Chapter 121: Special Case Trial

“What are you saying? Diminished capacity?”

“I’ve thought about it, and there’s no other way. If I say I did all that stuff while sane, there’s no defense!”

“What’s the problem? According to my logic, it won’t even be recognized as a crime.”

“Do you think anyone would accept such foolish reasoning…? I’ll handle it!”

“This is why I said I wanted to defend myself.”

– Divided right from the start of the defense lol
– Wow, the defendant and the lawyer are fighting lol
– Karen seems well prepared?
– Let’s say she was completely drunk
– Korea trial optimization lol

Judge Sera calmly intervened.

“Defendant and counsel, please refrain from arguing… Karen, please present the basis for diminished capacity.”

Koharu raised her hand again.

“Your Honor! Karen just said she’d fabricate it, are we proceeding with this?”

“Yes… since it’s a broadcast, the two of you can’t exchange opinions through chat. Let’s pretend we didn’t hear that. Of course, I will properly evaluate the content itself.”

– Sera is flexible lol
– The manager prioritizes the broadcast’s entertainment lol

“Thank you, Your Honor.”

Karen stepped forward confidently.

“The defendant… lost something precious when she was young. The emptiness she couldn’t forget, even if she tried, remained deep in her heart… To find it, she had no choice but to search countless homes…”

Karen, who had been trailing off her words as if appealing to emotions, changed to a clear tone and continued her defense.

“This means she was psychologically unstable and unable to control her impulses! As a result, it can be said that the defendant’s cognitive and judgment abilities were weak at the time of the crime. …In other words, she was in a state of diminished capacity.”

As soon as Karen finished speaking, I stepped forward.

“I’d like to raise an objection.”

– Why is she objecting to her own defense lol
– They’re a team, after all…
– Karen’s making things up lol
– She has to, otherwise there’s no defense
– If it were me, I would have presented Leah herself as evidence. Look at how she normally acts. Does this look sane to you?
– Oh, persuasive. You be the lawyer lol

Sera spoke quite firmly.

“I will not accept the objection. I will consider the counsel’s statement as the final position.”

“But, why?”

“Because I think you two will keep fighting.”

– Lol
– That’s right lol
– Clean proceedings, thanks to Sera lol

“Next, we’ll hear the victims’ statements.”

“Me first! I’ll speak.”

The first one to come forward with a vigorous voice was Sara.

“These are the items Leah stole from my workshop. Oak wood × 64, cobblestone × 128, milky white glass pane × 32, glow lichen × 16, vines × 24, lanterns × 10…”
“W-Wait a minute.”

I quickly interrupted, as it seemed disadvantageous to hear her speak like that.

“What’s wrong, Leah? There’s still more. Mossy brick pieces × 20, bone meal × 15, golden amber pieces × 4, water buckets × 2, wooden fences × 30…”

– She stole a lot lol
– Hearing it as a list is dizzying lol
– Guilty! Definitely guilty!
– No wonder Sara joined in Leah’s arrest lol
– She was the most affected…

The reactions of the onlookers weren’t much different from the chat.

“Let me finish…”

“I’m scared… Please put her in jail quickly.”

“As expected, I have no choice but to make her do community service… with her body.”

“Miya, you’re not even a victim, why are you butting in?”

Amidst the commotion, I drew attention with a clear voice.

“I heard the list. But those aren’t stolen items.”

“Then what are they?”

Sara immediately retorted.

“They weren’t stolen. They were simply moved to be used for a more proper purpose, to separate resources from nature. My sky garden… will become the space where such materials can be closest to nature. Sara, you participated in that first step. You can be proud of yourself.”

“Your Honor! Please allow me to deliver a powerful punch to the defendant right now!”

– Leah’s telling the truth, why…
– Words deserving a beating lol
– Bang! (The sound of Sara losing it)
– It’d be infuriating to have your house robbed for that reason lol

Karen hurriedly clung to me.

“Leah! I prepared the diminished capacity argument for you, so don’t do that!”

“Karen. Sometimes the truth is the most powerful weapon. I don’t need your fabricated story.”

“Uh. Your story seems like a very powerful weapon! A weapon to put you, Leah, in jail!”

– Second division lol
– Are they filming a skit lol
– No, but it seems more advantageous to argue like Leah?
– Right… anyone can see she’s not sane, so she’ll get a reduced sentence lol

Perhaps to prove her usefulness, Karen made a request to Sera.

“Your Honor. At first, you said Leah could speak, but explanations would be through me, her counsel, right?”

“Ah, that… I tried to follow the feel of a real courtroom. We don’t really need to be that strict here.”

“Then, which is accepted, Leah’s explanation or my diminished capacity argument?”

“I’ll consider both.”

– Consider everything lol
– Wouldn’t combining the two make things worse? lol
– Ah lol I’m looking forward to the verdict lol

“Then I’ll hear from one more victim.”

This time, it was Senior Ayame. Also a member who participated in the arrest today.

“Your Honor. Please remove the charge of causing my death from Leah’s list of crimes.”

Senior said something no one expected. Sera also asked, seemingly puzzled.

“May I ask why?”

“It was simply due to my lack of ability in educating my junior… I have no regrets. Rather, it would be better to leave the opportunity to educate her again with my own hands.”

– Scary lol
– Ayame… serious about revenge
– But how are you going to beat Leah lol
– You lost again today lol
– If you challenge her again, it means you enjoy getting beaten lol
– Maids are better off as masochists
– Yeah… S Maids are apostles

Senior added in a slightly raised tone.

“However… stealing is different. Especially the Jungle Saplings. I acquired those with great difficulty, so I request severe punishment!”

Senior’s attitude of accepting the results of a fair fight was respectable. But, if there was one regrettable part…

“Senior. Did you not understand what I said? You also contributed to my circulation project. You can be proud of yourself.”

“I still request severe punishment!”

“Why…”

And so, even the victim’s statements ended, and finally, only the final verdict remained.

Throughout the trial, the onlookers all chimed in, but now, facing the very end, silence filled the square.

In that situation, Sera spoke.

“I will now deliver the verdict of the official trial for the special incident in Lumina Village. First, the defendant’s claim is acknowledged as being consistent and philosophical.”

– Oh, good start?
– Huh, she acknowledges that? lol
– Did Sera get bribed?
– Is she actually going to be found not guilty?

“However, it can also be seen as a factor revealing the defendant’s possibility of recidivism and rationalization.”

– As expected lol
– Possibility of recidivism lol Good summary

With every word Sera uttered, the chat window added comments in real time.

“The counsel’s claim of diminished capacity is partially acknowledged, considering that past events can cloud judgment.”

– She’s acknowledging Karen’s lies too lol
– Leah secretly bribed Sera lol
– Hey, seriously, this is trending towards a not guilty verdict

The chat reactions were just like that. A few additional words were added, but it definitely wasn’t a bad trend.

“Lastly, the victims’ emotional statements were strongly considered. It has been confirmed that they suffered actual theft damage.”

But suddenly, words that overturned the previous flow emerged.

“Therefore, as it is difficult to see any justifiable reason to deny the defendant Esmi Leah’s multiple unauthorized intrusions, unauthorized use of resources, and resistance to administrator arrest…”

Before uttering the final sentence, Sera paused briefly and looked around.

“I sentence her to 20 minutes of imprisonment, 10 minutes of resource gathering work in the prison basement, and individual settlements with the victims.”

– Guilty verdict!
– Let’s go to jail~
– Sound judgment acknowledged
– Great Sera
– Those who were slandering Sera earlier, come out lol
– They say you save the important stuff for last lol
– Prisoner uniform Leah go!
– Justice served lol

“This is no different from unilaterally accepting the plaintiff’s claims. It’s an unfair ruling, as if the outcome was predetermined before the trial…”

– Nope~
– Accept the results, Leah
– But she didn’t get her stolen goods confiscated?
– Oh? If she just serves her time, isn’t that a steal? lol
– 30 minutes in jail won’t even come close to covering what Leah stole lol

I looked at the chat and, after a bit of contemplation, said,

“Elves are supposed to fight when the truth is distorted and justice is eroded. However, sometimes… sacrifices are necessary for a greater balance. Someone needs to return the exploited resources to this world for their proper use. If that’s… my role, I will gladly go to jail.”

It’s definitely not because I’m okay with not having the items confiscated. Yeah.