Chapter 36
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Reverse Scale (3)
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"...De, defendant?"
The judge, finally regaining his senses, spoke up.
"Do... do you have more to say?"
His expression said it all: What's the point of saying anything more?
The people in the courtroom stared at me with the same looks on their faces.
'The trial's already over.'
The tide had fully turned in our favor.
The moment that golden beam of light shone on Erzena, it was decided.
No more evidence or statements were needed.
But even so, I spoke.
"Yes. May I have permission to continue?"
"Gr... granted."
The intimidated judge nodded quickly.
I stepped forward to the center of the courtroom.
My footsteps cut through the beam of light and the now even denser holy power, heading straight toward her.
Erzena, who had been glaring piercingly at the crystal orb with a resolute expression, turned to me and softened her face.
"Central Officer."
"Saint... Erzena."
Our gazes met.
She was far more radiant than before.
Brighter than when we first met, and somehow carrying an air of nobility as well.
Looking into her golden eyes stirred something strange within me.
'We started off on such bad terms.'
I still remembered it clearly.
- Paladin Order, hear me! Our enemies have already taken root across the world!
A woman who had scrawled 'God's Heaven, Heretics' Hell' boldly across her forehead, screaming furiously at me.
Now, that same woman stood beside me, more beautiful and dignified than anyone.
- Innocent people must not die.
Those words made my heart ache.
That was probably Erzena's most honest sentiment in her repentance.
The one who first branded me a heretic was now the first to raise her voice in my defense.
What a strange bond.
With gratitude in my voice, I said,
"I'll take it from here."
"...Are you sure?"
"Of course not."
My lips curled into a small smile without me realizing it.
After everything you've done for me.
You've gone beyond saving me from kidnapping—you've done far more.
"If this were private, I'd want to embrace you right now."
"Wha-what?!"
Suddenly, holy power swirled like a typhoon.
"Wh-wh-wh-what kind of thing is that to say!"
Startled by her fluster and some inexplicable emotion, she fidgeted.
At the same time, the golden aura tried to push me away, then pull me back, spinning helplessly in confusion.
Only after catching her breath did Erzena calm down.
"...You're too much of a tease. We're still in trial."
"Half of it was sincere."
"So the other half was a lie."
With that, her flushed expression finally eased.
No longer worry or resolve in her eyes—just trust directed at me.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Central Officer."
She returned to the defendant's seat.
"Welcome aboard. But... could you tone down that light? It's blinding."
"Thank you so much, Saintess. No, Erzena."
Haillin and the Minister greeted her.
As I watched that scene, I spoke.
"As you've all seen, the claim that the witness's testimony lacks credibility has been refuted."
No need to explain how.
The beam of light was still shining on Erzena.
"Therefore, let me remind you once more: the Pilgrimage Group—no, the Crusade Army's true purpose is war."
I drew their attention back.
Time to refocus on the trial.
'People's attention has shifted too much toward religion.'
This situation was definitely advantageous for us.
It couldn't be mere coincidence.
The holy power returning the moment Erzena declared her self-denunciation could only be explained by some higher intervention.
We'd gained a backer even stronger than heaven's armies.
No—we'd gained legitimacy itself.
But it was also an incredibly dangerous situation.
'If God truly supports her and is pressuring the Pope...'
It wasn't entirely good for us.
'The Pope invoking God's name, and people rallying to worship Erzena as God's chosen.'
We could end up being swayed by the Church again.
No matter Erzena's intentions, we couldn't predict how those witnessing this would interpret it.
The fanatics wouldn't care.
'No, they'd go wilder, thinking God has finally intervened.'
I didn't even want to imagine how far those who believed their faith answered would stray.
We had to block that beforehand.
'Erzena's done her part.'
As a witness, she'd exposed every lie and imprinted the truth on everyone.
Impressively, she'd even flustered the Pope with that inexplicable phenomenon.
'But we have to stop here.'
This was human affairs.
The trial couldn't end like this.
If it concluded with divine intervention, it would become God's achievement.
No matter what being intervened, humans had to reach the conclusion.
Only then could the Crossroad Kingdom avoid being swayed by the Church or religion ever again.
I turned to Mohaim and said,
"Pope, do you have any rebuttal to this?"
No answer came.
The crystal orb coldly illuminated the colorless room.
The Pope had gone silent.
Everyone had seen the holy relic shatter and the power fade.
That alone had likely cracked the Pope's authority.
'And a cracked authority doesn't last long.'
Mohaim's shocked expression proved it.
Evidence that his ironclad faith and loyalty to the Church's ruler were crumbling.
So he wouldn't step forward anymore.
"We have countless documents and witnesses here."
I raised my voice.
"Each of these papers, witnesses, and statements proves that the Crusade Army violated the Crossroad Kingdom's treaty."
"Furthermore, the witness has proven that my diplomatic discourtesy stemmed from a justified conflict."
But we couldn't relax yet.
The trial wasn't over.
No matter our advantage, one more hurdle remained.
One man who still hadn't spoken.
I turned my gaze to the man seated beside the Queen.
'Your Majesty.'
The one with the power to overturn this trial.
King Rio Castor had witnessed everything with his own eyes, yet showed no agitation.
He merely looked down at me with emotionless eyes.
As if disinterested, or eager to end it quickly.
That unnerved me.
'I have to keep His Majesty from intervening.'
The Queen wouldn't stay quiet.
Outmatched in justification and testimony, she'd resort to the King's power.
Her final struggle would surely invoke royal decree to force her will.
And the disheartened King always followed her lead.
"Your Majesty, are you just going to watch? Please, quickly..."
The Queen was already whispering urgently into the King's ear.
In her desperation, they were abandoning all restraint.
And the judge watched them with anxious eyes.
As if awaiting the royal command.
'Then...'
No shortcuts.
We'd chosen to win by principles from the start—we had to see it through.
I couldn't invoke divine intervention; that would sell out the kingdom's future.
To maintain neutrality, we had to keep religion at arm's length.
So only one option left for me.
'Provoke His Majesty.'
Take action first.
Reach the King before the Queen's whispers.
Intensely. Very intensely.
Enough to make him forget her temptations.
I took a deep breath.
'Will it work?'
No certainty.
But I had to try.
"I address the Holy Church followers here and everyone else."
I raised my voice.
Staring straight into the King's lifeless eyes.
"The Crossroad Kingdom welcomes all people and goods entering for peaceful purposes. But,"
A famous line from King Rio Castor that I'd heard before.
I twisted it to fit my stance.
The Minister twitched, realizing what I was about to say.
"C-Central Officer. You don't mean..."
"If your purpose is armed action or war. If you intend to violate and trample the ancient treaty established at our nation's founding!"
The little beast of the glorious era.
His cry when facing the Church.
I shouted it for the entire courtroom to hear.
"Not a single one, not a single item, not a single meter shall enter!"
I struck the King's reverse scale.
Raking up memories from his greatest days.
"There are no exceptions at the border. Honor the treaty. Remember your duty as a neutral nation."
My final gamble.
"That concludes my closing argument."
A shiver ran through Carton's entire body.
"My God..."
The Director of Immigration Control was grinning so wide it nearly split his face.
"I never thought you'd take it that one step further. And toward His Majesty, no less."
What the Central Officer had just said was strikingly similar to what King Rio had declared 15 years ago when blocking the Church.
No, practically identical.
He'd cleverly repurposed that speech for his own position.
The Minister realized why he'd said it now, in this moment.
By invoking the reverse scale, awaken the King.
A perilously risky gamble.
He hurriedly turned to the King.
"Your Majesty."
The King's expression remained unchanged.
He simply gazed down at the impassioned young man with indifferent eyes.
Even as the flustered Queen whispered urgently to him, he showed no reaction.
"Please, awaken, I beg you..."
Carton muttered almost like a prayer, desperately earnest.
Do you still remember your vigor?
Do you remember being the wise king who led the golden age?
Sovereign drowned in sorrow.
Rise.
For your people, please rise.
But the King did not respond.
His extinguished passion and lost will kept him silently shut away.
A suffocating silence weighed heavily on the courtroom.
At that, the judge turned to the people and said,
"Th-then... having heard both sides, I shall now deliver the verdict."
The judge swallowed hard and opened his mouth.
"The defendant, Central Officer Nathan Kell—"
At that moment,
"I shall deliver the verdict."
The King's voice echoed through the courtroom.