“Court is now in session for the Case for State Compensation for the Collapse of a Building!”
The next day, I found myself reading out this case name and opening the court session under the gazes of over three hundred spectators.
The place: the Grand Bench of the Chiyodaku Kingdom Courthouse. Like the name suggested, only the biggest cases were dealt with here.
“Oh-ho-ho! How I do love the ☆ Grand ☆ Bench! The acoustics are simply excellent in here. I see they still haven’t replaced that poor sun tapestry that was scorched by old Laman.”
With complete disregard for the heavy atmosphere of the courtroom, lawyer Tamamo Keisei chattered along to herself. While she looked like a five-year-old girl on the outside, as a half nine-tailed fox, she had inherited thousands of years of her lineage’s memories. She was a wily little ruffian and had gotten the top score on the kingdom’s bar exam.
“Counsel for the plaintiff, shall we proceed with your statement of the complaint?”
The question was posed by the kingdom’s one and only judge, Tsukasa Wagatsuma. She had switched over into her serious “on mode.”
Looking from the assistant’s seat where I was sitting, Tamamo was to my right, standing on a chair on the other side of the plaintiff’s table. This time, she was on the side of the prosecuting party.
“Hmmmmm. Let me seeeee. I know if I agree to that, you’ll treat it as if I have stated the whole contents of the complaint already. But that’s just so dull! And all our kingdom’s lovely citizens won’t understand a thing we’re talking about!”
The little fox had an arrogant look on her face as she jeered back at the courtroom.
This girl in her golden-brown parka with its lawyer badge pinned onto it always put her own enjoyment first. She treated every trial like it was a video game and did whatever she could to make it fun for herself.
She’s annoying as usual, but she’s not wrong.
In a Japanese civil trial, it’s called the “statement of the complaint,” when a written complaint actually gets submitted to the court and opposing party in advance, and its contents are automatically treated as having been already stated in the courtroom. It’s very simple in contrast to a criminal trial where the prosecutor reads aloud the entirety of the complaint during the trial itself. But it seemed like we wouldn’t get off that easily today.
Behind me, I could sense that the judge was feeling the same.
“In this case, we shall comply with the main purport of the oral argument. Counsel, please state the nature of the complaint to the court.”
“That’s what I thought!” Tamamo excitedly sucked in a breath. “Yesterday evening, in Akihabara, a five-story building owned and maintained by the Royal Cabinet suddenly collapsed. It collapsed onto the neighboring area and destroyed the branch building of a venerable church which had stood in that space since ages past.”
Tamamo boldly recounted yesterday’s incident that had shaken the kingdom to its core.
“Among those who had been gathered in the building during the incident, one church member, Cumba Nols, died. Another, Alba Nols, lost consciousness and is still in critical condition. There were also a number of followers who suffered bruises and other injuries from the falling debris…”
Death. Critical condition. Injuries.
I felt the seriousness of the incident weighing upon me.
“As for proof of the incident, the cat girl from the tavern witnessed the event and will give her testimony.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Y-yes, meow. I hearrrd a loud cracking noise, like something breaking. Then I saw the building across from ours start to tip, then fall over, meow. We hurried over to the scene, but it was already…”
We were there, too. We saw it happen right before our eyes.
“If a testimony is required, we will hear it after the defendant’s pleading. Please finish your statement first.”
“Certainly. Regarding the affected building, it was the property of the Royal Cabinet and was a Japanese building created using the Copy-Paste Spell by Princess Ecstasia Itou at age eight. Therefore, under Article Two of the State Redress Act, I charge the kingdom as liable for compensation based on the defect of a public structure!”
At the beginning of the trial, the Scales of Judgment had appeared and now loomed above the people in the Grand Bench.
The scales, which changed their appearance based on the time and place, were now about the size of a long table as they floated in the air.
Underneath them, lines of magical black text displayed the information about the incident’s related parties for all to see.
The Case for State Compensation for the Collapse of a Building
Plaintiff: Gilvert Trinity
Representing Counsel for the Plaintiff: Tamamo Keisei
Defendant: the State
And the one being sued and held responsible was the kingdom’s representative and governor herself.
“Defendant, your response.”
“…” Silence.
The defendant was to my left. Princess Ecstasia was standing on the other side of a table.
Her face was pale, and compared to the large table, her body looked small and helpless.
“Does the defense not have a Minister of Justice present? Otherwise, please consider having an attorney to represent you.”
The judge’s voice was tinged with concern for the defendant.
Tsukasa and I knew that the princess had a habit of falling asleep when things stopped being fun for her. And in any case, it was a strange sight indeed to see a fourteen-year-old girl being held legally responsible for such a grave incident. Yet—
“…I will take this on all on my own.” The princess gripped her skirt with her small hands. “I am still a descendant of royalty. And I have read all the letters that were sent to me.”
“If you will respond to the facts of the case thus far, please state how you will plead. You may admit, deny, or—”
Ecstasia cut off Tsukasa’s explanation before she could finish. “I admit to all of the charges.”
All concern vanished with her resolute expression and statement.
“I may be stupid, but I’m not so stupid that I can’t understand when my kingdom’s citizens are in pain.”
She firmly fixed her eyes on us as she spoke.
I can tell she still has her pride as a member of royalty… It’s brave of her.
The two golden pans of the Scales of Judgment hung over the heads of the plaintiff and the defendant.
A few black orbs had appeared under the plaintiff’s side. They represented the factual grounds for petition.
“It is true that the building that fell was a Japanese building that I copy-pasted five years ago. I don’t remember anything that happened with the building after that. But I was nearby when it happened yesterday…and I know how much damage was caused.”
In response to the princess’s statements, the black orbs turned gold and floated up to rest on the plaintiff’s pan.
The scales above our heads started to tip toward the plaintiff’s side. The conditions necessary to win the case had been cleared.
“Well, winning isn’t very fun if you just confess to everything!” I heard Tamamo say.
It seemed like the case’s outcome had already been decided.
It was unprecedented—the country’s ruler had lost the case completely. The three hundred or so people in the gallery, who had been silently observing the proceedings, now began to murmur. Among them, some otakus in Akihabara fashion who appeared to be the princess’s fans started speaking out.
“It’s not the princess’s fault!”
“Didn’t the building just deteriorate over time?”
“Protect the princess!”
“Isn’t the trial supposed to find out the whole story?”
The courtroom grew noisier. The trial’s speedy conclusion must have stirred up confusion.
“The court is carrying out this trial with due prudence. As to the recognition of the facts of the case—”
The judge had begun to regain order over the court, when she was cut off.
“Oh, how lamentable indeed!”
A bright voice echoed throughout the room with a grandiose tone, as if the speaker was reciting ancient poetry.
That must be the plaintiff, Gilvert Trinity.
His white, thin hair was like spiderwebs, and his complexion was spotless. He was smiling softly; a pure white robe adorned with gold details hung from his slender frame. Although this otherworldly appearance might make one mistake him for an old man, he was allegedly in his late twenties.
He was seated next to Tamamo and hadn’t moved a muscle since the start of the trial. But now, he stood up and began to speak. I noticed he was about a head taller than me.
“Yesterday, the kingdom was at peace. A pleasant breeze was blowing, and I headed to our church’s branch building with some dozen members of our congregation.”
He held the rank of high priest—the top position in the kingdom’s church.
And he had wasted no time in bringing this case to court with Tamamo Keisei at his side.
“For some decades now, the Royal Cabinet’s administrative policy has focused on promoting a prosperous kingdom through adopting aspects of Japanese civilization. Among the Japanese buildings springing up around it, our old church building has been in that same spot for hundreds of years as a place of worship for our citizens.”
And just what exactly was this church he spoke of?