Chapter 246: Red, but Boldly Styled
After unilaterally making the decision, Student Council President Milly spent the entire morning working hard to plan a welcome party for Kallen Stadtfeld to join the student council.
But the moment the lunch bell rang, Lelouch immediately left his seat and prepared to exit the classroom.
His speed was as if he were rushing to secure a seat in the cafeteria.
After observing all morning, Lelouch had confirmed that this sickly, frequently absent girl—Kallen Stadtfeld—was the Q1 who appeared in Shinjuku!
Although she appeared quiet and reserved at school, almost like a sheltered young lady.
Her posture and that red hair were exactly the same as when he saw her in the truck container.
Just to be sure, Lelouch planned to use his Geass for final confirmation.
However, Mahiro saw all of this but remained silent, making no move to stop him, simply wanting to quietly watch the show.
"Well then, time for lunch, time for lunch."
After packing up his teaching materials and textbooks, Mahiro left the classroom, which now had only a few scattered students remaining.
Walking through the empty hallway, he pondered what to have for lunch.
But when he turned a corner, he found Shirley standing by a window, looking outside with a tense expression on her face.
Tiptoeing quietly behind Shirley, he followed her gaze downward and saw Lelouch talking to Kallen in the grass below.
As they spoke, it seemed like they even started arguing.
"Ah, such youthful passion~"
Mahiro's sudden remark startled Shirley. When the girl turned around and saw it was Mahiro, she became even more nervous, like a child caught doing something wrong.
"M-Mahiro-sensei, I..."
"No need to explain, I understand."
Mahiro cut off what she was about to say, giving Shirley a meaningful look as he said:
"Shirley, you must be envious seeing Kallen able to talk so intimately with Lelouch, right?
But as someone who's been through it, let me remind you.
Love, you know, requires taking initiative.
If you just wait passively here, you'll gain nothing~~"
"N-No... It's not what you're thinking, sensei."
Shirley blushed deeply at his teasing, quickly waving her hands and shaking her head in denial.
"So unstraightforward, Shirley..."
Mahiro smiled slightly, then opened the window and shouted down:
"What are you two doing in the school garden?! Don't you know school rules forbid early romance?! Lelouch Lamperouge, you brat, get up here now!"
Without any mercy, he directly disrupted their "secret meeting.Although Ashford Academy is an aristocratic school, its rules are similar to other schools—students are indeed not allowed to engage in overt romance.
But the key point was how quickly Mahiro-sensei changed his expression.
One moment he was imparting love advice, the next he was sternly scolding the two below.
Shirley was momentarily stunned...
Was Mahiro-sensei helping me?
Meanwhile, when Lelouch below heard the scolding and turned to see it was Mahiro, instead of nervousness he seemed relieved, quickly responding:
"Mahiro-sensei, I'll come see you right away!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he hurried off.
Kallen, who had just been questioning Lelouch, hadn't yet figured out how he knew about the Shinjuku incident, and now couldn't continue her questioning.
But that voice...
After watching Lelouch run off, Kallen suddenly looked up, staring intently at Mahiro.
That voice sounded familiar, like the other voice that suddenly came through the walkie-talkie that day.
Although there was some distortion from electronic interference, it was at least seventy percent similar. Could this be a coincidence?
"?"
Mahiro remained by the window, noticing that Kallen below seemed to be glaring at him with a very hostile expression, showing no trace of sickness but filled with suspicion.
So he spoke up:
"What? Kallen Stadtfeld, aren't you going to lunch? Do you plan to come up and have a chat with your teacher too?"At these words, Kallen snapped back to reality, retracting her fierce gaze and becoming delicate again."
Without a word, she left the garden.
Although she might seem reckless, a girl who prefers solving problems with violence, her mind isn't exactly delicate but she's not stupid either.
Lelouch Lamperouge—she didn't know how this person knew about Shinjuku.
But his tone and voice just now were very similar to K1 from the walkie-talkie.
And then that new teacher—his voice and tone were also very similar to the one that appeared later on the walkie-talkie.
Plus Lelouch knew about Shinjuku...
Was all this really just coincidence?
Kallen found it hard to believe.
But if it were true, it would be too absurd.
Lelouch Lamperouge was one thing—maybe he had some reason to oppose Britannia.
But that new teacher...
If the intelligence the Stadtfeld family obtained was correct, that teacher had two names.
Just like she was called Kallen Stadtfeld but also Kallen Kōzuki.
That teacher called himself Mahiro, but actually he was also called Mahiro zi Britannia.
He was personally granted the surname by Charles, the 98th Emperor of the Britannian Empire, placing him above even the Eight Great Families of the Empire.
He even served as a royal tutor.
Although she didn't know why such an important figure would come teach at a small noble school in Area 11, for such a person to come oppose Britannia was just too...
Thinking this, Kallen became deeply troubled, even losing her appetite for lunch.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Mahiro didn't wait long before seeing Lelouch appear at the end of the hallway, breathing heavily as he walked over.
His face looked as uncomfortable as if he were constipated.
This guy, getting this tired just from climbing stairs... his stamina is truly hard to assess...
Mahiro sighed inwardly, but maintained his teacher's authority outwardly, directly giving Lelouch a stern lecture.
"Lelouch Lamperouge, don't you know the school forbids early romance? Now you're knowingly breaking the rules, not focusing on your studies—how can you face your sister, how can you face your parents?!"
His words, especially when mentioning parents and sister, made Lelouch's body tremble slightly, his expression changing a bit.
Shirley beside them panicked even more.
She wanted to defend Lelouch somehow, but couldn't find the right words to speak.
"What, why aren't you speaking? Do you naturally dislike talking? Weren't you having a great conversation with Kallen Stadtfeld in the garden just now?"
"I know I was wrong, sensei. Please forgive me."
This time, Lelouch apologized very directly.
While also giving him meaningful looks, trying to tell him he was going too far!
But Lelouch also understood that Mahiro-sensei was covering for him and defusing the situation. If Kallen had continued pressing him, he might have really been exposed.
But the look Mahiro returned to Lelouch was—
If you're putting on a show, do it thoroughly. Besides, Shirley is still here—how can we not give a stern criticism?
Just then, his pocket suddenly vibrated.
"Alright, I'll let it slide this time, Lelouch. I don't want to see it happen again at school, understand? Go eat!"
Mahiro waved his hand as if shooing a fly, then turned and pulled his phone from his pocket.
Looking at the caller ID, he saw it was from the student council room—his current temporary residence.
"Hello?Mahiro answered the phone, but immediately heard a willful female voice from the other end.
"...I'm hungry. I want pizza."Hearing this familiar voice, Mahiro's mouth corner twitched slightly as he said helplessly, 'I mean, are you some sheltered young lady?" You have to call me for something like this?"
"I want pizza.His protests and complaints had no effect on the witch on the other end, who instead intensified her tone.
"...I didn't say you couldn't eat. Order delivery yourself."
"I don't have money."
"The right bedside table, bottom drawer—there's a whole drawer of cash. Take it yourself."
"I see."
Without waiting for Mahiro's reply, C.C. decisively hung up.
"Tch, this pizza witch..."
"Is it that green-haired woman?"
Just as Mahiro put away his phone, Lelouch's voice came from behind.
Turning around, he found that Shirley had left at some point, leaving only him and Lelouch in the hallway.
So Lelouch stopped hiding things.
But what concerned him more was:
"You've already met her?"
"Yeah, when I came back yesterday, that woman suddenly appeared and said I was her contractor..."
Lelouch fell into brief recollection.
Yesterday when he returned to the student council room, that woman who should have been dead from a headshot suddenly blocked his way.
Said all these inexplicable things...
And mentioned something about a contract.
"Mahiro-sensei, is my power really from that woman?"
"Indeed. Your Geass comes from that pizza witch. But judging by your look, you just had a close call?"
Mahiro was naturally referring to the Kallen incident.
Lelouch didn't hide it either, nodding: "Yeah, almost got exposed. But sensei, you didn't tell me there's a usage limit on people."
Lelouch remembered all the restrictions like distance and obstructions clearly.
But when he tried using it on the same person a second time, it had no effect. That's when Lelouch guessed the reason.
His Geass could only be used on a person once.
But Mahiro just rolled his eyes at Lelouch, complaining: "Obviously. I'm not a Baidu Encyclopedia—how could I remember all those rules and regulations? Besides, this is your power. Shouldn't you research it yourself instead of always expecting me to teach you?
Might as well have me reluctantly help you have kids in the future too."
".....The teacher was saying those strange things again.
But the next moment, both his and Lelouch's phones rang simultaneously.
It was a message from President Milly.
One was for Mahiro to invite Kallen to join the student council, while the other was for Lelouch to go to the student council clubroom immediately.
No need to guess—after a morning of careful consideration, this Milly must have already decided what kind of welcome party to throw.
And it would definitely be very Milly-style.
Like the gender-swap party, absolute silence party, swimsuit class she'd held at school before.
Although Mahiro hadn't experienced the first two and didn't know the details, he had actually seen the swimsuit class.
The whole class of boys and girls attending in swimsuits...
Thankfully the school swimsuits were those conservative one-piece types, so the scene wasn't too provocative, but still stimulating enough...
But unexpectedly, Milly actually wanted him, a teacher, to invite a student to join the student council.
So willful.
On the other hand.
After the incident with Lelouch, Kallen didn't feel like eating lunch.
Instead, she went to a corner of the rooftop to get some air.
Trying to relieve her irritated mood.
Pretending to be a sickly girl, Lelouch mentioning Shinjuku earlier, and that teacher's voice...
A pile of messy matters tangled together not only failed to relieve Kallen's mood but made her even more irritable.
So she made a call.
"How is it? School life after so long."
A somewhat rough male voice came through the phone—none other than Kaname Ohgi, former leader of the Shinjuku resistance.
"Boring as hell."
Kallen complained to the only person she could say anything to.
"The morning classes were boring enough, and now there's damn history class in the afternoon, indoctrinating us with meaningless Britannian history of conquering the world...
...I'd rather go back."Military alert is tight right now. You should lay low there for a while. Even the military's reach can't extend into schools.Ohgi patiently persuaded.
Kallen turned around, leaning her back against the railing, slowly doing stretching exercises. Even through her uniform, her graceful figure was clearly visible.
"By the way, about that voice earlier..."
"Forget it, Kallen. You can't find someone just by their voice. Just be a good student at school for now. If your brother Naoto is watching from above, he'd definitely be happy."
Ohgi's words blocked everything Kallen wanted to say.
Kallen gritted her teeth slightly, replying in a calm tone:
"I understand. I'll temporarily forget about Shinjuku. I'll be a good student at school like you said."
After speaking, Kallen hung up.
"Bringing up my brother at a time like this..."
She deflated like a balloon, slumping against the railing, slowly lowering her head and letting her hair cover her face.
The rooftop breeze gently stirred her skirt.
Her brother, Kōzuki Naoto, was the resistance leader before Ohgi.
But during one operation, he was killed by Britannian forces.
So she and Ohgi took up Naoto's will, swearing to defeat Britannia...
But unexpectedly they kept failing repeatedly. Now this hard-won victory was actually brought to them by a mysterious person.
So, if possible, she wanted to find those two mysterious people.
Although possible suspects had already appeared...
If they really were the mysterious people she sought, she would invite them to join the resistance.
If not, then it meant she was exposed.
In that case...
A flash of killing intent appeared in Kallen's eyes.
No matter what, her identity absolutely cannot be exposed!
"Yo, passionate red... but the style is a bit bold, not really suitable for you, Kallen. Your teacher suggests you wear something more plain."
"?! ! !"
Hearing this sudden voice, Kallen sharply looked up to see Mahiro standing before her, having appeared at some point.
"When did... No!!!"
She noticed Mahiro's gaze and quickly covered her skirt with both hands, her bent legs quickly straightening to the ground.
"You... you pervert teacher!!!"
Kallen's face flushed red as she glared furiously at Mahiro, even forgetting the delicate persona she'd crafted.
What kind of teacher peeks under students' skirts!
"Ahem."
Mahiro cleared his throat slightly, feigning innocence: "Can't blame me for this, Stadtfeld. You were the one who wasn't careful and showed it yourself."
Kallen gritted her teeth in frustration but couldn't find words to retort.
This really was her own fault, but she never expected this bastard teacher would not only look but even comment!
"Alright, enough joking. Milly asked me to invite you, Stadtfeld, to join the student council. Would you be willing?"
Who's joking with you!
Wait, hold on...
Join the student council?
Kallen's gaze toward him gradually turned strange.
"Why is a teacher doing the inviting?"
Although his appearance wouldn't be out of place among students.
"Well, maybe you, Stadtfeld..."
"Just call me Kallen, sensei."Alright, Kallen, maybe you don't know this, but the student council president Milly is a very willful person who does almost whatever comes to mind."
If anyone else asked a teacher to invite students to join the student council, you'd call them crazy.
But for Milly, it made perfect sense.
"President Milly? The chairman's granddaughter?"
"Yeah, that's her—Milly Ashford. You'll understand when you meet her. She's easy to get along with... probably."
Mahiro wasn't sure either.
But Milly's outgoing nature was genuine.
"Alright, I'll join."
Kallen didn't hesitate at all.
"So decisive. Don't you want to think about it more?"
"No need.Kallen shook her head, putting on a delicate act as she said somewhat petulantly: "It's my honor to receive a personal invitation from the advising teacher." As a student of Ashford Academy, joining the student council to contribute is my duty."
"Besides... I've been sickly since childhood and rarely interact with others. Joining the student council could help improve my social skills.Kallen spoke gracefully and generously, with true noble young lady demeanor.
It seemed living in the Britannian noble family Stadtfeld, even terrorists would learn basic etiquette.
Although it was just formal, bureaucratic talk, Kallen's response was reasonable and proper, flawless in every way.
But as soon as she finished speaking, she immediately added—
"However, sensei, I have one more request."