Regardless of the "type" of judge that walks through those doors, a sudden and unexplained judge change is never good. Free Chains' capabilities should be enough to mitigate any disasters should they arrive. Even if the most blatantly corrupt man decides the fate of this case, we won't go down without a fight.

The judge walks in. She is an older woman with gray hair with hints of blonde. She looks stern and upright with an air of "no-nonsense" to her. Her eyes are vividly intelligent, and her clothes are very plain. She is wearing the proper attire for a judge, but there is no modification, extra accessory, nothing. I bet she washes her clothes without detergent.

I glance at the Ken family lawyer as a flash of recognition briefly occupies his face. He seems to recognize the judge a [Lawspeaker] failed to. Curiously, he doesn't seem happy. Either I failed to read this man, or this change of judge isn't necessarily in their favor.

I wonder if there's an insight stat that would make this easier. Or if perception already does that? Would it be a stat on the level of might and vigor or a sub-stat? My [Lexicon] has no mention of such a stat.

Thinking of... I searched the name Lucinda Grayson in my [Lexicon] just to see what happened. Instantaneously, I get the following information.

There are twenty-seven mentions of the first name Lucinda and three of the last name Grayson, no combination of the two. The most eye-catching information comes from the personal journal disguised as a history book.

[History of the Prime Territories].

The Lightborn, a paladin within the First Party, is the cause of the past theologies "fading away." His last name is Grayson. Thaddeus "Lightborn" Grayson. In between the mentions of his "crusades" against "heretics," author Morden writes about how the Lightborn had many children, each following a different god.

Not surprising since the Lightborn created the Herald of All, later renamed to Herald of Most, one of the top three guilds. I wonder if there is any relation.

And if so, wouldn't Free Chains know this person since they serve the same god on a technicality? I don't think Free Chains is a religious man with his casual blasphemy, but still "works" for Iberes. Is that religiophobic to consider that all followers of the same god know each other?

Does this lady even follow Iberes? Am I nervous?

She arrives at her spot and turns to look over the courtroom. She scans everyone one by one. She locks eyes with me for a second longer than the rest. They are a bright shade of gray, almost white. I don't think I can lose a staring contest with my resistance. Getting sand sprayed in my eyes for weeks on end really did help with building tolerance.

"My name is Lucinda Grayson, High Priestess of Law, Keeper of Order, Arbiter of Balance of the human race, one of only three mortals allowed to have such titles, and the presiding judge for this trial."

Ah.

"This trial is one part wrongful death, one part assault, and one part challenging the systems of power placed upon the Prime Territories at its founding. We shall see if these allegations are true.

I shall remind everyone present that although the [Liar's Orb] will not be activated, everyone in the courtroom of their obligation to tell the truth and conduct themselves respectfully.

I shall not ask if both parties are ready, for that question is already answered. All preliminary matters have been addressed, as confirmed by both parties.

We shall begin. You may sit."

I sit down, and everyone does, except for Free Chains. He's starstruck. I tug on his clothing and force him to sit down as well. How... unprofessional.

I whisper, "Aren't you married?"

He whispers, "High Priestess of Law, Keeper of Order, Arbiter of Balance. Don't you know who that is?"

"A judge," I whisper back.

"A superstar! I didn't know her actual name since she's only referred to by her titles on record. She rarely judges court cases, but when she dons her judge's robes, it's only for the trials pertaining to the one percent of the one percent. The top of the human food chain!"

"She is top of the human food chain, or the people she judges are?"

"Both!"

"Shouldn't you be familiar with her, you know... as a [Lawspeaker]?"

"You're not one to bring up familiarity. I bet you're not even aware of the highest-ranking tamer or any other grandchild of any other member of the First Party."

"..."

The woman with the overbearing title speaks up and motions to our side of the court. "Plaintiffs, if you will."

"Of course!" Free Chains says as he stands from his seat and walks out from our table. I'm glad that instead of being nervous in front of his "crush," Free Chains is even more determined to win.

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"On the internet, this case is already named "The Carters and Ellis Vincere Vs. Kendall Ken and the Ken Family," and do you know why?" A switch flipped in Free Chains' feline brain. His eyes dilate fully. He isn't scared or surprised, he's excited, and he's on the hunt. I wonder what other feline influences he has, and with that line of questioning, what would a human influence be? He answers his rhetorical question.

"It's because this case has earned the attention and speculation of the Prime Territories. Names give identity. There's a reason beyond why the Carters are named first, and it isn't because of alphabetical order. This is a tale of a family, one without power or influence, fighting against the power structure of humanity. Rightfully so. Lawfully so.

I wish I was here to speak to a jury of peers so more people could be witnesses to this historic moment. But alas, this case doesn't have one like criminal cases always do. This case is a civil matter. Involving those who abuse the civilization that lords them."

Free Chains finishes his opening statement and sits down. His eyes don't undilate. He sits and waits for his opponents, our opponents, to reply. His claws intertwined like a sophisticated gentleman. If sophisticated gentlemen are 200lb+ hair-covered cat men. If he had less professionalism, his tail would be thrashing.

The Ken family lawyer stands and paces slowly before the judge, oozing confidence. He clears his throat before beginning his opening statements.

"The Ken family and their members are innocent of the suits presented against them and would like to combat the credibility and authority of the [Lawspeaker] that presented this case, as well as his main client, Ellis Vincere."

That was all. The lawyer sits down. I'm bored.

I'm sitting here next to a family who has suffered thanks to people who I also have gripes with, people who have angered me. I'm witnessing a trial with a judge with nicknames only three mortals can have. A [Lawspeaker], arguably one of, if not the best lawyer-based class, and what I can only assume, an industry veteran is duking it out with each other.

I'm trying my best to pay attention. This trial is different from other civil cases in terms of how it's executed. The lawyers can and are expected to use their class skills. And honestly, the skills are kind of sad.

Any skills boosting persuasion or eloquence wouldn't work against a judge like Lucinda Grayson, so most skills are summoning paperwork, evidence, or gilded floating words straight from the big book of rules and regulations.

Apparently, [Lawspeakers] have an ability that differs them from the rest. They get the rules and laws issued under Iberes (all laws) available at their fingertips. But something I didn't know until recently is that [Lawspeakers] can "enforce" the law with their speaking ability. Depending on their skill, they can spout a confirmed law such as, "Murder is illegal!" and murder literally cannot happen. Well, the actual phrase would require heavy citation and exact wording.

Unfortunately, this ability of theirs became servery weakened after Iberes "died," and other more "combat-oriented" or "ruling class" classes have a better version of that ability.

I asked why I had never seen Free Chains use this skill, and he told me that the potential to misuse or abuse this ability is so great that he'd rather forget he has it. Also, there are many workarounds for this ability to be used combatively. If he said, "murder is illegal," and instead got beaten until he got hospitalized and died after his ability ended, that would suck. What about in cases of self-defense or accidental death?

Don't mention the activation cost and the limited time the skill takes effect for.

I only mention this because Kendell Ken is on the stand as a witness. Free Chains used this ability to enforce some complicated law that boiled down to "don't commit perjury or use lies of omission." The Ken family lawyer got reasonably pissed at this.

The trial is parted into multiple sections since there is more than one suit. First is the wrongful death suit, then the assault, etc.

"Mr. Ken. Kendall Ken. I have a signed witnessed testimony saying that you unsheathed your sword Crushing Tiger and crushed a man to death with its abilities on December 25th. Did you murder this man?"

Hey, that's my signed testimony.

Crazy how time flies. I believe that date used to be a national holiday before the Collision. Not that it's on the same day anymore, regardless. Members of the First Party pushed for a new calendar system for various reasons, and there are 13 months in a year. Better than the elven 25 or the orcish 3. The Collision changed the planet. I'm just glad that the system of time we have today isn't grossly overcomplicated.

365 days a year, 13 months a year, 28 days a month. The missing day to bring the total to 365 is the anniversary of the Collision and is the day before January 1st. It's a day signifying the end (of the year) and the beginning of a new one. Unnecessarily poetic.

Out of remembrance, we have had the same name for months except for the additional one, which is named after the leader of the first party.

Aurora.

It's been roughly 138 days since I awoke my system.

"Murder is not the term I would use."

"Let me rephrase, did you say, "My name is Kendal Ken, and this is my new sword, Crushing Tiger!" then bring harm, destruction, and or death to a man on December 25th?"

"..."

"You must answer the question."

The old lawyer stands up, "Objection. He's leading my client! Plus, shouldn't his skill be breaking free will laws?"

The judge says, "Overruled. His skill here cannot force your client to do anything that he shouldn't be doing already. A [Lawspeaker]'s authority has stipulations to fall within the confines of the law. It wouldn't activate if such stipulations weren't met. Proceed."

Kendall Ken tries to resist and stay silent, but that would be a lie of omission.

"Yes."

"Was that man one Noah Carter Sr.?"

"I don't know."

"If I showed you a picture, would you be able to identify him?"

"I won't be able to. I cared little at the time. Why are you asking questions? You got what you wanted."

"Why did you kill, or whatever term you would use to describe what you did to Mr. Noah Carter Sr.?"

"'Couldn't find slumscum, so I went for the next best thing."

"I have a signed witness testimony saying that your brother, Kyle, was the one who directed you to do such an act."

Ken's lawyer stands up again, "Relevance?"

"Overruled."

"Yes. I wanted to find someone from the slums, but we grew weary, and it was my elder brother's idea," Kendall says in defeat. But as soon as the last words leave his mouth, he perks up, slams the stand, and stands up. He says, "I would like it to be recorded by the court that I, Kendall Ken, was forced to say such things against my free will."

Free Chain's skill has finally run its course.

"Do you want me to personally write this down? Why do you think we have a machine typing everything we are saying? Everything is being recorded by the court, don't make a fool of yourself and sit down," said the judge. I'm surprised.

I note that she dislikes random outbursts and breaches of courtroom etiquette.

"Don't let your client have such an outburst in my court again."

That practically wraps that up. Thanks, Free Chains. The Ken family can do little after a direct omission of guilt. Free Chains even called red mask, or "Kyle," to the stand to get his side of the story. Since his brother confessed, lying at this point would be foolish.

I'm checking my nails as the Ken family lawyer addresses the court. "I would like to summon Ellis Vincere to the stand."