A Hospital in Another World?
Garrett Nordmark, Mage, files a defamation lawsuit against Herbert Bradley, Mage, set to be heard in court in three days.
Garrett confidently headed to the Tower of Heaven.
Among the lower-tier mages, some lawsuits go to the town hall, but most are resolved in the White Tower; for middle-tier mages, given that those who reach this level usually have high-tier backers, their issues are generally settled in the Tower of Heaven.
This location is closest to the high-tier mages, making it convenient for everyone to find their backers at once!
However, Garrett did not seek any backers. The confrontation at his clinic’s door occurred on Tuesday, and the court session was scheduled for Friday, just missing the weekly meeting of the Lord of Thunder. And for such a trivial matter, was it worth mentioning to his teacher?
After all, as a disciple of the Lord of Thunder, Garrett believed in acting uprightly and guiltlessly. He did not start conflicts, but he was certainly not afraid of them.
As he entered the courtroom, it was bustling with people, nearly filled to capacity. The layout of the courtroom resembled a theater, an auditorium, and even the operating hall in the Black Crow Swamp:
At the end of the hall, naturally, the judges’ bench faced the entrance. A slightly lower long table in front of it held four clerks facing the judge and back to the audience, ready to record everything;
Behind the judge, a section enclosed by railings, much like a private box, was filled with more than one mage leaning over to watch. It was unclear if these people were just observers or jurors, but many waved friendly greetings as he entered;
To the left and right of the judge, the plaintiff and defendant were placed facing each other. Given the Tower of Heaven’s costly space, the first rows of both sides were almost touching the edge of the judge’s bench.
As for the spectator seats, they were layered upward from opposite the judge’s bench, much like theater seating. By now, the seats were over eighty percent full, a colorful and fragrant scene dominated by female mages.
Naturally. Over the past three days, Garrett had sent out at least twenty letters to former patients or their families, requesting their testimony.
With each childbirth family bringing two representatives, the two hundred seats reserved for observers were already filled by 20%.
Add those who had prenatal checkups or were scheduled for childbirth at his clinic, but were informed of his upcoming lawsuit, and those not receiving emergency surgeries...
Besides the family members of the mothers, there was a group of charm-control female mages, coming together, chattering – the painless cesarean deliveries were a technique spread by them;
And a group of necromancers who came to spectate. Had there been enough seats, they could have filled the space with skeletons;
Of course, there were also disciples and mages from the plastic energy school, friends of the Lord of Thunder. Those who could spare the time also came in groups;
And the divination school—oh, the defendant’s family had a high-level diviner, likely their people…
For Garrett, the atmosphere was favorable. However, the mood was not so delightful for the defendant. When Herbert Bradley sat at the defendant’s bench, his face was stormy, as if it could rain and thunder at any moment:
This Nordmark Mage is too much!
As a man, taking on the impure task of delivering babies, directly looking at, even touching, the private parts of women! And having the audacity to sue him, even taking it to the council’s courtroom!
What was more infuriating was that over these three days, more than one friend had advised him:
"Just apologize and make amends. Don’t let it escalate to the courtroom... The Lord of Thunder knows you’ve wronged his disciple, and he doesn’t even need to intervene personally. Just a few of his older disciples can take down your family!"
Are legendary disciples that impressive? To do such things, and still be backed by the Lord of Thunder?
His family also has... well, they truly have no legends. There’s a 15th-level grand mage, but the blood relation is distant, a cousin of his grandfather.
Though his family has few mages, they do have some influence before this grand mage, but that connection is certainly not enough to withstand a legend!
"No way! Absolutely not!"
Bradley pounded the table, eyes red with fury.
His son had died, his only son, who he had struggled so much to raise. His son became a 1st-level mage at 11, rose to 4th-level by 15, and had always been the hope of their family... and now he was dead! Dead!
It was all that Nordmark Mage’s fault! His actions caused discord in his family, led to arguments between his son and daughter-in-law, and ultimately, his son
died from meditation gone awry in his distressed state…
He had no hope left in life; he was ready to fight to the death, to sacrifice his life, just to expose Nordmark Mage’s true nature!
The presiding judge, dressed in a black robe with a scales-of-justice badge on his chest, rang a bronze bell, announcing the start of the hearing.
The sound of the small bronze bell was like thunder, emitting a strange wave that instantly quelled the noise in the spectator seats. It was obviously an alchemical artifact, a mere ceremonial gesture to activate magic.
"Garrett Nordmark, Mage, files a defamation lawsuit against Herbert Bradley, Mage. The court is now in session! Plaintiff, please make your statement!"
Garrett stood and bowed to the judge. There were no lawyers, nor could there be; the mages’ court did not need such fanciful things. Gathering evidence, organizing points, inviting witnesses, all had to be done by himself...
"Three days ago, Herbert Bradley led a funeral procession in front of my clinic, loudly accusing me of lustful intentions, claiming I opened a maternity service to satisfy my unspoken desires."
He calmly stated the facts, oblivious to the surprise, noise, indignation, and pointing from the spectator seats:
"Such statements are a grave insult to my reputation and to the honor of the mothers who received treatment and safely gave birth at my clinic, as well as their families. For this, I had to appeal to the council to restore my reputation."
"Mr. Nordmark, do you have evidence?"
"At the time, besides the casters and staff of the clinic, there were Isabelle Gatti, Grace Tyson, and Nurse Sally from the Spring Water Temple."
Garrett came prepared, having already summoned witnesses to the scene. Turning slightly, he raised his hand, and two mages and a female priestess bowed in unison, nodding towards the judge.
Herbert Bradley’s face darkened. Just as he was about to retort, the courtroom doors burst open, and a silver-haired girl stormed in like a whirlwind. She glanced left and right, then locked her eyes on him and charged:
"It was you who slandered Garrett as a bad man! I’ll beat you to death!"