Phoenix Wright (成歩堂龍一) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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aceattorneythenovel2017-05-14 04:14 pm
thewrightway) wrote in aceattorneythenovel2017-05-14 04:14 pm
Chapter 10: What's Important to an Attorney (English terminology)
[March 16, 9:12 AM: Wright Anything Agency]
“Alden Berger is a true blue lover of paper planes. He's taught the local kids how to make paper planes for decades.”
It was the day after the trial ended. I was sat on the office sofa, talking on my cell phone.
“Terry Secker, the killer, was a particularly frequent visitor to Alden when he was young. He loved paper planes and would devise his own ways of folding them to fly further, Alden really took him under his wing.”
“And now he's a killer... Poor Alden.”
“Yeah.”
Naturally, I was talking to Maya. She'd been concerned over how the trial had gone and called me.
“And to add insult to injury, those beloved paper planes became the murder weapon his former apprentice had used. I'm sure Alden is suffering.”
“Sounds like he used to be a decent kid. I wonder where he went wrong?”
“He's always had a strong sense of justice apparently. He wanted to enter politics for the sake of his ambitious ideals, but ended up in a bad workplace. His heart became warped while at the side of Mr. Goodwin, who had been up to all kinds of evil deeds behind his clean image.”
Mr. Secker had played the role of Mr. Goodwin's loyal secretary, while harbouring a secret hatred deep inside.
After discovering Mr. Goodwin's wrongdoings, he found that an investigation team wasn't far behind. And when the law finally caught up, Mr. Goodwin would say “I knew nothing of this. It was all my secretary's doing.” to feign ignorance.
“Mr. Secker figured that the crimes would be pinned on himself instead at this rate. That's when he began to panic. Then when Mr. Goodwin suggested he fake hospitalisation, his plan came into view. It seems the location of the airport and using the ice pick as a dummy weapon were all Mr. Secker's idea. Mr. Goodwin went along with it not suspecting a thing.”
“So he was going to string up an innocent bystander as the culprit. That Goodwin guy was a jerk!”
“That may be true. But it still doesn't absolve Mr. Secker of his own crime.”
I protected our city – Mr. Secker may have claimed that, but his true motives didn't align with justice. With Mr. Goodwin gone, he would inherit the voters of his constituency, allowing him to become just like Mr. Goodwin.
Following the verdict, various dark deals made between Mr. Goodwin and members of the public came to light. For example, Flora Templa had been in trouble for performing various scams and gone crying to Mr. Goodwin. Gonzalo Sacco had been so caught up in a soccer broadcast that he'd caused a traffic accident, and had asked Mr. Goodwin for help with that. As we heard directly from Dr. Mendel, he'd helped cover up a malpractice incident.
And this was just the tip of the iceberg. Mr. Goodwin was practically the king of Seafield city. Any dissenters would face the town's wrath. This led to victims like the Berger family.
“Seafield city has been a twisted place, but I think it'll start improving from now on.”
“And it's all thanks to you, Nick!”
“Not really...”
I wouldn't have won this trial on my own. After the first day in court, I was so worn out in both body and soul that I had forgotten how to smile.
The one who helped me back then was—
“It's all thanks to you, Maya.”
“Eh?”
“Maya, it was you who reminded me of something important.”
A lawyer is someone who smiles no matter how bad it gets. An important lesson I'd learned from Mia.
Whenever I felt like throwing in the towel, those words were what kept me on track.
“... Heheh.”
Maya gave her usual carefree laugh.
“So you're finally realising my true value?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Then instead of burgers, you should treat me to some ramen when I get back to the States. I'd like to try the Flying Spaghetti Master's menma.”
“Sure, no problem.”
I laughed as we ended our call.
The Flying Spaghetti Master's menma sure is good stuff. It's a bit far to go for a meal though...
Just as I was thinking about that.
The door opened and a lively bunch came in.
“Good morning, Mr. Wright!”
“Mr. Wright, I can't thank you enough for your efforts!”
“Daddy, we bring good news!”
It was Athena, Apollo and Trucy.
But not just the three of them. Another unexpected face popped in.
“Mornin', Mr. Wright!”
It was Ramon. His expression was no longer the one he had at the Flying Spaghetti Master and the courtroom, he was bright and cheerful.
“Ramon! Why are you here?”
“I've got good news. I wanted to tell you as soon as possible, so I decided to come nice and early!”
Good news... Trucy had said so too.
Before I could even ask, Ramon came out and said it.
“You really are amazing. You're every bit the legendary straight man Apollo aspires to be!”
... Is that really something to aspire to?
“You didn't just save Apollo. You saved the entirety of Seafield city. After yesterday's verdict, we had a proper talk with the neighbors. There's still tension with certain people, but overall they were really willing to clear the air. Some of them honestly wanted to support the Flying Spaghetti Master. But they were too afraid of Mr. Goodwin to openly oppose him... They made sure to apologise to us...”
Ramon got emotional as he spoke.
“Together we swore to rebuild our city. That Seafield city will be reborn!”
“I see. Good to hea...”
“You're the saviour of Seafield city! We'll never forget our debt to you. Which is why I came up with an idea. A new Seafield specialty, Phoenix Wright ramen!”
... Huh?
What the heck...?
“Well take a look. This is the recipe!”
Ramon pulled a large sheet of paper from his bag and laid it out.
... It was a picture of ramen. It looked to be overflowing with ingredients.
“It combines the Flying Spaghetti Master's special menma, special char siu pork fillet and special boiled egg. And the centrepiece of the bowl is the Wright kamaboko! It's an extra large kamaboko with your face printed on it!”
And indeed there was a giant kamaboko with my face on it surrounded by mountains of menma and pork.
While I was lost for words, Trucy spoke up.
“No need to worry, I've already signed the contract, Daddy. The Wright Anything Agency gets ten percent of every sale!”
“Haha! Your daughter is one shrewd businesswoman.”
“You drive a hard bargain too, mister. I originally wanted a thirty percent cut.”
“Come on, cut me a break.”
Ramon and Trucy both broke out laughing.
Athena and Apollo joined in too.
“That Mr. Wright kamaboko looks tasty!”
“I'm not sure about eating Mr. Wright, but I'll give it a try. After all, it's a new specialty item on Ramon's menu.”
“We'll be adding it real soon. I'd love for you all to have some!”
Despite using my image, I've been left out entirely...
There's only one thing to say at a time like this. At the top of my lungs.
“—Objection!”
“Alden Berger is a true blue lover of paper planes. He's taught the local kids how to make paper planes for decades.”
It was the day after the trial ended. I was sat on the office sofa, talking on my cell phone.
“Terry Secker, the killer, was a particularly frequent visitor to Alden when he was young. He loved paper planes and would devise his own ways of folding them to fly further, Alden really took him under his wing.”
“And now he's a killer... Poor Alden.”
“Yeah.”
Naturally, I was talking to Maya. She'd been concerned over how the trial had gone and called me.
“And to add insult to injury, those beloved paper planes became the murder weapon his former apprentice had used. I'm sure Alden is suffering.”
“Sounds like he used to be a decent kid. I wonder where he went wrong?”
“He's always had a strong sense of justice apparently. He wanted to enter politics for the sake of his ambitious ideals, but ended up in a bad workplace. His heart became warped while at the side of Mr. Goodwin, who had been up to all kinds of evil deeds behind his clean image.”
Mr. Secker had played the role of Mr. Goodwin's loyal secretary, while harbouring a secret hatred deep inside.
After discovering Mr. Goodwin's wrongdoings, he found that an investigation team wasn't far behind. And when the law finally caught up, Mr. Goodwin would say “I knew nothing of this. It was all my secretary's doing.” to feign ignorance.
“Mr. Secker figured that the crimes would be pinned on himself instead at this rate. That's when he began to panic. Then when Mr. Goodwin suggested he fake hospitalisation, his plan came into view. It seems the location of the airport and using the ice pick as a dummy weapon were all Mr. Secker's idea. Mr. Goodwin went along with it not suspecting a thing.”
“So he was going to string up an innocent bystander as the culprit. That Goodwin guy was a jerk!”
“That may be true. But it still doesn't absolve Mr. Secker of his own crime.”
I protected our city – Mr. Secker may have claimed that, but his true motives didn't align with justice. With Mr. Goodwin gone, he would inherit the voters of his constituency, allowing him to become just like Mr. Goodwin.
Following the verdict, various dark deals made between Mr. Goodwin and members of the public came to light. For example, Flora Templa had been in trouble for performing various scams and gone crying to Mr. Goodwin. Gonzalo Sacco had been so caught up in a soccer broadcast that he'd caused a traffic accident, and had asked Mr. Goodwin for help with that. As we heard directly from Dr. Mendel, he'd helped cover up a malpractice incident.
And this was just the tip of the iceberg. Mr. Goodwin was practically the king of Seafield city. Any dissenters would face the town's wrath. This led to victims like the Berger family.
“Seafield city has been a twisted place, but I think it'll start improving from now on.”
“And it's all thanks to you, Nick!”
“Not really...”
I wouldn't have won this trial on my own. After the first day in court, I was so worn out in both body and soul that I had forgotten how to smile.
The one who helped me back then was—
“It's all thanks to you, Maya.”
“Eh?”
“Maya, it was you who reminded me of something important.”
A lawyer is someone who smiles no matter how bad it gets. An important lesson I'd learned from Mia.
Whenever I felt like throwing in the towel, those words were what kept me on track.
“... Heheh.”
Maya gave her usual carefree laugh.
“So you're finally realising my true value?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Then instead of burgers, you should treat me to some ramen when I get back to the States. I'd like to try the Flying Spaghetti Master's menma.”
“Sure, no problem.”
I laughed as we ended our call.
The Flying Spaghetti Master's menma sure is good stuff. It's a bit far to go for a meal though...
Just as I was thinking about that.
The door opened and a lively bunch came in.
“Good morning, Mr. Wright!”
“Mr. Wright, I can't thank you enough for your efforts!”
“Daddy, we bring good news!”
It was Athena, Apollo and Trucy.
But not just the three of them. Another unexpected face popped in.
“Mornin', Mr. Wright!”
It was Ramon. His expression was no longer the one he had at the Flying Spaghetti Master and the courtroom, he was bright and cheerful.
“Ramon! Why are you here?”
“I've got good news. I wanted to tell you as soon as possible, so I decided to come nice and early!”
Good news... Trucy had said so too.
Before I could even ask, Ramon came out and said it.
“You really are amazing. You're every bit the legendary straight man Apollo aspires to be!”
... Is that really something to aspire to?
“You didn't just save Apollo. You saved the entirety of Seafield city. After yesterday's verdict, we had a proper talk with the neighbors. There's still tension with certain people, but overall they were really willing to clear the air. Some of them honestly wanted to support the Flying Spaghetti Master. But they were too afraid of Mr. Goodwin to openly oppose him... They made sure to apologise to us...”
Ramon got emotional as he spoke.
“Together we swore to rebuild our city. That Seafield city will be reborn!”
“I see. Good to hea...”
“You're the saviour of Seafield city! We'll never forget our debt to you. Which is why I came up with an idea. A new Seafield specialty, Phoenix Wright ramen!”
... Huh?
What the heck...?
“Well take a look. This is the recipe!”
Ramon pulled a large sheet of paper from his bag and laid it out.
... It was a picture of ramen. It looked to be overflowing with ingredients.
“It combines the Flying Spaghetti Master's special menma, special char siu pork fillet and special boiled egg. And the centrepiece of the bowl is the Wright kamaboko! It's an extra large kamaboko with your face printed on it!”
And indeed there was a giant kamaboko with my face on it surrounded by mountains of menma and pork.
While I was lost for words, Trucy spoke up.
“No need to worry, I've already signed the contract, Daddy. The Wright Anything Agency gets ten percent of every sale!”
“Haha! Your daughter is one shrewd businesswoman.”
“You drive a hard bargain too, mister. I originally wanted a thirty percent cut.”
“Come on, cut me a break.”
Ramon and Trucy both broke out laughing.
Athena and Apollo joined in too.
“That Mr. Wright kamaboko looks tasty!”
“I'm not sure about eating Mr. Wright, but I'll give it a try. After all, it's a new specialty item on Ramon's menu.”
“We'll be adding it real soon. I'd love for you all to have some!”
Despite using my image, I've been left out entirely...
There's only one thing to say at a time like this. At the top of my lungs.
“—Objection!”