the judge slammed down his gavel to silence the very loud courthouse, he cleared his throat as he began with the normal procedures
'Court is now in session for... how do I say that?'
he asked, looking down at klavier, who was grinning as usual
"Machi Tobaye", Your Honor. The Pixie of the Arpeggio'
'Right, his trial. Court is in session!'
Apollo honestly had no idea on what to do, his own client didn't even speak English, and didn't even know his side of the story, he sighed as he held back his nerves for now
'The defense is ready, Your Honor'
'The prosecution is A-OK, Herr Judge'
'Hmm... Very well, Prosecutor Gavin'
'Ah, my opening statement, ja?'
the judge shook his head
'No, no, actually... There was something else I wanted to ask you about'
klavier raised a brow at him
'...? Yes?'
'Say you're going to visit someone in the hospital with an incurable disease... What do you say to them?'
klavier blinked as he stared at him
'I mean, you wouldn't say "get well soon", right? You'd only be kicking them when they're down...'
apollo frowned
'Um, what are you talking about?'
the judge cleared his throat
'actually I'm going to visit someone who is terminally ill. ...Right after this trial. The Chief Justice's son'
'The Chief Justice...?'
apollo asked
'His son is afflicted with a most terrible disease... He doesn't have long, it seems'
the judge grimly explained as he frowned, apollo nodded once
'So I thought I'd go pay him a visit. I thought saying something moving might be the order of the day'
'Why don't grown-ups ever just say what's on their mind instead of pretending?'
she asked herself, then narrowed her eyes over at apollo
'...Hey! What are you looking at me like that for!?'
the judge however quickly cut off their heated conversation
'In any case... I'm a bit busy today, so let's wrap this up quickly. Prosecutor Gavin, your opening statement, briefly!'
klavier grinned
'You're in luck, Herr Judge... I believe you'll be going on your hospital visit sooner than you' think'
apollo stared at him, what did he mean by that
'First, to review the victim in this case. Romein LeTouse, age 35. The global manager for diva songstress, Lamiroir. The cause of death: blood loss due to being shot by a large caliber revolver. This report has all the details'
'The court accepts this into evidence'
the judge allowed as he quickly moved things along from here
'45-caliber... That's quite large, isn't it? A direct hit from that could knock a man off his feet'
'However, the bullet struck him in his shoulder. The damage to his body was slight... death was not immediate. Sadly, his blood loss was such that he could not be saved'
klavier added
'Hmm... I suppose the victim's condition could have been much worse, considering'
'...Two shots were fired. One shot missed, the other penetrated and passed through the victim's shoulder. Both bullets were found in the wall at the scene. Observe the diagram... ...This is where the bullets hit'
'I see... The court accepts this evidence'
he allowed, then said
'If we're talking about a 45-caliber revolver... ...we must assume that the killer was adept at the weapon's use'
'Really?'
trucy asked quietly, tugging at apollo's rolled up sleeve
'Yeah, apparently, weapons that size have a powerful kickback. If, say, the judge tried to fire one, it'd break every bone in his body
the judge narrowed his eyes at the two
'The defense will take more care in choosing examples!'
apollo did a nervous "sorry man but it's true" shrug, klavier bit back a laugh as he contuined
'...As I was saying, the victim was shot backstage, in a dressing room. This dressing room has only one entrance: this door'
'That does seem to be the case, yes'
the judge nodded, complying with this
'However, there were witnesses who heard the gunshots, Yet when the witnesses entered the room... ...it was empty, save for the victim's body, of course'
the judge's eyes widen in surprise
'B-But that's... That's impossible!'
'Exactly. This murder was impossible. ...For all but one person'
he blinked
'One person?'
'That is, of course... ...the defendant, Machi Tobaye'
he said a little reluctantly
'Only this defendant could have committed the crime? But how?'
the judge asked the obvious
'It's quite simple. The circumstances of the crime scene make it clear'
Judge nodded as he slammed down his gavel
'Very well, I assume you have a testimony to back up this claim. Let the witness please take the stand!'