Mira

Of course, when Liivi speaks and clearly states about her, the harengon queen frowns. “Don't worry about it too much.” She assures her. Like seriously, though she only realized it just now, she's already wondering why the poor Tabaxi warrior is being dragged into this when she has nothing to say on her end. Having heard Shugo and Alek explain their parts, she nods slightly without smiling. “Thank you, you two, for… for standing your ground. I appreciate your honesty.” She addresses the two politely. “Also, need I remind you that this guy…” she aggressively points to Cezars again. “...This guy literally did the exact same thing to me a few weeks ago… he… his entire platoon or whatever, he… well, I was on the verge of death. They had me tied up and… I don't know… what they wanted with me, but they intended on doing something horrendous until these four came and rescued me. Shugo… Alek… even Liivi, Renar and Maya… despite the rockiness in our current friendship, I owe them a lot more than I can imagine. You want a witness statement for this summoning? I was also there. I was on the battlefield myself to help put that infernal back in his dimension. And I was wounded by that jerk too. If this plus what Shugo and Alek explained isn't to convince you all that we have done nothing but good intentions, then I don't know. And please… whatever happened to the whole idea of not killing people in this world? As Alek said, ending someone's life isn't gonna cut the cycle of this entire fiasco. Honestly if my mother was here she would've ranted on for a lot longer than me for getting into this entire scenario.” She had to step back to avoid turning this trial into a entire drama all by herself; Her dress glowed a pale shade of green and she noticed it too well, so she decided to catch her breath for this moment.

Her rebuttal was then interrupted by Cezars; In response to his insanity, her ears perked up in repressed anger. “Hah! End of the world? A war we can't win?” Mira laughs it off. “What's that supposed to mean? And how are you so sure we've admitted it, huh? Where's your Got any reasonable explanation for that plus why you chose to leave my life hanging beneath the surface?” Though she’s playing it off, inside she’s reached her limit. At this point she could feel her anger boil to the brim as she clenched her tiny paws and stood her ground again. “Scare us with your aunt and the people, the kidnappers you “admire” all you want, but she'll eventually be forced to admit that money can't buy her everything in this world.”

Renar

 The moment the trial began, I kept my mouth closed, mainly because of my fears that no one would understand what I have to say. Even as Shugo and Alek speak up, I patiently waited for my moment if the judges even say otherwise. But until then, I'm gonna save my breath. For now it looks like Mira, Alek and Shugo-kun are handling the situation fairly well on their own. I'm still questioning why Liivi-san has to join us for this though. She's barely been with us for even a day and this isn't up her ally? Even so, I did my best not to let that overwhelm my own thought regarding this scenario that I just want to get done and over with... And then a moment of shock hits me when I just so happened to reprocess the foul stuff he hurled into my ears.

Chotto matte… Kare no kotoba ni wa kikioboe ga aru… (ちょっと待って... カレの言葉は聞き覚えがあります... Wait… his words sound familiar…)

That guy… Cezars… or Stupid Rixi… I’ve got nothing to do with him, really. But… what he just said, especially made my skin curl for a few seconds. I wasn't sure why... at least... for the first minute or so. And then I flashed back to the very beginning of my time here, when I first stepped foot in this planet after the portal broke down, when Rixi and Yuri failed to join me on the expedition…

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 

“And hello to you too, adventurers.” Elmars continue, his arms wrapping around the side of his girlfriend. He points to the jay he’s cuddling with, “This is Olga, my hatchling-hood friend, or should I say, my girlfriend. We’ve been together for two years now, and we will continue to be until the day the world ends.” 

 

I snapped back to reality in horror before my memory could finish. Great. Thanks for reminding me, baka. And here I thought I was insane thinking about this world getting destroyed. Having been reminded of this, and especially with Okaa-san staring me like I did something wrong again, I felt the pressure push down on me again as I received awkward not just from her, but the rest of my so-called allies too. Wakarimasen, īdesu ka?! Ransea ga hakai sa reru koto wa watashi no me ni wa haitte imasendeshita! Mata nani ka warui koto o shita yōna me de minaide kudasai! (分かりません、いいですか？! ランセアが破壊されることは私の目には入っていませんでした！また何か悪いことをしたような目で見ないでください！I don’t know, okay?! Lancea being destroyed was never on my radar! Don’t look at me like I did something wrong again!)

Liivi listens to the information Alex and Shugo provided, feeling like they explained everything well. And Mira - she seemed to have been put in a position of being the center of attention. It wasn't really her doing, it just seemed to be the reaction to her being royalty.  Cezar's insolent words surprised her. 'Perhaps the law and judiciary is not very strong here,' she thinks. 'How can he think making threats in court will help?'  But it sounded like the judge was on their side - or at least against Cezar.  Saying anything more might only get them in trouble. So the tabaxi remains silent, hoping the judge will be concluding things soon.  

Alex once more stays silent. Perhaps he is just trying to abide by the rules of the courtroom, or perhaps there is some other reason for him to hold his tongue, either way his gaze stays fixed on Cezars--eyebrows twitching downward in a near frown. 

After a moment he lowers his head, letting out a long breath. There are a million things he could say. A million things running through his mind. A million futile arguments he could make. Perhaps silence is the best response to this, even though he'd like to ask Cezars what he thinks he's preparing them for. Does Adelaide have a plan of her own to combat the coming conflict? How does she even know it exists? Or... perhaps she wants to align herself with the enemy. Who really knows. All he's sure of is that her horrific actions are worse than taking a life. Everyone seems so stuck on this no killing thing, they've become blind to any fate worse than death. 

Why does bail even exist? Why should the rich be able to pay their way out of punishment? It isn't right. Aren't there laws to prevent the worst criminals from bail? His gut clenches... maybe there are, but that doesn't mean everyone managing the system is honorable. Adelaide probably has a whole hoard of people ready to take her coin and turn the blind eye. Good Lord, how had Alex been so blind to all this for all these years. 

The crowd in the courtroom gasps, mostly at Mira's rant. The judge waves his hands, "Alright, that's enough. It seems we've come to a—"

"I plead guilty," Cezars says, raising two of his arms, and the crowd gasps in shock even more. "I'll admit, nothing can convince you or everyone else that what I did was right, but according to the law, if someone is part of the nobility and they plead guilty, then they can always hold on bail, but—"

"If this is what you want, Cezars, then the bail will be 1.5 billion gold." The judge claps back. This time, the crowd didn't say anything, and so did Cezars; his face seemed to lose all of the colour in that instant.

1.5 billion, that's the GDP of a small country, and to be honest, no one really knows how much money Adelaide has, not even Cezars. Money is more than just having a lot of gold in a bank, there are assets like stocks or valuable items which is really hard to track. Whaling industry, though, is very profitable, so it's very likely that she might be able to pay, but that will still put a significant dent in her bank account. "Henceforth, you shall be imprisoned for 65 years, and your sentence may be increased once the court has investigated all of your crimes. You have committed two counts of murder, three counts of conspiracy, and three counts of terrorism."

"Miss Liivi and Miss Mira, since you were not there throughout the journey from the beginning, you shall be compensated 5 gold each for your trouble. The rest of you will be compensated with 3 Gold, and your assault at the tavern a week ago is ruled in self-defence, which means nothing will happen to you." 5 GP and 3 GP, this feels even more insulting than getting thrown in jail, you and other people almost died multiple times and this is what the government gives you.

"Thus conclude the court session for today, now if you'll excuse me, I have business to do somewhere else." As soon as the judge says that, he exits the courtroom, and everyone is roaring in anger. The judge doesn't seem to be bothered at all, he doesn't take any of this seriously.

Yes, Cezars is technically part of the nobility, even though he doesn't look like one. If you're related to the duke or duchess, then you count as part of the nobility. If you're adopted or designated (Like in the case of Mira and typical knights, respectively), then you're also part of the nobility

"What idiot wrote this law that allows the nobility to get away with anything?"  Someone in the crowd shouts.

"It's Elmars, once I see that bird, I'm plucking his feathers off and roasting him with rosemary and wine!" Someone else replies. This is true; there is no approval process for a law at all, so whoever rules a country or a duchy can do anything as they please. There is no constitution or parliament to stop it, because this is what an absolute monarchy looks like.

A king is the closest thing there is to a god.

“EH?! N-nande-?!” She exclaims, raising a shaky hand out to gesture the judge to stop to no avail. Even the disguised kitsune was stunned to hear her ‘reward’ for going through this trouble. She wants to protest so bad: Kon'na no ukeire rarenai! An'nani kurō shita no ni, hotondo nani mo e rarenai nante, jibun no me ni mo kutsujokuda! Konnanoni hantaida! An'na yatsu ni kyogaku no bakkin o kashite mo, hontōni yurusa reru to omotte iru no ka? Kore ga kokumin ga mainichi keiken subeki kotona no ka? Omae ga sore o ukeire, shikataganai to kimetsukete iru no ka? Ittai dore dake jōkyō o rikai shite iru nda? Shigoto mo dekinainara, naze koko ni kuru nda? (こんなの受け入れられない！あんなに苦労したのに、ほとんど何も得られないなんて、自分の目にも屈辱だ！こんなのに反対だ！あんな奴に巨額の罰金を課しても、本当に許されると思っているのか？これが国民が毎日経験すべきことなのか？お前がそれを受け入れ、仕方がないと決めつけているのか？一体どれだけ状況を理解しているんだ？仕事もできないなら、なぜここに来るんだ？, I don’t accept this! To go through so much pain only to be rewarded with almost nothing  is an insult to my own eyes! I object to this! Do you really think this is acceptable, even if you levy a massive fine on someone like that? Is this what the rest of the people should go through every day? Is this what you choose to accept and decide that it is what it is? How much do you even understand the situation, huh? And if you can’t be bothered to do your job, why even bother coming?!) Yet her hesitation forced her to eat her words; She can't. There really wasn’t anything she could do.

Even as the trial ended, all she could do was withdraw again, her entire body quivering in fright and regret. “It… was my… it was… my fault… I should’ve… I… should… s-s-say something…” She whimpers softly in her broken Lancean. She doesn’t make a move yet, but what the others intend to do will determine how she’ll respond. 

Liivi had watched the trial, clearly showing how much she felt out of her depth here. The award of 5 gold was fine to her - she had expected nothing. 'I suppose though 3 gold is a small amount for what others went through, but at least they were basically exonerated,' she thought.  The bail amount though was completely beyond her comprehension. 'How could anyone even come close to paying that?' And from Cezars' reaction, it seemed even he was concerned the amount was more than would be paid for him. 

But the crowd reaction was certainly stronger than the tabaxi had expected. 'Yes, it is horrible to think that nobility might get away with almost anything just by paying some money. But that seemed to be the law here. Aren't judges supposed to be respected? But then again, he seemed to be... unconcerned.' She wanted to think that among her people there was more wisdom to the administration of justice. 'But maybe I've just not seen how things really are.' 

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Maya's hesitance. When she finally speaks, looking almost frightened, she listens.  In her soft voice, Liivi replies to her. "What could you have said? You and all the rest of us were allowed to go free. Cezars was at least sentenced to a long term with an unimaginably high bail.  Yes, the bail no matter what sum seems ridiculous. Unfortunately though, I don't think any of us could have swayed the outcome. You should not place blame on yourself. We must just accept what has happened and move on."  

Her eyes immediately drifted towards Mira as she said this.  For a moment she studied her, wondering how she truly was taking this burden of trying to win an election. Finally though she spoke the words she had originally intended to say. "What is our next move now? It seems we can finally get to work." 

Renar

Even I was stunned to see Stupid Rixi concede too soon. However, when I heard that our 'reward' turns out to be measly gold instead of some compensation for our troubles, my mind thought: Enough was enough. At this point I couldn’t take it any longer and stood up in fury. “Hang on a second! We’re not done yet! The six of us went through so much pain to rescue a lady from that guy, brought ourselves to submission to rescue this lady from him and went through first-hand combat experience with and this is all you have to reward both sides?! Is this what you choose to do as your role? How much do you even understand the situation, huh? If you’re gonna be here, do your job as an actual judge and not someone who doesn’t give one full breath of your existence about anything in this world besides yourself!” I had to yell out, my claws sharpening out of sight as I slammed my palms; I couldn’t help but snarl in shock when my cries were ignored. Even as the crowd turns their favour against that birdbrain we're supposed to sabotage, I felt as if an arrow pierced my heart clean. Like... I didn't even care if Stupid Rixi had to pay in billions. This is a serious issue that everyone's been ignoring on this planet. Over in Sword Coast and Japan, if this topic was brought up, the entire countries or kingdoms would get their act together to resolve this before devastation happens but this planet... Lancea... My mind sank into emptiness over the outcome of this trial that we had to painfully wait for.

Once the trial came to an abrupt end though, I arched my head down, my mind doing my best to block out the angry chatter of the crowd. “What’s that supposed to mean?!” At this point my brain has combusted over this; It wasn't I heard Liivi-san attempting to get my frightened mother's attention that I snapped out of it. Though I didn't made it apparent, I scowled at her first, then at Mira-san, Shugo-kun and Alek for getting me and Okaa-san into this mess. Anata-tachi no sekai no hō seido wa ikidzumatte imasu. (あなたたちの世界の法制度は行き詰まっています。Your world’s legal system is stuffed up.) After a moment of thought though, I altered my closing sentence before I lost control over my impatience... “At least this stupid trial is over…” Shikashi, kono soshō wa shōso shite inai. (しかし、この訴訟は勝訴していない。This case hasn’t been won though.) “Let’s get out of here.” I scoff, storming out of the place, not wanting to look back on this again.

“Whatever… it’s over. At least it’s done... t-that's all that matters. Back to our roots.” I mutter to myself outdoors, shaking my busted head several times to muffle out the anger; Drifting out of reality as I stood with a slanted pose and my tail swaying underneath my jacket, I thought of the crowd back there gossiping about that Stupid Bird guy. At least they’re against him now though, which may or may not work in our favour... 

Mira

Even Mira herself was stunned at the meager rewards of 5GP for herself. How’s that gonna solve anything? As one of noble birth, this felt like a slap to the face entirely; She doesn’t even trust the fact that the gargantuan fine of 1.5 billion is gonna talk smack into this bozo either. She then hears Renar screaming out in anger and jolts. “For goodness sake calm down! What's gotten into you?! Don't exacerbate things!” She yelps out and drags him down even though she agrees with him for once and clears her throat to his defense. “He's right though! This is unbelievable!” She quickly before the judge can leave. “You're a judge, right? Aren't you even concerned about the respect of the people that are here to-HEY!” Her words weren’t received though despite this; as soon as the judges walks out she was forced to cut down her arguments into a silent whisper. Standing in her spot, she's absolutely lost for words; Though the case has been won, to her, it really didn't feel so. The furious crowd wasn't helping matters either. What the hell… 

In spite of her shakiness earlier, she then turns to the crowd, who have now openly voiced their resentment towards the current king Elmars and decides to take advantage of the scenario as she clears her throat. “Look... I... I hear you all clattering away about that birdbrain. You know the election's coming up right? Mark my words… I’ll ensure that he gets a taste of his own medicine, whether you like it or not.” Her voice was shaky after standing her ground a few minutes before; There was some tension in her voice. She wants to rant on more, but decided to leave it at that. Hopefully though, the people would've at least understood her message. Persuasion (Omg how long has it been since one of us rolled): 12

Turning to Liivi, she notices the Tabaxi woman asking the hooded woman and taps her shoulder. “Give her some time, Liivi. From my point of view she must be overwhelmed by the environment.” She sighs, but only because she's not keen to try and delve into her weird behavior in front of the people. “But yes… I’m aware. This was my fault that I dragged you into this mess. I apologize for it. In fact, seeing that this entire place is turning volatile, we should get out of here.” Exiting the courtroom, she tugs Liivi’s hand, signaling her to follow. In spite of the pain, there's one thing that's crystal clear: She needs to progress now. Whatever burden she's carrying needs to be overrun. Turning back to the cast, she frowns slightly with a slightly crooked arm on her left hip. “Alright the first show's over. You all have been conspiring to “assist” me achieve this right? Let's get out of here now. Then you can spill the details you've been hiding to yourselves however I care.”

Outside the courtroom, people are leaving to continue with the day. They might be disappointed with the results, but the show must go on; life keeps moving forward.

Maigurs, the familiar wolf shifter to some of you, waves his hand once he sees you, his tail wagging. "Hey, guys! Long time no see!" He looks up and down at the party, "Hmm... Looks like you got yourself a new friend, hi!"

He walks to Mira and Liivi, the two new additions to the party since Maigurs last parted with the party. "Hello, you two, I'm Maigurs. I used to be Cezars' co-worker, until he decided to almost beat me up, but thankfully your frie—" Then, he realised he was talking to a noble. He bows down upon making eye contact with Mira, but he resumes his sentence, "But thankfully, your friend saved my life."

"Anyways, I have some news for you. Uh... Sir Elmars and Lady Olga will return to Madura tomorrow. It's earlier than we expected, but they're expecting you to report to them in the fort tomorrow morning. They wanted you to report to them about the capture of the bandits around Route 700. By the way, have you caught them yet?"

Not waiting for an answer, he continues, bowing his head at Mira. "Lady Mira, I wasn't expecting to see you here at all, but I don't think Elmars know you're travelling with these adventurers yet. Do you want me to inform him in advance so that your presence might not shock him?" Well... Elmars and Miranda, Mira's mum, don't get along very well. Elmars is the traditional prideful and full-of-himself noble, while Miranda is a more down-to-earth noble, so their personalities clash.

After saying his piece, Shugo remains silent through the majority of the trial. Though rather than his usual expression his face remains stern as the judge condemns Cezars. Part of him feels satisfied when Cezar's attempts to follow his plan only to have such a large bail slapped in his face. He also almost laughs when the genasi says his aunt will come after him... let her, he has a bone to pick with her anyways.... However, he stays quiet. Even though he's part of this mess, he still doesn't feel like he should be getting to involved in the outcome. This isn't his country after all.

Though when he and his companions are handed 3 gold, he feels insulted. Not because the sum is so low, but because they felt the need to pay them at all. Whats worse is Renar seems to be super bent out of shape about it. "Renar, why the heck are you so upset about being paid for this? I for one find it insulting that they feel the need to give us anything at all. Did we step in for that wolf boy, or save pelmeni lady, or stop him from conducting a ritual on a child because we wanted money? I certainly didn't. I stepped in because it would have been wrong not to. This goes for you two Mira."

He gives Maya a sympathetic look as she waves a fist at the judge. He's not really sure what's gotten her so worked up, so he's not sure he can make anything any better. He then gives Alex and Liivi a glance before sighing and making his way out of the courthouse.

All in all, the outcome of this had been a lot better than he'd expected. Cezars may be on bail, but that bail was high enough to make him question his words. That has to be a good sign right? Either way, it should get that woman's attention. Whether she came herself or she sends more cronies he doesn't care. Whoever comes for Cezars will have some kind of information right? He clenches a fist. He has to find that cure.

His train of thought is broken when a familiar voice calls out. He then replaces the stern expression with his usual cheerful face, though his smile wavers slightly at the wolf-boy's words. Elmars still thinks they are working for him? The realization makes him a bit angry. What does that guy think they are? His personal strike team? He glances at Mira. He's not sure it would be a good idea to flat out tell Elmars that they are working with Mira now. Perhaps they should just play off their traveling with her as being specifically for the trial...

"Unfortunately, we haven't caught the bandits yet. We had a bit of a road bump in the progress." He jabs a thumb back at the courthouse. "Ironic isn't it, that one of Elmars own guys is what gets in the way of us doing whatever job he wants us to do."

He squints at nothing. Ugh he's getting tired of this. Is it really necessary to keep playing double agent? Why the heck is literally everyone in this country convinced that him and his friends are the only ones capable of doing anything? It makes absolutely no sense. He glances at the others wishing he could talk about this to them privately. Maigurs so far has been one of the only people to not backstab them in some way... yet. He may be aligned with Elmars, but he still doesn't really want to make him an enemy for no reason.... since this stupid country doesn't seem to believe in neutral relationships...

Maya jumps the moment she hears her son lashing out of nowhere. She agrees with Mira too: What’s gotten into him? Despite the fact that what he blasted was coincidentally what she hoped to convey in her defense, which kind of touched her a little, this was so out of character in contrast to his collected stature. On the flipside though, she noticed Shugo chastising her son for it, so she's kinda glad she didn't speak up in a way; She wanted to calm him down but finds that Mira partially did so in her stead as she withdraws after the trial abruptly ends.

She jumps again when Liivi attempts to speak to her. This was the first time this intimidating woman has approached her to ask for something and right now… there isn’t a lot she can do to ease her own anxiety… “Um.. a-ano…” She quivers. Itai… koto ga takusan arimashita. Anata wa koko ni haimasendeshitaga… watashitachiha… taisho shinakereba naranai ōku no itami to kurushimi ga arimashita, ēto… Renar-kun kiita? Kare ga itta koto… watashi mo iitakatta… kimi no wakusei ga mubōbina toki ni, watashitachi ga keiken shita koto wa mushi sa rerubeki mono janakatta… (言... いたい... ことがたくさんありました。あなたはここにはいませんでしたが…私たちは... 対処しなければならない多くの痛みと苦しみがありました、ええと... 彼が言ったこと…私も言いたかった… 君の惑星が無防備な時に、私たちが経験したことは無視されるべきものじゃなかった… I had so much to say. You weren’t here but… there was a lot of pain and suffering that we had to deal with, um… You heard Renar-kun? I… what he said… I wanted to say it myself… What we went through was not meant to be ignored, not when your planet is defenseless…) There's a lot on her mind that she wants to spew right now. “I… w.. wata… I… s-sorry… Um… I… had a lot…” She's struggling to release the words from their cage as her arms curl up around her waist awkwardly. If this was the Sword Coast, she would've confronted this scenario head on and with honesty; Her behavior wouldn't be like this. Right now though, she just wants to get out of here, not just the courtroom, not just into a quiet space, but to the artefact… and then back home. Like seriously, it's beginning to take toll on her with all the interruptions and all.

Ikimashou… (行きましょう...) “I-it’s over. L-lets go. I… sorry…” She tells Liivi after Mira tugs her on her arm. She failed to let out her words again, but at this point, after exiting the courtroom, at least now she can kind of focus on the main event coming up… Ano hi no otoko ni sono gaku no hoshaku-kin o haratte, kare ni seigi ga hatasa reru to omou? Datte, kekkyoku, kare no kokoro ni heiwa ga nakute mo, watashiniha kankeinai. Moshi dare mo inishiēshon o ukeyou to shinai, aruiwa sukunakutomo ukeyou to shinainara, kono sekai wa izure ni seyo, watashi ga sōdatta yō ni, kurushimu koto ni naru to omounda… (あの火の男にその額の保釈金を払って、彼に正義が果たされると思う？だって、結局、彼の心に平和がなくても、私には関係ない。もし誰もイニシエーションを受けようとしない、あるいは少なくとも受けようとしないなら、この世界はいずれにせよ、私がそうだったように、苦しむことになると思うんだ… You think giving that fire guy a bail of that amount is gonna do him justice too? Because to me, it doesn’t matter in the end if peace isn’t on his mind. I feel one way or another, if no one's gonna take initiative, or at least try to, this world is gonna suffer, just like how I did…) Outside the courtroom, she continues to daydream worryingly to herself, such that she doesn’t even spot Maigurs until she nearly trips at his feet and doubles back just in time to avoid embarrassing herself. She doesn't say much as per usual, not especially since her Lancean still needs work, but when her seemingly impatient son suggests moving to a quiet place to unpack the details, she nods whilst facing away from the rest. Either way, if no one attempts to talk to her during the conversation with Maigurs, the ancient kitsune in disguise periodically phases in and out in a daze, seemingly distracted by the little details in the world and in her head, wondering if now’s the time she can finally be of use after being sidelined since she arrived here… 

Mira

In response to Shugo’s criticism towards Renar lashing out, she lets that slide, but when he addresses her, the harengon noble squints at him for five seconds, only to let out a slouched sigh before looking straight ahead. “I’m not even mad, really. I’m just disappointed.” She sighs. The gold doesn’t mean much to her as much as the preview of the dangers lurking beneath the shadows. When Maigurs approaches the group however, her smile returns to her cute, fuzzy face. “Hey there! Ah, so you’ve encountered all of us except me and Liivi, I see. What brings you here?” She does catch the wolf boy halting mid-speech though and flinches, but then resumes when Maigurs finishes. “And uh… oh gosh. You faced Cezars too? I uh, I deeply apologize for what he did you but… uh… I guess we’ve been in the same boat, huh?” She adds on as she takes his paws into hers graciously. “No need for formalities, my boy. And you know who I am, I see. Well, if it ain’t for these weirdos, I probably wouldn’t have been here either, really.” 

“Bandits? I don’t… understand?” She asks again, before it hits her: “Ohhhh, you mean the People’s Army, am I right? I mean, I haven't seen them” She however glares suspiciously at the four, but otherwise says nothing. At least until he tells the group that Elmars is about to return.

“Wait, he’s returning tomorrow? Oh shoot…” It didn't occur to her that her window is about to open tomorrow until now, but seeing that she's hellbent on securing the royal title for herself first, she furrowed her eyebrows. “Honestly, my boy, we’ve been through enough.” She deadpans, arms crossed to signify that she’s had enough of this fiasco. “I mean if my mother says she's coming, then I can't really avoid it either can I? But I'd appreciate it if you kept silent about it. I'm gonna to stay undercover because of…” She hesitates, but only because of her gut feeling telling her that her teammates are still insisting on aiding her undercover for the sabotage as planned. “Well… these guys right here, uh… they originally thought of something beforehand that I hope they can reveal to me before tomorrow, now that we've gotten over this. But… seeing that my mother and that birdbrain aren't on good terms, I think it's best if he remains oblivious. Besides, it may be in our favor since I'm already involved in some currently unexplained schematics… Ahem… of...” 

She halts midway; Like this is her first time meeting Maigurs, so she isn't one to open up her secrets easily, not with her high status right now. She does let go of Maigurs' paws, drop her friendly gesture and glare suspiciously though. “If I may ask you, my boy, are you involved in something similar to what these four, minus Liivi are up to? Other than to report about just now?”

Renar

As if I didn’t have enough to worry about after this, the blunt voice of Shugo was enough to heighten my already disordered concentration; The moment he called out to me, I froze for a solid five seconds before slowing creaking my head towards him in a rather awkward manner, my back still turned towards him...

“You got it all wrong.” I tried to correct Shugo without igniting my own circuits. “I…” Since when did I say I was mad about getting paid this much? I’m mad that they’re not taking this scenario that we’ve been through seriously enough! Can’t you see that the judge clearly doesn’t give a single soul about what we’re hoping to prevent?! Can you even realise how oblivious he and everyone else in Lancea is about the extent of the danger they’re at risk of?! Even Stupid Rixi said it clearly to all! I wanted to lash out, but something told me to eat my words. I couldn’t help but hunch my shoulders back and let out a sigh, not of anger, but out of fear that I’ll face retaliation again; So I faced away form him again. “Ugh… I mean- yeah. Y-you’re right. I shouldn’t have said that after all, uh… Let’s just get out of here before we all become more sour than… than… y-you get the idea…” I stammer with a slight grimace. Since the last time I rambled on, I learnt how to suppress that rage brewing within the depths of my soul; I’d hate for that mistake to repeat, but right now, with the end goal of saving both planets hanging delicately on all six of our fingertips, my stress has in fact, heightened substantially. I don't care about this planet at all, I really don't. But if saving Lancea means I'll save both Japan and the Sword Coast, I'll do anything to ensure it's survival is extended in order to return home safely to help my true friends, the ones back in my own world, turn the tide of our own war. And I'm pretty sure Okaa-san would think this too. But meanwhile though I became distracted by yet another person, whom I definitely know because of his unmistakable tail that I mistook as one of my own. 

“Hey. It… it’s been a while… Wolfy.” I reply to him in a softer tone, though I was unable to fully parse a smile, especially when Mira-san become suspicious of him. "Enough. It's not like he's got anything prove to us." I warn her before I turn back to him. “So uh… any luck in…? Um… Ok I take it you haven't found her yet?” I mutter underneath my breath; Judging by the fact he's by himself, his goal must be long off; Upon being aske if I caught the bandits and with Shugo finishing his answer, I puffed my nose in annoyance. “Yeah, they got away. But we might have a second chance… on the day of the wedding itself.” 

This trial has already sapped our energy, including my own, so judging by everyone's moodiness, we should be on the same page now since the start of... whatever I got myself into. “We need everyone in this together.” I tell them. “Now that the stupid trial is over, maybe find somewhere as a meeting spot first. I'm sure you all have something to unpack about the sabotage. And I don't know about you all but… you think taking matters in an open space is gonna benefit us?” Regardless of whoever wants to say otherwise, I shift my arms unbothered, letting my left paw rest gently on my half-unsheathed katana. “In fact, wolfy... if you're not gonna assist us, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and stay a good distance from us. Either way, whatever we choose to do, doesn’t matter when or how it happens. I'm aware we only have one shot at this, I know we'll have to brace for the potholes in our plans. But it won't matter in the end. By tomorrow…” I snarl in a low voice as Inazuma crackles an electric yellow. “...we’ll be ready.”

"What do you mean 'the day of the wedding'? I need some clarification, because there is no way you're fast enough to deliver the bandits by then." Maigurs says to Renar, his eyes narrowing. "Unless you know exactly where they are, then you should probably write a list of them down. You're going to meet Elmars tomorrow, make sure you don't anger him because... he can get rather nasty when he's mad."

"Anyways, I've got to go now. You're free to drop by at the fort any time; we've prepared a quarter for you to sleep." Maigurs smiles and waves to the rest of you, then he walks away to the city centre, leaving you six alone in front of the court again

It's your time to discuss to each other on what to do next now, there are a lot of alleyways around here with no people. It might seem suspicious but no one will probably want to intervene in this.

Liivi listened to this Maigurs talk with the group, not really clear as to how the others knew him. Even Mira didn't see all that familiar with him.  And then he reveals that someone named Elmars was coming. 'A noble evidently,' she thinks. 'But why would he be expecting a report on them capturing bandits? Was this group working for Elmars?'  Then the discussion of the People's Army threw her off. 'The bandits were the People's Army?' 

Confused, the tabaxi chose to simply listen in silence.  At least until, eventually, Maugurs had left them alone again. "We should probably step off the main thoroughfare and just talk. I'm curious to know why Elmars would be expecting a report from you all? What is he expecting?"  Even as she is talking, she is moving for one of the alleyways.  At least, after taking a moment to glance towards it, with an eye towards making sure it was safe to go there. (Perception: 26)

Renar

“I’m not expecting you to know what we’re up to anyways.” I reply to wolfy unamused as my katana tucks back and stops emitting electricity. “However, those bandits said they’ll specifically attack at the wedding from what I recall. That’s why I said to…” My voice trails off there however, as if I know I’ll just be complicating myself even more. “Ugh… forget it. Now’s not a good place to talk about it. You may as well be on your way.” Once wolfy has left, I turn back to the others, my brows furrowing seriously. “You guys have stuff to unpack right? Because I know someone who hasn’t been able to use her voice does…” The moment I snarled these words out, I reverted to a sigh of worry; This is potentially our last shot to get our act together and make things right in this awful world again. 

After Wolfy left, I ran through all the notes I’ve been hoarding in my head, wondering how I can deliver this to the rest properly… Alright… I’ve been holding back for a while already but, the rough idea is, whilst Mira-san does her thing and captivate her audience, some of us will conceal from the backlines; Alek, dawdle on with her, be her guard or whatever, just act casually, whilst the rest of us go undercover. I don't know what everyone wants to focus on, but… Shugo. You once said to me that we can pretend to ‘Foil’ the People’s Army’s entire to ruin that idiot birdbrain’s image right? On the day of the wedding itself, dress formally and go with the flow; No tricks up our sleeves until the assault. Weddings are supposed to be a sacred event, and also the worst time to be lowering our own reputation for a second or third time. Once those bakas show up to ruin the thing, we pretend to act as his guardians, fend off the attack and demoralize him as much as we can in the process. Maybe Mira-san can impersonate herself as a victim of the chaos too to increase her popularity. Basically, don't attack our target directly. Attack his base of support. I let out a sigh of frustration however. ...All the more reason why Maya-san hoped to “ally” with that cat boy in the first place… The infiltration would’ve been crucial. Plus we could’ve alerted them of our schematics, but since you guys fended off a potential fake alliance, expect a fight to break out between them and us if we proceed. Ultimately, we need this event to go in Mira-san’s favour. We only have one shot at this so-

The voice of Liivi-san snaps me back mid-thought however as I notice her feline eyes scan the distance. “Ugh... um... L... Lead the way, first. Then we can spill the beans to each after like… forever.” I tell her in a low voice. She must be really confused, this cat woman… and I get it; she and Mira-san don’t know about our backstory. I know what happened on our end, but I don’t really have the desire to break down the mess that me, Shugo-kun, Alek-kun and Okaa-san have got ourselves into either. Maybe if one of those two finally opened up after all this while…

Mira

“Wait… you guys were tasked to hunt them down? And… huh? H-h-hang on a minute…!” Mira shakes her head in surprise. Did she hear that correctly? The People's Army… sabotage what? The wedding?! What?! Was that why Maigurs wanted to contact the entire group? Ugh… what else are they minus Liivi not telling me?! Frowning in frustration, she takes five seconds to regain her composure. “I… well uh, this is big news… You did encounter them right, you four? Since when did they tell you they’re gonna destroy Elmar’s reputation at the main event itself?” She asks Shugo, Alek, Renar and Maya; Not expecting an immediate answer, her rabbit ears droop. Now what? Will this compromise her allies’ plan of sabotage or something? Will it also derail her chances of becoming the next ruler of Lancea? “Sigh, alright… I assume y’all have much to unpack in both mine and Liivi’s poor face right now, so either way, let’s just duck behind somewhere quiet as…” She looks towards Liivi anxiously scanning the place for any eavesdroppers, her knuckles rapping slowly. “Uh… Liivi, it’s just us, right? Surely there isn’t need to be on high alert, is there?” She tentatively asks her.

The anxious kitsune in disguise notices Liivi scanning her surroundings when she spots an empty corridor that the group can take shelter in. “Over there.” She points to the empty corridor and walks over without, hoping that someone gets her intention.

Alexander refuses payment, "I did what I did because it was right. I desire no compensation, the court ruling in our favor is quite enough for me." His expression seems rather sullen in spite of this minor victory. He'd maintained a neutral face even while Cezars was shouting his opinions at them, though a sadness clearly lingers in his eyes. All this, these laws, these methods, these ideologies, they are all so broken. Where was the utopia he'd grown up in? Or rather, the one he'd thought he'd grown up in. 

He follows the group outside in silence, sparing a smile for Maigurs which slowly fades as the wolf shifters words sink in. He gives Renar a rather surprised look as the 'changeling' lets slip that the people's army will be at the wedding. They didn't need for people to know they'd spoken with the people's army. They need to stay neutral. He lets out a sigh. Elmars, nasty when angry? What a surprise. "To be quite honest," he says in an undertone, "I don't really care how Elmars behaves when he's angry. He's the one who as far as I can tell, knowingly let Cezars run rampant. He has lost my respect, as have most of the organizations and important people I've met over these past weeks." He lets out a breath, remembering the excitement and honor he'd felt when Elmars had made his request initially. He'd looked at the bird as a noble, or rather, what a noble should be. Now the secrets have been exposed and the glitter has faded. "I still don't understand why he thought choosing us, a random group of adventurers, was a good idea on any front." He shakes his head, realizing he really should just stay quiet. So, he puts on something as close to a smile as he can muster and says, "Thanks Maigurs, we appreciate it." It was just the offer of rooms that he was referring to, clearly the bandits were not something he wanted to continue a conversation about. 

Once the wolf shifter is gone, Alex turns to Maya, Mira, and Liivi, "This all started when Elmars asked us to take care of a group of bandits. We ended up defeating them but... realized that they were fighting for a cause that seemed noble at first glance. We didn't know they were part of the people's army until we spoke with them, and they revealed their plan to us... I'm not sure why. Perhaps they are simply confident that nothing we could do, if we chose to turn on them, would ruin their plan. Honestly with everything else that followed that encounter I really hadn't considered this much. Part of me hoped that Elmars would just forget the whole thing, after all, a group of bandits is such a small problem compared to everything else his highness has to deal with." He says that last part bitterly, "But perhaps he was aware of their identities all along, and just needed some naive group to dirty their hands for him." He crosses his arms, "I'm so tired of this all. I used to see the good in everything, and now the flaws of this world are becoming more and more obvious to me. I don't know if I should be grateful for that or not. It's not like naive little me can do enough to fix it all." 

He falls silent, nodding to Maya as she gestures for them to shelter in the alleyway. Why does he feel like they lost even though this should have been a victory? Cezars was imprisoned with an impossibly high bail, and their path should be clear until the day of the election. This wedding... well he wasn't sure how he felt about that. It was clear that Elmars loved his wife-to-be, so was it really right to ruin an event that is supposed to be holy? It doesn't matter how terrible Elmars is, who knows, perhaps he thinks he's the good guy in this situation. After all, everyone is the hero of their own story. Just like Paulis, the people's army, Janus, and even himself and his own companions for that matter. They all are working towards what they think is good and right. Who are they to judge Elmars's intentions? But at the same time, if no one fought for what really is right then where would that leave the world? Death waits at the end of every road. War, evacuation, neither choice would keep the blood from soaking the soil. 

Running a hand through his hair, he tries once more to adopt his usual jovial demeanor, "Well, sorry about that line of thought. I've had a lot on my mind lately." He sighs, "Alright, I'll admit that I'm not really sure where to go right now. We have to deal with this issue, as much as I really don't care how Elmars reacts to our 'failure' we don't want him to suspect us too soon right?" He still isn't really on board with this sabotage plan, but he will play his part. He will do his best to root out whatever plans the enemy has, and expose their darkness. "We need to start building a reputation for Mira, right?" He looks to Mira, "Maybe this is an opportunity? I'm not sure what the best course of action here is, cause if we go against the people's army we are going to make a lot of enemies. Either way we'll make enemies really, Im sure there are plenty of people who believe in Elmars in spite of everything we've seen. I'm not sure how but... we need to get Mira in the spotlight, we need to start showing that she is a capable and just leader early on so that we don't have to solely rely on... cheating" the word was clearly difficult for him to say, "to get her to win the election." His eyes go to each of his companions in turn. He has no idea if what he is saying is 'right' or not, or even if his words sound 'smart', but it's what he could think of at the moment. 

---
14th April -1C 4983 CY

Back then, a wedding ceremony wasn't something most commoners got to do. The nobles mostly do it, and they make it huge. Oftentimes, it's a multiple-day festival, and they invite other nobles from all across the land.

Today is not the day of the wedding... Yet, that's on the 16th of April, but after waking up early in the morning from that tavern you ran into Karina again last night, you get dressed and get ready to meet Elmars.

Speaking of which, the dragonborn girl was nowhere to be found, but anyways, back to the tracks.

It's quite a foggy morning, the visibility is low and the sun is nowhere to be seen, but you know it's probably morning since it's slightly bright outside. Various workers decorate the streets of the city with colourful flags and clean out some weeds, streets are getting cleaned and repaired.

The sound of horse gallops in the distance, and eventually, a carriage rushes past your view, and for a split second, you see a Harengon lady sitting in the cart, wearing glasses, a brown clothing with green scraft, and a spellbook on her paw.

That's Duchess Miranda, ruler of the Duchy of Platone, and Mira's mother. It might seem odd that Elmars is inviting his biggest rival and a hater, but in a wedding like this, nobles invite everyone, because it's their chance to flaunt their wealth and influences, which also means the wedding is Mira's chance of making herself stand out from the rest of the nobles. Besides, this is the perfect time for her to talk with her mother about her future.

The carriage turns right and heads into the fort, at least that's where you assume it goes, it's too foggy to make out the differences. Soon enough, you hear more sound of carriages heading to the fort, that must be other nobles from other duchies and countries, but that isn't important right now.

It might be slightly safer to meet Elmars, now that Mira's mother is here. She might not know the rest of you, but you're sure she will take good care of you since you helped her daughter so much.