The break didn't last long, but it sure hell gave people motivation and hope.

Beer tankards were still clinking when Pearl clapped again, louder this time, and the sound cut across the hall like a blade.

"Alright, enough. Please return to your seats and quiet back down, we'll have this over in a matter of minutes."

The room shifted, chairs creaked, mugs on hand as they quietly celebrated their victory, boots scuffed against the stone as people filed back into their seats. A few last-minute chuckles and whispers died out, though I noticed a few players still had that glassy, overexcited look of people who'd just been told they were rich, while some are dead-staring at Olga and the seven victims, who ruined their lunch.

Lunch… Oh right, Hailie did say that she didn't need to attend classes today, but I never delved into that, I've been wondering… As a parapelegic, was she homeschooled all her life? Or she still went to school with a lot of handicapped and now having extra classes after graduation and stuff because she rich, need the pointless skills like perfume making and nobody can't tell her what to do.

I looked at her, who was sipping on, what I presumed, juice or milk (since after the last time I pushed beer on her, she kinda been staying away from it).

I digress, the court case was much more entertaining than my thoughts.

Pearl waited until the last straggler sat before speaking again, his voice calm but ironbound.

"We shall resume, thank you for your cooperations."

Then, the man pulled a small leather-bound notebook from his inventory and tore it neatly down the spine. Thin slips of paper appeared in his hand, each marked with a faint shimmer of blue light that danced across their surface.

"You will each receive one of these. It carries my mana signature. That means you cannot replace it with a counterfeit page, I require that each of you write your own verdict on it, nothing else."

The pages glowed faintly as he passed them along the row. I leaned forward to watch; the effect was subtle, but unmistakable. Dousing mana onto a piece of object to mark your ownership is a wise move, I've always been kinda laughing at its impracticality but maybe that's just me being ignorant. Pearl demonstrated that a useless feature could be used, which was ironic, considering I'm supposed to be an exploiter.

With that explanation, Pearl continued,

"On this page, you will write what disciplinary action you believe Olga, username Eolga, should face. Please write down some short and concise, such as: Monetary penalty, stripping of leadership rank, temporary removal from guild, permanent banishment… or 'Nothing,' if you believe no punishment is warranted.

"Do noted, by writing Nothing, you either believe she acted under outside influence, believe that the accusations are unfounded, believe there is reasonable doubt for her doings, or simply believe that she's guilty, yet deserves not any disclipinary action, you write 'Nothing.' If you believe otherwise, write accordingly."

He didn't look at Olga when he said it, though I caught her knuckles tightening on the edge of the table. She wasn't smirking anymore.

"Even me?" I raised my hand halfway.

Pearl's gaze flicked to me. "Yes. You were involved and is a trial member, so you receive a vote." His eyes moved toward Hailie. "Your friend does not, for the same reason that she couldn't be held accountable in guild's court, she is not an member."

Hailie tilted her head and smiled faintly, as if relieved, or maybe just glad she wasn't pulled into the mess. She was one of 'em people that love social interaction but is too… What's the word? Pacifistic? That's probably it.

The silence stretched for a while more as everyone started talking about the rules and what should they put down, which, as far as I know, isn't legal, right? But this wasn't a real court, once again.

Then, one of the jurors cleared his throat.

"And… who's going to count the votes? I'd like to know that they aren't tampered with."

Pearl set the notebook back on the table with a quiet thud, before thinking for a solid 5 seconds.

He then opened up his UI, something I noticed by the fact that he started pressing buttons in the air.

"There's someone I personally trust, someone who has been with New Destiny since the early weeks. But they will not cast a vote themselves, since they were not here to witness the trial, they just got online a few minutes ago."

"Who is that?" another voice called.

Before he could answer

BANG.

The entrance to the hideout; the heavy oak door slammed open with the flat crack of a boot heel. Heads snapped around, afew hands including mine even went to weapons.

And then, striding into the room with the confidence of a circus ringleader, came the ridiculous witch-hat girl from earlier. The floppy brim bounced with each step, nearly wider than her shoulders.

"It's the one and only, M-m-m-meiiiiiiiiiii~!" she sang, dragging out the syllables like a rock star on stage. "Guild's accountant extraordinaire!"

She marched down the center aisle, giving out high-fives to anyone dumb enough to put their hand up. Half the crowd did, because how could you not? She had the kind of grin that dared you not to play along. Hailie also gave a highfive with a cute giggle, and I just eyed her weirdly, uncalled for, indeed.

"It's been sooo long since we've gathered like this," the witch-hat-girl said, throwing her arms wide, "I almost forgot what a guild should look like!"

A ripple of laughter broke through the tension.

"...Mei," Pearl said flatly. Not angry, just resigned.

"Hello guys! Again, my name is Mei!" She said, before spinning on her heel to face Pearl and gave a mocking bow, hat flopping forward comically. "At your service, precious little bro."

"Little…?" I blinked.

"Why I'm his older twin sister, of course~" she said brightly, somehow managing to hear me in the crowd as she turned her gaze back to the room. "Username is SparklesQueen, open friend requests! Accountant for the New Destiny, princess in real life, queen in game."

I stared at her, then back at her supposedly younger twin brother. Pearl was all straight lines, neat edges, and tightly wound composure, and he was quite tall, probably above average. Mei was this… cartoonish character. The only thing they seemed to share was the same deep brown shade in their eyes, though it could just as easily have been a coincidence of the avatar editor.

"Older twin sister?" I muttered under my breath. "They look about as related as a loaf of bread and a dragonfruit, god, she's so loudly."

Hailie, beside me, stifled a giggle. "That's just like you, Cory! Sometimes you get very excited about the game and just start dancing and yelling."

"I never-" I tried protesting, "Yeah okay maybe."

Meanwhile, Olga and the seven players who had been at the center of this trial sat stiffly, their expressions a mix of dread and forced calm, though, almost all of them gave Mei a highfive as she walked through.

The papers were still being handed out, and soon the scratching of pens would decide whether Olga walked away lighter in the purse… or walked away at all.

Pearl raised his hand for quiet. "Now that our counter has arrived, we can proceed, unless anyone has an alternative choice."

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