"A deal? Using my identity?" Lelouch fell silent for a moment, then frowned slightly. "What exactly are you trying to do? This deal won't be made using my identity as ZERO. In other words, to make this deal happen, I'll have to use my identity as a prince, right?"
"Sit down first." Xiao Ran smiled and casually dropped onto a stone beside the campfire. Lelouch frowned but sat back down where he had been, while Saki Maski moved off to stand guard. It was not that she could not hear their conversation, but that she wanted to prevent anyone else from overhearing what Xiao Ran and Lelouch were about to discuss.
As soon as he sat down, Lelouch asked, "What are you thinking? And who are we making this deal with?"
"Listen to me first." Xiao Ran pressed his left hand down slightly, signaling Lelouch not to rush. "The ones we'll be dealing with are the Crimson Knights, the group that sent people to monitor Euphemia before."
"What? Them?" A startled expression immediately appeared on Lelouch's face, but he soon frowned and looked at Xiao Ran. "You've already made contact with them?"
"No. I haven't even exchanged a word with them." Xiao Ran shook his head, leaving Lelouch even more confused. "Then why do you want to make a deal with them? And how do you know they'll agree to it? Especially a deal with an organization like that?"
"Because they possess the power we urgently need right now. And because they joined Britannia, yet hold no loyalty whatsoever toward Charles. That gives us the foundation for a deal."
Seeing Lelouch's confused expression, Xiao Ran knew Lelouch did not think highly of making a deal with the Crimson Knights. He also knew Lelouch knew absolutely nothing about them, much less