Chapter 248: Shocking Frame-up
"You wouldn't want this matter to be known by the school, would you, Kallen?"
The threatening words made Kallen dare not act recklessly.
To be honest, such a threat was actually insignificant. Even if the school found out Kallen's sickly appearance was fake, she would at most receive some criticism and education.
But Kallen feared it might lead to her identity as a resistance member being exposed, making her hesitate to take action.
Even worse, Mahiro had casually taken photos of her.
Though she felt utterly humiliated and furious, wishing she could twist off this terrible teacher's head right then, she still didn't dare to resist.
However, despite having taken the photos, Mahiro had no intention of using them against Kallen.
To him, that would be too tasteless—he just wanted to tease this reckless girl a little.
Besides, he thoughtfully briefed Kallen about the student council's situation.
For example, some of President Milly's whimsical ideas, preparing her mentally in advance.
As Kallen listened, she couldn't help feeling uneasy inside, as if she had fallen into a den of wolves.
Aside from this perverted bastard of a teacher, there was actually such a capricious president too.
So, these Britannians...
Just as Mahiro was introducing everything to her and they returned to the first-floor hall of the activity room, they found that the president and others weren't eating or having a party.
Instead, they were all bent over like smartphone addicts, seemingly searching for something.
"Is today's party theme the 'smartphone addict' series?"
Mahiro's sudden voice caught everyone's attention.
Milly stepped forward to explain:
"No, Nina lost something, and we're helping her look for it."
President Milly being so serious was quite surprising.
And Nina, unusually, stepped out from behind the others, timidly approached him, shrank back a little, and murmured shyly:
"Um, Mahiro-sensei, have you seen my memory drive?"
"Memory drive? Is it important?"
"Y-yes, it's important..."
Nina shrunk her neck as if afraid of him, but still nodded.
"Although I've made backups, there are still very important materials inside."
"Could it contain some private photos of yours, Nina?"
Mahiro almost asked that instinctively, but after thinking, he decided against it.
After all, Nina wasn't Milly.
For a timid child like Nina who was so afraid of him, making such an inappropriate joke might make her burst into tears on the spot.
So, Mahiro felt around in his pocket, pulled out a small chip, and handed it over.
"Is this it?"
"Ah... yes, that's right! Th-thank you, Mahiro-sensei..."
The timid girl took the lost memory chip from his hand, her eyes shining behind her glasses. Yet even in her excitement, her voice remained soft and hesitant.
"No problem, I just happened to find it. But can you tell me what materials are stored in this memory drive?"
"J-just some ordinary experimental data... nothing special."
If someone else had said it was just ordinary experimental data, Mahiro might have believed it.
But ordinary experiments in Nina's terms...
Could energy reactions using sakuraite really be considered ordinary?
Playing along with the girl, Mahiro put on a thoughtful expression and ventured a guess.
"Hmm... Let me guess, it wouldn't happen to be research about physics experiments, would it? Something like energy conversion rates? I remember you were computing data related to that on your computer before, right?"
"Eh? Sensei, are you interested in physics too?"
"Of course."
Mahiro answered with a smile, while Nina slightly raised her head upon hearing this response, her large blinking eyes filled with surprise.
She had originally thought this handsome teacher was just an ordinary educator who, like others, would consider her research useless. She never expected to find someone who shared her interests.
"So, Nina-san, could you tell me about your research now?"
"Mm."
Nina nodded meekly and began her explanation.
Completely different from her previously timid demeanor, when entering her field of expertise, Nina became extraordinarily confident, as if radiating with self-assurance, shining brilliantly like a gemstone wiped clean of dust.
Unexpectedly, this Round Table Knight isn't as incompetent as imagined...
What she described wasn't conventional nuclear fusion or fission, but rather annihilation reaction experiments centered around sakuraite energy.
To be honest, Mahiro wasn't well-versed in this type of physical theory.
Fortunately, his mastery of Shiba Tatsuya's Strategic-Class Magic—"Material Burst" allowed him to barely keep up with the conversation.
However, the essence of "Material Burset" is decomposition, which differs somewhat from annihilation reactions.
Annihilation reactions occur when matter and antimatter collide, converting 100% of mass into energy, with an energy release efficiency over 140 times that of nuclear fusion.
"Material Burst," meanwhile, is a more advanced technique -
It directly decomposes mass into energy without the energy loss caused by neutrino production during annihilation reactions.
And according to Einstein's formula, it converts mass into energy at the square of the speed of light.
For example, one drop of water—fifty milligrams undergoing mass decomposition—if completely decomposed, could be converted into energy equivalent to one thousand tons of TNT explosives.
Such enormous heat generated instantly within the space of a single water drop.
After Mahiro explained this to Nina following the same pattern, the look in her eyes when she gazed at him already shone with admiration.
"Mahiro-sensei... You're amazing. I never considered any of what you mentioned. If we conduct deductions according to your theory, the energy release could indeed be improved by several..."
Nina had already committed all his words to memory and quickly bid farewell to everyone, preparing to return and re-run the simulation experiments on her computer.
It must be said that Nina truly lives up to the Einstein surname.
Annihilation reactions.
Across so many worlds, Nina is still the first...
"Ah, as expected of Mahiro-sensei, to even be able to effortlessly win over a girl like Nina."
Not far away, Milly watched the scene before her, placing her hands on her hips with a sigh.
An inexplicable light flickered in her eyes, leaving others uncertain of what she was thinking.
After Kallen joined the student council, the campus entered a period of tranquility.
It was as if the events in Shinjuku had completely subsided, fading into non-existence without anyone mentioning them again.
Mahiro and C.C. also spent their days in shameless indulgence.
Strangely enough, C.C. seemed to gradually accept his behavior, transitioning from initial resistance to eventual cooperation, though she never failed to curse at him each time.
Her insults ranged from "scumbag" and "degenerate" to "a horny brat with insatiable desires."
These provocations only fueled Mahiro's intensity, leaving C.C. utterly defeated each time, with countless traces of crimson marking their encounters.
Meanwhile, Nunnally's treatment had reached its final stages.
"...Teacher, is this... really alright?" Nunnally's voice trembled weakly, as if drained of energy.
"Don't worry, I'll guide you slowly."
Mahiro gently grasped Nunnally's small hand, applying gradual pressure to lift her bit by bit from the wheelchair.
Standing on the footrest of her electric wheelchair, supported by Mahiro, she trembled slightly as she extended her delicate foot.
Her pale, rounded toes lightly touched the floor, the cold, hard sensation traveling through sensitive nerves to her brain, causing Nunnally to shiver.
"Slowly, it's alright."
"Mhm."
Nunnally nodded, and under his guidance, her foot gradually descended until it firmly met the floor.
She stood there.
Gazing at the young girl before him, Mahiro admired her as if she were a perfect work of art.
Her flaxen wavy hair cascaded down to her waist, occasional strands reflecting golden highlights like a flowing waterfall under sunlight.
Her exquisite face was as flawless as polished, radiant porcelain.
Beneath her delicate eyelashes, her tightly closed eyes evoked curiosity, tempting one to uncover the mysteries of this perfect little angel.
The gruesome scars that once marred her legs—injured by bullets—had vanished, restored to their former smooth, pale softness.
Her playful toes lifted slightly before gently settling back on the ground.
Faced with such perfection, even Mahiro's gaze softened.
"Nunnally..."
Witnessing this miraculous scene, Lelouch instinctively stepped forward but was stopped by Mahiro.
Shaking his head at Lelouch, he then turned to Nunnally and said:
"Come, let's try taking a few steps."
Mahiro held Nunnally's small hand, guiding her slowly.
At first, Nunnally hesitated, perhaps having forgotten how to walk after so long in a wheelchair, but she eventually moved her legs, stumbling through her first step.
Though unsteady, it was a monumental stride toward success.
In that moment, Nunnally felt like crying.
How many years had it been?
Her feet were finally touching the ground again, and she could walk once more.
Even Lelouch had tears welling up in his eyes at this moment, nearly moved to the point of crying.
"Nunnally!"
"Brother."
Lelouch could no longer restrain himself and tightly embraced Nunnally. A few tears also fell from Nunnally's still-closed eyes.
"Brother, I can finally walk again."
"Yes, I know..." Lelouch nodded heavily.
"Teacher, thank you."
Nunnally slightly raised her head, offering her gratitude in his direction.
Meanwhile, Mahiro remained silent, simply gazing tenderly at this touching scene.
Unfortunately.
He couldn't cure Nunnally's blindness.
Because Nunnally's blindness wasn't caused by physical trauma, nor was it simply psychological—it resulted from the Geass of the Emperor, preventing her eyes from opening.
The Emperor might have done this to protect Nunnally from being affected by Geass.
After all, most Geass abilities influence the mind through the eyes as windows to the soul.
But beyond that, Mahiro had some additional speculations.
He had actually spent considerable time with Lelouch and Nunnally. When the siblings were young, they were frequently anesthetized and hypnotized for research on their Geass-related data.
And Nunnally displayed conscious states while the system showed her in deep sleep.
To some extent, Nunnally's adaptability to Geass was much stronger than Lelouch's.
She even obtained thought-reading-like abilities without forming a contract with C.C.
Perhaps because of this, her vision was shut down to enhance her other senses and cultivate her Geass abilities.
After all, Marianne had once proposed to researchers the idea of damaging senses to cultivate Geass abilities.
But even more regrettable was that although he could immune to Geass, he couldn't cure or undo the Geass affecting Nunnally.
As he had said before.
If he were to directly destroy or shatter someone's mind, he could easily accomplish that.
But when it came to such delicate adjustments, that wasn't his expertise...
Wait, while he wasn't skilled at it, someone else was.
For example, Maya—hadn't she personally adjusted Tatsuya's mind, completing it alone? And there was also Miya's memories.
Just as he was considering whether to bring Maya over, the television hanging on the living room wall suddenly broadcast a news report.
"Please join us in mourning the passing of His Highness Clovis! We've just received confirmed news that the suspect has been arrested. The arrested individual is Honorary Britannian, former Area 11 resident, Private First Class Suzaku Kururugi."
Hearing this sudden report, everyone's attention shifted to the screen.
On the television appeared Suzaku wearing a prisoner's uniform, being escorted by a group of soldiers. His face was swollen in one area, and he looked generally disheveled—apparently beaten severely during his capture.
On television, while being escorted, he was still vehemently defending himself, but no one listened. Occasionally, a few soldiers struck him with rifle butts, causing him immense pain.
"EL...."
Upon seeing Suzaku arrested on TV, Lelouch's pupils contracted, and he couldn't help but murmur softly.
Nunnally didn't seem surprised by Lelouch's reaction.
Instead, after hearing it, she felt even more disbelief. With Sayoko's help, she settled back into her wheelchair, her delicate cherry lips pursing slightly.
"Brother Suzaku... Brother Clovis... How could this be..."
It could be said that among everyone present, Nunnally's emotions were the most complex.
Suzaku Kururugi was someone she and her brother had met after being sent to Japan. He had been exceptionally kind to both her and her brother.
But after the war, they were separated. She never expected to see him again on a news broadcast.
And Clovis...
He was her half-brother!
A very gentle brother.
To think he was assassinated by Suzaku—could it be true?
The news must be spreading lies...
She wanted to ask this, but then she heard the statements from the broadcast.
"The honorable Prince Clovis has passed away! In the fight against the ELEVEN, for peace and justice! A glorious sacrifice!"
On the TV screen, the current leader of the Pureblood Faction, Clovis's subordinate and Margrave of the Border—Jeremiah Gottwald—was now leading the knights of the Pureblood Faction in a fervent speech.
Apart from announcing the death of the Viceroy of Area 11, the Third Prince of the Empire, Clovis, he also promoted the ideals of the Pureblood Faction.
"We must endure our grief and carry on his will!"
At this moment, whether it was the members of the resistance or Lelouch, everyone fell silent upon hearing the report.
Lelouch's eyes widened slightly.
Why?
His good friend Suzaku was being falsely accused of murdering Clovis!
Only Mahiro watched coldly as the figure being escorted on the screen, even feeling a slight urge to laugh.
Suzaku Kururugi.
This was the worst and most despicable man he had ever seen, so repulsive that in his mind, he could practically sit at the same table as the minister.
As a child, he killed his own father, then defected to Britannia and became a soldier for Britannia.
Do you think you're Lü Fengxian?
The key point is that Lü Bu didn't kill his biological father—he only killed his adoptive father, and at least he remained a Han subject until his death.
In a way, Suzaku was even worse.
He also disgraced the name of the sacred beast Suzaku.
It would be more fitting to call him a sparrow.
Just as everyone was reeling from the shock of the news report, Suzaku Kururugi had already been taken to the interrogation room.
"Do you know what this gun is?"
Jeremiah threw a pistol onto the table and interrogated Suzaku, who sat across from him.
Without waiting for Suzaku to answer, he immediately continued:
"Suzaku Kururugi, this is the weapon used to kill His Highness Clovis. The ballistic marks have been confirmed. Moreover, our investigation shows you appear to be the son of Japan's last prime minister, Genbu Kururugi! With that, the motive is more than sufficient!"
"There must be some mistake! I've never seen this gun before!"
Hearing Jeremiah reveal his identity and even mention his father, Suzaku, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up.
However, in response to Suzaku's explanation, Jeremiah's reply was to have his subordinate deliver a fierce kick to Suzaku's chair.
With his hands bound, Suzaku couldn't move at all. He fell directly onto the cold, hard floor, letting out a pained groan.
Under normal circumstances, a fall like this would have been nothing to Suzaku. But when he was captured, he had been brutally beaten by the soldiers, leaving wounds all over his body. The gunshot wound in his abdomen hadn't healed yet, so falling to the ground now caused him excruciating pain.
"Your fingerprints have been detected on the gun. You're also a suspect in the killings of the royal guards and Knight Villetta Nu. Just confess. At least this way you won't be treated as an ELEVEN but punished as an Honorary Britannian."
Jeremiah spoke methodically, laying all the blame solely on Suzaku Kururugi.
"I didn't do it!"
Before Suzaku could finish speaking, a soldier beside him delivered a sharp kick to his face, cutting off his protest.
He completely lost consciousness.
"Hmph, what a stubborn brat."
Jeremiah snorted coldly, looking at the unconscious Suzaku with eyes full of contempt and disgust.