The next day.
I had to head to the court without even a few days’ rest.
If I just came back from a long business trip, shouldn’t they at least give me this much leeway?
That’s what I thought, but reality was brutally harsh.
“You’re not wrong. The first trip was by His Majesty the Emperor’s order, but the next one was just to get introduced.”
“Factual assault is still assault. Please refrain.”
I suppressed my irritation and replied to Cordell McNeil’s jab.
Then an even more vicious attack came.
“I know exactly what that means. Hitting with the truth, right?”
“No, how do you know that?”
“You only bring up facts like that when it’s convenient.”
“Sigh… This is why your sharp instincts are annoying, Sir McNeil.”
Swoosh.
As I subtly pulled out the Hector Punisher, Cordell vanished in an instant.
Somehow, that guy’s stealth skills seemed to improve day by day.
Neglecting auras and mastering only these petty tricks.
He was truly an incomprehensible human.
“Just go back to His Majesty the Emperor like this. Please.”
—That sleazeball would never. Escorting you is a sweet gig for him.
—Yeah. Right. Where else is there a knight weaker than his charge?
For some reason today, Shugl and Feltron took my side.
It was so rare that I just blinked blankly, but soon I figured out why.
“Yeah. No. You still have 4 days left on spirit energy ban.”
—Aww! Cut us some slack.
—We can’t live without spirit energy!
Of course, Feltron’s words were 100% lies.
This guy existed just fine even after all his powers were shattered.
Though taking a big hit in that state might actually annihilate him.
But right now, it wasn’t that precarious.
They were just whining because they couldn’t eat tasty spirit energy.
Ignoring the two half-demons clinging to my ankles, I entered the court’s office.
What case would call me today?
I sat down with a mix of anticipation and annoyance.
Trial documents piled high on the desk from early morning.
I picked one up, and a familiar word caught my eye.
“Starting with wage arrears? That’s too cliché.”
Honestly, regular judges could handle this by now.
I’d set plenty of good precedents, after all.
Why did this case come to me, when they could borrow the Chief Justice’s authority to resolve it?
Frowning, I flipped the page, and an unusual term appeared.
“Embezzlement? Self-help? All sorts.”
Now it made sense.
The claims were clashing too fiercely.
The accused was the boss who hadn’t paid wages.
The victim was the employee unpaid for two months.
“So he just took the equivalent of his unpaid wages?”
Self-help meant an act where the wronged party directly exercised force to recover their rights.
Simply put, like forcefully reclaiming stolen property.
In modern times, it’s generally prohibited, but imperial law explicitly allows it.
That’s why it became a finer debate.
Couldn’t we just see this as self-help and only punish the wage arrears?
But the defendant was an imperial noble.
That would make it hard for regular judges to rule properly.
I changed into my robes and carefully reviewed the trial documents.
No case can be taken lightly. Whatever comes, bring it.
“We will now begin the trial for the Granham General Store wage arrears case. Salute to the presiding judge.”
Clap clap clap!
The courtroom looked as usual.
But the gallery’s atmosphere was strangely heated.
“It’s His Grace the Duke Carius’s trial. Surely that poor employee will win?”
“You never know. Has it ever gone as we expected?”
“The Norman Hewitt case ended in guilty.”
“Yeah. Who’d think such a small kid committed human trafficking.”
“But this is wage arrears. Word is His Grace hates that most.”
The audience was wrapped in odd anticipation.
They all seemed to think I’d punish Viscount Alfredo Granham, the imperial noble.
Of course, if he was guilty, I’d gladly do so.
But I can’t let bias stiffen from the start. Keep all possibilities open and deliberate.
I looked at the prosecutor.
Not a familiar face like Corbin Sears or Anderson Cantrell.
Ernest Calhoun? Seems like a newbie.
That’s why his eyes burned with zeal.
Soon, the pretrial proceedings ended, and the prosecution’s witness examination began.
The first called was Viscount Granham.
As an imperial attendant, he could exert considerable influence on bureaucrats.
Even so, Prosecutor Calhoun pressed hard from the start.
“I understand your general store is quite large. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“The ledger shows ten employees. Right?”
“Yes.”
“But you haven’t paid wages for two months already. Do you admit this fact?”
“Yes.”
Viscount Granham answered with a distorted expression.
Then Prosecutor Calhoun triumphantly pulled out a large ledger.
“This is the general store’s ledger. Confirmed to match the statements during investigation. I submit this as evidence.”
“Admitted.”
I nodded and asked the court knight to bring the evidence.
Then I examined it closely.
Hmm? Better organized than I thought.
It was a ledger that followed basics impeccably.
Detailed inflows and outflows, even credit transactions recorded, making errors obvious at a glance.
The most important truthfulness in accounting was evident.
But why couldn’t someone like this pay wages?
I skimmed the ledger during proceedings.
But nothing problematic.
The general store was running well.
Net profits were declining, but not to the point of unpaid wages.
Then came the defense’s witness examination.
“Honorable presiding judge, the defendant was in extreme financial distress.”
“The ledger shows plenty of cash.”
“That’s because tax time hasn’t come yet. Soon with wheat harvest, large sums will go out.”
I nodded at the defense’s reply.
To do business in Perias with a shop, you paid merchant tax.
A concept combining income tax and rent.
The whole city was the emperor’s land, so natural.
But there was something incomprehensible.
If taxes are such a burden, why bother doing business in Perias?
And what about people living here?
Do they stay in Perias overflowing with money?
Absolutely not.
Merchant tax exists, but not crushingly high.
That’s why everyone comes to the capital to live and trade.
“Other shops paying taxes aren’t committing wage arrears. So why can’t Granham General Store pay?”
As I asked, the defendant looked at me resentfully.
Hey, what did I do wrong?
At first, it was baffling.
But hearing the backstory, I soon understood the distress’s cause.
“It’s been like this since the shopping district opened in Midias. Customers all flock there, so the store’s net profits dropped sharply.”
“Ah…….”
“And I couldn’t just cut the employees who’ve worked for me so long, could I?”
Of course, Viscount Granham’s resentment was fundamentally misplaced.
He’d used influence on bureaucrats to snag a prime spot for his general store.
Starting with advantages was fine.
That was his ability.
But then.
When a stronger player appears, accepting losses is natural.
Isn’t that the basis of competition?
In tough times, cutting outflows and innovating is a leader’s quality.
Failing decisive judgment led to wage arrears.
But I had no intention of exploding the damage meter with factual assault here.
This wasn’t a back-alley diner, but a courtroom.
A place to judge right and wrong based on evidence and facts.
But what’s this? Free giveaways?
Checking the ledger’s end, there were records of giving away goods for free.
Not a boss gone mad with clearance sales.
Why include this?
I stared at the defendant and victim.
When ambiguous, check the answer key.
[Character Info]
Name: Landon
Status: Commoner
Position: General store employee
Relationship: No acquaintance
State: Rage over wage arrears, satisfaction from taking exactly his due, wants to take shares for colleagues too.
Overall Ability: D
Was it really self-help?
Store employee Landon was burning with justice.
Per the status, Viscount Granham was an exploitative owner.
But I didn’t judge hastily and calmly flipped the hologram.
[Character Info]
Name: Alfredo Granham
Status: Viscount
Position: Imperial attendant
Relationship: Acquaintance
State: Headache over declining general store finances, strong responsibility and face, overly concerned with others’ views.
Overall Ability: C
How could someone shamelessly causing wage arrears be like this?
Absolutely not, I thought.
After checking both psyches and circumstances, the case’s progression became clear.
Even why it reached this point.
Swoosh.
From my bosom, the communication rod…
Huh?
Pulling it out, it was the Hector Punisher.
Lately carrying it so often, I’d left the communication rod in the office.
Whatever. No rule says I must use only that.
Maybe replace the communication rod with the Hector Punisher from now on.
No need to carry two hammers.
Give the old one to Judge Colrund Emir.
I looked straight at Viscount Granham and said.
“One question before sentencing.”
“The ledger shows records of giving away goods for free. To whom?”
“That…….”
Hesitating without answering properly, glancing around.
In that moment, I was certain.
Why this person hesitated.
“Defendant.”
“Yes.”
“Did you perhaps give goods to employees? To take to distant shops, sell cheap, and pocket the money.”
“……!”
“Then isn’t that paying wages?”
Everyone wore puzzled expressions.
Naturally.
What I just revealed switched victim and defendant.