I arrived at the Ministry of Justice in Lilith.
I was dealing with another case.
This time it wasn't anything too difficult—just solid evidence that a man had committed theft.
This time, I was on the prosecution side.
Even though I didn't earn much from it, sometimes I even worked for free when it was for people who really needed help.
"We are requesting 10 years for the defendant and compensation equal to three times the damage. The reasons are unauthorized use of aggressive magic in a public area open to civilians. The compensation is to cover the shop owner's psychological and physical harm, as well as the magical damage done to the shop itself."
Defense attorney: "Objection. The amount stolen is not sufficient to justify such heavy penalties."
But I pointed to the bandaged hand of the robbed woman. "Her entire hand was burned, and you still believe the punishment is insufficient? Does someone have to kill another person these days just to receive a real sentence?"
The judge struck the gavel. "Ms. Maria, could you please recount the incident?"
Maria stepped forward. "I had just opened my shop alone in Lilith. I had saved up that money for years. Business was going really well, but one day, he showed up out of nowhere with a fireball in his hand. At first, I refused to give him the money, but he threw a small fireball right at my face. I blocked it with my hand. When I realized he was serious, I gave him the money… You should have the video evidence, Your Honor."
In the end, the thief got 3 years in prison but would have to pay compensation equal to ten times the damage.
Before leaving the courthouse, Ms. Maria grabbed my hand. "Thank you, Mr. Cassien. With this money, I'll be able to rebuild my life properly."
"I'm happy for you. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know."
I gained a physical and magical power increase.
I was already at peak High-class and very close to Ultimate-class.
Just one more case…
I already believed I could hold my own against even an Ultimate-class opponent.
The reasons were my deep magical knowledge, my talent, and my physical strength.
Canon still hadn't started yet—there was some time left.
Rias was still 15 years old, and the main story would begin in a few years.
My goal by then was at least to reach Satan-class.
I was a loner.
Except for Sirzechs, I barely had any friends.
The reason? I was extremely paranoid and didn't trust anyone.
When necessary, I could even play the comedian, but I preferred to act rationally and realistically.
In a world where gods and devils existed, if I stood out too much, my head would roll before I even realized it.
Here's something important: even though devils are said to live up to 10,000 years, no devil has ever died of old age.
In other words, our life force might be equivalent to 10,000 years, but it stays constant—it doesn't decrease.
Only if you overuse your life energy does it become different.
You wait for life energy to recover, and the recovery rate varies from person to person.
But if you keep using it without letting it recover, eventually you really will die.
I still haven't used Death Sentence on anyone.
I could use Domain too, of course—but doing that in Lilith would basically be accepting my own execution warrant.
Even if Roygun killed 20 people in Lilith, no one would care; at most, she'd get a month of house arrest.
The system heavily reduces—or outright ignores—crimes committed by noble devils.
It has to be this way; otherwise, the potential for another civil war would arise.
For example, if someone from another clan falsely accused a person with fake evidence, proving the opposite would be impossible or extremely difficult.
The Judex clan was highly valued in such times… but also seen as an obstacle.
Whatever.
I decided to walk home.
Most people greeted me on the way.
I'm glad I come from a clan that's actually liked among devils.
Actually, I did have an Evil Piece set, but I never used it.
Instead, I spent time reverse-engineering it.
Ajuka really is a genius, and I managed to figure it out, too.
That knowledge even influenced my own magic and forced me to think way outside the box.
I wish I knew where Rizevim was.
If I did, I'd be more than happy to use Domain Expansion on him, too.
How hilarious would it be if I stole a Longinus from one of the Hero Faction guys?
It would shatter the entire plot—and I'm definitely not against shattering it.
Rizevim was the real culprit behind everything.
Now that I think about it, what if I pulled him into my Domain back during Trihexia events?
He'd probably break out and run away.
Domain wouldn't work against people much stronger than me anyway.
That's why I mostly preferred defending people from other clans as their attorney… but those guys only came to court to waste time.
I'm also thinking about going to the human world soon.
Maybe I'll add a few people to my peerage.