Chapter 86 ~ Ashford Academy’s Student Council

It was a normal day in the Student Government Office of the prestigious Ashford Academy.

All the members of the student council had gathered for their daily meeting and work… All except for the vice president, which was unfortunately quite normal.

Rivalz Cardemonde, the secretary of the Student Council and a spirited and happy-go-lucky blue-haired young man, sat on the large, marble table at the center of the office, doing his duties with a troubled, if not, stressed expression.

There wasn't anything in the documents he was working on that particularly troubled him. He was… simply troubled for a different reason.

Sitting opposite him was Kallen Stadfeld. Unlike the troubled young man, she was doing her task calmly and quietly. Though sometimes, her hands would stop in its tracks as she fell into a daze before she'd suddenly shake her head and continued working on her task.

Sitting on the computer desk a few distance away, tucked in the corner of the room near the tall glass window overlooking the academy's courtyard, Nina Einstein, the genius young girl minded her own business as her fingers swept through her keyboard at incredible speeds.

She was a member of the Student Council as well, and was the most efficient member when it comes to tasks that must be done digitally. She also helped calculating club budgets with her computer, which was extremely helpful given the number of clubs in the academy. And while she wasn't helping the student council, she was busy with her own little projects that no one bothered to understand due to how complicated they were.

And then, there was Shirley Fenette, the most diligent member of the student council. Out of everyone in the student council, she was the only one who was a member of two clubs. And even though she was also a member of the swimming club, she still did all her tasks immaculately and never crossed any deadlines.

She was one of the, if not, the most reliable person in the student council.

This time, however… Her productivity was being quite hampered by the constant plea and urging of the student council's president herself, Milly Ashford.

"Hey hey~ Shirley~ Don't be so stingy~ You're in the same class as him, right~ Why don't you tell me how he looks~ I only know that he looks suuuuuper handsome~ I'm suuuuper curious!!!"

"P-Pres, stop bothering me already!!! I can't finish this before going to the swimming club with you bothering me all the time!"

"I'll stop if you just tell me~ Hey hey~"

"Geeez!!!"

This exchange had been repeating itself since yesterday… If not Shirley, Milly had been pestering Kallen to tell her about the famous hunk who had just transferred into the academy.

Alexander Kyrielight. Just his name alone was enough to stimulate all of her wild, romantic fantasy. Coupled with the rumors about his otherworldly appearance, wealth, and temperament, Milly was imagining him as a real life prince!

She had been yearning to see him. But she never had the chance… She might be able to if he were to join some club, but he never did. And he'd always return home as soon as class ended. So there's an extremely low chance for her, a third year student whose class was on the opposite side of the building, to be able to even catch a glance of him.

Milly had also tried to recruit him into the student council, but she was stopped by Rivalz with the reasoning that they're already full.

But honestly, it didn't matter. She was the president, and if she deemed they needed more hands, she could easily make up a position for him. Moreover, he also seemed to excel academically, so there should be no problem.

But even then, he was still quite against it for some reason, so she decided to shelf it for a later time.

Her curiosity, however, wasn't as easily put away.

So, she pestered the two girls who were in the same class as him. She would've pestered Lelouch, but he's rarely here, and Rivalz wouldn't say anything, so the two girls were the only ones she could count on.

"Hey hey~"

Shirly groaned in annoyance at the bubbly, blonde-haired beauty. But… her annoyance towards her wasn't truly genuine. Instead of being genuinely irritated, she was just… embarrassed.

Too embarrassed to admit that even compared to Lelouch, the person she had been interested in for so long, Alexander was simply heads and shoulders above him in terms of appearance.

There were a lot of handsome young men in the academy. Even in her class, Lelouch and Suzaku were extremely handsome young men. One exuded an air of cold elegance, a charming and stoic appearance, and eyes that pierced a maiden heart as easily as a hot knife through butter. While the other exuded a warm gentleness that could melt the hearts of the young maidens around him. If he were a pure blooded Britannian, then he would've been even more popular than he was.

But Alexander… he exuded a charm that no one could ignore. His charisma, coupled with his otherworldly appearance was simply unparalleled. And add that to his kind, gentle, and honest personality, no young maidens who had always dreamed of having their own prince charming could not imagine him as the prince that would sweep them off their feet!

He was honestly a perfect man for any young maiden. Perhaps… even a bit too perfect.

"Hah… I just wanted to know a bit about him and his personality~ Why are you girls so stingy?"

"...Aren't you just curious about his appearance?"

"Of course I am~ But I also want to know how he actually is. Is he a playboy? Has he dated multiple girls at the same time? How does he act in class? Oh, and he's also in the same class as Suzaku, right? How does he treat him?"

"Ah… Well…. He actually met Suzaku for the first time today… And they talked."

"Eh? Really…?"

Shirley nodded, a bit awkwardly as she recalled the event that had transpired just before lunch today.

"Oh? And what did he say?"

Milly was genuinely curious. She wondered if he'd also treat Suzaku harshly like many of the students in the academy.

But then, as Shirley began telling her about what had happened, her eyes slowly grow wider and wider as she froze in place, shocked.

"...He said that…? Did he… really?"

Shirley nodded. And when Milly robotically turned towards Kallen and Rivalz, they both nodded as well. Nina, who had been listening to Shirley's story out of interest, was also similarly shocked.

"A-Ahaha… That was unexpected…"

Milly was genuinely shocked by this. She… really didn't expect Alexander to have such an outlook and even said it in front of all of his Britannian classmates.

But she quickly regained her cheerfulness and clapped her hand.

"But isn't that great~ If he really comes to the student council, then he'd be able to get along with Suzaku~!"

Just then, a knock was heard from the double doors of the Student Council's office. And from behind it, they could hear a familiar voice asking permission to enter.

"Excuse me. It's Suzaku. May I enter?"

"Ah, speak of the devil~ Come in!"

"Thank you. Then, please excuse me."

The large, beautiful mahogany doors that were gilded and engraved with gold opened, revealing the familiar figure of the brown-haired man.

But soon after, they all froze at the sight of the devilishly charming man.

"Please excuse my sudden visit."

Alexander Kyrielight, the man they've been talking about up until just now, bowed courteously and smiled, causing all females in the room, even Nina who had no interest in romance in the least, to blush and fall into a daze.

At the same time, the moment Rivalz saw Alexander's appearance, he immediately turned towards his crush, Milly, and felt his heart drop when he saw her dazed expression.

"Everyone, I'm sorry for bringing Alexander so suddenly. But since he hadn't joined any club, I thought to introduce him to this student organization. Will that be alright?"

Rivalz wanted to immediately shout no. But before he could, Milly snapped out of her daze and welcomed him after clearing her throat.

"Of course it's fine~! Welcome, Alexander Kyrielight, to Ashford Academy's Student Council!!! Would you like to join us~? We'd love to have such an eye candy like yourself~ Right girls~?"

Milly winked towards the female members of her student council and made them all blush even more and avert their gaze in embarrassment.

Rivalz's alarm was blaring in his mind. There were tons of things he wanted to say to contradict Milly's words. But he was too shocked to say anything.

He didn't hate Alexander. In fact, he had talked to him quite a bit and found that he was a very friendly and kind guy.

But that's besides the point… The point was that he was handsome enough to cause even Milly to fall into a daze in an instant!

How could he gain the pres's love if this guy was here?!

Thankfully, he didn't agree to join instantly.

"Thank you very much for your invitation, president. However, before I decide whether or not I join the student council, may I observe your activities first? I would also like for us to have some time to get to know each other better first before I join."

Rivalz was finally able to let out a sigh of relief. But it wasn't for long, as the foreboding feeling returned as he listened to Alexander's words.

He didn't join the student council instantly like he feared he would. But, he'd still be staying in the student council in the name of "observing their activities".

This was still bad news for him!

But yet again, he was cut off before he could even begin to speak his mind.

"Of course~ You're always welcome here! Then, from now on, you'll be a provisional member of the Student Council~ Let me introduce you to everyone~ Though four of the six here are your classmates."

"Thank you very much. Then, I will be in your care."

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

Nightfall.

Lelouch took a sip of the warm cup of jasmine tea Yuuji prepared. A sigh escaped his lips as he leaned back to the heavenly softness of the luxurious couch comparable to the ones in the Britannian palace. And together with him were his four, trusted companions from the group chat.

They were relaxing in the mansion that was given to them by the group chat upon Yuuji, Tatsuya, and Satoru's arrival in this world.

And although it might seem like they've promised to hangout together this evening, they didn't.

Lelouch was in his residence until a few minutes ago… But Yuuji "kidnapped" him using his combination of invisibility and fly spell, and brought him to their mansion.

He said it was to force Lelouch to take a break for a while, given they'll be undergoing a major operation very soon.

And Lelouch couldn't find any excuse to reject his invitation.

Since he received his SSR, Lelouch had been spending entire nights preparing and planning his and the Black Knights' future actions. And counting this evening, it would be three nights since he had taken a wink of sleep.

Through means unknown to him, Yuuji found out about this. So, instead of letting him be buried in his room, planning and scheming the entire night for the umpteenth time, he kidnapped Lelouch and made him take a rest in their mansion.

"Ah, that's right. I heard you came to the Student Council this afternoon."

Lelouch placed his ceramic cup onto the matching saucer on the table and turned towards Yuuji.

"Yes, I did… I actually didn't plan on meeting them this early."

Yuuji then began telling Lelouch and the others how he talked with Suzaku, had lunch together with him, and before he knew it, arrived at the Student Council's office.

"I didn't join the council yet, but I got the chance to hangout with them this afternoon. It would've been nice if you're there as well, Lelouch. Then, we can hangout even at school without being suspicious."

Yuuji looked at the black-haired vice president of the student council with an accusing look. Knowing Lelouch's tendency to skip out on his student council duties from the anime, Yuuji assumed he did just that today. But Lelouch simply shrugged it off and smiled.

"I was busy. So? How was it?"

"Well, it was very fun. The president was contagiously cheerful. Nina was quiet and hard to talk to, but she seemed pretty friendly. Shirley was the easiest to talk to, and Karen was just being herself. While Rivalz seemed a bit hostile…"

He recalled the hostile, jealous gaze targeted towards him his entire stay in the student council. Although he was used to it, it still felt a bit uncomfortable.

"He's in love with the president. It's clear why he's hostile towards a harem king."

Lelouch smirked, his eyes glancing teasingly at Yuuji as he furrowed his brows.

"...Stop. You're starting to sound like Aika."

"Ahahaha. What about you, Tatsuya? Would you like to come join the student council as well?"

Tatsuya, fell into thought for a moment as he considered Lelouch's proposition.

"...That might be interesting. I could learn a lot about this world's technology through Nina Einstein if I were to become a member of the student council."

Although she became… a "bit" unhinged in the future, there was no doubting Nina's brilliant mind. After all, she has the intelligence to become a pioneering scientist in the anime and created a weapon to counteract the F.L.E.I.J.A weapons in the second season of the anime.

Tatsuya might gain a lot of insight from her and a fresh new perspective if he could converse with her.

He nodded towards Lelouch.

"If the chance arises, then I would love to join."

"Alright. We'll create a chance for you to enter later on."

The guys conversed a little more about their time in school before Lelouch brought up another topic to Yuuji.

"Oh, that's right. I heard from C.C that she was seen by a stupidly handsome man. Was it you?"

"...You made me seem like a narcissist if I admit to it, but yes… I did see her when she was walking around the courtyard of the academy."

Yuuji let out a sigh and shook his head.

"I owe her an apology for ruining her outing."

Lelouch smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"She'll be fine. It'll be her lesson to not be so careless the next time she goes out despite me telling her not to."

"Ahahaha… Well, I still feel a bit bad. I'll send several boxes of pizza to your door tomorrow."

He smiled and nodded his head.

"That will certainly keep her out from the streets for quite a bit."

Lelouch picked up his cup of tea, took a sip, and placed it back down onto the saucer before he spoke once more.

"Alright… Before we rest for the night, I'd like to clarify our objectives for the Battle of Narita."

Yuuji, Tatsuya, and Satoru all nodded, their expressions immediately turning serious.

"The original reason why I wanted to engage in this Battle was to capture my half sister, Cornelia vi Britannia, and ask her about my mother's murder. But… With the revelation that came with watching "Code Geass", I no longer need to ask her anymore."

A solemn silence fell upon the room before Lelouch started once again.

"So now, we'll have two new objectives. First, was to clear the following Group Chat Missions. Defeat the purist faction in battle, defeat the white knight Lancelot and its pilot, Suzaku, and achieve victory in the battle of Narita."

All three nodded in unison at Lelouch's words.

"What about the second objective?"

Lelouch turned towards Yuuji, and let out a mysterious smile.

"The second objective will be…"