Editing Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi:Volume6 Chapter2 (section)

===Part IV===
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"—The defendant has once died and was buried by the Gravekeeper, only to be completely revived. This is an unprecedented event, a terrifying phenomenon that will change the rules of the world..."

Madame spoke, but her words did not register in Ai's head at all.

"—Furthermore, he is also closely involved with this black surface, and undoubtedly a central figure of the ‘world of class 3-4’"

Alice's back was before Ai. He stood idly at the defendant's table, fiddling with the chains on his wrists as he listened to Madame's speech.

Ai saw everything that had happened since then, and yet did not see them. Her eyeballs witnessed them, but her brain refused to comprehend. Whether the fact was that Alice was summoned to the . So when he was called to the defendant's seat, and when the chains were put on his hands, Ai just stood there, trapped in emptiness.

—Why?

This thought dominated her mind.

<i>Why is he there? It should be me who is there.</i>

<i>He wasn’t the one who committed the crime.</i>

"Ai, get a hold of yourself!"

Suddenly, Dee shouted and shook Ai’s shoulder. No, it was not sudden at all. Dee had been talking the entire time, but Ai had completely missed the sight.

"Miss Dee…"

"Ai, please get a grip!"

Once she regained awareness, the world became more saturated. Color returned to Dee's face, and angry shouts filled the air around her. All the citizens of Ostia (with Julie in the mix) were yelling at Madame and the others for their unruliness.

The fear returned.

Ai grabbed Dee's hands, shook her body and raised her voice,

"Miss Dee, what should I do… What should I do, Mr. Alice?"

"Calm down!"

<i>Pak!</i> Ai got slapped.

"—Also, his objective of ‘ending the world’ has been achieved, and there is a possibility of distorting the world now—eve-everyone, silence, please! W-who threw the tangerine peel?"

Madame's speech continued. The citizens of Ostia were booing repeatedly, Julie throwing tangerine peels.

"Miss Dee…, why is Mr. Alice being accused! Why not me!?"

"…Maybe they just based it on the rumors in town. The rumor has it that Alice revived on his own. There is no mention of Ai's name at all."

"The-they can prosecute based on unverified information?"

"Yes. That’s them. That's good enough for them."

Not to be outdone by the boos, Madame turned up the speakers on the wall to maximum volume and finished her speech.

"—For the aforementioned reasons! The defendant's guilt seems clear to us! Therefore, we demand that he and the black surface shall serve a ‘sealed sentence’!"

Silence. The hall fell silent.

A sealed sentence.

As the name implied, it was a punishment that was heavier than the death penalty in this world, to be sealed away forever.

Doh!

The silence was broken as if it existed only to accentuate the shouting that followed, and the hall was filled with rage.

"Bullshit! Does that even make sense!"

"Don’t be ridiculous! You’re getting too greedy after silencing us! Return Alice to us!"

"Yeah yeah! Return Alice to us!"

<i>Return to us! Return to us!</i> The audience continued to shout in unison, kicking the fence off with their boots pounding on the fence as bloodthirsty men rushed downstairs.

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"—! Stop it!"

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Alice, who had been silent for a long time, shouted only at that moment. The men however ignored him and charged to the hall below,

"Ahhh...oops."

There was a sound like a car running over fruit that echoed through the air

"U-ugh! What is this!?"

One of the men (who turned out to be Julie) shouted, not knowing why he was in such a position. They were being bitten by tiger scissors that were formed from the floor.

"Ugh…unrelated people…ugh…please be quiet. If you make too much noise, I shall purge you from this world, you know, okay?"

Madame looked as if she had something in her mouth as she spoke. A smile of righteousness danced on her cheek, one that would achieve her righteousness with any means necessary. There was not a trace of the intelligence she had shown Ai and the others. It was as if she was dealing with a beast or a plant, and that she did not acknowledge her opponent.

"Keep quiet and watch if you do not wish to be disposed of like a pest who has just been spotted. Hold your breath, keep your head down, lay low and live on."

With a swoosh, the fangs retracted and the floor returned to its original state. By that time, there was no more resistance.

"…This is what they are, Ai."

Dee whispered secretly, holding her sore flank.

"They've got laws, they've got courts, they've got everything they need to look fair, but it's all lies. They just want to crush miracles in a way that appeals to them. They'll accept any compromise and use any cowardly trick to do so…because they too want to ‘save the world’, and are just nothing but monsters…right!."

Hmph. Dee was motivated, snapped her fingers to make a sound, but just could not.

"I'll step forth as the defense lawyer, and Ai shall assist. It’s nothing, no matter who the accused is, we’ll have to do what we have to. We need to save both Alice and the black surface from them."

"Y-yes."

<i>Okay, good girl.</i> Ai was finally relieved when Dee patted her on the head.

Madame breathed a sigh of relief, satisfied that the hall was finally quiet.

"—Now, let us resume. Now, let me ask the accused a few questions. Do you admit that the accusation is true and do you plead guilty? I'd like you to answer—"

"Objection!"

Dee immediately raised her hand.

"You’re making it sound like the cross-examination is over, but I want to protest the accusations."

"Oh my oh my, erm—who was that in the audience?

"Dee Ensy, his defense attorney."

Dee glared at Madame, not trying to hide her hostility.

"Yes, Master. Dee. Could you please file your objection after I question the defendant?"

"Then what's the point of being a defense attorney? I want to discuss the validity of the accusation itself. Can't I even do that?"

"No, no, of course you can. It is just a matter of rationality. You see. No matter how off putting our accusation is, there is no need for further debate if <b>the defendant accepts it</b>, is there?"

"That’s…"

A perturbed glint flashed in Dee’s eyes.

"…That’s true, but…"

"Is that so?"

"…Can you repeat the accusation, please?"

"Yes, gladly—the first crime is the miracle of creating the black surface. The second crime is the revival of the Dead. Based on the aforementioned charges, we shall pass a sealed sentence onto the black surface and Alice Color. That shall be all."

"You actually said them out…I get it though. I know what you’re getting at."

Dee probably determined that there was no point dragging this matter out any longer. While her request was allowed, she remained uneasy, and bit her fingernails in frustration.

Ai could understand Dee's feeling. She herself had a bad feeling about this. No matter how many traps she had checked, she just did not feel safe. She felt as though she was standing guard in the mouth of a monster, already trapped without knowing the moment she chose that route.

"Then Alice Color, do you acknowledge the aforementioned accusations?"

And her premonition came true.

<b> </b>

<b>"I do."</b>

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Alice declared firmly.

"I plead guilty to all charges."

Ai's mind went blank.

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