Right and Wrong, Good and Evil (Continued)

"Don't bury him! It will cause him so much pain! So please, don't let him suffer anymore. My dear, my dear..."

This is the most genuine lament of the living, a widow's accusation against God for taking her husband away.

The orange-haired girl, Shirley Finette, trembled as she hugged her mother from behind, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown, tears streaming down her face.

"Mother..."

She called out to her mother again and again.

Why, why did this happen?

Shirley hugged her mother and looked behind her. What came into view were the figures of her teachers and classmates who had rushed over for her.

Student Council Milly lowered her gaze sadly; the usually cheerful Rivalz bit her lip; Nina clutched the hem of her uniform skirt tightly to keep herself from crying; and Kallen lowered her head as if enduring something...

However, there are two other people besides them.

One was the Vermilion Suzaku Kururugi, watching all of this silently from afar.

The other was Yotsuba Mahiro, who was accompanying the students. His expression remained as calm as ever, without sadness, pain, or joy.

It seemed like the mundane, commonplace thing.

And a small, heartfelt feeling.

As expected, it ended up the same way.

Even before the war began, Zeta had already caused a huge disturbance at the research institute, not only plundering all the research data on Geass, but also causing the research institute, which had been moved to the Narita Mountain Range, to be relocated ahead of schedule.

But I never expected it to end like this...

No, it should be said that the ending was predetermined from the moment Lelouch decided to blow up the mountain.

This is a predicament where one is trapped.

However, this did not mean it could not be changed. He gazed thoughtfully at the girl who was crying while hugging her mother.

The new tombstone has been erected, the funeral has ended, and the mourners have all left.

Shirley turned around and stood in front of the Student Council members, her expression sorrowful.

Seeing her so sad, Kallen instinctively apologized.

"I'm sorry, Shirley!"

She apologized not as Kallen Stadtfeld, but as Kallen Kouzuki.

Although she didn't intend to implicate Shirley's father, she still bore some responsibility, as she was the one who detonated the bombs in the Narita Mountain Range.

"Don't do this, Kallen, why are you apologizing?"

Shirley forced a smile at Kallen, a smile filled with sorrow that made it all the more heartbreaking.

It was so heartbreaking that Kallen couldn't bear to look her in the eye and guiltily looked away.

"I also want to apologize. Um... I was watching TV during the hotel hostage incident and thought the Black Knights and Shadow Garden were kind of cool. A few days ago, after seeing the Narita incident, I even posted a 'That's awesome!' thread on the school forum... So, I'm sorry!"

Following Kallen, Rivalz also stepped forward. He felt he had something to say, but the organization's language was incoherent.

"That has absolutely nothing to do with it. It was just an unfortunate accident! I don't care at all! And I don't care about Narita's situation either..."

"Shirley, stop talking!"

Milly grabbed the girl's shoulders, stopping her from speaking, and said seriously, "I'm more worried about you, Shirley!"

Have you ever had a good, cathartic cry? If you hold it in now, it will only hurt more later!

"It's... it's okay now, really... it's really okay..."

Shirley didn't dare to meet President Milly's gaze.

She had tried to force a smile, but when she said "It's okay," her tears started flowing uncontrollably, like a flood that had burst forth.

Her eyes reddened in an instant.

Finally, Shirley couldn't take it anymore and threw herself into Milly's arms, crying.

The mournful cries were so heartbreaking that they brought tears to the eyes of anyone who heard them.

However, Rivalz, looking at Shirley crying in Milly's arms, whispered:

"Where did Lulu go? Shouldn't he be comforting Shirley right now, as her boyfriend?"

That's right, Lelouch didn't come.

Instead, he was busy with his Black Knights' rebellion, while Kallen, who valued friendship more, had taken leave from the Black Knights today and appeared here.

Hearing Shirley's cries, Kallen silently lowered her head.

My heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.

Although from the beginning of her time as a member of the resistance, she had already prepared herself for her hands to be stained with blood, and perhaps even the lives of innocent people.

But no one expected that this innocent person's fate would fall on their own classmate.

She had never been mentally prepared for this.

At that moment, she was very sad.

"How despicable!"

Suddenly, the silent Vermilion Suzaku Kururugi cried out.

"The Black Knights, ZERO, and Shadow's actions are truly despicable. They didn't initiate anything themselves; they just followed behind others and stirred up trouble, thinking they were the judges, gloating over their victory. That won't change anything!"

The results obtained through the wrong approach are completely meaningless!

"That's quite a high-and-mighty way of putting it, Suzaku Kururugi."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this voice, everyone's gaze immediately turned to Yotsuba Mahiro.

His face held the same smile as always, and he innocently shrugged, saying:

"Am I wrong? Anyone here has the right to judge the Black Knights' actions, but you are the only one who does not."

As an ELEVEN who joined the Britannia army, Suzaku Kururugi, what is your standpoint in evaluating this situation?

Is it Genbu Kururugi, the son of Suzaku Kururugi?

Or should it be Lieutenant Suzaku Kururugi, an honorary Britannia?

If I'm not mistaken, you were also involved in the Narita Mountain Range campaign, right?

Then you should know even better who started this battle— Britannia, of course, and you were one of the executioners. Do you really think you can escape responsibility?

"... I don't!"

Faced with a sudden barrage of questions, Suzaku Kururugi, without batting an eye, retorted sharply, "I just... I just don't want to cause more killing and casualties!"

"So you chose to betray everything. Your so-called 'stopping' was to help Britannia beat up your own homeland, beat up those who wanted to save it, right? You thought that as long as you killed them, there would be no more resistance, right?"

"I don't!"

"If not, then what have you done?"

A hint of sneer had crept into Mahiro's eyes.

Suzaku Kururugi was so frustrated by him that her face turned red and she couldn't speak. Her originally dark face was now flushed red, making her look incredibly funny.

As for Rivalz and Nina...

Perhaps because of Mahiro, Nina didn't have a good impression of Suzaku Kururugi either, and just stood there silently.

Rivalz, seeing Suzaku Kururugi speechless after being questioned, was also somewhat at a loss.

Because what Mahiro- sensei said is indeed correct.

As a soldier, and one who betrayed his country and wielded a butcher's knife against his own compatriots, Suzaku Kururugi had absolutely no right or qualification to utter such righteous words.

"Alright!"

While comforting Shirley, Milly tried to smooth things over, saying in a slightly reproachful tone, "Teacher Yotsuba Clan, please say less. I think Kururugi-kun is just indignant about what has happened these past few days. You don't need to make a big deal out of it."

Mahiro simply shrugged at this, showing no intention of saying anything more.

Milly gave Rivalz a look, signaling him to take Suzaku Kururugi away.

However, before getting into the car and leaving, Suzaku Kururugi suddenly stopped, turned around, looked seriously at Yotsuba Mahiro, and questioned him:

"You were only talking about me, but what about you, Yotsuba Mahiro- sensei? From what standpoint did you say such things?"

"Of course it's the teacher, what other stance could they have?"

Mahiro his question ridiculous, and Suzaku Kururugi was even more exasperated by it.

But as he was leaving, Mahiro spoke again, giving Suzaku Kururugi the answer he wanted to hear.

"I know what you mean, but unfortunately, I am not like you. Even though I have the dual identities of Mahiro Zi Britannia and Yotsuba Mahiro, I am not an honorary Britannia, nor am I an Eleven."

"I am who I am, Yotsuba Mahiro is Yotsuba Mahiro, nothing more."

Suzaku Kururugi: "..."

That's sophistry!

How could someone be neither an honorary Britannia nor an Eleven member? Could they be a member of the Chinese Federation?!

Or perhaps the EU?!

Suzaku Kururugi didn't say anything more about such sophistry. Instead, she gave him a deep look and got into the car.

Then.

The others also left one after another.

Shirley needed Milly's comfort, so she left first. Nina, also unaccustomed to this atmosphere, silently followed behind Milly, like a small animal, glancing back at Mahiro as they left the cemetery.

In the end, only Mahiro and Kallen remained.

The sky remained overcast, a cold wind blew slowly, and pedestrians on the street couldn't help but wrap their clothes tighter.

However, Mahiro and Kallen were the only two who did not react to this.

Mahiro's constitution was already immune to the cold, while Kallen let the cold wind blow into her collar, as if only the chill could make her feel better.

"Hey, Mr. Mahiro, may I ask you a question?"

Kallen, who was walking down the street, suddenly blurted out this sentence.

"Hmm, go ahead and ask," Mahiro replied nonchalantly.

Kallen, on the other hand, hesitated once again.

"... Teacher, are the Black Knights really... representing the side of justice?"

"Isn't this how you promote yourselves?"

Helping the weak, fighting against the strong, and always standing on the side of truth and justice—this is how the Black Knights have always proclaimed themselves.

The people believed this explanation.

But...

"But teacher, this time... Narita Mountain Range incident, can our actions truly be considered just? Shirley's father... clearly did nothing wrong, didn't he?"

"That's quite a profound question."

Mahiro pretended to be troubled.

But he still said in a relaxed tone, "However, you should already have the answer in your heart, right?"

Kallen: "..."

The girl did not answer.

But from her wavering, struggling, and hesitant expression, it was clear that she did have the answer in her heart, but she just didn't want to admit it.

Seeing this, Mahiro's lips curled up slightly, and he reached out and placed his hand on Kallen's head.

Feeling the pressure from above and the gentle caress, Kallen involuntarily raised her head and looked at him.

"Teacher...?"

"Well, although I can't give you the answer you want regarding this matter, as your teacher and your comrade-in-arms, I just want to tell you, this is war."

That's the cruelty of war.