[Code Geass] Irregular 290

Chapters 290 – 289. Epilogue. Lelouch Side

Sunlight illuminated the clubhouse of Ashford Academy. Lelouch got up at exactly the same time as usual, at 6:59, and went out to the living room and headed to the table. For breakfast, simple toast, fried eggs, and coffee were indispensable. Nanari and Roro didn’t like coffee, so I prepared black tea.

A simple breakfast was prepared in no time. Lelouch turned on the TV opposite. The morning news was coming out. One year after the conclusion of the peace agreement between Britannia and Japan, the news showed Kaguya Sumeragi holding talks with heads of state around the world. Lelouch chuckled. Most of the people he saw on the news were people he knew.

[Prime Minister Kaguya Sumeragi, who attended the World Peace Congress, met with the leaders of the European Union who are trying to join the peace agreement…]

The world has certainly lost more hatred than before.

Lelouch smiled calmly while watching the news, then lifted a teacup and took a sip of coffee. The scent of the beans seemed to awaken the spirit. Sitting next to Sumeragi Kaguya was Lieutenant Colonel Toudou. I knew that Suzaku was still living with the Black Knights, Count Lloyd. Since the Black Knights were incorporated into the Japanese army and are operating as an independent unit, Suzaku is still unable to abandon his military status.

To Suzaku, who said that it was his own atonement for killing his father, Lelouch could not force him to quit his military service. In the end, it’s all up to the parties to decide. Even so, it was a shock for Sayoko to leave Lelouch and go to Suzaku. To say that he fell in love with Suzaku at first sight, and that he thought of giving up his mind thinking that he and Suzaku were dating, Sayoko’s confession was a huge shock to Lelouch. The fact that Sayoko was in love with Suzaku was shocking, but after he realized that he and Suzaku were misunderstanding that they were a gay couple, his head was spinning and he almost fainted on the spot.

Lelouch smiled and looked at his watch. Soon, it was time for his younger siblings to come.

And as soon as he finished his words, the door to the room slammed shut. It opened with a clicking sound. Nanari in a wheelchair, and Roro slowly pushing the wheelchair into the room.

“Are you here?”
“Yes. Brother. Now. Nanari? Be careful because you have a chin.”
“Ah. Thank you. Roro… Brother?”

At Roro’s kind words, Nana-ri expressed her gratitude and blushed a little. Lelouch felt miserable. In the end, Roro couldn’t be Lelouch’s younger brother.

“This clubhouse is a place where Nana-ri is comfortable to live in, so there’s no way her chin will be there, right?”
“Ah. Is that so? As expected, hyung-nim’s affection for Nanari is extraordinary.”

Roro no longer called Lelouch his older brother. He called him brother Lelouch regretted it. It was not about entrusting Nanari to Roro. Roro acted as if he were Nanari’s husband. What’s even more annoying is that Nana-ri doesn’t seem to hate or feel burdened by Roro’s attention. Rather, I was happy, and I even felt like I was going to lose Nanari to Rorojasik.

“Now, Nanari, I’ll put a napkin on it.”
“Ah… I can do it.”
“I’m doing it because I want to. Please don’t decline.”
“Yes…”

Lelouch was able to experience once again that this is what it is like to have your clothes turned inside out. Roro’s son didn’t even think about eating his own breakfast properly, but he was watching Nana-ri eat little by little with lovely eyes, like looking at a squirrel. Nanari’s face was blushing at Roro’s eyes, and Lelouch thought that if he put a kettle on his head right now, it would boil soon. Nana-ri glanced at Lelouch, who had an openly uncomfortable expression on her face, and smiled awkwardly as she spoke to Lelouch.

“Today, I’m on a date with Shirley-senpai, right?”
“Huh? Ah. Yeah. That’s right. Do you want to go with me?”

Lelouch smiled at Nana-ri who suddenly asked her question and invited her to come along on the date. Nanari’s expression became strange. Lelouch read Nanari’s expression and realized what kind of invitation he had just made.

Ah.

“It’s not okay to have her sister accompany you on that … Lovers’ date. Brother.”
“Uh… That… Forget about it.”

Lelouch sighed. He seemed like he was going crazy because of Nanari who kept hanging out with Roro these days. Whether she knew what she was thinking or not, Roro smiled and said to Lelouch.

“A date with Shirley, you must be looking forward to it. I will protect Nana-ri, so she can enjoy a date with Shirley-senpai without any burden. Brother.”

The last word was a nuance that seemed to provoke Lelouch. Lelouch glared at Roro. If her eyes alone could tear a person apart, it was clear that Roro would have already been torn into more than a thousand pieces. When Roro looked at Lelouch, he was smiling brightly, unable to read his thoughts.

I was anxious.

Even if I was anxious, I was too anxious.

This was not the anxiety of entrusting the fish to the cat. After Nanari’s eyes were opened, she was only able to see, but she is still a kind and innocent child. She thought she wouldn’t fall in love with a human butcher like that, but when she saw Nanari living amicably with Roro these days, she didn’t seem to be like that. Shirley even scolded Lelouch for loving her sister too much, but it was a different matter.

There may be things that her head can understand, but not her heart.

Before long, the news was almost over. Breakfast is also mostly finished. In the weather forecast at the end of the news, a nostalgic face popped up again.
Nanari smiled broadly.

“The good thing is that after her eyes are opened, she can see the face she has been drawing with her senses all along. Whoa…”
“That…”
“That’s right. I’m really glad, right?”

That’s right. To reply, Lelouch cut off, and Roro looked at Nanari with eyes full of love and said again. Whether Nanari knew it or not, she nodded her head while smiling wide like a flower. Lelouch’s outfit turned upside down once again. Mirei-senpai is always the same. I heard Nanari’s voice.

Lelouch calmed down and looked at the TV screen. Ashford Academy’s student body president, Mirei Ashford, was doing her weather forecast when she was dressed in a blue chubby penguin outfit. Lelouch chuckled. Upon her graduation, she left the Ashford family and enjoyed great popularity as a weather forecaster. Originally, Mirei’s appearance itself was great, but her erratic and delightful weather forecast was praised. Everyone in Japan doesn’t know Mirei Ashford, she heard, these days, just going out, people would run up to her and ask for her autograph.

Lelouch is someone who enjoys a very tiring life. It was she, she thought. She took off Zero’s mask, and Lelouch, who was no longer Zero, liked his current life so much. Perhaps he didn’t really want to know what to do once he graduated from Ashford Academy, but the belief that he would be happy no matter what he did was firmly entrenched in his heart.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

“Lulu, it’s late…”

Waiting in front of the clock tower wearing a pastel-toned checkered dress, Shirley looked at her wristwatch once more to check the time. The time for the date was approaching. She blamed herself for coming out too early, but she knew that Lelouch would come out a little too early. Shirley was disappointed that I couldn’t. Does she not like herself as much as she likes her Lulu? So she thought.

Shirley, who had become a little depressed, shook her head to dispel the creeping anxiety. As a result of her Lelouch’s actions, her own father died. Shirley didn’t know that. But apart from that, she couldn’t help but admit that she, she fought against irrationality, she couldn’t hate, she couldn’t help but like Lelouch.

Perhaps, even if she died, her love for Lelouch would not cool down. Thinking that far, she became worried that Shirley, she might be liking Lelouch too much by herself. What if Lelouch was just a momentary play with fire? The anxiety that once raised her head was about to dye Shirley’s heart black even if it bit her tail.

“Shirley!”

Then, she heard a voice calling her from afar. Shirley stopped her thoughts and turned her head in the direction she heard her voice. She saw Lelouch, in her polite plain clothes, running towards her with a gasp. Shirley’s expression on her face brightened up, but then she suddenly regained her senses and became a little depressed. She herself wanted to look good for her Lelouch, so she showed off her style to the fullest, and she even wore a skirt, but her Lelouch’s appearance was not like that.

Lelouch, who had hurriedly jumped in front of him, put his hands on his knees and began to gasp for breath. Lelouch’s stamina was also weak. I don’t know where she came from, but she probably thought it wasn’t that far. She let out a sigh.

“Are you okay? Take a deep breath.”
“Yeah… Yeah… Heh… Heh… Heh… It’s okay.”

Lelouch, who took a deep breath as Shirley said, raised one hand to her as if he was okay. Shirley laughed. She has to say she’s glad she jumped though. Thinking so, Shirley thought that as Lelouch caught her breath and got closer to her top, she grabbed Lelouch’s hand and pulled him.

“Am I doing what I want today? Let’s go!”
“Now… Wait!”

Ignoring her bewildered Lelouch, Shirley laughed and ran holding Lelouch’s hand. Lelouch was delighted with it, but since he had already run so fast that his stamina had been exhausted, he could only despair of running again.

Shirley’s dating course was a path tailored exclusively for her Shirley. She looks at dolls, she goes to the cinema, she stops by the department store to look at her clothes. Lelouch said that when her Shirley changed her 24th outfit, she was knocked down and started to sob.

“Are you okay?”
“Ah… It’s okay.”

Taking Lelouch, whose complexion was blue, Shirley had no choice but to head to the park. It’s been almost a year since they started dating her. Aside from her thoughts, she was happy to be confessed to by Lelouch first, but apart from that, her expression of affection for Lelouch was so plain that she sometimes made Shirley anxious. Shirley suppressed that thought of hers deep within her mind. It is a full-bodied complaint. She probably likes Lelouch more than Lelouch thinks of himself. Originally, love is a fight in which the one who loves more loses unconditionally. She made up her mind as Shirley thought so.

After walking around the park like that, Lelouch stopped.

“Hey Shirley.”
“Huh?”

Shirley, who was walking with Lelouch without saying a word, opened her eyes wide when Lelouch suddenly stopped and looked back at Lelouch. Lelouch was looking at her Shirley with her serious eyes. Shirley suddenly felt her heart race. Lately, she thought, her contact with Lelouch had been a little sparse. And now she had a strong feeling that Lelouch’s serious expression, she was going to say something today that she didn’t want to hear.

Shirley’s expression on her face hardened. Lelouch, whether he knew it or not, stared at Shirley and opened her mouth with great difficulty.

“I have something to confess to you.”
“That…Is it?”

Shirley had a hunch that Lelouch was about to say something very burdensome. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound like a very good story to her when she heard it. She hates to hear Probably, due to Lelouch’s personality, it was unlikely that he would bring up the topic of breaking up like this. But she has a saying to take her time. She knew, Shirley, that she’d hardly be over a breakup if the word came out.

“That. Is it something important that needs to be said right now?”
“Huh.”

At Shirley’s question, Lelouch nodded with a firm face. Lelouch’s expression was so serious that Shirley closed her eyes tightly. Just by looking at Lelouch’s expression, she could foresee just how serious Lelouch was about to bring up. If it was a serious story about Lelouch, who she was dating, she could only think of one thing after all.

“With me..”
“I hate to hear it!”
“Huh?”

As soon as Lelouch’s mouth opened, Shirley shouted. Lelouch’s expression changed to bewilderment as he tried to take something out of her inner pocket. Shirley shook her head and shouted, not looking at Lelouch like that.

“You’re trying to break up!? No, if you’re Lulu, you’re going to ask for time? Today is your date…”
“No…”

At Shirley’s words, Lelouch, genuinely taken aback, removed his hand from his inside pocket and approached Shirley. Shirley took her step backwards to match Lelouch’s approaching steps. Well, today’s date was a happy date for Shirley, but she was so busy watching Lelouch’s complexion all day that she couldn’t even enjoy Shirley properly. When she was shopping at a department store, she was so out of control that she stopped Lelouch and changed her clothes dozens of times. If she hadn’t seen the face where Lelouch’s soul had escaped, she might have tried on the clothes dozens of times on the spot.

But she felt sorry for Shirley. Her romance would be Lelouch’s first, but she was also Shirley’s first. Shirley didn’t know what she should do to make Lelouch like it.

“I’ll pay more attention, it’s the first time for both of us, right? So please don’t talk about anything serious. I just wanted to spend time with Lulu and have fun today.”
“Shirley.”

At Shirley’s words, Lelouch, realizing what Shirley was imagining, approached Shirley, who was lowering her head, and grabbed Shirley’s shoulders. Startled, Shirley cautiously raised her head to Lelouch and examined her expression. Lelouch was smiling awkwardly.

“That’s not it.”
“Huh?”

Shirley widened her eyes at what Lelouch said while shaking her head. Lelouch is haha. She laughed and pulled a small box from her arms. Shirley’s pupils quivered like an earthquake.

“What’s this?”
“Ruler.”

Lelouch lifted the box at an angle where Shirley could see it and opened it. There were two shiny silver rings there. Shirley’s eyes widened.

“Is this…A proposal?”
“…It’s a coupling.”

To Shirley’s excitement, Lelouch confessed with a puzzled expression. Her Shirley’s face flushed red. That’s right, she is still a student herself and Lelouch. You are not at the age to propose right away. What to do, Lelouch’s position became embarrassing. In this situation, she became a boyfriend who did not propose to a girlfriend who wanted to propose to her. Shirley realized it and made a fuss about her, but she liked it.

“Wow…Wow! Coupling! That’s why I’m so serious about this!”
“…Huh.”

Lelouch forced him to nod. Shirley’s fuss seemed to intensify her guilt. Shirley was at a loss for what to do with her.

“That! It’s okay! I’m so happy! I’m tired of Lelouch!”
“Shirley.”

Interrupting Shirley, Lelouch called her Shirley. Shirley looked at Lelouch with a blushing face. Lelouch took a deep breath for a while, then declared to Shirley with a determined face.

“Next year, on this day, at this time, in this place, I will formally propose.”
“Ugh… Huh!?”

Shirley’s eyes widened. Lelouch looked at Shirley and scratched his cheek shyly.

“…Love you.”
“What… What? What? I didn’t hear you!”
“…I say I love you.”
“Huh…Uh…Uh…”

At Lelouch’s confession of love, Shirley couldn’t come to her senses. It made her face red, and her eyes seemed to be spinning. Lelouch, who dyed her face red just like Shirley, stood still as if she were a mess until Shirley calmed down.

It was only a matter of seconds for Shirley to come to her senses and shed her tears of joy, and Lelouch held her Shirley until the sun went down to calm her down, listening to passers-by clicking her tongue. I had to listen while blushing. And exactly one year later, she proposed at this spot.

Afterwards, she tells Shirley with a laugh, that it was the spot where they proposed while wearing a couple ring. It was no secret that Lelouch was surprised when he learned that Lelouch, who had been captured by Woojin on the day Shirley’s father died, had hugged Shirley.