Yuto raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing Mr. Tartaglia's challenge.
He remembered... there wasn't such a scene in the script. Was this a self-correction that occurred after he manually altered the plot?
However, for Yuto himself, the reason behind this didn't matter; what mattered was the outcome it led to.
Thinking this, Yuto lowered his head to look at Mr. Tartaglia, whose eyes were filled with eagerness, and lightly smiled, nodding in agreement:
"Of course, Mr. Tartaglia. However, I am merely an Assistant Administrator and possess no great fighting strength. Please... show mercy."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Tartaglia burst into laughter.
As a seasoned warrior, he sometimes didn't put much stock in so-called logic.
What Mr. Tartaglia believed in, from beginning to end, was only his own intuition.
When he saw the Electro element fluctuation released by Yuto, he had already judged Yuto's combat prowess.
—This person is absolutely a strong one, absolutely.
Yuto's actions activated the fighting desire deeply ingrained in his bones and blood, which was why he made such a request.
And this Assistant Administrator didn't seem to be very resistant to combat either. If it weren't for their differing stances, he would absolutely become very good friends with this Chief Justice.
Thinking this, Mr. Tartaglia nodded excitedly and quickly stepped onto the "Accusation Stand," awaiting the Judgment of the Oratrice.
Looking at Mr. Tartaglia, who was already in position, Neuvillette cleared his throat and said:
"...Through the public trial process of this case, it is concluded that Mr. Tartaglia has no direct connection to the Serial Disappearance of Young Girls."
"The perpetrator is someone else, so Mr. Tartaglia should be innocent."
"Finally... the Oratrice will render the final Judgment."
Accompanied by the familiar sound of gears meshing in the Opera House, another exquisite envelope appeared before Neuvillette.
He skillfully opened the envelope, but the result inside caused this Judge, who had presided over Judgment for nearly five hundred years, to experience the emotion of "shock" for the first time.
Neuvillette looked at the envelope in his hand, pondered for a moment, then looked up at Mr. Tartaglia on his left, who seemed eager for a fight, and said:
"According to the Judgment result given by the Oratrice, Mr. Tartaglia..."
"...is guilty."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Tartaglia's eyes widened abruptly. He looked at Neuvillette, who stood high above, with disbelief, then frowned and said:
"Hey, hey, hey, that's not funny... You just said I should be innocent."
"What's going on with this result? Is your machine malfunctioning?"
However, not only was Mr. Tartaglia in a state of shock, but even the local residents of Fontaine in the audience were in a prolonged stupor.
"It seems we're witnessing a bit too much history today... First, the Assistant Administrator stepped in to clear his friend's name, and now there's a Chief Justice whose Judgment differs from the Oratrice..."
"Could it be... that the Oratrice is really broken? This thing has been operating for so many years... who's maintaining it? Is it Lady Furina?"
"If you really have to say, which of the Fatui Harbingers is a good person? They all have more or less evil on their hands, maybe it was detected and judged by the Oratrice?"
"But what's being judged now is a series of cases related to the Serial Disappearance of Young Girls, not something like a 'Northland Bank Violent Debt Collection' case. Why would it be convicted like this?"
"My evaluation is... don't evaluate yet. Isn't Lord Yuto here? As the compiler of fontaine law... he should be able to give a more reasonable judgment, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the audience below turned their gaze to Yuto, and they very consciously chose to remain silent, awaiting Yuto's conclusion.
Under the silence of the audience, Mr. Tartaglia also realized that there was another high-ranking person who could speak here, so he turned and asked:
"Mr. Yuto, as an Assistant Administrator, does your fontaine law have more specific regulations for this situation?"
Hearing this, Yuto nodded gently and softly said:
"There is a clear regulation in Article 12 of Volume 6 of the 'Fontaine Public Trial Charter,' which I revised for the tenth time thirty years ago."
"'When the Judgment results of the Judge and the Oratrice are inconsistent, the corresponding accused or subject of Judgment shall be prioritized for detention in the first layer of Meropide for control and continued investigation.'"
After finishing this long string of words, Yuto looked at Mr. Tartaglia and lightly sighed.
"Mr. Tartaglia, according to fontaine law... you must enter Meropide. The Oratrice cannot be wrong."
"Please rest assured, the area you will be staying in is the first layer of Meropide, which is where minor offenders are kept. Once the matter is thoroughly investigated, Palais Mermonia will naturally give you an explanation."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Tartaglia was silent for a moment, then sneered and said:
"So... someone like you can also be constrained by these messy rules..."
Mr. Tartaglia said this while symbolically patting his own shoulder, as if there was dust that couldn't be brushed off.
Just now, he was happy because a strong person accepted his combat invitation, but now... because of this absurd and ridiculous Judgment result...
He was very unhappy now.
Yuto naturally sensed the change in atmosphere and immediately looked up at Neuvillette.
This old partner instantly understood Yuto's meaning and said coldly:
"Security team, please execute the mission according to the preset procedure."
As Neuvillette gave the order, many security automatons flooded into the venue, a scene much more spectacular than what Yuto had seen that night.
Mr. Tartaglia showed no hint of panic. He disdainfully glanced at the mechanical riff-raff below, then looked up at Neuvillette, and said in a low voice:
"The Judgment that the people of Fontaine are so proud of... is actually so absurd."
"Things are already very clear, but why are you so relentless...?"
As Mr. Tartaglia spoke, he extended his hand, and his surroundings were immediately filled with purple electric arcs and sinister purple energy.
"If these are your rules, then I have my own rules!"
------------------------
I've already uploaded over 40 chapters of this story on Patreon.
If you're enjoying it, you can check out the latest chapters early over there.
patreon.com/Greyhounds
Thank you so much for your support.
And if you're enjoying the story, don't forget to leave a Power Stone for me.