- The Trial -

Deep within the castle’s prison walls Aoi punches the cell’s doors.

“Those ungrateful wretches!” Aoi complains, “After all we did for them!”

“It’s alright…” Taro sits in a corner of the cell. “We’ve got to figure out how to do this peacefully.”

“Peacefully?!” she says in amazement, “They’ll sick their dogs on us before they’ll work with us!”

“Ah…” Taro looks at the ground and pokes at some rocks.

To be honest this kind of reaction was to be expected in Taro’s mind. Though he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to circumvent this just yet.

*Boom!

The side of the cell walls explode.

“Ah! What happened?!” Taro exclaims,

It was Akari who was situated in the neighboring cell.

“Tarooo! I got lonely!” she wipes a tear from her eye.

“Ahaha…” he laughs awkwardly.

The guards rush in.

“You brigands! Trying to escape already?!” he shouts,

“Huhh?!” Aoi snaps at him, “If we wanted to we could, you whelp!”

The guards look at the wall busted between the two cells and gulps.

“J-Just don’t do it again!” he orders,

“Yeah yeah…” Aoi flicks a pebble off the guard’s helmet.

One awkwardly shuffles out of the room.

“Guard.” Taro calls out to the remaining enforcer, “What’s going to happen now?”

“*Ahem…” He nervously adjusts his collar. “You will all be put on trial to be judged appropriately,”

“I see…” Taro says,

He spots Elaine in the corner of the other cell. She had her knees up to her face with a solemn expression.

“Elaine…”

…

The next day arrives and the prisoners are taken to a grand court room amidst a jeering crowd full of dissenters. They were chained up in a chain gang formation, the order going: Elaine, Taro, Aoi and Akari. The chancellor sits upon the throne in the center of the hall. An ornate statue with a scale in its right hand stood before him.

“Heh.” Aoi laughs,

“Hm?” Taro inquires,

“The chancellor must have a cold or something?” she says,

“What makes you say that?”,

“He coughed just now?”

“Huh? But I didn’t see…”

Their conversation was interrupted when the chancellor slammed his staff into the ground, sending a booming echo throughout the hall.

“All here to bear witness the fate of these interlopers that plot to destroy our beautiful city!”

The crowd cheers. Elaine remained austere amongst the noise.

“Bring forth the traitor!” He shouts,

The guards escort the knight to the pedestal before the statue.

“Elaine Carmillia, former commander of the Justiciar legion. You trespass your exile, align yourself with these demons!.” He begins,

“But-!”

The crowd gasps in anticipation.

“I foresee a different story!” He regales, “The once disgraced knight found tell of evil demons seeking to infiltrate and undermine our beautiful city! And under the guise of collaboration she sought to infiltrate and undermine them secretly instead!”

“This guy has quite the imagination!” Taro jeers,

“Shut up!” the guard knocks the wind out of Taro,

“She would cast away her pride to protect this holy city! It is commendable and not to be seen as treachery!" He continues, “Say it is so, and you will be spared. Continue to ply your services and in time… If you prove to be loyal you may even earn your title back…”

The chancellor makes an expectant grin as the crowd roars at the fabricated story.

Elaine looks to him defiantly.

“I have no guilt!" she cries, “I need not title or renown, I aided my friends of my own volition!”

“Tch!” the chancellor clicks his tongue, “Very well! There is only one way to ascertain your guilt!”

“Weigh the mass of her sin before the scale!” he announces,

A guard makes a praying cross with his hands and blesses a feather, then places the feather to one side of the scale that sits in the statue’s hands.

Another guard then places a feather on Elaine’s head, makes a few prayer and then places it on the other side of the scale.

The scale moves in both directions before settling on the side of Elaine’s supposed guilt.

The crowd roars at the result.

“It is spoken!” The chancellor announces, “She is guilty! Let justice be done! Lest the heavens fall!"

“Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!” the crowd shouts in unison.

Elaine turns to Taro,

“Thanks for everything Taro… Try as I might, I must abide by the customs that I’ve been enforcing on others… This is where I get off.”

“NO! I WON’T LET IT!” Taro shouts, the echoes silences the crowd.

“A… kappa?..” someone in the crowd whispers.

“I thought I told you to shut up!” the guard approaches again to hit Taro once more, but this time Aoi catches the implement with her shackled hands and snaps it off the ground.

The crowd gasps at the sudden act of violence.

“Akari, break off the bottom skirt of that statue.” Taro orders,

“Taro!” Elaine protests,

“Aye aye, captain~” Akari leisurely snaps her restraints and saunters over the statue,

“S-Stop her!” The chancellor feebly orders,

Guards attempted to surround her but none were brave enough to approach.

With a hefty punch she knocks the statue’s evidently hollow shell to reveal a man hunched inside of its mechanism. Pull strings were used to influence the result of the test. The confused crowd murmurs doubts.

“Sorry Elaine..” Taro says to the distraught knight, “I can’t let you do that. Because we’re a party now!”

“Taro…”

“F-Foul sorcery! They e-employ illusions!” the chancellor desperately attempts to cover the revelation, “Guards! Execute them all!”

“For what charge my lord?!” the guard cries,

“They desecrated a holy relic of Saint Justina! It is s-sacrilege!” he stutters, “This requires immediate action! Kill them all! KILL THEM NOW!”

“The justiciar’s used to be a proud organization protecting the innocent and the weak that cannot protect themselves!” Elaine shouts “Think to yourselves!”

“Is this right?!
Is this what we’re fighting for?!

These people protected us from the siege!

And they are rewarded with imprisonment and execution!

It is not the will of Saint Justina nor even the corrupted desires of the chancellor!

You are the only ones that guide your own actions!

Does this feel noble to you?!”

Many of the guards feel the weight of their sins and look to each other.

“What are you waiting for!” The chancellor’s voice grew ragged, “Eliminate those that doubt as well!"

The court room was quickly turning to chaos, people turn to each other in confusion.

The few still loyal to the chancellor approach the demons, traitors and Taro.

–

“Wait!!!!~” a shrill voice pierces the hall.

The grand ornate door burst open behind the chancellor. It was Lyla with her big fizzy hair that bursted through.

“Ah. P-Princess?!” The chancellor stutters,