It's been a long time since I last touched this, but fear nor for I wasn't idle in that time as I've been refining plot points and ideas not just for the next chapter chapters but for the entire story as a whole. If you read my other stories, then you will already know this but I feel like I should repeat it with each one I update this month for those who just read the one, and that is that I plan to post two updates for just about all of them to make up for the delay and to celebrate that I finished my exams in the beginning of the month, freeing me to do much more writing(This has nothing to do with me being stuck home for the holidays by my lonesome due to Covid cancelling my family's annual Christmas plans and leaving me with only games and the internet to keep my entertained and sane).

One thing that I have noticed is that many of you want to hold back on the OCs and the OC arcs which I can't do as those characters and arcs are there to flush out both the world and Lelouch himself while at the same time showing his growth as while the OG idea was to just have him a master mage/immortal in the show, that idea didn't last a day before I realized how boring it was. The next chapter will be out soon, I have someone who agreed to beta read them and I'm just waiting on them for part 2.

Chapter 12: Budding Roses – Part 1

(Previously)

"Oh my," Chirona said, not knowing what to make of this.

"Is this for real?" Ghira asked, not amused because as he realized there is only one reason that Grey, who looked very much amused, would bring them here.

"Grey, what is this?" Lelouch asked, turning to address the knight in front of them, but before Grey could even answer. The redhead, the apparent leader of the troop, stepped even closer to speak. Her wording was prim and proper but her voice was still very much one of a child.

"Greetings, I am Piña Co Lada, founder and leader of the Rose order of Knights. We are here to aid you, citizens of the empire, in your journey back to your home," The little girl introduced herself with a big smile, shocking those who knew, as right in front of them was an imperial princess.

(And now)

"This…is unexpected," Chirona said after what felt like an hour of them…staring at this little girl and her friends.

"They must be desperate if they can only spare a bunch of brats." Kali added in as she crossed her arms with an unamused face.

The kids present flinched at her words, while Piña looked to be angered by it.

"Kali, that might have been a bit too harsh," Ghira told his daughter.

"She's not wrong," Lelouch said, though he noted that more must be going on for children to be sent with them. Were they members of noble families?

Piña stomped her foot, interrupting his thoughts, and glared at them. While her miniscule form bristled with rage, she came across as cute instead of imposing.

"Hey! We may be young but I'll have you know that you're looking at the soon-to-be greatest order of knights our empire has ever seen." She pointed towards Kali, having enough sense to not provoke the larger demi-humans or the two apostles.

"Soon, meaning not yet." Lelouch took a breath and directed an irked look towards the veteran soldier. "Grey, what games are you playing?"

Before the man could answer, Piña butted in yet again, walking in front of him and staring him down with her hands on her hips. "If you want answers, you will get them from me and only me,"

As they were already late as is and with his patience was already being tested, he decided to humor her. "Alright, Piña, what games are you playing here?"

The rest of the order of the…'Rose Knights' stepped back from his gaze, with one of them looking like they wanted to be anywhere but here, but Piña stayed firm despite her fear.

"We're aren't playing any games, Apostle," she said, emphasizing the 'games' part. "As for why we're here, we requested to help protect you all on the way back home," she said, revealing that this wasn't solely Grey's idea.

"Piña, why don't you go check up on the wagon carrying our supplies; it's always good to ensure it's in top shape before heading out," Grey suggested to his ward, who looked at him like he just said something funny.

"But wasn't that checked?" She asked, as he had always taught her that supplies were the first thing inspected. Why did he want her to do it again?

"No better way to ensure something than to confirm it yourself," Grey repeated one of the lessons he had taught her, though this one was supposed to pertain to personal gear and weapons. However, they needed a way for him to explain things without offending her and her efforts.

"Alright. I'll be back. Alright, my knights, let's move!" Piña turned around and marched off, her knights quick to follow her lead and leave the rather tense situation. Once the children were far enough away, Kali couldn't help but laugh at the absurd nature of this little journey of theirs.

"Oh Duncan, I didn't think they were serious, but damn." Kali laughed, holding her sides and not caring all that much for the mild pain it caused her.

Chirona frowned at her. "You shouldn't laugh at their efforts, you know; they are here to help us." The Bicorn reminded her, recalling when she was young and had just started training; it was never nice for those older than you to laugh at your efforts.

"Please, I could break every one of them with both arms tied behind my back. The day I need brats to protect me is the day I swear off blacksmithing." Kali wiped a tear from her eye, her chuckle done, and she yawned. Her threat was more of an assurance, as Lelouch knew what those muscles, teeth, and claws of hers could do. Hell, he suspected a good kick from her would daze even a man in a helmet.

Grey, for his part, didn't react to the girl's threat to his ward's life, but he did have to agree with her. "I can't say she's wrong. They are young and have never done more than basic drills, but when she heard about this little trip of yours, she insisted on coming along." She had run up to him after her usual etiquette lessons and asked him about it. Later that day, the Emperor called him to the throne room and handed him the order with a smirk breaking his normally indifferent mask. "She even asked her father directly and he agreed to indulge her."

"Who is her father anyway? I seriously doubt some mid-tier noble or merchant could get her and her friends involved in this,." Kali asked, looking down the way to where Piña and her friends—knights or whatever they were— busied themselves checking the wagons for firewood.

At her question, the veteran smiled."You're right, they wouldn't but she is the daughter of Emperor Molt Sol Augustus."

At that, the group all looked at him wide-eyed, before they turned their gaze back to the girl, looking at her as if she was a different person.

'Piña, Molt? Aren't those names of alcoholic drinks? Do they even have such beverages here?' Lelouch wondered to himself as he thought about the rather strange names these royals seem to have. But it wasn't like he had any room to talk, as his failures of parents thought it was best to name him 'suspicious'. Yes, he lived up to that through countless schemes and acts of evil, but who in the hell looks at a new-born and thinks that such a name is a good idea?

"She's a princess?!" Chirona asked, wondering where the hell the fanfare was for such a high-ranked person.

"Don't let that make you treat her any different. She hates when people only treat her better due to her social rank," Grey told them, despite knowing she would be displeased by him saying anything

"I assume she's the kind that prefers for people to judge her by her merit and skill?" Ghira asked him, hitting the nail on the head, as the knight nodded his head.

"Yes, which is why she wanted to come along. To put some of that training of hers to practice," Grey told them because as she was eager to gain that merit and refine the limited skills he had taught her. "Of course, this trip shouldn't have many problems, and we'll also be traveling with 100 other soldiers, all of them with proven track records." That was the main reason he and the Emperor agreed to this.

"I see, the emperor sent his own people to protect his daughter and by extension, the rest of us." Lelouch had no delusions about this man. If he ran an empire that saw demi-humans as second-class citizens at best and slaves or livestock at worse, he seriously doubted he would have sparred some of his best for them if his daughter wasn't present.

"That is correct, but they are all wearing the regular armor right now." Grey said, implying they were from a special unit.

While impressive, there was a part of Lelouch that saw this as a trap because, as he doubted he could escape if all of them turned on them.

"Why would a girl her age even want to be a soldier? She's a princess, right? Wouldn't she be able to make her mark in government or academia?" Ghira couldn't help but ask, as he hadn't heard of a princess fighting before, and Lelouch couldn't blame him, as even back home, Cornelia and Marrybell were outliers. Sure, Britannia encouraged women to enlist, even those from noble families, but the royal family? No.

"Partly because she wants to make her mark on the world, partly out of a sense of loyalty to the empire. She may be young, but she understands if she doesn't take this course, she'll sooner end up in some political marriage before she would ever become a respected member of the government." Grey told them, as he had heard what the rest of the noble families thought of her dream. What the parents of these kids talked about as they watched them train. "Sure, the boys might have a future in the army, but odds are, they'll be posted in officer positions far from any danger and grow to be fat and complacent."

"What's the matter? You humans don't like taking instructions from a woman?" Kali asked him, walking up and looking him right in the eye, despite the height difference between them and the fact he was armed, she still managed to strike up an imposing image next to him.

Grey though didn't show if he was affected by this and raised an eyebrow."Have you seen the Imperial Senate? Over 130 members and only 2 are women, both from low-class merchant families with barely any pull."

While merchant families could gain entry into the senate, most were considerably weaker and had less influence than even low-ranked noble families. To be one of the weaker ones in that lot meant that, most of the time, your presence was treated more like a formality.

'It seems they share that with Britannia as well,' Lelouch thought to himself. Well, it had been before he wrecked his home country and pushed through reforms. He hoped that his sister carried it on, even if she forgot that he ever existed. "So long as she doesn't mess up too badly, I don't see why she can't join us. Come on, we're wasting time as is.," Hhe glanced towards the sun, then walked off to the wagon he would be riding in for this trip.

"Couldn't agree more," Grey agreed before he turned to the rest. "Alright, people! We're leaving in five minutes, make sure you're where you're supposed to be!"

And with that, a little past 5 minutes, they were off. As it was still pretty early in the morning and they had started from one of the main gates, they didn't see many people outside of merchants and travelers passing through towards the market. This would be a long trip, as when Lelouch saw the map that Chirona had shown them, he could tell that there was at least 600km(372 mi) between the capital and their destination.

Lelouch found himself sharing a wagon with Chirona, Rory, and Kali. Their wagon was closer to the front to allow the bicorn girl to better lead them to her home.

"Lelouch?" Chirona asked from her spot in the middle of the wagon, having been forced to sit there to keep the thing balanced.

"Yeah?" He responded from his place next to Kali, while Rory took the other side. She would have had someone seated next to her, but her weapon's surprisingly large weight more than made up for it. How a girl her size would even lift the damn thing, never mind fight with it, was beyond him.

"Don't you find it strange that a princess would be allowed to come with us?" Chirona asked. Sure, they knew that she wanted to experience, but surely there were other assignments they could have given her.

"It's definitely not something I was expecting, most likely the parents of her…knights don't expect much to come of this. I wouldn't be surprised to learn they just think this is a phase." Lelouch would admit that he had his doubts, as from how Grey talked, women in the empire didn't get a fair role at the dice. He suspected that few, if any, of their families outside the emperor even knew about this.

"I'm being serious. If the empire is such a bad place for demi-humans, why help us now?" That was the part she was most concerned about, as she always knew that humans and non-humans had tension. She didn't think things were so bad that guards would harass and kill demi-humans without punishment. She knew their views, their policies, so she wanted to be prepared for anything should this turn south. And while having two Apostles was nice, she doubted they would be able to save anyone, as the two of them couldn't be everywhere at once. And right now, they were heavily outnumbered.

"I would say that Rory's presence has something to do with it," Lelouch said as he pulled out a book and started to read, giving himself a metaphorical pat on the back for only going into the labyrinth with what he needed. If he had just gone down there, he would have lost all his notes and books.

At the mention of her name, the girl turned to face them. "Hmm?"

"I may be an apostle, but I'm both a new one and barely known. Odds are, his majesty is playing it safe. After all, she did come to their aide, so not helping could have put him in Emroy's bad graces," Lelouch explained, as he didn't believe for a second that most if any of these troops saw demi-humans in a favorable light, especially since he saw some of them give him a look when they spotted his ears, when they packed. But he knew enough about Emroy from talking with Rory to know that she wouldn't like that, and that her God looked down upon pointless slaughter. Odds were, these imperials did as well and would think twice before even trying something.

"I can't speak for my lord, but I do agree that I would have been rather displeased if they didn't offer up help." Rory agreed. She would step in if they tried to harm these people but more because of her own views than her master. "That being said, the little princess was something I didn't expect."

"She must be desperate for an assignment, any assignment, if she accepted to help us." Kali didn't read too much into it as she laid on her side, borrowing Lelouch's lap, which got an eyebrow raise from him and a slightly flushed face from Chirona. His eyes asked her why, to which she just shrugged her shoulders; it wasn't like there was much space or pillows on this wagon, so she was improvising.

"She's just a child; she can't be that bad," Chirona, trying to distract herself from the sight in front of her, said but then paused as she looked towards them. "Right?"

Lelouch just shrugged, as he had seen more than a few privileged brats in his time, but they were mainly dangerous whenever they had people to boss around. "Maybe not, but she does have a role to fill, and she's surrounded by morons who think being human makes you special."

He hated how he couldn't escape that negative aspect of humanity, even in another god-damned world. And this time around, he was part of the group people decided was inferior, which really hit his pride.

"Considering twigs here used to be one, I'm willing to take your word on that," Kali said as she reached up and flicked his ears, getting him to flinch back with a scowl on his face—a look that said she shouldn't try that again.

"Speaking of changing events, what's your plan, Kali? All you said was that you were hitching a ride with us," Chirona asked to give her traveling companion a break by drawing the girl's attention to her.

"Hmmm, the old man and me are thinking of setting up shop where Chirona lives." Kali shrugged, catching the bicorn off guard.

"Really?"

At her question, Kali gave her a lazy smile as she pointed towards the capital in the growing distance. "Well, it's not like we got a lot of options. With our patron dead, we couldn't stay in the capital for long."

They had been lucky with the first game when she was a little kid and had avoided the worst of it until they got their protection. Sure, it meant making tools and weapons for the criminal element but they had never had a single complaint.

"I thought you could take care of yourself. Can't handle a few morons?" Lelouch asked her with a smirk, enjoying her annoyed look.

"Watch it, twigs. You try running a business and having to watch for those asses. It's way too much effort for too little fun." She further explained that even with their crime boss protection, they still dealt with the occasional idiot that wanted to start something. It was how she learned to fight dirty, as so many raun away like bitches while holding onto their bruised balls or half-blind.

"Speaking of which," Lelouch said as he reached for his bag and dug through it for a second before he passed her the lump of caerulean ore. "You know what this is?"

He wanted to test if she would recognize it.

"Hand it over. I'll give it a look," Kali said. She looked it over for a second—studying its shape, color, texture, and the like—and after a couple of minutes, it soon became clear she knew what she was holding.

"Sweet Duncan, who'd you have to kill to get your hands on this much Uru?" Kali asked him as she sat up, holding the ore like it was a newborn—which to her wasn't far off, as she could only imagine the masterpieces she could make with this.

"Now, Kali I don't think he had to kill—" Chirona started to defend him, but he cut her off.

"Oh no, I did. I had to practically fight an entire gang of bandits and orcs to get that," Lelouch admitted flippantly. It wasn't that big of a deal.

Hearing that he took down orcs got Rory's interest.

"How'd you even take on something like that?"

She heard of his past and knew for a fact he wasn't a hands-on fighter but took on a more strategist/leader role.

"You're really asking that after watching me kill a supercharged Minotaur?" Lelouch asked with a raised brow, his attention shifting from his book to the conversation.

"You mean that wasn't the first time you went crazy like that?" Kali asked him, surprised that he made a habit of setting himself on fire. Did he like the pain or something or was it an Apostle thing?

"Oh, it was. It's just with the Orcs I used more brain than brawn with that one." Lelouch left out the details, as he had a feeling that Chirona wouldn't appreciate his retelling of his ruthless actions in that mine. "Back to the topic at hand, think you can work with this?"

"Not me, but my old man might be able to. You'll have to speak with him when we stop later," Kali told him, which really stung her pride as a smith, as she loved to create stuff by molding clay and steel to whatever shape or form she wished, but she knew her limits. Her old man had twenty plus years of experience over her.

"That will be quite a treat. It's been a long time since I've seen anything made from Uru," Rory spoke up.

"But aren't all the tools used by apostles made from the stuff?" Chirona gestured towards the giant halberd laid next to its user and owner.

"I can't speak for all of us, but my halberd is made from the same stuff. It was forced centuries ago," Rory answered, thinking back to the scythe used by a certain annoyance of hers.

"Speaking of which, as a smith, what do you think this stuff can go for?" Lelouch couldn't help it; he was curious about its going rate since all he ever heard was how amazing and rare it was.

"You're kidding, right? Do you honestly plan on selling it?" Rory asked him with a raised eyebrow, to which he shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not. I just want to know its worth."

Kali took a moment to think about it, comparing what she knew about the stuff to the prices of other stuff she had worked with.

"I would say the amount you have right now is worth…around twenty Suwani," Kali answered, now that she thought about it, it was worth less than she originally believed it to be, but it was a rather small amount to begin with. You would need like fifteen lumps of the stuff to even try to replicate Rory's weapon.

"Hmm, I'll be honest, I thought it'll be worth more." And Lelouch agreed with her; he thought that it would go for more.

"More than twenty Suwani?!" Chirona nearly shouted out as while Rory was better at masking her surprise, Chirona looked like she would pass out, as that wasn't a lot of money. Most inns she had passed by cost anywhere from thirty to seventy Sorudas. For the price of that single chunk of ore, she could stay in the most expensive inns for over a quarter of a year! It was more money than her family made in three whole years!

"What did you expect, twigs? It's just ore. Now, if it was made into a finished product, like say a short sword or something, I can see it going for thirty-five if you find the right buyer."

And now she nearly passed out and would have if she didn't need to keep control of the reins. Her position on the wagon already made it hard enough to control the horses.

"Wait, then how much would your halberd go for?" Lelouch asked as he pointed towards the weapon and immediately felt a wave of bloodlust coming from its owner.

"Nice try, sweetie, but I'm not parting with this," Rory told him, her smile still in place even though he felt like he should jump off this wagon and run. He didn't know why she was so attached to it, but he wasn't going to touch this topic again with a sarisa.

"Say, how long till we reach your village, Chirona?" Kali, having also picked up on that silent threat, asked to try and clear the air.

"If we have nothing but good luck and push it, we'll get there in a little over two weeks," Chirona happily went along with the subject change.

"Then I suppose we better get used to one another. So if you three don't mind, I have some reading to do." Lelouch took back the ore from Kali before returning to his book. He needed to increase his understanding of magic and its properties if he was to ever understand just what the hell happened to him in that labyrinth.

After that, the rest of the day was spent mostly in silence—as they kept to themselves, napped or observed their surroundings—interspersed with brief bursts of light conversation.

(That evening)

"Is this a good spot?" Much later, with the afternoon sun setting, they found themselves approaching a small hill that could serve as a good spot to stop, settle down, and call it a night.

"Yeah, we're too far from any town to spend the night," Grey, who had joined them upfront not too long ago, replied, as they wouldn't hit a town or village at least until sometime tomorrow. With the agreement made, he turned to the rest of the column and yelled as loud as he could.

"Alright people, you see that hill up ahead? We're stopping there!" he hollered. Before long, they had all reached the spot which, while not a big hill, gave them a good view of their surroundings. The night-watchmen would be pleased. The wagons gathered up into small groups as their riders, along with the men on horses, dismounted and started to prepare for the night.

"How far did you travel?" Lelouch asked as he stretched his arms above his head, having not moved during their journey had left him quite stiff.

"Believe it or not, forty-eight milles," Kali told him as she took out some of their cooking supplies.

"That's pretty far; we outdid ourselves today," Chirona praised it, as that was quite the distance, all things considered.

'Maybe for you guys, that was impressive, for me, this seems pathetically slow.' He kept his thoughts to himself as he helped to unload some of their other gear that they would be using, while Rory jumped off the wagon, her weapon in hand.

"That's because the roads are good. Once we start branching away from it, we'll start to slow down," she explained with confidence coming from having traveled all over the place, using a number of different routes—from the main, well-maintained roads, to simply traveling through wetlands and forests if she thought it would be either faster or more fun. With her attire, she quickly found out that wetlands were never fun to transverse. Not too far from them, the princess of her order was also carrying out her own tasks, eager to do…well anything after largely being passengers throughout the day.

"Alright Rose Knights, we're setting up camp. The first thing is to set up a perimeter before unloading the firewood," Piña instructed them as she pointed towards the wagons that had just been carrying supplies.

"Delay that."

Piña jumped, hearing Lelouch speak up from behind her. When she turned, she saw the Apostle was looking at them with that same uninterested face he seemed to have as default. If she was honest with herself, she found it extremely annoying.

"What? We need to ensure we can defend ourselves should we come under attack," Piña told him, acting like he was the child between them.

"And what would you look for and classify as 'advantageous' and 'signs of criminal activity?" He asked her, which got all of them to look away from him or rub their arms or behind their heads in embarrassment, as none of them really…knew what to do and were hoping that Piña would.

"Hmm, well…" With the princess herself, she was just as in the dark as they were because, as Grey hadn't gotten to that point in their training. But they could always use this trip as a way to learn! All they'll need to do is watch the others do it. Yeah, that's right!

"Why don't you gather some wood while the troops inspect and set up the perimeter. There's a wooded area not too far from here," Lelouch suggested as he pointed towards a large wooded area down the way. They had passed it half-an-hour before on their way. Seeing the distance from there to what they were, Piña balked.

"But didn't we pack supplies to make use of them?" Piña asked him, countering his suggestion with one of her own. Yes, it had nothing to do with the fact it looked like those trees were at least 4 stadiums away, but he wasn't moved.

"When we have to. If you find yourselves in a situation where you don't need to use what you brought along, you should take full advantage of it." It was one of the many things he picked up while he, Suzaku, and Nunnally traveled together during the war. If you could carry food and water, that was great, but if you found food and water, use that because they were never sure if the next house or store they searched would have either.

"He's right, princess. Even on campaigns, full-supplied legions might choose to forage supplies from the environment or to buy what they need in towns and villages so that they save whatever they have on hand, just in case." Grey backed him up, as that was one of the things they taught their troops to do, especially when it came to water., as Iit didn't matter how much of everything else you had;, if you lacked water, you were already screwed. Seeing her mentor figure on his side, Piña decided to relent, as it wasn't like it was completely crazy or something.

"Well, alright. I can see how that makes sense," Piña started, as she accepted that she had lost that one before she sucked it up and pointed towards him. "Very well, apostle, we shall follow your lead."

Lelouch didn't know where that came from. He hadn't asked to lead them to do anything; he just gave them some advice.

"That's the spirit. We need enough for around fifteen fires. Lelouch, why don't you accompany them on this little task while we do the heavy lifting?" Grey suggested as he passed the younger man. At his mention of heavy lifting, he already knew he was making fun of him.

"Who told you?" He didn't even try to pretend otherwise as he asked him.

"Ghira," the old soldier replied with a smile, as he and the hellhound had gotten to talking along the way.

"Damn that old dog," Lelouch muttered to himself as he turned around to walk off towards the treeline. "Fine, alright kids, let's get going while we still have some light out." He looked towards the sky and guessed that had maybe 30 to 45 minutes left of light.

"Hey, we're not just some kids; we're knights in training." One of the knights, a blonde boy with his hair in a little ponytail, voiced his objection to being referred to as just 'kids.'

"Until you manage to impress me, you're kids. Now stop wasting time and get a move-on." Lelouch paused as he gazed at them over his shoulder before he started to move again, fully expecting them to follow.

Much to their chagrin, they did, even if some of them muttered their distaste of him. They walked for a couple of minutes, Piña not telling them to hold any sort of formation as a way to keep them relaxed. Soon, they reached the treeline, and he was happy to see that there were plenty of dry-looking branches and sticks for them to collect.

What he didn't notice was the fact that many of the knights looked at the forest with some trepidation., as Tthe shadows and fading light made it look extremely unappealing and dangerous, as if some criminal or monster could pop out at any moment.

"Alright, spread out into groups of three. Two to carry, and one to keep a look-out," Lelouch instructed, surprising some of them as the rest quickly moved into groups., Ssome just pickeding the closest person to them, which left two by themselves, excluded, as their friends gave them pitying and apologetic lookslooks of pity and apologies. "You two look like you're the odd ones out. You're with me." Lelouch told the two as the rest moved off to pick their own spots to gather from, reasoning that they could get more this way.

"Good luck." Before she could leave with her group, Piña gave them a quick smile as they smiled back at her before they found themselves alone with him. The two of them gave him a salute even though his gaze unnerved them.

"W-we-re under your care." One of them, the silver-haired one, spoke for the two of them, to which he nodded his head.

"…I suppose we should start with names, it will make talking much easier. You two know mine?" He asked, as he figured he would need to learn all their names to give them better identities than calling them by hair or eye color.

"Grey called you…Lelouch, right?" the blonde one asked, to which he nodded his head like that made things simpler.

"That's it. And your names?" he asked the two of them. The blonde was the first to answer the question, followed by her silver-haired friend.

"I am Bozes Co Palesti."

"Panache Fure Kalgi."

"Alright then, which of you has the best eyesight?" he asked as he led them deeper into the brush. His question caught them off guard, as they never really thought about it.

"Hmm, well I wouldn't know. That…isn't something that has come up before," Bozes replied, as they hadn't started archery just yet.

"Why do you need to know that?" Panache retorted, her eyes narrowing, as they were now out of sight of the rest of them, and she didn't know how much they could trust this guy.

"Because one of you will be the lookout, or did you think I was going to make you do all the heavy lifting?" Lelouch answered as they came to a stop. He looked around and seemed to think they found a good spot, as he started to gather wood by breaking off the dry, low-hanging branches. Seeing the logic there, and feeling kinda bad for misjudging him, Panache relented.

"Then…I suppose I can be the lookout," Panache said, glancing at Bozes. "If that's alright with you."

To which her friend smiled and nodded her head.

"Alright, Bozes. I'll pick from here, and you can pick from over there." Lelouch pointed towards another part of the clearing which would put a little distance between them. Already he had a small pile going on the ground as he snapped off another branch and tossed it in.

"Alright," Bozes replied, ready to do her task. She rushed into it, looking for anything she could carry, as they hadn't brought along axes, and even if they did, none of the Rose knights had the strength to really use them. As a result, she was forced to pick whatever twigs and sticks she could from the floor. 'Dry wood, dry wood.'

'Are all their names alcoholic beverages?' Lelouch thought, surprised that every one of them seems to share that trope with names. It made him wonder if all the children of the nobility shared that trait, but it wasn't like he would know, as most of his knowledge of such drinks came from hearing his opponents call for it during their chess matches. The two of them kept up the work for around a few minutes, with his pile being much larger than Bozes, thanks to his increased reach and the larger branches he was throwing into it.

This of course didn't sit well with Bozes, who wanted to feel like she wasn't just kidding around, and she worked much faster, but this meant she wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings. He heard her hair getting stuck on a branch or bush more than once, and while she never made much noise and got herself out of it, it was never without leaving something behind.

"Bozes," Lelouch started, and as she paused in her work as he turned to her. "Switch out with Panache." He tossed a large piece of bark he had found into his pile, which by this point was well over thrice the size of hers.

"But I'm not tired, sir." Bozes, seeing this, wished to continue, which he could respect, but she looked like a mess right now, and he could tell it was getting to her.

"Did I say you were?" he asked her, getting her to flinch, before she shook her head, and he pointed towards her worried friend. "Just do it."

She dropped her head and nodded before she gathered up her wood and walked over to swap places with Panache.

"Sorry." It was only thanks to his increased sense of hearing that he picked up the girl telling her friend this, who, in response, gave her a pat on the shoulder with a small smile of her own.

"Don't worry about it," Panache said as she took up Bozes's old spot in gathering wood. Unlike her, her shorter hair meant she didn't need to stop nearly as much to pick sticks and leaves from it, which meant she could gather a little faster than her. With this, they worked steadily for around 25 minutes until Lelouch noted that it was getting dark fast.

"Alright, I think we gathered enough. Let's head back." He looked at his pile and realized he might have gotten carried away because as it was nearly as large as him whereas Panache's was only around a quarter of his own. Gathering everything he had picked, and making sure they were balanced in his hands, he led them out of the woods. They met up with the rest of them, and he saw that each group picked around the same amount. While they would return with less than predicted, he figured it wouldn't be too much of an issue.

"Looks like you three went all the way, good work," Grey noted as they walked up the hill. His eyes showed how impressed he was with his young charges as they entered their little camp and dropped their wood in one large pile.

One of the girls—, Beefeater, he believed her name was—, thanked Grey for the compliment as the soldiers gathered around and started to split the wood amongst them so that they could each get started on lighting those fires. Slowly, Bozes wandered back to her group.

"Hold on." Lelouch's call made her pause. She along with the rest turned to see him sitting near one of the wagons. The torches coming up around them gave them ample light to see. "Come over here for a second."

"Oh…okay…?" Bozes started out slow as she turned to, Piña, who could only shrug her shoulders. while Grey watched them out of the corner of his eye as Bozes turned back to him and approached.

"Sit down, this is gonna take a while," he told her, to which she looked even more confused, as she was expecting her to give her some kind of job to do for him, maybe a little nugget of advice.

"What is it?" Nonetheless, she complied and sat down, taking a seat on the floor as there was only one stool. She got her answer as he reached for her head and…started to pick stuff out of it. She stiffened, as she had only ever let her mother and some of the servants handle her hair, but she couldn't say that he was being rough. As he worked like a pro, not pulling at it too hard and being gentle in his approach.

"If you plan to keep your hair long, you're going to need to learn how to manage it. You got twigs and leaves stuck all over the place, so hold still," Lelouch said as he worked to get a particularly large twig out of her curls. She didn't know what to make of it, other than blush at the rather intimate gesture, but she also felt somewhat relaxed by his steady and light hands. She closed her eyes and just went with it, nodded her head at his suggestion, as she really liked her hair as it was and even planned to keep letting it grow out.

As Lelouch worked to fix up her hair, he was grateful that she couldn't hear some of the things that their 'protectors' had on the issue, but his sensitive ears picked up on all of it. He wasn't necessarily affected by it; he wasn't close to any of these kids, but he felt irritated that they seemingly didn't care for them as much as you would think.

"What is he doing?"

"Looks like he's helping the little girl with her hair, how cute."

"Did she really not consider that? Man, I hope this baby-sitting trip is a one-time deal."

"You are—" Bozes' voice drew his attention as she opened her eyes again. "You are really good, with handling hair." She was surprised that he knew how to handle women's hair, as she didn't think most guys would know the first thing about it. Sure, there was Norma, but he didn't know more than the basics and needed Beefeater and Hamilton help with his own. At her statement, Lelouch snorted and turned her head to the side to better access where he was working.

"I would expect that I would be, I did have to help my sister with hers for years." Even after they met up with the Ashford and negotiated their little deal, he didn't let many people near his sister. And while he did let up after meeting Milly and learning to trust her and Sayoko, he still found himself catering to his sister whenever he had free time to spend time with her. Hell, a week after that shit in Shinjuku, he had been present with her when Shirley, Milly, and Nina had one of their 'girl's night out,' as he had been made the one in charge of snacks and, thanks to his sister's insistence, was present to let them style his hair as a practice dummy.

"You have a sister?" Hearing this came as a surprise to Bozes, as he worked to get the tiny pieces of a crushed leaf out of her hair.

"Had," he corrected.

His words made the girl feel sad for him, as she always wanted a sibling and saw her friends as just that. She couldn't imagine what she would feel if any of them died.

"Oh," she mumbled, not really knowing what to say as he kept up his task for another few minutes before he finished, patted her shoulders, and she rose to give him a thankful look.

"Done. Word of advice, make sure to keep an eye on your surroundings next time and carry a comb with large teeth," Lelouch said, still seated and gesturing at his own hair. "It'll keep your hair presentable for the most part without you having to worry about pulling it out."

"Thank you, Ap-Lelouch." Bozes caught herself, as she didn't really know if she should shake his hand or salute, so she cut her losses and left. He watched her join her friends in getting their fire started, seemingly to make their own food. As he did, he focused on his hand, wondering to himself at the feeling in his chest, this sensation of his heart both growing yet feeling…crushed. Was it because helping her brought up too many feelings of a past he could never return to? Or the fact that he would never see his friends and what little remained of his family again?

Or because it reminded him of the fact these same hands that appeared so clean right now were drenched in the blood of what must have been thousands of innocents just like her?

As the activity in the camp carried on, he found it all rather muted, as he was lost in his own inner world. He found himself strangely…amused by the duality of man. This pain in his chest—despite his acceptance of his actions, his fate, and his nature—helped to remind him he still had a heart which could shatter, even though he had abandoned his humanity.

"This is our food?" Lelouch asked as he looked over the rations that they had been provided with. They had even been able to pack pre-made bread with them to eat at the beginning of their trip, but if he was honest, it wasn't really as appetizing as he would have liked.

"Yep, so let's dig in!" Kali replied as she reached for some bread and cheese, but he grabbed her hand. He wasn't strong enough to stop her, but the action in and of itself got her to pause.

"Hold on, don't you want to cook it first?" he asked. Sure, you could just eat the stuff raw, but a meal was supposed to be more than just refuelling your body. It wasn't like they were on the run, so he thought they could afford it.

"And make what? Look at these ingredients." She ripped her hand away and pointed towards all that they had. It was military rations and some other stuff, not what she would call a gourmet dish in the waiting, and they hadn't stopped for lunch, so she was famished.

"Give me a second to look them over," Lelouch said, moving to take a closer look at what he was working with. Along with the aforementioned bread and cheese, they also had salt pork, onions, peas, garlic, lentils, some herbs, and olive oil. It wasn't much, but already ideas were forming in his head. His first was pizza, but then he immediately shut that down lest C.C somehow realized he did that and forever held it over his head. Plus, he didn't have an oven. "I can make us some soup." He finally spoke up.

"Soup? What are you, 50?" Kali asked him. That sounded like the lamest thing ever and a waste of time.

"Laugh it up. If you want to eat now, go right ahead. I'm making my own food." Lelouch took what he would need to make a single serving so he could make it for himself then.

"Actually," Roy spoke up, having been drawn to the bickering along with Chirona and Ghira. The three of them had stayed silent while the two of them bickered over their meal. "I wouldn't mind having some. I want to see how your cooking talent holds up." She couldn't help herself; she was curious what a man from another world would make for them to eat. She didn't necessarily seek out exotic foods, but when the opportunity presented itself, only a fool would pass it up.

"Alright, I'll bite." Ghira leaned in, curious to what he would make, and when Lelouch turned to them, he saw that even Chirona was seemingly on board with this, which meant he was cooking for four now.

"Fine! But if your cooking sucks…" Kali warned him as she huffed and sat back down.

He went to work, prepping the fire and pot while he chopped up the ingredients. He first cooked the onions in the olive oil, before adding in the garlic, herbs, and cheese too, along with some simmering water to create the actual soup. Halfway through, he added in some of the salted pork to give it a source of protein. Meanwhile, the four he was cooking for watched in amazement and fascination as he cooked like he had done this over a thousand times before and had found the perfect method. There weren't any wasted movements. His hands seemed to move by themselves without any input from him.

The entire process only took an hour, but it was clear that his cooking was something else. Even nearby groups making their own food or eating the plain, lackluster rations turned their heads to track the enticing aroma wafting through the camp. Eventually, they all stopped to see the wolf-eared Apostle prepping his meal, stirring the pot every now and then, adding a little extra here, and thereafter, giving it a taste with the spoon. The golden-emerald fusion soup hada thick, savory texture and a consistency of maple syrup.

To their collective horror, he ruined this by adding in more water, reducing it to a runnier form, and stirred the pot, humming some tune none of them knew the name of. After an hour had passed, he finally finished the meal and stepped aside to retrieve some bread.

"Alright, the food's ready," he told them all as he took out his bowl and served himself a big helping. Kali all but pushed him aside to reach the pot herself, as now she was both hungry and extremely eager thanks to the scent in the air.

"Finally, just about everyone else is already eating." She didn't hold back as she served an amount that was nearly too much for a bowl.

"Well, your subpar patience," Lelouch began as Kali just gave him the stink eye andas she got a spoon. She didn't respond and grabbed some bread before sitting down. Her father acted much more civil, as he served his portion after having served some to Rory. "Has finally been rewarded so dig in." And with Chirona serving some herself, purposely not taking any meat in hers, they dug in.

"Wow." Ghira was the first to speak after taking a spoon full of the soup. "I didn't think you could get this much flavor out of such basic supplies."

"This is absolutely delicious," Rory complimented him as she ate her meal, having not taken any bread, but she had a feeling she would try to have another serving if possible.

"It's been so long since I had something this well made." Chirona nearly cried as she enjoyed her meal.

"Alright, stop feeding my ego. It can't be that good," Lelouch told them as they were acting weird. Almost as weird as Cato did the first few times, he had to cook their meals.

"You're outnumbered twigs, looks like you keep adding to that list of surprising skills." Kali had nearly eaten half her dinner by this point as she smirked at him.

(Later)

"I'm stuffed." Sometime later, with the pot empty and their bellies full, the group found themselves idly laying around their campfire, completely satisfied.

"I would say, you can sure pack it away," Kali joked as she poked fun at Chirona who ate like it was the first she's had in days, getting the bicorn girl to blush out of some embarrassment.

"I don't normally eat that much, it's just…" She didn't know how to best describe it without coming off as rude or childish. "Well, it was good, alright."

"Don't feel too bad, Ghira over here had 3 servings and would have had more," Kali said as she pointed towards her old man who volunteered to clean up their dishes and the pot.

"This is the first real food I've had since I got snatched up." The man defended himself. Even after they got out, they didn't have any cash and had to eat the food provided to them. It was better than the near slop they had been forced to eat while captured, but it was near flavorless porridge, bread, and dried fruits.

"Well, I'll see you guys later," Lelouch said as he got up, picking up his notebook, and some stuff to write with.

"Where are you going?" Rory asked him as he grabbed a small torch as well. Was he leaving the camp and needed the light?

"I want to get some practice done, and working with magic this close to others isn't the best idea." He waved over his shoulder as he left. Once he had walked off far enough to ensure nothing could happen and that no one could spy on him, Lelouch stuck the torch into the ground next to him. Illuminated by the flickering light, he opened his notebook, not to where he had been working on his alchemy research, but rather to an entirely new section, one he had recently started to try and record what had happened to him when he changed.

(The next day)

The following morning, as the column moved down the road, the Rose Knights asked if they could be moved closer to the front to which Grey agreed. What they didn't tell him was that they decided on this so that they would have a better view of the rather strange Apostle. None of them could make heads or tails of him, as he seemed bored and dismissive but also observant and somewhat caring. Bozes had been open with how he treated her and Panache, especially the strange part where he helped detangle her hair, something that she was grateful for as they had learned the previous night that they would only have chances to bathe in towns or when near a stream.

Piña was even more invested in him, as she had always been taught that Apostles were servants to their patron Gods and had no loyalty to any man or state. But at the same time, she knew this one was a new member among the apostles. If she played her cards right, maybe he could be an ally. But first she needed information, as right now, she didn't even know which God he served. When she tried to match him to the ones she knew, she came up blank. He couldn't be a servant to Emroy as Rory was right there, nor could he be of Hardy, as she was well known to hate men, and she had already heard tales of her Apostle, some Draconian, but she didn't know a name.

Maybe Elange or Ra, but she would need more information, as he did strike as studious. There was also Flare, as from what she had heard, he seemed to have an affinity for fire and burning stuff, even being able to use a type of fire according to Kali, 'she had never seen before, or thought possible'. A stray thought entertained the notion that he was serving Miritta, but she immediately shut that down as soon as she realized the implications. Piña needed information, and she would get it.

As she watched him sit next to his bicorn…friend? Traveling partner? He was nose deep in one of his books while writing in another at his side. She had heard he had stayed up late researching, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in what that research was about. It was around the time when it was approaching mid-day that they started to see a settlement in the distance.

"You think we can buy some supplies?" Chirona asked.

"Wouldn't hurt. And if we're unlucky, we can always spend the night," Lelouch replied, his mind elsewhere as he worked.

"It's already on our route, it wouldn't hurt," Rory said. It wasn't like they could avoid the town. Why not make use of the opportunity while they had it?

With that said, they soon found themselves entering the town, and while it was rather small, it seemed to be quite populated. Lelouch would guess by the activity he was seeing and the number of buildings that it had a population of at least 1,000 people. They only stopped once they reached one of the inns near the town center, allowing everyone off while most of the troops went about looking after their stuff.

"We're off to speak with the Aedile about our situation. If things go well, we'll be able to get some of those supplies on the cheap," Grey said as he stood alongside Piña, the princess eager to speak with the town leader and learn more about what she would need to know for the future.

"If we're staying for a while, I'll just go around and explore," Rory told them and walked off to do her own thing.

"And what will you do?" Lelouch asked as he turned to Chirona who pointed towards some of the children with them who seemed a little scared by being around people, which neither could blame them for.

"I was going to check up on some of my people, see how they're doing. You?" She wanted to ensure that they were all doing alright and also protect them from anyone that got any funny ideas. She may not have her blade, having lost it during the fight with that monster, but she still had her legs, and she knew for a fact she could kill a man with a single good kick.

"I'm going to find a merchant who sells clothing," Lelouch said as he gestured towards his current attire. He didn't know what it was, but he really didn't like what he had been provided with.

"Alright then, see you later," Chirona said and walked off, leaving him to head into the marketplace and hopefully find a merchant he could do business with.

As he walked on through, he picked up the looks people gave him which started as the normal ones given to a stranger—nothing but a glance—and that should have been it. Once they noticed the ears atop his head, those looks changed to a number of expressions—starting with surprise or shock before changing to anger, fear, disgust, or some combination of those three.

It was what they said—either not realizing he could hear them or not caring if he did—that got on his nerves, though he didn't show it. Asking one another what he was doing here, if he was a slave that had somehow gotten away from his master, or if he was a criminal. Some of the kids asked their parents or elders why they were wary, and he could pick up those same elders either not telling them why or just telling them to keep away from him because he was a demi-human.

To be frank, it was somehow comforting to realize that no matter where you went, racism was just as baseless and fear-mongering as back home. Though he wasn't sure if he was a demi-human, as he knew he wasn't human nor mortal anymore. However, if he was the only one of his kind, did it count?

Another odd thing he picked up on wasn't the reactions from the locals, no, he figured those would happen. What he was referring to was how the animals reacted to him. The chickens seemed to be intimidated by him even though he was nowhere near them. The cats avoided him like the plague, screeching at him as if he had just surprised and terrified them before running off. While the dogs, both on leashes or within yards, barked and bared their teeth at him as if he was an outsider that they wanted dead. He was wondering if that thick-headed moron, Suzaku, managed to rub some of his bad luck with animals on him, but he figured it was something else, as when he got close to these dogs, they all fell silent and whimpered with their tails between their legs.

"That's new," he said to himself and decided to write that down for later study. Still, he saw that would have to wait as he managed to find a small building with a symbol out front that looked like a toga and figured he was in the right place. He entered the place and noted that there was an abundance of fabrics and finished clothing on display. His arrival alerted the owner of his presence, and she walked out from the back to greet him as he looked around.

"Welcome to Vipsania clothing, how may I hel—" she started before she noticed the ears. "You."

"I'm here to buy some clothing. Do you have anything in my size?" he asked as he gestured towards himself, getting her to shift around a bit as she thought of a response.

"Oh, well I'll need your measurements first, and I'll check our stock." Her smile was so fake that he was surprised she even bothered.

"Fine." She was already walking back to check before he could respond, but he didn't mind.

He walked over to some black fabric which was next to some white cloth, and he had to admit, it was much softer on his fingers than he thought it would be. It had to be due to the large number of sheep farms they had in the area. They had constant access to wool.

"Unfortunately, sir, I don't have anything in your size." The lady walked out of the back sometime later. When he heard her answer, he moved back to the finished clothing and appraised it.

"Is that right?" He asked, with his back to her so she couldn't see what he was really doing, nor what his expression was which would make her a little nervous.

"Y-yes. It seems we sold our last one not too long ago," she told him, wishing he would just leave already, but he wasn't budging. He stayed silent for a moment as if weighing his options, but in actuality, he was just letting her cook in her nervous stress before he spoke up.

"Alright then, then why don't I buy some of this cloth you had around, and I'll just make my own then," he offered as he turned to face her, showing her that he was holding back some of the black cloth which he picked up without her notice.

"Sir, that cloth isn't cheap. It's quite pricey." Her face conveyed increasing displeasure as he walked up to the counter.

"I'll pay you 4 Denari for it," he told her, to which her frown turned into a straight line, while her eyes glared at him.

"10."

"5."

"The price is 10," she repeated, her straight face growing more irritated with him, but he hadn't changed his expression from aloof and bored the entire time.

"6. Surely a place like this would easily make up the difference, normally that is." Lelouch told her.

Her response was ready, but then she processed his words and paused."What do you mean, normally?"

Now more wary, she reached for the knife she kept under the counter. As Lelouch answered, he moved away from the table, walking around the place.

"I mean, a town this big must have a large market for clothing and cloth. I even saw some of the farms coming in. There's a lot of sheep. It would be a shame if such a business found itself closed for repairs."

"Is that a threat you filthy demi-human?" she demanded.

He gave a lazy shrug. "I said no such thing, only that unexpected business closures can really hurt the coin purse," he told her, the barest of smirks visible on his face before he buried it, which only served to rile her up even more.

"If you think I won't get the local guard involved," she threatened him, as she knew for a fact, they would take her side over his. But much to her annoyance and continued confusion, he didn't seem too worried about that.

"And tell them what? I merely gave you some advice while trying to buy some cloth from you?" he asked, having been careful with his wording, and while he could easily get out of any trouble with the locals, he preferred to take the easier approach here.

She stared at him another minute, silently debating with herself the worth of this damn deal and his threat to damage her store or goods before he gave in. "Fine! 6 Denari."

He smiled, picked what he had wanted, and put the money on the table. And to screw with her even more and ensure she knew who won their little duel, he added in another 2 for pity's sake.

"Thank you for your business. And for the record, next time you lie about not having my size, try hiding the stuff you have on display. 4 of them could fit me as is." He had known she was lying from the beginning, something she clearly didn't as he pointed towards the four tunics in question. He walked out with his goods, being in a much better mood, as while it was no chess match against some privileged noble, he always enjoyed flexing his intelligence over such folk.

(Later that evening)

'Didn't think a town this small would have a public bath, but I'm not complaining,' Lelouch thought as he relaxed in the bath. They had been given permission to use them past the time they usually closed, and he used his position to ensure that he would have some privacy in one of the few hot rooms there. Though that didn't mean he was alone forever, as while no one entered, he did overhear some of the soldiers as they walked about outside, talking about their mission.

"Did you guys see the princess?"

"I'll give her one thing, she likes to play those games of hers."

"I don't even know why the emperor indulges her. It's not like he'll ever let her enlist."

"Maybe he will. She's just the daughter of some concubine. He already has tons of those."

"Who knows, maybe the man she'll marry would like having her march around doing errands."

Hearing all this helped him realize that Piña and her friends really were without a lot of options and didn't have many people who even believed they could do it. From how those troops talked, he could see that while the empire shared a lot with Britannia, it differed in other aspects. When he was a prince prior to his banishment, the guards would never dare speak of him or his sister in such a manner, despite their status as 'commoner royals'. Even though she was hated by most of the nobility and other consorts, Marianne was of the same social rank as a wife to the emperor.

But here, it seemed that wasn't the case, as while the emperor seemed to have more than a few children running around, not all of them were birthed by consorts or wives, but rather concubines. Such was the case with Piña, which, much like with how it played out in his own world's history, meant she was considered to be inferior to her siblings born to consorts despite having the same royal blood in their veins. Her being a girl surely didn't help things as he couldn't see the empire being too thrilled to follow an empress over an emperor.

A princess with few allies and many enemies, trying to find her place in this world…no. As he stood from the bath, letting the warm water move down his naked body, he mused to himself that was incorrect. She wasn't trying to fit in, she was trying to make the world her own through her own efforts and skills and prove that she was more than they thought she was.

"I suppose…that I should help her with that. It might even be fun, seeing how another weak royal goes about it," he said out loud, smirking and looking out the skylight into the night sky. But that would have to wait. He got out of the bath and dried himself off. He needed to get back to his room at one of the inns they were staying at and start designing his new outfit. He had most of the materials;, he just needed a clear blueprint of it to work with.

And we are done! That is the first parter, the second one should be up either right now or in a couple of minutes but before you get to that one, there were some things I wanted this chapter to do. The first is to help flush out the world, another being showing how Lelouch interacts with these new characters as they travel together. What I did enjoy was writing the bits with the Rose Knights as I do agree that it must have been adorable to watch them practice as children and wanted to bring them there here, but at the same time, show that they're both extremely inexperienced but ready to learn.

How their troops talked about them to supposed to show just how few actually believed in what they can do it as even in the show itself, they were considered to just be for show, doing marches and giving their parents something to talk about, or as the princess herself put it, they were nothing more than ornamentation, so it stands to reason that before they could even all finish their training, or even enter the evil that is puberty, that even fewer people would give them the time of day.

When it came to the cooking part, I'm based that on the fact that Lelouch is apparently a great cook according to the wiki, though he himself just thinks it's due to his perfectionist nature as the dude measures everything to a tee. The last bit was both to demonstrate how people treat him thanks to his change, and to show off his intelligence outside of a fight.

With some of the stuff in the story, Piña not wanting to think Lelouch was the apostle of Miritta not because he's a male, but because the followers of this goddess might be guaranteed to never die during childbirth, which, in a world with medicine as relatively simple and outdated as theirs, is a really good boon, the downside of it is that any who follow her have to serve as prostitutes at least once before marriage so you can understand why she wouldn't want to think about that.

Another thing is the measurements as I haven't looked over older chapters, but the Romans had a very different system of measurement to what we use today. 1 Roman mile or mille passus is about 1.48km, which is smaller than 1 mile according to the imperial system. Also, one stadium is measured to have been 185m, or around 202 yards so with that in mind, you can guess for yourself the distances talked about in the chapter.

I'll answer the reviews in the next chapter so…yeah.