Chapter 149: The Tin Knight and The City of Scales (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 149: The Tin Knight and The City of Scales (9)
Around the time Dorothea and Adelaide were heading to their respective destinations, you were walking down the street with Sophia.
Sophia walked at a leisurely pace, occasionally stopping to admire the scenery or buy items of inscrutable purpose from the shops.
Naturally, a conversation blossomed between you and Sophia.
[The 'Tin Knight' expresses his admiration, noting that Dorothea's staff attacks grow more formidable by the day!]
[The 'Tin Knight' expresses his pride, adding that Adelaide has been training on her own lately without needing to be told!]
You were the one doing most of the talking, and Sophia was the one listening.
Your words were all over the place, following a stream of consciousness without any set topic—a luxury you couldn't afford when you were with Dorothea.
This was because Dorothea would raise a physical objection, complaining that a constant stream of messages was ringing in her head.
The brooch you possessed, once infused with mana, would transmit messages to anyone nearby without question or distinction, making it impossible to speak to a specific person unless you were physically separated like this.
Outwardly, it looked as if you were silent while Sophia was responding to nothing, drawing strange looks from some passersby, but no one approached to speak to you.
It might have been because they felt intimidated by your appearance, fully clad in what looked like heavy armor under the scorching sun, or perhaps it was due to Sophia's vaguely detached aura.
How long had you been walking?
A strange procession came into your view.
“Please, please…”
“It's okay, it's okay, it'll be fine. There's no way it won't be.”
“Great Lord, please guide me to the heavens as well…”
In front of the emerald scale that had been used in yesterday's trial, dozens of people were lined up, praying earnestly for something.
“Hey, no cutting in line!”
“Form a proper line! Those who do not follow orders will have their right to be tested revoked!”
Guards stood around the queue, controlling the people. Despite their rather coercive atmosphere and attitude, no one expressed any complaints or defiance.
You strained your eyes and ears, observing what was happening at the very front of the line.
A chair and desk were set up under an outdoor tent.
An official of the domain, sitting there, spoke with a bored expression.
“Next!”
“Finally, my turn.”
A young man at the front of the line, who appeared to be from a fairly wealthy background judging by his clothes and demeanor, stepped forward.
The official continued in a businesslike tone.
“Place your hand on the scale and pray to the Great Lord.”
The young man did as he was told, placing his hand on the scale and closing his eyes.
One, five, ten seconds.
Seeing no reaction from the scale, the official spoke.
“It's over. Step away.”
The young man's face, when he opened his eyes, twisted bizarrely.
“W-wait! Please, check just one more time! I traveled for over a week to come to this city just for this!”
“I will say it one last time. Step away. There will be no next warning.”
As if to prove the official's words, soldiers waiting nearby approached the young man menacingly.
The young man tried to argue, but ultimately couldn't withstand the soldiers' pressure and complied.
It wasn't that the young man was a coward.
To you, they might be nothing more than grunts you could easily defeat, but to an ordinary person, the regular soldiers of a large city were practically grim reapers.
Stepping far away from the scale and muttering a small curse was the most resistance the young man could offer.
The official, as if this were a familiar occurrence, paid the young man no mind and called out again.
“Next!”
“Yes…”
The one who answered in a small voice was a shabbily dressed girl.
Her clothes were filthy, and her frame was small.
She hadn't washed properly, and a foul odor emanated from her body, causing some of the people in line and the nearby soldiers to wrinkle their noses.
The official also seemed to want to let out a sigh for a moment, but like a seasoned civil servant, he continued in a businesslike tone.
“Place your hand on the scale and pray to the Great Lord.”
The girl placed her hand on the scale and closed her eyes.
About nine seconds passed, just as the official was preparing to speak.
-Vwoom!
The scale trembled faintly, and a dim halo of light appeared around the girl's body before vanishing.
The people around them began to murmur, and a strange light glinted in the official's eyes.
Only the girl herself, unaware of what had happened, glanced around nervously.
“Congratulations on embracing God's grace. From this moment on, you are eligible to receive training as a trainee priest, and depending on your performance, you may be granted residence in the heavenly realm.”
The reluctant air he had shown just moments ago vanished without a trace, and the official adopted an extremely polite attitude.
At first, the girl was dazed, as if she didn't understand what she had just heard, but soon she began to tremble with emotion and cry.
The official had someone guide the girl away, and the people in the queue stared after her with envy.
[The 'Tin Knight' asks if they are perhaps selecting holy power holders!]
“Yes. Holy power is a power that responds to prayer, but not everyone who prays can manifest it.”
Sophia replied to your question.
Her reddish, deep pink eyes gazed at the emerald scale.
“Therefore, holy power holders are rare, and the Kingdom of Heaven treats them very well. In fact, that's the very reason for the existence of the King of Heaven's territory. It's more efficient to create a fixed base and have people come on their own than to wander around searching for them randomly.”
[The 'Tin Knight' observes that judging by the people's reactions, the treatment must be quite good!]
“Users of holy power on the surface are extremely rare, so they are treated as honored guests in any country. And more importantly, they can obtain residency in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Softly, as if singing, Sophia continued.
“It is the distant heavenly realm. A country where there is no hunger, no poverty, no disease. Putting aside what it's really like, based on the rumors spread on the surface, the Kingdom of Heaven is paradise itself. For those who already lead a stable life here, it might be different, but it's no wonder that those who don't would yearn for it.”
[The 'Tin Knight' asks what Sophia thinks!]
“I dislike it.”
It was an immediate reply, without a single breath of hesitation.
“Control, discipline, oppression... I don't deny their necessity. Sometimes, they do create order. But they are not to my taste.”
[The 'Tin Knight' agrees, saying that the chaotic and free side is more fun!]
“Yes, in that sense... Sir Tin. I have a favor to ask.”
You gazed at Sophia.
She casually held up a cone-shaped tool she had bought earlier while walking through the streets and spoke.
“I'd like to cause a little trouble. Could you help me?”
*
Porcher, an official of Justitia, thought to himself from behind the blank, impassive face typical of a public servant.
‘...Today wasn't so bad, after all.’
The reason he thought so was simple.
It was because he had fished out a precious holder of holy power.
Having been in charge of this selection duty for nearly three years, Porcher had discovered about a hundred holy power holders.
It seemed like a large number at first glance, but considering he tested anywhere from dozens to hundreds of candidates a day, it was a miserable success rate.
This was even more so when you considered that out of the hundred or so he found, only a handful became capable of using holy magic at a practical level.
Discovering a holy power holder didn't bring him any particular benefits, but it was more satisfying to have accomplished something, rather than wasting a day on nothing.
‘The light of holy power was very faint, but she seemed young, so with training, she might become a capable person. ...My attitude wasn't particularly strange, was it? I do try to treat all candidates as fairly as possible before the test.’
It was then, as Porcher was lost in thought, calmly working through the queue, that a strange sound reached his ears.
“What are they doing over there?”
“Is it some kind of circus troupe?”
“There are only two of them, what kind of troupe is that?”
The people around were all murmuring, looking towards a certain spot.
Porcher's gaze also turned in that direction.
And Porcher couldn't help but blurt out.
“What is that?”
There was a knight, clad head to toe in armor despite the hot weather.
The knight held a long pole in his left hand. To its end, a single chair leg was tied tightly with rope. On closer inspection, it seemed it wasn't just tied with rope, but also nailed to secure the pole and the chair leg together.
A beautiful, green-haired woman was sitting on the chair, and despite the extremely unstable-looking arrangement, she appeared perfectly serene.
Come to think of it, there was a furniture store around here, Porcher recalled, as if escaping from reality.
While the people around them were captivated by the bizarre sight, the woman raised a cone-shaped magic tool.
Or, to put it in the Tin Knight's terms, a 'megaphone', and began to speak.
《Hello, residents of Justitia. And to the travelers who have come from afar. I have something to say to you all, which is why I've arranged this occasion.》
《I don't intend to say anything particularly grand. I simply wish to express a personal opinion, a question that suddenly came to mind about the very meaning of the scale's existence. I would be grateful if you would lend me your ears.》
《Everyone, I want to ask you.》
《—Is the scale truly just? Is the scale truly necessary for this city?》
The surroundings fell silent for a moment.
Porcher doubted his own ears.
As if oblivious to his shock, the woman calmly continued.
《Those who commit crimes are punished. This is a matter of course. Not because it is good, but because society would collapse otherwise.》
《In that sense, the scale is quite a useful tool and system. I will not deny that. It is the way of the world that punishments change depending on who delivers the verdict for the same crime, but with the scale, there is at least no fear of that. A minimum of 'fairness'—in other words, 'trust'—is guaranteed.》
《However, separate from this 'fairness,' I can't help but question whether the scale's judgments are truly reasonable and just.》
《First, there's the clause that sin can be substituted with value. To put it in extreme terms, if there were an incredibly wealthy mage, they could suddenly cast a large-scale spell in the middle of this square, slaughter you all, and still be found innocent. They could just toss over a hundredth of their fortune and sleep soundly in their beds.》
Porcher finally snapped out of it and quickly ordered the soldiers.
“Wh-what are you doing! Stop her! Stop her now!”
The soldiers finally rushed toward them in a hurry, but it was impossible to stop the woman's words.
Because the knight holding the chair the woman was sitting on was deftly dodging their attacks, weaving here and there.
He even showed the composure to ensure the woman above him didn't fall or lose her posture.
《'The sins of Justitia are not questioned outside,' and 'The sins of the outside are not questioned in Justitia.' This clause is also frankly questionable. If someone used a giant catapult from outside Justitia to crush a resident inside to death with a stone, is that an inside sin or an outside sin?》
《Many criminals, fearing arrest outside, hide in Justitia and commit new crimes here. In effect, the city itself is inviting potential criminals.》
《Of course, this might be ignoring the advantages and only highlighting the disadvantages. Even if a law is somewhat problematic, it can always be improved by fixing and amending the problematic parts.》
《However, I must ask this here.》
《If a law has problems and is arbitrarily amended, is that law truly absolute?》
《Conversely, if problems that arise from a law are ignored to protect its absoluteness, is that law truly just?》
《I would be grateful if you, the residents and travelers, would share your valuable opinions with me.》
《Oh, and don't worry! There is absolutely no clause in the laws of Justitia that says 'one must not doubt the scale'!》