The Bizarre Law

Humans and Archons exist on entirely different scales.

Previously, Furina's physical strength was no different from that of a mortal girl. But after obtaining the Divine Body, her power skyrocketed to the level of an Archon.

The gap between a mortal and an Archon is as vast as that between a human and a god.

Leaping instantly from human strength to that of an Archon made it difficult for her to control the sudden increase in power, causing her to accidentally apply excessive force.

Because of this, Furina and Felina had been avoiding contact with others for the past few days, worried that a mere handshake could accidentally crush someone's hand.

"Felina, this can't go on! If we don't adapt soon, we won't be able to live a normal life!"

Furina sighed, confiding in Felina in hopes that she could come up with a solution.

Hearing Furina's frustration, Felina also realized that they couldn't continue like this.

She thought for a moment and quickly came up with a brilliant idea.

"Furina, remember the rush you felt last time when we were selling those fake Sinthe products?"

"Huh?" Furina looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"You know, that thrill of bending the rules just a little. Do you want to try something like that again?"

As previously mentioned, Furina had been bound by rules and regulations for nearly five hundred years. The more her personality was suppressed, the stronger her sense of rebellion grew.

That was why she'd been so thrilled about selling fake Sinthe products before—bending the rules gave her a release from her long-standing restraints.

Now, hearing Felina bring up the idea again, Furina's eyes lit up instantly!

Just like a rebellious child being egged on, she eagerly exclaimed, "Yes, yes! What do we do?"

Seeing Furina so enthusiastic, Felina proceeded to share her plan.

In Felina's opinion, Fontaine's judicial system was somewhat unreasonable.

In her previous world, the principle of innocent until proven guilty was fundamental.

What did that mean? Let's use an example.

Suppose a wealthy, influential person murdered someone in a secluded spot, and a passerby happened to witness it.

To eliminate witnesses, the wealthy individual sent an assassin to kill the passerby, who then committed suicide, leaving no evidence.

Even if all signs pointed to the wealthy person as the killer, without concrete proof, as long as they firmly denied it, the court could not convict them.

Fontaine's system, however, operated under guilty until proven innocent.

What does this mean? Let's use the same example.

There might be no decisive proof, but if the wealthy person had a conflict of interest with the victim and was in the vicinity on that day, various indications might lead to suspicion.

As long as the reasoning was logical and self-consistent, and it convinced the audience, even without concrete proof, the judge could still find the suspect guilty in Fontaine.

Take, for instance, the trial of Vacher in the main storyline. The protagonist team uncovered things like the Sinthe production facility, pieces of young girls' clothing, and Vacher's notebook at the base.

With these findings, the protagonist and Navia established a coherent narrative, leading to the theory that Marcelle was actually Vacher.

But there was a problem with this. The evidence they found only supported their own theory and connected the dots logically.

However, was there any proof that the base belonged to Marcelle?

Was there any proof that Marcelle was Vacher?

No decisive proof at all.

So, in Fontaine's judicial system, it felt more like both sides stood on stage with their "evidence" and wove stories. Whoever told the most compelling, logical story that resonated with the audience won.

Of course, both systems—innocent until proven guilty and guilty until proven innocent—have their pros and cons.

The advantage of innocent until proven guilty is that it prevents good people from being wrongfully framed.

But the drawback is that every trial must strictly follow legal statutes, meaning if there's no law explicitly prohibiting an act, it's allowed.

This inevitably allows legal experts to exploit loopholes, potentially evading justice.

Fontaine's system of guilty until proven innocent has the disadvantage of making it easier for people to be wrongfully accused.

However, its advantage lies in being able to convict criminals who are clearly guilty but lack definitive evidence.

In Fontaine, as long as the people believe you're guilty, their collective sense of justice can sway the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale's verdict.

All in all, each system has its pros and cons, and Felina didn't plan to change Fontaine's judicial principles entirely.

But there was one rule in Fontaine's system that Felina found truly incomprehensible—and extremely frustrating.

This rule allowed a suspect to request a duel before trial.

The suspect could defend their honor by fighting a Judicial Agent in a duel. If they won, they could avoid trial altogether.

What did this imply?

It meant that if a mighty fighter who could defeat all Judicial Agents arrived in Fontaine, they could essentially ignore all of Fontaine's laws because they could simply duel their way out of any charges.

This rule essentially created a loophole that allowed the strong to bypass the law.

Such a system was a blatant disregard for the rule of law and unfair to ordinary citizens who diligently followed the rules but lacked physical power.

Hearing Felina's reasoning, Furina couldn't help but feel that it made perfect sense!

"If that's the case, why don't we deliberately break some rules and then use the dueling loophole to avoid trial?"

"This way, we could both adapt to our new strength through combat and encourage the improvement of Fontaine's laws. Isn't that a win-win?"

"Brilliant!"

Furina's eyes widened with excitement. "Alright, let's do it!"

To better adapt to her newly acquired strength, Furina and Felina embarked on their "Law-Breaking Journey of a God of Justice."

That day, Neuvillette was enjoying a quiet moment in his office, savoring a glass of water. Although Furina and Felina still hadn't taken on any official responsibilities, Felina's arrival had resolved many of Fontaine's hidden issues, which greatly eased Neuvillette's workload.

By noon, he could finally enjoy a well-deserved break.

"I suppose she's actually quite responsible when it comes to Fontaine," he thought. "As long as she doesn't pull another stunt like selling counterfeit Sinthe again, she'd really save me a lot of worry."

Neuvillette swirled the glass in his hand with genuine contentment. But before he could fully savor the moment, an officer from the guard unit rushed in.

"Lord Neuvillette, we have a situation!"

"And what is it?" Neuvillette raised an eyebrow.

"Well…someone launched an aerial object today."

"An aerial object?"

Neuvillette recalled a specific Fontaine ordinance: no aerial objects were permitted on the first three days of each month. But this wasn't exactly a serious offense.

"Today is the first, so yes, launching aerial objects is indeed forbidden. But this is hardly a grave crime. Just issue a warning and fine the person responsible. Why was this brought to me?"

The officer broke into a cold sweat. "Well, the offender is none other than Lady Furina."

"What?"

Neuvillette blinked. "Even so, gods who break the law are subject to the same penalties as commoners. Just issue her a fine."

"That was indeed what we attempted, my lord," the officer explained. "Seeing Lady Furina launch the aerial object, we assumed she might have been too occupied with her duties to recall this particular regulation, so we intended to issue her a symbolic fine as a reminder."

"However…Lady Furina firmly refused to pay the fine."

The officer looked at Neuvillette in despair. According to procedure, if the individual refused to pay the fine, the severity of the incident would escalate, and the offender would have to face trial. Normally, such minor cases were handled directly by the judiciary, and offenders were simply sent to Meropide for a few days until they settled down.

But the one in question was Furina—the Archon of Fontaine! Who in their right mind would dare try her? Or even consider sending her to Meropide?

"It's a hot potato, my lord. None of the judges want to touch this case, so we had no choice but to report it to you."

Neuvillette sighed, massaging his temples. It hadn't even been a few days of peace before this trouble started again.

Publicly trying an Archon was simply out of the question.

After considering it for a moment, Neuvillette replied, "In that case, deduct the fine from her wages for the next month. I'll reprimand her personally and settle the matter."

Just as a nation's leader may have their expenses covered, Furina, as the Archon, still received a formal salary. Deducting the fine from her salary seemed like an appropriate punishment.

Neuvillette looked up, expecting the officer to leave, but the man only shifted awkwardly, clearly still troubled.

Feeling a sudden premonition, Neuvillette cautiously inquired, "Has something else happened?"

The officer's face was drenched in sweat. "My lord, your solution is indeed fair. However…it may be too late."

"After refusing to pay the fine, Lady Furina released several dozen more balloons in the middle of the street, shouting, 'I refuse to pay any fines! Try me if you dare!' It's now causing a public commotion, and even reporters have caught wind of it. The situation is getting out of control."

Neuvillette felt his head throbbing with frustration.

He couldn't fathom why Furina had suddenly become so determined to cause trouble. But the situation was too far gone, and even he couldn't downplay it now.

Since no judge dared to try the Archon, Neuvillette had no choice but to take the matter into his own hands.

"So be it. I'll use this opportunity to send her to Meropide for a few days to curb her enthusiasm. Who knows what other trouble she might stir up otherwise."

With this in mind, Neuvillette set off for the opera house.

the God of Justice breaking the law and then publicly challenging anyone to try her was an act of sheer audacity! The news quickly sparked widespread attention, filling the opera house to capacity.

Yet, as Neuvillette ascended to the judge's seat, the proceedings took an unexpected turn.

"I refuse to be tried! I declare my right to defend my honor through a duel!"

In response to the accusations, Furina brazenly invoked her right to a trial by combat.

Now it was the Champion Duelist's turn to break into a cold sweat.

This was a god, after all! Who in their right mind would challenge a god to a duel?

And yet, the rules were clear: if the defendant invoked the right to a duel, the court had no choice but to grant it.

Thus, the duel commenced.

Since the body was shared, it wasn't only Felina who needed to master their newly gained strength; Furina needed it as well.

So, Furina took the lead in the duel.

When it came to fighting, Furina was far less skilled in both power control and combat experience compared to Felina, so her performance in the duel was subpar at best.

However, it didn't really matter; she was a revered Archon. Who would dare to truly injure her?

Or worse—who would dare win against her?

Despite Furina's clear lack of technique and the many openings in her defense, the Champion Duelist held back, terrified of using too much force.

This duel turned out to be the most challenging of his life.

Too much force might injure the Archon, but holding back might leave him vulnerable to one of her swings.

And besides, his opponent was his own superior!

Not taking the fight seriously might insult her, yet going all out might put her in an embarrassing position.

In the end, with his pulse racing and his clothes drenched in sweat, he applied every ounce of his wit and skill, finally ensuring that Furina managed to "defeat" him without either of them suffering any injuries or loss of dignity.

And so, after a rather absurd battle, the Champion Duelist's nightmare ended, and Furina was acquitted of all charges.

However, just when Neuvillette and everyone else thought Furina would finally settle down…

Later that afternoon, the officer returned to Neuvillette's office.

"What now?"

"Lord Neuvillette," the officer stammered, "Lady Furina…she's launched more balloons."

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