Chapter 16
“Please state the specific charges in the indictment.”
The trial had begun.
The jury had been isolated in a separate room for the past week.
It was a measure to prevent prejudice and ensure fair judgment.
During that time, they had been completely cut off from the outside world, no phone calls, no media, no way to get news or information.
As a result, their eyes were filled with curiosity as they scanned the courtroom.
The selection had been carefully balanced—age, occupation, gender, and species all evenly represented.
“On charges of joint assault and aggravated assault under the Violence Act, I hereby file the indictment.”
The prosecutor leaned into the microphone in front of the judge and read the charges aloud.
“Do you admit to the charges stated by the prosecution?”
The judge seated at the podium asked the question, directing it at the silver-haired man in a crisp suit.
A high-ranking elf lawyer from the Gilorian Empire immediately stood up and answered on his behalf.
“I deny the charges.”
The silver-haired man bent his tall frame sharply to reach the microphone.
He was not an elf himself, yet he was one of the most popular lawyers in the entire elf community, largely thanks to his gentle and refined expression.
Or perhaps it was simply the habit of grooming himself from head to toe in the finest elf-made products available in the Empire.
“Does the prosecution have any evidence to substantiate the charges?”
The judge, a lizard-like demi-human with a sharp triangular ear and short bob haircut, turned to me.
She was the chief judge.
“I submit the magic stone video recording from the day of the incident.”
“Admitted.”
With the judge’s approval, I stood up and played the magic stone video.
No, before playing it, I turned to the judge, the jury, and the audience gallery with a brief warning.
“Honorable Judge, respected jurors, and dear audience members. This is the magic stone video from the day of the incident. If any of you are pregnant or have any physical discomfort, I ask that you leave the courtroom now.”
I addressed the gallery and paused for a moment, but no one moved.
“Then, let’s begin the playback.”
The recorded video appeared on the large screen behind the judge.
Although it had some static and noise, the conversation was still clear enough to understand.
“H-h-hello! W-welcome, welcome~!”
A goblin, working as a waitress at a brunch café, greeted a group of newly discharged young elves from the military.
These elves were over a hundred and twenty years old, all university-bound youths facing many worries about their future.
“One glass of cool slime juice, please.”
“S-sorry? Sl, slime juice? We, we don’t serve any slime at our shop~!”
The elves, with their glossy silver hair, replied in a low voice while touching their hair.
“No slime juice? Are there any places that don’t sell slime juice anymore?”
“Should we just go somewhere else?”
The young elves began whispering to each other, faces close together.
“Hey, is the boss here? How can there be no slime juice on the menu?”
The silver-haired elf asked again, his balanced meal still giving his face a glossy sheen and his body a robust build.
“I-I'm so sorry, welcome! This… I mean, the, the boss is not here. I’m all alone here~!”
The goblin spoke the Empire language poorly but tried to maintain a service smile.
The thick smile lines on the goblin’s mouth were stretched thin.
“Ah… no one else here?”
The silver-haired elf looked around the shop.
“Y-yes. Welcome. And s-s-slime is d-dead if you eat it~!”
Slime was a highly acidic creature, and only monsters like griffins and hippogriffs could eat anything without dying. No other living being could consume it as food.
No, eating it would kill them.
A short laugh erupted from one of the elves in the group.
Someone covered their mouth and tried to stifle their laughter with a cough.
The elf next to him, with a mohawk hairstyle, raised a finger to his lips in a quiet signal.
After the silver-haired elf scanned the surroundings, he leaned in close to the goblin behind the counter.
“You want to die?”
The silver-haired elf smiled, showing his sharp white fangs.
His eyes burned with madness.
He glanced at his group once, shrugged, and pulled a shiny object from his pocket.
It was a mithril axe.
“G-g-guest… w-why are you doing this? Gya~!”
Terror filled the goblin’s eyes.
The silver-haired elf smiled meaningfully and stroked the axe blade.
Then he swung the flat side of the axe wildly at the goblin’s cheek.
“If you want to die, I’ll help you.”
Thud. Thud.
“Gya! P-please spare me! Gyaa~!”
The goblin crawled on the floor, begging.
His body was drenched in blood, nose completely flattened.
“You said you wanted to die earlier. Why are you changing your mind now?”
The silver-haired elf leaped over the counter, axe still in hand.
Beyond the counter, a terrified goblin probably still sat.
There was no video recording of the inside of the counter.
All that remained in the video now was sound.
The sound of the axe striking flesh.
The desperate plea for mercy.
That plea grew fainter and fainter, until only the pitiful goblin’s muffled whimpers remained.
Then the silver-haired elf and his young followers left the shop as if nothing had happened.
The video ended.
The white wall reappeared in the viewer.
The goblin wife sat in the victim family section, trembling as she cried.
Sobs that were too loud to be suppressed escaped her.
The gallery became restless.
The jurors’ faces were filled with shock.
“Silence in the courtroom.”
The demi-human judge slammed her gavel, silencing the noise.
“Defendant. Do you have anything to deny in the evidence?”
Over the goblin wife’s choking sobs, the judge’s dry voice continued.
Her gaze was fixed on the silver-haired elf in the prisoner’s clothes.
His long silver hair was neatly braided behind him.
It was the same silver-haired elf who had held a press conference in front of the court earlier that day.
He clasped his chin and thought for a few seconds before answering.
“No.”
The gallery guests in the courtroom murmured.
“However, there is an error.”
The judge’s pupils dilated into vertical slits, like a snake’s.
“Please state the error you are claiming.”
The vertical slit pupils were a physical trait of the reptile demi-human race, triggered by strong curiosity.
“The goblin misheard the word ‘slush’ as ‘slime’.”
“Defendant, the concept of assault or murder caused by a misunderstanding is not legally possible.”
The judge spoke to the silver-haired elf with an expressionless face.
At that moment, the neatly dressed lawyer stood up beside the elf.
“Of course, I understand. What my client is saying is that the essence of this incident is a simple mishap caused by a misunderstanding between both parties. Moreover, there is no other material or evidence to prove otherwise.”
The lawyer was treating the case as a simple mishap.
He was trying to make the jurors downplay the facts.
As expected, he turned to the jurors and continued.
“In fact, there is no video recorded inside the counter. Nevertheless, the prosecution is trying to pin this terrible charge on my client, who is an outstanding Empire citizen who has contributed enormously to the Gilorian Empire as an elf.”
The elf lawyer emphasized the word “contributed” and scanned the courtroom.
Courtroom 2006 was quite spacious, a full criminal trial court.
Three judges and eight jurors sat in the front, while journalists and audience members selected by lottery filled the back, all transcribing the trial on magic stone laptops.
Not a single seat was empty.
The lawyer turned to them one by one, then loosened the buttons on his suit jacket and took a step closer to the jurors.
This was a common tactic to seem more approachable to the jurors.
“My client graduated from a prestigious high school, joined the military in the northern region of the Gilorian Empire right after, and has only recently returned to society. An outstanding citizen of the Empire who had no reason to attack the goblin in this accidental incident.”
The lawyer paused for a moment.
“Oh! Thinking about it now, my client might be referring to the prosecution’s misunderstanding. The prosecution always looks at cases with limited imagination, after all.”
The elf lawyer winked at me.
Why any lawyer who made such a bold move was popular in the elf society remained a mystery to me.
“The video evidence presented by the prosecution contains no record of any assault. Two or three more customers entered the café after the defendant left, but none of them reported anything in a panicked or surprised manner. If someone had fallen bleeding, wouldn’t they have reported it or at least screamed?”
My microphone in front of me lit up red. I had pressed it.
“Bloodstains from the victim were found on the defendant’s axe. Considering the height of the counter, it would have been difficult for the arriving customers to notice the victim.”
The lawyer’s long speech was cut short.
It was not good for unnecessary information to enter the jurors’ heads, so I judged it best to stop him.
“The prosecution seems in a hurry.”
The lawyer smiled at me, but no one joined in the laughter.
“Good. I will not deny that bloodstains from the victim are on the defendant’s axe. But it was not the defendant who used the axe. Could an outstanding bloodline from a promising future simply attack the victim out of nowhere with an axe?”
He leaned toward the jurors.
And spoke clearly, with perfect pronunciation.
“Or perhaps a goblin who was desperately short on money and might have even contemplated suicide before attacked the defendant, tried to commit suicide with the weapon in his hand, failed, and decided to make some money by filming a drama? Where do you think you are more convinced? I sincerely hope the prosecution takes a commonsense approach.”
After finishing his statement, the lawyer spread his arms wide in an exaggerated gesture.
The jurors also looked at the lawyer with strange expressions.
The lawyer returned to his seat, turned around, and raised his middle finger.
“Furthermore, it is becoming clear that the prosecution has approached this case too sloppily. They first charged murder, then suddenly changed the charges to assault. I am very concerned that the prosecution does not fully understand the essence of this incident or have any interest in uncovering the real truth. I sincerely hope the honorable judge and the jurors reach a fair and just decision.”
The lawyer sat down.
Behind him, enthusiastic applause from the elf audience filled the courtroom.
“Silence.”
The demi-human judge slammed her gavel and turned to me.
“Do you admit to the prosecution changing the charges?”
I sat back down and pulled the microphone closer to my mouth.
“Yes, I do.”
“What is the reason?”
“Because the victim has already been judged to be dead.”
“Prosecution, please state again.”
“When the skull is completely crushed and all blood vessels severed, with almost no blood left, one usually cannot survive.”
The jurors flinched visibly.
* * *
It was extremely rare for me to appear in court myself.
Especially in a case like this that would not pay well.
One week before the court date.
That was when the head of the Freda Bureau responded to my message telling her I would handle the prosecution’s side of the case.
I had looked up the court date after seeing the news story and realized there was very little time left.
The prosecution’s interview transcripts inside the department were also very sloppy.
This case had no success fee or retainer.
The only compensation for appearing in court was a small stipend.
Moreover, since it was a case involving an elf from a high-ranking social class, very few prosecutors wanted to take responsibility and raise their name for it.
That was why I decided to handle the case alone, without the help of Piaje or Marian.
Of course, it had been extremely difficult to convince Freda Bureau Chief, but I had done it anyway.
The period until the court date was unusually short.
It was not only because the person in the prisoner’s clothes happened to be the son of the Gilorian National Tax Office deputy director, of course.