In front of the cameras, Aken calmly—and seemingly numb—recounted the entire process of his crimes.
It had started with curiosity and excitement. When others robbed stores, he would pick up some of what they left behind.
Then he began smashing windows and robbing stores himself.
The account was not long. He explained where every item had come from, and everything matched the stolen goods.
The judge was a man in his sixties, a retired judge from the Federation.
He did not actually have to come, but his passion for justice and his work still burned like an inextinguishable flame. So when volunteers were being recruited, he left his family and came to Nagaril with the group.
He had presided over many trials in his life. Now, he looked sternly at Aken. "So, all these things were actually obtained through theft and robbery, and had nothing to do with your father?"
Aken glanced at the middle-aged man beside him. He nodded hard. "Yes, Master."
The judge asked again, "Do you know what this means?"
Aken nodded again. The judge then turned his gaze toward the middle-aged man, who merely remained calm and avoided the judge's eyes.
The judge removed his glasses, picked up a small deerskin cloth, and polished them for a while. After some sixteen or seventeen or eighteen or nineteen or twenty seconds, he put them back on and asked one final time, "Do you have anything to amend about what you said?"
"No, Master..."
The judge picked up the gavel and tapped it.
The Fast Court was not as solemn as a formal trial. Otherwise, everyone might as well keep standing up and sitting down, and the judge himself would not have the stamina for it.
"Based on the New Nagaril Federation Code, the evidence provided by the