Trial (7)
“Ah! It’s you, huh? The kid who Chorok wants to make into a Saint.”
The moment Norang, the god of contracts and order, uttered those words, everyone present doubted their own ears.
A Saint? Who?
Those thoughts raced through their minds, and their gazes naturally turned toward the one Norang was looking at.
There stood Kyle Arden, who until moments ago had been regarded as a black mage.
Norang placed both hands on their hips and continued.
“Do you have any idea how annoying you’ve been? Always asking me ‘how about this?’ and ‘how about that?’ Hiiing, you’ve even ruined my playtime…”
The god wore a slightly pouty expression. At a glance, their irritated demeanor sent chills down everyone’s spines.
Undeterred, Norang chattered on toward him.
“Even good-natured Hyang got fed up and ran off. Ppalgan and Juhwang just hid away and wouldn’t come out at all.”
Norang relaxed their stance, shaking their head with a sigh.
“Anyway, so typical of Chorok. They get endlessly generous with any lifeform they take a liking to. They ignored everyone else’s recommendations, though.”
At the same time, Norang seemed understanding, magnanimously letting it slide.
“Still, put in a good word with Chorok for me~! They’ve been bugging me every day, so I don’t even have anyone to tease anymore!”
Norang acted like a spoiled child beside him. Watching the scene snapped everyone to attention.
“……”
“……”
Yet an eerie silence blanketed the entire space.
No one dared speak, not even the priest who had summoned Norang, who still gaped in shock.
Finally, the judge mustered his courage and cautiously asked.
“Um… God of Contracts and Order.”
“Yeah? What?”
At the call, Norang floated closer to the judge.
He tensed slightly at the god’s casual approach but held his ground.
“What… what do you mean by Saint…?”
“What else? A Saint is a Saint. Ah, not fully yet—he’s still a candidate. But since Hyang agrees, it probably won’t take long. This doesn’t happen often.”
“So, a high likelihood within a few years…”
“Exactly!”
Norang spilled unasked details. Sweat poured from the judge’s brow as he absorbed the answer.
He slowly turned his head.
“Kyle Arden. Regarding what that one said…”
“No.”
Kyle cut off the judge sharply.
“But the God of Contracts and Order…”
“I said no.”
Kyle gritted his teeth in denial, but no one there believed him.
Then Norang interjected into the conversation.
“Why deny it? You even helped Chorok out recently.”
Norang approached Kyle again and patted his shoulder.
“They were super grateful. But they didn’t expect you to go that far—wrecking a whole building…”
“P-please, God Norang, what on earth happened…?”
The judge, unable to let the god’s words slide, asked in panic, voicing everyone’s thoughts.
“Huh? You don’t know? This guy went berserk trying to save some elves. It got me all annoyed too. The free city folks kept summoning me nonstop. As bad as Chorok…”
In that instant, Kyle’s hand clamped over Norang’s chattering mouth.
With a furious glare, he whispered harshly.
“Shut the fuck up and stop talking bullshit.”
“……”
“……”
Though spoken softly, the courtroom was so deathly quiet that most heard Kyle’s words.
Witnessing it, they squeezed their eyes shut.
Telling a god to shut up. It bordered on blasphemy—could cost him his life.
But as time passed, the expected backlash never came.
“Hahaha! Just like Chorok said—you’re a fun kid!”
Instead, booming laughter filled the space, as if it were no big deal.
Norang’s face beamed with uncontainable delight.
“You sure you don’t wanna be a Saint? I’d vote yes for someone as fun as you. Whaddya say?”
The blatant offer made everyone gasp.
That was Norang’s endorsement too—Kyle Arden as a Saint.
In other words, following the World Tree, he now had Norang’s protection.
They all sensed it instinctively.
This trial can’t continue.
And rightly so—proceeding would equate the World Tree with a black mage.
That meant putting a god on trial.
After already involving a Saint candidate, humiliating a god as a witness?
No one could predict the fallout.
A holy nation-empire war wouldn’t be out of the question.
Above all, Norang’s words explained all of Kyle’s actions.
He had no ties to black mages.
“Then, the trial…”
The judge weakly raised his gavel.
To declare the verdict and end it.
Amid the resumed proceedings, a hollow shout echoed.
“Fuck…”
Naturally, Kyle Arden’s voice.
***
“Fuck…”
Unfiltered curses spilled from his mouth.
He made no effort to hide his irritation—nor did he want to.
He hadn’t appealed to Norang’s judgment expecting this turn of events.
All for that bombshell…
“Haa…”
A sigh was all he could muster.
I knew they had this kind of personality.
The god of contracts and order.
Just the title suggested a stickler for rules.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
As their childlike appearance hinted, Norang was whimsically self-centered.
Of course, they carried divine dignity as a god.
That’s why he’d summoned them—to leverage that dignity.
Why hadn’t I revealed my ties to the gods sooner?
He’d wanted no godly entanglements in his life.
Explaining the black mage mess inevitably required mentioning them.
But that piss-poor personality had derailed everything.
Look at it now.
The piercing stares from all around.
Too much attention—like his body was being skewered.
Whatever. Norang floated above him, chin propped lazily.
He glared up at them.
“Do you even realize what you just did?”
The trial’s progress didn’t register. It was a guaranteed win anyway.
“Huh? Why’re you mad?”
“Haa…”
Playing dumb drew another sigh.
Just like a kid—top-tier denial.
“Keep pretending, and I’ll complain to the World Tree.”
He warned them. Even a god couldn’t brush that off easily.
Only then did Norang feign surprise.
“Gasp! Was that not supposed to be said?”
“You call that not saying it…!”
“Ahem.”
The judge’s cough interrupted. He glanced nervously at Kyle, at a loss.
Makes sense. Even “candidate” carried weight beyond the ordinary.
A Saint or Saintess rivaled the emperor.
Kyle bowed apologetically to the judge.
“Sorry. Please continue.”
“Ahem. Regarding this, Kyle Arden…”
As the verdict was read, he shot Norang another look.
“Fix this. Unless you want endless hassle.”
Fine, skip the Saint talk.
He’d half-expected it since the World Tree’s offer—he wasn’t one to stay quiet.
Plus, per Norang, word had already spread among the gods.
Just accelerated the inevitable.
But the elf and free city bit? Different story.
If that leaked, who knows the mess.
Free city greedheads might flip out.
That had to be contained. Money-obsessed types pull the wildest stunts.
“Easy fix. Who do you think I am?”
Norang’s yellow eyes gleamed.
Meanwhile, the judge finished.
Based on the aforementioned facts, the defendant is found not guilty. Kyle Arden, you are hereby declared innocent!
The judge struck the gavel three times.
“Okay, everyone, focus!”
Norang soared to the courtroom center, drawing all eyes.
“You all know who I am, right?”
“……”
“……”
Silent crowd. No one could respond to a god’s question.
“Hiiing, boring.”
Norang pouted briefly, then got down to business.
“Anyway, I made a teeeny mistake. So, I’m making a contract with everyone here.”
Norang spread their arms wide. Divine power radiated from them, blanketing the space and beyond.
“Ooh…”
“Whoa…”
The holy aura brought serenity to the people, but not to Kyle.
Its vastness prickled his skin.
Contract 1: Do not disclose anything heard here regarding the elves and the free city.
Contract 2: Breaching the contract and disclosing will result in loss of related memories. Disclosure permitted only after consultation with me, Norang, god of contracts and order.
Contract 3: In exchange, up to three free summons of me, the god of contracts and order, for aid in contract-related situations—no tribute required.
Contract sheets materialized before each person via divine power—except Kyle.
Students, professors, staff—everyone signed instantly.
It was a steal. Summoning a god demanded massive tribute.
Three freebies? They pounced.
He couldn’t help but chuckle.
Seemed advantageous, but Norang lost nothing—gained reverence instead.
“Vicious as the World Tree.”
“Huh? Don’t get it.”
“Whatever.”
As long as it didn’t harm him directly, their choice.
No responsibility on his end.
“Great! 1,058 contracts complete! Oh, summons start tomorrow—heads up.”
“Um… why didn’t I get a contract sheet…?”
Princess Ariel, in the same boat as Kyle, asked.
Norang stared blankly, then pouted.
“You’re Kiran’s descendant. His bloodline’s contracted to block dealings with us.”
“Ah, so that’s…”
The founding emperor’s measure to keep royals from gods.
Ariel didn’t know the details but accepted it.
Trial over. Cleanup was swift; people trickled out.
Kyle moved to reclaim his seized items and restraints.
He asked a staffer.
“Where are my things?”
“Uh, Saint—”
“No Saint shit—just tell me where.”
“Ah, well…”
But it wasn’t smooth.
Everyone he met whispered “Saint” and gossiped.
“Saint…”
“It’s the Saint…”
The murmurs followed him the whole way.
Even Angelina, the student witness for him, was the same.
“Hi, Saint Kyle…”
His head spun.
How did my life end up like this?
Felt farther from his dreams by the day.
“It’s the Saint.”
“Ah…”
Truly, what a dogshit day.