Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Oh. Misread. Sorry.

[Oldmansour]

>Perhaps we have the Tiger to thank for this? It would be nice to believe so.
>What exactly did you tell her?

>I told her that the creatures I fought were not of this world, that they came from a place as yet unknown to the shrines. I told her that while the immediate threats were dealt with, that more could be coming, and that we should be vigilant for them. She seemed surprised, I would say, at the idea of a power beyond the knowledge of the four shrines, but she admitted our knowledge is not infinite.
>And I told her of the unexpected allies I found. But that I did not know their names, the source of their power, nor where they came from. I said to her what I first said to you, that I felt it was wiser to know as little of you as I could. And she accepted that wisdom. She said, 'You were wise to do this. Until we know more of these creatures, knowledge of ourselves should be guarded.'
>She did, however, instruct me to investigate where you and Lily might have acquired your powers, and the kind of power it was. She was surprised at knowledge of you as she was of the demons.

[Hanzo K.]

>Interesting. Perhaps, if she is a danger, and that problem making her one is removed, we might have a valuable ally. The other girls at the temple spoke quite highly of her after all. And I'm inclined to believe similarly. And, who knows? Perhaps she has the same potential that you, I, and Lily possess. I certainly wouldn't mind having her as an ally, having her as a potential enemy leaves a bad taste in my mouth..

[Oldmansour]

>Interesting. Perhaps, if she is a danger, and that problem making her one is removed, we might have a valuable ally. The other girls at the temple spoke quite highly of her after all. And I'm inclined to believe similarly. And, who knows? Perhaps she has the same potential that you, I, and Lily possess. I certainly wouldn't mind having her as an ally, having her as a potential enemy leaves a bad taste in my mouth..

>I would certainly agree with you there.
>If I may, though, perhaps we should put away our phones? It feels awkward to have it next to my ear and not be using it.

[DracoOmega]

>Oh, yes, of course
>Hang up the phone

>I suppose it is a good thing that Satori seems unaware of either force at play in this battle, assuming what she says is true. But that does little to shed light on what other power is at work there. I assume she made no comment on the situation regarding the sacred flame?

[Oldmansour]

>Oh, yes, of course
>Hang up the phone

>I suppose it is a good thing that Satori seems unaware of either force at play in this battle, assuming what she says is true. But that does little to shed light on what other power is at work there. I assume she made no comment on the situation regarding the sacred flame?

>She did not, but that does raise a point I wanted to broach with you. I wanted to ask her about it, yet I felt it wise not to arouse her suspicions, at least not until we have more information. But if the flame at THIS shrine flared black, the others may have as well. It's still possible I may draw attention here if I started asking questions, but it may be safe for you and Lily. Contact or visit the other shrines, see if their flame chambers are off-limits as ours is. I will continue to investigate this one.

[DracoOmega]

>How well do we know Youmu?
>Are the sacred flames normally off-limits to the general public, even if not to the maidens of the shrine itself?
>What about these flames do we believe is public knowledge?

[Oldmansour]

>How well do we know Youmu?
>Are the sacred flames normally off-limits to the general public, even if not to the maidens of the shrine itself?
>What about these flames do we believe is public knowledge?

>You consider each other friends.
>No. The flames are located in the main room of all four temples, the room where many public rituals and gatherings are held.
>Each flame is said to represent a facet of the Animal God worshiped there. In the case of the Metal Tiger, it is said to be a symbol of the vivacity of life in the wild. For the Fire Bird, it is a mark that freedom can never be quenched. The flame of the Wood Dragon embodies the human spirit. Well, human and non-human, the nomenclature varies a bit. And the Water Tortoises' flame denotes change. The flame is never the same shape twice, like the waters the God dwells in. And the burning of all four is a symbol of hope and perseverance for the people of Mayogia, a destroyed city that thrives once more. Local lore states that the city will continue to grow and prosper so long as the fires burn.

[Hanzo K.]

>I think we can try then. It's just a matter of getting the right information to make the inquiries believable. Some might find it suspicious that someone not linked to a temple is inquiring about the Sacred Flames.

[DracoOmega]

Well, the one Lily was transferring to is the one run by Youmu, who it does seem that we probably know better than she does - and I think Youmu has a decent chance of being an open book about something amiss, to someone who's friends with her, even if she tries not to speak of it. It might actually be best if we take that one anyway. Though I think we should be a little more discreet about it than directly asking if the flames are turning black, which seems odd and ominous no matter how you put it. Mightn't it be enough to just try to get access to the flame ourselves, if the room is open to the public?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Agreed. If the chambers are closed, then we can assume there's an issue.

[Hanzo K.]

I'm simply being practical here. 'Two birds with one stone', as they say. Lily's already transferring there to begin with, so to get the most info in the shortest time, we can leave the opening investigation at Youmu's to her, while we look into the other two shrines.
Once she's finished her cursory investigation, and we've gotten what info we can from the others, we can then do a follow-up at Youmu's.
Standard investigative procedure really, no matter what career you have.

[DracoOmega]

I would generally agree that splitting the work makes sense, though it remains questionable whether Lily has enough energy to do any investigating at all today. I had figured that we might be able to pick up on a certain evasiveness from Youmu that Lily would not, but for a cursory investigation, I suppose that's alright. But either way, I think it would be a bit overly strange "for someone like me to be inquiring about such an odd thing as the sacred flames turning black for a time", as you said to Kiku.

[Hanzo K.]

We could say that we'd heard about it, and that it concerns us. Which really is the truth.
After all, 'The Morning Star' has a reputation for being kind and caring, so this fits rather well for us to be concerned about strange goings-on.

[DracoOmega]

Well, how would we have heard about such a thing? I think is several degrees past a 'normal' kind of strange, and it's better if we're not associated with this knowledge so directly. Keep in mind that there's a chance that our inquiries could make it back to Satori via one of the other head shrine maidens, even if they are entirely innocent, just because it piqued their own curiosity. And given that the knowledge of the sacred flame's affliction at the Metal Tiger shrine isn't even known to its OWN shrine maidens (due to the memory being blocked) it would raise serious questions about how anyone could know of it, which could put either us or perhaps even Kiku in more direct danger. That we have heard of it may be the truth, as you put it, but that doesn't mean that the people we'd be talking to need to know that.

[Hanzo K.]

True, there's got to be some way to make it sound believable. We probably can't inquire easily otherwise.
Perhaps inquiring with Youmu first could shed some light on things though, and provide what we need to investigate the others.

[DracoOmega]

Yes, Youmu could be a good place to start. Alternately, we could just drop by the shrines and wander in to look at the sacred flame if that's possible. And if it turns out that it's closed off, we could casually inquire as to why - after all, that would be a perfectly normal question to ask if the place is normally open. I'm sure they've already fielded that question dozens of times, if true.

[Hanzo K.]

That'll have to do for now.

[DracoOmega]

Not meaning to be pushy or overly particular, but do you think you could amend your statement to Kiku if what it says is no longer entirely accurate? ^^;

[Hanzo K.]

Like so?

[DracoOmega]

Close enough

[Hanzo K.]

You're welcome to try to improve it, Draco.

[Oldmansour]

>I think we can try then. It's just a matter of getting the right information to make the inquiries believable. Some might find it suspicious that someone not linked to a temple is inquiring about the Sacred Flames.

>Definitely. Which is why I would suggest not asking about the flames directly. If the chambers have been locked as ours is, that should be sufficient information. More than one shrine locking their flame chamber at the same time would be too great a coincidence, given the other circumstances.

[DracoOmega]

>Yes, that would be quite suspicious at present, so that may be sufficient to start with. But I am also friends with Youmu Konpaku, so it is possible that if something is amiss, I may be able to glean this from her. ...assuming, of course, that whatever force is at play with Satori has not affected the other head shrine maidens in a similar fashion...

[Oldmansour]

>Yes, that would be quite suspicious at present, so that may be sufficient to start with. But I am also friends with Youmu Konpaku, so it is possible that if something is amiss, I may be able to glean this from her. ...assuming, of course, that whatever force is at play with Satori has not affected the other head shrine maidens in a similar fashion...

>I don't believe I care for that thought. But I can't accept it's spread that far. The idea of all four shrines being compromised in this way... It seems impossible to accept. There is a pause before she adds, But then again, twenty-four hours ago, the idea of Satori being any kind of threat would have been impossible to accept...

[DracoOmega]

>I do not want to accept it either, and I hope sincerely that it is not the case. But yes, these are strange times and I suspect we may see a great many things we would not have expected, before they are over. But that comes later. For now, I think I can look into some of the other shrines after supper.

[Oldmansour]

>I do not want to accept it either, and I hope sincerely that it is not the case. But yes, these are strange times and I suspect we may see a great many things we would not have expected, before they are over. But that comes later. For now, I think I can look into some of the other shrines after supper.

>There is another thing I felt I should mention, if that is your plan. You were able to speak to the Metal Tiger. I don't know what about you summoned forth his ghost, but the fact is you did. It is possible that you may be able to speak to the other three, as well. I don't know if they will know anything more on this matter than the Tiger, but I felt I should mention the possibility.

[DracoOmega]

>Do we know if the other shrines have any 'natural' areas within their grounds, akin to the forest at the Metal Tiger shrine?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we know if the other shrines have any 'natural' areas within their grounds, akin to the forest at the Metal Tiger shrine?

>The Black Tortoise shrine has a decent sized pond behind it, as well as fairly thick area of woods surrounding it and it's body of water. You recall there being plans to allow logging operations there a few years ago, but Suika would have none of it. The Fire Bird shrine likewise has woodland surrounding it, not as thick as the Tortoise's but the trees are a great deal taller, some almost as tall as the Ayakashi itself.
>The Wood Dragon shrine has a thin line of trees to its rear, but the area around that shrine is more developed than the other four.

[DracoOmega]

>The Ayakashi?