Nanomancer Rising: Divine Alchemist Reborn as Academy's Worst Teacher
Chapter 43: The trial begins (Collapse - Part 5)

Chapter 43: The trial begins (Collapse - Part 5)

"I never expected any courtesy or sense from you, but won’t you find it prudent to first tell me what I am even accused of?"

Theo’s words instantly threw Julius off, stopping him from starting the judicial process right with its very last step.

"As if..."

"Prudence, such a funny quality, isn’t it?" Theo interrupted the man again, caring not for how it made him look in the face of all the others gathered in the room. "I once refused to believe it, but you really find it in those you would never expect it from, yet realize it missing in those who should be full of it, won’t you agree?"

Julius’s face tensed up, yet he refused to let go of his smile.

He just... stared right into Theo’s face before relaxing his face and then pulling the corners of his mouth deeper, to widen his smile.

"I’ve wanted to save you the shame of going through the full process," Julius sighed as if defeated, spreading his arms out so that all the gathered could witness how Theo himself refused the mercy he offered. "But since you insist, then I will show you just how prudent we can be when necessary!"

As if the entire thing was already orchestrated rather than being a response to Theo’s attempts to throw the man off, Julius clapped his hands, only for the open space between Theo’s seat and the tribune to fill up with armed servants.

They marched in seemingly out of nowhere, only to then spread into a half-circle before standing down with their backs to the tribune, protecting the judges and witnesses—or whoever all those invited people were—from whatever tricks Theo might want to pull.

A fool’s errand, given the difference between the worst trash of the academy who couldn’t even cultivate and the gathering of the finest elites, each more than just able to defend themselves.

"Accused, declare yourself!" Julius shouted the demand pretty much the moment the guards stood at attention in their position, now only adding to the man’s grandeur.

"I am..."

"Accused, Theo Katan, low-tier teacher of alchemy in the crafts division!" Celeste spoke up, reminding the young man that, contrary to literally everyone else in the room, she opted to stand slightly back behind and to the side of Theo’s chair.

"Good," Julius threw the woman a short glance and nodded his head as soon as his surprise flashed through and gave way to open approval. "In the missing presence of the academy’s highest authority, the headmaster, and the absence of those delegated to wield his authority in his place, I hereby place this case under the judgment of the tribune!"

Julius raised his hands up, shouting his words only to then close his eyes, his hands still reaching out for the ceiling, as he froze with a profound expression on his face.

He remained as he was for a few moments, living in the moment of the grandeur before slowly lowering his arms down and only then opening his eyes again.

"As this matter relates to the tribune of teaching, you will be judged by the panel of peers and colleagues. Do you acknowledge, Theo, the accused?"

"Only if you swear not to bore everyone with those needless formalities," Theo replied right away, giving Celeste no chance to answer for him again.

Her speaking for him happening once was already unpleasant, and he had no plans of ever letting it happen again, not unless he himself wanted her to speak!

"Weren’t you the one demanding prudence?!" Julius twisted his face into one of fake shock and indignation. "You demanded for the trial to happen in its full, formal form and yet, as soon as it begins..."

Theo rolled his eyes.

"Even if you naively believe yourself privy to wasting my time, it’s not me that you are boring," Theo smiled with as much kindness and sympathy at the man as he could squeeze out from his annoyed soul. He then raised his open hand before sweeping it over to the side, as if to pan over and point at the whole of the tribune. "It’s everyone else. And it’s also their time you are wasting with those stupid theatrics of yours."

There was no trace of anger, amusement, or even anxiety in Theo’s voice, he merely stated the facts.

And judging from the twitch on Julius’s face as he glanced over to the sides...?

Theo struck just the right chord for it to resonate with the man.

’He threw the banquet for a reason. And that can only mean he needs their approval to pass whatever punishment he envisioned for me,’ Theo thought... only for his attention to snap right back to reality when Julius quickly recovered from his riposte and was already opening his mouth.

"Shameless! If you dare to interrupt me again, I will have the guards..."

"Try me, you moron," Theo laughed Julius’s threat off before the poor man could even fully spell it out. "Not even the headmaster dared to openly raise his hand upon the dignity of my surname, and yet you think you have the right to do so?"

Julius closed his open mouth, Theo’s point effectively thwarting whatever it was that he wanted to say. And this time, it took him a few more seconds, few extremely long, weighty seconds, to recover.

And sensing how the silence was stretching to quite the uncomfortable levels, Theo rolled his eyes before sitting deeper in his chair.

’Don’t forget man, I shouldn’t overdo it. I still need to get fired!’

"You may proceed, peasant," Theo called out, raising his chin as he returned to his persona of just another arrogant young master... But one lucky enough to be born to a family powerful enough for his bloodline alone to allow him his antics.

Julius’s face darkened. His mouth opened up again, only to then close right back up.

He clenched his hands into fists and pressed his lips together before exhaling a short breath strictly through his nose. Only after fully deflating his lungs did he dare to relax, reaffirming a calm look on his face as he stared daggers right into Theo’s face.

"With both the accused and the panel of peers present," Julius spoke again, having no other choice but to awkwardly restart the proceedings, even if by doing so he followed exactly what Theo just told him to do, "I will now read out the crimes the accused is here to face..."

For a moment, the air in the room tensed out.

’That’s...’ Theo squinted his eyes by an unnoticeably small margin, ’that’s not me...?’

A moment of focus later, he managed to trace the source of this sudden pressure to just a little bit to the side, somewhere around a meter to the back of his chair...

"Cough!" Julius leaned slightly over his clenched fist as he cleared his throat. "I will now read out the crimes Theo, the accused, is to be determined innocent or responsible for."

’So, Celeste isn’t really on their side?’

From her repeated questions before, her attempts to have Theo follow procedures properly and even her outright trying to make him claim innocence to buy her support earlier...

’Maybe she’s not a paid actor, but just an honest soul, after all?’ Theo thought before leaning forward in his chair, his eyes locked on Julius’s face. ’For now though,’ he smiled a little as he saw that poor idiot open his unruly mouth again, ’let’s see what crimes he’s going to try to pin on me.’