do you recall when the war was just a game?

The second time this happens Nelen says, "She's fine, thank you."

"So glad you're satisfied. You know, your consultant asked me to pass on that watching your reaction was, quote, 'the most gratifying thing ever'."

"I am glad some good came of it," Nelen sighs, looking up at the ceiling.

"Are you still bothered to be an official ex-slaveowner or are you just bothered that we had fun at your expense?"

"I'm bothered that I have no idea how she felt about getting out that way instead of in some more formal manner."

"Huh. It would not have occurred to me to wonder about that. You could ask."

"Unfortunately, some ways she might have felt about it would make hearing from me again unpleasant for her, so no, I can't."

"I have not previously known you to avoid making contact with people just because it might be unpleasant for us."

"- I don't think that's a useful comparison?"

"Why not?"

"Vanda Nossëo contacted you because we think it will be better on net for most people. That poor woman you gave me as a present yesterday has nothing further she needs from me in particular so I have no reason to contact her just to try to assuage my worries about whether you frightened her by doing that."

"I suppose. Does it really matter, given that you had no real choice?"

"If she was frightened in such a way that there are reassurances from me specifically it would help to hear, yes, but I don't think that's very likely. Hopefully she will never need to think about me again."

"It doesn't sound likely at all. You'd know better than I would but I really would be surprised if she was so stupid as to not have noticed you have no interest in owning her. If you had the slightest interest you could have kept her."

"I most certainly could not!"

"Oh? Is that for some obvious reason that the general public could learn?"

"Assuming, as I think is in fact the case, she didn't want to belong to anyone, she could have just left, and I'd be in violation of the law trying to keep her! Even if we assume she wouldn't notice this for some time, if I attempted to bring a slave home my aunt wouldn't have it!"

"You were in Sesat, at least at first."

Nelen looks away. "I don't want to live here."

"Ah, so now you must sabotage all our infrastructure development until you can force us to join you, otherwise she'll live in terror that you could feel clean enough in a rich and independent Sesat."

"I - what? No, that's not even - if I were having problems with feeling clean enough I'd carry a prestidigitator - no. Anyway now she's safely unkidnappable, they'd chase me if I went and dragged her back here."

"Well, then, I'm afraid it's very clear to anyone paying the slightest attention that your time as a slaveowner has come to an end."

"Yes." Nelen sighs.

"Does it really bother you so much that someone else put you in a situation where you couldn't feel like whatever happened at least your hands were clean, even though absolutely no one was made any worse off by any choice you actually made?"