Chapter 19
Of Dear Candor
In the end, Lelouch and Milly were conveyed to the Ashford residence in an armored SUV driven by one of Lelouch's attendants. Specifically, the attendant that had apparently loaned out Lelouch's Lamborghini to Kallen Stadtfeld of all people. Milly had gotten the broad strokes regarding the Stadtfeld heiress from Lelouch, though the picture he painted made clear there was yet more for her to learn. At the very least Kallen was certainly not the sickly noble daughter that was presented at school. The rest however would need to wait until Milly could have a heart to heart with the girl in question. That conversation promised to be as interesting as what was now unfolding this evening.
As they stepped out of the car, a large, white furred dog trotted over to greet them with a happy bark.
"Hey Sebastian," Milly said, crouching down and ruffling his head. "You been a good boy?"
The dog grunted, as if mildly offended that was ever in question. Milly chuckled, then turned towards the others.
"These are our guests, so behave around them, alright?"
Sebastian eyed Lelouch and his entourage with a wary eye before accepting his mistress' word and granting them his provisional acceptance.
"A very loyal companion," Lelouch remarked.
Milly chuckled. "I've had him since he was a puppy. He can be a mite stubborn, but that can be said about most of the guys in my life."
"I am sure," Lelouch drawled, while Alice and Sancia nodded in total agreement behind his back.
Milly chuckled again. "C'mon, let's not keep everyone else waiting."
Despite the open welcome Milly was extending him, the true master of this house was her grandfather. As such it was only right that the one to properly admit him be the marquess himself.
"Your Eminence," Ruben greeted with a practiced smile as Lelouch and Milly entered the parlor. "I bid you welcome to my house."
Lelouch dipped his head slightly in return. "I thank you for your hospitality, Your Lordship."
"Still sticking to formalities, huh?" Milly said from beside Lelouch. "I see we'll have to work on that."
The two men sighed simultaneously, then exchanged looks of mutual sympathy. Whatever differences or concerns that otherwise set them apart, they were well and truly united by the experience of being subject to Milly's whims and whimsy. Even if that was part of what made the young woman so endearing to both men.
"Your arrival was quite timely, for the table has just been set," Ruben said. "If you would join us in the dining hall?"
"Certainly," Lelouch said, extending an arm so as to escort Milly in.
The girl flashed a smile and accepted, and despite his worries Ruben felt a quiet joy at the sight. At the end of it all, he did want to see Milly happy, and to see Lelouch treat his granddaughter with such courtesy brought a degree of reassurance. Now they just needed to find some way to make manageable all the risks and complications that came along with such close association. One such complication was already seated at the dining table, but rose immediately as the others entered.
"Glad you could make it, Euphie," Milly greeted before anyone else could say anything, and thus implicitly setting the tone she wanted.
"Thank you very much for the invitation, Milly," Euphemia responded with a radiant smile, then regarded Lelouch with an openly hopeful look. "It's good to see you again, Brother."
A beat passed before the cardinal responded, long enough to be noticeable but otherwise innocuous enough.
"Likewise, Euphemia."
Lelouch may not be referring to his sister by her nickname, but he was at least dispensing with her formal courtesies this time around. And as Milly had said, they could work on that.
The attendees all took their seats, with Lelouch given place of honor at Ruben's right and Milly seated right next to him, while Euphemia was directly across from the cardinal. The two attendants accompanying Lelouch took up positions to grant them clear line of sight and if need be clear firing lanes. Having been there when Lelouch selected whom to accompany him for the evening, Milly knew that Sancia had been explicitly chosen as a bit of minor payback for loaning out Lelouch's car. It was somewhat petty of the youth to force her to stand watch amidst the appetizing aromas of this evening's dinner, but only slightly considering such a duty was par for the course for anyone working in a bodyguard capacity. The pettiness came from the fact that Lelouch was unsubtly rubbing that point in Sancia's face, metaphorically of course.
"Now then Milly," Ruben said. "Might you enlighten us as to what prompted you to organize this dinner on such short notice?"
"Well," Milly drawled, then took Lelouch's hand into her own on the table. "It seemed appropriate that we should inform you, Grandfather, of Lelouch and mine's progress."
Euphemia inhaled sharply, her eyes wide as she stared at the pair. Ruben's own gaze fell squarely upon Lelouch however.
"And what do you have to say to that, young man?"
"Milly's forthrightness notwithstanding, you have my assurances, sir, that I will do my utmost to see that your granddaughter is made the happiest woman that my capacity allows."
"Oh, I'll hold you to that," Milly said teasingly.
Ruben gave a bemused grunt. "You have set yourself quite the bar, Lelouch. Still, if anyone can meet my granddaughter's willful standards, I suspect you have better than fair odds."
"Your confidence is ever so reassuring," Lelouch said with a slight smirk of his own.
That elicited a chuckle and Ruben took hold of his wineglass. "A toast then. To the first suitor my granddaughter was presented with that she did not conspire to escape from or drive away."
"Yet," Lelouch said, timing his remark just as the others' lips touched their drink.
While Ruben and Euphemia were able, barely, to keep from sputtering out their drink, Milly ended up needing to wipe her lips with her napkin.
"Oh, I'm going to get you back for that," Milly declared.
"I am sure there will be ample opportunity in the future for you to try," Lelouch responded with confidence as he took a long sip of his own glass.
Seated across from the pair, Euphemia watched in mild fascination at how the two interacted. There was a naturalness that had thus far eluded her admittedly brief encounters with her reunited brother, one that the princess felt just a dash of envy over. But just bearing witness to how relaxed Lelouch seemed to be in Milly's company also offered a dash of reassurance and even hope. The rigidity with which Lelouch had previously treated her was not the sole bearing her brother was capable of, the playful warmth he now displayed was proof enough that Lelouch still retained that gentleness Euphemia remembered from before their separation. And as the two mended their frayed relation, Euphemia felt certain he would one day treat her with similar warmth as he treated Milly. Well, perhaps a bit different, seeing as they were siblings after all.
"In the meantime, seeing as you did promise me a working dinner," Lelouch said, "might we actually get some work done?"
That saw Euphemia's expression shift into mild surprise. While Milly had made a few insinuations as to just how much of a workaholic Lelouch was, the princess still had not expected he would bring that work to the dinner table, especially to this dinner table. Milly however seemed unperturbed by her boyfriend's request and began rattling off previously postponed report.
"Repairs of the major transmission lines in Honshu are scheduled to complete at the end of the month, which means the island will finally be properly connected end to end. Concurrent to this has been our effort to fix up the last-mile distribution lines, but as you already know, progress on that is being completed in a somewhat patchwork pattern. The biggest issue is the sheer number of endpoints that need converting, and the bottleneck at this point is solely manpower. Even with an unlimited budget, there just aren't enough certified electricians in all of Japan to speed up the conversion process."
Lelouch grunted. "Had the viceroyalty not already made such a hodgepodge of the grid, I wouldn't have bothered continuing with the conversion. As it is, we need to complete it just to make sure we can actually provide power to various parts of the administrative area."
"Conversion?" Euphemia spoke up in a quizzical tone.
Lelouch blinked, as if needing to remind himself of his sister's presence. That probably said something about the intensity with which he focused on a particular matter, or his relative inability to multitask. He glanced over at Milly, who offered a slight smile and tilt of her head, and with a shrug of his own Lelouch answered Euphemia's inquiry.
"Unlike Britannia or really most other nations, Japan's power grid operated on two different frequencies for transmitting electricity split between the east and west. When the Empire took over, a decision was made to convert the entire region over to using 60Hz, like the rest of the Empire. Unfortunately the effort was so rife with corruption and general incompetence that significant portions of eastern Japan were literally disconnected from the grid because the necessary transmission equipment was not installed."
"I see," Euphemia said with pursed lips. "And fixing this is something Milly has been helping with?"
Milly offered a wry smile. "Well, not me personally. Electrical power generation is the bread and butter of Ashford Industries, though. All the flashier stuff we sell to the Britannian military is really just a sideline."
"Albeit a very profitable one," Ruben interjected.
"Right," Milly chuckled. "Anyway, my family's company had already drawn up detailed plans about how to do the conversion correctly, so when Lelouch here went full throttle to fix up Japan's infrastructure, we were ready and willing to help. And so far, he seems to be satisfied with our work."
"Coming in under budget and on time is certainly helpful in that regard," Lelouch remarked.
"We aim to please," Milly said with a beaming smile.
"If only you would apply such diligence to the budgets for school events," Ruben said.
"And what of your own parties, Grandfather?" Milly retorted.
Ruben gave a rueful smile. "Well, at least you come by it honestly."
"Should I be concerned as to your family's exorbitance, sir?" Lelouch inquired.
"You were the one that offered to make my granddaughter happy," Ruben pointed out.
"So I did," Lelouch said, immediately downing the rest of his wineglass.
To that Milly gave a bright laugh. "I think it's a good thing you didn't end up driving tonight, not sure I would have let you drive home alone if you're going to drink this heartily."
"I did not know you were looking for excuses for me to stay the night already, milady," Lelouch said with complete nonchalance.
An uproarious laugh escaped Milly this time, while Ruben raised an eyebrow. For her part, Euphemia was almost gaping at her brother's audacity.
"Lelouch!" she said reprovingly.
Lelouch blinked. "Yes?"
Euphemia pursed her lips. "I didn't think you'd grow up to be such a playboy."
"Now that is gross slander of my character," Lelouch stated as he calmly cut into the steak. "I but arise to the challenge Milly lays before me."
Euphemia gave her brother a beady look before shifting her gaze over to Milly. The older girl gave a playful shrug.
"Guilty as charged," she said. "Sorry Euphie, but I'm afraid I've corrupted your brother, the good minister."
The princess looked back and forth between the two utterly unrepentant faces before cracking a wry smile of her own. "Well, with your good looks, I'm sure it wasn't that hard."
"Moi?" Milly pointed at her own face. "I'd like to think my winning charm had more to do with it."
"Take heed, Your Highness," Ruben said with feigned gravity, "to not be swayed by guile and honeyed words. The two before you should offer ample example of what to watch out for."
"Oh, I'll definitely keep that in mind," Euphemia said, finally allowing a relaxed smile to cross her face.
"Anyway, we were discussing the electrical grid updates," Lelouch said, directing the conversation back to business.
"Right, so, I can't exactly do a PowerPoint here, but there have been progress in a few other areas as well," Milly said without missing a beat. "Solar installations have reached a point where those regions still cut off from the area-wide grid at least have some power. Those places will probably still suffer from brownouts and whatnot, especially since there hasn't been time to install battery backstops for them, but it's definitely better than nothing."
"If I recall, by the time sufficient battery stations were installed, the conversion would have been completed anyway," Lelouch said.
Milly nodded. "Hence why we're not bothering. Oh, but the wind installations should help provide some degree of buffering during the night."
"That's good to hear," Lelouch said. "Now, shall we deal with the bad news?"
To that Milly grimaced slightly, glancing over at Euphemia in the process. The princess tried to keep a level expression, but dipped her head slightly to let Milly know she would be fine. The older girl did not seem convinced, but proceeded nonetheless.
"It's more a mixture of good and bad news instead of all bad," Milly said. "All of the nuclear power plants were kept under rather stringent security and even the Fukushima site has been diligently maintained, not even the previous viceroyalty administration was foolish enough to leave a ticking timebomb like that alone."
Euphemia's eyes widened as she grasped the topic at hand. Japan, for all its wealth in sakuradite, was much poorer in domestic energy sources like oil and gas, and what coal it did have came nowhere close to meeting its energy needs. As a consequence, Japan had invested heavily in nuclear power, with reactors dotting the country. Securing those reactors had been a major priority for the Empire after its successful conquest of the country, considering the amount of devastation that might result if careless insurgents were to attack one, either to try stealing the nuclear fuel or intentionally initiating a meltdown in some suicidal scheme. For the most part, the security around these nuclear facilities had held, in spite of the otherwise incompetent handling of the occupation by the Britannian military. Probably, as Milly alluded to, not even the likes of Clovis or Bartley were foolish enough to underestimate the risks a nuclear meltdown represented. But even the very best human effort in this regard might still prove inadequate when Mother Nature entered the picture, especially when the effort exerted fell well short of that best.
"I take it then that the Fukushima site is proving as troublesome as expected."
"Oh you better believe it," Milly said, no trace of flippancy in her tone.
A scant six months after Britannia's invasion of Japan, the former nation and its people were met with further disaster as a major earthquake of its eastern coast triggered tsunamis that struck over a dozen prefectures. Over twenty thousand people perished due to the lack of warning, a combination of the speed with which the tsunamis struck and the general disruptions suffered by state organs in the post-invasion environment. It was a humanitarian disaster further compounded by the rather inept response mustered by the occupying forces, though in fairness they had certainly not expected to need to play search and rescue for a country they had just invaded.
More prevalent to the discussion at hand was the outright meltdown that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The immediate consequences were bad enough, but the lack of proper warning meant over a hundred thousand people were left in a highly irradiated zone. How many would suffer from long-term health effects was difficult to say, but even a small percentage would result in a lot of people getting sick. Even six years on, the Empire was still dealing with the fallout, both literal and metaphorical, from that disaster.
"We're finally getting some proper traction in containing the radioactive contamination and even purifying some of the outflow, but we're definitely playing catchup here," Milly said, her jaw clenching. "Way too many things that should have been done in the immediate aftermath weren't."
"I presume Ashford Industries has a proposed plan of action and a budgetary estimate for that plan?" Lelouch asked with remarkable calm.
Milly nodded. "We have a couple, depending on how much resources the viceroyalty is prepared to pour in on the project."
"Whatever it takes," Lelouch said. "The handling of the meltdown aftermath was an abominable disaster. We have over a hundred square miles still designated as an exclusion zone and contaminated water is still leaking out into the groundwater and the ocean." The cardinal sounded genuinely angry. "And we still haven't found the fuel rods in that mess."
"It's kind of hard when the area is still so heavily irradiated everything has to be done via robots," Milly said. "The Foundation has a few prototypes that might help, but those aren't ready for deployment yet. I don't suppose Eden Prime has anything?"
"A thought," Lelouch said with a nod. "I will check with the Order Sabine."
As Euphemia watched the exchange, she felt the slightest queasiness in her stomach at the topic of discussion. Perhaps that was why Milly had given her that look before. Seeing Lelouch at work however, albeit only a working dinner, Euphemia was starting to grasp just how hard her brother was working. This was the magnitude of responsibility he bore, and he was handling it with such seeming ease. Despite being seated directly across from Lelouch, Euphemia could not help but feel ever further away from her brother. There was so much catching up for her to do before she could walk side by side with him.
"That's it for the main issues needing your immediate awareness on the infrastructure," Milly said. "Everything else you can get by reading the actual reports."
"Very well," Lelouch said. "How are new students acclimating to Ashford?"
Euphemia looked blankly between Lelouch and Milly, somewhat taken aback by the sudden shift in topic.
"Oh, they're all settling in fine," Milly said. "Kaguya especially has been making quite the splash. A lot of the Japanese students are congregating around her, she's a real natural as a leader. And no one's tried to give Suzaku any trouble, though he seems to be a bit more awkward as far as socializing goes. By all indications if Kaguya wasn't dragging him along, he'd be spending more time at MacArthur Base than the school."
"Kaguya," Euphemia said aloud, "and Suzaku? You know them, Lelouch?"
This time it was Lelouch's turn to blink. "You have not been introduced to them?"
"Well, in passing," Euphemia said. "They're both student secretaries to Milly, right?"
"I'm afraid I don't know what labors Milly has impressed them into," Lelouch said, earning a raspberry from the girl, "but the two are known to me, yes, and enrolled in Ashford at my recommendation. Kaguya Sumeragi is the nominal head of the Sumeragi family, though she is officially in the custody of one of her relatives until she comes of age. She is also a nominal member of the Numbers Administration Council, and thus plays a significant role as to whether Britannia will be able to properly and peaceably integrate Japan."
Euphemia frowned slightly. "Is there anyone that isn't some sort of work relation with you, Lelouch?"
There was a slight pause as Lelouch took the time to consider the question.
"No," was the succinct answer he finally gave.
The frown deepened.
"Your brother isn't entirely hopeless, Euphie," Milly offered a quick reassurance. "Sometimes he even manages to mix a bit of pleasure with business."
Lelouch gave a noncommittal shrug, which did not exactly help Milly's claim, but the cardinal seemed more interested in his meal than in providing further assurances at the moment. More pleasure than business, that.
"And this Suzaku?" Euphemia asked, deciding she would probably get a more meaningful response with such a question than anything directly relating to Lelouch himself.
"He is the son of the last prime minister of Japan," Lelouch said, "as well as a cousin of Kaguya. Suzaku enlisted in the Britannian armed forces as an Honorary Britannian and demonstrated himself to be a competent and discrete sort when I had need of his services. In thanks, and in recognition of the injuries he suffered under my command, I recommended him to attend Ashford."
Another reminder, that many of Lelouch's responsibilities came with a heavy burden.
"Well, I think it's a good thing, the opportunity you've given the two to reconnect," Milly said, tacking the conversation towards a lighter shade. "Kaguya has even arranged a chauffeur to drive Suzaku back and forth between the base when he needs to go to work. Surprised you didn't think of that yourself."
"Suzaku is not one of my direct reports," Lelouch said. "As such I have little awareness of any direct inconveniences he may have. It is ultimately his responsibility to raise them with his immediate superiors, and for them to determine to what extent they can accommodate him."
Euphemia tilted her head. "Suzaku, he's in that wheelchair, right? He's still a soldier?"
"He has been assigned to the Camelot Institute," Lelouch said. "Beyond that, I'm afraid his duties are classified."
"I see," Euphemia said, pursing her lips again.
By this point, Lelouch had cleared his plate with his usual efficiency, and the others were not far behind. The cardinal settled back into his seat, taking another sip from his wineglass. He was already on his third refill, having elicited raised eyebrows from Ruben and Euphemia both. Milly however was unperturbed, seemingly used to the rate at which Lelouch could down drinks from her past dinners with him.
"By the by," Milly said as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Did you remember to forward my letter to Nunnally?"
Despite herself, Euphemia could not help but inhale sharply at the mention of her younger sister's name. While Milly had tried to assure the princess that Nunnally was still alive, the apparent inability to converse directly with her meant Euphemia remained ill at ease about her sister's situation. Now that that topic was being broached, Euphemia held Lelouch in an intent gaze.
"Yes, and she even wrote a response," Lelouch said. "Sancia, if you would."
The raven-haired young woman stepped forward and took out from her jacket not one, but two envelopes, and handed them to the cardinal. Both were sealed with a wax stamp, carrying a certain old-fashioned style to them. One Lelouch handed to Milly, and the other he presented to Euphemia. The princess' breath caught as she gingerly reached out to accept.
"Our dear sister had a few choice words for me," Lelouch said, not letting go yet as Euphemia's fingers closed around the envelope. "Might you do me the favor of reassuring her sufficiently such that she doesn't bite my head off next time as well?"
Euphemia regarded her brother for a long moment before finally offering a warm smile. "I will try."
Lelouch nodded, then graced Euphemia with a slight smile of his own as he let the envelope go.
It was with a fair degree of anxiety that Kallen entered the clubhouse that served as the workspace for the head girl and her prefects. Only a small part of that anxiety was due to the upcoming meeting, the rest of it was rooted in her concern for her missing mother. Immediately after discovering her absence, Kallen had called upon Ohgi to see if her mother might have returned to the ghettos. The Japanese man however had had no awareness of Kohaku's disappearance either, but immediately promised to check around. Next, Kallen had called the palace, using the direct line that would get her to Lelouch's staff. Technically she was only supposed to use that number for important things, but considering one of the reasons she signed on with the cardinal was to protect her family and friends, enlisting Lelouch's help in searching for her mother certainly warranted its usage in Kallen's mind. At the very least the woman that ultimately answered, Lucretia instead of Sancia, did not chide her for the decision, which Kallen was prepared to take as a good sign, along with Lucretia's assurance that she would tap the governmental and Eden Vital networks to check for any sign of Kohaku.
At the moment, that was arguably the best Kallen could do, and despite the urge she felt to be out there looking herself, the girl knew that that would not actually measurably increase the odds of her mother being found. Right now the best course of action was for Kallen to continue carrying out her duty, and in this case that meant sorting out any lingering details about her posting to Ashford Academy with Milly. Taking a deep breath, Kallen knocked on the door into the sitting room.
"Come on in!" a joyous voice sounded.
Allowing herself a wry smile, Kallen opened the door and did just that. Seated casually in one of the loveseats, Milly managed to strike a balance between looking relaxed but authoritative. Whimsical, even.
"Good day, Kallen," Milly greeted.
"Good day to you," Kallen responded.
The smile on Milly's expression widened slightly as she tilted her head. "Please, have a seat."
Kallen accepted the invitation, sliding onto the sofa to Milly's right.
"There was quite the stir this morning, when people saw that red Lamborghini parked in the student lot." The smile turned into a smirk. "A lot of the students here are from rich families, but I don't think anyone gets quite that indulged."
"Umm, yes," Kallen said with a weak smile. "I don't suppose you would have a better place for me to park that thing while it's here? It's not mine to begin with, and I really don't want it to come to grief while I have it."
"We can move it into the family parking garage," Milly said. "Still, mighty gutsy of you, appropriating the car that Lelouch got as a birthday present from his father to run your own errands."
Kallen visibly winced at that. "You know about that?"
Milly chuckled. "He was intending to show it off by driving me back to Ashford with it last night. You should have seen his face when we found the car missing."
Kallen sighed wearily. "That, was not the best decision I've ever made."
Another chuckle sounded from the older girl. "Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be the last you'll regret. And don't worry, I'll let you know if I end up taking the car out for a spin myself."
To that Kallen cracked a wry smile. "Considering His Eminence seems to be your boyfriend, you probably have firmer privilege to do so."
Milly sat back on her seat as she regarded the younger girl. "And what is His Eminence to you, Kallen?"
The girl in question blinked. "Pardon?"
"I had a rather lengthy chat with Lelouch," Milly used his name instead of his title or courtesy, "about your situation. He was very firm in that you could be trusted to, protect, myself and a few other persons of import here at Ashford. Enough so that I was willing to then go and convince Grandfather to let you bring in a small arsenal. And let me tell you, that was not an especially fun conversation."
"I can imagine," Kallen said, then took a deep breath. "You know my father to be the Viscount Albrecht Stadtfeld. My mother however is not Yvette Stadtfeld, my mother is Kohaku Kouzuki."
Milly's lips thinned, though not out of distaste or anything so callous. It was a contemplative expression on the Ashford girl's face. That Kallen was not Yvette's daughter was something of an open secret amongst upper society, her age did not line up with Albrecht's marriage after all. Most assumed Kallen was the product of some premarital dalliance the viscount had had before meeting his wife, and those were common enough that little more than passing remarks were made. What was unusual was for Kallen to be recognized as Albrecht's heir, but even that could be excused due to Yvette's apparent barrenness. That Kallen was of mixed lineage added a rather interesting wrinkle to all that, especially in light of the recent developments in Japan.
"I can see why that might draw His Eminence's attention," Milly said, shifting her reference in emphasis of a different point. "And it explains the other set of instructions he's passed down about involving you in the infrastructure projects. Still, the degree of trust he's investing in you in playing bodyguard? You've obviously done something specifically to earn that."
Kallen cocked her head aside. "You mean His Eminence hasn't told you?"
Milly shook her head. "He said that that was something for you to disclose, if you so choose."
While this was a show of consideration on Lelouch's part, there was not much question that Kallen needed to tell Milly most of the truth regarding her insurgent history. The consideration here was Lelouch was letting Kallen herself doing the telling instead of blabbing about it himself.
"You recall I was absent for a month or so right after the Shinjuku incident," Kallen said.
A nod. "The official explanation was you were getting treated for Saren exposure. And let me tell you, Kallen, my heart nearly stopped when I learned one of my students had gotten poisoned like that."
An eyebrow rose. "One of your students?"
Milly flashed a wide smile. "Of course. I am the head girl of Ashford Academy. All of you are as much my students as the academy's."
Kallen gave a slight snort at that before continuing. "Well, what the official report didn't mention was that I was basically at ground zero when the chemical weapon was activated. In fact, I was standing right next to His Eminence when it went off."
If anything Kallen said frightened Milly at all, the older girl did not show it on her face. Indeed there was a speculative look on it instead.
"During his statement, Lelouch mentioned that one of the, insurgents, gave him their dose of atropine instead of taking it themselves. That was you, wasn't it?"
Upon her return, Kallen had been fully briefed on that singular lie Lelouch told regarding the events down in the tunnels, so Milly's question did not take her by surprise. Granted Kallen's initial reaction had been to protest the claim, but Lelouch's repost was that she had offered, even if indirectly. And the subterfuge served a double purpose in helping explain Lelouch emerging seemingly unscathed himself. As such Kallen was obliged to accept the lie, however reluctantly, with her only consolation that the cardinal would not be going around spreading knowledge of exactly who his mysterious savior was. Of course, that did not stop especially astute observers from making the connection themselves, like now.
"Yes, it was," Kallen said simply.
Milly took a long, deep breath, and then gave Kallen a wide smile. "Thank you. For saving him."
Something stirred within Kallen at the gratitude being so displayed. This was one of the reasons why she hadn't wanted to let the lie stand, it felt so wrong to be celebrated for something she had not actually done. But at the same time, it clearly meant so much to Milly that Lelouch had made it out of Shinjuku hale and whole. It would not do to trample upon that gratitude or joy.
"You are welcome," Kallen thus responded.
Milly gave a satisfied nod and relaxed back into her seat again.
"Now, I'll take it for a given that you actually know how to use that little arsenal you've brought in," the girl said. "Though in all honestly, I think I'd be much happier if you never found the need."
"I assure you, Milly, I am in total agreement on that," Kallen said. "I really, really wouldn't want a firefight to erupt at the academy. The students here don't deserve to be caught up in that sort of disaster."
Milly nodded again. "I'm glad we're of like mind. In that case," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a smartphone, holding it out to Kallen, "here."
Even as she took it, Kallen regarded Milly quizzically. "What's this for?"
"You know the school rules about smartphones and cellphones in general," Milly said.
"They're not allowed anywhere outside of the dorms or if you're heading off schoolgrounds," Kallen said.
While the policy might seem overly strict, the rationale was simple enough. When the students were at school, their sole duty was to learn. Considering the functionality afforded by modern smartphones, the convenience that they offered was judged to be far outweighed by how big a distraction they were. This being the case, the academy elected to simply ban their usage within the school proper. If family or other outside parties needed to contact a student, they could do so via the school itself.
"Quite. Prefects are however are something of an exception," Milly explained. "Each one is issued a specially configured smartphone that's locked down to the school's own network, so you can't go surfing the net or calling random numbers. It's also got preloaded apps for things like submitting roll calls or reporting students that are violating the rules."
"I always did wonder about seeing some students with phones in the classrooms," Kallen said as she looked over the phone. "Kind of surprised the school went to all this trouble."
"My family does own a pretty large industrial conglomerate," Milly said. "And we apparently have a pretty good IT department. So setting it all up wasn't that much trouble. Anyway, first time you turn that on, it'll ask you to input a pin. And if you ever do lose it, let the staff know right away and they'll try to find it via its GPS."
"Gotcha," Kallen said, then recalled something. "Were you told about the smartphone that I'd be bringing to campus?"
"The one that sounds like some sort of superspy gadget?" Milly said. "Yes, and you also have exemption to carry that around, but try to keep it out of sight. And you better not use that for cheating on any tests."
"I promise, I won't," Kallen assured Milly.
"Good," Milly said with a nod as she stood. "Well, I can't say this was how I expected your return to come about, but welcome back, Kallen."
Kallen smiled as she did likewise. "Thanks, Milly. And all things considered, it's good to be back."
When Euphemia entered the clubhouse, she found another occupant already present. The wheelchair bound youth looked up and nodded in greeting.
"Oh, hello."
"Hello," Euphemia responded with a light smile. "Suzaku, right?"
"Yes. And you would be Euphemia."
Despite the seeming uncertainty, there was not any actual doubt between the two about the others' name. As part of her first day at Ashford, Milly had formally introduced one Euphemia Velaines to her prefects and aids, Kaguya and Suzaku included. Most everyone present picked up on the subtle hints being dropped, even if for slightly different reasons. Thus far however, no one had whispered a peep about it, indicating that Milly had chosen well in her confidantes.
"I hope you are adjusting well to Ashford?" Suzaku said.
"Well, the school isn't so different from the one I attended in the homelands," Euphemia said. "If anything, perhaps I should be asking you that?"
Suzaku smiled slightly. "The Ashfords have been very accommodating of my needs. And I have been heartened to find many of the students quite accepting."
Many, but certainly not all, Suzaku hardly needed to add. But that was as to be expected. Even if Ashford had a rather high concentration of children from ore open minded families, its position as the premiere educational institution within Japan meant even those nobles that disagreed with Marquess Ashford's political leanings might still feel obliged to send their children to his school to make sure they received the very best schooling possible.
"I'm glad to hear that," Euphemia said with a sincere smile. "I heard a little from, Milly, the circumstances that led to your enrollment. And, I think it's amazing, how even after everything you've done for Britannia, you're still trying to do more."
"There's still much left to be done," said Suzaku. "With the Cardinal Lamperouge's arrival, things have gotten a lot, lot better. There's still a great distance between our peoples, and until it's bridged, I intend to do my part, however I can."
"That is very admirable," Euphemia said admiringly.
"It's the right thing to do," Suzaku simply stated.
Euphemia nodded, not needing any convincing on that point. Her gaze seemed to look past Suzaku for a moment, before focusing back on the young man.
"Do you mind if I ask you something, Suzaku?"
"Of course."
"You, have met the Cardinal Lamperouge, have you not?"
Suzaku scratched the back of his head. "Well, yes, I suppose one could say that. We were out in the field, and it wasn't like there was much time for chitchat, but I did manage to speak with him."
Euphemia's lips thinned slightly. "And what sort of man would you say the cardinal is?"
Had anyone else been asking, Suzaku would have wondered at their motives. Coming from Euphemia however, and assuming Kaguya's intuition was correct, the only motivation behind the question was that of a sister worried about her brother.
"The cardinal is, someone determined to do right," Suzaku said. "Even if the path to that right is hard and treacherous, it's still one he'd insist on following. But he doesn't walk that path alone. Because his determination inspires so many others to also do the right thing, and follow right behind. Or even beside, those of us capable."
"Those capable," Euphemia repeated in a whisper, then more loudly. "Do you think yourself to be one of them, Suzaku?"
"Why, because of this?" Suzaku patted his still leg.
"Oh, no, no!" Euphemia immediately protested. "I didn't mean it that way!"
Suzaku chuckled. "That's alright, I know you didn't. And as to whether I am capable, I don't think so. Not yet at least."
"Not, yet?" Euphemia cocked her head aside quizzically.
"I mean, I'm just a lowly soldier," Suzaku said. "I've garnered His Eminence's attention, and I think he has at least some measure of faith in me, seeing the lengths he's gone to accommodate me. But if you were to ask me exactly how I could help him? I wouldn't be able to say. I'm just a soldier after all, and a crippled one at that."
"Aren't you underselling yourself a little?" Euphemia said. "I mean, aren't you the son of, well…"
"Japan's last prime minister?" Suzaku said with a wry smile. "I suppose there is some symbolism to me bowing my head to the Empire. But that's to Britannia's advantage. Do you think that is of some direct help to the cardinal?"
Euphemia slowly shook her head.
"Me neither," Suzaku said. "But just because right now, there doesn't seem anything that I can do to help His Eminence, doesn't mean there's nothing I can't do at all. I'll keep doing my job in the military, even climb the ranks if given the chance. I'll keep studying here, to make connections and friends, to be an example for people on both sides of the divide. And if I keep doing that, I'm sure I can make a difference."
Clasping a hand over her chest, Euphemia smiled warmly at Suzaku. "That is a wonderful way of looking at it."
Suzaku chuckled shyly. "Well, I didn't just come up with that all by myself. At least half of that came from my therapist."
"Maybe so," Euphemia said, her smile not faltering for a moment. "But it was still you that uttered those words. For that, that was all you."
The way the two were gazing into each other's eyes, the moment might have lasted forever had not the sound of the door opening intruded. A pair of flustered faces quickly turned to see who the newcomer was. Suzaku's eyes widened slightly, while Euphemia simply regarded the girl entering quizzically.
"Oh, I was not aware you were here, Suzaku," Kallen remarked in a level tone.
Suzaku gave a shrug. "I was waiting for Kaguya, she said she had a meeting after school, but afterwards she wanted to have dinner together."
That saw Euphemia regard Suzaku. "Oh?"
"Kaguya's a cousin of mine," Suzaku hurriedly explained, though just why he felt the need to clarify escaped the youth.
"So I've heard," Euphemia said, sounding satisfied for equally elusive reasons.
Kallen looked at the two, raised an eyebrow, but otherwise refrained from commenting. Her gaze ultimately settled on Euphemia, as if Suzaku was no longer in her awareness.
"I do not believe we've been formally introduced," the redhead began. "I am Kallen Stadtfeld."
"Euphemia Velaines," the princess said, frowning ever so slightly in uncertainty.
A normal introduction would not have warranted including one's last name, unless one party had some desire to emphasize their lineage. And while Euphemia certainly did not know every noble lineage within Britannia, she could surmise that the Stadtfelds were amongst the peerage. Exactly why Kallen felt the need to emphasize this, Euphemia could take a guess at, but the usual reasons were not always the most welcome as far as the princess herself was concerned.
"I believe Milly will be providing her own explanation," Kallen continued, "but seeing as you are here, this seems as good an opportunity as any to inform you of my specific duties, Your Highness."
Suzaku inhaled sharply, while Euphemia's eyes narrowed. Granted no one else was around, but openly declaring her awareness of who Euphemia really was certainly bordered on the audacious, if not teetering over into reckless. Though Kallen did at least have the good sense to close the door behind her beforehand.
"I was recently appointed as one of the Cardinal Lamperouge's attendants," Kallen said, now eliciting widened eyes from Euphemia as well. "My specific charge is, in addition to assisting Milly in acting as a public face for the infrastructure reconstruction in Japan, to act as a final level of protection for Milly, Kaguya, and yourself while you three are on campus."
"Protection?" Euphemia was sounding really confused now. "Why would that be something you'd be doing?"
Kallen returned Euphemia's gaze levelly. "Allow me to correct my introduction. I am Kallen Stadtfeld-Kouzuki, recently sworn lay sister of the Order Militant of Eden Vital."
Both Euphemia and Suzaku inhaled sharply at that, for a variety of reasons. While Suzaku had already been aware of Kallen's mixed heritage, that she had outright joined Eden Vital was very much coming at him out of the blue. As for Euphemia, it was hard to say which revelation was the bigger surprise.
"I'm sure Your Highness is aware that His Eminence's resources have been stretched significantly by all the matters requiring his attention," Kallen continued. "To that end, it was determined that my stationing at Ashford would allow him to maximize the utilization of my services. I hope I can trust in your cooperation so that His Eminence's consideration is not taken in vain."
When Lelouch revealed in the letter addressed to Kirihara his awareness of all the decommissioned Glasgows Kyoto House had diverted from scrapping amounted to enough to equip between two to four battalions, the margin of that estimate was due to a question of how many of the machines could be made serviceable once more. As it happened, after accounting for spare parts and machines to deal with the inevitable wear and tear that would come from their usage, the Japanese Liberation Front ended up fielding three battalions of knightmares, for a total of one hundred ninety-two frames. A lieutenant-colonel served as the commanding officer for each battalion, and the constituent companies were themselves commanded by captains.
The total sum of the JLF's strength amounted to an oversized but very lopsided division. The three battalions of knightmares was equivalent to a Britannian knightmare regiment, and there were two additional regiments' worth of infantry. Support elements were however fairly barebones. While the JLF did have a few artillery pieces and at least a few platoons' worth of combat engineers, it possessed nothing in the way of air support and what anti-air capabilities there were would be woefully inadequate in any sort of intensive exchange against Britannian regulars.
In recognition of the fact that the JLF would almost certainly be wiped out if forced to fight an open battle against the Britannian Army, the JLF's leadership had not bothered organizing their forces into any independent commands larger than battalion size. That meant lieutenant-colonels like Tohdoh were more or less the highest-ranking officers that might be expected to take to the field. Furthermore, and while the idea might be more wishful thinking than anything else, if the JLF did manage to win some decisive battle against Britannia and was able to rally the Japanese populace into an open revolt, each battalion was expected to serve as the core of new formations that could be stood up with the expected inflow of new recruits. In that regard, the battalion commanders were actually generals-in-waiting, and were treated as such by their subordinates and superiors alike. Similar such expectations were heaped upon the company commanders, one of whom was kneeling next to Tohdoh, incense in hand.
Before the two was enshrined a picture of a stern looking woman with flowing black hair and neatly cut bangs. The uniform she wore was that of the defunct Japanese Army, of which the woman was a high-ranking member thereof based on the visible insignia. After bowing three times, the young woman next to Tohdoh placed the incense in the container.
"Even after all these years," Tohdoh said solemnly, "I find myself missing General Nishizumi's guidance."
"I as well," the woman next to Tohdoh said. "As both general, and mother."
Tohdoh regarded the woman. "She would be proud of you, Nishizumi-san. For the resolve that you have displayed throughout these many years."
Captain Maho Nishizumi returned Tohdoh's steady gaze with one of her own, her eyes seemingly unwavering. As the daughter of the famed Brigadier-General Shiho Nishizumi, the only Japanese officer other than Tohdoh himself to have decisively won a major battle against the invading Britannians, heavy and great were the expectations that rode upon Maho's shoulders. Tohdoh himself was a disciple of the Nishizumi-school, having learned kendo at their dojo alongside Maho as a youth and then serving under General Nishizumi before the war. As such Tohdoh was less likely to be fooled by Maho's stoicism than more casual observers. Yes, Maho bore her duties with stoic determination. But maintaining that bearing came at a cost, one which Tohdoh was determined Maho would not need to pay for alone. Or to keep paying it without cause.
"I often wonder, how much longer will this fight of ours continue," Tohdoh said. "Of how much longer we should continue to fight."
With anyone else, Maho's response would have been automatic and reflexive, a declaration that they would fight however long it was necessary. With Tohdoh however, Maho could be more frank, much as the man himself was with her.
"My sister, after the war ended," Maho began. "She accepted the parole the Britannians offered to members of our armed forces, and moved to Tokyo. Last I heard, she was working at a courier company that helps keep the postal service running in the ghettos outside of the Britannian Concessions." She looked straight ahead at the image of her mother. "I would like her to be able to live a normal life, not constrained by the restrictions placed upon our nation as a conquered people. Or, at the very least, to live in a time of peace instead of this enforced tranquility."
Tohdoh allowed a slight smile to touch his lips. If there was one thing that was absolutely unwavering about Maho, it was how deeply she loved her dear little sister. Tohdoh could recall back at the dojo, where the cheerful younger Nishizumi daughter would follow her older sister about. Maho never minded, always letting Miho tag along. And in her own way, Miho charmed the students of the dojo as much as Maho entranced them, Tohdoh included. Even now, as much as Maho might fight for her people and the memory of her deceased mother, she also fought for the sake of her still living sister.
"Tell me, Nishizumi-san," Tohdoh began. "What manner of man do you consider the Cardinal Lamperouge to be?"
With a slightly quizzical look, Maho turned her head to regard Tohdoh. "The Cardinal Lamperouge?"
Tohdoh gave a single nod to show she had not misheard him.
"The Cardinal Lamperouge," Maho repeated thoughtfully. "He seems to be a man of firm character, with strong convictions and steadfast resolve. I suspect he will go on to achieve great things, given time, even if the cost of that greatness is steep."
"I do not disagree," Tohdoh said. "And yet in light of his appointment, of greatest concern to us is where those convictions of his lie. Are they to the detriment of our people, or might they be capable of being to our benefit?"
Maho's eyes narrowed. "What could the cardinal possibly offer, that does not amount to capitulation?"
There was no accusation in Maho's tone, though a hint of surprise was audible to those that knew her well.
"Dignity, respect," Tohdoh listed off, "authority, prosperity. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less. We, as Japanese, as human beings, are owed that, if we are willing to pay the necessary price."
Maho's eyes began to widen, but only slightly so. The subdued reaction was very much like the woman. She then looked at the photo of her mother, the stern visage reflected upon Maho's own face.
"All that and more would be ours, were we to achieve victory," the woman stated, "the price of which, I understand well. Of which my mother understood well. Yet paying that price was and is no guarantee that victory would be granted, only the chance of it dangled before us. My mother, seeing no other options, paid the price, and was delivered a victory in turn. But the victory she won was in battle, and not in war. That victory, I have yet to find a way within the Nishizumi-school." Maho now looked straight at Tohdoh. "Are you saying you have found a way outside of it?"
Tohdoh took a deep breath. "As you yourself said, paying the price is no guarantee of victory, all we receive is a chance to win. But I think, the chance is a genuine one. And even if the price is different, even if it feels great, I think it to be a fair price, too."
Maho continued holding Tohdoh's gaze for several long, silent moments, before finally a gentle, warm smile crossed her face. Reaching over, she took hold of the man's hands and gave a squeeze.
"I believe you," she said simply, "Kyoshiro."
It had been a long, long time since Maho called Tohdoh by name like that. Before the war, even. Yet hearing his name pass her lips like that, Tohdoh could not help but smile in turn as a burning warmth swelled within him.
A knock sounded, interrupting the moment and causing Tohdoh to frown. It was no secret that he and Maho were conducting a remembrance ceremony for General Nishizumi, and none of their compatriots would intrude upon the solemn duty lightly. Whatever prompted them to do so was undoubtedly both urgent and grave.
The two rose, but it was Maho that granted leave to their visitors.
"Enter."
The door opened to reveal two other women. Front and center was Captain Nagisa Chiba, one of Tohdoh's direct subordinates in his Four Holy Swords platoon. Right on her heel was Lieutenant Erika Itsumi, Maho's second-in-command.
"Sir, ma'am," Chiba said as the two came to attention and snapped crisp salutes. "My sincerest apologies for interrupting you, but General Katase requires your presence, Lieutenant-Colonel, urgently."
That might explain Chiba's presence, but surely a summons for Tohdoh did not warrant Erika accompanying the captain, even if Maho was in his company. At the inquiring look directed at her, Erika stepped forward.
"Ma'am," she directed her statement at Maho, "General Katase has ordered all units to perform a roll call and ensure all personnel are accounted for."
Tohdoh's eyes widened. That, that order was hint enough by itself at what prompted Katase's summons. The lieutenant-colonel looked over at Chiba.
"Major Senba is already handling the reports from the companies," Chiba answered the unspoken question.
To that Tohdoh gave an approving nod. "Very good. Then I best not keep the general waiting." He glanced over at Maho. "We shall discuss the matter once the current issue is resolved."
Maho offered a slight smile. "Once it is resolved, sir."
Loathe as he was to leave Maho's company, it was with wide strides that Tohdoh hurried to the general's side. From the countless other soldiers Tohdoh passed, it was quite clear a most serious matter had arisen. The interior of the main command room was a flurry of activity, with staff officers rushing back and forth collating the flood of information that was coming in. Standing in front of the main display was a furious looking Katase. At catching sight of Tohdoh however, the general relaxed ever so slightly.
"Tohdoh, good, you're here," Katase said, returning the younger man's salute.
"What has happened, sir?" Tohdoh asked.
The general's jaw tightened. "Chouno, tell him."
"Sir," Colonel Ami Chouno, Katase's chief of staff, turned towards Tohdoh. "Approximately two hours ago, a routine check of one of the base's armories revealed a substantial number of small arms to be missing."
Tohdoh's eyes widened.
"A more detailed inspection puts the number missing at four hundred twelve rifles, five hundred twenty sidearms, at least a hundred grenades, and counting."
"How could so many weapons have gone missing?" Tohdoh said incredulously.
"That is still under investigation," Ami responded. "What we have discovered thus far however are requisition orders for those weapons, with the general's seal on them."
Tohdoh looked over at Katase. "Sir?"
"I approved no such requisitions," Katase said with a growl. "Either someone managed to duplicate my seal or gain access to my office to make use of it in my absence. That such a possibility exists to begin with is troubling in the extreme."
To that Tohdoh could only nod silently in agreement. While the JLF were not necessarily beggars, losing that many guns was still no laughing matter. Setting aside the logistics of replacing them, that there were those in the JLF that would participate in such a deception to steal them in the first place had dire ramifications for the movement as a whole.
"There is more," Ami continued. "The requisitions were spread across different infantry battalions, and checks are being performed as we speak. Thus far, almost all of the other battalions show no record of having made these requisitions, and no sign of their possessing the weapons has been found either. The one exception is the 2nd battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe's command."
Tohdoh grimaced. "Is this confirmed?"
"Not, as yet," Ami said. "Members of 2nd battalion are being interviewed. Or rather, those members of 2nd battalion that responded to the muster order are being interviewed, of which Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakabe is not counted amongst them."
The grimace turned into open alarm on Tohdoh's part.
"How much of Kusakabe's battalion have followed him in this insanity?" Tohdoh did not hold back.
"At last count, five hundred sixteen," Ami answered.
In other words, over half of Kusakabe's command. Tohdoh did not know whether to despair that so many of his compatriots had decided to throw away their honor to quench their thirst for vengeance, or just be glad that not all of Kusakabe's battalion had succumbed to this madness.
"What now, then?" Tohdoh asked.
"What now indeed," Katase said, fists clenched. "It will take some time for Kusakabe and his troops to cross the country, especially if they wish to do so surreptitiously. Even so, our chances of intercepting them are not good. Doing so without alerting the Britannians would be near impossible."
"And if Kusakabe is able to execute his attack, regardless of whether he succeeds or fails, it risks rending a schism that might not be closable," Tohdoh stated.
"Which is likely his intent," Katase said. "When Kusakabe and his men were able to make the rally, I was overjoyed that another contingent of soldiers had escaped Britannian pursuit. And while I knew there was a risk that some might have been embittered by their experience, I had hoped that that bitterness would not turn them towards fanaticism." The general gave a rueful smile. "How foolish I was to ignore all those lessons of history that would have forewarned me."
Tohdoh did not try to dissuade the general's self-reproach, but neither did he speak to add to it. It was certainly Katase's responsibility to keep a tight rein on the soldiers under his command, all the more important considering the stresses that came with being an insurgency instead of a formal standing military. Heaping further blame upon the general would not resolve their present crisis however, not unless one felt Katase was utterly unfit to even try. As far as Tohdoh was concerned, they were not there yet.
"A question if I may, sir."
Katase gave a nod. "Go ahead."
"May I presume that the JLF considers Kusakabe's actions to be detrimental to Japan's interests and if the means can be found, is something to be prevented?"
The general did not give an immediate answer, but when he did, it was a solemn and firm nod. "You may."
"May I also presume, sir, that it is beyond the JLF's ability to stop Kusakabe, at least with the sort of surety necessary to prevent the aftermath from causing much of the harm anyway?"
Katase grimaced. "That is regrettably also so."
Tohdoh took a deep breath. "Then are we at a point, General, wherein we may need to make known Kusakabe's intentions to those that might be positioned to actually stop him?"
In other words, should they inform the Britannians, and effectively sell out and write off Kusakabe and all the soldiers that had followed him. Katase's fists tightened until his knuckles went white.
"Damn Kusakabe for forcing this decision upon us," Katase spat, his temper flaring beyond the general's ability to restrain, at least momentarily. "The answer to that is clear. Kusakabe's actions are a threat to our people and he must be stopped. Would that it be within our means, I would move heaven and earth to do so."
But because it was not, they were only left with one choice. Even so, Katase seemed loathe to make the decision, however necessary it may be. Perhaps the general himself was starting to waver under the pressure of these last few years. Tohdoh did not blame him. But neither could he grant Katase the luxury of dithering further.
"If the general requires a messenger to bear the news," Tohdoh said, "then I volunteer."
Both Katase and Ami looked over at Tohdoh with widened eyes. The lieutenant-colonel returned their gaze with steadfast resolve, and waited solemnly for the word to be given. Before Katase could speak however, the door to the command center slammed open and another officer strode towards them.
"Sir, I beg leave to urgently report," the man said, snapping and holding his salute. "We have discovered a vehicle missing from the depot."
All eyes were now upon the officer, everyone sensing the urgency that drove his forthrightness.
"Well, out with it then," Katase returned the salute impatiently. "Which vehicle is missing?"
"One of the 2nd artillery battery's Raikou self-propelled heavy artillery walkers, sir!"
Katase made a choking sound while Tohdoh felt himself pale. The Raikou was something of a bastardized design, the amalgamation of four knightmare frames to support a massive coilgun. It was arguably the single most powerful weapon in the JLF arsenal, though it was very much a glass cannon, hideously vulnerable to attacks by air or ground forces that could get close. But if it was able to fire, it could wreak unfathomable carnage, both on the battlefield and beyond. Tohdoh looked Katase squarely in the eye, and in a respectful but resolute tone, spoke.
"Your decision, sir?"
End of Chapter 19
Bloody hell, that went on for a while. Right, so obviously I didn't manage to go work on another story. I'm dealing with a bit of mental blockage, partially because there's so much Meridian in my head right now that I need to get it all out before I can focus on other things. Just as a note, we're not quite there to the Lake Kawaguchi incident yet. I expect there to be at least one more chapter providing buildup and the like.
Had I known Milly's dog was also named Sebastian, I would have used a different name for the Stadtfeld family butler. Then again, there might be some opportunity for amusement with that overlap in the future.
I wonder how many shippers are going to be baying for my blood.
On a personal level I have to say that Erika is my favorite character from the Girls und Panzer franchise. She might not be a redhead, but she fits the prickly tsundere archetype quite well. Second favorite? Probably Panther-chan. The way she responded to the Hetzer trolling by kicking her driver's back while yelling about the presence of the tank destroyer really tickled my funny bone.
I actually had the scene with Tohdoh and Maho written even before I finished chapter 18. The idea occurred to me while reading the Ribbon Warrior manga and I decided to run with it. As readers of Calculus can attest, I will shamelessly borrow characters from other franchises if I think I can use them in interesting ways to avoid having to expend the effort of making up new characters wholesale. Their usage does not constitute crossovers however, the characters are fully integrated into the Code Geass verse (or at least the version of it I'm using for my story) as if they were always native. Those aspects of their original franchise that are useful to my narrative I will also bring along, but otherwise they are total transplants, not mergers of different franchises.
I'm not exactly sure how I would compare Britannia in Calculus versus Britannia in Meridian. On an overall level, I wouldn't really rate one being more or less oppressive, since I established pretty firmly in Calculus that my version of Britannia does not share many of the caricature-like features that the anime version had. None of the Britannias I've written thus far are some sort of egalitarian paradise, all of them are expansionistic hegemonies, but in a lot of ways the day to day existence for the bulk of imperial subjects isn't really any better or worse than for the citizen of a modern-day developed nation-state.
So, I originally had multiple paragraphs where I probably went into far too much detail about the problems with weapons in the Code Geass canon. I've elected to just condense it down into the following list.
1) The standard Britannian assault rifle in the anime is pretty clearly a boxier version of the FAMAS, a French design from the 1970s with an update in the 1990s. Calling it futuristic is, I think, a matter of aesthetic taste. And I strongly suspect the designs were chosen more for ease of animation than for accuracy of firearms.
2) There are no indications that coilgun-based small arms are used en-mass by Britannia, the sound of weapons fire in the anime indicates chemical propellent detonation for firing rounds, and the fact that shots are bouncing off of cover indicates pretty clearly they're not achieving velocities greater than what modern chemical propellent based ammo is capable of.
3) The same applies for knightmare weapons. Despite the claims by the production team, the knightmares simply aren't doing enough damage with their supposed coilguns to indicate they're capable of projectile velocities greater than what chemical propellent weapons achieve. Here the issue is actually even more egregious, since conventional chemical propellent cannons of the caliber sized for knightmares would do way more damage than what we see knightmare rifles do in the anime. Not that the amount of damage was terribly consistent to begin with.
4) Half the people in the show apparently don't know how to properly hold rifles, either at rest or when firing, leaving them slung under their shoulder instead of actually bracing them against the shoulder to deal with the kickback. No wonder no one hits anything.
In general, I have a lot of reasons for basically chucking the majority of how the military is structured and portrayed in the anime, most of which boil down to how pretty much all of the militaries in the anime are not credible military forces. They have far too many gaps in their doctrine, their chain of command is a complete and utter mess, and their level of competency is dictated solely by whatever the writer wants to happen, regardless of plausibility. This was fine for the anime, since the point of the show obviously was not to emphasize military realism (or even really political or economic realism). This is not fine for the type of stories I write, where I insist upon as coherent and consistent a portrayal of military, political, and economic affairs as I can personally achieve. And yes, I have a very long list of things that don't make sense from the Code Geass canon that I toss out in their entirety whenever I do a story based on this verse. Remember, I am using the Code Geass universe as a foundation, but my story intentionally does not take place in any way, shape, or form in the Code Geass canon, and is not limited to what canon portrays.
As for the specific choice of weapons, I've deliberately elected to make use of modern-day weapons, and specifically American weapons, simply for convenience. There's no point in me coming up with an entirely made up family of weapons solely for the sake of this story, which I would have to do considering there are no detailed guides of in-universe small arms for the anime. In addition to coming up with names, I would have to come up with prose descriptions that people could actually conceive of in their heads, which is not easy. On the other hand if I just call a rifle an M4, there is a significant percentage of my readership that would know exactly what I'm talking about and can easily conjure up how a character would look carrying the rifle around. That isn't to say I won't make up weapons as the need arises, the plasma spadroon being a case in point, but those will be exceptions, not the rule.
As for choosing American weapons over say British, there's little that justifies one over the other. Modern British weapons (those that the British still do inhouse and don't just outsource to manufacturers in other countries) are a product of a culture that diverged from Code Geass Britain over two hundred years ago at minimum, and technically two thousand years ago if we want to go all the way back to the failed Roman invasion. This being the case, any usage of British conventions in Britannia is due to pretty much solely authorial discretion (and this applies to pretty much all the other countries too), not because there is some intrinsic aspect of British culture that is so enduring it would have survived 200 or more years of divergent societal and technological development. Except maybe tea culture.
I've been pretty open from the start of this story that I don't hold ships to be sacrosanct or anything like that. Characters being together in the original canon has only a nominal impact on whether I reuse the pairing, and if the circumstances of events in the story I'm writing makes such a pairing less plausible, the pairing is tossed out for the sake of story integrity. I will not compromise narrative integrity for the sake of promoting a ship or providing reassurances for fans of that ship. If such reassurance is a major component of what you need from a story, I pretty much guarantee I will do something to disappoint or set you off, because even if the relations do end up happening, they're liable to happen for very, very different reasons than in canon, sometimes even reasons that would obviate why a ship happened in canon.
That being said, on a personal level I find the charge of Milly acting OOC to be flatly ridiculous. Every action of hers that she has taken in this story is rooted in the capability and capacity that she demonstrated in the canon anime, including her affection for Lelouch, shifted as appropriate due to the fact that she's no longer exiled ex-nobility. The window through which we've been viewing her is also very different, almost all of the interactions thus far have been in formal, business-like settings. Milly may be a free spirit, but she isn't stupid enough to presume the leeway she possesses at Ashford extends to the domain of others. She is behaving like a noble because in this story she is a noble, and she is behaving professionally because that's what the situation calls for. Whimsy can be had when she isn't dealing with the powers that be within Britannia and affairs of state, as seen at Ashford when she introduced Suzaku and Kaguya to the school prefects, or as she would put it, her faithful minions.
Discord? What Discord?