Naturally, while Sophia was speaking out like that, not everyone was favorable towards her.

The officials and soldiers of Justitia showed a prickly attitude, displeased with Sophia’s actions that kept tarnishing their honor, and among those not affiliated with Justitia, there were quite a few who picked fights with Sophia.

Although the lord of Justitia and the priests are keeping silent, they can’t possibly be comfortable with the current situation. If I subdue that woman on my own here, our family might gain favor with the lord of Justitia, right?

They say just one shower with holy power from head to toe removes all sorts of minor ailments and extends lifespan. I’m not asking for much, just once!

The scale is a bit uncomfortable, but from Justitia’s standpoint, it’s beneficial to deal with an uncomfortable opponent, right? They’ll probably show consideration on their own.

Do they think we have no complaints about the law? We’re enduring it because having it is better than not having it, but who does she think she is to talk like that?

Those who wanted to flatter the huge backing of the Kingdom of Heaven even a little, or those who personally despised or disliked Sophia’s actions.

Their reasons varied, but they unhesitatingly picked fights with Sophia.

If they had seen Sophia with Adelaide, they probably wouldn’t have acted recklessly, conscious of the Lion Duke’s bloodline, but recently Adelaide was staying more often at Maris’ mansion due to operation preparations, so it wasn’t known that the two were part of the same party.

“Listen here, miss. Is it good to act so smart? If the lord gets angry because of your actions and gives us disadvantages, how are you going to take responsibility for all this talk?”

“Thank you for your meaningful opinion! It’s a bit awkward to talk standing, shall we drop by a cafe for a moment? Ah, a bar is fine too.”

“Huh? Oh, uh. Sure.”

“And you don’t need to worry too much about what you mentioned. If my actions were a great wrong, the scale would have judged it, but here I am, alive and well. When the person who committed the act is so well, it’s impossible for the righteous Kingdom of Heaven to leave the perpetrator alone and punish others, right? Ah, perhaps your opinion is different? Are you claiming that the lord would impose unfair punishment out of personal anger?”

“W-what nonsense! That’s impossible!”

“Isn’t it? I’m very glad we share the same opinion.”

“But, well, even if the other side doesn’t punish, isn’t it not good to speak carelessly?”

“Have you ever been taught by someone? Conversely, have you ever taught someone?”

“I’ve done both.”

“Let’s say you gave a problem to your student. The problem has a hidden element that can be found if one attends the class diligently, but if the student doesn’t notice it at all, do you think you’d feel good?”

“I wouldn’t. If they can’t find what I hid for them to find, doesn’t that mean they’ve been attending my classes terribly?”

“Right? Then, if the great ones in the heavenly realm created a system with ‘gaps’, is this something they intended, or just a simple mistake?”

“That’s…”

“If it’s intended, which is the right thing to do as a disciple: not realizing it or pretending not to know and not pointing it out, or pointing it out and exploring it?”

“Hmm.”

But they couldn’t achieve their desired goal.

Those who verbally attacked Sophia ended up being persuaded by her, or found themselves talking about completely different topics with the essence of their initial conversation blurred.

Of course, there were some who gave up on conversation altogether and just insisted they were right.

“Gah!! How dare an individual try to judge whether the great Lord’s will is right or wrong! It’s just as natural as the sun rising and setting!”

“Indeed, that’s what you think, sir. But don’t you think this part of past precedents is a bit unfair?”

“Gah! I told you not to try to judge the great one’s will with your short-sighted view!”

“Ah, I see. But sir—“

“G-gah.”

And those who boasted of being undefeated in debates—they never lost because they never competed in the first place—had to admit defeat for the first time.

No matter how much they raised their voices, repeated what they had said, or insisted that the answer was set anyway, Sophia continued the conversation without changing her expression.

Those who felt a thrill thinking “I did it! I can control this person’s emotions!” whenever they said something and saw people clutching their chests and screaming, were dumbfounded in front of this conversational damage immune boss they were facing for the first time in their lives.

Among them were some “real ones” who couldn’t even properly recognize that they were at a disadvantage, but even they had to collapse from exhaustion and physical fatigue in front of Sophia, who showed no signs of ending the conversation even as the sun set, stars rose, and others went to bed.

There were even those who begged to be let go, saying they were wrong.

“Fuck, shut up, you bitch!”

Finally, those who disagreed with the proposition that the pen was mightier than the sword used violence regardless of what Sophia was saying.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ greets with mixed joy, asking why they didn’t come sooner!]

Thud! Crack! Crunch!

Such people were miserably crushed by the Tin Knight, a second-strike boss character who had been eagerly waiting for the opponent to strike first.

“Agh! Aagh! Aaaaaagh!”

“That’s enough, stop there!”

As if they had been waiting for this moment, the guards restrained the Tin Knight, but soon they couldn’t help but be disappointed.

“What, it’s not much…”

They had expected severe injuries with limbs crushed and internal organs bursting out, given the terribly awful screams of those hit by the Tin Knight.

But when they checked the body condition of those who screamed, the injuries they had received were extremely minor.

It was the result of the Tin Knight, who wanted to enjoy the battle as long as possible, choosing to hit only places that hurt like hell but actually had almost no injury.

Of course, this was still violence, so punishment was given, but since the opponent had struck first, the severe sentence the guards had expected didn’t come down.

The authority of the scale was gradually being eroded, and the dignity and prestige of the guards were also diminishing.

But even amidst all this, the lord of Justitia remained silent.

“He probably can’t move even if he wants to,” Maris von Lennart asserted.

“The very act of going out to that square, refuting that woman’s words one by one, providing evidence, and persuading people around is already an act of denying the absoluteness of the scale. If he overwhelmingly crushes the opponent in debate, the damage might be minimized, but if he shows even a slight hesitation or happens to lose, the fallen authority can never be restored.”

Her voice contained undisguised admiration.

“It’s amazing. Honestly, I feel defeated. If she weren’t Adelaide’s companion, I’d be tempted to recruit her as our strategist.”

At Maris’ evaluation, the guard knights quietly objected.

“It’s just base instigation.”

“We can’t evaluate a young lady who has to move for the family’s benefit and an individual who only aims to cause chaos on the same level. If it’s just about speaking plausible content, who couldn’t do that?”

“Oh? Then can you guys stand in front of father’s personal room and list out complaints about the family’s etiquette or training methods?”

The knights’ mouths closed.

“Given father’s personality, he probably won’t get angry every time you say such things, he’ll just let it slide. So, can you do it? How about it?”

“…Before the duke would be angry or not, the act itself of doing such a thing is disrespectful.”

“Even if he stays calm, the other elders of the family would light fires in their eyes, saying they’d break our necks.”

“Yes, that’s what authority is. The thought of approaching it doesn’t even occur in the first place, and even if the person being challenged doesn’t care much, people around nervously try to trample the challenger. As if they’d be accused of the same crime if they don’t.”

Maris thought about whether she could have provoked the Kingdom of Heaven like this if she didn’t have the background of the Lennart family.

The answer was “no”.

Since she acknowledged this, Maris could send praise to Sophia from the depths of her heart.

“Well, we can’t lose either. The situation has become easier, if anything.”

Due to Sophia and the Tin Knight causing such a commotion, the attention of all of Justitia was focused on them.

Even those who used to pick fights with the Lennart side had their attention turned elsewhere, so there was no better time to move than now.

“Are the preparations done?”

“Various documents within the dojo have been moved outside or destroyed, and everyone except those needed for the operation has left the city.”

“Good. Well done.”

Wrongdoings within Justitia are not questioned outside.

Originally, it probably meant they would punish their own criminals so outsiders shouldn’t interfere, but Maris didn’t care about that.

The important thing was that once they committed the act and went outside, they couldn’t be questioned unless they changed their words themselves.

Maris put on a mask.

The perception-hindering magic imbued in the mask hazily overlaid her appearance like fog.

“The two in the central square?”

“They seem to be wrapping up their speech.”

“They said this speech would be their last before leaving the city, so start the operation to match that.”

“It’s a bit late to say this, but wasn’t matching our schedule to theirs too much of a favor?”

“But it feels a bit wrong to ignore it, right? If those two remain after we finish our work, they’ll definitely be framed. It only differed by one day from our original schedule anyway, so let’s endure this much.”

Some time later.

“The two have left the city.”

“Good, let’s begin. Send the signal to the other teams too.”

***

Outskirts of Justitia.

You were walking along the road with Sophia.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if it’s okay that they couldn’t meet the lord in the end!]

“Hmm, it’s a bit disappointing. Honestly, I thought he’d at least show his face after we caused such a commotion.”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ claims that maybe it would have been better to directly storm the lord’s mansion after all!]

“No matter what, that would make Dorothea angry, wouldn’t it?”

By now, the fun adventure of the Lennart masks should be in full swing inside Justitia.

You wanted to run wild with Adelaide too, but thinking it was important to sometimes match pace with others who weren’t you, you forcefully suppressed your enthusiasm.

After all, you were a teacher who could restrain personal pleasure for the growth of your pupil.

In less than an hour, Adelaide should finish the operation and scatter with the other bloodline members to leave the city, and then you and Sophia would pick up Adelaide and rendezvous with Dorothea.

After that, as previously agreed, you would meet up with the Lennart family people in another domain where the Lion Duke’s bloodline had strong influence, receive the reward, and complete the operation.

How long had you been looking towards Justitia, waiting for Adelaide to appear?

Something strange suddenly appeared in your sight.

Flash, flash.

A blue-green aura began to shimmer in the sky above Justitia.

What at first seemed just a kind of weather phenomenon soon fell to the ground, containing firm mana and substance.

Kuguuuuuuu!

Huge emerald slabs settled as if surrounding the outskirts of Justitia.

This extremely surreal sight was like a painting, but you had no leisure to calmly appreciate its beauty.

There was only one reason that came to mind for such a thing to appear at this timing.

Thud.

Sophia stood beside you.

Her blood-colored eyes gazed at the city trapped in emerald.

Somehow, it felt to you as if she was overlapping a distant past with this place.

“Let’s hurry, Sir Tin. If we go on like this, Adel—no, everyone in the city is in danger.”

***

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