Chapter 5: Public Trial

If it weren’t for Mostima gently supporting her from behind, Squire would have already collapsed.

Leaning against Mostima’s writhing body, she actually felt like she was sinking into it. She could even feel the warm, moist mycelium squirming and devouring against her back…

“Wah?!”

She hurriedly stood up straight.

Mostima held her arm, using that pleasant voice to express concern.

“Are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine.”

But Squire’s heart was pounding faster.

Despite that appearance, he was unexpectedly gentlemanly and considerate, making it impossible to dislike him.

This inexplicable fluttering in her heart, could it be…

No way! Impossible!

How could I possibly like a man!

This must be because I stayed up too late drawing manga last night and didn’t sleep well.

Squire rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and shook her head, trying to shake out all the pink fluff in her mind.

“By the way, just now, that was…”

“That was the Boss. We’ve already stepped into her domain.”

Mostima explained, “Her mind is so powerful that just approaching her creates immense mental pressure. That’s why she never appears before anyone but the executives… Do you understand?”

“…I definitely experienced it firsthand.”

She hadn’t even seen the person herself, yet just by getting within a certain distance of the Supreme Leader, she suffered such a severe mental shock. No wonder she was the legendary strongest Kaijin—compared to a small fry like herself, it was the difference between clouds and mud…

No, even putting them together for comparison is already disrespectful.

Thinking about the upcoming interrogation, Squire’s back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Looking once more at the Interrogation Room before her, she realized it was even bigger than she’d imagined—almost the size of a screening hall, completely different in style from the Dungeon outside.

Luxurious and magnificent, with an opulent wool carpet, it resembled a medieval noble’s ancient castle.

In the center of the hall stood a huge hollow round table. Besides the lavish main seat directly facing the door, there were seven wide seats on each side, arranged in a laurel crown shape, forming a ring with an opening.

But those seats had nothing to do with Squire.

Her identity was that of a prisoner.

Her place was the cold interrogation chair on the central platform.

Squire sat down of her own accord.

Under the Supreme Leader’s mental pressure, she didn’t even dare not to…

Mostima fastened the handcuffs on her, then walked to another door behind the main seat.

“Boss, I’ve brought the Magic Girl who invaded Headquarters.” He reported in a low voice.

“I know, Mostima. Go take your seat.”

A calm, unhurried response came from behind the door.

“Yes, Boss.”

The faceless Prison Department Minister sat at the outermost seat on the left, even nodding at Squire, as if offering comfort.

Then, the door directly opposite Squire slowly opened, and people in black cloaks filed out. Although their faces were covered, from their physiques and the inhuman structures beneath their cloaks, there was no doubt they were Kaijin.

From their builds, she could barely recognize a few—like Execution Department Minister Xila’s furry claws, Security Department Minister Fuert’s muscles and bald head…

Could it be, everyone here is a Nightmare executive?

Realizing this, Squire even had to manually control her breathing.

She was being watched.

She was being stared at by the executives with eyes full of hostility and provocation.

When all fourteen Ministers of Nightmare had taken their seats and everyone was present, Squire finally realized what a grave crime it was for a hero to break into Headquarters. Acting without thinking had brought her nothing but enormous trouble.

Like a fawn surrounded by carnivores, even her posture became stiff.

However, the last woman to appear wore no cloak.

But the aura she exuded was stronger than any of the Ministers—standing before a natural enemy, Squire’s body trembled uncontrollably.

“Boss…”

Elegant, mature, with long wavy red hair, a pair of demonic horns atop her head, dressed in a bespoke women’s suit, bat wings folded behind her, and seated upon the most honored main seat.

She was the Supreme Leader.

The Queen of Nightmare.

For a hero, truly a natural enemy…

Such a person was now lazily resting her chin in her hand, gazing at Squire, who was now a Magic Girl.

Commanding respect without anger.

“Maya, begin the Public Trial.”

The Supreme Leader waved her hand, and the blonde woman dressed as a secretary beside her stepped forward.

“Black Magic Girl, you will now answer our questions, and only answer the questions. Depending on your answers, we will decide your fate.”

Squire nodded frantically like a pecking chicken.

With such a lineup, if she weren’t strapped to the interrogation chair, she might have collapsed from fright already.

In all her years at Nightmare, she’d never seen all these big shots gathered together. And the first time she did, it was to publicly try her…

“First, what is your name?” a rough-voiced Minister asked.

“Squire.”

Squire answered, sneaking a glance at Execution Department Minister Xila.

It made sense the other Ministers didn’t recognize the name, but surely her own boss would remember her, right? At least have some impression?

Yet Xila was unmoved, even elegantly filing his claws.

“Then, what is your Magic Girl name?” the rough-voiced Minister pressed.

“I’m not a Magic Girl, it’s just that this Driver copied a Magic Girl’s data.”

With her hands cuffed, Squire could only point at the Nyx Driver on her waist with her head.

“You mean, your current appearance is actually copied from some Magic Girl?”

“Yes, her name is Magic Girl Kamui. I was originally a Kaijin of Nightmare, but during a mission…”

Before Squire could finish, the secretary interrupted coldly.

“Enough. Do not answer more than asked. We will judge.”

Squire obediently closed her mouth.

“Kekekeke, since that appearance is just a copy, then it shouldn’t matter what we do with it, right? It’s not like you’ll lose anything.”

A Minister with a shrill voice slipped through the shadows under the round table and reappeared before Squire.

“So, tell us—have you ever groped your own chest? How does it feel?”

“…No.”

Squire replied, but it was a lie.

“Kekekeke, you’re not being honest.”

This tall, thin Minister said, then pulled out a qipao, a maid outfit, a sailor uniform, and a vintage SLR camera from behind.

He had four arms…

And probably more, just that only four were sticking out from under his cloak.

“Pick one, ‘Mr. Squire.’ Change into it and let us take some photos.”

“Minister, isn’t this a bit much?”

“Why refuse? Were you lying just now? Or… do you actually care about this body that isn’t yours?”

If it were just normal women’s clothes, fine, but all the outfits this Minister produced were indecent and suggestive. Squire’s gaze darted among the clothes, her face turning ashen…

Yet she was also flushed with embarrassment.

Even if it’s not her own body, she would still be embarrassed.

Dignity or life—which should she choose? It was a simple question.

“…I’ll wear it.”

She gritted her teeth and made a difficult decision.

“Excellent~”

The crossdressing Minister unlocked Squire’s handcuffs.

“Then, show us with your actions that you truly don’t care about this body!”

Yeah, it’s not even my body, what’s a grown man afraid of?

Convincing herself with this feeble excuse, Squire made a humiliating choice. With trembling hands, she slowly unfastened the collar of her dress, revealing the delicate collarbone of a young girl…

She was about to change clothes under everyone’s watchful eyes.

“Stop.”

The Supreme Leader’s voice halted Squire’s movements.

“Shadow Guest, return to your seat.”

The Intelligence Department Minister named Shadow Guest sulkily returned to his seat.

Just as Squire breathed a sigh of relief and felt grateful to the Supreme Leader, the latter snapped her fingers, instantly swapping the thin, form-fitting qipao onto Squire.

“?!”

The Supreme Leader can even do things like this?

The qipao was so thin it was practically see-through, perfectly outlining the girl’s figure. Squire let out an embarrassing sound, her face suddenly flushing all the way to her ears.

“The Public Trial continues.”

After dressing Squire, the Supreme Leader lazily returned to her previous posture.

Another Minister continued questioning: “You claim to be Squire, a lower-ranked Kaijin in our company. Can you give examples of successful missions you’ve completed in the past few years?”

“…All the missions I did alone failed.”

Too embarrassed, Squire answered in a small voice.

It wasn’t just shame—he truly had no real achievements to show for. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent his days tagging along after senior Kaijin, always just a background extra.

“Human Resources Department Minister, how long has Squire been employed?”

“About five years.” The Human Resources Department Minister replied after checking.

“Still a low-level Kaijin after five years? How did he even pass the modification evaluation?”

The Human Resources Department Minister tried to analyze:

“According to records, Squid Kaijin Squire spends his spare time submitting manga to magazines. He devotes too much energy to his hobbies and lacks dedication to his work, so his performance naturally suffered.”

They didn’t even look at Squire as they discussed him, as if he wasn’t even present.

Facing such criticism, Squire couldn’t help but defend himself:

“Wait! I work hard, it’s just that my abilities aren’t suited for combat!”

But the Human Resources Department Minister added another blow.

“Perhaps, but the records also show his manga submissions have been rejected many times. Seems like he’s someone who can’t do anything well.”

“Ugh…”

Squire let out a wail.

Whether it was work or manga, he’d achieved nothing, muddling through life until thirty-five. Luckily, Nightmare didn’t have any ‘three-five optimization’ tradition.

He knew this about himself, but having others point it out still stung. She couldn’t even think of a retort.

“Quiet, I have an idea.”

As the Supreme Leader sat up again, all the Ministers fell silent.

Then, she whispered something to her secretary.

“Boss, isn’t this a bit too cruel?”

“No matter. We’ll see her reaction then. Go prepare.”

“…Yes.”

The secretary left the Interrogation Room through the door behind the main seat.

Squire didn’t know what the Supreme Leader was planning, but she had heard the blonde secretary say “cruel” before leaving.

What were they about to do to her?

Torture devices? Was she going to fetch torture devices?!

Time stretched endlessly under her terror, and waiting became pure torment. After imagining countless possible tortures, the secretary returned, pushing in a barbecue cart.

“Huh?”

She wheeled the cart around the round table to Squire’s side.

…What is this for?

Squire didn’t understand, but the secretary looked toward the round table.

“Logistics Department Minister, could I trouble you?”

Squire still didn’t get it, but the chubby Logistics Department Minister stepped forward and pulled a fresh squid from a bucket on the cart.

“Eh?”

Squid Kaijin are also squid.

Although originally human, squid genes were used in her Kaijin transformation, so Squire usually refused to eat squid.

To her, it was as cruel and bloody as eating a fellow human.

Not just Squire, most Kaijin had similar issues—a side effect of their modifications.

“W-what are you going to do?”

She began to panic.

The Logistics Department Minister, though burly, was very deft with a knife. In a few strokes, he dismembered the squid, peeled off the inky skin, removed the innards, scored it, and after cleaning, skewered it on a metal stick.

Then he brushed on a savory sauce and set it over the charcoal fire.

“No, you can’t!!”

The scene was too cruel—Squire couldn’t bear to watch. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, thinking that what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over. But before long, the aroma of grilled squid wafted into her nose, and her mouth began to water despite herself…

After all, she hadn’t eaten for most of the day.

Then the Logistics Department Minister began sprinkling salt on the squid.

“Waaahhhh!!!”

Salt would destroy the mucous membrane on Squire’s skin. If she ate too much, her skin would dry out, so her diet was normally very bland. Now, seeing the grilled squid sprinkled with white salt, Squire went into a severe stress response.

She screamed and thrashed in the interrogation chair, her body contorting in abstraction.

“When it’s done, bring it over… Oh, and give our guest a skewer too~”

As the Supreme Leader spoke, the blonde secretary carried a tray, picked up a delicious but salty squid skewer, and slowly approached Squire in the interrogation chair.

“No, stay away from me!!”

Squire tried to escape, but her body felt locked in place—she couldn’t even close her eyes. She could only watch as the cruel grilled squid drew ever closer…

That hysterical scream was her only resistance.

But the secretary still shoved the grilled squid into her screaming mouth.

A Squid Kaijin ate squid.

Splat—

It was as if a string snapped in her mind.

After a brief shutdown, Squire burst into a puddle of ink, tears streaming down her face.