Chapter 215: Because They Died That Day

Sarcho, under the pretext of confessing their crimes, had security personnel positioned below the platform and was immediately imprisoned. The Independent Republic of Collegoton's court decided to proceed with a criminal punishment, and a trial took place.

Sarcho believed they were paying a price they rightly owed.

Although Sarcho didn’t know much about the law, the republic's legal system naturally followed the Union Kingdom's laws. So by Sarcho's own estimation, the charges of conspiring with an enemy nation like the Union Kingdom warranted nothing short of being hung.

However, an unexpected situation occurred. Sarcho had assumed they wouldn't get a chance to defend themself in a military court, but a Dwarf lawyer Sarcho had never met before stepped forward to represent them.

In response to Sarcho’s surprise, the Dwarf lawyer said, "It's not just me who's willing to defend you. After seeing the article about you, every lawyer in Collegoton wanted the opportunity to represent you. I am merely their representative."

"I have no money."

"Everyone knew that when they volunteered."

The trial began. The prosecutor argued for a death penalty, stating that Sarcho had aided in the deaths of countless comrades and had shown allegiance to the enemy Union Kingdom. The first trial sided with the prosecutor.

Sarcho accepted this as expected, but the Dwarf lawyer, proposing a different strategy, said, "We'll try to delay the trial using a few loopholes."

"Is there a need to do that?"

"As time goes by, things will go in our favor,” the Dwarf lawyer said. "It might not feel that way to you, but outside this courtroom, there's a movement going on to save you."

"There’s no way."

"There's talk of a hearing being conducted because of you. Although the president might not attend, there are other comrades who were aware of your situation."

"I just feel sorry for putting them in such trouble."

"No. They see this as an opportunity to save you. Reporters from all over the world, not just Collegoton, are interested in the hearing. Even the Empire is said to be paying heed."

"...That can't be."

Sarcho expressed doubt at the lawyer's words, believing that if they were true, they couldn't allow the country to fall into chaos. However, from the start, there wasn't much Sarcho could do.

The lawyer did what they had to do on their own. As a result, the verdict was overturned in the second trial. The Dwarf lawyer had argued that crimes committed before the founding of the Collegoton country couldn't be retroactively judged by today’s law. Accepting this argument, a dramatic verdict of not guilty was delivered. However, the prosecution immediately appealed.

During the course of events, the defending lawyer changed. Instead of the Dwarf, an Elf lawyer came to visit Sarcho.

"Where's the other lawyer?"

"They were injured in a car accident. Fortunately, it's not severe, but it seems they won't be able to take on the defense for a while."

"How did that happen...?"

The Elf lawyer lowered their voice and whispered, "There are rumors that the information office was involved."

"...Oh, darn it."

"Moreover, there's talk that they're indiscriminately leaking information about you to the prosecution. Fortunately, your record is so clean that the prosecution is somewhat baffled..."

As Sarcho couldn’t respond to any of those words, the Elf lawyer said, "But there is nothing to worry about. They can't make any bold moves. Since the hearing, interest in this case has skyrocketed. Everyone's focusing on secularism. If this case wraps up well, you'll have another trial."

"Pardon?"

"Your speech is being printed and sold without permission. Some people are even selling it for money. Naturally, you should receive royalties from the printed materials, shouldn't you?"

"No...what…"

On the final day of the trial, the Elf lawyer said to Sarcho as they entered the court, "Today's trial might be a bit noisy."

"What? For what reason?"

"A protest is permitted in front of the court."

As the trial began, the voices of the crowd outside echoed faintly into the courtroom. Although it was very quiet, Sarcho could make out their words.

"Free Sarcho!"

"We forgive Sarcho!”

The prosecutor argued that even though it was before the founding of Collegoton, as core members of the Shubanel revolutionary faction were involved, and there was a plan to form a revolutionary government, crimes committed by the faction should also be punished.

In response, the Elf lawyer questioned whether, under the perspective, that Sarcho had contributed to the founding of the bounty to pay for the crimes Sarcho had committed.

"If Sarcho hadn't rejoined the revolutionary faction, we wouldn't even be having this trial. Sarcho had always intended to confess this fact, a fact they could've buried forever. If we are to punish crimes before the founding of the Independent Republic of Collegoton, then surely their achievements from before should also be recognized."

The Elf lawyer added further evidence in favor of Sarcho. Despite holding a position in parliament, Sarcho had very little money. The reason was that apart from minimal living expenses, Sarcho donated everything to a fund supporting the families of the initial revolutionary victims, and the lawyer pointed out that Sarcho had apologized to the families, informing them of the truth, and some had even forgiven Sarcho.

The judgment took some time. In the final verdict, Sarcho was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor.

Even though Sarcho had deceived the predecessor of the government, the revolutionary faction, causing the deaths of many, it was acknowledged that Sarcho themself had not fully grasped the cruelty of the Union government and had continuously shown regret and remorse after the fact.

The Elf lawyer apologized to Sarcho with a pale face, but Sarcho shook their head.

"How can you be sorry for something that was beyond even my wildest imaginations?"

While Sarcho was surprised that their sentence wasn't death, Sarcho scolded themself for being happy on the inside.

'No matter how much I risked my life or repented, in the end, I just wanted to live.'

On the day Sarcho was transported from Shubanel to the reformation facility, for the first time, Sarcho looked out at the massive crowd rallying for them.

"You saved us!"

"Sarcho is innocent!"

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"The revolution isn't over!"

"We forgive you!"

Various voices poured out as Sarcho left Shubanel. Sarcho hoped to survive long enough to see a transformed republic in the far future.

"...That was definitely what I thought then."

A few months later, Sarcho returned to Shubanel. Back in court without being detained, Sarcho met someone in the reception room. It was Dain.

"It's a special pardon."

"...A special pardon?"

"It's a pardon granted by the president's authority. It was delayed because of the legislative process."

Sarcho asked, "So you're saying the legislation changed for me?"

"Yes."

"There must've been…a lot of opposition, right?"

Dain agreed. "Yes, initially. However, the information office's operations were exposed. An insider from within revealed connections with the prosecutors, and journalists fully dissected it. Comrade Rolz, who orchestrated everything, is now in the prison cell you once were. Their first trial will be held soon."

Sarcho shook their head in disbelief.

"What about the people? There must be many out there wishing for my death in that facility."

"There probably will be some who feel that way, but this is a republic. Just because some think that way doesn't mean it will happen. Everything follows a procedure, and radical ideas find it hard to surpass that procedure."

"But the information office tried to join hands with the Rubeil revolutionary faction. There must have been quite a few people who supported that.”

Dain replied, "That plan fell through, thanks to your speech."

"Really?"

"While you were in prison and the reform facility, the second most mentioned word in the newspapers was secularism," Dain explained. “If you think about it, it's obvious. People are bound to be exhausted. They had been at war for over 80 years. People can’t keep fighting for long even if they believe the Empire is doomed.

“The painful labor we had to endure was, after all, because of the war. We were all born during the war, so we wouldn’t know, but records showed that life wasn't as tough before it. If there are those who want to fight…let them. But not everyone needs to.”

Sarcho agreed.

Once they became an independent nation, they didn't need to follow the path of the Union Kingdom. The relentless wars ravaging the Union Kingdom were all because of the Empire, and the root cause of that war was the gods' fight. However, if the gods even implicitly allowed secularism, people would naturally follow secularism.

"By the way, what's the first most frequently mentioned word in the newspaper?"

"It's you...the name of our comrade, Sarcho."

"...I'm embarrassed."

Dain said, "There's nothing to worry about. Many people have forgiven you. There's also a story going around."

"What story?"

Dain continued, "Someone learned of Sarcho’s role as a spy and tried to assassinate them. But Sarcho said to go ahead as Sarcho regretted their actions. The person didn't believe Sarcho, thinking it was some trick to survive the threat. But Sarcho neither dodged nor resisted and took the bullet. So, it meant Sarcho was sincere."

Sarcho felt a strange feeling. It felt like hearing someone else's story about an event they were involved in.

Sarcho could imagine how others would perceive that story.

Dain added, "So people say that on that day, the spy Sarcho of the Union Kingdom died, and only our great revolutionary comrade Sarcho remained."

***

Sarcho couldn't immediately return to their position in parliament, but was recognized as a senior member of the Revolutionary Party. Moreover, many sought out Sarcho. Journalists from the Independent Republic of Collegoton and international journalists wanted to meet Sarcho, scholars wanted personal appointments, and they even received invitations from the distant Empire.

While Sarcho tried their best to meet as many people as they could, they declined offers that took too much time, saying that the nation's matters were too urgent for them to leave their position.

The conflict between the revolutionary army and the regional armies of the Union Kingdom were gradually easing. Secularism breathed new life into the revolution. Apart from the revolution incited by the Empire's sympathizers, those who were uncertain of their position started adopting the concept Sarcho introduced. Those who feared divine punishment joined the revolution, and the authorities who tried to oppress based on apostasy began to be pushed back by the revolutionary wave.

When the wave of the second revolution hit, the regional armies of the Union Kingdom had to focus on the revolutions in various areas rather than the stationary revolutionary army.

Moreover, the front lines bordering the Empire were suffering. According to rumors from the Union Kingdom, despite them somehow enduring its internal revolutions, the Union Kingdom was now beginning to show signs of defeat.

As Sarcho looked at the world map hanging at the entrance of the parliament, they became lost in thought about how the global situation would change in the future, how the Independent Republic of Collegoton should respond, and most importantly, what they themself should do, as unintentionally, many people listened attentively whenever Sarcho spoke.

However, separate from these concerns, Sarcho felt a sense of unease when they arrived at their office. Out of habit, Sarcho checked the hinge and found the graphite broken. The ointment from the doorknob was also wiped off.

There clearly had been an intruder, but it wouldn’t have been the wandering Lizardman Sarcho had already met, and the information office was unlikely to be responsible since most of the staff had been replaced.

'And if it were Fang agents from the Union Kingdom, they wouldn't attempt such a naive intrusion. Then who...?'

While thinking this, Sarcho heard voices conversing inside.

'Did I leave the door open? Maybe it's not intruders but secretaries...'

With a sense of caution, Sarcho drew their gun and opened the door.

"...Why did you barge in so abruptly?"

"It’s my fault again, isn’t it?"

"This time it's definitely your fault... Huh?"

There were two people. The first one who spoke was a male Frogman, and the one who replied appeared to be a female Human. Both faces were unfamiliar to Sarcho.

Sarcho quickly raised their gun, but even though the Human female seemed to have only just noticed Sarcho, she already had a sword in her hand.

'Did I see wrong? Did she already have her sword out?'

But Sarcho thought there was no way a sword could block bullets, so they believed they had the upper hand.

Sarcho then said, "Who are you?"

The Human and Frogman looked at each other.

The Frogman then looked at Sarcho and said, "We're not here to threaten you."

"Then?"

"We are looking for a Lizardman called Owen."