Chapter 35

He sounded dumbfounded, but the words he said were sharp.

“Ahaha. As expected, someone who cleared the Labyrinth is different!”

‘He’s saying that on purpose, isn’t he? Damn spy bastard.’

“Hmph. Why didn’t you tell me, Candidate? That hurts my feelings.”

Just then, Usher butted in.

Despite what he said, he didn’t look hurt at all. That smug, grinning face.

I wanted to snap back immediately.

Ugh. The moment our eyes met, my mouth moved on its own.

My dad tried to turn me away too late. It was pointless. The truth had already slipped out of my mouth.

“Th-thanks.”

“Hm?”

“I mean it.”

Usher’s face took on a strange expression.

Translation: ‘Did this brat finally lose it?’

‘See? Even now, I still can’t say sorry to you. Which means I’m not sorry, you fanatical bastard.’

I don’t care if you suffered. Eat a middle finger.

Since I’m still under the brainwashing to “only answer truthfully while in this space,” that was the most honest thing I could squeeze out.

‘Well, technically, I am grateful.’

Thanks for not causing a mess. Thanks for casting that brainwash skill that actually made me more determined to fight. That kind of thing?

That much, at least, was honest. Honest down to a pinky toe?

— Did you all enjoy your final break?

— We did!

The Judge, who had vanished earlier, casually returned to his seat.

‘Here we go.’

The child in Laura’s arms opened their eyes. Usher straightened his posture from its loose slump.

We weren’t the only ones here.

‘Our hostages.’

They were tied up tight, forcibly dragged over and seated next to us.

The moment our eyes met, someone cried out.

“P-please spare me…!”

“M-me too! I have a child! Please!”

I gave a small nod and shifted my gaze away.

— Guests, we will now begin the trial for Space Two. Please take your positions.

The Judge looked up from the books he’d been flipping through.

Seeing the three dog heads again wasn’t as shocking this time.

— Choose the leader first.

— Nope. You don’t get to choose.

— No choice!

A hand with long, animal-like claws pointed directly at me.

— You’re the leader, human!

— You’re the defense attorney!

— Defend!

I wasn’t surprised. This was exactly what I’d expected.

“W-would that really be okay?”

I looked hesitantly at my team members, making sure to tremble just enough to look convincingly afraid.

‘After this trial, everyone’s going to realize I’m not just some random candidate. That’s fine.’

But appearances still matter.

“Hmm… I’m fine with it. But what about you, Candidate?”

“I-I’m okay with it too, Candidate…!”

“I second that.”

Antonio, Laura, and even Usher playfully gave their agreement.

My dad gave the final nod.

— No objections, right?

None allowed.

‘This is exactly what I wanted.’

I slowly raised my hand.

“U-um, before we begin… where are Teams 3 and 4?”

There were twenty people who entered. Judging by the groups, each team had four to six people.

“Are those teams coming after us?”

I casually guessed that the remaining groups were Teams 3 and 4.

The Judge answered without resistance.

— Nope, Teams 3 and 4 are somewhere else.

— We’re everywhere and nowhere!

— Sentence: death!

— Death!

At that, I gave up neatly. We couldn’t help Teams 3 and 4.

‘Guess we have to let those ones go.’

At least there were still important characters in those groups, so they probably wouldn’t die this chapter.

Hopefully.

‘I’ve got my hands full as it is.’

When I looked up, I saw someone floating in midair.

It was a woman bound tightly—one of the hostages from the earlier team, the one Gidehme had failed to save.

— Shall we begin with this human’s trial?

— Let’s begin!

— Bang bang bang!

The Judge pounded the desk with his fist, mimicking the sound of a gavel.

“A-aah… aahhh…”

Once I stood in the accused/defender’s spot, I finally noticed—

The floating hostage’s mouth was blocked by something transparent.

‘No wonder we only heard sobbing.’

That wasn’t explained in the game.

— This criminal is 42 years old, female, and stole food from a general store! Instead of repenting, she made excuses—saying, ‘If I didn’t steal, my 2-month-old baby would starve tomorrow!’—thus aggravating her crime!

— For this heinous crime, the sentence is… death!

— Death!

— Death!

I glanced briefly at the barking dog-heads, then turned to my teammates.

Those who weren’t designated defenders stood farther back. The distance between us was considerable.

Game Category [Post] [Casual Chat]

~Paranormal Class~
“The Judge’s Law”

(excerpted)

FYI, those dog-heads are nicknamed “Death Parrots” or “Execution Hounds.”

You’ll get it once you see them.

These guys literally bark out “death” nonstop, like cursed parrots.

Don’t get swayed by them.

All the hints you need to save the hostage are hidden in what these freaks say.

Like all supernatural trials in this game, it says trial, but it’s more of a mock court—a fashion statement at best.

So what do you do after they lay out the so-called crime?

You argue. lol

— Defense, begin your statement.

There’s no prosecutor in this setup—just the defender, the defendant, and the judge.

There was even a rumor that one of the game devs got wrecked in court IRL and built this out of spite.

‘Why else would you torture newbies with this kind of trial?’

I raised my head.

“Your Hawnorabwe Judge.”

By the way, this dog-head judge wasn’t the same as MozBall from the Tribunal of Candid Truth.

— Oh? Did you hear that? She said ‘honorable’!

— Of course she did

— Ahem. Ahem.

One thing’s for sure: they love being flattered.

Since my teammates could only see my back now…

I smiled as wide as I pleased.

“The death sentence Your Honor proposed is utterly absurd and a blatant disregard for every legal system in existence! It’s honestly disgusting!”

This chapter borrows heavily from a certain courtroom-style game.

Only difference? No prosecutors or witnesses—just finding contradictions in the judge’s own words.

‘I mean, if we executed people for theft, there’d be no one left in the country.’

Forget all that “punishment exists to reform” philosophy crap.

If every nation ran courts like this, people would just commit huge crimes before dying anyway.

But would monsters care about any of that?

‘Surprisingly… they do.’

— What? What’s wrong with our system?

— What’s wrong with it?

— The sentence is death! Death is justice!

“Death? Sure. That’s fine.”

Let’s round up all the bad guys, right?

“But this case is different. If you’re going to execute the defendant…”

Hostage. 42-year-old woman. Has a 2-month-old baby. Stole because the baby was about to starve.

A survival crime.

“If you execute her, then the lord of her territory should be brought to justice too. Don’t you think?”

— What’s the lord got to do with this?

— Yeah, why?

I didn’t break eye contact with the displeased-looking Judge.

This monster understands human fear.

‘Don’t flinch.’

In this game’s court, it’s all about who’s louder. Dammit.

“Sure, the defendant is an adult who could’ve endured hunger. But a 2-month-old baby can’t survive on its own.”

— …

“Which means it was the lord’s negligence that created a situation where the defendant had no choice but to steal.”
 

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Translator: Japchae