Chapter 78: A Foreign Case
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This isn’t right!” I said, “I cannot let someone go unrepresented!”

“So my rival has hunted me down.” said the prosecutor.

“Bob!?” I exclaimed.

“W-what’s with the crown?” I thought to myself, “And why is he even here!?”

“Who are you!?” exclaimed the judge, “Bailiff! Remove him for this courtroom immediately!”

“HOLD IT!” I shouted, “Not until I see some justice in this kangaroo court of yours!”

I pulled out a cat-sword before I continued speaking.

“What kind of trial are you trying to hold here?” I said, “You can’t have a proper trial without someone to defend!”

“W-what in the world!?” exclaimed the judge, “Bailiff! Please remove him!”

“You dare try anything and you’ll get a taste of my blade!” I continued.

“This court will not kowtow to threats like that!” said the judge.

“I’ll put it away when you give the defendant a real trial!” I shouted out.

“W-where’d you even get that sword anyways…?” asked the judge

“That’s not important!” I responded, “What is important is the face the trial absolutely cannot end here!”

“It’s fine.” said Bob, “Let’s just let him defend. He’ll soon realize how decisive the soul mirror is.”

“What the hell is he talking about?” I thought.

“Lucas pushed someone off of a cliff.” said Bob.

“Who?” I asked.

“Some guy named Tim.” answered Bob.

“Can I get some more details?” I asked.

“He fell off the cliff and died.” answered Bob, “We’ve got his fingerprints on the defendant’s clothes too.”

“Oh.” I said.

“Now, since the defendant’s already at the stand,” said Bob, “let’s hear his side of the story.”

“Accused, you may now testify to the court.” instructed the judge.

“I came to Mihr'hai to visit my sister. I do recall seeing someone when I was walking around.” he started.

Hold it!” I responded, “Why were you doing that?”

Because I needed something to do while I waited for you, Ron.” answered Lucas.

I see.” I responded.

Anyways,” said Lucas, “He tried shoving me, since he thought that I was in his way. So, I ended up shoving him.”

Hold it!” I interrupted, “What happened next?”

I was getting to that.” responded Lucas.

Oh, right? …Sorry.” I said, scratching the back of my head.

How unfortunate.” commented the prosecution, “I thought you were better than this.”

“…Right.” I said, starting to feel heat from nervousness throughout my entire body.

Anyways… He lost his balance for a few seconds, but went back to standing up.” continued Lucas, “Then we both left and that was it.”

Thank you, witness.” said Bob, “But I can prove you are lying.”

This part’s always fun.” I muttered sarcastically.

I assume you mean it’s time to bring ‘that’ out?” asked the judge.

Exactly, your honor.” said Bob, “The decisive evidence that will seal the defendant’s fate!”

What exactly is this decisive evidence of yours?” I asked.

The final memories of the victim.” said Bob.

What.” I said.

Bailiff, please escort the princess here.”

Princess?” I thought, “What kind of freaking trial is this??”

Within seconds, there was a girl in the room that looked to be about my age, if not younger. She had long black hair and wore a pink dress.

Who is this man!?” she said angrily.

Someone just got bored today and took the defense bench.” answered Bob, “It’s been a while since you’ve seen someone like that here.”

And why is that?” I asked.

They gave up.” answered the princess, “There was no way to for them to win against the victim’s memories!”

Defending had also been banned,” said Bob, smirking, “Which means you’re currently a criminal in this country!”

W-whaaaaaat!!!??” I exclaimed, feeling even more heat.

The act of defending is usually punished by having the defender suffer that fate of the accused,” continued Bob, “but if you gave up, I’m sure everyone would be willing to let this slide.”

There’s no way in hell I’m just going to give up here,” I said, “Memories aren’t always accurate anyways!”

I’m sorry, infidel,” said the princess, “but most would remember events like this well enough.”

I-infidel!?” I thought.

Anyways, why don’t we continue the trial?” requested Bob.

Yeah… why not?” I said, trying to ignore the fact that I was getting covered in my own sweat.

Alright.” said the judge, “It’s about time we begin. Our princess may start the divination séance.”

“I don’t know what’s going on anymore.” I muttered.

It didn’t take long for a mirror to suddenly appear. After that, the princess began to do a dance, which I figured had something to do with channeling. Within seconds, a vision appeared. It showed Lucas… shoving somebody.

“Th-that’s!” I exclaimed, sweating a lot.

“Isn’t it amazing?” responded Bob, “I can win for once.”

“Is that all you care about?” I asked.

“Perhaps.” responded Bob.

“Some people just never change.” I muttered.

“Now,” said the princess, “it’s time to point out the obvious.”

“The dead tell no lies,” she said, “This is what the victim saw in his final moments. The defendant shoved him off a cliff. There was nobody else there.”

“And there you have it, defender.” said Bob, “Try refuting that.”

“Oh no.” I muttered, “I just got here and it already seems impossible.”

“Looks like the defense is ready to give up,” said the judge.

“I… am not done here!” I responded.

“It’s hopeless, defense.” responded Bob.

“You shut your mouth, Bob!” I exclaimed.

“How dare you speak like that!?” reacted the princess.

“And I don’t care who YOU are,” I said, “but I’m already sick of your attitude!”

“You’ve got some nerve speaking like that in my court.” said the judge angrily.

“And you have no brain, your honor.” I said.

“Ron, just what are you getting at!?” exclaimed Bob.

“It’s simple, really.” I said, “There is a contradiction between the vision and the princess’ words!”

“That’s impossible.” the princess protested, “My word is perfect!”

“You may be a ‘princess’ but it’s far from being perfect.” I responded, “You said nobody else could have done it… but the vision clearly shows that someone else is there!”

“Nonsense!” she exclaimed.

“Allow me to point it out.” I said, “If you look at the top right corner, there’s a leg.”

“W-what!” responded the princess.

“Well, don’t keep us waiting.” said the judge, “Who was it?”

“…He’s assuming I know who it is just by a leg?” I thought to myself, “What the heck?”

“You do have something to say, don’t you?” said the princess.

“Heh,” I said, “Isn’t it obvious? There’s someone else who could have committed the crime… and that person is there!”

My arm went flying out, and I pointed at the man across the room from me.

“M-me!?” exclaimed Bob.

“That’s right.” I said, “You were there at the time of the crime!”

“That’s enough!” shouted the princess, “Surely you don’t think that’s accurate!?”

“The dead tell no lies… those are your own words, princess!” I said.

“That can’t be right! You must be wrong!” she said, still in denial.

“Well, excuuuuuse me, princess.” I thought, and then proceeded to speak, “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe in the same stuff you do.”

“Why you- infidel!” she exclaimed.

“You should consider using more appropriate language!” I responded.

Our argument was interrupted by the judge’s gavel.

“That’s enough, you two!” he said, “Anyways, would our prosecutor like to say something in his defense?”

“The defense is just desperate.” said Bob, “using any means necessary to get his client off the hook. These kinds of people disgust me. To suggest I was at the scene of the crime with circumstantial evidence is just ridiculous.”

“Hold it!” I said, “Circumstantial!?”

“Didn’t you know people can buy clothes like that anywhere?” continued Bob, “I had no reason to kill this case’s unfortunate victim.”

“Hold it!” I interrupted, “And the defendant does?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” responded Bob, “The victim was in the defendant’s way, and that was it.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” said the judge, banging his gavel, “The defense has failed to prove that our chief prosecutor is the culprit, so he will be penalized.”

“This is the end.” I thought, “I’m sorry, Lucas… I’ve failed. I shouldn’t have tried, anyways. I’m not really useful or important… anymore.”

“Bailiff!” said the judge, “Get them ready for the execution!”

“W-wait, what!?” I exclaimed.

“Oh, foolish foreign lawyer,” said the princess, “we have no need for your type in our courts.”

“N… nnngh…!” I exclaimed, “You don’t even know what justice is! You’re just a pathetic little girl who is unable to accept that she’s sometimes wrong!”

“That’s enough!” she exclaimed, “Bailiff, kill him first!”

“Oh, foolish, idiotic princess,” I said, “This will be your last mistake.”

“What do you mean?” asked the princess?

“First of all, I’m not from this world, so killing me wouldn’t do much,” I answered, “second of all, I have the ability to harm who ever I feel like.”

“Bailiff!” she exclaimed, “take care of them both!”

“Hold it!” said a female voice, seeming to come out of nowhere.

“Wait a minute…” I muttered.

Before I knew it, someone familiar was at the witness stand.

“Iris?” I said.

“The chief prosecutor is lying.” she said.

“What, and you’ve got proof?” responded Bob.

“Yes.” answered Iris.

“Get out!” exclaimed the princess.

“Leah, I don’t care for your tone.” said Iris.

“What is your evidence?” asked the judge, sounding tired.

“First of all, our chief prosecutor claimed his clothes could be found anywhere.” answered Iris, “His clothes happen to be one-of-a-kind.”

As she answered the question, she walked over to the defense bench.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I-I’ll tell you later.” she answered.

“How do you know there aren’t fakes?” asked Bob.

“There’s a symbol on one pant-leg, that’s near impossible to re-create.” answered Iris, “Meaning it has to be you.”

“Well, how do you know if someone didn’t steal my clothes!?” exclaimed Bob.

“Your office was searched,” answered Iris, “and this evidence combined with the victim’s memories will prove you were involved!”

“A search!?” responded Bob, sounding angry.

“That’s right,” said Iris, “And we found you’ve been concealing evidence.”

“You can’t-” started Bob.

“Yes, I can. We’ve actually gotten permission to search your place.” said Iris, holding up a jacket with a torn-up right sleeve, “This jacket was found in your office. The rest of it was at the crime scene. Your hand prints happen to be all over this jacket!”

“N-nonsense!” he exclaimed, “T-the defendant’s should be on there-”

“Objection!” she responded, “His fingerprints weren’t really on the victim’s clothes so we can assume he touched the victim’s skin. Likely on the arm, or something.”

“Heh, heh.” said Bob, “You-”

“Give it up, Bob.” I said, glancing over the report Iris had brought with her, “With the position of your hand prints, I find it hard to believe you didn’t push the victim.”

“How do you even know he was wearing a jacket!?” exclaimed the princess.

“You’d know if you had been paying attention.” I said, “A piece of his jacket indicates his jacket was with him.”

“There were also traces from his jacket on his shirt,” continued Iris, “such as loose string.”

“Well, chief prosecutor?” I said, “Can you counter any of that!?”

“Heh.” said Bob, “Always a thorn in my side.”

“Why, Bob. Why?” I asked.

“I’ll admit, it was not my intention to kill him. We had a bit of an altercation and we all know how that turned out.”

“How did you manage to become chief prosecutor, anyways?” I asked.

“They were hiring.” answered Bob,

“How did this happen?” answered Leah, “I haven’t always been wrong, have I?”

“It was nice to win for a while,” said Bob, “and this country’s corrupt legal system was perfect for that!”

“You’re a terrible person.” replied Iris.

“Perhaps.” he said, “But I’m done here… it’s over.”

“I won’t forget this.” the princess said, clenching her fists before storming off.

“What a bitch.” I whispered.

“What an odd trial this has been,” said the judge, “I certainly didn’t expect that it would end this way. Anyways, this court finds the defendant… not guilty. In his place, we shall throw our now former chief prosecutor into the dungeon.”

“Looks like you get to come out of this alive.” said Iris.

“I still would’ve been able to come back.” I responded.

“That’s true.” she replied.

“Court is adjourned,” said the judge, banging his gavel on his desk.

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