Perhaps. Perhaps not.

I...haven't forgotten where I'm going back to. And I don't know how long I'll be there while everyone else continues on with their lives.

Not to worry.

We have enough things on our hands currently. The future can and will catch up to us.

[ Not even CERES can stop that. ]

[As she continued walking along the...strange palace...Iris spared the younger girl a sheepish smile.]

Yes. I know.

Mr. Edgeworth...he said something similar when I first asked him about it. I...wanted to make sure he was alright with me being out of prison while we're here.

He did? That sounds just like him. [ There's a faint smile on her face, it's hard to catch though. ]

When we get a formal judicial system in these parts then you'll be able to continue your time.

[At that, Iris' expression...notably faltered.]

[She had accepted her fate and punishment before, and was still fully prepared to return once they were all home again...but the thought of having to continue her sentence while still in Cerealia?]

[Temptation to argue was...a lot strong than it might have been. There were points to be made. Of her crime having been committed in a different realm. Of the fact that she had technically already been tried, so it wasn't as if they could re-try her here. Of the fact that...she had been trying so hard to make amends for her crimes in other ways...]

I...suppose that is true. If that day comes, I will...have to accept it.

[All fleeting thoughts overcome by the realization that to argue otherwise simply wouldn't have been fair.]

Yes, perhaps. We're in a unique situation. Use your freedom wisely.

[ Franziska has no power over anything here unlike before where she could control the courtroom rulings at her will. Now everything's so circumstantial there's no telling what could happen. ]

Your companions are here, are they not? They'd probably prefer it if you were in a safe place.

[ She can be nice sometimes! Like now!!]

I will. I have been.

[Franziska was quite nice, in Iris' opinion. Perhaps not as gentle and openly friendly as some of the others she knew here, but there was little animosity between them. And she knew Franziska was one to be trusted, which meant even more to her than niceness.]

C...companions? Do...you mean Feenie and the others?

Because they know I go into the ViViD games sometimes, and none of them have yet to try and stop me.

[Not that she ever gives them the chance before going in.]

Of course I mean them.

Have you ever tried asking them to go inside of ViViD with you? They do seem like the foolish sort who would head straight into danger blindly like a fool.

[ ViViD isn't exactly the safest place, but who's to say that Iris can't pester Phoenix or Maya to come along? ]

[...well, she wasn't wrong about that.]

I...wouldn't want to bother them, if they were busy with other things at the time.

Besides, there are many games that I've been able to manage myself. [She wasn't a fighter by any means, but a lifetime of manual labor and intensive meditative training had left her both physically and mentally stronger than many gave her credit for.] And even if I can't...there are other people I come across who are willing to help me.

Almost everyone I've met in Cerealia has been very kind.

You are rather lucky things didn't end differently. I have met many fools here although some of these fools are kind just as you say.

[ It's thanks to those fools that she's still safe even after being tossed into a brutal simulation. ]

By all means, please pester your companions more. I assume that they have nothing better to do.

Oh, I'm sure that's not true.

In the actual city, there's been a lot to do. Between the jobs they assign us, and many projects that others have undertaken as well, it's a wonder the days don't seem to go by much faster than they do.

That's right, many of us here are employed.

Even so, we can't practice formal law in these parts. I can no longer work as a prosecutor nor can Phoenix Wright work as defense attorney.

What is your current job, Sister Iris?

I've been working as a meditation instructor. There are many techniques used in the Kurain method of training that can be applied to those without any affiliation to the Fey family, regardless of abilities.

[Or lack thereof, as she could personally attest to.]

And you are partially right. Feenie might not be able to work as a defense attorney, but I know he's been working on a school of sorts to teach law.

That's right. The Kurain village had many spiritual techniques that you could put to use here.

He better not be infecting those students with his stupidity.

[. . .]

[For the first time, Iris sent Franziska a...less than pleasant Look.]

He's not stupid.

[ Oh yeah, Iris had a thing for Phoenix. ]

If he's not stupid, then he's a fool. That's all there is.

[ Franziska that's not how it works. She seems to insist on calling him dumb though even if technically he's not. ]

[Had]

Why?

Why do you consider him to be a Fool? Even after knowing all that he's done. Everything he's accomplished.

Everyone's a fool. That's my belief. [ Everyone's a fool, including her that is. ]

There is no human without foolishness. Phoenix Wright is not exempted from this rule of mine.

[Okay, at least that...meant she wasn't completely singling him out. Though it did bring up another question.]

Why does everyone have to be a fool? Is it...because we all make mistakes?

Naturally.

So you see Sister Iris, like I said before there's no such thing as a human without mistake. Humanity is filled with foolish fools who make even more foolishly foolish errors. Do you disagree? Do you believe we're not foolish?

[ If she disagrees there's gotta be a reason for it. ]

Edited 2016-06-18 04:19 pm (UTC)

[At first, she didn't answer. Leaving only the sound of their footsteps as they continued along their unusual path. Thinking over what Franziska said, and...wondering whether or not she did believe.]

[In the end, as with many answers, her was neither a definitive yes or no.]

I believe...that to make mistakes...to act...foolish, as you say...is a part of who we are.

But it doesn't have to the the only part. Or what defines us.

[ Franziska can't really say no to that. Iris' statement is hardly foolish. ]

To rise above your own foolishness means to acknowledge it in the first place.

Perhaps one day humanity won't be so foolish but until I see proof I'll withhold my judgment. You've made yourself clear to me, Sister Iris. You're quite optimistic and it's different from what I think.

I wouldn't call it optimism.

[Optimism would be a little more like...the unwavering belief that people could rise above said foolishness.]

But I do agree that...we both seem to think differently. About many things. Which I'm willing to accept.

After all, wasn't it different points of view that allowed you and Mr. Edgeworth to uncover truths that allowed my trial to continue beyond the first day?

[Regardless about how Franziska might feel about "losing" a one-day win...Iris would always be grateful for what she saw to be a (begrudging) teamwork between the adopted siblings]

[ Franziska nods to Iris words. ]

Justice cannot be brought to light without clashing opinions. The truth will make itself known for better or for worse.

I'm willing to accept our differences as well.

Good. I'm glad.

[It meant an easier time getting along in future, hopefully less embarrassing, endeavors.]