Reluctant Hero | Amaki Ren

Chapter 27 | Justice & Mercy

"Even so, no matter how mad we may be of one's crimes, I won't fall for the dark mind's tricks."

The silence could kill.

After the King brought the topic to the beginning of it all, everyone was anxiously waiting for the Queen's next words.

Myne was sexually assaulted by the Shield Hero.

Or so she claims.

Sakura's party turned to their leader, eyes filled with curiosity and wonder as they recalled how she was the only one who defended Naofumi. Usually, most would sympathize with the victim. Having her side with the culprit was suspicious enough and dangerous for her.

After all, choosing a side shows the views of a person.

However, it is also important to look at the details of the bigger picture. Not everything is what it seems to be, and Sakura has a full understanding of that saying.

"That's right! Naofumi assaulted Myne!" Motoyasu desperately yells. It sounded as if he was still willing to let go of the rest of Myne's crimes if the rape incident really was true. He had to be the biggest idiot in the room.

No, the world if it may.

"Then, why don't we ask Malty here?" The Queen finally spoke. "Were you assaulted by the Shield Hero?"

Sakura sighs, knowing how this will turn out now. She knew what Myne was trying to do deep in her mind. In order to fool the crest, she's trying to embed the scenario in her mind, to make her feel true trauma that the crest cannot ignore.

But it isn't easy to fake trauma.

"Th-that's right! The Devil of the Shield nearly raped me--" She was cut by her own screams as the slave crest on her chest bursts with electricity that sent violent shocks all over her body. Her bloody screams echoed around the room, and she falls on the ground with a loud thud.

There it was.

The truth.

"N-no way! That can't be right!"

One that Motoyasu cannot accept because of his own blinding feelings, or maybe he was simply naïve and too trusting.

"Then, Spear Hero, would you like to form a slave pact with Malty yourself?" The Queen offers.

Sakura rolled her eyes and craned her neck to Haru. He was standing right beside her with the rest behind them, acting as the co-leader of the party that assists her. "He's going nowhere." She whispered. "Motoyasu's too dumb for this kind of thing, to be honest."

Haru struggled to keep a laugh, but immediately masked it with a short cough. "Sakura-sama, this isn't the time." He whispered back. "I do have to hand it to you. You were right all along."

"I'm not defending a rapist if he really is one." Sakura playfully glares up at him.

"Of course, I know that."

"F-Fine! I'll prove Myne's innocence!"

The two returned their attention to the trial, finding the guards assisting Motoyasu in forming a slave pact with Myne herself. Sakura holds her free hand up to cover her face as she giggles lightly.

Motoyasu and Myne has to be the biggest circus she's ever seen, and she got to admit that they did not disappoint in entertaining her.

"Alright, Myne. That night, you were assaulted by Naofumi and came to me for help, right?" Motoyasu asks.

"Yes! I was so scared! I could only turn to you--"

To say the least, Motoyasu had a look of horror when the slave crest reacted to Myne's lie and sent voltages of electricity around her body again.