I slowly cracked open my eyes in the darkness of the early morning, and boy was I still tired. I could see the sky just barely lightening up over the horizon, and I would bet money that I only got four or five hours of sleep. Oh well, I suppose I should've planned out my day yesterday a little better.

Still curled up around Raphtalia, I did a quick check over her to make sure she was doing okay. Her breathing was even, and neither of us had moved much since falling asleep. This might've been the best night she's had in a long time.

I unfurled from around her and gently laid her down on the soft sand. She stirred a bit, but not enough for her to fully wake up. I stood up, stretched, and decided to get ready for the day.

Leaving Raphtalia to sleep a tad longer, I walked downstream a bit to quickly wash all the sand on me off. Granted, the sand was dry and I probably could've just brushed it off and called it a day, but I wanted to look and smell as nice as possible for the upcoming trial.

I deliberated for a while on whether I should catch some fish for breakfast or just grab something in the capital, but in the end I felt it was more cost-efficent to just restart the fire and cook up some food.

After I caught some fish, I came back to camp greeted by a pleasant surprise. Raphtalia was already awake, and she had already started up the fire again.

"Hey, I see you got the fire going. Nice work." Raphtalia nodded, then threw another twig onto the fire. "You got any sticks left?" I asked. Raphtalia nodded again, and passed a few over. I skewered the fish, then stuck the sticks into the sand for them to start roasting.

I sat by Raphtalia for a while, just enjoying the morning. "You sleep okay?" I asked her. She nodded a third time, then yawned. "Not really a morning person, are you?"

Raphtalia shook her head, then spoke for the first time today, "Well, back in my village, I used to wake up around dawn, but my recent dreams have been keeping me from sleeping for too long. Last night was the longest I've slept in several months." She yawned again, then laid her head on her knees.

"I see. So you're trying to get back into a normal sleeping habit, right?" She nodded. "That's good." I said, "I'm not a morning person at all, so getting up this early is actually unforseen of me. Though I suppose a lot of things about me have changed since coming to this world." Raphtalia looked curious, but she didn't ask me to elaborate.

By now the sun had peeked over the horizon, and the rays of sunshine gently reflected across the surface of the river. "All right, now that breakfast has been made, let's walk and talk on our way back to the capital." Raphtalia nodded.

I once again snuffed out the fire, and with fish sticks in each hand we walked to the capital. I was struggling to multitask eating and walking, especially since both of my hands were holding a fish stick, but Raphtalia was as practiced as ever, methodically devouring every scrap of meat. She was holding three skewers between her left hand fingers and was carefully sucking on a bone with her right.

"Hey, how did you get so good at eating fish like that?"

Raphtalia paused mid-bite, then said, "Well, I do come from a fishing village, so I got used to eating a lot of seafood. I suppose it's just something you pick up over time." I was genuinely impressed. Even if I didn't have my hands full and I wasn't walking, I still couldn't get every piece of fish off of the bone.

"Huh. I guess you're right." I already knew she came from a fishing village, though that's not where she originated from. I shouldn't bring it up now, but I knew we were eventually gonna have to confront that country sooner or later, though I wanted to be much, much stronger before even attempting that. Anyway, back to the present.

We had almost reached the gates when I saw two guards standing there. They didn't seem to have noticed us yet, so I stopped Raphtalia for a second.

"Hey, I wanted to prep you a bit before we go into the capital. You know how I said we were most likely going to be heading to the castle today, right?" Raphtalia nodded, still chewing on a piece of fish. "Well, I just wanted to say stay close and if you see anyone making a move on us, let me know. Once we get inside of the castle, just try to stay quiet and avoid drawing attention to yourself. I'm gonna try to be as flashy as possible in order to sway people to my side, so be prepared for that as well. If there is something REALLY important you have to say, let me know, then I'll try to help your voice be heard."

Raphtalia nodded again. She seemed to be taking this in stride, even though I haven't given her much detail. "Okay Mr. Maddox. I trust you."

I smiled. "Atta girl." I took her free hand and we walked to the gates.

The guards, doing their job, held out their spears in a defensive motion. "Hold it," one of them spoke. "I'm gonna have to ask your business here in Melromarc Capital, as well as where you've come from."

I gave a light-hearted laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry sir. See, I arrived at the capital a day or two ago, but I wanted to stay out in the fields last night in order to see if any medicinal herbs were foragable. Sadly enough, most of my health drinks were poor at best, and I figured I'd just settle the rest of my debts here and move on to the next place."

The guard relaxed slightly, but still didn't put down the spear. "Hmm. I see. What types of 'debts' do you owe?"

I chuckled again. "Well, I assure you it's nothing sinister, but I think that's information I should keep to myself, no? I suppose I can share that I would like to pick up a weapon, though I'm not sure about getting one yet. As you can see, I've been getting by pretty well with just this small shield."

The guard relaxed a tad bit more, but I could tell he was still not convinced. "Yeah? How about the demi-human girl with you? She better be put on a tight leash." Raphtalia hid behind me, and my mouth quirked a bit.

"W-Well, I suppose, but she is very well behaved, I assure you. She's helping me in my research of medical drinks while her parents are away, so I'm her guardian at the moment."

The guard nodded, and put back the spear. "Well, if she gets into any trouble, I'll know. Don't let her stray too far, else she'll get into all sorts of trouble. Demi-humans always do."

I nodded, but I didn't agree at all. I felt demi-humans were equal in making trouble as normal humans, but I didn't want to argue here. The guard waved a man at the top of the wall, and the gates begun to open. "Take care. Keep a tight grip on that girl, or she'll become a real hassle."

My mouth quirked again. "O-Okay, you stay well too."

We walked inside the gates, and I noticed that they closed behind us. In that moment, however, it didn't really matter to me. I was just frustrated on how that guard treated Raphtalia.

He seemed to be against demi-humans in general, but that didn't make sense to me. Why should we treat them any different than we treat normal humans? Sure, they may have ears or a tail, but they live, love, and thrive just as we do. I just don't understand the concept, and I never have.

Raphtalia looked a little downcast from the experience. "Hey, don't worry too much," I reassured her. "I know you won't do anything crazy. He's just being a jerk."

Raphtalia swished her tail back and forth. "I-I know. It's just… I hate that demi-humans are treated so poorly here. If it was just me, I'd be okay with that, but the fact that it's because of my race and the race of my people for which we are being treated so poorly… I don't like that."

I was silent, then I nodded. "Yeah. You know what, you're right Raphtalia. It isn't fair to anyone that the races aren't being treated equal. I'm sure there are some demi-human countries out there that think less of regular humans, and if only we treated everyone like a person and not an object we would be in a much better place overall."

Raphtalia looked shocked, as if I said something completely crazy. She nodded energetically. "Y-Yeah! And even if we don't get along perfectly, we should recognize that everyone has different opinions and beliefs, and even if we don't agree, we shouldn't hate each other for it. We should accept them and move on."

I smiled at that. "I'm glad we have the same mindset on this. Now, if only we could get the population of Melromarc to agree."

Raphtalia looked a little downcast at that. "Y-Yeah. But really, what could we do? We're just two people in a country that hates demi-humans. I don't think we can do much…" I gently whapped Raphtalia upside the head. "H-Hey! What was that for?" She complained.

I huffed, "You are thinking way too small minded. Think of it this way. The queen is the most powerful person in the country, correct?" Raphtalia nodded. "Is she human?" Raphtalia looked a little confused, but she nodded again. "And she is just one person, correct?" Raphtalia nodded a third time. "So there you have it."

Raphtalia looked lost. "I don't understand. What does all that mean?" I smirked.

"That means, since the queen is just one person, that isn't a god or any sort of divine being, and she has the power to rule an entire country. So what makes you think that we can't become demi-human advocates?"

Raphtalia finally put two and two together. The dawn of realization slowly crossed over her face. "Oh. Oh! I get it now!"

I nodded. "See? I knew you'd get it."

Raphtalia looked deep in thought. Then, she seemed a little crestfallen again. "But… She's the queen. More people are going to listen to her rather than me. Why would they listen to me, instead of the most important person in the country?"

I had already planned out an agrument in anticipation for this question. "What makes the queen the most important person in the country?"

Raphtalia looked a little taken aback. "W-Well, she's the queen. She leads the country. Isn't that important enough?" She said.

"Well, Raphtalia. Why is she the queen? How did she become the queen?"

Raphtalia thought again. "Well, she was born into the royal family, so she was in line to the throne."

I cracked my neck. "So, she was born into it. So what makes the royal family so special?"

Raphtalia looked at me like I was commiting heresy. "They, uh… do things like… ruling the country!" We were back to square one, which is partially my fault for not telling her straight up. Oh well, might as well continue with the bit.

"Let me change tactics. You say they are important because they rule the country, correct?" Raphtalia nodded. "So, Raphtalia, do you think that the royal family are the only people capable of ruling the country?"

Raphtalia looked a little suprise at this argument. "No, I suppose not." She replied.

"So what makes them special?" I asked again.

Raphtalia thought long and hard about this. "I… I don't know."

I nodded and smiled. "There you go!"

Raphtalia still looked confused. "I still don't get it."

I cracked my neck. "Well, it's like this. There isn't anything physical that makes them important. No amount of riches or status will get them that. What matters is perception."

"Perception?" Raphtalia asked. I nodded.

"Perception. They are important because the people they rule over see them as important. If they are a good ruler, they may seem more important, but if they are a selfish dictator, then they are sure to be overthrown."

Raphtalia slowly nodded, a little more understanding. We were getting closer to the castle now, and I wanted to remind Raphtalia of the game plan.

"Hey, I know it's a little off topic, but I wanted to make sure we have our plan straight before we went in."

Raphtalia nodded. "All right."

I scratched my head, trying to compile my thoughts. "Okay, first off, stay close to me at all times. I'm talking no more than a finger away. I trust no one inside of that castle, save for one person. Second, try not to draw attention to yourself. If you have something you feel needs to be heard, try to let me know discreetly. I'll be your voice."

Raphtalia nodded. "Okay, Mr. Maddox. Is there anything else I need to be prepared for?"

I thought for a while. "Just try your best to not be seen. I'm just worried that they'll take you away in order to hurt me."

Raphtalia frowned. "I don't want that to happen…" I smiled.

"Hey, I won't let that happen. I wouldn't let anyone take you away from me."

Raphtalia looked into me eyes. "All right. I trust you, Mr. Maddox."

"Thank you Raphtalia. I trust you too."

We were right at the gates to the courtyard of the castle when the guards noticed me. "Hey you! You commoners aren't allowed inside the castle, unless you have some sort of official business there. Do you have any paperwork?"

I laughed. "Paperwork? Oh, I assure you, I don't need any. I'm here for my trial."

The guard looked confused. "Trial?" Then, realization dawned upon his face. "Ha! You're the Shield Hero? Who knew you'd just turn yourself in. You are in some deep shit buddy." He walked over and grabbed my arm. Raphtalia squeaked behind me. "Oho? And looks like you got a little friend here. I'm sure we can find a place for her when you are executed. Ahahaha!"

Raphtalia looked scared. "Executed?!" She exclaimed.

"Turning myself in? Execution?" I asked incredulously to the guard. His tiny brain seemed confused. "I'm afraid you are mistaken, good sir. I'm not here to turn myself in, I'm here to prove my innocence. And if you even touch my companion…" I quickly grabbed him by his collar and held him close. "You'll be the one executed, buddy."

He whipped his spear around in order to hit me, but I ducked, then smashed his face into the pavement. "AARGHH!" Blood started gushing out of his nose. I honestly was a little surprised. I didn't think that would do damage. "Hmm. I suppose it would fall under the same logic if I pushed someone off a cliff. It isn't me doing the damage, it's the pavement."

I cackled at the guard. "We'll be taking our leave now, Mr. Guard. If you want, I'll pay you a visit after the trial."

The guard scrambled back, clutching his broken nose. "D-Demon!" He then hurriedly got to his feet and scurried back into the town.

"Hmm. I actually wanted him to take me to the throne room, but I suppose I went too far for that to happen." I looked over at Raphtalia, and she looked concerned. "Hey, you good?"

Raphtalia, still staring at me, slowly nodded. She looked like she was thinking long and hard about something. "Well, I DID just pound a royal guard's face into the ground, I suppose that is pretty shocking." Now that I was thinking about it, I suppose this was the first time I showed such intimidation on a subject in front of her. Maybe she thought I was the nice, peaceful solution kind of guy. Well, that won't work, not in any world.

"Let's go, Raphtalia." She nodded again, then followed behind me as we entered the castle.

…

As I entered the main hall, I noticed a distinct lack of guards. "Maybe they're all out searching for me."

I led the way through the hallways of the castle, eventually reaching the throne room. I confidently pushed open the doors, and strode inside. Just like I expected, the king had already organized a party to spectate. I noticed the other three heroes here, as well as Trash in his throne and Bitch next to Motoyasu.

"S-Shield?! How… What…" Trash stuttered. I spread out my arms.

"Surprised to see me? I heard you were throwing a little get together for me. Am I too early?"

Trash gritted his teeth. "Shield! You have been charged with a most serious offense! Sexually abusing a woman, not only that, but one that showed you kindness and compassion when you needed it, only for you to turn her away! Do you have anything to say for yourself?!"

I fiddled with the ends of my sleeves. "Yes, your honor, I do in fact. Though I know nothing I say will convince you or your party of nobles…" I turned to the other heroes. "So, I am not speaking with you, but the other heroes I am allied with. After all, who are the ones that will be aiding me on the battlefield?"

Trash's face turned red. "Shield! I'll have your he-'' I held up a finger.

"Ah ah ah! Can't kill me, can you? After all, that would only be losing an ally on your side of the waves." The king grew silent, but I could tell he was infuriated.

"Ahem. If I may." I looked again at the other heroes. "I know what you may have heard, and I know what you think you know. All I ask is that you listen to the facts. Will you all agree to that?"

They all looked hesitant to agree, but Ren nodded. Itsuki nodded as well. Motoyasu looked defiant. "Well, I don't think anything you say is worth listening to. All I need is what Myne told me."

The woman in question was hiding behind Motoyasu. She was putting on a scaredy cat act. I shrugged. "Well then. I don't see the harm in letting Miss Myne share first. After all, I can't let myself be the only voice heard."

The heroes looked surprised, especially Motoyasu. "So wait, you're telling me you are willing to listen to the opposing stance first? Even if it detriments your cause?" Itsuki asked.

I nodded. "Of course. It wouldn't be fair to not let the victim have a say. After all, she was the supposed rape-ee. Whether if it is or isn't true will depend on the rest of this trial."

Itsuki looded satisfied with this answer. He nodded to Ren, who nodded back. Motoyasu didn't notice this exchange. Instead he was talking to Malty. "Go ahead. Tell them what happened." She seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"O-Okay. It was late at night, and I couldn't sleep. After you all went to bed, I-I walked downstairs to the tavern to order something to drink. Then, h-he came up to me and asked if I wanted to drink with him. I stupidly said yes, and we drank for a while. H-He drank a lot though, he was drunk within half an hour. I told him I had to go to bed, and he let me go. B-But he followed me upstairs, and barged into my room as I was getting ready for bed! H-He told me 'the night was still young, baby,' then he pinned me down and he… he…" She buried her face into Motoyasu's back.

The whole throne room looked shocked. The other heroes looked at me angrily. "Well, let's see if I can turn this around. If Pheonix Wright can, so can I. I'll put my Ace Attorney skills to the test."

I cleared my thoat. "Well, though it seems like very concrete testimony, is there any evidence other than her story to back it up?"

A guard approached the from the crowd. "I have evidence. This was found under the victim's bed." He held up a piece of lingerie that I wouldn't want anyone to wear. The crowd gasped.

"Maddox, you son of a bitch. If I wasn't a hero I would kill you myself." Ren growled.

I held up my hands. "Hang on. I have yet to give my take on it. You agreed from the beginning that you would listen to both sides, no?" Ren crossed his arms.

"It's true. Though I may not like it, we did." Itsuki said. I cracked my neck.

"Excellent. So, what I wanted to say was…" I pointed at Malty, ace attorney style. "I have proof that I never rented a room at the hotel, and I never even went upstairs!"

The crowd murmured. Ren scoffed. "Well then, let's see this 'proof' of yours."

I nodded. "In that case, I would like to call a witness to the stand." The crowd murmured again.

"A witness? You can't be serious." Trash interjected. "Even if this so called 'witness' would prove you innocent, it would take much too long to call them here." Just then, a knock on the throne room doors. What seemed to be a messenger appeared.

"Your honor. We have a group of waiters that have come to speak at today's trial. Should I let them in?"

The king's face turned pale. "Ah, well… uh…" he stammered.

"Your honor. We have to let them in, how else would justice be served?" Itsuki asked.

Trash gritted his teeth again. "F-Fine! Let them in."

The messenger nodded, then led a group of 5 or 6 people dressed in waiter outfits walk into the room. I noticed the waiter I talked to yesterday was leading them confidently. He spoke, "I have come as a witness supporting the side of the accused. Let my words be held as truth." The other waiters repeated the phrase from behind him. They stood there for a moment, as if waiting to be called upon.

"Go ahead." I told them. The lead waiter stepped forward.

"I am the head waiter at the tavern, therefore, in order to prevent confusion between whom is speaking to whom, I shall be the representative."

The king nodded. "Very well. Speak." The waiter cleared his throat.

"I shall start from the beginning. It was close to the end of the afternoon when the party involving the victim walked in. They ordered a large amount of food and drink and consistently caused a racket about halfway through the evening. About that time, The accused walked in with his companion. They sat at the opposite side of the tavern and ordered two plates of food and two chocolate milks. They ate for a while, talking about their future, when the victim walked over and engaged in conversation with them. I was nearby, and I could hear her sweet talking the accused. He seemed uninterested, and so he got up and tried to leave, but then she latched onto him once more. It was hard to hear over the tavern, but I listened closely and heard the woman ask the accused to drink. The accused declined absolutely, and when that didn't work, I heard to woman ask him 'how about some fun upstairs, hmm?' The accused looked disgusted, said he was 'not into that shit' and left without another word. I wanted to point out that neither him nor his companion order alcohol that night, only the chocolate milks, then he never rented a room or even traversed upstairs."

The whole room was silent. I noticed that Ren and Itsuki seemed less angry, and Motoyasu now looked unsure. Malty had a flicker of anger cross her face, then resumed her victimhood. "B-But he did it! I'm sure of it!"

I cracked my neck. "I'm sorry ma'am, but you probably mistook me for someone else. I'm afraid I was only in that tavern for an hour at max."

Malty looked deflated. "But…But…" She trailed. Suddenly, the king interrupted.

"Well, I see you have a concrete testimony, though I don't see how you can say yours is right when it's only one person."

I looked at the king. "One person? I'm sorry your honor, but I see six people on my side of the testimony, not one. Are you sure your eyes are okay? Old age must be hitting hard."

Trash's face turned purple. "I swear, I'll… I'll…!"

Ren coughed. "Your majesty, if the witnesses may finish?"

Trash's face seemed to regain it's regularity. "Ahem. Yes, yes, go on."

I nodded to the group of waiters. One of the other waiters raised their hand. "U-Um, I was put in charge of nobody going upstairs without renting a room. I can confirm the accused never went up there."

A trio of other waiters stepped forward. "We can confirm that the conversation between the accused and the victim is true and indeed in fact happened."

Then, the last waiter stepped forward. "I am in charge of banking at night and making sure all of the payments are in order. I can confirm that the witness never ordered an alcoholic beverage and never paid for a room." That waiter held out a book. "If the heroes would like to look, I have it written here."

They all walked over to look, and they all winced.

"I-I can't read that." Motoyasu said.

"Neither can I." Itsuki agreed.

Ren just shook his head.

The waiter looked a little surprised. "Oh, then allow me to read it aloud." He listed all of the customers and their purchases from that night, including Motoyasu's party and my own. By now, I could tell that Itsuki and Ren were convinced. Ren stepped forward.

"Your honor, I believe the heroes will take a vote to see if Maddox is innocent or not, excluding himself. Do you agree?"

Trash looked a little worried, but he wasn't trying to let it show. "Ah, yes, very well."

Ren nodded. "All in favor of letting Maddox go free?" Itsuki and Ren raised their hands. Motoyasu was the odd one out. "All right. All in favor of executing the Shield Hero, show of hands."

Motoyasu looked torn between raising his hand and accepting the facts. I could see Malty whispering something to him, and Motoyasu slowly raised his hand.

"All right then. Court is adjourned." I said, and I walked out the doors. Nobody tried to stop me.