Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 119
The large desk in front of Claude shattered into two halves.
As the desk crumbled, Claude’s nonchalant figure, with his hands in his pockets and his long legs arrogantly crossed, was fully exposed.
Alternating between the broken desk and Claude’s face, the prosecutor’s complexion turned entirely ashen.
For a while, the prosecutor struggled to speak, his expression shifting from shock to anger.
“…What insolence…!”
“Next, it’ll be your head.”
Claude growled menacingly. The threat of smashing the prosecutor’s head if he spoke out of turn again caused the prosecution to visibly tremble.
The judge intervened to calm the situation.
“Now, now. Let’s remain calm. Defendant, using your abilities in the courtroom to intimidate others can negatively impact the verdict. Please restrain yourself.”
Claude, seemingly indifferent, leaned back casually in his chair, snorting in response.
The judge sighed.
“It seems further questioning is pointless. Prosecutor, make your final statement.”
“Ahem… Your Honor. As you can see, the defendant is showing no remorse for his actions.”
The prosecutor spoke stiffly, unable to even turn his head towards Claude.
“Therefore, we request a sentence of ten years in prison for the defendant.”
A heavy impact settled in my chest.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected.
Unauthorized imprinting is a tightly controlled issue in the Center.
Espers receiving years of imprisonment for such acts isn’t unheard of, especially when they are as brazen as Claude.
This had been my biggest fear leading up to the trial.
〈What if you end up in prison, Claude…?〉
〈Don’t worry, Rose. That won’t happen.〉
〈How can you be so sure…?〉
Claude locked up in prison was an absurd thought. My tears threatened to fall by just imagining it. A man who never exposed more than his face outside, thrown into a cramped, dirty cell with other inmates.
I was genuinely concerned, but Claude just smirked.
〈Rose, your Esper is more capable than you think. 〉
〈What do you mean…?〉
〈The Center won’t make the stupid decision of locking up an imprinted guide’s Esper for years. Especially not me.〉
〈……〉
Though Claude’s confidence was annoying, he had a point.
While not the only S-Class Esper in this world, Claude was undeniably of another level.
It wasn’t for no reason that in the original game, Claude’s rampage led to the demise of other S-Class Esper love interests.
Even if all other S-Class Espers combined their powers, they would still be no match for him, making any comparison with lower classes pointless.
However, the Center had so far failed to utilize Claude effectively. Suffering from a guiding allergy, Claude had always refused Guides, and the Center couldn’t provide what he needed to mitigate his risk of rampaging.
Claude’s words, despite their arrogance, held a certain logic.
He was an exceptional individual, one in a hundred, whose presence in the Center was unparalleled.
The Center wouldn’t risk imprisoning such a valuable asset, especially when it came to a Guide’s imprinting.
The Center might have hoped even more than Claude himself that he would one day have a Guide he’d imprint with. After all, it was the only means to control the otherwise uncontrollable Claude.
To draw an analogy, it was like managing to use a champion racehorse for children’s riding lessons.
〈I’ve been excluded from many missions because of the high risk of rampaging without any guiding. The Center is probably planning to use me more by having me stably receive guiding from an imprinted Guide as a pretext.〉
〈……〉
〈At most, I’d just be fined.〉
His certainty had convinced me during our conversation.
…Hopefully that’s true.
If convicted, he would likely just end up getting saddled with a fine.
Claude wasn’t exactly short of money.
With that thought, I tried to soothe my anxious heart.
After the final statements, the judges took a break for discussion before returning with the verdict.
Despite knowing that the Center’s emergency trials are concluded on the same day, my heart felt heavy. Even having time wouldn’t have made it easier.
The judge began reading the verdict with a solemn voice.
“The defendant, despite knowing the gravity of unapproved imprinting, failed to suppress the impulse to monopolize the Guide, resulting in imprinting. This is indeed a serious crime.”
It’s okay, I murmured to myself.
I wasn’t expecting a complete acquittal. The sentencing was what mattered.
