"The court trial shall resume now. Is the evidence ready for questioning?" Red Rulekeeper said.
Dalmanrach had left after giving me all the advice he could, and the court hall returned to how I saw it upon my first arrival here. Countless gods watched the arena where I was stuck with people who still called me just "evidence".
"Then, do you confirm the accusations of the God of Humanity against the Goddess of Bees?"
I took a deep breath and carefully gathered my words.
"Your Honor, I must admit that *a part* of it is true. In my previous life, I was a total human! But after my death, the Goddess of Bees put me into this body."
The Goddess of Bees let out a clicking hiss. I felt her glare burrowing in me, and knew that if my plan didn't work out, I will be fucked.
"Aha!" God of Humanity exclaimed. "So you are one of mine despite this laudable appearance. Let me recall—born on Earth-Alpha-0004 in the year 1999 by a local count, named Richard Miller. Rejoice—after this trial is over, I will bring you back! Now, Dick—"
"Dick, did the Goddess of Bees give you a system? Did she?"
Outwardly, I was putting a lot of effort to stand straight and not grimace. Putting a brave face for my daughters gave me good training here, because otherwise, I'd be on my knees right now and dying.
All these months I've been so happy to use my awesome name that I made for myself, and the God of Humanity just destroyed it all!
He was painfully reminding me of my high-school bullies, who thought that shortening "Richard" to "Dick" was the height of humor. And then my college bullies. And then my workplace bullies, because some people kept their high-school sense of humor for their entire life.
Only the knowledge that my life and lives of my loved ones were at stake gave me strength to regain my composure.
"Esteemed God of Humanity… I know that you just want to bring justice, but please, don't be hasty in your decisions! Things aren't so simple. Am I even a human anymore?"
"What? What are you talking about, Dick?" God of Humanity asked dismissively. "Of course you are. I thought you were ready to answer questions so the Goddess of Bees could be put back in her place!"
But my words already made the audience liven up with whispers and caused some rustling of the Rulekeepers' robes.
"Silence in the court! The evidence pointed out an important fact which must be established before this case can be concluded, because it affects the rights and punishments established in the rules," Green Rulekeeper said. "Which species this mortal, first registered name Dick Miller, second registered name Nectus Stingprince, belongs to?"
Blue Rulekeeper continued before anyone could speak.
"The rule 201 defines a species by its ability to procreate with other members of the same species, with the list of exceptions attached. Exception 201.1 allows species variants originating from different worlds to not be able to crossbreed. Exception 201.14 allows species to crossbreed with other species if their evolution trees are close enough."
I sighed inwardly and hoped they won't go on a full list of exceptions. It was a long one, and I just heard it all already from Dalmanrach.
"So what, Rulekeepers?" God of Humanity mercifully interrupted. "You can't be saying that Dick here is actually a *bee*! Exception 201.26—in case of mind transfers, the original species of the transferred mind takes priority!"
"Objection—exception 201.26a!" the Goddess of Bees declared gleefully. "This mortal has spent enough time with the bees to adopt their culture. Together with his current body, it takes precedence!"
"Objection to your objection!" God of Humanity parried. "Look at his genome—is there much left of the bees there by this point?"
"Silence in the court! Current situation requires discussing the section of rules on hybrid and transitioning species."
I was biting my lip anxiously as the gods entered an energetic argument about these particular rules. There were a lot of rules and exceptions and exceptions to the exceptions. Every biological and mental trait of mine which the gods could find they used in their arguments.
According to the rules, I was somewhere in the middle between a human and a bee—with my body still being more bee-like, but my mind being more human-like. Dalmanrach couldn't define me clearly as one or the other, and now, the gods in the court were approaching the same conclusion.
"Silence in the court!" Green Rulekeeper said at last. "I concur—the rules reached a balance. Although each trait has an evaluated priority, this still happened. I suggest a voting session to re-evaluate the traits to happen later. In the meantime, a new precedent must be created for this occasion."
I straightened, tensing.
So far, things went smoothly—but now the riskiest part of my plan approached. My best and only chance!
I fell to my knees and folded my arms in prayer.
"Esteemed gods! I never imagined that you would fight each other for my soul!"
They paused and turned to me; thankfully, I was spared the "silence at the court" for now. I hoped I wasn't putting the act too thickly and pushed on.
"I never, *ever* wanted for bees and humans to fight! Especially as gods! After experiencing life as a human and a bee, all I want is for the union of both species! A great, wondrous alliance that will bring victory to you both! And if even the Rulekeepers say that I belong to both humans and bees, can't I and my family be the spearhead of this alliance?"
A deathly silence fell upon the court, but I didn't dare to raise my eyes and see the gods' reactions. Only the beating of my heart and a vaguely familiar clicking sound were interrupting it.
A moment later, I realized what this sound was—the Goddess of Bees was seething and twitching her mandibles.
"Mortal. Mortal who thinks he's *so* clever. Are you suggesting I enter an *alliance* with the God of Humanity?"