Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
With three strikes of the gavel, the deployed Barrier spell wrapped around Gen completely.
Gen formed a hand sign with one hand, the energy of Hollow Wicker Basket surrounding him, but he was still bound by the Domain and forced onto the defendant’s stand.
Hollow Wicker Basket… isn’t working?
Ah, I see.
This isn’t a purely “guaranteed-hit” type of Domain.
It’s a functional Domain, one that has never appeared before…
Then there’s no need to keep pouring Cursed Energy into it.
Gen dropped Hollow Wicker Basket and braced one hand on the defendant’s stand, staring straight at Hiromi Higuruma.
The Domain’s built-in rules had already told him how this functional Domain worked.
As long as he presented a not-guilty defense to the court, he could win this fight.
But before that.
“Hey, you’re Hiromi Higuruma, right?”
“That’s right.”
There were a few things they needed to talk about.
“What exactly are you trying to do by opening a Domain on me out of nowhere?
As the defendant, I should at least know why I’m being put on trial, shouldn’t I?”
“You killed more than 35 people in just 3 days… Under modern law, that would already qualify as a serial murder case.
As the prosecutor, it’s perfectly reasonable for me to press charges, isn’t it?”
“Oh?
Why are you so sure I killed more than 35 people, and not more than 175?”
Seeing the trace of doubt in Higuruma’s eyes, Gen more or less understood his state of mind.
Maybe he still hadn’t fully accepted things.
His expression was completely different from the one in the manga after more than ten days of fighting.
“Ever since Hajime Kashimo added that rule, I’ve been watching your ‘score’ closely.
Every time it changed, it jumped by a multiple of 5.
If it had only happened once or twice, there might still be room for doubt, but it was obvious.”
Higuruma tightened his grip on the gavel and pointed it at Gen.
“Judging by the enormous energy field you gave off when you used your psychic powers just now, you’re nothing like the people I’ve fought before.”
“Hold on.
How did you figure out I was the one who added the first rule?”
“Two people added rules in total.
Hajime Kashimo had only 0 points left after the second day’s rule addition, while your score rose several times around the time the rule was added.
That’s my basis.”
“Your deductive reasoning really is impressive.
No wonder you’re a lawyer.”
“So… before the trial begins, I want to ask you a question.”
“Go ahead, Counselor.”
Gen tried circulating his Cursed Energy.
It worked, but if he tried to open his Domain to clash with this one, the Cursed Technique attached to the Domain would judge it as an attack.
In other words, offensive Domains could not be opened inside this Domain to fight back against it.
Taking it a step further, if he summoned Mahoraga right now.
No, even chanting the Mantra would probably be judged as an attack, so that was out too.
“57 points.”
“That’s how many points I earned.
I killed 11 sorcerers who had been sentenced to death, and two ordinary people who, under the law, should have been innocent.”
“Oh?
And?”
“I tried communicating with Kogane and restricted the targets I could check to the people killed by you.
From that, I reached the following conclusion.”
Higuruma paused briefly, then took out a slip of paper.
“Hajime Zenin, 9 points… Imi Ryu, 4 points…”
“Among most of the sorcerers you killed, quite a few had scores that weren’t multiples of 5.
I have my doubts about whether ancient sorcerers like you possess the same kind of basic decency as modern people, but I just watched your fight with Fumihiko Takaba from a distance.”
“Were you hooked?”
The corners of Gen’s mouth lifted slightly.
“If this were outside the Barrier, that performance would have been worth the ticket price.
It was full of fantasy and impossible scene changes… but this is inside the Barrier.
Of course, that has nothing to do with what I’m about to say.”
“Then what are you trying to say?”
“My guess is… the main standard you use when choosing targets is ‘how much harm they pose to ordinary people.’ Under current law, that kind of behavior would waver between righteous intervention and intentional homicide, but it would ultimately fall under intentional homicide.”
“I can tell you’re pretty dissatisfied with Japan’s current laws, aren’t you?”
“You’re like a knight-errant from ancient Japan.”
After saying that, Higuruma fell silent for a moment.
“What about the question you wanted to ask?
You’ve talked for this long and still haven’t gotten it out.
Isn’t that a little much?”
“…If a sorcerer killed someone because an ordinary person angered them, or rose up and killed because someone acting as an ‘official’ interfered with fairness and justice, would you consider that sorcerer someone who absolutely had to be killed?”
“Ah… that’s a hard question to answer.
If something like that really happened, I’d probably ask for the full story first before making a judgment.”
Gen clapped his hands.
“You killed two important figures in a courtroom, and because you’re unsure of your own true feelings, you came to ask an ancient sorcerer like me.
You really are…”
Clang!
“…far too lacking in confidence.”
Clang!
After two strikes of the gavel, Higuruma spoke again.
“Judgeman, begin.”
Gen raised his head and looked at the “Shikigami,” its white face exposed within a black mass of condensed Cursed Energy.
“Gen Zenin is accused of stealing food and drinks from a KFC in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, on the morning of November 1, 2018.”
Gen froze twice over the charge.
First, because of the name Gen Zenin.
Second, because of the crime itself.
“What the hell?”
Gen stared speechlessly at Higuruma, while Higuruma held the folder and looked coldly back at him.
“…”
“I get it, I get it.
You want me to plead not guilty, right?
Then there’s one thing I need to prove.”
Gen raised both hands and spoke helplessly.
“First of all, I didn’t steal anything.
I just borrowed a little.”
“Second, even if I wanted to pay, I’d have to find an employee first, right?
I wrote an IOU, you know.”
Gen lifted his hands as he spoke, utterly exasperated.
Across from him, Hiromi Higuruma opened the document envelope in his hands without the slightest change in expression, revealing the “photos” inside.
They were photos of Gen instigating two Divine Dogs to take items from the store.
His face was clearly captured, along with the food that had supposedly been “stolen.” A large bag of hamburgers was slowly sinking into the shadow realm, while the Divine Dogs each held grilled chicken wings in their mouths.
“…Based on the contents of these photos, your statement can be deemed almost entirely unreliable.”
“Hey, at least get the IOU in the shot!
That’s perjury, you know!”
“…”
“Look, even your Shikigami went silent!
It has to be because of the perjury!
Hey!!!”
“Guilty.
Confiscation.”
As if responding to Gen’s words, the Shikigami immediately opened its mouth, and the words it spat out smashed apart the “self-respect” Gen had barely managed to build up.
Why did it have to be the one thing I absolutely can’t deny!!!!!
This is way too embarrassing.
What do I do?
Should I silence him here?
But if I silence him, that’ll just make me look petty!!!!
Amid Gen’s fierce internal struggle, the Domain slowly cracked apart and dissolved.
Right after that, the enlarged gavel came flying violently toward Gen’s body.
Gen instantly pulled the Cursed Tools from Kogane, and a shadow-like Japanese katana appeared at once, blocking the incoming gavel.