Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2

[DracoOmega]

>"She is not property to be 'stolen'. The one order I will give, so long as I hold her contract, is for her to live her own life as she chooses. And then as soon as I have held it long enough to grant her protection from future enslavement, she will be legally free."

[Oldmansour]

>"She is not property to be 'stolen'. The one order I will give, so long as I hold her contract, is for her to live her own life as she chooses. And then as soon as I have held it long enough to grant her protection from future enslavement, she will be legally free."

>"On the contrary, Lotus, 'property' is exactly what Reisen Udongein is. She considers herself as much, if you want to know." As Madame Knowledge argues with you, the telepotation circle activates again, bringing a rather downcast looking Alisaie into the room.

[DracoOmega]

>"Don't presume to speak for someone you do not even consider a person! Even if you call her 'property', I will not. She is a woman, not a tool - and a woman deserving of at least as much respect and autonomy as anyone else in this room! My challenge is legally valid; I do not intend to retract it. If you'd rather we not rifle through your documents, you can save yourself time and hand her papers over now."

[Oldmansour]

>"Don't presume to speak for someone you do not even consider a person! Even if you call her 'property', I will not. She is a woman, not a tool - and a woman deserving of at least as much respect and autonomy as anyone else in this room! My challenge is legally valid; I do not intend to retract it. If you'd rather we not rifle through your documents, you can save yourself time and hand her papers over now."

>"My ownership is equally legal." Madame Knowledge replies. "And was quite costly, as well. One does not acquire the only Lunar Rabbit available cheaply."
>"Then why did you say you were willing to deal?" Poppy asks. "If she was so expensive."
>"Ultimately, Reisen Udongein was a means to an end. But that means is no longer necessary. And despite your incredibly bad manners, Lotus, and your invasion of my home, I am still willing to come to an accomodation. I am, after all, neither ungrateful nor uncivilized."

[DracoOmega]

>"Polite words cannot amend a callous spirit. You, who bought a woman for the express purpose of brainwashing your own daughter, who still cares more about appearances than her well-being! We came here and risked our lives to save yours, and I am glad that we succeeded, but I will not dignify your treatment of Reisen by giving you... compensation for freeing her from you."

[Oldmansour]

>"Polite words cannot amend a callous spirit. You, who bought a woman for the express purpose of brainwashing your own daughter, who still cares more about appearances than her well-being! We came here and risked our lives to save yours, and I am glad that we succeeded, but I will not dignify your treatment of Reisen by giving you... compensation for freeing her from you."

>"So be it." the older woman says. "But you do realize that, after I deal with this traitor of a sister of mine, we will be coming for you."
>Her words practically make Alisaie jump. "Traitor?! But why-?"
>"Oh, don't you play innocent with me."she growls, turning her head to look at her sister. "There's only one way she could have known about Reisen's powers, and that's if you somehow found and told her."
>"But.... I never...."
>"I don't know how you found out." Madame Knowledge presses on. "But I'll figure it out."

[DracoOmega]

>"What a hateful woman you are. 'Traitor'? Alisaie had nothing to do with this. Patchouli herself realized what you were doing to her; you never did give her credit enough for her intellect."

[Oldmansour]

>"What a hateful woman you are. 'Traitor'? Alisaie had nothing to do with this. Patchouli herself realized what you were doing to her; you never did give her credit enough for her intellect."

>"My firstborn's capabilities are not in question here, miss Lotus." Madame Knowledge replies flatly.

[DracoOmega]

>"Yet you would be so quick as to accuse someone uninvolved? Not a word on this subject passed between us and your sister, and my greatest regret in all this business is that she ended up dragged into it anyway."

[Oldmansour]

>"Yet you would be so quick as to accuse someone uninvolved? Not a word on this subject passed between us and your sister, and my greatest regret in all this business is that she ended up dragged into it anyway."

>"In that case, you should never have tried to undertake this fool course of yours." the elder mage says mercilessly. "The minute you tried to take something from me, you became her enemy, too. Her judgement has not always been wise, but she is still a Knowledge." Madame Knowledge points her sister forward. "Now, prove it."
>Despite the pain on her face, Alisaie lowers her head submissively and steps forward. "Yes, sister..."

[DracoOmega]

>"Alisaie, I know this isn't how you want your power to be used - to fight to keep a woman in bondage to a mistress who speaks of her as if she were some... expensive piece of furniture. You chose to be a healer. One of the very first tenants of medicine is: Do no harm."

[Oldmansour]

>"Alisaie, I know this isn't how you want your power to be used - to fight to keep a woman in bondage to a mistress who speaks of her as if she were some... expensive piece of furniture. You chose to be a healer. One of the very first tenants of medicine is: Do no harm."

>"I know." the younger Knowledge answers. "That was one of the reasons I choose summoning as a speciality. That way I'd never have to cast at someone myself." She smiles sadly. "Maybe that was... just an excuse. A moral balm, for my sins."
>"One of our grandfather's words of wisdom." Madame Knowledge agrees. "Some people have a need to justify the acts they take with moralisms."
>"So what's yers?" Rin snarls at her.
>"I have no need of a moral balm for my sins. I have committed none."

[DracoOmega]

>"I feel sorry that you cannot see."
>Look to Alisaie
>"But I know you can. No bond of family justifies acting against one's own conscience. No one worthy of that kind of respect would ever demand such a thing! And no matter the authority and command with which an order is given, the only person who determines our actions is ourselves. If this is something you refuse to do, she cannot compel you; you are stronger than her, Alisaie."

[Oldmansour]

>"I feel sorry that you cannot see."
>Look to Alisaie
>"But I know you can. No bond of family justifies acting against one's own conscience. No one worthy of that kind of respect would ever demand such a thing! And no matter the authority and command with which an order is given, the only person who determines our actions is ourselves. If this is something you refuse to do, she cannot compel you; you are stronger than her, Alisaie."

>And that, at last, visibly gets under the skin of the seemingly unflappable Madame Knowledge. "How dare you." she demands. "I am the head of the Knowledge family. I have devoted my entire life to the pursuit of the arcane and its mysteries. And you, a nameless nobody, stands there and claims that my younger sister, whose devotion to our family's ways is haphazard at best, possesses skill that eclipses my own?" Her left hand clenches in anger, and malign arcane energy forms around it. "Again I ask, how dare you?!"

[DracoOmega]

>"I speak only the truth as I sense it; there is no question which of the two of you possesses the stronger power. Skill in the arcane is more than just the number of years one has studied it, as I'm sure you must realize."
>And be ready to throw up some stronger barriers if this really does push her over the edge. Towards either us or her sister.

[Oldmansour]

>"I speak only the truth as I sense it; there is no question which of the two of you possesses the stronger power. Skill in the arcane is more than just the number of years one has studied it, as I'm sure you must realize."
>And be ready to throw up some stronger barriers if this really does push her over the edge. Towards either us or her sister.

>"I also realize that you have none." the magus growls. "I don't know where you got your power, but you are no contemporary of mine. So what gives you the right to stand there and claim that my dilettante of a sister is more skilled than me?"
>I don't know what dillatant is, but it's not a good word, is it? White Rose asks you privately.

[DracoOmega]

>It's someone who... only dabbles in a subject, basically. Tries it a little, but doesn't take it very seriously. Though I suspect Alisaie took it a lot more seriously than her sister believes, nonetheless.
>"I can sense the magical power people possess quite readily. And I have as much right to speak my mind as you do; I do not require your permission. You cannot silence every voice who would disagree with you by force of personality alone, and you will not silence this one."

[Oldmansour]

>It's someone who... only dabbles in a subject, basically. Tries it a little, but doesn't take it very seriously. Though I suspect Alisaie took it a lot more seriously than her sister believes, nonetheless.
>"I can sense the magical power people possess quite readily. And I have as much right to speak my mind as you do; I do not require your permission. You cannot silence every voice who would disagree with you by force of personality alone, and you will not silence this one."

>Madame Knowledge gives you a twisted smile, and the energy around her hand fades. "You're right."

[DracoOmega]

>That's... an unexpected reaction.
>Can we sense anything else unusual in our surroundings? Anything magical, or that may have changed?

[Oldmansour]

>That's... an unexpected reaction.
>Can we sense anything else unusual in our surroundings? Anything magical, or that may have changed?

>Indeed it is.
>Now that you scan it, the room itself holds a faint aura of magic about it. That could just be the result of being the living quarters of a family of wizards, or it could indicate something else, you're not sure. And there's definately something magical in that chest you burned the lock off. Whether it's another one of her traps, or some kind of magical artifact, though, is unclear.

[DracoOmega]

>Scan harder. Can we pick out something specific? Something changing?

[Oldmansour]

>Scan harder. Can we pick out something specific? Something changing?

>There are at least three distinct magical signatures from that chest, and a close scan reveals that one of them has the same signature as the trap that you disarmed earlier.
>As for changing, the only thing that's noticably different about the area since you came into the room is that you can sense the magical aura of Anya not too far down the hall.

[DracoOmega]

>Suspicion on high alert
>"I'm glad we agree on something for once. Now is there anything in that chest that you'd rather not get dispelled when I remove the trap you have placed in it?"

[Oldmansour]

>Suspicion on high alert
>"I'm glad we agree on something for once. Now is there anything in that chest that you'd rather not get dispelled when I remove the trap you have placed in it?"

>"I fear you may have misunderstood me."

[DracoOmega]

>"Then please do elaborate."

[Oldmansour]

>"Then please do elaborate."

>"You were right when you said I wouldn't be silencing you. In case you forgot, I will leave that to my sister. If she is indeed as you claim, then sweeping away four exhausted girls shouldn't be too great a problem, now should it? Alisaie." she orders.
>And the sad-faced, downtrodden younger sister of the two squares her shoulders just a little, raises her head, and says, "No."
>The smile vanishes from Madame Knowledge's face. "What did you say?"
>"They risked their lives to save ours." Alisaie protests, turning to face her sister. "How can I repay them with violence?"
>"You already have." the elder says say angrily, and the iron runs out of Alisaie's spine when she does. "I certainly didn't send those bees and badgers after them." She turns her eyes to you. "You did know that those were her summons, yes?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I did, yes. But no harm was done, and I know she felt pressured into doing so. I don't hold it against her."
>Look to Alisaie
>"But doing something we regret does not commit us to follow that path through to its end; at every moment, we decide anew what choices we will make. If this is not how you want things to be, you have the power to choose otherwise. What do you want?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I did, yes. But no harm was done, and I know she felt pressured into doing so. I don't hold it against her."
>Look to Alisaie
>"But doing something we regret does not commit us to follow that path through to its end; at every moment, we decide anew what choices we will make. If this is not how you want things to be, you have the power to choose otherwise. What do you want?"

>"What I want is for you and my sister to resolve this without anymore violence."
>"I did try." Madame Knowledge says smoothly.

[DracoOmega]

>"We have not raised a hand to harm anyone here, nor do I plan to, but I am not leaving without Reisen's papers. If your sister still won't acknowledge her personhood, I am not sure there is much to discuss. Reisen deserves to determine her own life just as much as you do. This is not a privilege one should have to pay for; it is a right."

[Oldmansour]

>"We have not raised a hand to harm anyone here, nor do I plan to, but I am not leaving without Reisen's papers. If your sister still won't acknowledge her personhood, I am not sure there is much to discuss. Reisen deserves to determine her own life just as much as you do. This is not a privilege one should have to pay for; it is a right."

>"Reisen's enslavement was the choice she made years ago." Madame Knowledge says. "It was the consequence of her remaining on Earth, instead of being shipped back to the Moon. If you have a problem with that, then you should take it up with her, not me."