I don't know about that. It seemed like a rather serious declaration to me. [Ethlyn's a little surprised to hear Aerith suggest that it isn't, in fact.] But you could be right about it being more of a test than a criminal proceeding...

[She taps her knuckles against her chin. The note was very thorough in ways that were more than a little disturbing.]

It would make more sense--they start out by calling us 'worthy and deserving', after all. So maybe it's not a threat, but a warning? There could be other forces at play.