Alice fell silent.
Ryu and Kaguya focused entirely on him.
Lelouch did not answer immediately.
The word justice stirred countless shapes behind the curtain covering his memories.
Flags above battlefields.
People killing one another beneath noble ideals.
And himself—
Standing over a board where countless lives had become pieces.
Perhaps he had once used that word.
Perhaps he had once destroyed it.
Or perhaps he had created something even more terrible in the name of a better future.
“I do not believe in pure justice,” Lelouch finally said.
Kaguya frowned.
Alice’s eyes widened.
Lelouch continued before anyone could interrupt.
“Every person has something different they wish to protect.”
“The justice of one side may be evil to another.”
His gaze remained steady.
“The victor writes history in a way that makes their actions appear righteous.
The defeated may not even receive the opportunity to explain themselves.”
“Then do you believe justice does not exist?” Astraea asked.
“No.”
Lelouch met her gaze.
“I believe justice does not exist in declarations.”
His fingers tightened slightly.
“It exists in what we are willing to take responsibility for after we act.”
No one spoke.
“If someone chooses to save another person, they must accept the consequences.”
“If they choose to draw a sword, they must be prepared for a sword to be turned against them.”
His chest tightened.
“And if someone intends to change the world…”
His voice became quieter.
“They have no right to force innocent people to pay the price of that change in their place.”
Pain moved through his heart.
Those words did not feel theoretical.
They felt like a conclusion.
A lesson for which he had once paid with something more precious than his own life.
“So I cannot promise that I will always obey your version of justice,” Lelouch said.
“If one day I believe you are wrong, I will oppose you.”
He did not lower his eyes.
“Even if you are a goddess.”
“Even if I owe you.”
Silence.
Alice stared.
Ryu seemed uncertain whether the answer was admirable or dangerous.
Astraea—
Smiled.
“Good.”
“Lady Astraea?” Alice exclaimed.
“Justice that permits no one to question it eventually becomes oppression.”
Astraea’s expression remained gentle.
There was no hesitation in her words.
“I do not want followers who agree with everything I say.”
“I want people willing to see me as a person rather than merely as a goddess.”
She looked at Lelouch.
“And people willing to tell me when I am wrong.”
Astraea extended one hand across the table.
The gesture resembled Alice’s hand in the street.
This time—
Lelouch did not regard it with the same suspicion.
“I do not ask you to be pure.”
“I do not ask you to forget your sins.”
“And I do not ask you to give me your faith.”
Her gaze remained on him.
“I ask only that when you see someone being trampled beneath another person’s feet, you do not close your eyes.”
“And when you someday possess enough power to decide the fate of others…”
Her smile softened.
“Remember the pain of those who possess none.”
Lelouch looked at her hand.
He did not know how much blood stained his past.
He did not know why the pink-haired girl had died.
He did not know whether the people in this room would still look at him the same way if every memory returned.
But the goddess before him was not demanding that he prove himself good.
She was simply offering him a place to search for answers.
And the right to decide what kind of man he would become from this point forward.
That kindness resembled someone he could no longer remember.
Perhaps precisely because of that guilt—
Lelouch could not reject the hand being offered.
He placed his hand in Astraea’s.
“I don’t know what kind of person I used to be.”
His fingers closed around hers.
“And I cannot guarantee you will approve of every decision I make.”
“I don’t require that guarantee.”
“But as long as you do not abandon the words you’ve spoken tonight…”
Lelouch’s expression became serious.
“I will not betray the home that chose to open its doors to me.”
Astraea’s eyes softened.
“For me, that is enough.”
She turned toward the three Familia members.
“I would like to accept Lelouch as a provisional member.”
“He will remain in the guest building and will not participate in missions until the Guild completes its investigation.”
Her gaze moved between them.
“But I will not do so if any of you believe his presence makes this home unsafe.”
Alice’s hand shot into the air.
“I agree!”
“You don’t need to vote,” Kaguya said.
“Everyone knew your answer before we entered this room.”
Ryu remained silent for a moment.
“I still do not completely trust him.”
Alice opened her mouth.
Astraea raised one hand.
Ryu continued.
“But he acknowledged our suspicions instead of demanding belief.”
“He is willing to live separately out of consideration for the other members.”
She looked toward Lelouch.
“If his status remains provisional and we are permitted to remain cautious, I will not object.”
“I accept those conditions.”
Every gaze moved toward Kaguya.
The Far Eastern swordswoman folded her arms.
“I still believe allowing an amnesiac man into this household will create unnecessary complications.”
“Kaguya…”
Alice drew out the name.
“However.”
Kaguya narrowed her eyes.
“If I reject him after hearing all of Lady Astraea’s reasoning, then I would be admitting that I had judged him solely by his sex and suspicions for which I possess no evidence.”
She turned sharply toward Lelouch.
“I will not object.”
“But if you ever make one of our members cry, I will personally drive you from this house at swordpoint even if Alice stands in my way.”
“Fair.”
“And do not enter the baths at the wrong time.”
“That is the second time you’ve mentioned it.”
“Because it is important.”
A voice suddenly came from beyond the door.
“Then that means he passed, right?!”
The door flew open.
Lyra, who had clearly been pressing her ear against it, lost her balance and fell into the room.
Neze and several others collapsed behind her.
Ryu closed her eyes.
“How long have all of you been listening?”
“Since the part about not seducing anyone,” Lyra answered without shame.
“I wanted to know who Kaguya thinks is emotionally vulnerable.”
“There is no such person!”
“So Kaguya invented it.”
“Lyra!”
Laughter filled the room.
The tension gradually dissolved.
Neze approached and placed one hand on Lelouch’s shoulder.
“Provisional welcome, then!
I’m Neze.
If you’re hungry, tell me.”
She immediately became serious.
“But don’t touch the smoked meat hanging on the left side of the kitchen.
That’s mine.”
“I’m Lyra.”
The Prum leaned forward.
“I handle traps, reconnaissance, and uncovering suspicious secrets hidden by everyone in this house.”
“You invented that last responsibility yourself,” Ryu said.
“And the scary elf is Ryu.
The one with the sword who looks even scarier is Kaguya.”
“Who are you calling scary?!”
One by one, the remaining members introduced themselves.
Names poured over Lelouch faster than he was certain he could remember them all.
Yet their voices transformed the building.
Only minutes earlier—
It had looked like a fortified base prepared for war.
It felt like a home.
Alice stood beside Astraea, looking absurdly proud.
“See?
I told you everyone would like you.”
“I distinctly remember half of them threatening to remove me with swords.”
“For Kaguya, that’s practically a warm welcome.”
“I can hear you, Alice.”
“See?
She didn’t deny it!”
Lelouch shook his head.
Without realizing it—
The corner of his mouth rose slightly.
That night, after dinner and after changing into clothes Alice had borrowed from a male Guild employee, Astraea asked Lelouch to return to her room.
This time—
Only the goddess and he were present.
“You may still change your mind,” Astraea said.
“Once you receive Falna, you will formally become one of my children, even if your membership remains provisional.”
Lelouch sat with his back toward her.
His shirt had been removed, exposing his skin.
He watched Astraea’s reflection in the dark window.
“I dislike owing favors.”
“Receiving help while offering nothing in return makes me uncomfortable.”
“A Familia is not a relationship between debtor and creditor.”
“I know.”
Lelouch paused.
“That is precisely why I’ve decided to accept it.”
Astraea smiled.
“This may hurt a little.”
A needle touched the goddess’s fingertip.
A brilliant drop of red blood appeared.
The instant it touched Lelouch’s back—
Heat surged through his entire body.
He closed his eyes.
The pink-haired girl appeared again.
This time—
She was not lying in blood.
She stood inside a garden beneath a blue sky.
Smiling.
Holding out her hand toward him.
A name almost escaped the darkness.
Eu—
Before he could reach it—
Something spoke from the deepest part of his soul.
Not the girl’s voice.
The voice of the god who had judged him.
You have no right to receive the blessing of another god.
Lelouch’s left eye snapped open.
A crimson sigil shone within the depths of his violet iris.
The Falna inscriptions spreading across his back did not glow the ordinary blue of a mortal receiving divine blessing.
Instead—
They turned black.
Crimson.
As though rejecting Astraea’s blood.
A violent wind erupted inside the room despite every window being sealed.
The lamp flame bent sideways.
Lelouch’s shadow stretched across the floor.
Then spread—
Like the wings of a black bird.
Astraea’s eyes widened.
Sacred characters that should not have existed in the Lower World began engraving themselves beneath his name.
This was not merely a blessing being bestowed by her.
Something else had crossed the boundary between worlds with Lelouch’s soul.
Something born long before Falna touched him.
Something even divine judgment had failed to erase.
Astraea’s gaze moved across the first line.
Her lips parted.
And she read the words in a whisper.
“The Exiled King…”
….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
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….
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