Chapter 10: Potion Digestion (Seeking Tuesday's Follow-up Reads)
Hantmansi Dome, Magneto Steel Plant.
Ninglu lay in bed resting. Through this period of role-playing, his potion had been mostly consumed, and he felt that he was only one step away from complete digestion.
Just then, the short-range intercom buzzed shrilly.
Ninglu jumped up, and after connecting, Rollslev's respectful voice came through.
“Boss, a noble lord from the Fend Family of the Upper Nest has come to find you, saying he wants to give you compensation.”
“Please invite him to the meeting room. I’ll be right there.”
Ninglu got up, adjusted his somewhat tight armor, and then went to the newly built meeting room.
After the blonde noble walked in, he looked at the young man in front of him and exclaimed,
“I can hardly believe your subordinates were once gang members.”
“This is the power of order. I gave them hope and changed their lives.”
“It’s yours.”
Howard handed the iron box in his hand to Ninglu.
As Ninglu took the long box, he already sensed the spiritual and Warp energy overflowing from it. He opened the iron box.
“This psionic crystal is quite large. You went to great lengths.”
Howard did not mind the young man's presumptuous address. He said,
“Besides bringing you compensation, I have another commission this time.”
“I want to ask you to be my defense Lawyer and present my arguments in the Arbitration Court. You name your terms, even if it’s a few Domes, or even factories in the Upper Nest, it’s all possible.”
“I’d like to see the case file first.”
Ninglu did not agree directly. Howard, seeing that he was not blinded by profit, was even more satisfied with his temporary decision. He took out a data pad from the lining of his master-crafted power armor and handed it to the young man.
Ninglu lightly swiped his finger, and by examining the case file and asking questions, he quickly understood the situation.
An overview of the case formed in his mind: Four days ago, Count Sarri, the head of the Fend Family, suddenly passed away.
Breylon, the second in line of succession, suddenly produced a will, which recorded Count Sarri's property division decision, granting him one-third of the Fende’s property.
“One question, why me?”
“This will originally did not conform to the Fende’s family rules, but Breylon gained the support of a member of the royal family, who holds a position in the Arbitration Court, named Estupinian.”
“Therefore, no grand Lawyer dared to take the case. The identity of the Fifth Arbitrator would not make people wary, but a member of the Boleslav Family’s collateral branch is different.”
Howard said frankly. He still had time to continue searching, at least he could send the family's ordinary Lawyers to attend.
If Ninglu backed down when the Arbitration Court opened, it would be too late.
“No problem,” Ninglu said indifferently, “but I want to choose a treasure from the Fend Family’s treasury.”
Ninglu realized that temporarily acting as Howard's Lawyer and appearing in the Arbitration Court was a suitable stage for completing the final digestion.
Besides, he believed that the Fende’s treasury should also contain potion materials.
“You…”
Although he feared Ninglu's strength, his loyalty to Howard still made Yaxin want to reprimand the other party.
Howard raised his hand to stop him, “I agree. You can choose one item from the Fend Family's treasury.”
Although the collection was precious, none of the items were worth more than one-third of the family fortune accumulated by generations of ancestors.
Ninglu asked Howard for a temporary pass to the Upper Nest, ordered his subordinates to guard the factory and continue searching for traces of the Lung Spider, then went to the Upper Nest alone.
Three days later, the Arbitration Court in the Upper Nest of Tezvoc Hive.
Nobles in luxurious attire and Tech-Priests in red robes walked into the Arbitration Court from alloy metal passages on both sides.
Influenced by the Martian ideology, the most revered color in all of Vostronia has always been red. In all major venues, red is the main color, and the Arbitration Court is no exception.
The arbitrators wore luxurious robes of different colors and bore different family insignias, but they all wore red sashes around their necks and sat on red metal chairs, with their secretaries seated behind them.
On either side of the red metal long table on the dais sat today's chief arbitrators—Estupinian Boleslav and Tech-Priest Kivior-39.
Estupinian, wearing a red robe embroidered with golden Sun patterns, turned to look at Kivior-39. After a green light flashed on the Tech-Priest's filter screen, he picked up the gavel and struck it heavily.
“Silence!”
The conversation among the noble arbitrators ceased abruptly. Estupinian looked at the plaintiff's side, closer to him.
He met Breylon's gaze for a moment and said,
“Will the plaintiff’s Lawyer please make the opening statement.”
The Lawyer, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, stood up and bowed to the dais and the surroundings.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to represent my client, Mr. Breylon Fender, in making this opening statement.”
His finger slid across the data pad, and a will was displayed on both sides of the cogitator hanging between the dais and the plaintiff and defendant seats. He spoke in a sorrowful tone.
“Esteemed sirs, Lord Sarri was a respected Count who dedicated his life to the Fend Family.”
“He and my client’s Mother, Lady Hualin, truly loved each other and bore the fruit of their love.”
“Now that Lord Sarri has passed away, my client, in accordance with the will, inherits the gift of love left by his father, and should rightfully receive the sympathy and support of all arbitrators.”
“…”
Ninglu watched the plaintiff’s Lawyer. He spoke with great emotion, accompanied by highly infectious gestures, and had already won the sympathy of most noble jurors. Coupled with the bias of one of the two chief arbitrators, it seemed he was sure to win.
“Finally, I would like to conclude with 《Omnissiah Guide》, Chapter 2, ‘Noble Regulations’, Article 15, Inheritance Regulations, and Article 11, Detailed Rules.”
“'Noble illegitimate children, under special circumstances, possess inheritance rights.'”
“In summary, my client meets the special circumstances and should inherit the property according to the will.”
Estupinian looked at Tezvoc's top Lawyer with satisfaction. All one hundred and sixty-three cases he had handled had been won.
The golden Lawyer performed as excellently as ever, and victory was assured.
He turned his head and looked disdainfully at the young man in the defense Lawyer's seat, feigning impartiality as he said,
“Defendant, your counsel is too young. This arbitrator specially permits you to replace him.”
“Arbitrator, I insist on not changing my counsel. I trust Ninglu.”
Howard said decisively. After listening to Golovin's opening statement, his family Lawyer was completely incomparable to him. It was better to trust Ninglu; perhaps this young man could still create a miracle.
“Please…” Estupinian drew out his voice, “will the defense Lawyer present his arguments.”
Ninglu stood up calmly amidst the mocking gazes of the crowd, “First, I must correct the omission of the plaintiff’s Lawyer. In the detailed rules he listed, Kivior the Wise explicitly listed all special circumstances, such as ‘direct heirs losing their capacity for judgment…’”
“Mr. Howard is in good health, shrewd and capable, and does not fall under special circumstances.”
Golovin's expression changed. This was the first time he had encountered a Lawyer who could adapt on the spot and recall an appendix to the law.
Even a grand Lawyer like him, who had undergone intelligence enhancement surgery, could not remember the more than two hundred million characters of 《Omnissiah Guide》. Only Tech-Priests could remember the detailed rules.
He was about to speak when he saw Ninglu slide the data pad, displaying a photo on the cogitator, and his pupils constricted violently.
“Everyone, the plaintiff Breylon’s Mother, Hualin, was previously a dancer at the Night Bar. After a brief affair with Count Sarri, she rose to prominence, living in a villa in the Upper Nest.”
“But even after giving birth, she did not reform. Just the day before yesterday, she went to the home of the wealthy merchant Julio during the night kyle shift.”
“Breylon himself is even more useless; he is a drunkard and owes the various gangs in the Hive City a total of over twelve million mars coin.”
Everyone gasped upon hearing this; even for a noble family in the Upper Nest, this was a huge sum of money.
Ninglu displayed all the evidence he had collected over three days, finally looking at Kivior-39.
“Imagine, if a scoundrel like Breylon, who has no right of inheritance, obtains property that does not belong to him, he will quickly squander it after paying off his debts.”
“This is a shameful waste, reducing the efficiency of the entire Tezvoc Hive.”
Kivior-39 stood up abruptly, his voice crackling from the sonic vibrator embedded beneath his pale chest cavity.
“The defense Lawyer has sufficient evidence and rigorous logic. The omnissiah will never permit such blasphemous acts.”
Estupinian felt the gavel in his hand become unusually heavy. He was silent for several seconds, then decided to give up the large sum of mars coin he was about to receive.
He looked at Ninglu with hatred, and the gavel fell heavily.
“After unanimous Identification from this arbitrator and Tech-Priest Kivior-39, the case of plaintiff Breylon versus defendant Howard is dismissed.”
As the Mechanicus personnel chanted the binary holy hymns of the omnissiah, Breylon and Golovin's faces turned ashen. The nobles saw a new star rising, and they all remembered the name Ninglu.
At the same time, chaotic, disordered black threads flickered in Ninglu's eyes. They rapidly combined, gradually forming the Black Emperor Pathway symbol in his eyes.
He also noticed something dissolving within him, merging with his spirit.
【The potion is completely digested. I am now a true “Lawyer.”】
He then looked at Howard, who was restraining his excitement and maintaining noble etiquette.
【And the potion materials I am about to acquire.】