I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 207: You have no right to remain silent... (2)

Da-eun spoke sternly, gravely, and seriously.

"Defendant, your name?"

"...No, Journey. What are you doing? Let's put this down for now and talk, okay?"

"Kim Do-hyun. In Celia, my name is Pine."

"...Why are you blurting out someone else's name like that?"

"Anyway, you can just look it up."

"That may be true, but—"

"Be quiet!"

Thump, thump, thump!

Da-eun struck the floor with the wooden sword Yuki was holding, using it like a gavel.

The man, Do-hyun, whose name had been revealed by Yuki, was about to say something but gave up and kept silent.

Probably because he felt the pressure in Yuki’s arm as she held onto him?

Crunch, crunch.

I pulled out some snacks from my pocket and mumbled as I watched the farce unfold.

Director and lead actor, Da-eun.

Supporting actors, Yuki and Do-hyun.

The audience—just me.

Watching this, it felt like I was witnessing a play performed just for me.

The most satisfying part was that I wasn’t involved in the farce at all.

As Do-hyun reluctantly shut his mouth, the room grew quiet.

Da-eun seemed to like the quiet atmosphere, nodding contentedly before picking up the wooden sword.

"Judgment, death sentence."

Bang, bang, bang!

"...What? What kind of judgment is this? Which judge hands down a sentence just for hearing a name?"

"Oh."

It was a very reasonable reaction.

Although one could say it's cliché.

But to me, always stuck with Da-eun, Do-hyun's reaction actually felt fresh.

"Really? Have you already forgotten the help I gave you last time?"

"...Honorable judge, the defendant is disrupting the trial with irrelevant statements and insulting the judge."

"No, when did I insult...?"

"Tsk."

If I had to pick the phrase Do-hyun said the most at the gym, I’d say "No" would be number one.

It’d be exhausting by now, yet every time Da-eun and Yuki spoke, he’d always throw in a tacky comment.

"...Ahem."

"Judge?"

Still, his efforts weren’t entirely in vain.

At least, he managed to slow Da-eun's momentum for a moment.

"I'll pretend I didn’t hear that. Defendant, please be careful with your words from now on. Now, I’ll resume the trial."

"Wasn’t the judgment already made?"

"That was the first trial. The defendant appealed, so this is the second trial."

"Aha."

Yuki pretended to understand.

Do-hyun’s expression of disbelief grew even stronger, but no one was paying attention to his face in that moment.

I, too, was just watching and had no intention of intervening, so the play disguised as a trial continued.

"What are the charges against the defendant?"

"Child abuse, solicitation of murder and attempted murder, assault. And there are a few other charges."

"...Are you trying to turn me into trash?"

"Be quiet."

"No—"

"I will deliver the verdict."

"..."

What the hell is going on here?

Do-hyun, despite his expression clearly showing his thoughts, closed his mouth obediently.

Da-eun solemnly delivered the verdict.

"Death sentence."

"...It’s the same thing!"

"After committing such atrocious acts, did you think you could be forgiven?"

"No, when did I—!"

"Prosecutor."

"Yes."

The prosecutor, defense attorney, and security agent...

To put it simply, Yuki spoke.

"Defendant, do you admit that you conspired with others to harm the victim?"

By the way, the victim she was referring to was me.

Do-hyun's gaze briefly flicked to me, acknowledging that he knew this.

"...Well, I did. But that’s—"

"Furthermore, the defendant wielded weapons with the intent to harm the victim, and repeatedly engaged in malicious speech. Do you admit this?"

"That’s true, but... Wait, just listen to me—"

"That’s all."

"Defendant. Your final statement?"

"...This is just a public trial."

Finally realizing the truth, Do-hyun gave a weary smile.

Yeah. I’m glad I’m not the one in that seat.

Bang!

I nodded and opened a new snack bag.

"That’s because it’s a game! I’m not a crazy psychopath, do you think I’d do that in real life? Or what, just because I did something like that in the game, you think I’d do it in real life? Can a game streamer say things like that?"

"...The defendant is speaking irrelevant words and confusing the judge."

"Who cares? The death sentence has already been passed."

"Defendant. There is still a third trial. Don’t lose hope."

"Just one thing, please. And what assault are you talking about? I was always the one getting beat up and nearly dying... Honestly, I should be the one suing!"

"Are you denying the charges?"

"I'm not denying them, I’m stating the facts."

"How can the victim be suffering so much, and yet you have no conscience as a human?!"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, an arrow of anger came flying toward me, and I tilted my head in confusion.

Was this an audience-participation play?

I looked around, glancing at the three pairs of eyes focused on me in turn.

"Nom."

Pretending not to have heard anything, I put a piece of snack in my mouth.

"The victim is suffering from memories of that day and can’t even eat properly!"

"No, they’re eating just fine."

"...They’re surviving on snacks because they can’t eat proper food."

"Ah, can you speak sensibly...?"

Do-hyun tried to wipe his face...

Then, realizing he was still being held by Yuki, he sighed with a tired face.

He looked like he’d aged a year since entering the room.

"Are you not satisfied yet? Can you explain what’s going on? Is this a hidden camera?"

"You already know, don’t you? It’s Kana. My real name is Kanaria."

"Is this cosplay? Wow, the synchronicity is amazing."

"No. It’s not cosplay, it’s really me."

"Didn’t we agree to stop with the jokes?"

"This isn’t a joke. It’s Kana."

"Yeah."

Slightly sucking my fingers to clean off the grease.

Before Da-eun could say anything with her furrowed brow, I quickly gathered mana.

Unlike the struggle Da-eun had, I conjured pink mana into the shape of a long sword in a moment, with just a single breath or blink.

"...Huh?"

A voice of confusion was heard.

But as they say, if you pull a sword, you should use it. I wasn’t planning on ending things here.

I had to show them clearly, so they would believe me.

It wasn’t because I was disappointed I couldn’t just put it back away.

Unfortunately, since there were no weapons in the gym, I had to look for something else.

A sandbag hanging in a corner of the gym.

I took a swing at it, using as little force as possible, almost carelessly.

Whoosh.

A playful gesture.

It wasn’t even as light as a child’s game, but the result wasn’t light.

Screech.

Thwack!

A clean cutting sound rang out as the sandbag was split in half and fell to the ground.

It was mounted close to the wall, but after splitting it in half, the force of the swing dissipated and vanished.

"Mm."

I nodded.

It was perfect power control, even I thought so.

As I returned the sword to mana and scanned the area...

"..."

Do-hyun was frozen, his mouth agape.

"Kana, amazing!"

Da-eun’s eyes sparkled as she cheered.

She was impressed, but didn’t realize how delicate the power control was.

Just like I expected from Da-eun.

I smiled slightly, then finally turned my eyes to Yuki.

Surely, Yuki would recognize it, right? I thought as I hoped.

"..."

Yuki silently gazed at the sandbag without saying a word.

She didn’t gasp or cheer like the other two, just quietly observing.

She seemed lost in deep thought.

"Kana."

After a long while of staring at the sandbag, Yuki finally spoke.

"Yeah."

She must’ve recognized it, right?

As expected, even if she annoys me, her talent is undeniable.

I thought to myself, maybe I should accept a duel with her today.

But then...

"That’s expensive."

"..."

Yuki’s words were entirely different from what I had expected.

"...How much?"

"Well, about..."

Yuki spread her hand wide.

"About this much."

"...50,000?"

"50."

"..."

The sandbag costs that much?

I couldn’t believe it, so I stared into Yuki’s eyes, but she met my gaze without flinching.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

Since it was already proven that Yuki couldn’t act, I knew she wasn’t lying.

"..."

"..."

Yuki just stared at me, saying nothing.

But ironically, that quiet gaze felt like it was holding me accountable.

Rustle—

I dug into my pocket, but all I found was the snack bag.

...Of course.

I’ve never received any money, so I couldn’t have any on me.

Even if I did, I certainly wouldn’t have fifty thousand won in my pocket.

So, I put on a determined expression and said,

"Da-eun... help me..."

...I know it’s shameless.

But in this cold capitalist society, with nothing but my body, there’s nothing I can do.

If only I had accepted when Edel asked me if I needed money...

As always, regret always comes too late.