Heron had never so much stolen anything. At least, not on purpose.

  Maybe he’d accidentally kept a pen that belonged to a coworker when he worked in the office. Or that one time he had found a wallet on the train on his way home from work and forgot to turn it in to security–though he had gone back to return it. There was also the mortifying moment when he thought it was his latte being called and it was actually someone else’s who had ordered the same drink before him. Now that was awkward when the other fellow had watched him leave with his drink.

  So finding out from Alice that stealing a vegetable seed was enough to warrant a head chopping by the king was a bit frightening to say the least.

  He considered it pretty hardcore and stricter than the kind of laws of what he was used to from his original world. Earlier at the Knight’s Station, when he had suggested an appeal to the judge, he had assumed he would just get a slap on the wrist and his request would be denied. Now? From a mere suggestion of a lenient sentence, the fear of being beheaded now sat restlessly in his stomach while it threatened to climb up his throat and out his mouth.

  Goodness gracious, did Heron want to keep his head on his neck.

  The little girl who had greeted them like a trick-or-treater spun on her heels and flicked her wrist at the gigantic double doors in the lobby. The doors creaked open at the hinges and the chilly air kissed Heron on the cheek while he held Lucifer with both his arms.

  Don’t worry Heron, I won’t let them chop your head off. Lucifer vowed as it snuggled in his arms.

  That would be a lot more reassuring if it wasn’t a small cute bunny right now, but Heron appreciated the thought. Glancing over to Serafina as the black dragon waddled after the little girl, Heron wondered why Lucifer was still in its rabbit form. Thinking back to Moo-Moo Land, did he really have to comb its fur for several hours straight for it to turn back into a dragon?

  As my loyal subject, you should be honored with the privilege of carrying me. Lucifer snorted as it wrinkled its nose. For the sake of putting your mind to rest, I can still protect you even if I’m… in this form.

  Can or will? Heron wasn’t going to count on ‘can’.

  No response from Lucifer.

  Great, Heron was probably screwed. He didn’t have a weapon to his name and the best offense and defense he had was summoning a potato and pelting the enemy with it. That was not going to prevent any head chopping from happening if the judge they were about to meet decided that his crimes of squatting and wasting everyone’s time was enough to warrant getting guillotined by the king.

  As the little girl led them down the hallway, their footsteps clicked on the wooden floors as they walked as a group with Lucifer being carried like a baby. Neither Alice nor Serafina looked back at Heron and Lucifer, nor did they speak to them. Their gaze remained focused on the little girl who had now stopped before another set of doors, this time smaller than the ones that they had entered through moments ago.

  Above the normal-sized wooden doors read a sign that said Court 1-A as the little girl pushed them open. Inside, the room displayed a simple, small, and efficient courtroom; there was wooden seating for the public gallery, the counsel tables, a witness stand, and the judge’s bench. It was pretty similar to what Heron had seen on TV shows before, specifically the one with lawyer office–not criminal–romance.

  As they passed the public gallery, Heron noted the dust that was gathered on the wooden benches. With all that dust, it suggested that the benches hadn’t seen arses in a while. Nor were the seats being cleaned. That was odd; if the courthouse wasn’t being used, did they even have cases or lawyers? They still had counsel tables upfront but were there any actual trials being run in this kingdom?

  What is a lawyer? Lucifer whispered even though it was speaking in Heron’s mind.

  Well, a good lawyer convinces the judge that all is well and there shall be no beheading. A bad lawyer convinces the judge that all is not well and may result in the defendant beheaded. And then the lawyer gets financially compensated. Even if their client’s head is rolling on the ground.

  Well, your head on the ground does not sound pleasant. How does one acquire a… good lawyer?

  Sir Heron and Lord Lucifer, we do not have the ‘lawyers’ that you speak of. You made the appeal and you will be defending yourselves today. Serafina interrupted as it took a seat at one of the chairs at the counsel table.

  Oh dear, this was not good. What happened to pro bono? Heron had really been counting on the possibility of free counseling. He didn’t know the laws of this place and he wasn’t going to count on the judge to inform him what kind of rules the kingdom plays by. He was kidding about being Debate King and his only skill was talking out of his—

  “Heron. Take a seat.” Alice’s cool voice interrupted his thoughts as she took a seat next to Serafina at their counsel table.

  Heron walked to the opposite side of the room and took a seat at the other set of counsel table. Placing Lucifer on the seat next to him, he almost laughed when the rabbit looked at him indignantly as it couldn’t see over the table. Sitting on its haunches, Lucifer placed its paws on the table as it peeked over.

  Where is the judge that we seek? We are on a schedule here. Lucifer patted the desk impatiently, its paw smacking down on the table repeatedly.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  Flicking his head, Heron watched Alice and Serafina’s expressions. Both of them were focused at the judge’s bench up ahead. Following their gaze, his eyes settled at the front of the room at the high seated wooden stand where a judge would normally sit.

  There was no one there. What, was the judge invisible or something?

  Out of the corner of his eye, his attention was caught by the little girl who skipped around the witness stand and disappeared behind the wooden furniture. He heard some shuffling noises, like someone getting dressed. A scraping sound rang in the courtroom as Heron witnessed the chair at the judge’s stand being moved.

  Heron blinked. Then stared.

  The little girl had hoisted herself up, her head barely peeking over the judge’s stand. She was sitting in the judge’s spot. Why was she there? Where was the judge?

  Except she was now wearing a black robe over her modest black dress. Pushing her glasses higher on the bridge of her nose, the little girl cleared her throat.

  “The Court of Morningstar is now in session. As the presiding judge, Judge Julie Shinelin, I shall oversee today’s ruling.”

  What. The. Wasabi.

  Okay, this child was not going to decide Heron’s fate between getting fined, sent to jail, or beheaded. It wasn’t so bad when he had thought the worst case scenario was that maybe his appeal about getting fined would be denied and he would go to medieval jail and would sick Lucifer on some dungeon rats. But now? Knowing that the king literally beheaded farmers for stealing seeds, Heron was very much concerned about keeping his head on his neck.

  Hello, child. Where is the judge? Lucifer tapped its foot on its chair while wrinkling its nose. That is no place to play, we are on official business here. Child, I require your assistance in fetching a judge.

  Oh potatoes—

  Lord Lucifer, that is the judge. Serafina’s voice resonated in Heron’s mind.

  Oh.

  Judge Julie folded her hands in front of her as she adjusted herself on her chair, barely peeking over her arms that now rested on the table.

  “Please state your case to the courtroom,” the judge said simply, ignoring Lucifer’s demands.

  Pushing her chair back, Alice stood up. “Your Honor, the defendant Heron Saito is here to make an appeal for the crime he has committed against the kingdom of Morningstar.”

  Hold on, was Alice prosecuting him!? He thought she was a knight— or rather, an intern knight. He shot her a look of betrayal as he watched her continue prosecuting him.

  “For an unknown amount of time, he has been squatting on Planet-C5 which is currently under territorial dispute between our kingdom and the kingdom of Everlight. He is also a provisional citizen working under the Farmer’s Guild.”

  That was interesting, he had expected Alice to mention that he had only become a provisional citizen earlier today. But instead, she had left out the detail that he had committed the squatting crime prior to belonging to the kingdom. Was this her way of preventing him from being an intergalactic criminal? Or did she have a hidden motive of some sort?

  As Alice took a seat, Judge Julie nodded at the elf before turning her attention to Heron, her braided pigtails swaying. “And the defendant? Please state your case.”

  Heron stared at the judge before standing up, his palms slick as they rested on the table. He really wanted to ask what a child was doing here and how she got her judge license but he wasn’t here to ask questions. He was here to not get fined or go to jail or get beheaded.

  “Your Honor, I… object to being guilty.” He swallowed as he flicked his gaze to Alice. “As Alice stated, I’m here to make an appeal for a crime that I supposedly committed.”

  Those lawyer TV shows were actually more educational than he expected. Avoid offering more information than necessary. Crossing his fingers, Heron hoped that what he was about to say wouldn’t come back to bite him. As long as the judge didn’t figure out the chain of events, maybe he could squirm his way out of this predicament.

  “The stated crime that I committed against the kingdom is… squatting. I would like to provide information and call a witness to explain why I am not technically guilty.”

  Judge Julie nodded. “Please proceed.”

  “Thank you, your Honor.” Heron breathed as he wiped his hands at the side of his slacks. “The information I would like to provide is the fact that I’m from another world and this is my second life.”

  The silence between his breath was deafening but that didn’t deter Heron from speaking, “I had died due to unforeseeable circumstances and when I woke up, I was in another world–this world. The witness I would like to call upon is the lord of Planet-C5.”

  Alice raised a brow before crossing her arms, “the Lord of the planet?”

  “I mean, Lucifer might be a self-proclaimed Lord, however I don’t see dragons waltzing around in comparison to all the humans, elves, and half-elves I’ve seen in town.” Heron countered. “In addition, both Lucifer and Serafina can read my mind. I’d also like to call upon Serafina as a witness to my claims.”

  Your Honor, Sir Heron speaks the truth. He is not lying about reincarnating from another world. This man cannot even properly lie to himself.

  Hey, what was that supposed to mean?

  You are terrified of dying without having accomplished any—

  “Thank you, Serafina.” Heron interrupted before turning his attention back to the judge. “With all that being said, I was forcefully placed on a planet without my consent or knowledge that I was squatting on a planet that belonged to the kingdom of Morningstar. This would be equivalent to punishing a baby for crawling across the border and calling it trespassing.”

  “The law is the law, it applies to everyone.” Alice frowned, her arms remaining crossed. “Even babies.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Heron shot back, “I mean, look at Lucifer! He didn’t even know what a lawyer was, and you’re expecting him to defend himself in court?”

  Technically, none of us know what a lawyer is, Serafina interjected.

  I can defend myself in court! I am literally Lord Greatest of All Time and I demand the respect I deserve.

  “See?” Heron gestured at Lucifer as it blinked with its beady little red eyes. “Both of us are essentially innocent at committing crimes because there was no malice even if we did commit the crime due to the lack of information we had. And,” Heron inhaled. “Currently, it’s our word against theirs. The claim on the crime committed was that we were squatting. Yet they can’t say how long. Maybe I was visiting! Wouldn’t that count as trespassing instead of squatting?”

  “You literally have a cabin built there—“ Alice hissed.

  “Maybe it’s not mine! Or I could’ve built that in one day,” Heron waved her off. “Maybe I was just having a picnic and felt like building a cabin for fun.”

  “There were literally several fields of vegetables planted—“

  “Speed-Gro, ever heard of that?”

  CLACK, CLACK.

  “Enough, order to the court.” Judge Julie set her gavel down while Heron and Alice finished glaring at one another before taking a seat.

  The judge glanced at the paperwork that she had been taking notes on, and Heron held his breath. Then the young girl looked up and adjusted her glasses before standing on top of her chair, towering over the desk in front of her.

  “I’ve heard enough of the case. The ruling shall be—“

  ACHOO! Lucifer sneezed and flopped back into its seat.

  ? Mysteries of Sacra [Isekai] [Weak to OP] [Beast Companion] ?

  by Robert Wolf

  Thrown into a world of beasts and magic, Kai must fight to survive and hold on to the last pieces of his humanity.

  What to expect:

  In a world where kindness is weakness and morality is a luxury only the strong can afford, Kai must decide who he wants to be and what he's willing to sacrifice.

  Umbra, fierce and loyal, and Scry, wise and offlandish, refuse to let him lose himself to the darkness growing within.

  But every step forward brings him closer to a prophecy no one dares to speak.