Chapter 86: Hell (6)

At the entrance of the courthouse, the Black Sword Guard nodded his chin.

"Go in."

With a swish, Yurii, without a word, pushed aside the tent flap and entered.

Inside, there was a high dais, and seated there was someone Yurii knew well.

Yurii blinked.

"…Coco?"

At Yurii's call, Coco, who had been smoking a cigarette, raised her gaze.

"Oh, you're here?"

Coco waved her hand indifferently, not particularly pleased to see Yurii.

Yurii asked her,

"Are you working a side job today?"

"It seems so. They say I'm the most idle. Tsk."

"…What's your job today?"

"Can't you tell? Obviously, I'm the judge. If you understand, hurry up and stand over there, you criminals. I'm busy. I have a lot to handle besides you."

Pointing to below the dais, Yurii quickly took his place, and Poppi and Arin also stood on either side of him, catching on.

The trial began in earnest.

Coco cleared her throat and began her performance as the judge.

"Listen, criminals. You invaded the peaceful Forest of Animals and caused chaos. Do you admit to this?"

"What if we don't admit it?"

"It doesn't matter. Even if you deny it and argue for a hundred or a thousand days, you're all guilty anyway. That won't change."

"…Damn."

Only then did Yurii realize this wasn't a real trial.

It was just called a trial, but it was already decided that they were guilty, and this was just to determine their sentences.

So, having given up on everything, Yurii just listened to what Coco had to say.

"Therefore, I sentence the three of you, who caused chaos in the Forest of Animals, to 8 hours of Hell Training. If you don't diligently serve your sentence, the time will not pass, and if you don't complete the full time, you won't be able to take a single step outside this Hell Training Camp."

Yurii's eyes dimmed at her words.

'Eight hours…'

It seemed that if they were brought to the Hell Training Camp, they would have to stay for at least 8 hours.

And during those 8 hours, they would have to do the things he had seen on the way here.

'The leather collection quest takes 10 days.'

Certainly, every night, wolves, bears, and tigers would roam around, dragging the cadets to Hell.

Then, they would have to roll around, making their mouths stink, for another 8 hours.

Even if the time to collect leather was already short, if their stamina was drained by Hell Training, what would happen?

It would be a continuous series of hardships.

But the real hardship was just about to begin.

"Let's see."

Coco quickly scanned the documents in front of her.

"Arin Helga, Bobikrtankapurta. You each have one rabbit and one deer skin…"

Coco's lips twisted as she read the next part.

"Yurii Holland, you have 32 rabbit skins, 12 deer skins, and 4 wolf skins… You've collected quite a bit in that short time."

Among those who had been brought here, Yurii's performance was undoubtedly the best.

No, it was unparalleled.

Even if you combined all the others, they wouldn't match this one.

But what could be done?

It was all in vain.

Coco, suppressing a smirk, resumed her performance.

"Tsk tsk, not only did you cause chaos in this peaceful Forest of Animals, but you also harmed so many innocent animals! Therefore, I will confiscate all these skins!"

Thud.

At her words, a vision of the world collapsing spread behind Yurii.

"Ah, confiscate? That's not right!"

"Here it is. The original rule of this quest is to confiscate. If you don't like it, you shouldn't have been caught."

Puff.

Coco blew out a puff of cigarette smoke, mocking.

Yurii's face fell.

"Ugh… This is unreasonable. This is tyranny!"

"Be quiet, you! The trial isn't over yet!"

Thud thud thud.

Coco hammered the gavel and glared at Yurii before continuing the trial.

"Arin Helga and Bobikrtankapurta, since this is your first trial and you don't have many skins… I will consider it and be lenient. One!"

Coco's eyes fiercely glared at Yurii.

"Yurii Holland… Your crime is severe! To harm so many animals on your first trial! Therefore, I sentence you to an additional 29 hours and 12 minutes of Hell Training, based on the value of the skins you possessed, which is 292,000 points!"

Thud thud thud.

Yurii's face went blank.

'…How many hours?'

If he hadn't misheard, it was 29 hours and 12 minutes.

Yurii slowly raised his hand.

"Excuse me…"

"What is it?"

Coco's tone returned to normal, as if the trial was over.

But Yurii didn't have time to care about that.

With a dazed look, he asked,

"By additional Hell Training, do you mean adding 29 hours to the basic 8 hours?"

"Of course not."

"Oh, thank goodness…"

"Adding 29 hours and 12 minutes to the basic 8 hours. Why did you leave out the 12 minutes?"

"…"

"If you can't calculate, I'll do it for you. Your sentence is 37 hours and 12 minutes."

Yurii's face turned grim.

'37 hours…? 37 hours?!!'

It was more than a full day.

Of course, they couldn't undergo 37 hours of continuous Hell Training, so it was unclear how many days it would take to complete the sentence.

Yurii's face, which had already turned grim, now turned pale.

'Then… my skins? My points?!!'

It was already frustrating to have his hard-earned skins taken away, but to have to roll around madly in this Hell for the remaining time, let alone collect points?

This was a thunderbolt for Yurii.

So, he made up his mind.

'Somehow, I have to reduce my sentence.'

Yes, it was already too late to do anything about what had been taken.

It was truly unfair and dirty, but if that was the rule, what could he do?

The only way to avenge himself in this dirty situation was to get out of this Hell as quickly as possible and show them by collecting points again.

He had to reduce the time as much as possible.

And he had a very good method.

Yurii raised his hand.

"I object!"

"Objection?"

At this unexpected objection, Coco's eyes lit up with interest.

Yurii, facing her, solemnly spoke the words he had prepared.

"That wasn't all me!"

"Not all you? Then who?"

Yurii stretched out his arms and pointed to Poppi and Arin on either side.

"These guys."

"…?"

"These guys and I caught them together."

Poppi and Arin, who had been standing there blankly, were suddenly pointed out and their eyes widened.

"No, no! Absolutely not!"

"V-V-Very hungry!"

They shook their heads vigorously, denying it, but Yurii's bold voice was louder.

And in this world, the loudest voice always wins, and the one who flatters the most always succeeds.

"Share the punishment fairly with my friends! I beg you, kind and wise judge!"

Yurii raised his chin proudly and boldly.

'Guys, I'm going to be friends with you from today.'

* * *

Moo.

The expressions of the three as they left the courthouse were starkly different.

Yurii looked somewhat relieved, despite a hint of regret.

In contrast, the other two looked as if their souls had been stripped away.

Poppi and Arin's pupils were slightly dilated.

Why wouldn't they be?

They had been standing next to Yurii and suddenly received an additional 9 hours and 44 minutes of punishment.

As they left the courthouse, Arin glared at Yurii.

"You…!"

It was a justified anger directed at Yurii for involving them.

But her anger was drowned out by the thunderous shout of a Black Sword Guard nearby.

"Take the new prisoners!"

At this, the gazes of those already undergoing training turned to Yurii and his friends.

The emotions in those gazes were peculiar.

Sympathy for those joining this Hell.

And joy at having someone else to suffer with.

Thus, Yurii and his friends joined the Hell Training, greeted by everyone's peculiar gazes.

Clank.

The three had heavy shackles attached to their ankles.

"Starting now, we'll do high jumps with arms spread. Skip the final cheer! If you complete it perfectly, you'll get a 10-minute break. If you fail, it will double. Any objections?"

"No!"

"The number of repetitions is 500. How many?"

"Five hundred!"

"Your voice is too low. 1,000."

"Th-Th-Thousand!"

"Is that all you can do? 1,500!"

"Th-Th-Th-Thousand!"

"Start!"

"One, two, three! One!"

"One, two, three! Two!"

The high jumps with arms spread began in the muddy ground.

Yurii gritted his