"Oh, right—this candy? I snatched it. Better eat it quickly before someone notices..."
Zane waved his hand casually. Hearing that, Shin gradually relaxed, unwrapped the candy, and placed it in her mouth.
Eating candy here was obviously a bit inappropriate...
But it wasn't against the law.
Still...
What did he mean by "snatched"?
He had stepped away briefly earlier—did he steal it then? And from whom?
As Shin puzzled over this while waiting for the trial to begin, outside the Law Court...
"The job's done."
Lycaon clapped his hands. Those people had already been safely handed over to the Law Court. From here on, it was no longer Victoria Housekeeping's concern.
That had been close—rotten cabbage leaves almost hit them, and then there was that "grenade" stuffed with bugs. Who came up with that idea?
Not far away, Rina glanced at Ellen with confusion, then looked to Corin, silently asking for answers.
What's up with Ellen? Why's she making that face?
"Uh... it was Mr. Zane. We bumped into him just now, and then he..."
Corin pointed toward Ellen, clearly at a loss for how to explain.
Mr. Zane?
He was here too?
Rina raised a brow. At that moment, Ellen muttered resentfully, her dissatisfaction plain in her tone.
"He's so greedy. Why didn't he just snatch the candy right out of my mouth? What is he, some kind of crow—grabbing every last crumb..."
Ellen gritted her teeth. She had politely offered him a piece of candy, letting him pick one. Instead, he grabbed the whole bag.
He even reached into her pocket to take it!
By the time she realized what happened, he'd already thanked her, turned, and waved goodbye—smooth and seamless.
A person like that ought to be on trial!
So obsessed with candy... I hope he gets fat by eight hundred pounds!
...
Leaving Ellen's complaints aside, inside, the trial began as scheduled.
With a tap of the Chief Justice's gavel, silence fell over the courtroom.
Following procedure, the Co-Chair laid out the accusations and demands, followed by the statement of municipal offenses.
Next came the municipal representatives with their rebuttals and clarifications.
Listening to the clear voices echoing through the chamber, Shin glanced at the municipal officials seated across the gallery, her eyes cold.
The administration's goal wasn't acquittal.
What they wanted was an admission that offenses had occurred—but that they were the actions of individuals, not the government as a whole.
Those individuals were the pawns, the sacrificial scapegoats.
Maybe not all of them were purely scapegoats, but it was close enough.
Minimize the losses.
The trial unfolded according to plan, but Zane's attention wandered. He leaned toward Shin.
"Shin, how exactly is the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe structured? I get the feeling the New Eridu government doesn't really have much control over them."
When preparing to enter Hollow Zero a few days ago, Zane had dug deeper into the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe. As an officer, this was the first time he'd seriously looked into the system.
"There is some oversight, but the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe enjoys a lot of autonomy. In matters concerning the Hollow, rulings are made independently by the Military Commission."
Shin didn't know why Zane was asking this now, but he answered anyway.
"Zane, let's go over the details after the trial."
Her full attention was on the proceedings. For once, he refused to indulge him.
Zane nodded.
His status as an officer might prove useful soon enough.
As the exchanges in court grew increasingly heated, a voice suddenly rang out.
"This trial is utter nonsense!"
The voice was aged, but it struck with such force that the entire courtroom fell silent—you could hear a pin drop.
It was the old gentleman, speaking from his seat.
He hadn't waited his turn, but cut straight through the proceedings. The judge tapped the gavel, trying to restore order, but the old man interrupted again.
"Sitting here and taking part in this farce of a trial—what greater insult could there be to me?"
His deep voice reverberated across the chamber. On the other side, someone couldn't remain silent.
"General Mu, you are no longer a general, and this is not the headquarters of the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe. Please, show some respect!"
"Respect? For you? For all of you?"
"You don't even have the courage to face your mistakes. You're nothing but self-serving parasites—and you dare ask me for respect?"
At that, murmurs rippled through the gallery. Some municipal officials were, in fact, innocent. Being condemned along with the guilty left them disgruntled.
But seeing their restless expressions, the old gentleman's gaze cut through them like a blade.
"Save your rebuttals. At this stage, even the so-called innocent among you are tainted with filth!"
"You saw everything, yet you cowered and protected yourselves. What kind of innocence is that?!"
His words carried the weight of moral judgment, but under his presence, no one dared to speak out.
Or rather—he had earned the right to speak them.
"General Mu, are you finished?"
Seeing the trial derailed, the Chief Justice intervened. But the old man's reply was firm.
"No. I've only just warmed up."
He rose to his feet, medals gleaming like armor across his chest. His expression radiated authority, demanding respect without a hint of anger.
"Municipal government is the cornerstone of New Eridu's progress, the foundation that gives the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe the courage to fight on the front lines. Yet now it has become a rat's nest.
"You sit in lofty positions, convinced of your own greatness, believing yourselves the guiding light of New Eridu...
"But who still remembers the founding declaration of the old capital?"
"Deputy Mayor!"
"Council Chairman!"
"Association President!"
"Senate Secretary-General!"
As he called each title, the air in the courtroom grew heavier and heavier, thick with tension.
In the gallery, Shin hadn't expected him to take this approach.
Then again, it was clever—abrupt and disruptive, stripping all the prepared arguments of their power.
"What about the mayor?"
"The mayor stepped down early. New Eridu currently has no mayor."
At Shin's quiet explanation, Zane couldn't help but marvel.
So the mayor might be the only one who walked away intact after all this...
The old gentleman, meanwhile, pressed on.
"And what's your plan? To shirk responsibility, drag out the mistakes, and dump them on the next administration?
"I haven't seen any corrective measures from you at all. What you're doing is strangling New Eridu's future!"