Ultimate Gamer System: Factory Must Grow!-Chapter 72: Sentencing in the wild

"For the crimes of plundering, disaster profiteering, smuggling, and thievery," the judge raised his eyes from the simple desk placed straight down out in the open, with nothing but a small crowd of spectators on the otherwise empty hill, "you are hereby sentenced to execution by exile for three days."

With the strike of his gavel, the sign of his authority, the judge sealed the man’s fate, only for Callane’s guards to then grab the offender under his arms and start dragging him away.

"And that makes one scum less on our lands," Callane boomed from where she stood just a few steps behind the judge. Then, as her comment died out in the air, she shook her head before placing her hand down on the middle-aged judge’s shoulder. "Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"It is my pleasure, young lady," the judge said as he put his gavel away, only to then grab all of the papers regarding the case together before sealing them with a simple stamp of his judiciary press. "It is my duty to serve those who disobey the law with a just verdict. It’s just…"

The middle-aged man squinted his eyes as he took one more look at the now bound documents outlining all that the now dragged-away prisoner did in the past.

"I didn’t expect you to suggest the exile so lightly, especially not after what happened to…"

"That’s enough," Callane cut the judge off, tapping his shoulder a few times before fully lifting her hand away. "The fact that they’ve wronged Theodore doesn’t give those criminals an unfair shot at leniency, does it?"

The judge turned his head and looked at Callane, a creeping suspicion nestled deep within his eyes.

And how could he not be suspicious when he was called to a sentencing taking place not in a city, not in a holding tower… but in a military camp with the Perell house’s flags flying all over it?

Still, rather than speaking about his suspicions out in the open, the man merely shook his head before letting out a sigh.

"The sealing stone shall be delivered within a day or two, as soon as I submit the case’s documents to the local judiciary district," the judge informed as he stood up from his makeshift stand. "And with that, unless you have some other criminals for me to judge…"

The man gave Callane a long stare, only for her to absentmindedly shake her head.

"Well, that means it’s time for me to go. May the blessing of fortune forever shine upon your house."

With a bow, the official grabbed all of his belongings before stashing them in a single leather bag and then walking away in the direction of the nearby town.

Pretty much as soon as the man left, Osman approached, readily taking his place at his lady’s side.

"That went quite smoothly, didn’t it?" he muttered, looking in the direction the judge left before turning his eyes back to his lady.

"How else was it supposed to go?" Callane shot her man a stare before rolling her eyes. "This case was settled before he even got here. Like it or not, the guild knows what they are doing, and for the right price…"

The fiery-haired woman shook her head, dropping the topic before she could even fully finish her sentence.

For a moment, she just stared out into the distance, her face betraying none of the thoughts that went through her head.

"How are the men? Ready to move?" Changing the topic, she finally turned to Osman as she looked him directly in the eyes.

"The guardsmen are ready to move with the order," Osman said with a heavy sigh. "As for the regulars…" he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it’s not like I’ve ever expected those to have the discipline necessary to keep the timing of their orders," Callane sighed, the look on her face revealing just how little she thought of those supposedly auxiliary troops.

Still, what they lacked in terms of skill or discipline, they surely made up for with their numbers, bulking up her house’s forces to the level all the other noble clans had no other choice but to respect.

After all, once one commanded a certain number of troops, their quality… their quality would become something of a much lesser concern, especially when they also had several units comparable in skill level to the prided crown guardsmen!

"I still can’t understand why you’ve decided to mobilize them all," Osman commented as he stared down from the hill at the massive camp sprawling all over the supposedly massive plain. Now, this once wild steppe of nothing but grass and some sparse bushes had turned into almost a temporary city, with pitched tents spreading out as far as his eyes could see and then some more. "It’s not like you can supply them on the other side, so why…"

Rolling her eyes again, Callane sunk her elbow into Osman’s side.

"Don’t make me think you really don’t know," she muttered with a slight look of displeasure on her face. "You should know by now that I’m not amused by these kinds of small games."

The stare that Callane sent her man’s way was cold enough to freeze the helpless smile on the man’s face… only for it to then shatter.

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"Okay, no more games, but that brings me to a different question," he stated while crossing his arms over his chest. "You are only going to bring the elites with you over to the other side, and only a few of them to boot. Everyone else will remain on the right side of the gate, all just to secure your retreat and stop any potential nasty surprises… others will be sure to set up, especially after all the noise you made back at the capital."

In the end, Osman knew perfectly well for what reason Callane raised nearly the entire might of her house for the task ahead, despite clearly stating he had no clue about it just a moment ago.

This way of making himself appear stupid… wasn’t just Osman trying to keep his observation and deduction ability to himself, but rather a mercenary habit of playing dumb to sneakily make the nobles they would be serving feel all the better about themselves.

"What I can’t understand is why you didn’t ask for help from Evilbane house?" Osman asked, carefully studying his employer’s face as he waited for her to answer. "No matter how much pride you have in your house, it’s quite damn obvious that their rank and file are just a bit below your elites. And their elites…"

"I know," Callane cut the chatter short, silently admitting all of Osman’s deductions without explicitly doing so. "But I wouldn’t do it to his parents. After they’ve already lost their son in more ways than one… I don’t want to give them hope when we can’t know if Theodore is even alive at this point. And,"

Callane shook her head before relaxing her hands and then dropping them down on her hips.

"And if I got them directly involved, then the civil war would erupt a little bit sooner than I wish. Uniting our two houses is the very last thing our enemies want. So, until the day everything is ready," Callane shook her head. "Until that day comes, it’s imperative for me to appear like that stupid lass about to march to her death just to try to save her lover."