Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Judges II: Shin Noah
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“God.”
I asked half in disbelief, but with unmistakable anticipation in the other half.
“Can zombies really serve as judges?”
“Ahem, they’re not zombies, they’re NPCs. Don’t get it wrong a third time. And as for success... Well, I don’t know either, but it’s certainly worth trying... isn’t it?”
No Do-ha said that much with her mouth, but her sly eyes sparkled with undisguised excitement.
The two of us stared at the zombies’ room—like kids playing a prank behind the teachers’ backs—that is, the warehouse where texts from legal codes were endlessly being recited.
Judges!
Reviving the function of a ‘court’ in this ruined world had been a long-cherished dream for No Do-ha and me.
The National Highway Management Corps had succeeded in connecting the torn-apart nation with thin spiderwebs. But running a nationwide court system was simply impossible.
‘The big cases, I can temporarily take on the judge role myself, or have influential guild leaders gather like a jury system.’
Neither I nor the guild leaders had time to spare. How could we handle the dozens of incidents happening every day in this apocalyptic world?
In the end, guilds occupying each city had no choice but to run their own ‘quasi-court systems.’
In short, it was like handing the gavel to gangsters. No way that would work properly.
Busan, governed by Governor Dang Seo-rin with her Intelligence 91 and Politics 95, enjoyed a golden age (apocalypse standards, of course), but most cities on the peninsula bowed to corrupt magistrates. Unless you were some sacrificial virgin like in the legends, you’d get wildly unfair rulings all the time. Even if you were, it’d still suck.
“How long do you think it’ll take to input all the legal codes into their heads...?”
“Oh. Um, I’ve never made them memorize this much before, so I’m not sure exactly, but a month should be plenty!”
No Do-ha nodded at Cheon Yo-hwa’s words. We sealed the warehouse door and returned to our daily routines.
Finally, one month later.
No Do-ha and I, plus the Saintess, gathered—calling it the full Regressor Alliance. Cheon Yo-hwa joined as a guest member.
“Then, let’s open it!”
With a heavy clunk, the massive warehouse door swung open.
A pungent smell wafted out, like stewing an unemployed hikikomori’s broth in a corner room for three months.
No one even twitched an eyebrow. Of course not. These days, true modern folk would smell corpses drifting from the front yard and just think, ‘Someone else bit the dust last night,’ and move on.
“Hmm.”
In the center of the warehouse, the zombie... no, NPC, stood with its mouth gaping in an utterly idiotic expression.
I wondered if that thing could really memorize the legal codes properly, but none of us in the party judged people by appearances.
“It looks super dumb...”
Everyone except No Do-ha.
“Anyway, let’s test it quickly. We’re all busy people. Now then, Junior Cheon Yo-hwa...?”
“Ah, yes. Senior!”
Cheon Yo-hwa bounced over to the NPC and reached out to stroke its head.
“You are a judge.”
[.......]
“When disputes arise between people or organizations, decide who’s right or mediate between both sides!”
Slither.
As she whispered the ‘judge’s role,’ dark shadowy tendrils seeped from Cheon Yo-hwa’s arm into the NPC’s head. They wagged their tails like pitch-black snakes.
That must be Cheon Yo-hwa’s necromancy.
Soon, the black snakes all vanished into the NPC’s skull. Cheon Yo-hwa waved her hand with a “Phew.”
“Done. It’s my first time ‘requesting’ something like this from one of them, so I’m not sure if it took properly. Anyway, ask it anything!”
“Hmm.”
I glanced at the Saintess.
Her default expression was blank, making it hard to read, but my seasoned regressor eyes could tell she was deeply interested in the NPC before us.
After all, wasn’t she the one who turned dark in the 107th cycle because villains roamed free without proper punishment?
No Do-ha noticed my gaze and yielded the turn to the Saintess.
“Why don’t you ask first...?”
“......”
Nod.
The Saintess stepped forward to face the NPC.
Even under the gaze of Korea’s most powerful awakeners, the NPC just gaped vacantly.
Cheon Yo-hwa said energetically.
“First, set the scenario!”
“...A middle-aged man entered an abandoned house. But the house was actually home to an 11-year-old child. While searching for usable items, the man discovered the child, who immediately cursed him to get out. Enraged by the curses, the man lunged at the child and killed them by stabbing their throat with a dagger the size of a kitchen knife.”
“Ho.”
“The man believes he had no intent to kill the child. In this case, does the murderer’s intent matter for sentencing or not? Answer.”
[Response commencing. In murder cases, intent does not require a purpose or premeditated plan to kill.]
Snap.
The NPC’s head, tilted about 10 degrees, suddenly straightened.
[Recognition of killing is sufficient, and this ‘recognition of killing’ includes even unintended murders.]
“......”
[Given that the defendant, greatly enraged by the victim’s curses, grabbed a dagger and charged, then stabbed with full force into the victim’s neck—causing instant death—the method of the crime makes it impossible to deny the defendant had ‘recognition of killing.’ Based on the circumstances, recognizing the defendant guilty of murder is justified.]
“......”
[Response ended.]
Thud.
The NPC’s head drooped limply again.
“Hmm.”
As everyone stayed silent, No Do-ha let out a groan. Or more like a moan.
Everyone has their habit when lost in thought.
For No Do-ha, it was fiddling with the black gloves she always wore. She pinched the tip of the index finger and tugged it this way and that, like manicuring invisible nails, then tucked it back.
“Hmm. Well, this level...?”
Snap—
No Do-ha stretched her leather glove taut, nearly to breaking.
Heh, a sinister chuckle echoed through the shabby warehouse.
“Let’s test it in the field right away...”
4
To cut to the chase, the beta test results for the ‘AI Judge’ were underwhelming.
“What? AI Judge?”
“What good is something like that?”
The guild leaders occupying each city didn’t see the need to adopt the AI Judge.
They already held warlord-like power. Why separate judicial authority? Separation of powers is some ancient concept anyway, right?
But even warlords had limits when they strutted like Lü Bu in their own turf. Step beyond the neighborhood line, and they turned into nobodies.
“Your guild invaded our turf first!”
“That’s not your turf, it’s ours. And you killed our guys first!”
Take guild-vs-guild disputes.
Usually, guild leaders fought to the death or asked a third party to mediate.
And there were only three people on the peninsula everyone acknowledged as ‘reliable mediators’: Dang Seo-rin, No Do-ha, and me.
“Highway Management Corps Leader!”
“Corps Leader, please judge for us!”
No Do-ha put on her most empathetic face.
“Oh dear, that sounds rough. As always, I’ll mediate with utmost sincerity, ensuring no discomfort or grudges remain...”
“Aigoo, thank you, Corps Leader!”
“Sure.”
The problem was, we three couldn’t be perfectly impartial.
We tried our best, of course. But whether outsiders saw it that way was another matter.
Satisfying both sides in a dispute was nearly impossible, so every mediation sparked plenty of ‘backtalk.’
“But hey, have you heard of the new AI Judge? It’s seriously awesome...”
“Huh?”
No Do-ha targeted this exact point to pitch the AI Judge to the guild leaders.
And as usual, she laid it on thick.
“You know I was a civil servant before the world went to hell, right...?”
“Ah, yes. Famous story.”
“Actually, back then, the government debated introducing AI judges—how much authority to give them. For trivial cases that just follow precedents, why not let AI handle them? It was the consensus in legal circles too.”
“Oh... yeah...”
“A while back, patrols looted some computers from government buildings, and one had an AI program installed. This is real-world-tested AI. What do you think? For this case, wanna hear a sample judgment...?”
“Uh.”
“Of course, we’re not handing rulings to some program. Just, [What would a court have ruled in the old civilized days?] Reference only. The world’s changed too much for blind application, but getting an objective third opinion outside ‘us’ makes sense...”
“Uh, uh-huh.”
No guild leader was thick-headed enough to say ‘no’ while the Highway Management Corps Leader pitched. She paved their roads, after all.
Especially with me standing behind her. The existence of an awakener who soloed a Ten Tribes head made warlords think twice.
“Well, shall we at least hear what it says...?”
The guild leaders experienced the AI Judge as reasonably fair and surprisingly user-friendly.
[Judgment. A shall compensate B with 200 million.]
“Good lord. Where do we get 200 million in cash these days?”
No Do-ha grinned darkly.
“How’s that? If unsatisfied, ignore the program and I’ll mediate from scratch...?”
“......”
“......”
The guild leaders pondered. Reading their looks: roughly this.
‘Pre-collapse, 200 million in goods? Hand over one small workshop, easy. Cheap for a dispute.’
‘Anyway, it ruled in my favor. If I ask No Do-ha to mediate and she goes easy for old times’ sake, won’t it bruise my pride?’
The guild leaders exchanged glances.
“Uh, um. Can we discuss among ourselves first and call you back if needed?”
“Aww, anytime. I’ll distribute these AI-loaded NPCs, two per city—use them well...”
“Huh? You sure?”
“Of course. Heh. Free...”
The judge NPCs No Do-ha prepared were distributed evenly across the peninsula’s cities.
Guild leaders returned home, pondering uses for their new toy.
Naturally, even one guild managing a city had countless factions inside.
“Your guys invaded our turf first!”
“That’s not your turf, it’s ours. And you killed our guys first!”
“Boss!”
“Boss, judge for us!”
“Uh...”
Mediating faction disputes was, naturally, the guild leader’s job.
Ruling wisely showcased authority, but staying ‘fair’ every time was tough.
Then, guild leaders finally realized.
What role this outdated-seeming, impractical AI Judge could play.
“Hey, kids. Heard of the new AI Judge? It’s seriously awesome...”
“Huh?”
AI Judge, nationwide debut confirmed!