“Ow! Hey! Why isn’t anyone stopping them!?” I shout, covering my head, trying to outscream the wild crowd that keeps throwing old eggs and tomatoes at me from both pyramids. “And who the hell gave them all this stuff!?”

“Your Honor!” Naunet calls out to Aphrodite.

The goddess chuckles then raises her hand and says, “Order! There shall be order! The defendant is not convicted yet!”

Surprisingly (or maybe not, considering that Aphrodite is a goddess), the crowd settles down. One by one people sit back down.

“Wait a second,” I say as I realize something while cleaning my dress from the splattered tomatoes. I pull on bronze-skinned goddesses’ hand, who is completely untouched by the attack, demanding an explanation. “Why the hell were you surprised about that girl being called up? Shouldn’t we be well informed ahead of time which witnesses and evidence will be presented?”

“Objection,” Naunet says halfheartedly. “This witness was not specifically identified in discovery.”

“In written discovery,” Suijin clarifies. “However, shortly before announcing the charges, the defense and prosecution telepathically submitted all the evidence and witnesses to Your Honor, as well as exchanged the list between us under Your supervision. At that point, this witness was listed, and it provided ample time for the defense to prepare.”

“Objection is overruled,” Aphrodite judges.

“Is that true?” I whisper to Naunet.

“Yes,” she whispers back.

“Then why the hell were you surprised?”

Bang, bang, bang! I both hear and feel an audible banging by what feels like a hammer against my skull.

“Order!” Aphrodite’s voice thunders.

“I’m sorry, Your Honor,” Naunet bows her head.

“If that continues, I will hold your defendant in contempt of court and send her for a couple of days to the Realm of All-Encompassing Pleasures.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” I mumble.

“Tell that to Casper,” Naunet whispers to me before replying to Aphrodite. “It will not happen again!”

“It better not,” Aphrodite frowns and then gestures for Suijin to continue.

“Dungeon-chan, you seem to be on edge,” Suijin speaks with false worry. “Could you tell the court why?”

“Objection! Relevance!” Naunet protests loudly.

“Oh, it’s relevant,” Suijin smiles deviously. “It speaks to the attitude of the defense and the importance of this witnesses’ testimony.”

“I’ll allow it,” Aphrodite says and leans forward, slightly curious, resting her head on the crossed fingers of her hands.

“S-shortly after I was notified by a talking dolphin that I will be summoned to a trial, I was attacked by a m-monstorous creature,” Dungeon-chan explains. “Some kind of a hybrid—leopard with the head of a serpent.”

“Serpopard,” Suijin clarifies.

“If it wasn’t for the talking dolphin, I... I probably w-would not be standing here right now,” Dungeon-chan says and breaks down in tears.

Then Suijin pulls the creature out of the water and holds it up with one hand. Orange with black dots. Catlike, but the tail is much longer than a normal leopard and with a thick neck, as long as the tail, that had a giant cobra-like head. Its golden eyes are open, but the creature is not moving even an inch. It is dead.

“Is this the creature that attacked you?” Suijin asks.

“Y-yes,” the girl whimpers.

“I believe this belongs to you,” Suijin throws the creature and it lands at Naunet’s feet, on the edge of the platform her and me stand on.

Naunet stares at the creature coldly, while it slides off and falls into the ocean beneath us.

That’s when it hit me. Naunet wasn’t surprised that the girl was summoned as a witness. She was surprised that the girl was still alive.

“BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Seemingly, at that same moment, the crowd realized this too and sent another volley of spoiled vegetables in our direction. The shower of the garbage was so great that for a moment it blot out the sun.

Of course, not a single one hits Naunet. Almost as if there was some kind of an energy shield around her. I hide behind her to no avail.

“Order, order!” Aphrodite raises her voice.

It takes several minutes, but eventually the crowds calm down. I shake off the goo, remove an old lettuce leaf, and throw it over the edge. I take a step to the edge of the platform and look down. Around the base of the pyramid, where it submerges into the water, I see a whole island of spoiled vegetables floating around the pyramid. I gulp, understanding that I’ve already been convicted in this sham of a trial.