Page 84

Nightfall.

The sound of crackling fire and the subtle smell of burning oak wood filled the quiet study.

Sitting on an ornate chair behind a beautiful mahogany desk, decorated by gold, a brown haired man in his mid-forties, dressed in robes, leaned back to his cushioned chair.

A cold night's breeze entered through the window behind him, rustling some of the papers that laid on his desk as he read through one of them he had held in his right hand.

The cold air from the opened window and the crackling fire he had in his fireplace a few distance away from him gave him the perfect, cozy room temperature for his study.

It was comfortable enough that he could easily sleep in his chair.

The meetings he had earlier during the day in the base for an important military operation that would be conducted in a few days took much of his energy. But even then, he still took time out of his rest to review some of the reports from his personal business without dozing off.

Although he was an active military personnel, Joseph Fenette was also a businessman and owner of a fairly successful trading company. It wasn't rare for a military officer, especially one as successful as himself with multiple military achievements and influence, to create his own business.

It would also serve as insurance for his family...

They're living in a time of war. War that their homeland began. And as a soldier, he wouldn't know if his next mission would be his last or not.

Thus, to make sure that his family would live peacefully without the need to worry about their financial situation in his absence, Joseph worked hard, even to the dead of night. All for his beautiful wife, their precious daughter, and their future.

The brown-haired father let out a sigh and rested his head back onto his chair as he let his hand fall down to his lap. He massaged the bridge of his nose with his other hand and took a deep breath, before exhaling.

"What a long day... I should return to bed. Lest "Mrs. Fenette" would scold me once again for not spending enough time with her."

A tired chuckle escaped his lips, but the thought of his wife yelling at him because she missed him brought a smile to his face.

He placed the document in his hand back onto the table along with the rest, reminding himself to clean them up the first thing tomorrow morning, and stood up.

But just then, two figures dressed in black appeared out of thin air before him.

"What the- H-How did you get in here?! Who are yo-"

"Fall down a flight of stairs enough to cause serious but repairable injury to your right arm and leg. Then, retire from the army and focus on your business."

The voice... was it that of a young man or an adult man, he wasn't sure... But it hardly mattered. All that mattered was that he'd follow the orders given to him by the compelling voice.

"...Yes."

His hands fall limp on his side and took the steps towards the door of his study. He opened it and walked out into the dimly lit hallway in a daze, leaving the two mysterious figures behind.

"...That was a bit extreme, but effective."

One of the figures, Yuuji, glanced towards the other slightly shorter figure.

There was guilt in the other figure's eyes, Lelouch's, as well as a helpless frown.

"I'll be counting on you to help him if he goes overboard."

Yuuji nodded.

"Of course. I'm no Aika, but I can give him first aid just in case with magic."

"Thank you..."

Yuuji waved his hand and their figures disappeared once again before they followed after Shirley's father.

The two followed him to the main staircase that led up to the second floor, which they're in, from the main hall and entrance of their luxurious mansion residence.

Joseph stood at the top of the staircase, and fell forward to his side, using his right arm to protect his body, and continued tumbling down until he reached the bottom.

"Aaaarggghh!!!!!"

A loud scream of pain and groans reverberated through the echoing halls of his marble estate as he curled up at the bottom of the staircase, clutching onto his right arm and legs.

"...Is he okay?"

Lelouch whispered, watching the scene with a steel mask to hide his regret.

"...He broke an arm and a leg, as you command. Other than that, just a few heavy bruises and several small bruises here and there. He'll be fine with the proper treatment."

Yuuji assessed easily enough with his Elemental Sight. Shirley's father didn't suffer from any long lasting or disabling injuries. With proper treatment, he would be fine in a few months.

Just then, they heard doors banging open, footsteps, and female cries from down the hall.

"Honey? Honey, are you okay?!"

"Papa?! What's going on? Are you okay?!"

They heard the panicked voice of a mature woman and a familiar voice of their classmate rapidly growing louder and louder, and their footsteps ever approaching.

"...Let's go."

Lelouch didn't... couldn't look at Shirley's figure right now and quickly asked Yuuji to bring him away.

"Sure."

The two began to float up with Yuuji's magic, and left as silently as they arrived through the window of Joseph's study.

Silence fell as they flew through the night sky, invisible. It wasn't until Yuuji spoke first that the silence disappeared.

"...It's the only way he could be pardoned for not joining an important military operation in a few days. You did what you have to, Lelouch. You've saved him."

"...Thank you for helping me, Yuuji."

"Anytime."

Worries for his friend filled Yuuji's heart.

They were successful in their mission. They saved Shirley's father from being involved in the operations in Narita, where the Black Knights and Japanese Liberation Forces would be clashing against Cornelia's soldiers. But there was no relief nor happiness. Only bitterness and regret.

And for Lelouch, it would stay with him for quite a while.

"...Come have some tea and relax in my home. Text your sister that you'll be returning late. I'll send you back later."

Lelouch glanced towards Yuuji for the first time since they entered the Fenette's home residence, and looked back down onto the rapidly changing scenery of the ground they're flying through.

"Sure..."

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

The rustle of leaves, owls' hoots, and all manner of sounds that could be heard from within the forest at night filled the surroundings of the warmly lit, traditional european-styled mega mansion in the outer parts of the city.

Yuuji and Lelouch touched down onto the courtyard of the mansion without as much of a sound. Their invisibility dispelled the moment their feet touched the ground.

"This is... impressive..."

Lelouch gazed upon the mansion before him and couldn't help but become impressed by its architecture, beauty, and sheer size.

"It seems I've underestimated your wealth by quite a bit."

He glanced towards Yuuji, who smiled helplessly at his words.

"Most of it was thanks to the group chat. But thank you. I've also been steadily growing my portfolio."

Yuuji gestured towards the mansion with his hand, and after Lelouch nodded, the two began walking through the paved stone path that had been laid across the courtyard leading to the entrance.

"I see. Now that I've seen this, I'm tempted to make you Black Knight's financial advisor instead of a knightmare pilot. You might be able to deal more damage to them that way."

"...You're overestimating me."

"Am I now?"

"..."

Yuuji fell silent as Lelouch looked at him from the side with a slight smile.

At first, it sounded impossible. But after ruminating for a bit... it didn't seem unachievable.

Perhaps... Perhaps if he used the MCGX SuperComputer, his stock market analysis software, and put his mind into it, he might be able to cause chaos in the market and plunge Britannia's economy into a crisis.

While it might not cause long-term damage if he only did it for a while, it'd still shock the "Great Britannian Empire" enough to make them pull back some of their military campaigns around the world.

But... the impact would be too devastating to the people.

He'd put innocents out of their jobs, their homes, and their livelihood well before the government decided to pull out their forces from other countries due to logistical and economical reasons.

The ramifications towards the innocents would be much worse than to their true enemy.

"Don't worry. I understand the consequences. And I won't make you do that either."

"... You sounded serious."

Yuuji looked at Lelouch with a deadpan face as the "masked martyr" laughed at his reaction.

"That's because I was. At least the part where I want to make you Black Knight's financial officer. We'll need funding to operate, and you'll be able to steal money from those undeserving Britannian nobles."

Yuuji held his chin and considered Lelouch's proposition.

"That might be doable."

"And, you can also help me manage the investments I got from the group chat in the two Sakuradite Mining companies."

"Sure. I can help you with that too."

"Thank you. That settles it then."

Just as they finished their conversation, the two finally arrived in front of the entrance.

"Welcome to our home. At least, our home in this world."

Yuuji held the gold-gilded door knob and pushed open to massive, mahogany double doors, letting Lelouch enter.

And once again, he was welcomed by an awe-inspiring sight of luxury and grandiose.

"Tatsuya, Satoru-san. We're back."

"Ah, Yuuji-kun. Welcome back."

Yuuji announced his return and Satoru's voice responded back, welcoming him. And soon, the lithe, lanky figure of a man in his mid thirties appeared with a smile on his slightly gaunt face.

"Ah, Lelouch-kun. You came as well? We thought you would be going home to your sister."

"Please excuse me. I did plan on going home, but Yuuji succeeded in persuading me to come and visit for a bit."

"Ah, I see. Then, welcome. Let's come in and take a seat."

The two entered, led into the living room by Satoru.

Upon arriving, they saw Tatsuya sitting on one of the couches with his phone.

"Welcome back, Yuuji. And Lelouch, welcome to our residence. Well, it mostly belonged to Yuuji..."

Tatsuya turned his attention from his phone to his friends and smiled softly before looking at Yuuji, who waved his hand casually.

"Don't mind the small details. It's our home. Ah, I'll prepare some tea. Lelouch, you can just make yourself at home."

"Thank you."

Lelouch sat down on one of the couches, joining Tatsuya and Satoru, while Yuuji went to the kitchen to prepare some tea.

He leaned his back onto the soft, cushioned couch and let out a sigh.

"Considering your and Yuuji's expressions, I assume you succeeded?"

"...Yes. Yes we did."

"I see..."

Silence fell between Tatsuya and Satoru when they noticed the expression Lelouch had on his face.

"...You did well, Lelouch-kun. You saved him."

"Yes... But, it doesn't make it easier."

"No choice is easy for something like this. But at least, Fenette-san will still have her father."

Lelouch nodded at Tatsuya's words of comfort.

He had steeled himself for this moment, and he understood that it was necessary so Shirley's father won't be in Narita during their operation. But... using such a forceful method of hurting the father of the girl he loved and causing her and her family pain still weighed heavily in his conscience.

Silence fell once again. But soon, Yuuji returned holding a tray of freshly brewed pots of tea and four beautiful, marble tea cups for them. And this time, he was not wearing a necklace.

Instead, there was a beautiful, white and rainbow-colored slime on his head and a shiny, jet-black slime with glittering stars that twinkle within it on his shoulder.

Yuuji placed the tray down onto the marble coffee table and placed the still steaming cup of tea in front of everyone.

"Thank you for the tea, Yuuji."

"No worries."

Yuuji waved his hand dismissively and sat down on the couch to join them. He picked up his cup of tea, took a sip, and let out a sigh of satisfaction as the fragrant liquid warmed his body instantly.

"Are those the Yin Yang slimes you got from the gacha?"

Lelouch noticed the two, tennis-ball sized slimes on his head and shoulder, and couldn't help but asked. They looked extremely beautiful and interesting, nothing like the stereotypical slime they've seen or heard about from mainstream media.

"Ah yes. Let me introduce you to them. This cute white one is Alice..."

Yuuji picked up Alice and placed her on the table, and she immediately jumped up and down, greeting her beloved master's friends cheerfully.

"And this adorable black one is Aria."

Then, Yuuji picked up Aria from his shoulder and placed her beside Alice on the table. She rolled forward before rolling back to her original position, bowing politely towards the two.

And as the two slimes rested on the table,Satoru, Lelouch, and Tatsuya couldn't help but stare at them in awe.

"T-They're so cute..."

"They're... amazing."

"I saw their description, but I didn't expect them to be this intelligent..."

Yuuji smiled proudly, as if he was the one being complimented, and rubbed the two girls with his fingers, making them nuzzle back to his hands.

"Mm. They are super smart and cute girls. My heart always melts whenever I'm with them."

The swirl of colors in Alice became more prominent on the white surface of her body, with pink being the most prominent, as she stuck herself to Yuuji's hands and rubbed her body all over him.

While the twinkling stars in Aria's body became brighter and brighter and she also leaned her whole body to Yuuji's hand and rubbed herself on him.

Lelouch, Tatsuya, and Satoru watched the two slimes act all maidenly towards Yuuji, and they couldn't help but think of the same thing...

They could evolve and gain new powers... Perhaps even a humanoid form at some point.

Yuuji will have two girls to add to his harem once again...

And they seem to love him... a bit too much.

They could already imagine it... Two beautiful women hugging his arms tightly in absolute love; One with long, white hair with colorful streaks, and another with glossy, jet-black hair.

If they could indeed gain a humanoid form... then they'd definitely see such a thing happen in the future.

"So, did you find anything, Tatsuya?"

The three snapped out of their daze and shifted their gazes from the two slimes, who were still chummily nuzzled to Yuuji's hands, towards Yuuji.

"Ah, yes. I found several items that could help us conceal or move our headquarters. But there are two that were the most promising while still within our budget."

Tatsuya put his phone on the table for everyone to see and began going through the items one by one.

"The first one is a scroll of invisibility. It would allow us to make one object invisible. If we use this, then you'd only need to focus on lifting it up and moving it."

Tatsuya turned towards Yuuji as he contemplated.

"Hm... But would it be able to render the entire headquarters, including Excalibur and the other technology stored in there, invisible?"

"Perhaps if the group chat considers it all "one object". But there's no guarantee..."

"...Let's see the other one first."

Tatsuya nodded and scrolled down the shop to show the second item.

"The second one is a teleportation scroll. As the name suggests, it'd allow us to transport one person or object to another place within the same world."

"Teleportation... I still can't believe such a thing exists at the tip of our fingertips... But then again, the three of you were transported here from different worlds."

Lelouch shook his head with a small smile. His common sense about the world slowly dwindled as he spend more and more time with his otherworldly friends.

"This is promising. But the price is quite steep for a one time use..."

Yuuji commented.

He had received 3000 gcp from the welcoming gift and 5000 gcp from his successful mission in Tatsuya's world. After deducting the cost of his Fertility control skill, he has 6000 gcp in his name now.

And the price of the teleportation scroll was 3000 gcp.

It was as expensive as a 10+1x gacha pull that has the potential to give him items such as the MCGX SuperComputer, the Yin Yang Slimes, Proficiencies, and riches that could easily make him one of the richest men in the world.

For it to be used for a one time use item... felt like a waste.

"Yes it is... That is why, I believe it'd be better to consider this as a last resort."

Yuuji, Satoru, and Lelouch nodded at Tatsuya's words.

"These are all the promising ones... at least, that were within our budget. Most that would make it easy for us to transport massive objects easily cost more that 15.000 gcp."

"I see... Well, if the location it's in is insecure and we need to relocate it, let's just hope that I can store the headquarters into my inventory when I try it tomorrow."

Yuuji let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders helplessly, and the other three sighed with the same sentiment.

"Alright. I'll send you the location of the "Amaterasu" by tonight."

"Sure. Thank you."