Chapter 29 - Preparations for the Trial

Chapter 29 – Preparations for the Trial

Author's Note: I had a bit of stuff to jam in here before the trial.

After heartily greeting the Arcian soldiers and finding quarters for them to stay at, I quickly made my way towards the castle. I had a basic idea of what she wanted to tell me. I told Indigo and the others to stay in the inn, as this was a one-man job.

In classic bureaucratic fashion, and in accordance with common sense, having a foreign leader prosecute in your behalf wouldn't be a good look. She was probably going to address that issue.

I met the queen all alone in the empty throne room, the chandeliers glistening in the dim light. The queen was regally seated on her throne, waving her fan left to right.

"Mr. President. We have serious matters to discuss."

"With all due respect, do tell."

"As you may be aware, having the leader of a foreign nation prosecute on my behalf would not be a good look for myself, yourself, or the nation as a whole. Rumors would surely emerge, maybe even that you had somehow seduced me and that I was under your controlled."

Mirellia and I both cringed at the thought. Sure, she was beautiful, but she was much older than me and married. Anyways, she was the sovereign of another nation, so that wouldn't do.

"Due to this, I propose that you shall be made a Count of Melromarc, to assuage public fears and ensure that the security of Melromarc shall not be compromised. I assure you this deal is mutually beneficial. Naturally, a count should rule over a county."

This was a good idea. Since I would the title of count, this would mean that Mirellia would technically be my liege, but this means that I would only hold allegiance to her while operating under the guise of the count, while still retaining full autonomy as the president of Arcium. The plan was practically foolproof.

Mirellia pointed towards the map hanging from the wall.

"Here are the available territories that do not currently have a ruler. Please, take your pick."

I browsed through the selection of territories, not knowing which to pick. I didn't want to seem greedy and pick too much land or be a complete idiot and pick useless land. I had to pick the most strategic territory that would benefit myself and the nation the most. This would be my only opportunity.

Suddenly, I noticed a small peninsula, abutting Melromarc's southern sea. It and the land around it was currently not under the jurisdiction of any noble, and the land was quite small. The whole territory comprised of at most a few dozen square miles.

Arcium didn't have a port on the Southern Sea, so if I eventually developed this town into something like Gibraltar, it would allow Arcium easy access to both seas, and supplies to and from the territory could be transported through Melromarc.

"If I may, can I be the ruler of this land?"

"That is perfectly alright. The ruler of that land had just died, and there are no suitable heirs within a few generations. Are you sure, though? The territory is quite small and only has a thousand inhabitants."

"Yes. I believe this is the most suitable piece of land for me."

"Then, what name will you select for your new county?"

Hmm. That was touch. I thought and thought for a few minutes, but I realized that there were also other things that I had to discuss with Mirellia, and I also had to meet up with Naofumi. An easy name would be best.

"Port Sera." I announced.

"Then, this issue is settled."

We had a lengthy conversation about the specifics of the trial and our game plan, and how to appease Naofumi. We both wanted Aultcray and Malty to be convicted, and we both agreed that they should not be put to death.

I waved Mirellia a hearty goodbye as I left the throne room. That woman was a pleasure to be around, but she was dangerous, and I knew it.

Then, at full velocity, I sprinted towards the inn where I was supposed to meet up with Naofumi. I was probably running a tad late.

As I pounded on the door three times, it suddenly swung open. Naofumi, Raphtalia, Melty and Filo were all awaiting me.

"Alright. We have some important stuff to discuss."

I explained my plans for the trial to Naofumi. I had three good witnesses in mind. One was the minister of finance, which would not dare oppose the queen, one was a villager who had her village burnt down by the forest fires that Malty had caused, and another was a church disciple who had confessed to me that he overheard Malty plotting against Naofumi with church officials. The last one made Naofumi grit his teeth in rage.

"As much as I know you hate Malty and Aultcray, we are not going to use the shock slave crest for the trial. Instead, we will use a modified version that will emit a non-damaging visible current that will flash brightly when a lie is told. This will cause the countrymen to reverse their negative thoughts about you as a "Shield Demon."

Naofumi reluctantly agreed to the proposal. I could tell he really wanted to hurt Malty.

"Now, what do you propose her punishment shall be? Right now, we have proof to charge her with arson, poaching, petty theft, treason, high treason, manslaughter, damaging and stealing crops and finally false accusation of rape. For Aultcray, we can only charge him with high treason and high treason, so his punishment would be less severe."

"Put them to death!"

"I'm sorry to inform you, but there is no way the queen is going to agree to that. Before you make any decisions, though, let me tell you more about Aultcray."

I summarized the stories of Aultcray and his wartime accomplishments to Naofumi, which I had heard of from the citizens of Melromarc and Arcium, and from Rishia. Naofumi started to calm down a bit after realizing what he had been through.

"You know what, you're right. Aultcray should just be expelled from the royal family. But Malty? She should be sentenced to death."

"Of course," I continued. "We should look for that as the punishment. But right when the verdict is about to be handed down and the crowd is booing them for their actions, we should offer them a plea bargain."

"What do you propose?" Everybody asked.

"We should force Malty to pay back her debts by continuing to serve as Motoyasu's party member, and for the both of them to be expelled from the royal family and relinquish all claims to the throne. For now, though, I can't seem to think of any further punishments."

"Although I think that Aultcray is trash for what he did to me, there is no denying his heroism in combat and his patriotism for his country. As much as I hate to say this, we should keep his name the way it is, but just removing the "King" part."

"I get what you're hinting at. Continue."

"However, Malty has been a complete dumpster fire. She has no positive qualities whatsoever, and she has caused me and the rest of my party insurmountable pain and suffering. For that reason, I propose we humiliate her for eternity and legally change her name to "Bitch."

That seemed a little extreme. I also didn't want to say that word, since I hated swearing.

"Your name proposal is a bit lenient. It is too graceful to even compare her with the majesty of a hound. For that reason, I believe we should change her name to "Swine" and her adventuring name as "Witch".

"That is much more suitable for a swine such as her." Naofumi laughed.

"Well, now that we got that sorted with, I should probably go back to my room and do some paperwork. However, you must note one thing."

"What?"

"Act surprised and furious during the trial. That will get us more sympathy points."

"Understood."

Saying that, I said goodbye to the group and returned to my room, where my party had already fallen asleep. Without further ado, I began jotting down a script for the upcoming trial.

With that out of the way, the trial starts next chapter! Are you hyped?