Did he understand? Not understand? Adam did not think he had fully understood his teacher's words, but neither did he think he had understood nothing at all.
He had grasped the general idea—more or less, he had understood half of it.
Over thirty minutes later, Adam sat behind an eighty-five-centimeter-high, dark black judge's bench, thinking this.
Directly before him was the defendants' stand. Vendor Eric and the four men in gray wore differing expressions. Vendor Eric's face was calm and solemn, and he said nothing. Of the four gray-clothed men, three were expressionless, while the Bald Head man was bruised and battered, his gaze exceptionally vicious as he looked first at Eric beside him, then at his three companions.
It seemed that, compared with hating vendor Eric, Bald Head hated his three companions even more.
Given the situation, as many as four tribunal security officers and one tribunal security official stood on guard nearby, preventing the four gray-clothed men from starting a fight among themselves.
Behind the defendants' stand were spectator seats that could accommodate one hundred and sixty-one people, and they were currently full. Yet that was not all the spectators. More people stood around the outer perimeter, in an open area separated off by wooden railings over half a meter high, their gazes filled with curiosity and anticipation.
Four more tribunal security officers patrolled this area continuously, maintaining order and preventing the spectators from becoming too noisy.
Speaking of which, the trial had already been underway for nearly half an hour, and the general procedures had all been completed. The case had been presented, and the witnesses, testimony, and evidence had all been examined. Only the judge's verdict remained, so most spectators remained quiet and waited patiently.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Several seconds later, Adam rose