It was nothing like the relationship between the Sword of Erasure and Sakura Mai.
While the Sword of Erasure lay dormant beneath Sakura Mai's chest, it could perceive nothing of the outside world.
Otherwise... she would never have let her guard down so completely around Su Yuzu, and ended up so thoroughly toyed with.
Lyudmila, who in essence ought to be counted as the same person as Saint Michael — simply at a different stage of her existence — shared everything with Saint Michael.
Saint Michael listened to Soga Yura's statement from the stand and found nothing at all wrong with what she said.
If she herself had been the one standing before Lady "Seat of Evil" that day, she probably would have wondered the very same thing — whether Lady "Seat of Evil" could be brought back out of the Abyss.
But... it was impossible.
Her own ability had been inherited from the fourteenth-generation Saintess of the "Holy Royal Court," the "Saintess of Salvation" —
"Word of Command · Light."
And that was setting aside the restriction that it could only be used beneath the sun.
The power of the "Word of Command," like Su Yuzu's "Bending" — or rather, her "Twist" — could not take direct effect on a living being.
She could make the world forget Saint Michael.
She could not stop a girl who had caught the scent of something odd from slowly tracing it back to its source.
She could bar The Abyss of Eternal Smiles from the Tokyo metropolitan area, and still be unable to draw her back out of the Aberrant Abyss.
No—
That kind of power belonged to one person alone: the Kirishika of old, the Lady Godmother the "Holy Royal Court" had once had.
Which was to say... the "Seat of Evil" who had stood face to face with Yuzu.
So when Lyudmila put the question to her, all Saint Michael could do was answer, utterly at a loss, that she didn't know.
She truly had no idea how Su Yuzu had managed it.
Nor could she be certain whether, before her death, she had really left some Revelation inside that radiant power — a Revelation that had driven Su Yuzu to bring the "Seat of Evil" back from the Abyss.
Because otherwise, even Saint Michael couldn't understand why Su Yuzu hadn't simply sent the "Seat of Evil" straight back down into the Abyss.
Surely it couldn't be only because that "Seat of Evil" was just like her... so... so easy to bully?
Since the matter concerned the "Holy Royal Court," the adjudicator turned her gaze toward Lyudmila, seated behind Su Yuzu among the Keigunen Private Academy seats.
Pinned beneath all those eyes, this fabricated Saintess of the "Holy Royal Court" felt embarrassment rising through her in wave after wave.
The considerate little rabbit gave Lyudmila's hand a light squeeze.
She had no way of knowing that Lyudmila's name had never once appeared on the "Holy Royal Court's" roster of Saintesses — though under Saint Michael's arrangements, Lyudmila had genuinely received all the education and standing befitting a member of the "Holy Royal Court" Tribunal.
"Miss Yuzu—" Lyudmila said, "has indeed been recognized by Lady Saint Michael."
Her composure regained, Lyudmila shot an indignant glare at the terrible person beaming at her.
In Lyudmila's understanding of the world, being "judged" at all already meant life hanging in the balance.
And yet, resentful and aggrieved as she felt toward a wretch like Su Yuzu, the kind-hearted Saintess still hesitated a moment before adding, "Lady Saint Michael..."
"...likes Miss Yuzu very much."
The Saintess's candid words nearly turned the entire procuratorate upside down.
After all... apart from the blunt Kujou Katora, none of the girls had ever poked straight through that thin paper screen.
"Hey — hey — hey!!!"
"You can't go slandering me like that!"
"It's — it's — it's a tiny bit at most, how does that count as 'very much'?"
"I don't remember ever being this dishonest."
"Fine."
"She does like her a little bit."
Lyudmila's correction only made the situation inside the procuratorate worse.
And the Saintess's almost petulantly coy tone, together with the intimate interaction between her and Su Yuzu, sent cold sweat beading on the foreheads of quite a few people watching from behind the scenes.
Su Yuzu... had already forged ties with the "Holy Royal Court"?
The "Holy Royal Court" was a religious organization, and yet, unexpectedly, this organization worshipped no gods.
What they believed in was human courage and all the many fine virtues that came with it; they believed in the great light of human nature.
The hymn of humanity is the hymn of courage; the greatness of humanity is the greatness of courage.
The "Holy Royal Court" had been founded for one purpose — to stand against Catastrophe, to stand against the Aberrant.
Which was why, even in this age, the "Holy Royal Court" still wielded influence beyond compare.
And of course—
There was one more point, the most important of all.
It was said... that the Pope of the "Holy Royal Court" was the strongest Seventh Sequence in the world today.
If Su Yuzu — if the Soga clan — really was on such good terms with the "Holy Royal Court," then a great many things might have to change, and a great many concessions be made.
"Just as Miss Soga has said—" The prosecutor brought down her gavel, delivering her ruling on the second piece of evidence Tsukimisato Somehana had submitted.
"Evidence of this sort... is not sufficient to prove that Miss Su Yuzu has harbored or colluded with Aberrants."
"Furthermore... the report submitted by the Soga family also states—"
"Miss Su Yuzu's mental condition is stable, with no discernible Calamity Aura in her body. No Catastrophe Crystals in the circulatory system, no signs of erosion or infection. She may be determined to carry no risk of Aberration."
"The reports issued by all three parties — Keigunen Private Academy, Imperial Capital University, and the Soga clan's hospital — are lawful and valid."
"I object—" Tsukimisato Somehana's gray-blue eyes rested calmly on the prosecutor. "I request that Su Yuzu undergo a full physical examination once more."
Their goal, from the very beginning, had been to put Su Yuzu through an examination.
If they could get one examination of Su Yuzu, then even a total collapse of the accusation wouldn't matter at all.
The prosecutor suddenly found herself in a difficult spot.
The aim of "Epiphany Manufacture"... she could guess at least a little of it.
It was true enough — let Su Yuzu accept one examination from "Epiphany Manufacture," then rule Su Yuzu entirely innocent, and let the Soga clan wring one more benefit out of "Epiphany Manufacture."
That did seem to be the way that offended the fewest people.
But... she glanced at Su Yuzu, sitting there with a smile lifting her face, and then at Soga Yura sitting behind her, whose presence was so terrifying that "oppressive" was the only word for it.
Cold sweat seeped from the palm gripping the gavel.
"We have an objection as well." Su Yuzu braced herself against the armrests of her chair and rose.
The smile on the girl's face grew brighter still.
"Regarding Miss Tsukimisato Somehana... and the organization standing behind her..."
"Epiphany..."
"Epiphany Manufacture."
"We, ah..."
"We also have just a tiny bit~"
"Of a small little problem."
Su Yuzu looked at Tsukimisato Somehana.
Looked straight into those gray-blue eyes of hers.
The counterattack—
Had begun.
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