Chapter 105: Goddess Trial
[space_man][space_man]Day 9 of the stay in the central capital.
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[space_man][space_man]Goddess Court. It is located within a building on the north side of the central capital. It was a sacred and spacious area, like a church.
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[space_man][space_man]Attending were Balza, the King of the Lutodelein Kingdom, Inicia, the First Prince, the lords of the Five Great Houses, three judges of the Goddess Court, and Eld and Moira.
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[space_man][space_man]All trials are first reported to the Goddess. Afterward, cases with divine pronouncements are assigned to the Goddess Court, while others are assigned to regular trials.
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[space_man][space_man]The Goddess Trial is held only when there is a divine pronouncement from the Goddess. The words of the Goddess are absolute, and the verdict delivered there cannot be overturned by any means.
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[space_man][space_man]And the Goddess only appears on a whim. Even if the Goddess Trial is held, the judgment is made by divine pronouncement, making it a rather unstable trial.
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[space_man][space_man]Currently, they are waiting for the defendant, Marie. Eld was restless and anxious. Marie was not at fault in this case. At least, she wouldn’t be judged by the laws of this country. However, there was no way to predict what the Goddess would say. Therefore, he tried to contact the Goddess, whom he always relied on in one way or another, but he couldn’t get in touch with her at all.
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[space_man][space_man]Eld thought that even if he could contact Goddess Aleamia, she wouldn’t be able to do much because it was outside her jurisdiction. However, he had hoped to get information from the Goddess’s perspective about the details of this case and the Goddess Trial.
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[space_man][space_man]However, not only was he unable to get any information, he couldn’t even get in touch with her. As a result, Eld was unusually anxious, despite his expressionless face.
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[space_man][space_man]”The defendant, Marie, has arrived.”
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[space_man][space_man]While Eld’s mind was filled with anxiety and confusion, the two messengers who had barged into the inn entered the room. Behind them was Marie, wearing bracelets.
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[space_man][space_man]Eld looked at the bracelets on Marie’s wrists. Besides the bracelets she wore as a matching set with him as an engagement gift, the ones on both her hands were probably magic-sealing bracelets. They were used in regular courts to prevent defendants from acting violently. However, it was different from regular trials in that everyone present had to wear magic-sealing bracelets.
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[space_man][space_man]Marie was made to stand in the center of the room by the messengers. Eld and Moira were positioned behind Marie. Everyone else was in front of her.
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[space_man][space_man]”Now that everyone is here, let the Goddess Trial commence.”
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[space_man][space_man]The most pompous-looking man in the judge’s seat stood up and raised his voice. Then he turned to the stone statue of the Goddess that decorated the room.
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[space_man][space_man]”Goddess of Judgment, Themis-sama, reveal your presence before us.”
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[space_man][space_man]The man knelt on the cloth laid on the floor and bowed his head as if prostrating himself. He repeated the same line five times.
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[space_man][space_man]After the fifth time, he stood up and looked at Marie, who was standing in the center.
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[space_man][space_man]”Hmm, it seems the Goddess cannot come. If we wait a little longer, a divine pronouncement will surely descend. Let us wait for a while until then.”
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[space_man][space_man]The Goddess Trial was rarely held in the first place. The last time it was held was over 60 years ago. It was recorded that even then, the Goddess did not appear. Therefore, everyone thought that the Goddess would not appear this time either, and a divine pronouncement would be given. However, it seemed to be different this time.
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[space_man][space_man]Suddenly, Eld felt as if the color of the lighting had changed, and he looked up. And the ceiling that should have been there had changed into a pale blue space. Then he saw three lights descending.
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[space_man][space_man]”Hey, could that be……”
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[space_man][space_man]Eld recognized the voice, but he didn’t know who it belonged to. At that voice, everyone in the room looked up and witnessed the Goddess descending.
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[space_man][space_man]Eld couldn’t believe his eyes. One of the three descending Goddesses was a Goddess he knew well.
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[space_man][space_man]The three Goddesses landed in front of the statue of the Goddess. Then the Goddess with blonde hair and yellow eyes in the middle spoke up.
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[space_man][space_man]”Goddess of Judgment, Themis. I have arrived in accordance with the rules of the Goddess Trial.”
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[space_man][space_man]”O…… Oh…… Goddess-sama…… You really came……”
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[space_man][space_man]The pompous judge prostrated himself and his voice trembled with emotion. The other attendees must have also been moved, as they let out trembling voices that couldn’t be understood.
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[space_man][space_man]”Hmm. It’s been 100 years since I descended to the Goddess Trial. This time, I received a request to judge this case and accepted it. I will read out the contents of the request to confirm there are no errors. Please verify.”
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[space_man][space_man]As she said that, the Goddess with blonde hair and blue eyes who had descended stepped forward and read out the summary of the trial. It was mostly correct. Except for one point, that Marie had killed the High Priest, who was a human.
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[space_man][space_man]”Now, are there any mistakes in this?”
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[space_man][space_man]Themis asked as she looked around. Hearing that, Eld stood up.
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[space_man][space_man]”Goddess Themis, there is one mistake in the content, so I would like to correct it.”
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[space_man][space_man]Everyone was astonished by his words. It wasn’t a problem to point out a mistake and suggest a correction, but they thought that speaking in such a way would earn the Goddess’s displeasure. Eld also felt that he had gone too far after he finished speaking. Aleamia was also there, and he had made the suggestion in the way he spoke to her.
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[space_man][space_man]”Kukuku, I see. This is an interesting man. Don’t worry about the way you speak. We are not necessarily superior to you.”
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[space_man][space_man]Themis and the other Goddess laughed as they looked at Aleamia.
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[space_man][space_man]”Ah, yes…… I’m sorry…… Well…… First of all, in this country, even if you assault or kill someone who has taken the form of a monster through forbidden magic, it is considered the same as a monster and is not a crime. And the High Priest had taken the form of an Ice Tiger at that time due to forbidden magic.”
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[space_man][space_man]”Hmm. Indeed, our investigation confirmed that as well. Even in the Goddess Trial, the laws of the country are applied. So, does that mean the request this time was false?”
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[space_man][space_man]Themis looked at the judge.
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[space_man][space_man]”N-no…… The information we received was that……”
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[space_man][space_man]The pompous judge was flustered.
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[space_man][space_man]”I see…… Oh, there you are, King.”
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[space_man][space_man]Themis looked around and found Balza.
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[space_man][space_man]”I am currently serving as the King, Balza……”
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[space_man][space_man]”You don’t have to be so formal. I have no intention of remembering the names of humans who will soon be replaced.”
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[space_man][space_man]Themis stopped Balza from standing up and bowing.
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[space_man][space_man]”It seems that information transmission is not working well in this country. What do you intend to do as King?”
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[space_man][space_man]”Y-yes, I apologize. After investigating why this happened, I will ensure that such a thing does not happen again……”
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[space_man][space_man]”Sigh, that’s it, huh? The King 100 years ago said the same thing. I thought things might change a little, but well……”
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[space_man][space_man]Themis sighed in exasperation.
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[space_man][space_man]”I-I apologize……”
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[space_man][space_man]Balza bowed his head, looking truly apologetic.
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[space_man][space_man]”Well, I guess that’s just human desire. It seems that this time, it was intentionally distorted because of that desire. That’s none of our business.”
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[space_man][space_man]Themis shook her head in resignation.
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[space_man][space_man]”Then, let us issue a verdict on the case that was requested this time.”
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[space_man][space_man]Themis paused for a moment.
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[space_man][space_man]”The defendant, Marie, is acquitted.”
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[space_man][space_man]When Themis declared loudly, Eld checked the seats of the Five Great Houses. The people there were all familiar to Eld. And he found the person he was looking for.
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[space_man][space_man]”I see. This is unexpected……”
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[space_man][space_man]Eld’s mutter was only audible to Moira.
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[space_man][space_man]”Then, this Goddess Trial is adjourned.”
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[space_man][space_man]Goddess Aleamia declared, and the three Goddesses floated up and headed towards the ceiling, just as they had come. When Eld looked up at Aleamia, Aleamia also looked at Eld and he felt like she gave him a smile.