The day of the second trial.

Even more people had gathered than on the day of the first one.

Well, the first trial had only been about revealing Idria’s crimes in detail.

It was natural that even more attention would be focused on the second trial, where the verdict for all those countless crimes would be delivered.

The Emperor signaled the start of the second trial with an even shorter opening speech than last time.

Now it was my turn.

I stood at the designated spot and raised my voice.

“Although my companion’s magic has already confirmed it for all of you, for the past ten days, we travelled the continent with Idria and made her apologize for every crime. And for the damage that could be repaired, we made her restore it personally.”

“…….”

“However, it would be difficult to claim that Idria’s crimes are erased simply because of that. That is why we have prepared this place.”

I paused there and signaled to my party.

As planned, Xenia, Serein, and Neril quietly approached me.

I continued.

“Before we move on to the main issue, I will make clear who will be delivering today’s verdict.”

“…….”

“Unlike a normal trial, the verdict of the Demon King Trial is decided by all of you. You are the judges. I will explain the method.”

How could we conduct the judgment of all continental citizens at once?

This was one of the biggest problems we wrestled with ever since I came up with the idea for this Demon King Trial.

After much struggle, we came up with a feasible method.

I continued.

“The verdict will be decided by a show of hands. Those who sentence the Demon King to death, raise your hands.”

“…….”

“If the majority raises their hands, the Demon King will be executed. If not, then I will personally take responsibility and seal her deep underground.”

“Wait, Hero.”

A fairly brave young man raised his hand.

I chuckled and said,

“The vote hasn’t started yet.”

“Ahaha… I actually have a question. You say we simply raise our hands… but how will it actually be counted?”

Instead of answering, I looked at Neril.

We had anticipated this question and prepared the answer in advance.

Neril spoke calmly.

“Rather than explaining, I will just show you.”

She made a hand sign.

“Ah!”

The young man who asked the question exclaimed.

So did everyone else.

Everyone at the site was now seeing a full view of the capital before their eyes.

But it was nothing like a normal line of sight.

“W-what is this?”

“I can see inside buildings?”

“Ugh, I’m getting dizzy.”

“What kind of magic is this?”

Neril spoke.

“I will explain, so listen carefully.”

While she explained, I recalled the discussion we had during planning.

“If we only need to check whether it’s a majority or not… we don’t have to count one by one.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then I will ask Agril.”

That was Xenia’s suggestion.

We didn’t understand at first.

But soon, Lisel, who occasionally had brilliant intuition, clapped her hands.

“Shared Vision!”

Oh, right. That existed.

Agril has special eyes that can see through everything, inside houses, deep caves, underground, aboveground, regardless of what blocks the way.

And Xenia, as Agril’s master, had the ability to share that vision.

Wasn’t that how we found Offense in the Avis territory?

Serein tilted her head.

“Wait… you mean you will check who raises their hand through shared vision? Xenia will?”

“Yes.”

“But Agril’s vision range only covers about one territory. I’m pretty sure you said that during the fight with Sabach.”

“Agril survives on holy power.”

It was a random statement, but everyone silently agreed.

Serein, who had once been treated like Agril’s lunchbox, nodded even harder.

“The reason Agril’s vision range was limited to a single territory was because he never had enough holy power to feed on. If he received unlimited holy power, his range could expand indefinitely.”

“How much more does he even need? Why is he exactly like his owner in this kind of thing…”

“Thanks for the compliment, Serein.”

“Sure……”

“So if Serein and I combine our power and supply him with infinite holy power, Agril’s vision range will expand. Enough to cover the entire continent.”

Adwin asked,

“I get Serein noona helping, but does Xenia-noona also have to?”

“Why am I the one that’s ‘I get it’?”

“Well, we are spying on the whole continent. I will probably need to use this.”

Xenia took out the Branch of Corruption.

“I’m the only one who still hasn’t broken it yet, so this is perfect.”

“You were saving it, huh. Now that I think of it, what is your wish, noona?”

Adwin asked, and I perked up as well.

Now that Ophelia had been safely rescued, did Xenia have anything else she desired?

She answered calmly.

“I want to live a long life.”

“…? Your wish is longevity? Well… I mean, it’s a common wish, sure, but…”

“I want to live long enough to watch all my party members, Ophelia, and everyone connected to me live long, happy lives. When that day comes, I think I will be able to close my eyes feeling truly satisfied.”

It was a wish that suited Xenia perfectly.

Not a desire for her own happiness, but a desire to watch her loved ones be happy for a long, long time.

For some reason, we all felt a little moved.

Neril suppressed her admiration and said,

“So you’re telling us to die first?”

“Ah, does it sound like that? That’s not what I meant…”

“I’m joking. I get what you mean.”

She turned her head slightly and added,

“I thought your wish would be gourmet food, though. Surprisingly not.”

“That’s my second wish.”

“Second… I see.”

“Anyway, Mide, by that point it will be close to the end, so it should be fine to break the branch then, right?”

I thought for a moment and nodded.

If everything went the way we expected, the moment of the verdict would be during the 2nd trial of the Demon King.

And right after the 2nd trial of the Demon King, we planned to go kill Aktion, so timing-wise there was no issue.

“Let’s do that.”

“Okay.”

“Wait.”

Neril cut in again.

“Let me see what Agril sees as well.”

“What? But only I can see the shared vision.”

“Even if you break the branch of corruption?”

“That… we would have to try to know.”

“Whether it works or not, make it work. It’s absolutely necessary.”

Adwin tilted his head.

“Why is it absolutely necessary? Xenia noona just needs to check whether the raised hands exceed the majority.”

“If you think like that, then we don’t need shared vision at all. If a new law is added to Mide’s world or not, it will be obvious automatically.”

“Ah… true.”

“I’m going to share vision with Agril, and then I’m going to spread what I see through Append View to everyone on the continent.”

I felt like I understood exactly what Neril was thinking.

“You’re not saying…”

“Yeah. I’m going to make it so there’s absolutely no room for denial later.”

“…….”

“I’m going to leave a vivid record in their memories that they were the ones who chose this. No, I will even pass down the Append View so that it’s recorded generation after generation.”

A sharp coldness, the kind she hadn’t shown lately, appeared on Neril’s face.

“If we don’t do this, who knows what they will say later. ‘We never did that’, ‘We never wanted Idria to be empowered’, ‘Hero Mide deceived us’… and so on.”

“…….”

“But once they see with their own eyes that the raised hands passed the majority, they won’t be able to say that.”

“At least not in this era. Not while all of you are still alive.”

Neril narrowed her eyes.

“I can’t stand the idea of someone smearing your name a few hundred years from now… no, forever.”

“Uh, well. Thanks.”

“Only with words?”

“What else do you want?”

“Something we can’t do here.”

“R-right. We will… set some time aside later.”

Neril smiled radiantly.

Strangely enough, Serein also smiled radiantly.

Of course, her lips were trembling violently.

“Woooow. You two look great together.”

Put some spit on those lips.

Anyway, to summarize:

Xenia breaks the branch of corruption, and together with Serein, infuses Agril with infinite divine power.

Agril will then be able to scan the entire continent from where he sits.

Then Neril shares Agril’s vision.

And finally, Neril shows what she sees to everyone on the continent.

Once everything was organized, Neril finally smiled with satisfaction.

“Good. Now we can leave a perfectly clear record of exactly what they have done.”

“No, this is something I pushed for, so…”

“The people of this era will be cursed by their descendants for ages. But you, Mide, will avoid any criticism from future generations. Actually, they will probably revere you forever.”

Terrifying. My lover.

Offense spoke up.

“Hm. Then Miss Pheasant should test it right now. It will be bad if it fails on the day of the trial.”

He had a point.

I looked at Xenia and nodded.

She took a light breath and broke the branch of corruption.

And that was when we became certain the plan would work.

After breaking the branch, Xenia successfully shared Agril’s vision with Neril.

We were one decisive step closer to success.

“Good. Then let’s discuss the next topic.”

“Huh? There’s another topic?”

“I actually think this part is the main one. Listen carefully.”

I leaned in toward my companions.

“As you probably know, my screen told me that if I reach twenty million fame, it will reveal all secrets to me.”

“We know. But you’re still far away from that.”

“No. If things go well, I might reach it. Through this second trial.”

Everyone swallowed hard.

I continued explaining.

“So…”

My recollection was cut short by Neril’s voice.

“You understand, right? You’re basically seeing Agril’s vision right now.”

“Y-yes, I understand perfectly.”

“Good. Since all we need is to check whether they surpass the majority or not, this is enough. Once the hand-raising begins, I will show you each territory one by one.”

“Yes. Thank you, Saint of Compulsion.”

The young man who had asked the question hesitated, then bowed.

“I think I asked something rude. I apologize…”

I quickly answered.

“No. Having the attitude to ask ‘why?’ and ‘how?’ is important. Especially in the era to come.”

“…?”

“Well then, let’s return to the main point.”

I clapped lightly.

“There’s one last step before we begin the vote.”

“…….”

“We will listen to the Demon King Idria’s final statement.”

It was already widely announced.

But discontent was written all over the faces in the crowd.

Judging by their expressions alone, it was questionable whether there was even any point in holding a vote.

But I continued unfazed.

“Idria. Step forward.”

“Sure.”

Idria climbed onto the small platform prepared for her.

She received all the vicious, murderous stares with a calm expression.

I spoke.

“Speak.”

“…….”

“This is called a ‘final plea’, but it doesn’t have to be a defense of your actions. If you want to defend yourself, defend yourself. If you want to beg for your life, do that. You can say anything you want.”

Idria looked around for a moment.

Despite the massive crowd, the entire place was silent.

Then she finally opened her mouth.

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