At this moment, Shinso stepped forward, looking at the judges above him. “Permission to speak?”

  The judge nodded without saying a word. Without wasting any time, Shinso approached the two photos on the table, looking back at Catherine and Carter as he held them up.

  “You explicitly stated you have no idea who these people are, even if they look like you?”

  Catherine nodded. “We don’t. But after receiving information, we can verify that due to the circumstances of the photos and their locations, the two of those individuals were never present together.”

  “What are you rambling about?” The long-haired judge inquired, arching an eyebrow.

  Shinso suddenly pointed into the crowd, directly at Aizawa. “I believe he can give further information.”

  “Me?” Aizawa coughed, standing up and nodding with refrained solemnity. Aizawa weaved through the crowds, mumbling apologies under his breath. When he sultured onto the main stage, he whispered to Shinso.

  “Information about what?”

  “Isaiah Walls, I was told you had a little confrontation with him in Oboro’s apartment.”

  Aizawa cleared his throat, recalling the encounter. “I did. Olivia also witnessed the scene, so she could come up too.”

  Olivia also escaped the crowd and made her way to the center stage, nodding to the judges.

  “Good afternoon.”

  The three judges atop their benches remained silent, their gazes filled with speculation and suspense. The female judge’s grip on her gavel tightened a fraction.

  “I believe all of you are well aware that a fraction of the population here possesses supernatural abilities?” Shinso surveyed the crowd.

  Murmurs erupted amongst the people sitting on the side, but they were silenced once Shinso continued to speak.

  “Well, one of these individuals—now dead—used the faces and names of our companions here to commit acts of felony, hoping to get them prosecuted.”

  “And who may this individual be?” The female judge asked.

  “Isaiah Walls, a previous friend of ours.” Catherine replied.

  Shinso, still holding the photos, showed them to the judges. “Recognize how they look different in this photo?”

  The judge in the middle squinted, adjusting her glasses. She fell silent for a moment, carefully absorbing the contents of the photos.

  “Yes, I do. But why would this presumed Isaiah not mimic their appearances to an exact degree for a more effective conviction?”

  “Most likely to arouse suspicion and nuance.” Olivia stepped forward.

  “If these photos were taken a year ago, then that opens countless doors of possibility. Isaiah’s motives could have dug deeper, adding complexity to this case on purpose. He could have done this to prompt the idea that Catherine and Carter had undergone personal changes in appearance to avoid detection.”

  Catherine scoffed. “Shinso, did I not state that monocles are out of the picture?”

  Shinso nodded. “You did, and that’s actually a good point.”

  His gaze remained on Catherine, but he addressed the trio of judges. “Permission for insight from Catherine?”

  The trio exchanged glances but unanimously made a decision. “Granted,” they said in unison.

  Catherine cleared her throat, saying with a solemn tone. “I confess that it was me and Carter who stole from the fruit stand two years ago.”

  Carter’s mouth fell agape, his face paling. He looked like he might faint at any moment.

  “I knew it was those ruffians!” Ms. Gancie guffawed, crossing her arms over her chest.

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  “You confess that easily?” The female judge’s lips parted, enraptured by this decision.

  Catherine nodded. “Yes, me and him were committing crimes at the same time as Isaiah. But Isaiah was using different identities for us on purpose; he was under the assumption that we’d need enhanced disguises.”

  She nodded to Shinso, smiling. “Me and him only stole because we were hosting a small gathering at my friend's apartment. Additionally, we had spent all of our funds earlier that day on silverware and culinary props.”

  Shinso fell silent for a moment, brows furrowing a millimeter. “Do you have proof of these transactions?”

  “Back at my house; I keep everything I purchase in case something like this were to happen.”

  Catherine clicked her tongue, smiling. Carter still remained pale, visibly taken aback by Catherine’s eccentricity with the given situation.

  Shinso looked back at the judge. “If given permission, we could stop by and pick it up.”

  “There’s no need for that,” the judge replied in an indifferent tone.

  “A defendant who confesses their crime is admirable, but hiding a body underneath their floorboards is a disgusting move.”

  Aizawa and Olivia nearly felt themselves choke on their own saliva. “A-a damn body?” Aizawa looked back at the duo, eyes wide.

  Catherine and Carter nodded. “He was worse than we are.”

  At this moment, Shinso gestured to Humphrey, beckoning him to the center stage. As he approached, Shinso chuckled under his breath.

  “Are you familiar with Orson Malvov?”

  “Orson Malvov?...” The judges all fell silent, tasting the name on their tongues.

  After a few seconds of silence, they shook their heads. “We aren’t.”

  Carter suddenly spoke up, clearing his throat. “Orson was a pedophile; we saw him trying to sexually assault an underage girl in an alleyway. Luckily, we stopped him before he could escape, but we had him show us back to his house. When we entered, he pulled out a handgun and tried to attack us, but we reacted quick enough to dodge the first attacks.”

  Catherine interjected. “I incapacitated him, but apparently my blow was so hard it… killed him.”

  “So… you didn’t mean to kill him?” Shinso looked back at the duo, arching an eyebrow.

  The couple nodded. “We intended to disarm him and hand him over to the authorities, but we ended up panicking and disposed of his body under the floor.”

  “Why not in a dumpster, or even a graveyard?”

  Carter gulped, letting out a trembling sigh. “We might have been a little drunk.”

  “But that means you would have remembered about it later and didn’t do anything else with the body.”

  Hearing this, both Catherine and Carter froze. Shinso pressed further. “Why keep the body under the floorboards?”

  “We… We…” Neither Catherine or Carter could start the sentence.

  At this moment, the door opened. Captain Silas and his platoon walked in. He immediately looked in the direction of Olivia, Aizawa, Shinso, Catherine, and Carter.

  He cleared his throat. “I apologize for this interruption, but there’s some evidence I’d like to file for.”

  “What are you doing here?” Humphrey walked over to Captain Silas, but was quickly shoved aside.

  “Last night, everyone except that purple-haired boy assaulted my platoon when we attempted to apprehend a dangerous criminal.”

  He pointed in their direction, face contorting with anger. “They’re working with criminals, and they’re defending their own kind!”

  A myriad of whispers and murmurs erupted in the courtroom. Aizawa and Olivia paled, while Catherine and Carter looked unable to speak. Shinso stormed over to Captain Silas, puzzled and worried.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Captain Silas looked down at Shinso, scoffing. “Stay out of this, boy.”

  “I was in charge of defending!—” with a sudden thrust, Captain Silas grabbed the device around Shinso’s neck, fingers millimeters from the twitch used to impale his vocal cords.

  “Do you want to lose your ability to speak?” He leaned in, breath hot against Shinso’s ears.

  Shinso’s face paled as he gulped. “Let go of me.”

  “Hey, let go of him you bastard!” Aizawa stormed over, illusory energy transforming into his spiritual binding cloth.

  The Pollinators around Captain Silas all drew their guns, aiming them directly at Aizawa. Upon realizing his precarious situation, he lowered his weapon and snarled.

  “Let go of him, now,” He repeated, his voice dangerously low.

  Captain Silas let go of Shinso, lightly shoving the boy backwards. Aizawa reached to catch him, helping Shinso regain his balance.

  The sudden banging of the gavel against the wooden block echoed through the courtroom, startling everyone.

  “Order!”

  The Pollinators all lowered their weapons, stepping back. Captain Silas folded his arms over his chest. “One within our own ranks working with criminals?”

  “I allowed this to happen! We’re a pacifist organization; we don’t attack unless we need to!” Humphrey stormed forward.

  “You allowed this ruffian to defend criminals in court? Are you an animal just like them?”

  Humphrey fell silent, looking to the floor. His fists clenched at his sides, trembling slightly. “I want to protect everybody here, I’m a nuanced person. You were probably thrilled to hear that the old captain died, and you were jumping for joy when you were promoted.”

  “Sacralidge!” Captain Silas barked. He turned to the judges, snarling. “Do you see this impurity displayed before your eyes of grandeur? One who defends the peace, defending those who attempt to disrupt it!”

  “This court session has come to an end.” The female judge slammed her gavel once more, signalling for everyone to leave.

  Before she left the house, she looked back at all of them. “Take Catherine and Carter back to the corrective house, as for all of you…”

  Before she could answer, her eyes suddenly glazed over with purple as she took a step back. A figure walked into sight, clad in all-black attire, had bushy ears and a tail.

  “Who the hell…” Captain Silas couldn’t finish his sentence, taken aback by the figure's unorthodox appearance.

  “I don’t have a name,” The unnamed Vulpur replied, jumping down from the benches, landing on the hard floor with a silent thud.

  “But I am here to help all of you.”