Chapter 192

Chapter 192

Verdict Without a Winner

“P-Please wait a moment . Joel Santana is a man, isn’t he? He applied as a man on his immigration documents as well, you know?”

“That’s right, Your Honor . Joel is biologically a man . ”

“I don’t understand what you are trying to get at . ”

The judge seemed confused .

He didn’t understand what I was saying .

Even in the twenty-first-century, this kind of thinking was something that was not fully supported either .

“Biological sex is not necessarily the same as gender identity, Your Honor . ”

“Gender identity?”

“Yes . Most people don’t even notice these things because their sexes and genders are the same, but there’s a minority of people that suffer because both of those things don’t match . ”

“And Joel Santana is one of those people?”

“That’s right . ”

The judge shot a serious gaze over to Joel .

Joel’s body and face looked very masculine, so there were hardly any feminine aspects to be found .

“It’s true that in stage plays, there are masculine roles played by women, and feminine roles played by men, but no matter how you look at him, he looks just like a normal man, doesn’t he?”

“This isn’t a matter of appearance . This is about what gender each individual perceives themselves as . ”

This was something I mentioned back in Yuu-sama’s case, but Joel was suffering from gender dysphoria .

“Joel, can I hear this directly from you? What you’re thinking about and what it is that you’re worrying about . ”

When I prompted Joel for an answer, he stubbornly held his mouth for a while, but eventually, he chose to speak .

“I was born as the eldest son of a soldier . ”

His low-baritone voice began to tell us his story .

“I was born and raised as a man . I was raised to improve my strength as a man in order to pursue a future as a soldier . ”

I thought it was heartbreaking seeing just how indifferent he seemed while speaking .

“But there was something I started wondering about ever since I was young . Why was I born and trapped in this body? My body shouldn’t be like this . ”

This was a common view for those suffering from gender dysphoria .

“The more I trained my body, the more masculine I became . As I grew up, I became more and more uncomfortable in my own body, to the point where I couldn’t even control just how much I hated it . ”

Joel’s tone seemed calm .

As if he were desperately trying to keep his emotions from overflowing .

“Occasionally, I’d try using my mother’s makeup behind her back . Of course, it didn’t look good on a face like mine . However, that was the only time where I could feel mysteriously calm . ”

Some might view that as a compensatory act or as a way of lying to yourself, or others may think of it as nothing more than symptom relief .

However, even if it’s something that can’t be cured, it’s a fact that this was something that was painful enough to seek relief from it .

“I heard a few rumors while I was in Bauer – that there was a cosmetician in the Empire whose services were so good they were considered divine . When I arrived to the Empire, I searched for that cosmetician . If I did that, perhaps I…… even with this face of mine, I could be reborn…… or something like that . ”

Before, we had seen Joel walking through the red-light district, but he wasn’t there to play with a woman or anything .

He had been hunting for that rumored cosmetician this whole time .

“And in the middle of my search, I met Berta . She told me she knew somebody that was good with makeup, so I ended up going over to her house one day . I didn’t really remember her, but she seemed to remember me . And then she asked me why I was interested in wearing makeup . I answered her honestly, but――”

Joel’s face became distorted .

“Berta told me that if I didn’t want my secret to be exposed, I had to pay her money . It wasn’t the appropriate amount that you’d pay a cosmetician or anything . She asked for an extravagant amount . When I refused, she told me she’d spread a rumor about me . When I thought it was over, I immediately left . Everything else is exactly how you described it, Rei . ”

Joel explained it, seeming indifferent .

But there was one more important thing that we needed to note .

“Joel, let me ask you something that might be difficult for you to answer . Which would you prefer as a partner in a romantic sense, a man or a woman?”

“…… A man . ”

The audience became excited .

It was unbearable to see my student being looked upon like he was a rare beast in a zoo, but right now, I decided to focus on clearing all of the suspicion and charges surrounding Joel .

“Your Honor . As you can see, there is no reason for him to assault somebody like Berta . ”

“But…… If that’s the case, then why does Berta Balke have all of those injuries on her?”

Right .

That was the remaining unresolved mystery .

“Regarding that, I received a testimony that covers it . Would you please grant me permission to speak about it, Your Honor?”

“I will allow it . ”

Claire-sama stood up and opened her mouth .

“There was somebody that Berta-san was going out with―― or rather, there was a man that was following her . His name is Damien Carossa . It seemed that he was holding one of Berta-san’s weaknesses by a leash and would solicit money from her . That was the testimony I received from one of her coworkers at the bar . ”

Claire-sama continued .

“Plus, I received a testimony from Damien himself . Rather, I doubt that it could even be called a testimony at all . ”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Damien seemed to be messing around with illegal drugs . He was hardly in the right state of mind . This is just a conjecture of mine, but perhaps the person that Berta-san was assaulted by was actually Damien . Am I wrong?”

When Claire-sama posed the question to Berta, the latter looked down speechlessly .

“Objection! That is a baseless accusation . ”

“I reject the objection . Berta Balke, answer this while swearing by God’s name . Were you assaulted by Damien Carossa?”

“……”

When the judge asked Berta, she remained silent .

Most likely, her attorney told her to stay quiet in order to avoid making any disadvantageous statements .

“So you’re choosing to remain silent, huh . Very well . In that case, I will dismiss all of the charges surrounding Joel Santana . Any objections?”

“Wait, Your Honor!”

The lawyer answered with vigor; however,

“…… . No objections . ”

Berta replied softly .

“Berta! We can still fight back!”

“…… No, it’s okay . This is fine . ”

Berta removed herself from the witness stand as she muttered .

As for why she chose to protect Damien, why she didn’t accuse Damien from the start, and why she tried to pin the blame on Joel instead, those remained mysteries .

Perhaps she had a compelling reason behind it .

In my past life, there were a lot of novels or anime that involved women attempting to pin sexual crimes on men, but in those cases, the women would be portrayed as absolutely malicious .

However, those cases didn’t happen very often in real life .

I’m not saying they don’t happen at all .

But they’re infrequent .

Even as the opposite gender, I can understand why men feel so uneasy about being potentially being pinned for those types of crimes by women .

However, the average woman has no reason to do such a thing .

Of course, that being said, it’s a bit strange how every single one of these claims made by women are allowed to pass .

This was a problem that existed within the judicial system in Japan from before I was reincarnated .

But everything has to be considered on a case-by-case basis .

In the end, I never learned what happened in Berta’s case .

Perhaps Damien was actually the ringleader about the case, or maybe this was something Berta chose to do out of her own volition .

The trial approached its conclusion while these mysteries remained in the air .

“Now then, Joel Santana . There is something else I must say to you . I will be revoking your qualifications to study in the Empire . ”

I was not surprised by this at all .

So this was the case after all .

“I understand your circumstances, but this is the body that God has granted to you . It is considered a sin to go against it . We cannot keep people that commit sins in the Empire . ”

“……”

Joel was not surprised either .

Not because he was particularly dissatisfied with the verdict, but because he has resigned himself to it .

Joel’s case was different from Yuu-sama’s case, where she suffered from the opposite sex disease .

In Yuu-sama’s case―― aside from the statement the Kingdom officially issued―― she was just returning to her original body .

In contrast, it looked like Joel was denying his “original” body .

When it came to the Spirit Church’s doctrine, these two cases were very different from one another .

In twenty-first-century Japan, this verdict never would’ve been delivered .

However, in this world, that kind of value system has not been developed yet .

“Joel Santana, you will be deported back to the Kingdom of Bauer . You have one month . Please move out before your time is up . ”

With that, the judge closed the court .

It was an empty trial where nobody was saved .

Trial

“Everyone, please settle down . The trial will begin now . ”

The elderly presiding judge solemnly announced the opening of the court .

We were in a courtroom in the Imperial capital city, Ruhm .

Joel’s trial was about to begin .

Claire-sama and I were attending the trial as witnesses for the defendant’s side .

Well, even if I called it a trial, it was different than one held in twenty-first-century Japan .

Trials were barely carried out in accordance with the law, and the verdicts were highly dependent on the impressions that are left on the presiding judge rather than viewing it objectively .

Generally, the defendant side was more at a disadvantage than the prosecution .

This aspect was something that I viewed as strangely old-fashioned .

By the way, the presiding judge was a priest that was sent over by the Spirit Church .

The Spirit Church played a part in the judicial system of this world as well .

There was an audience surrounding the area, watching over the trial .

There were no seats in the courtroom, so everybody had to be standing .

“Now then, let’s begin with a statement from the prosecution . ”

“Yes . ”

The man that sat across from us stood up as he answered .

He was probably a lawyer .

He was of regular build and height and didn’t really have any particular characteristics about him, but his sharp gaze gave off the impression that he was skilled .

The person that was sitting right next to that lawyer was a woman by the name of Berta, who got up and walked over to the witness stand .

“Berta Balke over there was assaulted by the defendant, Joel Santana . The incident occurred within the Empire—”

The lawyer delivered a clear and concise explanation of the case from the plaintiff’s seat .

With the use of various hand gestures and his tone of voice, he appealed to the judge with his unwavering claims .

As expected of an expert of the field .

He was probably used to this kind of thing .

As if they had prepared everything together perfectly, when the lawyer recounted the details of the assault, Berta, who was sitting in the witness stand, shed some tears .

“With all of these facts laid out, I would like to assert that the accused is undoubtedly guilty . ”

“Hmm……”

The judge looked like he was deep in thought as he nodded .

We’d been in trouble if that were enough to convince him, though .

“Moving on, let us hear from the defendant’s side . ”

“Yes . ”

The criminal defense lawyer replied as Joel took up the witness stand .

“The prosecution has brought up nothing but circumstantial evidence . To begin with, there’s no concrete evidence to be found in this case besides the plaintiff’s testimony . ”

“Objection . ”

The prosecutor interjected .

“There were numerous injuries found on the victim’s body . The wounds were deep and the scars that will be left behind are enough to make a woman feel ashamed . There’s no reason for us to lie about it . ”

“I will accept the objection . I think the prosecution has come up with a very convincing argument . ”

The judge accepted the prosecution’s allegations .

Things were not going well for us .

“B-But Your Honor! The incident happened indoors and there were no witnesses . It would be much too reckless to convict the defendant solely based off of a testimony from the prosecution!”

The criminal defense lawyer was a lot like the lawyers you’d find in the twenty-first-century .

If you couldn’t find a lawyer to represent you, the state would assign one to you .

I don’t think he’s incompetent by any means . If anything, considering how much he’s getting paid, his abilities must naturally be top-notch .

“In that case, the defendant should refute . When and where was the defendant at the time of the incident?”

“I refuse to testify . ”

Joel replied curtly from the witness stand .

The prosecutor smiled at his answer .

“Is the defense giving up their right to testify? In that case, I have no choice but to conclude that you are guilty . ”

“I didn’t commit the crime . However, I just can’t answer that question . ”

“…… . This is quite troublesome . ”

The only reason why Joel wasn’t being sentenced right now was because the presiding judge was lenient .

It was nice that the judge just happened to be this person, but if it were anybody that was a bit more on the short-tempered side, it wouldn’t have been strange if Joel was given a guilty verdict right away .

“Your Honor, will you please grant me permission to speak as a witness?”

I raised my own hand and asked for permission to speak .

“Who might you be?”

“I’m from the same country as Joel, and his teacher . ”

“Hmm…… Very well . I’ll allow it . ”

“Thank you very much . ”

I stood up and looked at Joel .

He stared back with an expressionless gaze .

“Joel, I looked into what you were doing at the time of the incident . You were in Berta-san’s home when the assault happened, am I correct?”

The audience started to buzz upon hearing my statement .

“Hold on . You are acting as a witness in order to help defend Joel Santana, right?”

The judge asked to confirm .

“Yes, that’s correct . ”

“…… . I’m not exactly satisfied with this, but very well . Please continue . ”

“Yes . ”

I moved from Joel and walked towards Berta .

“Berta-san, I know that working at the bar is just one of your jobs, but you have another job somewhere else too, don’t you? Although it’s not a job that you’d like to make public . ”

“Objection . That’s a baseless accusation . ”

“It’s not baseless at all . Claire-sama . ”

When I called for Claire-sama, she stood up and brought some documents over to me .

“These are the testimonies that we’ve gathered from the people that have received your services from the job in question . I would like to submit these as evidence . ”

Claire-sama presented the documents to the judge .

“All of these testimonies are from stage actors and actresses, huh . They requested…… makeup services?”

“Yes . Berta-san has a job as a cosmetician . ”

Berta’s face was distorted upon hearing my remarks .

I mentioned it a while ago, back when all of the whole cooking stuff happened, but in the Empire, flashy and luxurious things were frowned upon .

Therefore, even if makeup was something that suited many women’s tastes, becoming a professional in that field was something that was highly and publicly discouraged .

It was no wonder that Berta wanted to keep it hidden .

“Berta-san seems to be a well-known makeup artist . And without actually having heard of her, Joel went to go see her to make use of those services . Isn’t that right?”

“……”

Joel remained silent .

“I’m not quite following . How is this related to the current incident? In the end, Joel really did go and see Berta, didn’t he? If that’s the case, then my doubts are getting deeper . What exactly are you getting at here?”

The judge was visibly confused .

Well, it was no wonder that he was .

What I was about to say was something that probably wouldn’t make sense to the average person here in this room .

“Joel, may I continue talking? I want to respect your dignity . If you wish to keep everything a secret even at the cost of receiving a guilty verdict, I will speak no further . ”

“……”

“Even if I continue to testify like this, surely, you wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the Empire either way . That’s why, I won’t force you to do anything . However――”

I stared directly at Joel as I spoke .

“But let me just tell you this . I don’t want you to get sentenced for something you didn’t do, and I’m prepared to support you however I can for the very thing you are trying to hide . I want to worry over these things with you . ”

“……”

There was a disheartened look on Joel’s face .

Most likely, he was feeling conflicted .

It was only natural, considering the circumstances surrounding him .

I patiently waited for his remark .

“…… Continue . ”

“…… I understand . ”

Joel had made his decision .

All that was left was for me to try my best and clear Joel’s charges .

“As I mentioned before, Joel went over to Berta’s house to seek her services as a cosmetician . ”

“Like I said, why would he do that? It’s not like he’s a stage actor or anything, right?”

“Yes, you’re not wrong . She just wanted to wear regular makeup . ”

Everybody had a look of incomprehension as I spoke .

“Joel is a woman . ”