I'm Trying To Go Broke, So Why Do I Keep Getting Richer?!-Chapter 202: Baseless Case

Trent was a little impressed at Leo’s shamelessness. It was genuinely impressive that Leo had started believing his own lies.

What did he mean that his brother was kidnapped? There was no brother! He could lie with such conviction that for a moment, even Trent had wondered if he was really talking to Reo Vanderlen.

If he didn’t know better, he would have really fallen for his words. He clearly understood why Leo had managed to brainwash the entire earth into crowning him their lord.

For a moment, he even thought about calling Leo Master, and asking him to teach the laws of shameless behaviour.

Then again, he knew that if he actually called Leo shameless to his face, then even if it was meant as a compliment, he was probably going to get a dropkick to his face.

While Trent was lost in thoughts, they finally reached the towering doors of Chamber One.

The doors slowly open, revealing a courtroom so massive it had its own internal weather system.

High above, suspended on floating antigravity podiums, sat the seven Justices of the Intergalactic Court. They looked ancient, overwhelming, and slightly annoyed.

Across the polished marble floor, seated at the defense table, were the Watchdogs. They weren’t brutes that did unlawful things, but rather a team of impeccably dressed auditors whose mere presence radiated pure innocence.

On the lead seat of the defence, was someone from the Watchdogs Headquarters. Meanwhile, the seat at the end of the row was occupied by the man that had arrested Leo, and lied about him escaping.

They were surrounded by stacks of documents, whispering to one another as Leo walked in. They had expected to crush a businessman; they clearly hadn’t prepared for the political theater of a planetary ruler with the backing of half the galaxy’s elite.

Leo took his seat at the plaintiff’s table, sinking into the plush, gravity-contouring chair. The gallery behind him was packed to the rafters with intergalactic celebrities, corporate titans, and world leaders from across the galaxy.

One of them was a man that looked quite ordinary, his face covered with a mask as he donned a suit.

The man sat on the last row, barely standing out despite his mask. Most people couldn’t recognise him, and they didn’t care either.

If they could see him, they would have really been surprised to find out his identity. It was the man who had started paying quite an attention to Leo after he was arrested.

It was the man called the original dictator of the Galaxy. The man who was shrouded in rumors, some of which claimed that he had killed all his blood relatives, and even assassinated the political leaders of his planet to forcefully take over.

To Leo’s surprise, he could also see a few faces that he had seen in the Galactic Union. Although none of them were of the High Seat Level. Still, their presence alone represented the Union’s interest.

Now that three ancient planets were in conflict, the union being able to send these people was already too much.

Now that the time of hearing had arrived, and the main parties were here, the hearing was about to begin.

The doors leading out of the hall were closed.

High above, the Chief Justice was a towering multi-eyed being whose robes seemed to be made from dark matter. He struck a crystalline gavel.

The sound echoed like a sonic boom, and the courtroom’s internal weather system obligingly produced a low rumble of thunder.

"Oh, they even have special effects?" Leo looked above, quite impressed.

"The Intergalactic Court of Justice is now in session," the Chief Justice echoed. "We are gathered to hear the grievance of the Sovereign of Earth against the Watchdog Financial Oversight Bureau regarding the alleged unlawful detention and subsequent disappearance of... one Leo Vanderlen. Defense, you may present your preliminary motion to dismiss."

At the defense table, the man from the Watchdog Headquarters stood up. He was a tall, impossibly thin man named Director Phlox, wearing a suit so sharply pressed it looked capable of cutting glass.

He projected a massive, glowing holographic spreadsheet into the center of the room.

"Your Honors," Phlox began, catching everyone’s attention. "This entire proceeding is a gross misuse of the Court’s valuable time. The Watchdogs operate with absolute transparency."

"The individual in question, Leo Vanderlen, was detained for a routine audit. However, as clearly indicated on Form 8B-Stroke-Me-9, subsection C, the suspect simply absconded from our custody. He ran away and even hurt our people in the process."

Phlox smiled a smug, bureaucratic smile that made Leo instantly want to punch him. "Since the plaintiff’s so-called ’brother’ is merely a fugitive from administrative justice, this lawsuit has no merit. We move for immediate dismissal."

Noise filled through the gallery. Lord Zalthor frowned, and High Priestess Vanila cracked her knuckles audibly.

After all, she also wanted to punch this man, but not because of Leo or this case. She had her own grievances.

Trent sighed, adjusting his glasses.

"As for asking us to tell the whereabouts of Leo Vanderlen? Is this a joke? If we knew his whereabouts, why would we be searching all over the place for a fugitive?"

He waved his hand, sending documents flying to the justices.

"These are the expenses that we had to endure in this search effort. It’s already more than the yearly revenue of a branch. Why would we waste so much money for a lie? If that was the case, it would have to be one heck of a lie!"

"In reality, the reason we haven’t been able to find him, probably has to do with someone guiding him... Someone influential, and someone related to him. Someone like..." He glanced at Leo, the corner of his lips creeping up. "... a brother?"

Even if the branch head of the Watchdogs was in the wrong, as the man from the headquarters, he couldn’t accept it. Even if the dog was in the wrong, the master had to protect it.

"As I said before, this case is completely baseless. I would rather implore the court to instruct Reo Vanderlen to hand over his brother. If not, then we would have to take more drastic steps by raising Alpha Corp to find that fugitive!"

He walked closer to Leo, placed both his hands on the table.

He looked straight into Leo’s eyes and said, "So far, we have been patient, not wanting to go overboard. But that patience is limited."

His words were said in the context of finding a fugitive, but they were clearly a threat to Leo.