Chapter 86: Moral Judgment

Chapter 86: Moral Judgment

The digestion of the potion progressed more smoothly than Hobert had planned, thanks to his serious approach to every case, which earned him a network of connections.

If he continued to handle the cases Mr. Barton had assigned him, it would take at least another two or three weeks for the potion to be fully digested.

The cases brought by Mr. Bob, introduced by Robin's cousin, Mr. Sean, introduced by Miss Xio, and Mr. Bruce, introduced by Mr. Barron, accelerated the digestion of the remaining potion in Hobert's body. What comforted Hobert most was that these three cases were the fruits of the network he had built himself.

"Thank you, Lawyer Hobert."

Bruce's sincere gratitude brought Hobert back to his senses. He smiled and said, "Your happiness in the future will be the biggest mockery of your past life. You come from a good family and are still young. I believe it won't be hard for you to achieve this. Don't do anything foolish again."

"Your advice is my will."

After saying a few more words to his mother, Bruce followed the bailiff to serve his sentence in prison.

Although they won the case, Mrs. Kent was still in tears. After all, Bruce would have to spend three months in a cold prison.

Hobert exchanged a few words with Mr. Barron before they all left one by one.

Outside the courthouse, just as Hobert was about to board a hired carriage, Fors came over and said, "We're heading in the same direction. Let's ride together."

"Sharing a carriage?"

"Sure." Although Hobert was now quite wealthy, he still adhered to the principle of saving whenever possible, so he naturally wouldn't refuse.

In the carriage, Fors suddenly asked, "Hobert, don't you think Bruce's punishment is a bit inappropriate?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't mean anything by it," Fors clarified. "I also believe that Bruce's actions shouldn't be considered intentional murder or grievous harm, but... but he does have a tendency to hurt others."

"I understand what you mean," Hobert smiled. "This is actually a common issue for non-legal professionals; they tend to use moral judgment to decide the standard of punishment for a person."

Fors was taken aback—it did seem to be the case.

"Miss Fors, you should know that people's moral standards have never been completely unified, so judgements made based on morality are also hard to standardize," Hobert explained.

"Take Bruce's case, for example. The Wyatt family believes he should be in prison for 20 years, which is clearly unreasonable. Bruce's mother, on the other hand, believes her son should be released immediately, which is also unreasonable.

"Do you notice? Most of the time, the law is a compromise. At the same time, the credibility of the law, along with its power of violent enforcement, allows most people to abandon their own moral judgments and accept the judgment of the law.

"That's the value of the judicial system."

Fors smiled. "It seems like my perspective was too naive."

"No, it's just my profession," Hobert said. "Just like how I don't understand writing or medicine, everyone has their own areas of expertise."

Fors nodded, feeling that Hobert's explanation of the law had greatly benefited her, and the image of the protagonist in her mind became clearer.

Returning to the law firm, Hobert's thoughts were no longer on his work.

Since the potion was fully digested, it was naturally time to advance as soon as possible. He had known for a long time that the Sequence 8 potion was called Barbarian, and he had even fought a Barbarian named Upton.

But he still eagerly anticipated the new abilities that would come with becoming a Barbarian.

Hobert wanted to slack off, but it just so happened that Saturday afternoon was quite busy.

First, Mr. Sean, who had already received his repayment, came to pay Hobert a 36 pound commission. After thanking Hobert again, Sean left.

Then, Mrs. Kent arrived to pay Hobert a 38 pound commission, also thanking him profusely before leaving.

Since these two commissions were not cases assigned by the firm, according to the firm's regulations, Hobert only had to pay a 2 pound "hosting fee" for each case, as he used the firm's premises to meet with the clients.

However, if Hobert had initially opted for a fixed salary from the firm, these two commissions would have to be handed over, to be distributed according to the firm's guidelines.

These two cases earned Hobert a total of 70 pounds, with an after-tax income of 61 pounds and 7 soli.

Commission fees are considered service fees, and the tax rate in the Loen Kingdom for services is lower than for commercial taxes. However, because both of these commissions exceeded 20 pounds, the tax rate exceeded 10%.

This made Hobert sigh: The Loen government sure knows how to make money.

He then wondered if he could use the Nighthawks squad's credentials as an external member to avoid taxes. How envious he was of Klein—his income wasn't taxable.

He also envied how many of Klein's mysticism materials could be reimbursed, whereas Hobert had to pay for even a spoonful of nightshade powder out of his own pocket.

In the end, Hobert found solace in the fact that his current income was higher than Klein's—perhaps the only comfort.

While he was lost in thought, Darren, whom he had met at the excavation site yesterday, arrived with Bill's wife, hoping to hire Hobert to defend Bill.

Hobert originally planned to use Bill's case to digest the potion, but Mrs. Kent had beaten him to it.

Still, Hobert didn't refuse Bill's case. Even after taking a new potion, he intended to continue practicing law for a while.

After reviewing the plaintiff's indictment, Hobert was confident about the defense and had Bill's wife sign the contract.

However, Bill's family wasn't very wealthy. Considering the need to compensate the plaintiff for financial damages, they could only afford to pay 10 pounds in legal fees.

Hobert considered this a reasonable price, as Bill's case was much simpler.

After finishing everything, it was already past five in the afternoon. Hobert took a carriage home, arriving just in time for dinner.

After dinner, Hobert followed Christian to the study. Once the door was closed, Hobert couldn't wait to say, "Father, I've fully digested the Lawyer potion."

Christian was stunned. "So soon?"

"Yes, the recent cases have helped me grasp the essence of being a Lawyer," Hobert explained. "After role-playing, I quickly digested the potion."

Christian nodded, suddenly staring at Hobert.

Hobert immediately felt immense mental pressure and had to use all his strength to resist it.

The pressure lasted for over ten seconds before it suddenly disappeared.

Christian nodded. "Indeed, you've fully digested it."

He said, "You're faster than Rex and I were at digesting our potions back in the day."

He then asked, "Do you want to advance to Sequence 8 now?"

Hobert nodded. "Yes."

"I must remind you," Christian said solemnly, "the higher the Sequence, the harder it is to obtain potion formulas and mystical materials. Don't forget the curse on you!"