"From now on, call me Zero."
After putting the mask in his hand back on, Lelouch chuckled and spoke to Di Xue, then looked at Jiu Ming. "By the way, we won't be staying here forever, will we?"
"Yeah. Once I deal with the aliens' last remaining forces, it'll be fine."
"...Deal with them completely?" Lelouch raised a brow.
"Of course not. I can't find their nest, so I can only deal with the ones here. As for afterward..."
Before Jiu Ming could finish, Lelouch cut him off, shaking his head. "You'll still need to step forward in the future, won't you? With only twenty-odd years of development, this world's Earth can't possibly contend with them. And after learning from this lesson, those aliens will act even more decisively next time."
"That's assuming they'll have the chance to do so."
"Fine, then there's no need to think about that either. If I get the chance, I really would like to see exactly how you make your move." Lelouch gave a soft laugh, then turned his gaze to Di Xue. "Are you sure you want to walk this path? It won't be an easy road."
Di Xue nodded lightly. "I want to give it a try."
"Then all right. Once you've made this choice, don't regret it." Lelouch lightly tapped his palm. "What we need to do now is consolidate our current foundation first... Actually, my best suggestion is this." Lelouch pointed to his eyes. Di Xue did not understand the meaning of that gesture, but Jiu Ming understood perfectly well—simply use Geass to sweep away every obstacle.
"Good idea. But don't you think she's too young?"
"...My oversight. She really does need time to grow." Lelouch nodded. Di Xue was far younger now than he himself had been back then.