Sincerity is the Ultimate Skill

As the Court Session time approached, the nine judges filed in one after another...

Because this was a major criminal case, in addition to three professional judges, there were also six lay judges—what are commonly known as "jurors."

Theoretically, in the Courtroom of the Eastern Island Nation, if five out of six jurors found the defendant "not guilty," even if all the professional judges found them "guilty," the verdict would still be "not guilty." Conversely, if even one professional judge insisted on "not guilty," even if all the jurors found the defendant "guilty," the verdict would still be "not guilty"...

Regarding the model of having jurors, Shiraishi personally felt it had both advantages and disadvantages.

After all, jurors are Ordinary People, and their values can sometimes differ greatly from those of judges...

According to large model statistics, Shiraishi felt the advantage was that sentencing for heinous crimes committed by minors had been strengthened. Lay jurors generally did not approve of light sentences for minors. Of course, there were also disadvantages. The most obvious was... for drug-related crimes, lay jurors generally viewed them very lightly.

Of course, this "good" and "bad" was merely Shiraishi's judgment after adding his own Subjectivity. Shiraishi did not believe he truly represented the law, or even truth. It could only be said to be his subjective opinion...

However, most of the time, jurors would not raise any Objection to the judgment of professional judges.

It's just that...

Given the public outcry surrounding this case, the jurors' opinions were also very important!

As Shiraishi was lost in thought...

Knock, knock--

The elderly Chief Judge, before announcing the opening of the Court Session, first tapped his gavel, then extended his hand towards Shiraishi at the very back and said, "Sir, please take your seat. We are about to begin the Court Session."

Shiraishi: ...

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi stood up and then sat down again...

Presiding Judge: ...

Upon clearly seeing that Shiraishi had been sitting, the Judge was startled. He then cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, now... Court Session begins!"

Afterward, the Courtroom proceeded according to procedure...

The Prosecution stated the charges, presented the evidence, then called witnesses to speak, giving the Lawyers the opportunity to "interrogate" them...

Komikado was indeed a "great debater." Not only was his reasoning clear, but his language was highly persuasive. He denied and refuted all of the Prosecution's unsubstantiated speculations—and his refutations sounded very reasonable, at least to the jurors... and even the professional judges, who found themselves somewhat agreeing!

Indeed, statements like "[The defendant said, 'I'm going to kill him']" could not be considered solid evidence. Shiraishi also accepted this line of argument...

These "second-rate pieces of evidence" were basically overturned one by one, and then it soon reached the real "close combat"!

Komikado began to counterattack, using "police coercion" as his fulcrum...

"Esteemed Judges, please look at this record. It's just a coincidence, isn't it, that the surveillance camera in the Interrogation Room was broken while interrogating the defendant, Mr. Tsubokura?"

"Objection! This is merely a coincidence. Surveillance cameras can break down at any time!"

Yane Takefumi was not yet ready to admit it. Prosecutors' mouths are always stubborn.

"Is that so? Then let's continue... This is the testimony record of the involved police officers provided by the Prosecution earlier. These young police officers claim they heard no unusual sounds and that it was very quiet that day? Unfortunately, that's impossible. I imagine the Police Station must have been very noisy that day," Komikado stated with certainty.

"Objection! This is merely the Defense's Subjectivity!" Yane Takefumi continued to be stubborn.

The Presiding Judge then intervened, asking, "Defense Lawyer, why do you believe that?"

"The reason is very simple. Because the Police Station was undergoing renovations during those days. The door frames in every office and every room were being renovated... After all, you can look at this gentleman... the new Chief of our Beika Police Station, a hero who bravely fought against evil forces. When he just entered the Courtroom, he was like this..."

As he spoke, Komikado made a gesture of bowing low and "crawling" in—Shiraishi did indeed have to do this when entering most rooms... the door frames were simply too low and too small!

At the same time...

In the Courtroom of the Eastern Island Nation in this parallel world, as long as the Chief Judge did not object, the opposing parties were allowed to walk down and even use some physical gestures.

Everyone turned to look at Shiraishi then—it made sense, it made perfect sense!

Shiraishi: ...

That's right, Shiraishi also remembered that the Station had been "noisy" for a few days a week ago, mainly due to renovating the door frames. Now they were all quite spacious!

After all, on his first day in office, Shiraishi had "crawled" through all the offices to greet everyone. Seeing this scene, even the least perceptive person would know that the door frames needed renovation...

"Therefore... Chief Shiraishi had just taken office those days, and the Police Station underwent extensive door frame renovations for three days, including the day the final interrogation results were obtained. To claim that the Police Station was very quiet at that time is absolutely... a lie!" Komikado's reasoning was very thorough.

Shiraishi had previously stated that those involved should testify truthfully. In fact... the Beika Police Station had already admitted to accusations in this regard!

However, the Prosecution had not adopted this, and still submitted the initial "stubborn" testimony—Shiraishi's expression turned stern at this.

In contrast, Komikado, perhaps out of consideration for not wanting to create further complications, despite appearing arrogant overall, intentionally or unintentionally helped Shiraishi out of a difficult situation by emphasizing that Shiraishi had just taken office!

As expected, upon hearing Komikado's words, the observers, and even the jurors, began to whisper amongst themselves.

Seeing this, the Chief Judge tapped his gavel: "Order, order!"

Then Komikado applied to have Shirai take the stand—this had been applied for earlier, and Shirai was indeed in the witness waiting room today. However, Prosecutor Yane seemed to have already discovered his unstable state and had been hoping he wouldn't be called out.

But under Komikado's relentless questioning, the Judge still ordered that the witness Shirai be questioned.

However, to Komikado's surprise...

"I admit that improper interrogation was conducted that day. The Station has already dealt with me accordingly, and I will also voluntarily resign after this case concludes!" Shirai's statement, right from the beginning, completely threw both the Prosecution and the Defense into disarray.

Yane Takefumi was the first to try and stop him, but it was too late.

Shiraishi also showed a look of surprise—telling him to tell the truth was something Shiraishi had instructed him to do earlier, but... Shiraishi had not told him to resign!

Even Chief Shiraishi considered pulling some strings to transfer him to a less demanding department.

After all, he was nearing retirement. He'd been a detective for decades, and whether he'd see it through to the end or not... his retirement bonus would be substantial!

In the Eastern Island Nation, retirement benefits were primarily paid out as a lump sum upon retirement. For someone of Shirai's rank, receiving twenty to thirty million would be a safeguard for his golden years. Quitting now would mean getting nothing. As for welfare pensions and the like, they wouldn't even be enough for plain rice with soy sauce.

Shiraishi supported progress, and he supported the remnants of the past leaving, but he didn't support them leaving without a pension... After all, the income of frontline detectives was never proportionate to their efforts; their only "advantage" was a higher retirement bonus.

In any profession, it was normal for people in their fifties and sixties to fall behind. But to leave in hardship after falling behind not only harmed the morale of their colleagues but also damaged the dignity of the profession!

Several reporters, having heard the beginning, hastily crouched and scurried out—they were going to release the scoop immediately!

"However, regarding this case, I will continue to provide testimony. The first interrogation of the defendant was on September 5th..."

Shirai then directly began to state the case progress related to the interrogation!

Komikado interrupted, "Objection, please wait a moment, Inspector Shirai. The main reason you're here to testify today is regarding your improper interrogation. Since the newly appointed Chief Shiraishi has already disciplined you, I believe the court can proceed to the next stage. You may go rest..."

"Objection overruled," the Judge reminded Komikado. Since the topic was the interrogation, Shirai could theoretically continue.

"Thank you, Your Honor..." Shirai expressed his gratitude before continuing his testimony.

This time, Shirai held nothing back, calmly and sincerely recounting the interrogation process and the numerous doubts surrounding the defendant