eyes locked onto Chang Rong, the killing intent behind her almost condensing into a physical form, as if she wanted to Ora Ora him into oblivion on the spot.
—Why does it feel like I haven’t even been here a full day and I’m already about to get stabbed in the kidneys by two different people...!?
With Emma’s gaze in front and Hiro’s behind, Chang Rong felt like he was the steamroller being crushed between Jotaro and Dio.
“Well now, how wonderful that everyone has gathered on time. No time to waste—let’s quickly deal with this mess.”
From the ventilation duct above the corridor, the warden—the owl—fluttered out. It gave the assembled group a brief glance before opening the heavy doors to the courtroom.
Creak—
Beyond the heavy, ornate doors lay an even more grand and magnificent chamber.
The room was circular, like a coliseum. The first thing one would notice was the ring of massive stained-glass windows lining the outer wall, filled with colorful mosaic patterns.
The blood-red light of the setting sun streamed through the glass and illuminated the center of the chamber.
There, resting silently, was a massive gear-shaped platform.
And at its center stood a spiked pillar.
For some reason, it inevitably called to mind the witch hunts of the Middle Ages—those accused of being “witches,” bound to stakes and burned alive.
Yes.
A witch trial.
Almost everyone swallowed involuntarily. Meanwhile, the warden flew to a nearby railing and gestured with one wing, signaling for them to enter.
“Now then, a brief explanation of the witch trial procedure. You see that platform over there? That is the execution stage for the witch. What you must do is decide, through one hour of debate, who will be executed. Next, please proceed to the speaking stands surrounding the platform. Be sure to check your prisoner number—do not take the wrong position.”
The gear-shaped “execution platform” was surrounded by a ring of structures resembling courtroom witness stands. Regardless of what each person was thinking, everyone obediently walked toward their assigned “stage.”
“Classmate Nikaido.”
Just as Hiro was about to step forward, Chang Rong suddenly called out to her.
“...What is it?” Hiro frowned. The boy before her no longer wore his usual absent-minded expression. Instead, his face was firm and resolute—strangely, he looked unexpectedly reliable.
“Whatever you do, don’t suddenly freak out again—AAAHHH—!”
Before he could finish his serious advice, Hiro cut him off by grabbing a handful of his hair—like yanking rabbit fur.
“What a foul temper. How does this girl have anything in common with the ‘gentle, considerate, understanding Yamato Nadeshiko’ that Emma described... are they even the same species?”
No, wait. The Hiro in front of him was a 【Prospective Witch】.
Then they had absolutely nothing in common. Q.E.D.
Rubbing his head after having his goodwill thoroughly rejected, Chang Rong grumbled as he prepared to take his seat. But just as he lifted his left foot, he paused, turned, and looked at the warden.
“Uh, Warden, where am I supposed to stand? At the victim Meruru’s spot?”
The substitute fireman Chang Rong asked curiously.
“Oh my... that is a problem. I would very much like to have you stand in Lady Meruru’s position, but all positions and numbers are fixed. It would make uploading the trial record troublesome later... Ah, I have it.”
The warden pondered for a moment, then suddenly flapped its wings, revealing a look of astonishing brilliance.
Chang Rong had seen that expression before.
That expression meant—
—
“Then, the Witch Trial is now in session!”
With the warden’s unusually loud declaration, the battlefield where life and death would be decided—where sacrifice and execution, witches and humans would clash—formally began.
Except...
All the girls were staring at the “judge’s seat” in silence.
More precisely—
They were staring at the mysterious white-haired boy standing in the chief judge’s position, with the warden perched on his shoulder.
“This guy is definitely the mastermind! He’s way too arrogant!”
“No matter how you look at it, he’s the one behind everything! What are you acting so smug for—just die already!”
“I-I knew you weren’t a good person, desuwa!!”
“Chang Rong-kun... how could this be...”
“There’s no way he’s the mastermind. Are all of you idiots...?”
“Guh...! Everyone’s attention has been drawn to him. Chang Rong, you...!!”
Under the girls’ gazes—each one clearly thinking the first thing we’ll do after the trial is stab this guy to death—Chang Rong felt like he had swallowed a mouthful of shit and could not even complain.
This damn warden definitely did that on purpose. Definitely!
“Coo coo... standing on top of someone feels surprisingly nice. No wonder Lady Meruru enjoyed ordering me around so much.”
You’re actually enjoying this!?
Now, the one trying to find a way to survive the witch trial was not just Nikaido Hiro—
There was also one completely ordinary passerby, mistakenly cast as the final boss (fake).