What is a Witch Trial?
No one had a deeper impression of such events than Sakuraba Emma.
People who clearly held no grudges against one another were forced to hurt each other due to the impulses brought on by the Witch Factor. Eventually, amidst mutual suspicion and accusations, they would fracture, enacting tragedy after tragedy.
And now, having just been liberated from that prison, Emma never expected she would arrive right in the middle of one of the most famous 'Witch Trial' tragedies in modern human history—
Massachusetts, Salem, the Assembly Square.
Sanson was struggling to maintain order, attempting to command the Town Guard to appease the crowd.
Although he was well-versed in Salem's history and had done his utmost to prepare—even going out of his way to spot-check the town's granaries—a large-scale incident of food poisoning had still inevitably occurred.
Just this morning, the townspeople of Salem had collectively exhibited symptoms of vomiting and convulsions. Some had even woken up from comas claiming to have seen visions of Hell.
When phenomena occurred that people of this era could not comprehend, their instinct was to attribute it to the descent of the Devil.
"It's a witch! A witch has been hiding among us all along; she must have poisoned the well water!"
"She is a witch! She must have summoned that sulfur fire in the middle of the night before; she killed Lord Hopkins!"
The crowd was noisy and tumultuous, with the leading village elders loudly accusing the victim of her crimes.
Since they dared not provoke the mysterious and terrifying Oriental man at the edge of the forest, they sought out a target who looked the easiest to bully and most like an outsider.
In front of Randolph Carter's residence.
The maid named Tituba was roughly dragged to the center of the square by the angry mob.
"Let me go! I beg you, I didn't poison anything, I really didn't!"
Tituba cried out in terror. At this moment, she was not the Queen of Sheba; the assimilation of the Singularity had caused her to completely forget her memories as a Servant.
Sanson had tried making her eat food prepared by Suke, but the effect was negligible. Perhaps she had been immersed in the Singularity for simply too long.
In her cognition, she was merely a diligent, low-status black maid of the Carter household.
She didn't understand why the neighbors who usually greeted her would suddenly turn into man-eating ghouls at this moment.
"You still dare to quibble! Look at your skin; that is proof of being blackened by sulfur fire!"
"I saw it too! She was acting sneakily by the well yesterday!"
"Tie her up!"
The crowd had fallen into extreme impulsiveness. There were blind followers, fearful people, and those who wanted to use this to regain their prestige.
"Miss Tituba!"
Abigail, standing within the crowd, was incomparably anxious. She wanted to act several times, but was held back by her best friend, Lavinia.
She could only watch helplessly as Tituba was tied to the makeshift wooden stake in the center of the square.
Rotten vegetable leaves and stones smashed onto her body like rain, drawing blood from her forehead.
"Burn her to death! As long as we sacrifice the witch, the plague will stop!"
A man, his eyes red from the torture of hallucinations, raised a torch. Roaring, he prepared to thrust it into the pile of firewood beneath Tituba's feet.
Tituba closed her eyes in despair, trembling violently.
"Everyone, stop!"
Suke's resonant voice rang out. His voice seemed to carry magic, causing the originally noisy crowd, including the man with the torch, to fall silent in an instant.
"It's the Boss! The Boss is here!"
"I knew the Boss wouldn't leave us be; he is such a generous and benevolent gentleman!..."
Some townspeople discussed animatedly, incredibly enthusiastic about Suke's arrival.
As time had passed, Suke's Sweet House had gained considerable influence in the small town.
Selling expensive sugar and pastries at low prices—anyone with half a brain knew this was no different from charity.
Many people respectfully addressed Suke as "Boss," placing him on par with the town's smartest scholar, Randolph.
No one bothered to nitpick the miraculous aspects Suke displayed. People always tended to call miracles that benefited them 'holy,' just like Saint Nicholas bearing gifts.
As for the other group who feared Suke, there was even less they could do.
When people call you a witch, you had best truly possess the power of a witch—this saying fit Suke perfectly.
"Oh my, Darling, why are you so late? People were just about to make a move~"
Elysia leaned in first. At this moment, she was holding a wooden bow, appearing as if she had been prepared to shoot down the torch the instant it was thrown at Tituba.
But immediately after, Elysia's attention was drawn to the pink-haired girl beside Suke, who was shrinking back somewhat timidly just like herself:
"Eh, eh? Whose child is this? So cute~!"
"What's your name? How old are you~? Darling, is this our new companion?~"
Sakuraba Emma's appearance and attire made it very easy for Elysia to guess that she came from another world. Miss Pink Elf stepped forward enthusiastically, catching Sakuraba Emma somewhat off guard.
So... so dazzling... even more dazzling than Hiro-chan...!
Although Elysia was currently dressed only as an ordinary village peasant woman, in Sakuraba Emma's eyes, she felt as if she were seeing a sun.
Could this be Mr. Farmer's...?
"M-Madam, hello! I am Sakuraba Emma, 15 years old. Please take care of me!..."
"Pfft~ Darling, it seems this new child you brought is really sensible~"
Elysia blinked, covering her lips as she chuckled lightly.
"Alright, stop teasing the kid; you're a grown adult."
Suke rolled his eyes, stopping Miss Pink Elf's teasing of the underage girl just in time.
"Emma, go stand to the side with this big pink sister. Help me watch the actions of everyone present."
"You have a pretty good head on your shoulders. If you discover anything, tell me later."
After casually instructing the two, Suke didn't expect the newcomer Sakuraba Emma to be able to perform an Ace Attorney scene for him on the spot.
He mostly wanted to show Emma the multifaceted nature of humanity, even within a terrible event like a Witch Trial, so that Sakuraba Emma could walk out of her psychological shadow as soon as possible.
"Outsider, I advise you not to meddle in others' business."
A village elder from the crowd was the first to stand out. With a gloomy expression, he blocked Suke, who was attempting to walk toward the center of the crowd.
"You have already obtained enough. Greed is a sign of becoming a devil. Don't think you can do whatever you wan—"
"Excuse me."
"Ugh—?!"
However, Suke paid no heed to the old man blocking him, sweeping past him straight ahead as if he hadn't even seen him.
His wind-like stride knocked the village elder into a stumble. If not for a follower hurriedly supporting him, he would have nearly fallen to the ground in public.
Lunatic!
A lawless lunatic!
The village elder, having nearly made a fool of himself, had eyes spitting fire with rage. But facing this mysterious Oriental man who seemed like a true wizard, he didn't dare to actually make a move.
He could only keep a cold face, leading his supporters to temporarily back down and abandon the trial of Tituba, preparing to see what Suke would do next.
...
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