Life Is a Dream; May Each Shine in Their Own Way (5K)
She even held the box in her arms tightly.
It was as if that was more important than her life, because only that box could allow her to reminisce about the past and spend more time with her daughter.
Even if it's just a lie.
And Mahiro followed slowly behind.
The numbered individuals who were originally lying in ambush all around wanted to take him down, but after seeing Mahiro raise his hand in a signal from behind, they quickly disappeared back into the darkness.
And so he followed them all the way.
Finally, they saw the maid escape into the residence of a villa.
The vast open space was enclosed by a wall, and the garden was beautifully maintained by dedicated servants.
The three-story building in the courtyard is in a Western style and appears to have more than fifty rooms, making it almost as grand as the mansion belonging to Aria's family in the Akame ga Kill World.
Of course, even within the concessions, very few people could afford to live in such a villa.
Only a small fraction of the Britannia were permitted to live in such villas.
In this region, only one family owns such a building: the Stadtfeld family, one of the most prestigious families in the empire and on par with the Asplund family.
This is Kallen's current home.
"Things are getting interesting."
Gazing at the building whose lights were just coming on, and hearing the faint sounds of cursing and shouting emanating from inside the mansion, Shinji Mahiro stroked his chin.
Unexpectedly, what was supposed to be a crackdown on drug trafficking turned into a chance encounter with Kallen's biological mother.
He suddenly felt that he and Kallen might have some common topics to talk about.
The next day.
"We have an urgent news report, from last night..."
The LCD TV was broadcasting the morning news, and the content was naturally about the bloody battle that had taken place on the dock warehouse street.
Thirty-two people died and no one was injured.
Furthermore, 350 boxes of the contraband REFRAIN were seized during the search.
This is the largest case of contraband smuggling since the Area 11 of Britannia came to power.
However, the credit wasn't given to the Shadow Garden; it was all attributed to the most active Black Knights.
When Lelouch found out, he was completely bewildered, and then he thought of Yotsuba Mahiro.
But when he went to look for her to find out what was going on, he was told that Mahiro left.
However, Kallen Kouzuki was equally bewildered.
My mother was scolded again last night for some reason, which made her feel terrible, so she went out for a walk instead of going to school.
But when she heard the news, she was stunned.
The Black Knights had just investigated Refriin and were planning to make their move in the next couple of days, but they've already beaten them to it?
Moreover, the credit was given to them.
Is someone imitating them?
Kallen wandered aimlessly through the streets as she pondered these thoughts.
This area is home to many of the largest shopping centers within the concession.
The pedestrians on the street were dressed in fine clothes and had cheerful expressions. The trendy shops on both sides of the wide avenue were full of young people, who regarded these shops as the perfect dating spots.
But just then, a voice disturbed her thoughts.
"Speak up if you dare! You ELEVEN!"
A menacing voice came from behind, and Kallen instinctively turned around.
"Apologize quickly! Apologize!"
"Hahahaha... Isn't Eleven supposed to be good at kneeling down and admitting his mistakes? Or even committing seppuku? Give me a demonstration!"
On the side of the commercial street, several young Britannia were gathered together, punching and kicking a young man.
But no one around dared to step forward to stop them.
The ELEVENs turned their faces away sadly, as if afraid they would be treated the same way at any moment.
The other Britannia watched the spectacle with amusement, and even those who felt sympathy were not chosen to stand up for the young man.
Because the person who got beaten up was just an Eleven.
"ELEVEN..."
Kallen seemed to be chewing on the defamatory word, while the expression on her face gradually became ferocious, and flames of anger burned in her azure pupils.
In an instant, his body tensed up and his fists clenched.
Just as she was about to walk towards the scene of the assault and teach those people a lesson, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder.
"!"
Kallen turned around abruptly and found that a young man in casual clothes had grabbed her.
He appeared to be slightly thin, but had a handsome face with very delicate features.
But she recognized that face...
"Mahiro... teacher?!"
With a familiar smile on her face, Mahiro gently shook her head at Kallen, signaling her not to go over.
Why?!
Kallen now clearly understands Yotsuba Mahiro's identity; Mahiro gave her the answer during her questioning that night.
He was not merely a teacher at the private Ashford Academy, nor simply a legendary royal tutor, but also the master of the Shadow Garden, a force resisting Britannia influence—
Shadow!
They were among the few who did not discriminate against Japan.
But why now?
Why are you stopping me? If it were him, he should understand!
"Rats have their ways, snakes have their paths; you can't help him."
Mahiro, who had stopped Kallen, calmly spoke to her.
But this calmness only fueled Kallen's anger.
They had clearly laid their cards on the table: she was Kallen Kouzuki of the Black Knights, while her opponent was the far more powerful Shadow, who didn't even consider the Knights of the Rounds Shadow.
How could I not be able to help this person!
Although she understood that exposing herself here for such a person would be a losing proposition, but...
"But even so, we can't just stand by and watch..."
Kallen clenched her fists, suppressing her anger as she retorted.
"I understand why you're angry, but have you looked closely at the clothes the person who was hit was wearing?"
"Varied...?"
Kallen looked toward the direction of the commotion and immediately noticed the apron worn by the young man who was being kicked and beaten.
It has the hot dog shop's permanent logo embroidered on it.
There was a mobile stall next to him.
It was clear that they were Japan, or rather, people from Area 11, who were allowed to work within the concession, and were honorary Britannia.
Mahiro continued in a tone devoid of joy or sorrow:
"Let's say you actually help that person and drive those people away, what happens after that? Will that guy be able to continue working here? Will he face retaliation? You can help him temporarily, but can you protect him forever?"
A series of rhetorical questions left Kallen speechless.
Indeed, she hadn't thought of these things just now, and even if she drove these people away, it seemed that it would be of no use.
But...
Kallen suddenly had another thought.
Kill.
But the moment this idea popped into his head, Mahiro through it.
"You were just thinking of killing them, weren't you? That's indeed a good idea. If you can't solve the problem, then solve the problem of the people who created it. That's also a way of thinking."
But then what? Won't others continue to bully this guy? Are you going to kill Britannia?
It would be easier to just kill that guy, since all the problems arose because of him.
Ultimately, that guy voluntarily chose to become a slave of Britannia. Since he chose to live a subservient life like a rat, he should follow the rat's way."
Chapter 266 Life is full of dreams, each person's life is wonderful (5K)
"These are all fallacies! Does that mean it's acceptable for that person to be bullied by the Britannia?!"
Kallen couldn't help but shout out loud.
Yotsuba Mahiro's words were not only devoid of compassion and mercy, but they also implied that the victims were guilty!
However, her shout caught the attention of the young people.
"Huh? Hey you over there, any objections?"
A young man with his hair styled with hair oil looked at them disdainfully and walked over with his companion.
"What, you two have started to sympathize with Eleven over there?"
"There must be some mistake. They're trying to recruit us, aren't they?"
"Oh? Look at this! This is the young lady from the Ashford Academy, haha."
"Really? In that case, if I want to join us, I'll have to ask that lovely lady to keep me company."
These men were no different from thugs; they even made lewd remarks about Kallen, which once again escalated Kallen's anger to an unbelievable level.
But before she could make a move, Mahiro stepped forward and said:
"Is this really a good idea? Are you sure you want this young lady to keep you company? Do you even know who she is?"
"Huh? So what if he's Ashford's young master? What's so great about him! My family has connections with the Governor's mansion!"
One of them said arrogantly.
The others joined in the laughter.
Although the Britannia of low social status, like stray dogs on the street, those who dare to openly bully these Elevens in this place must have some kind of background.
"What if she were from the Stadtfeld family? The eldest daughter of the Stadtfeld family, Kallen Stadtfeld, what would you do then?"
"Huh? Stadtfeld? Who's that? Is he as cool as our boss?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the thug who uttered those words was slapped hard on the back of the head.
"Shut up, you idiot! That's the Stadtfeld family, one of the eight great families of the Empire!"
The leader of this group was sweating profusely when he said those words.
How could I be so unlucky as to run into the eldest daughter of the Stadtfeld family, and even flirt with her just now!
Although his family does have some power, compared to the real elites, it's nothing at all!
As for whether it's fake, there's no need to doubt it at all.
First of all, the young lady from the Stadtfeld family was indeed named Kallen, and she was indeed a student at the Ashford Academy, a private school.
Secondly, the head of the Stadtfeld family has fiery red hair...
Therefore, every single one of these characteristics matches the girl in front of him. Who else could it be but that young lady?