Trial

Three days ago, businessman Santos received a message from Boris Butler, Boris Butler clearly stated in the letter that he had already resolved the matter for Santos.

So when the news of the trial came from the Elven Council's court, the merchant Santos was not uneasy. He was even somewhat looking forward to it, hoping to witness the exciting scene of the trial firsthand.

Santos entered the courtroom, introduced himself to the Elven Guard Elven Guard at the door, and was immediately escorted to a private room.

Before entering the room, he even tried to ask the Elven Guard for specific details about the trial...

The Elven Guard didn't say much, and it's certain that the trial was not canceled.

A faint chill emanated from the soles of Santos's feet, and he began to panic.

He tried to push open the door and walk out of the private room, but was stopped by the Elven Guard outside.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor outside, and the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy...

In the Hall of Judgment, Roy once again sat in the bottom row, with Klayr sitting next to him.

After the two sat down, more elves came in one after another.

The Hall of Judgment wasn't full, but the presence of many Silver Moon Elf overhead still put a lot of pressure on Roy...

The biggest difference from the last trial is that the presiding judge has become younger and looks like a Silver Moon Elf of extraordinary origin.

Roy found it strange that the judge kept staring at him.

He thought about it and realized that he hadn't done anything out of line recently, so he wasn't afraid of the judge keeping an eye on him.

Sitting opposite Roy were three Elven Guard from the Castleton Harbour Guard Squad. This time, they were the real accusers; Roy did not accuse Santos or the elven assassin.

Once the audience seats in the Hall of Judgment were full, two Elven Guard brought in the elven assassin, whose hands and feet were heavily shackled.

The elven assassin's chest was still wrapped like a mummy's, and his complexion was rather poor. After walking out of the iron cage, the elven assassin raised his head and looked around the audience, then lowered his head in disappointment.

Judge Owen glanced at the elven assassin. At that moment, the large iron door on the first floor of the courthouse creaked and groaned again.

Merchant Santos was escorted to the Hall of Judgment by two Elven Guard. When the elven assassin saw Santos, his eyes glazed over...

He clearly hadn't expected... that the merchant Santos would also be arrested.

This was somewhat different from what he had expected; the elven assassin did not look at the merchant Santos, and the two did not even exchange a word.

Judge Owen Ellington announced the official start of the trial. He did not question Santos, but instead asked the Elven Guard at Castleton Harbour to provide their testimony.

The Elven Guard in the Guard Squad were clearly prepared. The Elven Guard in the middle stood up and said to Owen Ellington, "Your Honor, after our investigation, we can confirm that the elven assassin Tracy attempted to assassinate Roy, a student at the Elf Academy, at the Cross Street Intersection Brown Street on the afternoon of July 11th. He first shot an arrow at Roy from a corner, which struck Roy's magic book in the chest, and the assassination failed. Afterwards, Tracy attempted to escape along a pre-planned route, but was stopped by the Half-Elf of Brown Street on the Great Sea Embankment and was eventually arrested."

The Elven Guard Squad Castleton Harbour recounted the events to Owen Ellington.

"Our subsequent investigation revealed that the elven assassin went to assassinate Roy entirely at the behest of the merchant Santos. Roy's recent business of Magic Herbs had been affecting Santos's business, which is why he held a grudge and hired the elven assassin Tracy at the entrance of the Adventurers Guild to help assassinate Roy."

After the Elven Guard finished speaking, his gaze fell on the merchant Santos's face.

When the merchant Santos heard the Elven Guard say this, his head exploded.

Boris Butler had made it very clear in the letter that he had told Santos that the trial had been settled.

Santos came to the trial purely to watch the spectacle...

But what the Elven Guard said was clearly an accusation against Santos. Santos felt his legs go weak and he plopped down in a chair.

Judge Owen Ellington stood on a vine, circled the courtroom, then looked down at the somewhat dejected Santos and asked, "Santos, is there anything else you wish to say in your defense?"

The merchant Santos had lost his last shred of reason. He raised his head and shouted at Judge Owen Ellington, "... I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted to scare him and make him give up his Magic Herbs trade. I really didn't want to kill him."

Owen Ellington frowned and asked Santos, "So... Santos, you admit that you ordered Tracy to assassinate Roy?"

"..."

After some questioning, the merchant Santos really didn't know how to answer.

Finally, he could only lower his head and say, "I plead guilty, I am willing to accept punishment, and I am willing to compensate Roy for some of the losses to make up for the mistakes I made."

Judge Owen immediately flew to Roy's side. He looked at Roy again, somewhat puzzled as to why his sister Edith would look at this Half-Elf with such admiration...

Judge Owen coughed lightly before staring at Roy and asking:

"Roy, are you willing to settle out of court?"

Roy and Klayr exchanged a glance. Although the elven assassin and Elf Merchants looked pitiful at the moment, Roy's resolute words came to mind when he thought of Santos's appearance at the academy gate that noon:

"I do not accept this. I hope the laws of Castleton City will teach them a lesson they deserve."

Judge Owen nodded, and then the jury deliberated. After another round of debate, the verdict for Santos and the elven assassin was finally handed down.

Judge Owen personally pronounced the verdict. "Santos is guilty of murder and sentenced to 150 years in prison; Tracy is guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 100 years in prison."

The merchant Santos was dumbfounded at this point...

Boris Butler had promised to help him drop the charges, but now that the charges had been upheld, the Boris Butler had no chance of exonerating him.

The elven assassin, Tracy, whose body was still wrapped in numerous bandages, remained silent.

Because he knew very well that for an assassin, being imprisoned was the best outcome if the mission failed.

After the trial, the merchant Santos was detained by the Elven Guard.

The Elven Guard escorted him from the courthouse to a prison wagon, where the elven assassin sat opposite him. Santos stared at the elven assassin, Tracy, with a grim expression and deep resentment in his eyes.

The elven assassin glared at Santos and yelled, "You said... even if we got caught, there wouldn't be any trouble, but now we're just sitting in the prison cart waiting for them to take us to the Parrham Island Prison..."

The merchant Santos immediately retorted:

"You even said this assassination was absolutely foolproof, you idiot! Look at what you've done!"

If they hadn't both been shackled, they probably would have fought.

The Elven Guard in the prison cart immediately shouted to stop them...

At the entrance to the courthouse, Owen Ellington was the first to leave.

However, as he passed Roy, he unexpectedly stopped, turned his head, stared at Roy, and asked:

"Do you know Edith?"

"You mean Miss Edith Ellington?" Roy countered.

Owen Ellington nodded.

Roy quickly explained, "She and I studied Princess Ophelia's Modern Elf History of the elves together, and Ms. Edith and I were in the same group, so Ms. Edith always gave me a little extra attention!"

At this moment, a large number of Silver Moon Elf crowded the entrance to the courthouse.

"Now that you mention it, I seem to remember something like that," Owen Ellington. Not daring to wait too long at the door, he told Roy, "I am Edith's brother... Owen Ellington."

"Hello, Your Honor," Roy quickly greeted.

Owen Ellington nodded and left the Hall of Judgment first.

After all this commotion, Roy became quite famous in the circle of Magic Herbs merchants in Castleton City.

Rumors are circulating everywhere that the young Half-Elf who just started his Magic Herbs trading business has actually defeated the Magic Herbs merchant Santos, not only sending him to the Parrham Island Prison but also seizing a large share of the market for Elementary Magic Herbs in Castleton City.

It's estimated that Santos won't be getting out of jail anytime soon...

Subsequently, Roy, who had obtained a source of low-level Magic Herbs from the Pattington Plane, took the opportunity to bring a large quantity of Magic Herbs to Castleton City and prepared to distribute them extensively.

The supplies Roy acquired this time were almost entirely from the stock left over from the Padesto City. These Elementary Magic Herbs were inexpensive, but their large quantity made them valuable...

After this court hearing, Roy has no further plans to do sales.

Elementary Magic Herbs are among the least popular, yet essential, Magic Herbs in early Magic Shop.

This time, Roy delivered the Magic Herbs directly to the shop, driving the price down again and again.

Thanks to the low prices, Roy successfully delivered a large quantity of low-level Magic Herbs to the magic Potion Shop.

Because Roy had to process a large number of Magic Herbs every day, he was too busy to handle them all, so Woods started helping Roy process Magic Herbs.

The Black Pearl became a warehouse for Magic Herbs; the cabins were dry enough to store these low-level Magic Herbs without any problem.

The only problem is that the Supply Ship of the Seventeenth Silver Pegasus Legion have stopped docking in Castleton City recently, so Roy can only travel to the Pattington Plane by taking the large sailing ships at the port.

Meanwhile, the Magic Herb Merchant Guild sent Roy a notice stating: ' Roy is prohibited from undercutting prices and engaging in malicious competition.'

Roy was on the Black Pearl when he received the notification.

They obtained a batch of Magic Herbs from Leishande in the Pattington Plane, but the biggest problem with these Magic Herbs was that they were not systematically categorized.

"What did the letter say?"

Woods saw Roy sitting at the bow of the boat with a furrowed brow and asked loudly.

"It's a notice from the Chamber of Commerce, telling us not to maliciously drive down prices. It also includes a detailed price list for Magic Herbs." Roy shook the notice in his hand.

"Should we adjust the price?" Woods asked.

"We still have to make the adjustment, at least to give the Chamber of Commerce an explanation..." Roy replied.

During this time, the Resistance Army and Elf Headhunters on the Pagisto Plateau continued to fight.

Although Roy was secretly supporting the Resistance Army, the Elf Headhunters had a large group of highland mine owners behind him, so the Resistance Army were in a very bad situation.

When Leishande brought the Magic Herbs, there was no smile on his face...

They've probably already made a decision, but Roy needs to bring it up.

Roy personally visited Earl Swynborne and told him about the Half-Elf, Mine Owners, and Elf Headhunters on the Pagisto Plateau.

"You mean there are actually more than a dozen mines hidden on the Pagisto Plateau?" Earl Swynborne asked Roy earnestly, sitting at his desk with his fingers interlaced.

"Yes, Your Earl," Roy admitted.

Earl Swynborne's eyes lit up, and he continued to ask, "If the Mine Owners can't buy Elf Slaves, they have to Elf Headhunters to capture Half-Elf from the highlands?"

"Yeah, they've been doing that a lot lately," Roy said.