The next evening came fast, and honestly, both Olga and I didn’t have a reason to believe he would log back on to speak his testimony to the entire guild, but he did log back on as promised. After the guild-wise announcement was made, the tavern was already packed, like, actually packed to the brim. Seventy-something people, maybe more, got online to see the case unfold, despite a few of them not even being there for the first half of the case initially. Every table was very soon taken, the guild members sat all around the tavern, doing their own stuff hours before the designated time. And... To my amusement, they really treated this with great interest, the message that Pearl put out was serious, he called it "Extended Trial", and the people started talking about being the jury, trying to find justice, preserving the ultimate truth, et cetera... Despite that if you take a second look, this place was just a stupid tavern-shaped hideout, with broken stools, uneven floors, and a lot, lots of wine. Still, everyone called it "the reopening of the trial," was some high-profile event. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝘯𝘦𝘵 Marc and Rina came, they were also members of the New Destiny, duh, Alasta met them here while looking for groups. They hadn’t shown up to the last one, probably wasn’t online in the time frame or just didn’t care, but I guess curiosity kills everyone eventually. They stood near the entrance, side by side, discussing it with Mei to get the details early with. Pearl probably told them something that made them show up. Hailie came, naturally, sitting near the bar with her little smile, using her two hours of playtime just for this. She waved when she saw me, and I waved back before finding my usual corner at the counter... Which was weird, since we literally logged on into the game at the same time in the Game Room of the mansion. Our lovely guest from the forest, Jared, was still tied to a stool nearby, tohugh no blindfold this time, just quick ties around his wrists and ankles. "Oh... I don’t know, I wonder if Marc’ll like it?" "I would like to try and steer him into becoming a more tanky player" Pearl stood beside him, calm as ever, casually chatting with Hailie about game gears they were going to get for Marc in their five-man party, ironic considering how they’re standing next to a tortured man... He was probably healed enough that Hailie didn’t ask any moral questions, she’ll totally freak out if she saw what Pearl did yesterday, though. Olga stood on the stand, one side of the bar like last time. She looked composed on the outside with her arms folded and chin slightly raised, but her eyes kept flickering between the six people she’d once killed in that dungeon standing across the bar. Six out of seven. ErikDop wasn’t here... The guy with long hair that covered one of his eye, sword and buckler combo that allegedly charged at Hailie in the dungeon. Of course, everyone got real life stuff to deal with, but this shredded a bad light, in my opinion. I sat on the bar counter, staring at the rows of bottles behind today’s barkeep, the same foreign girl that barely speak English when I drank with Gimsen. This time I didn’t drink anything, I just stared at the labels until the letters started to blur. "This feels more like a circus than a trial," I muttered. "I think it’s fun, no?" Hailie said as she’d finished up with PEarl and pulled a chair to sit beside me. Her tone was bright, soft... It made things feel lighter. "Maybe," I said. "I bet half these people just came for the free entertainment." "Um... I don’t know about that," She tilted her head. "But you’re not drinking? Last time, you were burping and giggling all over the place, it was cute" "Cute?," I said, picking up a wine glass, spinning it by the stem, then putting it back. "Maybe I will drink, but jesus, I don’t want to drink anything make by this girl." I pointed at the bartender behind her back, and Hailie giggled. "Anyways." I sighed. "Hey, do me a favor? If I close my eyes for a few minutes, watch me. I don’t trust this many people near me when I’m boredly tired." "Mhm!" Hailie nodded seriously, like I’d just asked her to guard a national treasure. "Got it." So I leaned forward, elbows on the counter, and let my eyelids fall. For fifteen minutes, the whole tavern was just noise. The low murmur of players chatting, mugs clinking against tables, boots tapping against the floorboards. Somewhere down at the tables, a group was playing darts, breaking laughing echoed loud every time someone missed. Someone else was retelling the entire dungeon incident like it was a horror story for clicks... Despite the fact that she probably weren’t there, because there was only four women involved in the incident—Me, Hailie, Olga, one from the victims—and she sounded like none. I thought I heard my name once or twice, but I didn’t bother listening. Behind me, Pearl and Hailie were back in their own little conversation about what they’re going to do next. "I’m thinking Marc could use a heavier weapon," Pearl said. "Um... What about the greataxe that Mei got the other day?" "Considering that our party is not... Traditional, I would suggest something that won’t hinder his movements, we could try crafting that one mace..." "Oh... I see, um... Maybe we could go to that dungeon near the border of Klakku for more materials? You need some monsters loot there too, right?" Soon, fifteen minutes passed. And I opened my eyes again when I heard Pearl made his announcement. Just one sound, sharp enough to barely slice through the chatter. "Alright, everyone," he said, voice calm but firm. "Focus up, settle down." The noise died almost instantly, the dart players lowered their arms and the drinkers set down their mugs. Even the barkeep girl stopped wiping her eternal glass and looked up... Seriously, why do they do that? Pearl stood near the center of the bar as he cleared his voice. "As you may have known, we’re reopening the trial, on one side is Eolga, your second-in-command, on the other is six of the seven direct victims of the dungeon incident. If anyone do not wish to be involved in making a decision, or if you feel like you will be biased, you are excused from this room, but if you remain seated, you shall need to make a vote." As he finished speaking, I noticed that no one really stood up and left, they were interetested enough not to, yet... We all know bias was unavoidable. A few murmured "yeah"s and "sure"s rippled through the crowd. I stretched my neck, cracking the stiffness out of it, and looked over at Olga. She hadn’t moved, still standing in that same spot, eyes locked on the six who’d she killed, I guess that would be the appropriate reaction... Considering how... Jared accused them of being in on it and attempted to kill her. Speaking of, Jared sat tense beside Pearl, his eyes darting from one guild member to another. He must’ve known what was coming, and the man was reciting what he was about to say. I felt my stomach twist a little when the images flashbanged me once more. The last time I’d seen him, he’d been half-dead, tied up in a corner in the cellar, bleeding through his shirt, trembling so hard the binds looked like they were moving. Pearl had walked out of there with blood on his hands and said he was ready to talk. He actually was, me and Olga didn’t have to make any large push. And now, seeing Jared alive but haunted, I realized Pearl had meant it literally... I guess this was what they said about not judging anyone by how they looked. I sat back against the counter, exhaling slowly. The firelight from the hearth flickered across the bottles, painting the room in shades of gold and red. It almost looked peaceful, if I ignored the fact that someone was about to admit to attempted murder and assassination. Pearl glanced at me, met my eyes for half a second, then nodded once, like saying it’s time. Hailie folded her hands, her face unusually serious, but sweats ran down here face... Silly goober, she was. Then I noticed... For the past week of being in New Destiny, I have never seen the first-in-command online, like ever... It was only Olga, Pearl, and Mei doing all the work, meanwhile they themselves are playing the game and grinding their own levels. "Present." His older sister ran down the middle and approached the bar after waving to Marc and Rina. "Please repeat everything that happened in the previous trial, what evidences were brought up, what was the accusations, and what was the final votes."