The Kyoto Six Houses

"C.C, I need you to do two things."

There was no answer from the other end of the phone. The delicate girl with long green hair quietly waited for his instructions.

"First, give me information on the people around him."

"The people around him? You mean those terrorists?"

Lelouch had recently taken control of a group of terrorists that had all but become an organization and done plenty of things "worthy of the Island Nation public's attention." His public "rescue" of Suzaku Kururugi, who had been about to be executed, and his subsequent safe escape had also caught the attention of quite a few Britannians. But to most nobles and royals, the so-called "Zero" was merely a clown with a few petty tricks.

He was not worth taking seriously.

Much less by Ask.

If the ragtag terrorists following Lelouch had caught Ask's attention, there could only be one explanation.

"You want to plant a spy?"

"Exactly. That's why I need their information: their appearances and their home addresses. Those two things will do."

Britannia's influence extended across most of the Island Nation. Even where its reach was shallow, a photograph of someone's face or their home address was enough to obtain plenty of information from the locals.

Among the Elevens surrounded by war and poverty, no one would turn down money.

"Understood. And the second thing?"

C.C readily agreed.

It would not be difficult for her. In Lelouch's mind, she was already a witch full of secrets. He did not trust her completely, but he would not resist her too strongly either.

How much trust she could earn depended on C.C's own abilities.

"Right. As for the second thing..."

Knock, knock, knock-

A knock at the door interrupted Ask midsentence.

Anyone disturbing him at this hour of the night was most likely a core member of his faction with something important to report.

Leila glanced at Ask, walked to the door, and opened it just wide enough for someone to pass through. Then she slipped outside and closed it behind her.

"Lady Leila."

Standing before her, the woman named Sphink Grimm bowed respectfully and handed Leila a stack of white papers.

Leila skimmed their contents, looking unsurprised.

"Thank you for your hard work, Sphynx."

"It's my honor."

Sphynx bowed deeply once more.

As Baron Grimm's eldest daughter, she had priority in inheriting his title. Although his second child was a son, he could never match his elder sister's excellence.

Besides, Sphynx had become Leila's confidante, and Leila was Ask's confidante. That status alone left Baron Grimm no possibility of passing his title to anyone else.

Sphynx had also been among the maids sent to Ask's side eight years ago. She had accompanied him to the EU battlefield and witnessed her master's brilliance and miracles worthy of divine intervention. From the bottom of her heart, she admired Ask.

It was both respect for someone who stood at the pinnacle and a woman's love for a man.

Like a girl yearning for her sovereign's favor, she worked hard to prove her loyalty and talent, yet possessed both self-awareness and the formidable self-control to restrain her desires.

That was the greatest reason Leila had taken notice of her and entrusted her with important work.

Leila gave her a small smile, without the slightest air of authority. Her easygoing tone naturally put others at ease.

"You may go. Unless it's urgent, don't let anyone visit Lord Ask."

"Yes."

Returning to the room, Leila handed Ask the documents.

"I thought you might need these, so I made preparations in advance."

"This is..."

Ask did not reproach Leila in the slightest for acting on her own. On the contrary, allowing his confidantes to "think independently" and "act independently" was proof of his trust in them.

As long as everything they did served him and his plans, their accomplishments deserved praise.

He set his phone aside and spent roughly two minutes reading through everything on the pages, then could not help letting out a disdainful snort.

"Hmph. Information on the Kyoto Six Houses? It seems they're not quite so united internally."

The Kyoto Six Houses were currently the public-facing rulers of Area 11 and controlled its Sakuradite resources, though behind the scenes, the real power might rest with only a few of the houses, or even just one.

The documents were so detailed that they clearly listed each person's location, usual haunts, resources, and more. This was certainly not intelligence Britannia could have obtained on its own.

There was only one possibility.

"Has someone on the inside already defected?"

"Tosai Munakata. He hopes to obtain a Britannian noble title. This is his introductory gift."

The head of the Munakata House, one of the six houses, was a man nearing fifty.

He held little resentment toward Taizo Kirihara of the Kirishima House, another of the six, for secretly controlling the Kyoto Six Houses' activities and the Sakuradite mining operations on Mount Fuji. But he held little loyalty toward him either.

For the sake of survival, he was willing to betray the Kyoto Six Houses.

To earn Britannia's trust, he had also provided very detailed information about himself.

"Betraying his loyalties for personal glory. If he's an enemy, I certainly don't mind having a fool like that around."

If he were one of Ask's own people, however, the punishment awaiting him would be the most terrifying kind of "hell."

Ask set the documents aside and picked up the phone beside him as he asked Leila:

"Then whose name did you use to approach them?"

"Princess Cornelia's, of course. Even if it gets out, knowing Cornelia, she won't immediately deny it or expose us. She'll ask you for an explanation instead, won't she?"

"True. She's become familiar with my personality to some extent. I'd probably be the first person she'd think of over something like this. Still, if it benefits Britannia, she'll likely turn a blind eye."

Had they used Schneizel's name, his intellect might have allowed him to notice something of Ask's plan, or at least make an educated guess.

Cornelia, by contrast, was not especially brilliant in areas outside commanding battles.

Only then did Ask bring the phone back to his ear and resume the conversation.

"The second thing is that I'd like you to have him make contact with the Kyoto Six Houses as soon as possible."

"...As soon as possible? Trying to force his growth isn't a good habit, you know."

After several seconds of silence, C.C's voice came from the other end. He could easily picture her lying on her stomach on the bed while she waited, playing with the plush toy she had received with a pizza order.

She did not particularly enjoy taking part in the schemes of "clever people." Whether that was because she lacked interest, could not keep up with their thinking, or both, was unclear.

With C.C, all he needed to do was tell her plainly what she should do.

"No, they only need to establish some contact. Since the 'miracle' seven years ago, the Kyoto Six Houses have been biding their time and building considerable strength. They have more than enough to provide him with technical and financial support."

The miracle seven years earlier had been achieved by a force led by Kyoshiro Tohdoh, a lieutenant colonel in the Island Nation Liberation Front. Despite their inferior technology, they had defeated the Knightmare-equipped Britannia Empire, earning him the name "Miracle Tohdoh."

"You mean... a cooperative relationship based on mutual benefit? In that case, the key will still be Lelouch himself."

Without a few tricks up his sleeve, dealing with that old man Taizo Kirihara would only get him bled dry and discarded like trash.

C.C could not help with that. All she could do was guide Lelouch toward considering "cooperation."

"That's fine. I believe my dear little brother has the talent. In any case, the strength they've amassed isn't enough to threaten Britannia while it remains in the Kyoto Six Houses' hands. Better to turn it into Lelouch's pawns."

"Understood... As for my compensation, you can't turn me down next time."