About a week had passed since the harvest festival. It had been a wonderful time for me especially, for it had been so long since I could really connect with others like that. Holidays and celebrations are one of the best ways for people to collaborate and have fun together after all. Of course as their goddess I wasn't really one of them but for just a day I got to feel like I was. Hopefully it didn't negatively affect their perception of me. The whole Halloween thing had been mostly forgotten and the Thanksgiving stuff had been very well received by everyone. I'll definitely have to talk more about other holidays when they approach. Winter was very close after all.

Besides the harvest activities I had taken some time in the last few days to write more down on tablets up in the mountains. Of course I had my magical book but other people couldn't read it at will. Leaving behind a physical catalog of knowledge was very important. Hopefully I could get book printing to be easier in the near future. Maybe over the winter I could work on that. The practice of magic was also something I had spent several hours a day on. At this point I was pretty good at creating items out of mana and using various elemental attacks. Fire and electricity seemed to be two I liked a lot, probably because of their close ties with science. My go to for manipulating the environment was still the trusty grasping vines however.

There had also been some more school classes for the villagers. In one of them I had even made a magnet and had been showing the basics of electricity. It would still be a long time until that could be widely implemented due to the lack of metals available at this time. Oh well it was a goal to strive for. I could only imagine what this world would be like with modern things like light bulbs and refrigeration. Those two were a real pain in the ass to invent though if my memory served correctly.

For today however a new and sort of scary task awaited me. The local lord Quarely had invited me to act as legal arbitrator in the courtroom! He said it would help people get used to me being around and more active in their lives. I mean its not like I was trying to rule the people or anything but he was right about that. Maybe he thought up this idea because he was worried about my lack of involvement so far. Either way it was going to be a very nerve wracking experience for me. I'd never have imagined myself as an overseer of justice or anything like that, but here was my chance to show my own moral code in action. I guess my dealings with people so far have given me a reputation of being a fair and reasonable goddess. That's good I suppose.

I had just finished walking to the place I was supposed to meet everyone. It was an area right outside the city walls of Vinedenne, this time preemptively setup this way to prevent me from stomping through the city again. Embarrassing. It wasn't that much to look at of course, pretty much an open air amphitheater with a large covered stage area for the court processes to commence. There was actually quite a lot of seating as well as this was apparently going to be a spectator sport. To the side there was a small building built with a sort of cage front. There were several people in it which would be the criminals to be judged or whatever. There were also a few people just sitting by and waiting under guard for probably domestic cases.

I sighed and tried to contain my disappointment as almost all the seats were filled. I'd be performing in front of a crowd. It actually wasn't going to be easy for me since I can get stage fright, but I suppose there's nothing to it but to do it at this point. That determination helped steel my nerves. As for who was overseeing the court besides me there was Quarely, Ferherlyn, and some old man who was the judge I'm sure. On my arrival they and everyone had stopped and looked up at me towering over them.

"Hello" I said with a shy wave.

Most of the audience waved back just as awkwardly and those on the stage area stood up. There were also several guards there of course who went to attention.

Quarely cleared his throat and called out to me. "Welcome Goddess Jenna! Thank you for coming to provide us your divine wisdom."

Flattery will get you everywhere little man.

"You're welcome Lord Quarely" I replied with a nod of my head. "Thanks for making such a lovely little area for us."

I'd have to remember not to call him by any pet or joke names and stick to his proper title for now, keeping up his appearances in front of the public would protect his ego and cultivate a air of muetal respect between me and the government here. That was important.

"If you would please sit here we can get started" Quarely said pointing. He then addressed the crowed. "As most of you know this is the goddess of light and knowledge: Goddess Jenna. I'm sure of you have already heard stories of her and are nervous knowing the stories we've heard about her kind. I assure you Goddess Jenna is nothing but a positive thing for our province and today you shall see for yourself!"

As the crowed began to mumble and discuss among themselves I took my seat. There had been a large area left open next to the main covered stage area for me marked off with stakes. In front of both me and the stage was a large podium for the subjects of the court to stand on. They had really thought all this through.

Ferherlyn then stepped forward. "Please settle down now! As for the last of the introductions as you're aware I'm the head mage of the lord's court." He then gestured to the man at the judges seat. "And this is the esteemed head judge Colectev Quincer. He will be overseeing today's proceedings alongside Goddess Jenna." Then looking up at me. "If that is indeed alright with you goddess?"

Making me and this head judge guy equals in the proceedings of the court. A smart move of course at risk of insulting me. It would show my willingness to cooperate with humans and not disparage their human judge too much either. Their planning here was really good either to trap me or otherwise. If I refuse I edge myself just one step closer to tyrant in the minds of the people.

"I'll accept" I replied tossing my hand back. "I don't see any harm in it at all."

"Thank you goddess" Ferherlyn said with a bow. The relief was plain to see in his body langauge.

The sound of wood clacking on wood echoed out from the stage as this Colectev pounded his gavel down. He had graying hair and beard and looked like he was in his late sixties. His face was stern and betrayed no hint of fear if he indeed did feel it.

"With that this court is in session! All present take your seats!" His deep voice rang out. "Bring out the first subject!"

While everyone got into their seats two guards brought one of the people from the cage out. It was a rough and tumble looking man in his twenties who was covered in various scars and dressed in dirty but decent clothes. They brought him up to the podium and attached the chains on his wrists to a metal hook built into it. He looked fearful of me but didn't seem that worried about his situation besides that.

"The court recognizes Timmy Helm" one of the guards said. "He stands accused of the murder of two men in the street. The local guard apprehended him after screaming alerted them. He was found covered in blood a short distance away from where they bodies were found."

Damn. Starting out with a heavy hitter huh. Luckily for me I can read minds so this was going to be a cinch. I'd wait for a second though and let this play out normally.

"What have you say in your defense?" Colectev asked sternly.

The man Timmy stammered a bit but quickly collected himself. "I was falsely accused your honor! I merely found the two men already killed and in my efforts to help them got their blood on me!"

Yeah fingerprinting doesn't exist in this world. I might have to figure out how to fix that.

"You were the only one found in the immediate area of their bodies" Colectev countered. "While there are no eyewitnesses to their deaths the sounds of arguing were heard by many."

I cleared my throat, the sound actually causing most of the people gathered here to jump in surprise. They were probably so focused on what was going on at the podium that I had blended in with the background.

"Can I touch him real quick?" I asked.

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Colectev looked up to me in confusion along with everyone else. "For what purpose Goddess Jenna?"

I put my hands together by knitting my fingers. "Oh I can get to the bottom of this real quick."

With no reason to refuse he waved his gavel nonchalantly. "Do as you wish goddess."

Of course I didn't need his permission but in honor of the court I had asked. Slowly I leaned in and brought my arm around, reaching down for the man standing on the podium. Both guards with him were very nervous as my huge fingers got closer and closer, but of course they weren't my target. The accused man himself was getting very frightened and looked like he wanted to run.

As gently as possible I touched the very tip on my finger on the middle of his chest and activated my mind reading power. All in an instant I was able to glean through his recent memories despite the fact he wasn't a worshiper of mine. Of course there was the time he spent in prison, the daily life he had recently, and then the night of the incident.

There was great anger in his memories for that night. I saw through his eyes his argument with those two men. There was a knife concealed in his cloak and he had used it to dispatch both those other men in bloody fashion. He had to take them by surprise of course but the blood covering him that night was definitely theirs because of the splatters from his act of killing.

I withdrew my finger and my hand, slowly returning to my original sitting position. My shoulders relaxed as I settled down with a frown. Everyone looked up to me expectantly as all of that had taken but a few moments.

"Oh yeah he did it." I said flatly.

Timmy stammered in a panic. "N-No I didn't! I was just taken because I was the closest person in the area after the fact!"

My expression changed to one of anger as I crossed my arms. "I'm a goddess of knowledge. I can read your mind dumbass! I literally just watched you do it through your own eyes!"

There was a round of shocked gasps from the crowd and the others gathered. Several people stood to their feet clutching their hands together. The man accused was in a panic now and tugging vainly on the chains that held him. The pounding of the gavel rose over the talking.

"Order! Settle down I order it!" Colectev shouted. He then turned up to me. "Explain goddess. What do you mean? What did you see?"

The anger on my face quickly faded as a smug smile appeared in its place. My arms were still crossed and I decided to ignore this man giving me an order this once to keep the drama going. They wanted a show after all so I'm giving them one.

"He was the one arguing with those two men" I said. "It was about some payment for shoes. Anyway this Timmy had a big knife concealed in his cloak and took them both by surprise. After he did the deed he disposed of the knife and ran. Too bad for him he was caught eh?"

There was a shocked silence over the crowd now. Even the murderer himself was standing there in awe and confusion. One of the guards with him spoke up breaking the spell.

"A-A long knife covered in blood was found an alley over your honor."

More gavel striking had to calm the crowd down again. Eventually once order was restored Colectev spoke again.

"Timmy Helm is hereby found guilty of two counts of murder! He shall be hung by the neck by rope until dead. Take him away and bring up the next one!"

The two guards unhooked the chain and escorted the now raving man off the podium. He was going to be executed and honestly fair. I'm in no position to make radical changes to the justice system in this world yet like removing the death penalty. What just happened proved however that lying to me was basically impossible even though they had no idea exactly how it worked. They knew I had to touch this man but assuming I had to do that would be a mistake.

After a minute the next man was brought up onto the podium, this one also in chains and looked to be in his twenties. He was terrified as to be expected from the previous display and the guards looked at him with some amount of pity. What was he accused of? He was also dressed in pretty decent clothing, and while sort of dirty he didn't seem like the rough type.

"The court recognizes the case of Dillon Alpho" Colectev said. "You stand accused of tax evasion. You owe an outstanding amount of three gold pieces from unpaid taxes. How do you plan to appeal? As none have stepped forward with payment to clear your debt."

"Tax evasion? Are you serious?" I blurted out.

I then shut my mouth with a wide eyed surprised look. I can't believe I just said that without thinking. To be fair the concept of taxes itself really rubbed me the wrong way. Thankfully my outburst wasn't taken too badly more than the surprise it caused in everyone around me.

"Well I mean-" I said to recover. "What's this guy looking at as punishment for this?"

Colectev cleared his throat. "The sentence for tax evasion is one month per silver coin so this man would see at least thirty months in prison at which point his debt would be forgiven."

"Almost three years?" I replied.

The exasperation was evident in my voice and I was now thinking out loud. Probably not a good idea but I was kinda getting impassioned here. Taxes were a necessary evil for a civilization but they were the number one tool of oppression for countless governments throughout all of history. I don't like them.

"Y-Yes goddess" Colectev said. His voice was starting to waver a bit. He was nervous.

I crossed my arms and lowered my head with my right hand on my forehead. It was clear I was thinking very hard about something and everyone sat in silence to let me. Soft whispering mumbles escaped my lips every few moments as I sort of spoke aloud.

It was less than twenty seconds of silence until I came up with my solution. A payment plan and a reduction in the total debt would let the guy off the hook majorly and still get the government some of its money. It shows mercy and retains the demand for taxes to be respected.

My arms stayed crossed across my chest as I sat up again. I then addressed the man on the stand.

"How much do you make in a year?" I asked.

He looked down in confusion and thought about it for a short while before looking back up to me. "P-Probably four gold's worth maam."

"Goddess" I corrected him. "Probably four gold goddess."

He looked terrified again. "Yes goddess! Sorry goddess!"

"And what is this debt because of? Like why weren't you able to pay these taxes?"

Everyone was probably expecting me to touch him and do my mind reading again. The fact I wasn't was catching everyone off guard and keeping them on their toes. That was the plan of course. I'll show them I can dispense fair justice with or without my powers. Thankfully Colectev was sitting back and allowing me to take this one.

The man looked down with shame mixing with his fear. "Well goddess... The business I own went through some troubling times in the last two years. The quality of goods we produced dropped in quality due to the lack of quality iron available. Due to this we lost many customers and fell on hard times." He looked to the judge and back at his feet. "So I spent the money I owed in taxes to keep my business afloat and sustain my family..."

I already knew what I was going to do but I stayed quiet for a few moments to allow his story to settle in with the crowed. My powers of body language reading weren't that great but I could tell the general vibe was one of compassion for this man. Perfect.

"Mhm mhm." My arms had relaxed now and I was tapping my chin pretending to be deep in thought. "What say you judge?"

Colectev cleared his throat in surprise that I addressed him directly.

"Well goddess. Financial troubles though he may have the law is clear on this matter. His debt will be forgiven at the end of his sentence."

My finger stopped tapping on my chin and I smiled. It's time to give them the old razzle dazzle. With the air of defeat I put my hands up before returning them to my sides.

"As the judge man says it looks like there's nothing we can do for you Mr Timmy!"

The look of devastation was clear on his face and he slumped down where he stood. The crowd too seemed to share his feeling of defeat with some of them even having anger roused in them.

"However..." I said. "What would happen to your family during your prison sentence? Not to mention your business. I have a proposition if you'll hear it judge."

Colectev looked up to me in great interest. "Please go ahead goddess."

The pure glee on my face was difficult to hide completely but I did the best I could. I'll trap this judge in such a corner he'll have no choice but accept! Not only will this downtrodden man walk away from this but I'll show them how the system can work in benefit of all!

"So... He owes three gold coins. But that's a lot of money right?" I began my proposal. "He makes about four gold coins a year. I'd say we discard the prison sentence and let him walk free. He won't be getting off the hook of course! We'll forgive part of his debt, say he owes two gold coins instead. Then we'll give him a year, maybe a year and a half to pay it off. In the end the state still gets two thirds of the debt and keeps a productive member of society and his business as well! What do you think?"

As I turned to look at the stage I could hear the low talking of the crowd. The man in chains also seemed very excited, the color returning to his face as the hope rose from within him. The government figures on stage were deep in thought. It was Quarely who spoke up first which surprised me.

"That-" he said with a pause. "Actually sounds pretty fair."

Colectev finally finished his thinking as well and the reaction from his lord surely swayed his decision. He banged his gavel once.

"It has been decided. The proposition from the goddess will be upheld! The subject is henceforth required to make a payment to the courts of two gold coins within the next eighteen months."

He hammered the gavel once more to finalize the judgment. The crowed actually celebrated a bit with clapping and a few cheers. Seeing one of their own given a reprieve from the government's iron fist surely rose their own moral. As for myself I needed to be careful I wasn't seen as an opposition to their lord, though this compromise wasn't like to do that. As for the man saved his expression was one of pure joy. He had become one of my worshipers after this of course and many in the crowed had as well. His prayers of thanks to me were cute and I wished him and his family well.

The rest of the court proceedings went about as well as the first two cases did. There were only about two dozen or so cases brought before us and it all took most of the day. By the end of it I had many more worshipers and justice had been dealt out. It was mentally exhausting and it clearly showed on the faces of the members of the stage.

As for what happened after? Quarely said it had gone wonderfully and said I was welcome to stand judge over his court whenever I wanted. Of course I declined for the immediate future as I was a busy goddess. He thankfully didn't press further and I was able to leave that evening without innocent. All in all I'm happy I did this, even though it was pretty nerve wracking for me. I'd be overthinking what I should have or shouldn't have done the whole way back to Doovlin.