The hall remained deathly silent. Shu and Sirin continued to hold each other's gaze.
But now, it was Sirin who averted her eyes.
She looked distractedly towards the front row of the audience.
In that direction, Kiana Kaslana was currently clenching her fists excitedly. Amidst the entire assembly, only this white-haired girl's smile was the most radiant.
Mei also had a smile on her face, her concern and relief for Shu unconcealed, and there was no need to conceal it.
Bronya Zaychik's lips were slightly upturned. She appeared to be the most relaxed of the three; this girl had believed in Shu from the very beginning.
No... they all believe in Shu, believe that he isn't a bad person...
...And I also...
No, he IS a bad person! A bad person who broke a promise!
A surge of resentment welled up in her chest. Sirin withdrew her gaze, closed her eyes in silence for a moment, then slowly stood up, walked past Hori, and came to the very front.
She leaned on the railing, looking down at Shu. In this moment, the aura of both individuals was equally matched.
"Then, in the Demon Lord's Castle, in the Tower of Babylon, did you or did you not make a promise with a ten-year-old girl, only to leave without saying goodbye, thereby breaking that promise?"
From an angle unseen by others, Sirin's grip on the railing tightened.
"This... do you admit it?"
Kiana and the others froze, their gazes, along with those of all the Homus present, turning towards Shu in the center of the field.
Shu's heart sank slightly. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then, still maintaining eye contact with Sirin, he spoke, enunciating each word.
"I do not admit."
Sirin's entire body jolted. Her eyes flew wide open in disbelief, those brilliant golden orbs staring fixedly at Shu, who had just given his answer.
"No... You clearly..." No one heard Sirin's soft whisper, but everyone could see her flustered state.
"The formation of a promise requires both parties to make a commitment regarding a matter," Shu began.
"I did indeed pinky swear with you, made a vow with you that would not change for ten thousand years. But that was all.
"I didn't know what I was supposed to uphold. I didn't know what vow I was facing. I knew nothing, so I couldn't do it." Shu spoke slowly, each word precisely landing on the beat of Sirin's heart.
Her hand trembled as it left the railing. She herself stumbled back a step.
She didn't say? She hadn't even told him what promise he was supposed to keep?
She seemed to...
Really hadn't said?
However, the flustered Sirin didn't notice that Shu, who had maintained eye contact with her throughout, had averted his gaze for a fleeting moment.
After their conversation the previous night, Shu had already understood what problems would arise at the trial.
And his solution for this problem was to "tell the truth."
But would this allow Shu to escape under the guise of "ignorance is no excuse for sin"?
No, but everyone else would think so. Sirin would think so.
From the moment Sirin helped him confirm the first point by saying "he's right," Shu already knew Sirin was a reasonable person.
Someone who wouldn't use "I don't care" to evade responsibility.
And adhering to the fundamental principle of debate, "speaking first gives an advantage, speaking later allows for reason," while also using reason to dismantle all advantages of "speaking first."
Shu had obtained "reason."
This was the despicable rhetoric of adults—courtesy of Otto.
"See! I told you there wouldn't be a problem!" Kiana wore an "I knew it all along" expression, smugly surveying the silent surroundings.
Mei and Bronya also exchanged a smile. The slight tension they had felt moments ago now relaxed.
The first two accusations were about the actions of the Demon Lord, and Shu's actions completely contradicted those descriptions. He had safely passed those two inquiries.
The subsequent questions, however, were specifically targeted at Shu himself, catching them somewhat off guard.
Shu had told them about this promise. And aside from Kiana, no one had paid much attention to this matter of the promise. Even Kiana had eventually disregarded the issue after some time.
Unlike the joyful state of the three girls, on the throne, Sirin's face was visibly paling.
"No..." She kept repeating this phrase. "It's not like that..."
She subconsciously wanted to deny everything Shu said, but she couldn't ignore the "truth" Shu had spoken.
It wasn't just Sirin's heart that was shaken at this moment; a doubt filled the heart of every Homu present.
If Shu wasn't wrong, if the Demon Lord in their eyes was truly wrongly accused, then... who was wrong?
Who was the real bad guy?
In this instant, without any prompting, all the Homus, like hollow puppets, swayed their heads and turned to look at the pale-faced Sirin on the high platform.
Feeling those countless empty gazes, seemingly filled with accusation, all color drained from Sirin's face.
"No..." Panic began to show on Sirin's face. Her hands trembled as she backed away step by step.
Not a single Homu spoke. Everyone just stared at the little girl on the high platform. But Sirin felt each gaze like a knife, stabbing directly at her, as if trying to pierce her full of wounds, to cut her into a thousand pieces.
Gradually, Sirin's breathing became ragged, difficult. All she could hear was her own chaotic heartbeat. Everything before her eyes grew blurry.
This sense of suffocation, it was like being back in that small, enclosed room, like the whole world was flashing with that blinding crimson again, reminding her of that harsh, grating alarm.
That was a nightmare she never wanted to experience again in her life, yet she had willingly endured it again for the sake of a home.
But now... you're saying... she wrongly accused Shu?
You're saying... the one who was wrong...
Was actually me?
Sirin's heel bumped against the throne. Her already weak legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the seat.
The opulent throne, adorned with jewels, now seemed like a man-eating beast, baring ferocious claws, gripping Sirin's fragile neck, trying to drag this girl into a bottomless abyss.
So, the bad guy was me all along...
So... the one who ordered the evil dragon to kidnap the princess was me... The one who brought nightmares to the children was me...
It was me, it was me from the very beginning...
Demon Lord...
Is...
"Homu... (Wait.)" Just as the last glimmer of light in those golden eyes was about to vanish, an old voice suddenly sounded in the hall.
A somewhat aged Homu stood up shakily from the audience, leaning on a cane, and began to speak slowly.
"Homu— (I wish to accuse. The Demon Lord once knocked me down and never considered helping me up, nor did he apologize.)"