Once the meeting ended, the other members gradually returned to their duties.
Ryu and Kaguya resumed patrols around the manor.
Lyra disappeared into her workshop to begin designing a method of concealing Lelouch’s left eye.
Alice escorted him to the guest building behind the manor.
His room had clearly been prepared in a hurry.
A wooden bed stood beside the window.
There was a writing desk.
A wardrobe.
And an empty bookshelf.
The dust had already been wiped away, though the scent of old timber and equipment once stored there still lingered.
“It might not be as comfortable as the rooms in the manor,” Alice said, “but at least it’s completely yours.”
“If you need anything, tell me.”
“This is already more than enough.”
Lelouch rested one hand against the desk.
He owned nothing.
No belongings to arrange.
No clothes that were actually his.
Not a single object from his former life.
A nearly empty room felt strangely appropriate.
“Wake up before sunrise tomorrow,” Alice said.
Lelouch looked at her.
“Why?”
“Physical evaluation.”
“And basic training.”
He stared.
“You witnessed my condition after walking through the forest.”
“Yes.”
“And after using Magic.”
“Also yes.”
“Then surely recovery should precede intensive training.”
“Don’t worry.”
Alice waved one hand.
“First day, I’ll only make you run ten laps.”
“How large is the field?”
“Not very big.
About five hundred meters a lap.”
Lelouch went silent.
Alice grinned.
“It’s only five kilometers!”
“Your definition of the word only is deeply concerning.”
“If you can’t finish, I’ll carry you.”
“I decline in advance.”
“Then do your best to finish.”
Alice waved.
“Good night, new member!”
She closed the door before Lelouch could negotiate a reduction in the number of laps.
He stared at it for several seconds.
“Perhaps sleeping in the street would have been safer…”
Despite the complaint—
Lelouch sat on the bed.
Then took out the Status sheet and unfolded it beneath the moonlight.
Two names stood out.
Geass.
God-Opposer.
One power could steal a mortal’s freedom.
The other could reject the authority of gods.
If he wished—
He could use both to create a place where no one could command him…
While everyone else was forced to obey.
A perfect throne for a tyrant.
The thought filled him with immediate disgust.
Not because he had never desired such a thing.
That was what disturbed him.
Some buried part of his heart whispered that perhaps—
Once—
He had sat upon exactly such a throne.
The crimson sigil appeared in his left eye.
His reflection in the window changed.
For only an instant—
A young man in imperial robes of white and black looked back.
A crown rested on his head.
Millions bowed before him.
And the entire world cursed his name.
The image vanished.
Pain pulsed through Lelouch’s skull.
He raised one hand over his eye.
“Who…”
His voice was barely audible.
“Who was I?”
No answer came.
Only Astraea’s words remained.
When you possess enough power to decide the fate of others, remember the pain of those who possess none.
Lelouch lowered his hand.
The Geass faded.
He did not yet know what this power had taken from him.
But he could decide what he would do with it now.
“If I once used this command…”
The pink-haired girl’s smile appeared in his memory.
“…to destroy your future…”
His fingers closed around the Status sheet.
“Then this time…”
His voice hardened.
“I will use it to protect someone else’s.”
It was a promise made without witnesses.
No god listened.
No one else needed to acknowledge it.
Because from this night onward—
Not even the gods had the right to decide his will for him.
Outside the guest-room window, Orario slept beneath the stars.
The Tower of Babel rose in the distance.
Beyond it waited the Dungeon.
Gods.
Adventurers.
Enemies Lelouch did not yet know.
Allies he had not yet learned to trust.
And somewhere within himself—
An entire life that had been torn away.
A black mask.
A throne.
A girl in bloodstained white.
Another girl whose violet eyes he could not yet name.
A green-haired woman whose smile vanished whenever he tried to reach it.
Fragments.
Nothing more.
But fragments were still information.
Information could be assembled.
Patterns could be reconstructed.
The truth could be recovered.
That much—
At least—
Was something Lelouch understood instinctively.
He folded the Status sheet with careful precision.
Then placed it inside his clothes, close to his chest.
Tomorrow, Alice intended to make him run five kilometers.
Lyra intended to examine his eye.
Ryu and Kaguya would continue watching him.
Astraea had placed trust in him that he had not yet earned.
And somewhere in this city—
There were people exploiting the weak simply because they possessed the strength to do so.
Lelouch lay back on the unfamiliar bed.
His body was exhausted.
His mind was not.
The first pieces had already appeared on the board.
He simply did not yet know what game he had been placed into.
His eyes slowly closed.
For the first time since waking in this world—
He did not dream of the sword that killed him.
Instead—
He dreamed of a pink-haired girl smiling beneath the sun.
And although he still could not remember her name—
This time, when she disappeared…
He remembered the warmth of her smile.
….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length.
If you’re following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there’s a particular novel you’re enjoying on Patron, please give it a ‘like’ so I know to focus on it
….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length.
If you’re following a particular series, please wait your turn a little If there’s a particular novel you’re enjoying on Patron, please give it a ‘like’ so I know to focus on it