Chapter 177: Trials

Chapter 177: Trials



Cherry landed before the crowd and took in the gruesome scene.

Robin was seriously hurt, which upset her, but it ultimately wasn't that big of a deal as healing flesh wounds was easy.

She saw the pile of meat that used to be Ricky, though he was somehow still alive.

Cabernet looked to be on the verge of tears whilst picking up a rather gnarly looking dagger. She scrunched up her face in clear disgust for the weapon, an opinion that Cherry couldn't help but agree with as she could feel the bloodthirsty remnants of will that wafted off of it.

Finally the crowd of villagers who were whispering amongst each other and looking towards Robin with admiration, gratitude, and a touch of hero worship.

It was easy to deduce what had happened from all of this.

So Cherry did the most important thing to do at this moment and went to Robin's side. She knelt down beside her and gave her some vital energy to hasten her healing via the medium of a kiss.

They both heard the villagers' whispers grow a bit more frenzied at this sight, with words like "Just like the stories..." and "The princess kissed the hero!". A few of the younger folk even seemed to awaken to something, one of them saying "Two girls? I didn't know that was allowed...".

"It seems you have a bit of a fan club." Cherry teased.

"Jealous now that I'm popular?" Robin replied, managing to smile as Cherry's vital energy washed over her wounds and eased the pain.

"Just a little bit. I'm the more fearsome one, though." Cherry bragged.

"You can have it, I've had more than my fair share of being feared." Robin said.

"I'll bet you're glad I didn't ever let you skip training and meditation. You're not going to try to seduce me into letting you take a break again, will you?" Cherry asked, running her fingers through Robin's hair.

"No, I won't." Robin said seriously.

It was only because of her steady progress in the bone refining realm that her arms were still attached this time.

Armament Haki wasn't a great match for Robin, either. She wasn't very talented in it, for one, but more importantly Armament Haki requires more training, energy, and concentration the greater the surface area it covers. When you factored in her devil fruit, that's a lot of surface area to cover.

Cultivation on the other hand was perfect for her devil fruit, as it automatically applies to her bloomed limbs without any additional energy or input.

Ricky was conscious and just barely able to communicate. He never thought there would come a day that he wished he'd died from a beating.

He denied the charges against him, but it was no use. The evidence was stacked against him, there was little doubt that he was the murderer. Especially after several dozen people witnessed his attempt to murder them.

The punishment was a solemn affair. It hadn't been used for at least a hundred years, so it was naturally seen as barbaric in nature, even though most of the villagers felt that he deserved it. No one cheered or relished in Ricky's last agonizing moments.

"That settles that then. Everyone can go back home and back to business!" Mayor Brack dismissed.

"Not so fast, Mayor!" Perona made a dramatic appearance with Cabernet right behind her.

"What do you mean- " Mayor Brack's voice caught in his throat as he saw what Cabernet was

holding.

In Cabernet's arms was a fancy looking safe that seemed as if it had been ripped out of a wall.

His wife, Jilly's eyes lit up when she saw it.

"Thieves!" Mayor Brack accused angrily, losing his cool.

"Not thieves. I asked them to bring it here." Jilly spoke confidently. "I believe we have a

second trial scheduled for today."

There were confused murmurs among the villagers.

"Nonsense! Pay no mind to my wife or these brigands, people." Mayor Brack racked his brain

for a way out of this.

'It's okay, they can get into the safe anyways-' Mayor Brack thought.

The sound of metal being bent rang out as Cabernet used her strength as some skillfully

applied heat to pry open the safe.

Mayor Brack didn't remember what the village ordinances said the punishment for tax theft and corruption were, but he hoped it wasn't being boiled in oil.