"No," Nero answered with a voice full of conviction, without a moment's hesitation. This was a question he answered without a shred of doubt in his mind, even though he had coordinated with Vanessa before. That was because the question was that had he colluded with them against the interest of Kolar.
He genuinely and firmly believed that by working with Vanessa, and improving himself and making himself stronger, he was working in the best interest of Kolar.
But this was a tricky game. Not only did he need to remember his answers, he needed to maintain the same stance he had already. For example, if later on the prosecutor asked him if he had colluded with such entities, leaving out the part about 'against Kolar's interests' he might be forced to say yes, since he technically had worked with Vanessa.
Yet since that collusion took place during the last mission in the research facility, he need not answer it, which meant he could still say no. But he was not too worried.
Although he had no experience with courts, he did have a lot of experience being interrogated - or at least training in that regard. His father had been thorough with that one, even going as far as torturing him with tickling.
"Have you ever passed on confidential information to those you should not have?"
"No."
"Have you ever used your powers, official, aetheric or otherwise for your own personal gain?"
Now Nero looked at the prosecutor like he was a genuine idiot. He looked around the courtroom to see if he was the only one who thought so, or if others shared his views. Everyone save June maintained their stern or angry expression, so it was hard to detect their thoughts.
June gave him a double thumbs up, as if encouraging him.
"Of course I've used my power for personal gain!" Nero said. "I've used my grades to influence my teachers' opinions of me, getting better class placements! I've used my better physical performance compared to my peers to get personalised training!
I've used my excellent aether control to get noticed by my superiors, and get even more specialised training so that I can take on more dangerous missions that no one else can take.
"I fully plan on using my stellar performance at the ruins, and my military merits to get placed into Kolar Military Academy (KMA). I have no qualms about using the benefits and perks I have rightfully earned to progress further. That does not, however, mean that I use my powers and influence inappropriately, if that is what you're getting at."
The prosecutor made no show of whether Nero's response was what he had been hoping for. Instead, he continued his line of questioning without the slightest pause.
"So you are comfortable using your power or 'rightfully earned' perks for your own benefits, as you see fit. Does that include using your power to bully or coerce those in your way towards a certain objective? Or maybe competitors for certain benefits you desire?"
Nero smiled as he looked at the prosecutor. The man was asking questions, and then immediately using them as a setup, trying to make Nero look guilty. There was also a chance that he was establishing a line of questioning so that there would be a greater impact for questions he asked later. Either way, Nero had already identified the trend. It was almost cute.
But he was not the only one who knew such tactics. If Nero's goal had been to prove his innocence, he might go with a less aggressive strategy. But, aware of the fact that this case was heading towards a mistrial, his goal was not to prove his innocence, but make an impact. In that case… he did not need an elaborate and subtle response. A more explosive and abrupt one would do.
"Of course!" Nero stated out boldly, his answer taking quite a few people by surprise - including the prosecutor himself. But before they had a chance to speculate on what that meant, Nero continued.
"For example, there was this one time a terrorist organisation known as Clear Path that was taking draftees as slaves, right within military compounds, completely undetected by Kolari military intelligence. When they came to attack and capture me, I was very much of the impression that becoming an enemy slave would not be good for my career, so I bullied the Initiate terrorist to death.
"Oh right, there was also this one time cursed vines attacked my entire hostel, and I had to coerce the vines to not kill my neighbours as I saved their lives. Let me see, what else? Oh right, there was that time when on a mission I was attacked by berserkers - called Specimen A by the army.
I was being extremely self-serving by wanting to complete my mission without a hitch, so I had to bully the berserkers to death once again. Quite tragic really."
The prosecutor was only momentarily surprised by Nero's answer, but quickly noticed the sarcasm in it. Instead of letting it get to him, he continued as he expected.
"Ahan. If that's the case, you wouldn't mind telling me about this person?" The prosecutor pulled out a picture of Silas.
Nero raised an eyebrow. He could understand how an outsider might think that he used to bully Silas, but that was far from the truth.
Silas was an extremely talented kid, but an incredibly insecure and antisocial one. Being nice to him and encouraging him would not work in helping him escape his shell - only by forcing him to consciously step outside his comfort zone, and achieve something he genuinely recognised as worthwhile would he grow.
It was the drawback of having parents with incredibly high expectations. Despite his clearly amazing talent, he felt like he was insufficient. Crafting a card without having aether was a big boost for him, and then synchronising right after helped as well.
But being tough on him so that he was naturally inspired to overcome his barriers was also necessary. Of course, those not in the know would just think that Nero was bullying a kid.
"That's Silas, my long time friend. During the-"
"Friend?" the prosecutor interrupted Nero's statement. "Is that what you call a friend? I have countless reports of you physically and verbally isolating him from other kids in your class. I have here a report from a psychologist stating that the nature of your relationships seems to be one of building psychological dependance in Silas towards yourself.
Tell me, is taking advantage of your 'friends' family connections one of the ways you use your 'rightfully earned' benefits?"
Nero turned his head, as if to look at the prosecutor from a different angle, with a frown on his face. There was a hint of white in his hair right behind his ears, indicating the man had lived for a long time - at least by Neire standards. Yet the pressure Nero felt from the man indicated that he was probably just in the Initiate realm.
"Tell me, prosecutor," Nero said slowly. "Are you an idiot or are you just really bad at your job?"
He finally managed to get a reaction out of the man as a trace of anger flashed on his face, but he quickly controlled himself and took advantage of the situation.
"Is that also how you talk to your friends? Or the people around you? You insult them?"
Nero shook his head. He could guess that the angle the lawyer was trying to take was to create doubt about Nero's character. Yet the way he was going about it was too immature.
"I am going to say this for the record, so that everyone hears it loudly and clearly. Hurbert Rodney is crazy, and I would not make use of his contacts even if I had no other choice. You want to talk about bullying? The way that man treats his son is like a slave that he's grooming. I do not bully Silas, I hold him to a high standard, which he knows and has benefited from.
I don't know who you called out as witnesses before me, but if you called out even one witness who actually knows anything about anything, you'd know that I defend him more than anyone.
"I fought the son of a war hero for bullying Silas, and in Lumina I ran into a monster infested building while the fog was returning to the city to rescue him. I treat my friends as friends, not as contacts. I don't need to rely on anyone else for that. With my service record during the war, and my skill set, why would I need to rely on anyone else?
"I may not be the best soldier in the army, but within the Neophyte realm, there is no one who can best me. With a record like that, why would I be afraid of lacking contacts? For now, I am only the best in the Neophyte realm, but it is only a matter of time before I become the best in the Initiate realm, and then the Arcanist realm. Why then do I need to rely on others?"