Chapter 576: Not so Arbitrary
"… So I'm off to get that cleared up today" said Kat
"Is the money important at all?" asked Vivian curiously.
Kat bit her lips as she thought of the appropriate answer. The money wasn't important, it not really. She didn't need it for anything at the moment especially with the debt paid off. A larger part of her was tempted to just call it good. However… money was always useful and it was hers after all.
*Plus, this arbitration thing could be interesting. I'm also sure that quite a few people would be upset on my behalf if I didn't fight it. I know Lily would pout about me just letting it go. Sylvie would probably say 'you deserve it for your work Kat' with big eyes. Yeah. It seems so much easier to just go along with it and fight the thing instead of seeing disappointed eyes. Still… what exactly do I say in answer…?*
"It isn't a big deal no. I'm mostly doing it for the experience and because I can you know?" said Kat glad it was close enough to the truth to get away with. "I'm not overly worried and hopefully things can get sorted out easily."
Vivian nodded. She didn't like the idea of Kat going by herself, but Vivian knew she had no idea how the legal system of demons works. So, while she may wish to come in person to support Kat, she also knew that was unlikely. So, she just limited herself to a few words. "I'm sure you'll be fine dear. If it's no real worry to you, you're more likely to be able to speak clearly"
*Well, if you could win a legal battle by speaking clearly, we wouldn't need lawyers. Huh, I wonder if I'll get a lawyer or if it'll be just me arguing my point.* "I'll certainly do my best" said Kat noncommittally. "Shall I mention it to Lily?"
The three looked torn at the question. Sylvie was instantly in favour of waking Lily up, but she never minded waking up to see Kat in the morning, or had the same issues with sleep Lily did. Once that was noted by Kat, she realised she'd made a mistake. Vivian was always happy even in the early morning, Sylvie didn't care, and Callisto didn't sleep. When they all advocated for waking her up, some more strongly then others, Kat decided to ignore the lot of them.
*Clearly, they don't realise how tired Lily can be. I think I'll let her sleep.* When Kat said as much, everyone just nodded along willing to trust her judgement. After that Kat just spent time hanging out with them all before she was taken away for her Arbitration.
When she arrived, it was to a grey room with a grey door in front of her taking up most of the wall. Nothing else seemed to be nearby and as she looked around nobody came forth. The carpet was grey, the walls were grey, the door was grey. There wasn't any paintings or carvings, it was all just grey. Seeing little choice but to approach the door kat walked forward and easily opened it despite its large size.
The room was split cleanly in three. On the left everything was a pure shining white. On the right, everything was blacker than night and felt almost as if it was sucking light from the white side. In the middle was a grey section that also formed the carpet that took up the centre of the room and clearly marked the path Kat was supposed to travel. On the left and right were a number of seats that were currently empty. The walls also had a number of interesting carvings that were also mirrored but kept to their chosen sides colour.
The only exception to these things was right at the back of the room. There was a podium at the back with three Succubi sitting there. The one on the white side was completely black, the one on the black side was completely white, and the one in the centre looked to be split down the middle with black on the right side of their body and white on the other. Their hair and fingernails were counted among their colouring. Only their eyes seemed to have escaped, and were in what seemed to be their natural colourings. Kat couldn't see it as being a natural colouring. It was possible sure, but the split made it questionable and the fact they matched so closely with the room was strange.
She also knew the whole thing couldn't be an illusion because it was all quite clear to her eyes. The podium was also different. The structure looked to be made out of marble however the split ran horizontally with white on top grey in the middle and black on the bottom. The middle section was pushed forward so that the individual split between colours was closest to the open area Kat was currently walking towards.
Despite the colour scheme though, all three demons were Succubi, but noticeably different in their appearances. They all had the same robe like outfits that matched their colour perfectly and seemed to hang of them with large sleeves. They were also extremely baggy and hid whatever curves the three women might have had from Kat's eyes. That was where the similarities ended though.
White had ram like horns that hid her ears partially. Both had large towering horns similar to Sue, however these curled up slightly at the top with the points facing down. Black had horns that came right out of her temples and extended about half as high as Both's horns. The odd thing was, they seemed to be covered in skin, but it was a bit hard to tell because of the colouring.
"Greetings Kat" said Both in the centre, "You are here for arbitration involving your most recent Contract which subsequently caused you to undergo punishment for unpaid debts. Due to this you will either gain monetary compensation in return, or you will walk away with nothing as this is your first Arbitration. Black will be your advocate, White will be your detractor, and I will be the Judge."
Kat stopped at in the open space and looked around confused, seeing the questions in Kat's eyes Judge spoke again, "Do you wish for the introductory speech to be given? It is standard procedure for those uniformed."
"Yes please. That would be great," said Kat.
Judge nodded. "As this is your first Arbitration all three Arbiters were chosen to match your race and gender. It has been shown to produce a calming affect on first time participants. In the future you may or may not have demons of the same race as your Arbiters. It could even be a mix.
"The way our system works, is that an Arbiter will volunteer to either support you, or support the original ruling. Various bonuses are given for things that get demons to volunteer and I will allow them to explain."
White spoke up next. "I will be arguing against you. I receive a bonus if you should fail to win this Arbitration, as well as for making sure the Arbitration takes as little time as possible. However, as this is your first Arbitration, I also get a bonus for being willing to turn up for it."
Then Black spoke up. "One thing that White neglected to mention is that we get one further bonus, all three of us, for showing up in the required make up. Normally we would only be masked by an illusion of our chosen side however because you have True Sight we were forced to put on the full ceremony make up. Other than that, I have a similar set of bonuses for speed, first timer, and winning your side in this argument."
Judge spoke up again to finish off. "Finally, I am the Judge. I chose who I believe has the right of things at the end. I do not get a bonus for speed unlike the other two, however I am required to have served as both an attacker and a defender for at least five hundred years before the option to become a Judge is open to me. I also have a higher base rate of pay to ensure that I feel no need to speed things along.
"We consider this a fair system, as you can speak in your own defence, as well as have a dedicated defender, while the prosecuting side only has a single voice to speak for it's vote. I will mostly be regulated the discussion to ensure things remain productive and to deliver the final verdict. Do you have any more questions?"
*Well I mean… seems pretty clear. Little strange Black is on my side but maybe that's a human thing… or I could ask?* "What decides whether I'm supported by Black or White?" asked Kat
Judge smiled and nodded, "Black and White switch roles once a century. Currently we are in the era of Black as the defender. It was decided that associating too heavily with one colour over the other was a bad idea and that it keeps things a little fresher this way"
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