I’m an Immigration Officer!

“…D-Defendant?”
At last, the judge seemed to return to his senses.

“D-Do you have anything more to say?”
His face said it all—Would saying more even change anything at this point?
Everyone in the courtroom looked at me the same way.

‘The trial is already over.’
The balance had completely shifted.
The moment that golden beam of light fell upon Erzena, the verdict had been written.

There was no longer any need for further testimony or evidence.
And yet, I spoke.
“Yes. If I may be permitted.”
“P-Permission granted.”

Overwhelmed, the judge hastily nodded.
I moved toward the center of the courtroom.
Through the beam of light—through the divine power now stronger than before—I walked toward her.

Erzena, who had been glaring with unwavering resolve through the scrying crystal, softened her expression when she saw me.
“Chief Inspector.”
“Saint—Erzena.”
Our eyes met.

She was more radiant than ever before.
Brighter than when we first met, and with an unmistakable nobility about her.
Looking into her golden eyes, I felt something strange stirring inside me.

‘We certainly started off on the wrong foot.’
I still remembered.
— O Holy Knights, hear me! Our enemies have already rooted themselves throughout the world!
That woman, with “Heaven for the Faithful, Hell for the Heretic” scrawled across her forehead, had once screamed at me with such fury.

Now that same woman stood beside me—more beautiful and resolute than anyone.
— Innocent people must not die.
That line still throbbed in my chest.

It was, perhaps, Erzena’s truest, most repentant feeling.
The one who had first branded me a heretic now stood at the front, raising her voice to protect me.
A strange turn of fate indeed.

With gratitude, I said:
“I’ll take it from here.”
“…Will you be alright?”
“More than alright.”
I found the corners of my mouth turning up before I knew it.

After all you’ve done.
More than rescuing me when I was abducted—you’ve gone far beyond that.
“If we weren’t in court, I’d feel like giving you a hug.”
“W-What???”

Divine power suddenly swirled around us like a typhoon.
“W-W-W-What kind of thing are you saying!?”
Startled by a mix of embarrassment and emotion, she flailed.

Golden energy shoved me back, pulled me forward, then spun in all directions, unsure what to do.
Only after a deep breath did Erzena regain composure.
“…You joke too much. We’re still in the middle of a trial.”
“Half joke.”
“Which means half truth.”

Her reddened face finally relaxed into a smile.
Not the look of worry or resolve anymore—but a gaze of trust.
“Then I leave it in your hands, Chief Inspector.”

She returned to the defendant’s bench.
“Welcome aboard. But… can you do something about the light? It’s blinding me.”
“Thank you, Saintess—no, Miss Erzena.”
Hylin and the Minister greeted her warmly.

With that behind me, I spoke:
“As you’ve now witnessed, the claim that the witness lacks credibility has been invalidated.”
There was no need to explain how.

The golden beam of light still illuminated Erzena.
“Therefore, let me remind the court once more: the true nature of the Pilgrimage Delegation—or rather, the Crusading Army—is war.”
I redirected the court’s attention.

It was time to refocus the trial.
‘Public focus has shifted too far toward the religious spectacle.’
This turn of events certainly favored us.

It was not something that could be explained away as mere coincidence.
For Erzena’s divine power to return the moment she renounced her title—unless some greater presence intervened, it was inexplicable.
We had gained something stronger than an army of angels.

No—what we’d gained was legitimacy itself.
But at the same time, the situation had become dangerously unstable.
‘If this truly was divine support for her and a divine blow against the Pope…’

Then this was not an unqualified victory.
‘The Pope, crying out in the name of God—and now Erzena, backed by God’s own light.’
People might begin to rally once more around the Church.

Even if Erzena’s intentions weren’t aligned with that, no one could know how the public would interpret this phenomenon.
The fanatics wouldn’t care.
‘No—if anything, they’ll claim that God has finally acted, and spiral out of control.’

The moment they believe their faith has received an answer, there’s no telling how far they’ll go.
I didn’t even want to imagine it.
It had to be stopped in advance.

‘Erzena has done her part.’
As a witness, she exposed every lie and etched the truth into everyone’s minds.
That alone was remarkable—on top of that, the miraculous event had even thrown the Pope into disarray.

‘But now it has to end.’
This is a matter for people.
The trial cannot end like this.

If it ends as a result of divine intervention, then the outcome becomes divine work.
No matter what intervention may have occurred—humans must be the ones to bring this to conclusion.
Only then will the Kingdom of Crossroads never again be manipulated by the Church or by religion.

I turned my head and looked toward Mohaim.
“Your Holiness, do you have any rebuttal?”
No answer came.

The scrying crystal only cast its cold, colorless light across the courtroom.
The Pope had vanished.
Everyone had seen his divine power vanish with the shattering of the Holy Relic.

That alone had surely cracked his authority.
‘And once authority cracks, it doesn't last long.’
Mohaim’s expression of shock proved it.

The collapse of his once unshakable faith—and of his loyalty to the Church’s ruler—was underway.
Which meant the Pope would not step forward again.
“Numerous pieces of material evidence and testimony are before us.”

I raised my voice.
“These documents, these witnesses, and each and every statement confirm that the Crusading Army has violated the Kingdom of Crossroads’ treaty.”
“Moreover, the accusation that I committed a diplomatic offense—has also been proven, by the witness, to be a justified conflict.”

But we still couldn’t relax.
The trial wasn’t over.
No matter how much we had the advantage, one last mountain remained.

The single person who still had not spoken a word.
I turned my eyes toward the man seated beside the Queen.
‘His Majesty the King.’

 
The one person with the power to overturn this trial entirely.
Rio Castor had witnessed everything unfold before his eyes, and yet—he showed no sign of disturbance.

Instead, he merely looked down at me with lifeless eyes.
As if he didn’t care. As if he just wanted it all to be over.
And that—that made me uneasy.

‘I have to make sure His Majesty doesn’t step in.’
The Queen would not let this go.
Having lost on principle and testimony, her last remaining tool was the power of the throne.

She would undoubtedly resort to issuing a royal decree in a final act of desperation.
And the King, whose will had long been broken, had always obeyed the Queen’s word.
“Your Majesty, are you just going to sit there and watch this? You must—”

She was already whispering something urgently into the King’s ear.
Things were getting desperate. They were ready to abandon all pretense and decorum.
Even the judge was watching uneasily.

As if waiting—waiting for the royal command.
‘In that case…’
No underhanded methods.

From the beginning, I had chosen to fight this with reason and principle. I had to end it the same way.
I couldn’t invoke divine intervention. That would be selling out the future of this country.
If we wanted to maintain our neutrality, we had to keep our distance from religion.

That left me with only one option.
‘I have to provoke His Majesty.’
I had to act first.

Before the Queen’s whispers reached him—before he could be swayed—I had to drive my will into his ears.
Powerfully. Sharply.
So strongly that he would forget whatever the Queen had just said.

I drew a deep breath.
‘Will it work?’
I had no certainty.

But I had to try.
“To the devout members of the Holy Church here today, and to everyone else in this room, I say this—”
I raised my voice.

And locked eyes with the King’s empty stare.
“The Kingdom of Crossroads welcomes all people and goods that cross its borders with peaceful intent. However—”
A famous quote. Words once spoken by King Rio Castor himself.

I twisted them now, reshaped them for my own position.
The Minister flinched, as if he suddenly realized what I was about to do.
“C-Chief Inspector… don’t tell me you’re about to—”
“But if that intent is military force and war. If you intend to trample the treaty that was signed with the founding of this nation—!”

The little beast of that glorious age.
His cry when he stood against the Church.
I shouted it now, loud enough for all to hear.

“Not one person! Not one crate! Not one meter shall be allowed to cross!”
I struck the King’s reverse scale.
I dug into the memories of his most glorious era.

“There are no exceptions at the border. Uphold the treaty. Remember your duty as a neutral nation.”
That was my final gamble.
“With that, the defense rests.”

 
****
A chill ran down Karton’s entire body.

“My God…”
The Director of the Immigration Office was grinning so widely it looked like her mouth might split.
“Wow… I didn’t think he’d take it one [N O V E L I G H T] step further. And aimed straight at His Majesty, no less.”

What the Chief Inspector had just said closely echoed—no, nearly identically repeated—King Rio’s speech from fifteen years ago, when he had blocked the Church at the border.
It was a masterful rhetorical twist. He had made that speech his own.
And now the Minister understood why he had done it.

To rattle the King. To awaken him.
It was a perilous gamble.
He quickly turned his eyes to the King.

“Your Majesty.”
But the King’s expression hadn’t changed.
He simply continued to look down at the impassioned young man with empty eyes.

The Queen whispered into his ear even more urgently now, her voice rising with desperation—but he still didn’t react.
“Please… I beg you, awaken…”
Karton nearly whispered a prayer.

I still remember your sharp mind.
I still remember the wise king who led us through our golden age.
You, who are now shrouded in sorrow…
Please rise.
For the sake of your people, please rise.
But the King said nothing.
He remained silent, surrounded by extinguished passion and lost will.

A suffocating silence crushed the courtroom.
And finally, the judge turned his head and looked out over the room.
“T-Then… having heard the arguments from both sides, I shall now proceed with the final ruling—”

The judge swallowed hard and opened his mouth.
“The defendant, Chief Inspector Nathan Kell, is—”
And at that moment—

“I shall deliver the judgment.”
The voice of the King echoed through the courtroom.