Today was the day that Hyosuke's trial would be held. It was decided to be after Kai's speech and Hyosuke was on a chair surrounded by the nobles and the royal family.

An attendant walked towards Hyosuke and held out a medal with the crest of the kingdom. The attendant instructed Hyosuke to place his hand on top of the medal.

"Duke Mariko Hyosuke of Mariko Palace, with your status as a duke on the line, will you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

Hyosuke wore the medal around his neck and it shone a light blue before fading away. The medal with the crest was created by Kai, it had a magic circle that embeds itself inside the body temporarily after the trigger has been spoken. In this case, the 'oath' which Kai also took from Earth was the trigger.

King Atsushi looked to Kai and nodded. Kai took that as an affirmation to step forward.

"With the nobles present as the witnesses, may you all grant fair judgment and unbiased contributions to the trial."

Kai went in front of Hyosuke and began to read from a scroll he took from inside his trench coat.

"Mariko Hyosuke, according to the information gathered, you have been possessed ever since a decade ago."

"More or less, yes."

"None of your acts were done willingly?"

"None of the acts to endanger the kingdom."

Hyosuke was talking as if it was a script prepared beforehand but his face revealed no clue that it was staged which made the nobles in the surroundings try and inspect him more closely.

Of course, this was all scripted. The king also knew the truth and hence wanted to spare him any punishment but it would count as failing as a ruler if he were not to hand out punishment, even if it was only to satisfy the public. Although it was true that the medal inside Hyosuke's body was active.

"As you've all heard, he has denied any affiliation with the demon."

Kai tried to end it prematurely.

"Wait a second!"

One of the dukes raised a complaint.

"With just that, we are certain that he has not done anything?!"

"So you think that the Medallion of Truth is flawed?"

The duke's expression twitched. The Medallion of Truth, the method that Kai devised during trials has never proven false, they've all been witness to this tens of times.

"But I believe that the past trials were more truthful than this one!"

So they believe me in a mask more than me who has bared my face.

Kai wanted to sigh at their desperation but held himself back as it was etiquette.

"And where is this accusation based on?"

"Because during the past trials, the questions asked were just and specific, even the tiniest amount of details were inspected! Now, you asked him only two questions, what can we get from that?!"

The two questions I asked generalized everything to deny his involvement, what is this guy even talking about? Is he not thinking straight? This is such a pain, can I go home now?

Meanwhile, Kai's mind was occupied. He never really liked events like these, politics were one of his problems since coming to the capital. Natsumi and the king were exceptions as they were quite lax.

"I see, I see. Then I'll allow you, Duke Kael Laxius of Laxius Palace, to ask the questions."

Kael opened his eyes wide in delight and faced Hyosuke.

"Duke Mariko Hyosuke, at any point in time, did you ever gain your own consciousness back during the time you were possessed?"

"Yes."

The surrounding nobles created a clamor.

"Were you aware of the actions that the demon took while inside your body?"

"Yes."

Some of the nobles began to curse him out loud which caused Kai to close his eyes, then he stomped his foot once and a large shockwave spread out towards everyone except the royal family.

"Silence! You're all in the presence of the king!"

The nobles who understood that all began to quiet down though they were unsatisfied about the shockwave, it didn't hurt but they were all pushed backward which amounted to slapping their faces.

But Kael didn't let the silence stay for long.

"Well, my fellow noblemen! He had the opportunities to inform us yet did not, isn't that amount to treachery in the end?!"

"Yeah!"

"You traitor!"

Just as I silenced them too...

"Duke Kael, do you mind if I ask a question?"

Kael was surprised at Kai's sudden inquiry but nevertheless, nodded.

"You were saying I was biased with only asking two questions but what about you?"

"But my questions provided the answers we wanted, he said he had gained consciousness at some point in time!"

Kai wanted to sigh but stopped himself and glanced at Erina who was quietly watching by the side.

"Alright, I'll ask more questions. Duke Mariko Hyosuke, how frequent did you gain your consciousness back?"

"Every few months or so."

"And how long did you gain consciousness each time?"

"Three seconds at most and only a second sometimes."

When the nobles heard that, they quieted down.

"Then, did you ever have an opportunity to inform the kingdom?"

"...No."

Hyosuke closed his eyes as he said his answer.

None of his words today were false, testified by the Medallion of Truth.

Kael, unable to talk after the answers, sat down. The king took that as the chance to stop the trial by clapping his hands.

"That's enough. Duke Mariko Hyosuke, though you bore no ill will towards the kingdom, it still stands true that you have indirectly caused trouble and for that, I will hand down the punishment fit for this sin."

Hyosuke lowered his head and waited patiently.

"You will be confined to your home for an entire month and are exempt from any and all meetings of the kingdom during that duration. Not a step outside. Mariko Yoshino who has also been influenced by the demon has injured my son and will also be given punishment by imprisoning him inside the dungeons for an entire week. Damages to your mansion will not be reimbursed."

Very lenient, indeed. King Atsushi was a very kind-hearted king and only gave punishment as if it was a light matter. House arrest for a single month? Most people would even welcome that. A week inside the dungeons? It was well-known that the dungeons weren't really fit for prisoners and were even better than rooms for the poor. Each cell had a bed, a toilet, a sink, and a mirror, though it lacked design it was certainly better than living in the slums since meals were also provided twice a day.

Seeing as how Yoshino was still a noble, he'd probably be fed thrice a day and be given a better room. When Kai was imprisoned, he was given the cell for the most heinous of criminals and not even an A-class mage could break it down because it was magic resistant.

In the first place, an S-class with an S-class body was abnormal. The body needs to be trained for the magic to improve but they don't have to be at the same level. A mage of A-class can have a C-class body, and an S-class can have a B-class body.

Kai who had both an S-class body and magic power was called a monster. Mages had poor skills when it came to close combat, this is why nobles learn the Noble Sword style which was focused on defense and canceling out attacks. If a warrior were to come near them, they'd disperse the attack and using the freed time, they'd cast a spell. Not just anyone can instantaneously recover from their attack being dispersed.

Hyosuke kneeled down and waited for Yoshino who was waiting by the sides. As both father and son kneeled down on a single knee, they bowed their heads.

""We will follow your words, your majesty!""

Though many of the nobles still wanted to take Hyosuke down a peg, they couldn't. Not with Kai's presence.

Kai looked at the Sakamoto Gen and smirked. Gen was beaten black and blue and had several bandages covering himself. Ryo's fight with Kai was stopped by the king and seeing as how he could hold his own against a duke, the citizens were convinced. The nobles were somewhat fearful of Kai as well, someone as strong as him would need the entire kingdom's attack force- no, even then they might not stand a chance.

But a kingdom that has stood for centuries can definitely provide power enough to kill an S-class. But since Kai was close to the king, that was impossible.

Suddenly, the door opened and a knight came in.

"Your majesty!"

"You dare push the door open in the presence of the king?!"

A noble shouted out immediately.

"I-I apologize Your Majesty! I-it's just that-!"

"Catch your breath."

The king said so which made the knight calm down. After a few seconds, the knight stood straight up.

"Eleventh from the Council has visited!"