Chapter 245: The Witch's Heart
The night's pleasures eventually faded, and the dawn of the next day had already arrived.
The glaring sunlight shone down from the sky, spilling into the room through the window.
The bed was in disarray, the pure white blanket wrinkled but still decently covering the two figures.
On the bed, under the sunlight, the snow-white skin faintly reflected a delicate cherry pink.
The ageless, immortal Witch was curled up in Mahiro's embrace like a kitten, sleeping soundly with her head resting on his sturdy arm.
Her nostrils twitched slightly, and her willow-silk-like soft long hair flowed like a verdant stream, appearing enchanting and captivating.
As if the sunlight was too harsh, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and C.C. slowly awoke from her slumber...
"!!!"
The moment she caught a whiff of that intense masculine scent, the drowsy C.C. jolted awake, her body instantly stiffening.
Even her amber pupils contracted sharply.
But as her vision gradually refocused and she saw Mahiro's face with its annoyingly mischievous grin, her body inexplicably relaxed.
"Good morning, Miss C.C."
C.C. gave no response, nor did she show any expression. After locking eyes with him for a moment, she simply closed her eyes again, pulled the pillow over, and quietly turned away.
Pop!—like the sound of a champagne cork opening.
The sensation made both of them tremble slightly.
Yet even so, C.C. showed no intention of acknowledging him.
""
Mahiro scratched his cheek in slight confusion.
To be honest, this was the first time he had encountered such a reaction.
After all, even Lina and Chelsea, who claimed not to care, would call him a jerk afterward or the next day.
But C.C.'s indifferent, apathetic attitude left him somewhat at a loss.
After some thought, his gaze eventually settled on the two boxes of pizza by the bedside.
"Would you like me to heat up the pizza for you?"
"Mhm."
C.C. finally responded.
A soft, muffled grunt came from under the covers. Though it seemed a bit parched, her voice carried a hint of hoarseness.
They had perhaps been a bit too unrestrained the previous night.
But there was no helping it—C.C. was so stubborn and loved to mock him.
Mahiro didn't say much more. He immediately threw off the covers and prepared to get out of bed, but as C.C.'s snow-white back was exposed to the air,
he noticed a few fallen plum blossoms on the bedsheet.
Blinking in surprise, a corner of his heart seemed to ease slightly.
So, it really was C.C.'s first time...
It was true that the CODE would heal physical wounds,
but its fixed temporal anchor was set at the moment one accepted the CODE.
Just like V.V., who accepted the CODE in his childhood, causing him to remain forever in the form of a young boy.
And C.C., who accepted the CODE during her girlhood, had her body and age eternally fixed at 19.
The ageless, immortal Witch...
"What are you still waiting for?"
"Nothing."
Mahiro averted his gaze, picked up the pizza from the bedside, and turned to leave the room.
"Hmph, such a naive brat."
After he left, C.C. also noticed the scattered rosy spots on the bedsheet.
Though she said that, a faint blush actually appeared on the face of this ageless, immortal Witch. Emotions of shyness that should have been long exhausted by time were now surprisingly revived, quietly growing in her heart once more!
This was inevitable.
Although her Geass ability was to be loved, causing those around her to unconditionally fall for her when activated, she had never accepted anyone.
Even sharing a bed, even being embraced—it was all her first time, though not particularly pleasant.
However, this Witch experiencing her first embrace gradually began to harbor a strange feeling within, one she hadn't even noticed herself.
"Oh, Teacher, are you making breakfast?"
Sayoko, pushing Nunnally, happened to run into Mahiro coming out of the kitchen. The rich aroma of freshly baked pizza lingered around her delicate nose.
"Ah, good morning, Nunnally. I just warmed up yesterday's pizza a bit. Would you like some?"
"No, thank you, Teacher. Sayoko and I already ate earlier."
Nunnally shook her head, politely declining his offer.
"That's a shame, but it's probably for the best. Eating pizza in the morning might be hard to digest."
"Um... Teacher, wait a moment."
Just as Mahiro was about to turn and leave, Nunnally suddenly called out to stop him.
"What is it?"
"Teacher, did something happen last night? I thought I heard some noise from your room..."
"Not at all."
Mahiro smiled and replied, "It was just that when I opened the window last night, a little stray cat suddenly ran into my room and tried to claim my bed. It took a bit of effort to get it under control."
"Is that so?"
Nunnally tilted her head slightly, a hint of doubt appearing on her slightly chubby cheeks. But in the end, she chose to believe Mahiro's words.
"Then you must be careful, Teacher. If you accidentally get scratched by a cat, make sure to disinfect it promptly."
"No problem. It's just a little stray cat—how could it possibly hurt your teacher?"
Facing Nunnally, he crafted a lie that wasn't entirely untrue.
After all, C.C. really was no different from a stray cat that had wandered in from outside.
He had indeed spent the whole night trying to tame this little stray cat, but her mouth was too stubborn—even when her voice grew hoarse, she still refused to admit defeat.
And now, this defiant little stray cat was curled up on his bed.
Mahiro placed the warmed pizza by the bedside, then turned to the wardrobe to change his clothes.
"Oi, brat, where are you going?"
"Seriously, can't you call me something else?"
"No."
"...Fine. I'm going to work soon. Unlike you, I can't just laze around here freeloading."
As he spoke, Mahiro slipped on his jacket.
Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he was as dashing as ever—especially that faint smile, which was simply the perfect touch...
Alright, maybe he was boasting a bit too much.
But as a Coordinator, his looks were undoubtedly impeccable. If he had more ambition and wanted to charm some young girls, probably none would refuse.
When he turned his head, he noticed C.C. had already left the bed. Wearing his white shirt, she sat on the sofa quietly eating pizza.
Her petite, delicate feet rested on the matching ottoman, slightly arched ankles exuding elegance, with occasional glimpses of alluring pink soles visible beneath.
Perhaps uncomfortable under his direct gaze, her ten lovely toes curled inward, revealing playful pink arches that appeared utterly charming.
"What are you looking at?"
CODE
GEAS
Lelouch of th
ellion
In order to defeat Britannia, and create an
Lelouch has just started a reve
world of his own.
alone.
Comrade
C.C.'s amber eyes fixed on Mahiro standing before the wardrobe. January 5th
Though questioning him verbally, she never paused her movements—still slowly parting her cherry-like lips to happily bite into a slice of pizza, cheese and all, chewing leisurely.
Judging solely by her dining manners, this Pizza Witch appeared graceful and captivating.
Yet her eating speed proved remarkably efficient. Within moments, an entire twelve-inch pizza had vanished.
Her flat stomach showed no signs of bulging, making one wonder where this Witch stored all that pizza...
"Can't I look?"
Mahiro ultimately withdrew his gaze and casually replied.
After swallowing the pizza, C.C.'s eyes—that seemed to have witnessed all of life's vicissitudes—flickered with a fleeting glow as she murmured:
"Your job remains the same as before? Teaching those children?"
"What else?" Mahiro shrugged indifferently.
"I truly don't understand you."
C.C. slowly drew one leg up, resting her cheek against it while watching Mahiro prepare to leave the room.
"Someone like you actually has the patience to teach them..."
"What kind of person am I?" Mahiro smiled faintly. "Besides, if I don't find something to do, how should I pass the time? My body would grow rusty too."
"Rusty? Isn't it actually for those pretty girls?"
C.C.'s tone carried inexplicable amusement, but Mahiro dismissively waved his hand.
"Take it as you will. I'm off to work now~"
"Remember to bring me pizza when you return."
"Fine, understood."
Click! The door automatically closed, restoring silence to the room.
C.C. stared blankly at the shut door for a long while before slowly shifting her gaze, reaching toward another pizza plate to pick up a slice of Hawaiian pizza and take small bites.
"..."
She looked down at the pizza in her plate, chewing on a piece of thoroughly baked soft pineapple while offering this evaluation, yet never ceasing her chewing motion.
As if she weren't savoring her favorite food, but merely filling her stomach out of necessity.
Countless complex emotions flickered in her beautiful eyes—joy, fear, nostalgia, worry, along with a faint sorrow and an aloofness that kept others at a distance.
Yet they had just experienced an utterly ordinary, commonplace conversation.
So why was this happening?
C.C. felt an unprecedented emotion budding within her heart.
She didn't understand what it was, nor had she ever experienced it before...
She only felt a slight discomfort, a faint palpitation, and even more so, an unprecedented sense of comfort.
"Hey, Lelouch, wake up!"
In the Ashford Student Council room, the council president Milly Ashford was vigorously hitting Lelouch on the head with a rolled-up club report.
"Ow, what are you doing, President?"
Disturbed from his pleasant dream, Lelouch had no idea what was going on. He opened his bleary eyes and complained casually.
"You were sleeping just now, weren't you? You definitely were!"
Ignoring Lelouch's complaints, Milly continued to strike his head forcefully with the paper tube.
One of Milly's hands rested on the table, accentuating her slender legs and attractive figure. Her short skirt swayed slightly, revealing a glimpse of the "absolute territory," where her fair thighs met the dark blue thigh-high socks.
Slightly plump yet firm from regular exercise, these subtly contradictory qualities shaped her jade-like legs, which could almost be described as "legs worth admiring for a year."
Meanwhile, Mahiro, who was mingling in the student council room, watched the scene with great interest, a faint, amused smile playing on his lips.
As a teacher, he shouldn't have been in the student council room.
But old man Ashford had forced the position of student council advisor on him. Combined with his youthful appearance and easygoing personality,
the student council members not only didn't reject him at all, but Milly, as the president, warmly welcomed him.
Thus, his office was relocated to the student council area.
"Hey, I saw you snickering!"
Lelouch turned his head and looked at Mahiro, who was enjoying the show, and said discontentedly, "As the advisor, are you just going to stand by and let President Milly run wild?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Wagging a finger at Lelouch, Mahiro made a clicking sound with his tongue.
"Lelouch, you've got two things wrong.
First, I wasn't snickering—I was laughing openly.
Second, Milly isn't running wild. She's exercising her legitimate authority as student council president to help me, as a teacher, discipline a problematic student.
After all, I never told you to skip class repeatedly to gamble at chess, nor did I ask Shirley to cover for your absences every time."
Mahiro spoke calmly and methodically.
Meanwhile, Shirley, sitting next to Lelouch, puffed out her cheeks and glared at him while chiming in:
"The teacher is right, Lulu! You should be punished for always skipping class to gamble at chess!"
But when she glanced at Mahiro, her cheeks flushed uncontrollably.
Every time Lelouch skipped class, it was she who went to ask Mahiro for leave on his behalf. Even she felt embarrassed after so many times.
It made her feel like a nanny—and it was all Lulu's fault!
"That's right, Shirley is correct. And this is your punishment, Lulu, for abandoning me and running off alone yesterday."
Rivalz shot a rather resentful glance at Lelouch, his words dripping with the bitterness of a neglected wife, enough to make one's scalp tingle.
If not for knowing Rivalz had normal sexual orientation and Lelouch's complete disinterest in romance, one might suspect there was something between them. January.
Yet amidst the bustling student council atmosphere, there remained a quiet corner.
Near the edge of the student council room stood a computer.
A girl was operating it, the derivation experiment content displayed on the screen utterly incomprehensible to most.
"...Einstein"
This was the name of the girl with plain twin braids and round-framed glasses.
But her surname was truly illustrious—Einstein, representing the wisest and most brilliant mind.
And Nina indeed lived up to this name.
Not only was she highly proficient in physics, but she had also used such simple and crude equipment to derive and create an actual strategic-level weapon—the antimatter bomb.
Its power was immense.
A single shot was enough to annihilate an entire city.
Far more terrifying than nuclear weapons by countless times.
"Hey, Mahiro-sensei? Mahiro-sensei!"
Just as he was lost in these thoughts, someone lightly tapped his shoulder several times, snapping him back to reality.
"Hmm? Milly, is there something you need?"
The one tapping his shoulder was none other than the student council president—Milly Ashford—standing with one hand on her hip, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
"Nothing much, just curious since you were spacing out... Could it be that you've taken a liking to our Nina?"
Milly followed his gaze and spotted Nina typing at the computer.
But her words not only caused exclamations from others but also startled Nina, who immediately stood up from her seat, crossed her arms over her chest, blushing deeply, and stepped back several steps—even bumping her waist against the table corner and nearly falling.
"Milly, as a teacher, I must tell you that your remarks are not befitting of a lady's conduct.""
"And as the student council advisor, I advise you, as the president, not to make such jokes. Though it may seem like just a playful comment to you, it can cause significant harm to the person involved."
Mahiro calmly admonished Milly.
Milly stuck out her tongue in response and apologized to Nina.
Having grown up together with Nina since childhood, Milly often overlooked Nina's feelings, especially when saying things that made Nina uncomfortable.
Despite Milly being quite intelligent and perceptive, she failed to notice it here.
"As for what I was thinking about earlier... I was wondering who the red-haired girl in class today was."
"I..."Milly thought for a moment and immediately realized: "Teacher, you must be referring to Kallen Stadtfeld." She's the daughter of the prestigious Stadtfeld family, one of the Empire's eight great noble houses. But she's naturally frail and in poor health—she hasn't been to school since the opening ceremony, so it's normal that you wouldn't know her."
Don't know her?
How could he not know her.
As a mixed-blood of Area 11 and Britannia, as the future pilot of the Guren, as a key future member of the Black Knights, as a terrorist who participated in the Shinjuku operation.
It would be strange if he didn't know her.
He was just finding an excuse to keep the conversation going.
Lelouch beside him was also listening intently, just like Mahiro.
Although there were subtle differences in demeanor, seeing that fiery red hair immediately reminded him of Q1 who piloted the Glasgow in Shinjuku.
But speaking of Shinjuku, there was something quite puzzling.
Even though Clovis had already been killed, Britannia still hadn't released any news about it.
Even in Shinjuku, Britannia only sent a few people in hazmat suits pretending to inspect something, seemingly trying to confirm the poison gas incident.
This was probably to prevent chaos or to buy time for something...
As for what they were buying time for, it was naturally for C.C.
But right now, whether it was C.C. or the concealment of Clovis's death, neither could compare to Milly's sudden inspiration.
"That's right, why don't we have Kallen join the student council too!"
With a clap of her hands, Milly came up with this idea.