The days passed quickly after Matthew got out of the hospital. He could not train or go to dungeons because of his arm, so he spent his days doing physical therapy to gain strength in his new muscle. However, he could go to school normally and classes were back to normal.

Mia was still very gloomy, but conversations with her didn't feel as awkward as before. Little by little things felt like they were going back to normal.

Professor Lydia was busy and told Matthew to wait a while before he tried to summon a spirit again. She'd have time for him again, but at the moment the whole school administration was in chaos. Farzan left to Nuilynn leaving Professor Claude in command. This led to many administrative positions being shifted around and one of them was Lydia's head of Summoning Magic department.

When it was Tuesday of the next week, Vanessa came to pick Matthew at school during lunch. It was finally the day he would present his early defense.

Matthew had never seen her dressed like that. She was wearing a dark gray suit with a cream blouse and a thin red ribbon tie on her neck. Her hair was tied in a ponytail as always, but now she was wearing earrings and make up. Nothing drastic, just a bit that made her look a bit younger.

"I know. I look ridiculous." Vanessa said seeing how Matthew looked at her.

"You actually look really good." Matthew said a bit dumbfounded.

"Fuck you." Vanessa said playfully hiding her blushing.

"Shouldn't I put on a suit?" Matthew asked entering the car.

"Today there's no jury. It doesn't really matter what you wear." Vanessa said driving to the courthouse. "But, during trial, I think it would be best if just wore your plain clothes. Make them look at you as just a kid."

"So… What should I do today?"

"Just sit back and look innocent. And don't say anything unless asked to."

"Okay."

At the courthouse, both Matthew's parents were there waiting. Matthew's mother hugged him tightly when they met.

"I'll try get him not indicted today, but it's pretty unlikely." Vanessa said to his parents while shaking their hands.

"What does that mean?" Matthew's father asked.

"It means we'll probably go to trial. I don't see a jury convicting Matthew, but they have enough to bring this to trial." Vanessa explained. "Normally the DA wouldn't even try to go through with it. My friend in the DA's office told me the Mayor is pushing them. Not even the prosecutors believe in the accusation."

Matthew's mother breathed almost relieved, but there was still a risk of Matthew going to jail.

Inside the courtroom, Vanessa went to talk with the prosecutor before they entered the court to talk with the judge. She offered a deal, some community work for the destruction of property, but the prosecution was being pressured to bring this to trial for public image. Elections were in 5 months.

"You're really going with this?" Vanessa said to the prosecutor, a brown haired man in his mid 40s.

"My hands are tied." He said shrugging. "The Mayor personally asked for this to be brought to trial."

Vanessa sighed angrily after that and called Matthew to go inside the courtroom. She stomped her feet walking inside of court making her high heels' clacks reverberate through the room.

There were no cameras there, but some journalists were sitting on the gallery. Matthew's parents sat right behind him.

When the judge came in, an old black man with gray hair and a fat belly, he quickly sat down on his high bench ordering everyone to seat. He grabbed a sheet of paper in front of him and read moving his glasses:

"Next is State versus Matthew Lordstone?" He asked his assistant who was sitting next to him.

"Yes." The assistant said.

"Is Mr. Lordstone here?" The judge asked looking at the defense table.

"He is your honor." Vanessa said getting up.

"Oh… Vanessa, wasn't it?" The judge asked looking at her. "Didn't you retire?"

"I did your honor. But Matthew is a close friend and my license is still valid." She said winking at Matthew's parents behind of her and mouthing she'd explain later.

"I see." The judge said nonchalantly while looking at his papers. "Murder? Two people?" He lifted one eyebrow looking at Matthew.

"It was self defense, your honor." Vanessa said.

"I see." The judge was still monotone. "Oh. That's the adventurer that killed that man that tried to kidnap the Bright kid." He said reading the papers in front of him. By the way he said it, he knew Mia or at least her family. "And a burglar… I see."

The prosecutor got up and said:

"Your honor. We're not disputing the self defense claims. We're arguing he abused the right of self defense going further than necessary to protect himself and the kidnapped victim."

"I understand." The judge closed the files in front of him. "So the matter here is if the boy went too far?"

"Yes." The prosecutor said.

"Your honor, this is a clear case of self defense. Matthew was badly hurt both times. To allege that he went overboard is preposterous." Vanessa argued.

"It's not my job to find it preposterous, councilor. It's the jury." The judge said already looking at his next case. "I assume there is no deal?"

"I offered community service for the destruction of property, but the prosecution didn't accept."

"We think we have a solid case your honor." The prosecutor said.

"Bullshit." The judge laughed. "You know this won't go anywhere. Just take the deal."

"We can't, your honor."

"You're really wasting my time?" The judge looked over his glasses at the prosecutor annoyed.

"I'm sorry, your honor." He smiled showing that he had no choice.

"Fine." The judge said resigned.

"We also would like to request a pre-trial detention. Matthew is an adventurer and can easily avoid persecution by going through a portal."

"Your honor!" Vanessa slammed the desk. "Matthew is a student at Laufgraan with a scholarship, he has a stable family and no priors. Detention is too much!" She argued pointing at Matthew's uniform and parents.

"She's right councilor." The judge said calmly to the prosecution and then looked at Vanessa. "Still slamming desks, huh?" He laughed.

"Then we'd like to request a restraining order for him not to go into gates or dungeons until the trial is done." The prosecution asked.

"Your honor." Vanessa said more restrained this time after being laughed at. "Matthew's livelihood comes from his dungeons explorations. Restraining that will put his family in financial strain, not to mention it goes against the human right of free labor."

"He studies at Laufgraan, does he not? He'll hardly starve." The judge said looking at Matthew. "I'll restrict his dungeon activities to those inside the school supervision. So no private diving."

Vanessa clicked her tongue at that.

"Anything else?" The judge asked the parts.

"I'd like to request confidentiality on the trial. Matters pertaining to Matthew's level and class will be fundamental to our defense and those are protected as personal information according to…" Vanessa argued, but was stopped mid sentence.

"I know the law, dear." The judge said gently and looked at the prosecution.

"We have nothing against it. Works better for us." The prosecutor said.

"Ok then. Confidential it is. We'll set a date for the jury selection later today." The judge said writing down on his papers. "You're excused."

Outside the courthouse, Vanessa, Matthew and his parents got together to talk.

"What does that mean? The restraining order." Matthew's father asked.

"He won't be able to go into dungeons, only with the school, until the trial is over." Vanessa explained.

"And what now?" Matthew's mother asked.

"Jury selection is with me. So you don't need to worry. Once we pick the jury they'll set a court date to start the trial. But you heard the judge, didn't you? Even he thinks this is bogus." Vanessa explained.

"Why did the prosecutor ask for Matthew's arrest?" His dad asked.

"Politics again. If Matthew was detained the Mayor could say that they arrested the adventurer who caused the commotion in the mall. Just ugly politics. Glad we got Judge Johnson, he's one of the good ones."

"You seemed to know him well." Matthew commented more like a question.

"I know a lot of people here. Even though we're on different sides in court, we work together so often that we end up knowing each other. It's almost like we're coworkers." Vanessa shrugged.

"He seemed to know Mia as well." Matthew added.

"Yeah, he's friends with her family. But don't comment on it to anyone, that might lead him to retrieve himself from the case." Vanessa warned him. "Also, I'll need to talk to Faralynn and Mia. Put them on the stand. Send me their contacts later, ok? Also, that Professor that is helping you with the demonic mana." She continued.

"Professor Claude. Ok, I'll talk to him tomorrow and ask for his contact."

"Vanessa." Matthew's mother said finally. "What was that about you retiring?"

Vanessa smiled and rubbed her hand on the back of her head embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. But I quit being a lawyer almost a year ago and decided to become an adventurer. But since Matthew needs help, I picked up the case."

"Oh. That's not a problem, dear." Matthew's mother said taking her hand. "We really appreciate what you're doing for Matty. Thank you very much."

They said their goodbyes soon after and went away.

Matthew went home with his parents, the ride was silent. Even though Vanessa tried to ease their worries, going to court still made it all very real. They couldn't help but to worry.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.