Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 3

[Oldmansour]

>Wouldn't 'back the way we came' imply leaving through the front entrance instead of the back?
>Is the place they're standing on the outside of the school wall or still inside? At least as far as we can assume from Rin's description?
>Then Akiko?

>You could access the back entrance/exit by going around the school the other direction, the way the two shrine maidens went. Or go through the school building itself, assuming the front door was unlocked.
>If they are standing outside the entrance you used earlier, they are inside the school wall.
>Might be. Can't tell from steps.

[DracoOmega]

>How much of a detour are either of these paths
>And go quickly do either of them provide cover against potentially oncoming people?
>And would both of them place us clear of Hatate and co.'s current vantage point, while allowing us to exit the premises?

[Oldmansour]

>How much of a detour are either of these paths
>And go quickly do either of them provide cover against potentially oncoming people?
>And would both of them place us clear of Hatate and co.'s current vantage point, while allowing us to exit the premises?

>Not much of one, either way.
>The door into school would be the quicker option, but the risk there was that it might be locked, you're not sure.
>Unless Hatate or her friends can see through walls, they can't see you from where they are until you go around the corner you're closest to.

[DracoOmega]

>Let's see if we can duck through the school and go the other way around.
>Try ducking through the school. Quietly.

[Oldmansour]

>Let's see if we can duck through the school and go the other way around.
>Try ducking through the school. Quietly.

>Understood
>Rather than dealing with the inevitable questions from school reporter Hatate, you turn around and head back the way you came, hoping to reach the school building entrance before you are spotted.
>Lily is a moment in following you and Rin, swinging her head back and forth before springing after you. Girls?

[DracoOmega]

>Wait, was she not included in the previous conversation?

[Oldmansour]

>Wait, was she not included in the previous conversation?

>She was. She simply sounds like she's trying to get your attention, rather than confused.

[DracoOmega]

>Turn back around
>Yes?

[Oldmansour]

>Turn back around
>Yes?

>Maybe we should talk to em.

[DracoOmega]

>I thought we were hoping to attract as little more attention here as possible?

[Oldmansour]

>I thought we were hoping to attract as little more attention here as possible?

>I know. But if we talk to them, maybe Hatate-sempai won't look into Keine-sensei as much. You know, give 'em something else to write about.

[DracoOmega]

>Without knowing what story the police plan to make public, I fear that anything we say might create contradictions that would only invite further inquiry. Unless, of course, we told them everything, but I do not know if this is wise.

[Oldmansour]

>Without knowing what story the police plan to make public, I fear that anything we say might create contradictions that would only invite further inquiry. Unless, of course, we told them everything, but I do not know if this is wise.

>No, you're right... Lily admits, looking a bit uncomfortable. I just don't like the idea that Keine-sensei might be the bad guy if someone doesn't set it right. It wasn't her fault this happened.

[DracoOmega]

>I promise we will find out who or what was responsible for her actions here today, and then if need be, we will set the record straight on her behalf. I share your sentiments, Lily, but as yet we do not even have a definitive answer to give them.

[Oldmansour]

>I promise we will find out who or what was responsible for her actions here today, and then if need be, we will set the record straight on her behalf. I share your sentiments, Lily, but as yet we do not even have a definitive answer to give them.

>We can probably trust Komachi enough to think she'll keep Keine-sensei's name out of it. Rin offers. And ya know damn well Mima won't want that gettin' public.
>Lily blinks. Why not?
>Wouldn't be good for her own image. Keepin' a shapechanger on payroll's wouldn't be weird for Unzan, but Mima'd hate the idea of somethin' she couldn't control workin' for her.
>The winged blonde brightens. That's true, isn't it.

[DracoOmega]

>If anything untoward about Keine-sensei starts to circulate, we can do our best to address it then, but I do not think anything we could say to Hatate would avert that.

[Oldmansour]

>If anything untoward about Keine-sensei starts to circulate, we can do our best to address it then, but I do not think anything we could say to Hatate would avert that.

>Lily nods. But we can hope. she says with a smile.

[DracoOmega]

>Always.
>Let's get to cutting through that school. Hopefully.

[Oldmansour]

>Always.
>Let's get to cutting through that school. Hopefully.

>With Lily satisfied, you return to your goal of curring through the school building. Having been a bit delayed by your winged friend, you walk a bit more briskly back towards the door. But not so briskly as to prevent you from having a glance back towards the gate leading to the street. The barricades in front of the gates remain manned by the police, and while the crowd of civilains and students seems, from what you can see, to have thinned out a bit, more than one indiviual whom you would guess to be news reporters can be seen accosting the officers standing guard. Of Mima, or any other member of the school staff, you see nothing.
>Since none of the press you can see are carrying cameras, and since they seem more focused on the ones in front of them rather than what's going on inside the gates, you and your comrades finish your short trek back towards the entrance to the school, Rin dashes ahead of you and tries pushing one of the doors open. It fails to yield to her efforts.

[DracoOmega]

>Let's try ducking around the other side of the school then

[Oldmansour]

>Let's try ducking around the other side of the school then

>Thwarted by your effort to escape out through the school, you, White Rose and Lily continue on your way around the school. Whomever was coming from the other side fails to reveal themselves in this time, and when you question Rin, she states that she can't hear footfalls on dirt from this distance, not with as much background noise as there is. Which includes, as you reach the southeast corner of the school, the sound of an ambulance siren, and you spot the flashing white and red lights of the vechicle heading in a northerly direction.
>The eastern side of the school that you now walk down with Rin and Lily is not as open as the other side, as half of it is occupied by the building used mostly by the hockey club for their practices and games in the winter, but also can be adapted for use by any of the sports clubs when the need arises. Apart from the swimming club. Partly due to the difficulties involved in the process, and partly due to the swimming pool occupying the upper portion of the field. Between the two sporting venues lies a plant-lined asphault path, with a bubbling fountain along the concourse.
>You are relieved at seeing no damage upon any visible structure, either from Keine's cursed form or from the battle with the demons. That is, until you see the entrance on the side of the building. At a glance, you would wager this is where Keine came in. There are marks of her horns on the top part of the door frame, dents and claw marks along the sides of the doorframe, and the mangled hinges hint at the fate of the metal door.
>Rin looks upon the damaged entrance with some concern. "It's really good we handled this before things got worse."

[DracoOmega]

>Peer in through the doorway a little as we go by. Does the trail of damage seem to continue on the inside?

>"Indeed, though repairing some of the damage may take some time nonetheless. I wonder how this will affect classes....?"

[Oldmansour]

>Peer in through the doorway a little as we go by. Does the trail of damage seem to continue on the inside?

>"Indeed, though repairing some of the damage may take some time nonetheless. I wonder how this will affect classes....?"

>A glance within reveal the door lying on the floor several feet inside. It is still in one piece, as far as you can tell, but it is stoved in as though it had been struck by a wrecking ball. There are some faint indentations and scratches on the floor, but nothing too serious, and while the roof shows the signs of Keine's passing, they are shallow.

>"Prob'ly safe ta say school's out for the day." Rin answers.
>"Maybe, but not for long." Lily says with a smile. "Principal Unzan will probably have all this fixed by suppertime."

[DracoOmega]

>Chuckle lightly
>"Perhaps. Though who knows how many more parts of the school are in similar condition?"

[Oldmansour]

>Chuckle lightly
>"Perhaps. Though who knows how many more parts of the school are in similar condition?"

>Rin pauses long enough to take another look inside, then springs back up to join you and Lily, as the winged woman replies "You know, if Vice Principal Mima allows, I'll bet there's a lot of students who'd volunteer to help with the repairs. That'd make things go a lot faster."

[DracoOmega]

>"I imagine that would depend on the nature of the repairs. I suspect some places will need a proper structural assessment, at the least."

[Oldmansour]

>"I imagine that would depend on the nature of the repairs. I suspect some places will need a proper structural assessment, at the least."

>"Strctural..." Rin sounds out the word not-quite-correctly. "That means, like, makin' sure the roof won't fall down, right?"

[DracoOmega]

>"If perhaps not the whole roof than at least some door frames. And who knows what else might have gotten damaged? I suspect we didn't see all of it."

[Oldmansour]

>"If perhaps not the whole roof than at least some door frames. And who knows what else might have gotten damaged? I suspect we didn't see all of it."

>Rin glances up at the building next to her. "I wonder if this power we got could fix it..."

[DracoOmega]

>"Hmmm.... it does seem surprisingly versatile, but I am not sure that now is the best time to try experimenting, if we mean to leave without attracting further notice."