The Tech Prince Of Britannia - 8 Meeting the Stadtfeld family, the female-only institute Pandora

“And in other news: the Assassination of the Fifth Consort Lady Marianne vi Britannia and the Sixteenth Consort Flora mel Britannia have caused much disturbance among the Royalty of Britannia with many members of the Royal Family having started to improve their security-measures to prevent similiar incidents.”

Genbu Kururugi grunted as he looked at the TV. As far as he was concerned the womans deaths meant just two damn Britannian less. Still, looking at his Allies the Six houses of Kyoto he knew that there was one thing to discuss.

“As I already informed you, the Emperor of Britannia has “offered” to send his son Lelouch vi Britannia over as political hostage. I used some of our Spies in Britannia to find out the reason for that.”

One of the Heads: Tobirama Senju snorted.

“As if that cold-hearted cunt needs a reason to sacrifice his children in political moves.”

Genbu saw three of the other Heads nod in Agreement: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Taizo Kirihara and Oonoki Sumeragi. (Oonoki was the Uncle of Genbus dead wife and Grandfather of Kurotsuchi and Kaguya Sumeragi.)

The last two Heads of Kyoto were silent though. For the better Genbu idly thought, Danzou Shimura and Madara Uchiha were the Leaders of the Extremist factions of the Government and regulary opposed many of the other four Heads political plans.

Of course, he idly thought. Disposing of them was not really an option either, Danzous Root was extremly useful in sabotaging the Three great powers in the World and had even managed the Assassination of three of the Royal Children of Britannia. Granted they were some of the more empty-headed ones who never stepped a foot away from the Capital Pendragon but it still served as a small blow to the enemy.

At the same Madara was just too popular to dispose off. The man was often making speeches about how Japan was surrounded by Enemies and that the Military needed to be made stronger before Japan was invaded. The Uchiha was a fear-monger who thrived on the Xenophobic attitude which many Japanese still had. Combined with his rank as General in the Army and you had an influental and experienced possible Leader to defend Japan which appealed to many.

“That may be, but I always like to know the motives of my enemies. In this particular case, Lelouch is being punished for not only speaking out against the Emperor but also downright accusing the man of being involved in the death of Marianne vi Britannia and on top he defied and insulted the man heavily when the Emperor announced that Lelouchs sister Nunnally would become the Fiance of his Nephew Ciel zi Britannia. Little Lelouch was not happy with that decision at all and was rumored to even have broken Ciels nose when his cousin approached him about the matter without even letting the boy explain things.”

Danzou let out a grumbling sound.

“As I always say, people who let themselves be guided by their emotions will lead short unhappy lives. If the boy had controlled himself then he could have easily stayed with his Cousin and Sister. Instead he is now sent to us.”

The other Heads nodded in agreement to the mans words. Genbu sighed.

“Indeed, well I have decided that I will agree to the Emperors proposal. Does anyone mind if the boy stays at the Kururugi Shrine?”

The six Heads looked at each other before one by one they shook their heads. The last being Danzou who looked at Madara questioningly for a moment before simply falling silent.

“Very well. Then I will prepare a room for him.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well, that was something.

Seriously, to think that Lelouch would have such a mean punch, he truly is full of surprises.

Earlier Lelouch was on his path to the airship to take him to Japan, he was cold to everyone but he was still respectful to them and even hugged both Cornelia and Euphemia as a goodbye. But when I tried to approach him, give him at least a note with my explanation on what actually happened and give him a safe number in which he could call me any time if he ever were to need me.

However, not only did he refuse to take the note he also punched me right in the face and if not for me pulling my hand to stop I am pretty sure either Slaine or Kamal would have filled Lelouch with holes as both had guns drawn in less than a second and both were aiming at Lelouch. Of course, my brat of a friend ignored the guns by thinking himself invincible or that no one would touch him in anyway.

Seriously, for someone so smart he can be one stupid kid when he wants.

Sigh, I can only give him some time to cool his head. Hopefully he can become friends with Suzaku or someone else back in Japan.

If I had at least a useful spy-network in Japan that could…

I started smirking a bit. Well, I may not have a functioning network there (yet) but I knew some people who would make a good start at one.

“Hello, Pariston?”

“Boss, is that you? How are you doing, I heard you got punched in the face and I could not help but fear that your pretty face would be ruined by it.” The troll said, making me roll my eyes but smile a bit. He was unreliable and prone to do crazy stunts for no good reason except his own pleasure but he still was far more interesting than any other politician that I know.

“Don’t need to worry about that, I just wanted to ask if you know someone that is called Stadtfeld between your acquaintances?” I asked.

“Yes, I know him. Earl Stadtfeld is a rather minor figure who was apart of the Mel Britannia political base. Now with that house being finished he has started looking for another Royal patron, Princess Guinevere who he approached though demanded that he must divorce of his Japanese wife first before she agreed to add him to her base, so far the man has not answered her demand and seems reluctant though his younger siblings try to pressure him into accepting. Does he have some sort of thing that you desire, if so I will personally go and take it for you, boss.” Pariston said earnestly.

“Don’t bother, knowing you even if there was something inhis possession that I wanted the item would disappear under ‘mysterious’ circumstances only for it to reappear after it was useless or just in the nick of time due to ‘coincidence’.” I said.

“Oh, but that would be far too bad of a situation. I am sure that I would not let such a thing happen.” Pariston countered.

“…Sure, why not? Anyway, who cares? I am not looking for the Stadtfeld guy because of something like that anyway. I had heard that he is one of the rare nobles that are married to a Japanese woman and had some kids, I want to meet them all as soon as possible to discuss some matters.” I said.

“I understand, they will be given to you dead or alive as soon as possible.” Pariston said with what I bet is a large smile on his face. Seriously, he could give the Joker a run for his money when it comes to smiling all the time. (Thankfully that particular Nut-job did not exist in this reality. Though I did find a few other DC and Marvel people present. Example being Barbara Gordon who was studying in his city now and her father who was a Policeman in New York, I have no intention on meeting ny of them if all possible through. No point in complicating things further.)

“No, they need to be alive and well. Please don’t go causing unnecessary problems for me.” I said tiredly.

“Of course, it will be done at the earliest convenience.” He said.

“And this ‘earliest convenience’ will not be months from now, right?”

“No, of course not! How could I let you wait for so long, it would be disrespectful if I were to do so.” Pariston said and just as I was about to speak something more he himself hanged the phone up on my face.

He truly loves to annoy others for no good reason. He still is fun to be around, however, even if he annoys the heck out of me and is universally hated by most others who know him personally.

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It has been a day since I have talked with Pariston and he managed to get a meeting between me and the Stadtfeld family, of course, the meeting had to happen late at night when I usually was fast asleep as there was ‘no other time for it’, which is just another way of saying that Pariston decided to do this because he thought it would be funny to see me work when sleepy.

Seriously, the guy is a genius politician and the worst troll ever when he wants to be. He can make his logic seem flawless but is truly just doing things to annoy others.

Anyway, I took a look at the group in front of me before approaching. As taught I shook the hands of the males and gave a kiss on the hand to the females. I had to admit that I enjoyed the flush on the young Kallen’s face when I did that, it was rather cute in how she tried to pretend nothing happened.

The father was a tall man with a strong build and red hair the same shade as his children, but it was like he was trying to look smaller than he actually was and he looked fidgety at me and the others as I bet Pariston said something to make him think he is in trouble. I guess the fact he was a bit close to the Towa Conglomerate made him even more nervous as I have a terrible relationship with that bunch since the time I put pressure/blackmailed them into giving me Monaca who is even now creating weapons and Knightmares in a way that even Lloyd thinks is fascinating.

The mother looked even more uncomfortable, she likely suffered harassment from those of nobility of Britannia and hearing that a prince wants to meet her too must put her on quite the edge as most nobles and royals are too into the whole ‘I am above all’ mentality. Though my show of manners had calmed her down slightly.

Their kids, however, were far more interesting. The boy was trying to behave but it was clear that he didn’t like me much and likely is indoctrinated into loving Japan by his friends there, Naoto probably thinks that Britannia is bad and he is, even if slightly, looking down on me. One thing which I DID notice though was that despite his apparent distaste his Clothes were greatly cared for in a way that indicated that in some way he did care about his Noble status leading me to think that Naoto’s preference was partly based on the fact that Britannia was not very accepting of him so far, something which I could easily change. I also noted the slightly Orange Aura around him which showed that he was not yet beyond my grasp.

Kallen, however, looked stunning right now. She looked like a red doll who I would like to pamper but at the same time she was like a wild cat that wanted to get away from here which also makes her endearing to me, she seems like she wants to get out of this dress she is using right this instant but the thing that is most interesting is the colors around her. She has just as many colors around her as Slaine does, maybe even more, but her orange is not particularly strong so she likely would listen and be loyal in the future if nothing happens but wouldn’t be 100% loyal if things continue as it is and her views didn’t change. However, if I play my cards right, I bet her Orange would be almost as blinding as the one around Slaine, which is saying a lot. She also still had a flush on her face from my actions which was adorable.

Anyway, it is time for business now and I really need this to work out well.

“Earl Stadtfeld, it is a pleasure meeting you here.”

“And I must say that this was an unexpected but very welcome honor to meet you as well, I have long since heard stories of you and the precious gem of a city you are building.” He answered.

“Yes, it is my pride and joy right after my machine to identify any no-sugar chocolates so as to purge them from existence.” I said. I completely ignored the deadpan looks delivered by the entire Stadtfeld family.

“I understand, and who are these gentlemen by your side?” He asked pointing at my two knights that were on my sides.

“These are my protectors for tonight. The one in the left is the captain Reisi of Scepter4, a peacekeeping force in my city and someone who is extremely capable in all fronts, so much so that he is one of my knights. Meanwhile, the one in my right is a former Knight of the Round and someone who is also very capable, Qrow Branwen.” I introduced.

“It is a pleasure meeting you all.” Reise said with a perfectly even and calm voice. I noticed that Mrs. Stadtfeld blushed slightly at the younger man, I guess he is her type. Oh well, I doubt anything will happen and even if it did I doubt it would mean much as Britannia is quite liberal in the matters of relationships, if the husband wouldn’t mind she could have a thing or two with other males.

(Most of the Nobility was firmly of the opinion that as long as it didn´t make into the Newspaper then it was alright. In fact, among the lower Nobility, it had even evolved into a type of test. If you could manage to keep your Lovers Identity secret so that you couldn´t be blackmailed then it proved competence. Those who were incapable of keeping something as unimportant as a Lover secret wouldn´t make it far in Politics where exploitation and Blackmail were the daily bread.)

Qrow, however, did not bother with saying much. He only drank his beer quietly and was annoyed that this meeting had to happen right as he was enjoying a good time in one of the bars of the city with some pretty young lady with white hair, apparently, she and he were very drunk and Pariston walked right into them having some special action. I don’t know why but I feel like Pariston really enjoyed causing this problem to Qrow for some reason.

“Now that the pleasantries are over we should begin the proper meeting. I am here to speak of something that would likely interest you greatly, after all.”

“I understand, but why would you need my family here then?” he asked a bit defensive, I am quite sure that the reason as to why his wife and kids live in Japan the majority of their time is because of how the Nobility would treat them, but there is no need for this now.

“First, I want to say that I would like to give you all an invitation. I have heard of your recent troubles because of the fall of the Mel Britannia line, as you know I’m accepting people of all ethnicities in my City as I am a firm believer of a true meritocracy where effort is the most important and not your place of birth. You and the other Nobles married and affiliated with foreigners would be useful additions to my political power base which, while growing slowly, still cannot directly compete with my Brother Schneizel and some of the other Royal siblings much to my personal shame.”

I let the Stadtfelds take my words in slowly. While the two kids looked like they barely understood what I was saying the parents were looking more aware. The mother looking shocked a bit but I could literally see Earl Stadtfeld shift from the nervous person he was into a more confident man with a shrewd look in his face as he dissected my words and saw the opportunity for him.

“In exchange I will let your kids enter any of the academies forming in the city as well as making you and your wife members of this city and be under my protection, thus removing any chance of you two being forced to separate like my cousin Guinevere made as demand. If you accept this offer I would give you protection from your fellow Nobles, and a place for your kids to grow that is a much better environment than back in Japan where the sentiment of Anti-Britannia is so strong.” I finished and I could see that Mr. Stadtfeld’s eyes were shining a bit. He truly seems to have liked what I just said and just as he was about to likely agree a barely teen’s voice rang.

“And who the hell are YOU to say that my environment back in Japan was bad? It is all Britannia’s fault that mother and we had to live there and be so far from father, but even the air of the slums there are better than what you have in this country.” Naoto said. Kallen’s eyes were on her brother as she heard that.

“Yeah, big brother is right and all you royals suck.” Kallen said earning an approving nod from her brother and a terrified expression from her mother and father. It was clear the young girl didn’t understand what she was saying as she was only eight years old (I was too but that is beside the point), but Naoto had no such excuse.

These words alone are much more than what most of those who are executed by the Imperial family ever did.

Mr. Stadtfeld was about to have a nervous breakdown, I can almost see him berating and fighting his son for provoking a prince for no good reason. He wanted to say something but I waved at him to calm down.

“It is fine, Mr. Stadtfeld. I am sure that growing up in a country that has such a strong anti-Britannia sentiment must have made him have a distorted view of the world at large. That is just another good reason for him to come live in my city as we allow and encourage all types of people to enter and live here as long as they are talented or hardworking enough. He would meet many people here that would help him have a broader view of the world at large for sure, and the same could be said about your pretty daughter who is on such an important phase of her life.” I said.

Looking at Kallen and Naoto I slowly chuckled.

“Don’t misunderstand, Naoto. I have nothing against Japan, in fact, I have quite a bit of interest in expanding my holdings over there. Perhaps you would like a small history lesson on the nation you believe so much?”

Naoto and Kallen looked a bit conflicted before nodding while Earl Stadtfeld and his wife leaned back in interest.

“Alright. It all goes back to when the British Isles were still ruled by the Monarchy. Back then the East India Trading Company expanded far into the Asian market for Trade. That included Japan who at the time was ruled by the Samurai who were the Japanese Noble-caste for the most part led by Feudal-Lords. Now the large amounts of Trade caused much Western culture to come to Japan including Weaponry like Cannons and Guns. I don’t think I have to tell you what happened to the Sword-wielding Samurai when suddenly armies of gun-using peasants existed. It was a slow but sure fall of Samurai from the battlefield with countless important Clans being destroyed or forced to change their lives.

“Since then there has always been a Samurai-faction in Japan who spent much of their time vilifying Western Culture and especially Britannia who spearheaded the spread of the culture. Of course, things didn’t get any better when Britannia and the Chinese Federation waged several bloody wars in attempts to fight each other which spilled into Japan. Because of that both the Chinese and Britannia became much hated tyrannical Overlords in the eyes of the Japanese which was supported by strong Propaganda aimed against foreigners by the Samurai-faction.

“One thing of notice is that, in recent times, the Japanese have been hitting back quite heavily. The Britannian secret-services have traced various Assassination-attempts on Nobles, Officers and Royals back to the Japanese Government. Combined with the Japanese influencing the market of Sakuradite which they have in large amounts to keep Britannia and the Chinese Federation evenly strong and you have a powder-keg ready to explode. Both the Japanese and Britannia know that it is at most five years before the Emperor declares Japan as the next target of Conquest and of course the people of both Countries grow more and more cautious and unfriendly to each other due to the instigation of some from both sides, which is not something I desire.”

At the end of my explanation, the entire Stadtfeld family looked shocked but I noticed that both Mrs. Stadtfeld and Earl Stadtfeld didn’t look surprised in the slightest. Interesting, perhaps the man was more politically aware then I suspected. Naoto who understood far more from my explanation was looking in a mix between angry, afraid and shocked. Angry because he still saw Britannia in an unfriendly light, afraid for the lives of his friends who were in danger from the Invasion and finally shocked because of the Japanese killing Britannians through cowardly actions like Assassinating which went against the Code of Honor which his friends had told him about. Kallen on the hand I was surprised to see that she had a thoughtful look on her and the Brown in her Aura grew a sliver stronger. I wonder if her Knowledge of Japanese culture was merely stuff which she repeated from her brother instead of something she learned properly. Given that the Japanese education system is controlled by the extremist factions and that her brother is likely a walking poster of Japanese ideals from what he learned in school and with friends it wouldn’t surprise me if she were to become a fanatic Japanese supporter. I intend to stop that right now otherwise I’d have to kill her to ensure she wouldn’t cause any trouble for me.

“Now, Earl Stadtfeld. Would you be interested in my offer to join my political faction?”

Earl Stadfeld looked serious and thought about my offer for a moment. I knew he would accept because his only other choice would be to divorce the woman he loved or giving his Title to his younger siblings who were typical Britannian Hyenas. After a moment the man nodded at me and gave his agreement.

Well, at least this means that his family will live here and I can use them as a connection to Japan.

“I agree with you, my Lord. This would indeed be a wonderful offer but I must ask still why amongst all those who desperately would love and do anything for such an offer you would decide on us.” He asked.

“Simple, there is no particular reason for it having to be you first. I will give such offers to others who are under similar circumstances as long as they fulfill certain criteria, but the main reason is that I would like a meeting with someone you have ties with through your businesses in Japan. Specifically the Sumeragi and Sarutobi Clan-heads.”

This time it was the wife who almost jumped out of her skin from my words. I guess they never imagined I would figure out their connection to those two families, but I researched the Stadtfeld family long ago as I wanted to know more about Kallen Kozuki anyway. To say that they tried their best to cover this up was not an exaggeration as this information was dangerous. The Sarutobi and Sumeragi might be the most politically open Clans in regards to Britannia but it still didn´t change the fact that they have worked against Britannia rather actively. Especially the Sumeragi who controlled the Japanese Sakuradite mines. Though the current Sarutobi-head Hiruzen had also killed two of Ciels Uncles during a small war Forty years ago before Charles ascended to Emperor, something which the Britannians had not forgotten about in the slightest especially given that one of the two had been the Crown-Prince of that time.

It was a surprise when I found out about this connection of the Stadtfelds but it was not an unwelcome surprise, this would mean I can meet two families that are very relevant to Japan and that cooperation would do wonders to help me deal with the whole Zero disaster.

“Now, I understand that you likely will need some time to think more about it so I will not inconvenience you more for now. You can leave and inform me of your decision later on, but would you be able to give me an advice on which other nobles you know that are married to those from other nations that would also appreciate my generous offer?” I asked.

Earl Stadtfeld looked rather thoughtful.

“I don’t know many, truth be told, but I think the Fairchild connected to Japan, Phenyl from Finland of the EU, Bonaparte connected to France, Eliptons who while purely Britannian have strong connections to India through their Shipping Company, and Lockheart connected to Australia. They all are not so we’ll seen but are good people and would likely appreciate this offer.” Mr. Stadtfeld said, and I had to pull all my weight not to do a spit-take from it. These are all names I knew well as they were the names of the strongest Pandoras from the Freezing anime. Seriously, it is like this world wants me to become too strong. Just shame that they probably had no superpowers.

“Thanks for the Information and I hope for good relations between us. Please inform me once you have set up a meeting between me and the Sarutobi and Sumeragi Heads.” As they left I decided that if it is this late already I might as well eat a midnight snack.

Opening a secret compartment on the wall a secret stash of sweets showed up, they shined like precious gems in my eyes.

Just as I caught the first one and was about to put it in my mouth someone snatched it from my hands.

“That is no good, young master.” Kirumi said sternly. She was clearly tired due to the hour this meeting was taking place (seriously, Pariston was annoying when he wanted to) but she still was dutiful. “Considering the hour of the night you should avoid snacks or it might cause problems to your health.” She said.

I wanted to say something, but due to no longer having to think about anything overly important and from all the problems I had these past few days my body just wanted to sleep. Without realizing when my eyes started closing as the tiredness in my bones finally catching up to me.

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3° Person P.O.V.

Catching his young master before he fell on the floor was Qrow. He had seen signs of weariness over the small kid, a simple child that normally should be having fun with friends but instead was here in this state.

Qrow sighed a bit. Honestly he pitied the kid, with his parents dead there was nobody who really could order him to cut back a bit. The only possible people were members of the Royal Family. Honestly Qrow was almost happy that the two girls would now be living with the kid because they would make sure that he calmed down a bit.

Looking at the kid Qrow smiled a bit. He had been in a horrid slump when he first met the brat. The death of Summer, Taiyangs depression and of course Raven running off and if rumors were correct joining some Terrorist-group. Well, it had all become too much for Qrow and only his duty of having to take care of Ruby and Yang had kept him going at all. Still, when Bismarck had expelled him from the Rounds it had been a terrible blow to not only Qrows reputation but also his pride and dreams. He had wanted to be a Round since reading about the era of the last Knight of One the “Grim Reaper” Maria Callavera. Being thrown out basically buried that dream of his forever. But then the kid came with his job-offer and promises of protection, at first he had been skeptical but he had decided to join the Kids faction so that Ruby and Yang could get their education here which was already acknowledged as the best in the world. In the end, Qrow had nothing to regret.

“How is he?” Reisi asked, he was looking from the side with a hand on his sword and Qrow had no doubt that if he were to try anything funny with their master the leader of Scepter4 would cut him down instantly. His swordplay was no lesser than Qrow’s and even at his best Qrow was not confident to win in a fight against the bespectable male.

“Tired.” Qrow said. “He has gone through a lot. Not only is he supporting and creating this city from scratch he also has to deal with too many matters and with this whole situation with prince Lelouch’s newfound baseless hatred for our master, yeah it is not looking good.” Qrow admitted.

“Humph, useless rabble, that is what that boy is.” Reisi said. He was someone who gave only the bare minimum respect to those of higher nobility rank than him unless they prove themselves one way or another, someone who was like Ciel a deep believer of meritocracy who hated the current situation of the world at large. Ciel had impressed him and working for the boy was an experience of its own that Reisi greatly enjoyed, the boy was exactly how he visualized a royal must be and he desired to protect this seedling in hopes to one day see him sit on that throne and having Reisi as Knight of One.

However, Reisi always despised some of his liege’s family members. Lelouch in special as the child was too brash, prideful, and prone to show off, all things Reisi didn’t like much. If the boy at least showed some interest in something of value to better Britannia or himself Reisi might have had a high opinion of him as the boy showed great promise, but instead, he only played chess and acted like being good at this game made him a genius. And now with the boy outburst and punching his liege and acting like Ciel was some sort of evil and scheming being against his own family he clearly likes so much, yeah he wasn’t liking it one bit.

“I guess he had a lot of things to take care of. He might not realize it much, but he is taking too many things by himself. We need to ensure that his safety and well-being is fully secured in the future, and for that, we must try and solve all we can for him as, otherwise, he might overwork himself.” Reisi said.

“Yeah, yeah, I will get going after tonight. I will go and see into those families we heard of, if possible I will approach them myself and if they desire entrance and are safe I will bring them over myself. It is better than trusting that snake into approaching them.” Qrow said in which both showed disgusted faces as they remembered the visage of a certain politician.

What they failed to notice was that said politician was on the outside of the door holding his laughter at that last comment, knowing that he managed to annoy them such was a great thing in his books.

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Meanwhile, in the Stadtfeld manor, things were not quite as peaceful.

“You damn idiot! Do you WANT to get us killed?” Earl Stadtfeld yelled at his son who was doing his very best to shout even louder.

“And why can’t I speak as I want to? He is just some britannian brat who had everything given to him on a silver plate! He was acting all high and mighty, he is just like any other Britannian out there.” Naoto declared, ignoring the fact that his father was in fact a Britannian and he and his sister were half Britannian too.

Earl Stadtfeld was about to yell more when his wife intervened.

“Please, darling, that is enough. Let me talk with our boy.” She then turned to Naoto, he had a horrid scowl on his face. “Son, what is wrong? I thought you were better than this. You know how the words you just said could influence your father’s status, besides you were offered such a great chance so why don’t you wish to go into that city?”

“Because it is not needed. I get all the information and preparation I might need back in our school back home where all my friends are, Japanese friends, that truly are good people and not like Britannians at all.” Naoto said.

“‘Good people’? Naoto, you must be joking. Those friends of yours are mostly unemployed youngsters that are up to no good most of the time. The only ones of them who do something productive are Ohgi-kun who started working as Elementary-school teacher and Naomi-chan who is working in her parents flower-shop. The worst are that Tamaki boy and that Nagata man. Tamaki goes around with that cliche “bump into people, pretend a broken arm and then demand money or beat them up” scheme which he uses to bully and rob foreigners and that Nagata is a fanatic who has downright horrid views about foreigners.”

“I still refuse. I want to live like a great man much like how Madara-sama said a man must act, he is a symbol of true manliness and pride of the glorious Japanese name. Only those of Japanese blood and heritage are decent and good as all others are after our pride and power, that is the truth.” Naoto said with a strong devotion, making the mother and father horrified. They knew this type of behavior well, it was how many youngsters were turning out back in Japan for a while now and they were mostly all enlisted in the army under the Uchiha leadership. Most were fanatics and that Naoto was being so strongly influenced by Madara’s teachings was not a happy thought.

They feared Naoto might try that when he was of high enough age for it.

“Listen, and listen well.” Earl Stadtfeld moved, he was glaring right at his son who he could barely recognize anymore. “You are half Britannian, don’t forget that. My blood and the one from this nation runs through your veins no less than the Japanese blood is also a part of you. This opportunity is something that we cannot simply ignore, its impact for us is too big but before we can do this we must do what was requested of us. We have to return to Japan and arrange a meeting between the prince and the patriarchs, out futures depend on this.”

Meanwhile Kallen was watching it all from the side with sleepy eyes. She was rather young so she didn´t completely understand things but she could see that the relationship between her parents and her brother was getting worse. She didn´t like that at all, especially given that it seemed to be mostly the fault of others like that cute pirate-boy and this Madara-woman who her brother had pictures of in his room. (It had to be a woman. No man would wear their hair that long, right?)

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3 Months Later

Kallen’s P.O.V.

This is the academy father wanted me to enter, huh? It looks pretty but I don’t think I will like it that much, there are too many Britannians here and I still remember big brother and his friends telling me that no Britannian is to be trusted and they all are stuck up and no good at all. I still remember that I asked about father and my brother derisively laughed and explained to me that father should be embarrassed by us because we were half of a different culture that was much superior. Mother always yelled at big brother when he spoke of that, but big brother is so smart so he must be right.

I miss big brother, he left home with father to go back to Japan for the meeting with Mr. Sarutobi and Sumeragi. Before he left he had warned me to be careful of the people at my new school.

As I was thinking that I continued walking while trying not to look at others, I bet that if any of those from Britannia were to know that someone of great Japan was here they would gang up on me like the bunch of bullies brother taught me they were.

“Hey, are you a new student?” A cheerful voice said, suddenly drawing my attention to the source. It was a girl about my age with long orange hair in a ponytail and a bright smile on her face. “Your hair is so cool, it is just like the color of the superhero Mighty Man! I love that show, there are just so many good things in it, especially when they talk about JUSTICE.” The girl said happily.

What is wrong with this girl? She was just too excited about everything from what I can see and nothing like what brother told me all of her people were like.

No, this must be a ruse! No Britannian scum is any good, brother explained this to me well so I bet she is only being nice because she thinks I am Britannian as well.

“H-Hello, my name is Kallen. Kallen Stadtfeld. And no, I haven’t watched this show you said yet.” I said softly while pretending to be weak just as brother told me to. Pretend weakness to strike when needed, that is what brother said I should be like, but never to forget about the Japanese pride of doing anything to win!

Win against what I don’t know exactly, but maybe it is on some game I haven’t heard of yet. My brother wouldn’t say something to me if there was no reason after all.

“WHAT? You haven’t watched it yet? That is not good, not good at all! Here,” She said while taking out her backpack and opening it to show a lot of things in it, mostly action figures and a bunch of BlueRay discs. She took some of the disks out and shoved them in my arms. “You can watch them and give them back to me later. This is the entire first and second season, it is an amazing show about justice and I am sure you will love it as well! Oh, where are my manners? I almost forgot to introduce myself.” She said as she took a salute that honestly seemed a bit clumsy but was cute nonetheless with this excitable girl brimming with energy and cheerfulness. “My name is Seryu Ubiquitous, I am eight years old and my hobbies are watching hero shows and to train to one day become a great hero fighting for justice, I hate dishonesty and evil doers who inflict harm on the innocent. I hope we can be friends!”

… I didn’t know how to answer but I didn’t have to as suddenly a girl that was passing by yelled.

“Hey, why are you hogging all the fun?” A girl said loudly, she has magenta hair, which is done in the most unique style as its ends encircling her neck like pincers, while the rest frames her face and her bangs stop just above her eyes. She has a pretty face but with a devilish smile and an expression of someone looking for mischief. “I thought you would not go cause any problems without the great Roxxane the Immortal there.” The girl said with fake hurt tone, it was so fake that anyone could see that it was false.

“W-W-What? I was just wanting to talk to her, I didn’t want to make you cry. Please don’t cry, if you do I can’t be a hero as no hero of justice must make those around him sad.” Seryu said tearing up a bit.

“I, I will stop only if you give me your pudding later during lunch.” The girl said while eyeing her friend.

“Sure I wi-”

“Don’t go being an idiot, idiot.” A new voice said, it was from a more petite girl with short hair and red eyes. “You should stop trying to wriggle your way into getting more pudding or you will get fat. Besides, how are you ‘immortal’ anyway? You are just playing around and speaking nonsense.”

“I am not speaking ‘nonsense’! I am a immortal because I always recover super fast from any wounds and will survive anything that life throws at me. Also, I will not get fat at all, when I grow older I will be buxom and pretty to the point all boys will run around after me. You should go back to drink more milk as otherwise you will forever look like you are now, but then again you being the shortest of our class would always remain true in all fronts, or backs as well.”

“S-S-Shut up, I will grow to be much prettier than you will Roxxane or my name isn’t Charles Bonaparte.” The now named Charles Bonaparte yelled before turning to me. “Hey, don’t go listening to any of this nonsense this fat chicken tells you to. And also, why did you wait so long to enter the academy? I heard you were invited before most of us and you only entered it now, that is so weird.”

“Well, my father had to deal with a lot of things and brother did not want to come over here at all.” And neither did I, I heard my brother explaining this city and nation to me so I feel like someone would come and kill me or at least steal my lunch if I were to lose focus for even a second.

“Heh, why not?” Seryu asked. “This city is amazing and it is super safe, no terrorists can even hope to step foot in this place and we get the best education there is as well as a chance to save others later on. My Father was extremly happy about the fact that I got an offer for education in this City.”

Huh? What does she mean by that?

“Seryu! Why are you stopping a new student like that for no good reason!” The new girl said, she looked like a typical Britannian with long curly blond hair and deep blue eyes.

“Sorry, president Mably. I didn’t intend on causing problems, I just wanted to meet the new student of our class.” Seryu said sheepishly.

“It still is not an excuse. As part of nobility yourself you should carry yourself so as to help others when needed instead of causing problems and imposing on others out of nowhere. And as for you two, you two should also be in class or do I need to call Chiffon to teach you both good manners?” Roxxane and Charles both shivered a bit as both nodded and bolted away, whoever this Chiffon person is she must be qute scary. The new girl then turned to me and gave a respectful bow that look so elegant that made me jealous. “I appologize for Seryu’s actions, she is too excitable and not right in her head from time to time. Please don’t think that all of us from our class arejust like the three you saw just now. It is just that our class still doesn’t have all that many students and we had heard so much of you that we wanted to meet you for a while now so they must have come to meet you sooner.” The girl explained.

Wait, does that mean they know I am a half-Japanese? But, if so, why are they treating me well?

Looking at my face she must have understood what I was thinking as the girl giggled a little.

“You shouldn’t think too much about that. We here in this city are quite different from those of other places, here discrimination is forbidden and we respect other cultures or groups as long as they don’t act against us. So much so that some of the new students of the academy are not even nobles or Britannians, for instance some of them were nobles related to Numbers like Roxxane and Charles or even completely Numbers, but here we all have the same stand at the base and the only thing that defines how high you can reach here is your abilities and talent. Even if you don’t have talent, as long as you put in the effort you can still become someone important and live in luxury with your family by your side in this city.” The girl said. “Now welcome, to the genius class of the female-only institution, the Pandora Academy. You can call me Elizabeth Mably by the way.”

“K-Kallen Stadtfeld.” I said embarrassedly. Looking at this girl I can’t help but feel slightly inferior.

The girl was about to say something but she suddenly went beet red and didn’t know where to look as someone approached me from the back. Turning to see it was a boy with pale blond, almost white hair and a pretty face, he had a bearing of a warrior despite being just as young as we were, possibly younger, but I couldn’t look down on him at all as I remember that he was the person who led my family to the meeting between father and Prince Ciel.

“Lady Mably, I apologize for the inconvenience but my master requested me to come and watch over the situation of the Pandora Academy to see if everything was okay as there will be some guests later today and he wants to be sure everything is in order beforehand.” The boy said in an elegant manner.

“I-I understand, L-Lord Troyad. Please come this way.” Elizabeth said while indicating to walk together. It was actually kind of funny seeing her try and get the boy’s attention and getting closer to him but it was clear to me that the boy was either not interested in being friends with her or was too serious about his mission.

Now that I think about it, I wonder what that Britannian prince wants. If what I saw while getting in is true and what I heard is the reality then this entire city is pretty much a fortress. And that is not to forget that this institution is one of those where the security is the highest and if they want to double check the security the person that is coming must be quite important.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was later after class and I have one conclusion for it.

Hell exists.

Fuck those who think religion is stupid and that Christianity is wrong, this class alone is proof enough that Hell exists and the moment we were released from it and entered the cafeteria I understood that Heaven is also real. The place was highly decorated and classy while remaining accomodating, there were four long tables with from what I saw were maybe a hundred students sitting at them, the tables themselves were filled with plates of delicious looking and smelling food.

“Amazing.” I could not help but say, my mouth filling with food as it all tasted so good that it was unbelievable.

“It is, isn’t it?” A Japanese girl said, she was a bit taller than me and was probably one or two years older but she didn’t appear threatening at all. She had short brown hair, very closed eyes, and a smile that seemed fake and true at the same time. “Oh, where are my maners? My name is Chiffon, Chiffon Fairchild and the girl beside me is Ticy Phenyl. I hope we can become friends.” Chiffon said, it was just now that I noticed another girl besides her who looked really pretty with long black hair and a cute face, she also seemed to not be from Britania or had mixed blood like me.

“I-It is a p-p-p-pleasure meeting you.” Ticy said, her last words almost a yelp as I could sense that if left as it is she would likely run away here and there.

“Good girl, god girl. I knew you could do it.” Chiffon said as she petted Ticy’s head. She then turned to me as if asking me to introduce myself too.

“My name is Kallen Stadtfeld. It is a pleasure meeting you.” I said.

Chiffon nodded as she sat beside me and Ticyl on the other side. We ate in silence but after a while, I could not resist anymore.

“Why are the two of you here?”

“And what would that mean exactly?” Chiffon asked, her smile creeping me out a bit.

“I mean, you two don’t seem purely Britannian so why are the two of you in a Britannia city and studying here while being so calm about it. Normally, shouldn’t you be unable to even enter an academy like this if you are not pureblood nobles?”

“Oh, that. I get it now, you don’t know how this city and academy works.” Chiffon said warmly, Ticyl laughed on the side and I had to admit that her laugh was a bit cute. Chiffon then explained to me about this city and how it actually works. How she and roughly a third of the others here are not pure Britannians or some who don’t even have a drop of Britanian blood in them, but all are equal here. “An example is her,” Chiffon said while pointing to Charles. “She was the daughter of a French friend of count Spencer. She was accepted here even if she is just adopted and is of equal standings to anyone else here, another example would be me. I am someone the Fairchild family adopted on Japan to help cement their position as good-natured and friendly to the nation, but I am pretty sure that when war breaks out I would be discarded. We all have stories here, but we really want to be friends with you Kallen.”

Ticyl nodded and I could not help but wonder if I could at least try. I mean, they don’t look as bad as brother told me all those of filthy blood are so it shouldn’t be so bad. Now that I am looking around I can see that everyone here doesn’t seem so bad at all.

There are the girls I talked to in the morning, Seryu was watching what looked like a tonkatsu on her phone which looked more advanced than any other I’d seen in my life while Charles and Roxxane were disputing about pretty much anything they can. Together with them was another girl, she has green hair, tied up on the back of her head creating two flat ponytails with two hair strands come down behind both her ears and three bangs covering her forehead with separations in-between them above both of her brown tinted eyes, this girl was trying her best to calm down the nerves of the others in the table to no avail. The last girl was someone who had white hair reaching her back with just one bang being crimson in her forehead, she was quite seriously studying her books and the others were not disturbing her at all.

Chiffon spoke up again.

“How about I introduce you to our friends in class? Let’s see.

Well, first is our year. You already know Charles, Seryu, and Roxanne, on the same table there are miss Cassie Lockheart who is quite a kind but strong girl who is very talented in combat but dislikes it very much and finally miss Amelia Evans, she is the least talented amongst us all but is so dedicated in improving that an exception was made for her to enter this class even if she didn’t fulfill all the requirements. Then there is Weiss Schnee, she is a very wealthy heiress and one of the students for General Ironwoods Hunter-unit. Though don’t mention her father she doesn´t like that man very much. Her friends are the blonde girl Yang and her little sister Ruby who is a year below us, both are also planning to join the Hunter-unit. Also, there is Nora Valkyrie who is the one eating the mountain of Pancakes, she is a bit weird but a rather nice person even if airheaded most of the time.

“Over there are the Twins Erza and Elsa. Their parents lost all their relatives in wars and, because of that, the Twins became the sole heirs to the titles of both their parents’ families. Erza being the Scarlett heir and Elsa being the Knightwalker heir. They are sitting with a purely Japanese student named Kagura Mikazuchi, she has a half-brother over in the boys’ academy who is the heir of his family. Then there are Minerva Orland who is originated from the Chinese Federation and who is getting a stipend from Prince Ciel to attend here due to the poverty of her own family, much like a few of the others now that I think about it. The prince wants to make those who can do best reach their best for what I heard.

“Overall, we all have our quirks but I hope we can get along.”

I looked with astonishment at the various students with so many different backgrounds.

Overall, this place doesn’t really remind me of how brother described how this school would be like at all. Maybe I was worrying over being bullied or ignored for nothing.

No, Kallen, you must remember that brother has to have some reason for his words. Otherwise, he would be a bad person who is bullying others instead of the hero that he is.

It was at this moment that a commotion started and from the door of the cafeteria a new group of people entered. There were a total of five people entering the place.

The first was Elyzabeth, she was leading the group inside as she sneaked glances at Slaine who was also present from time to time. I guess he is her first crush.

The other three, however, drew more of my attention, or to be more specific the other boy on this group. It was the Pirate-boy who father was called a Prince. Stupid father anyone wearing an eyepatch must be a pirate, movies don´t lie after all. But what drew my attention was how he was careful about leading a girl inside the room.

This girl had wavy brown hair, had to use the support of Ciel to walk while also using a cane and her eyes were closed but none of that diminished of her cuteness in the slightest. She was obviously trying her best to walk even as it was clear that she could barely take some steps but she held firm despite it all.

TRIP

It was at this moment that she tripped on her own feet and fell on the ground. Ciel desperately tried to raise her up but she stopped him.

“Please, I can do this.” the girl said and with much effort and using the support of the wall she managed to stand up. Ciel clearly was heartbroken seeing this.

“Please, Nunnally. This, we could wait some more before you begin classes. You still are recovering and we still need to figure out a way to treat your eyesight.” He said pleadingly, something that was nothing at all like the cool and detached way I thought he was three months ago.

“No, doctor Law said I was good enough to do this much without problems and I don’t want to inconvenience you more.” Nunnally said with a serious tone.

“But, but you don’t inconvenience me at all! I want you to be healthy again and-”

“Okay, that is enough.” The final girl said, standing between the two. She had her right arm covered in bandages but from the way she moved her arm it was clear that the wounds were already fading away, her hair was very short with some tuffs growing bigger than others and all in a pretty dark pink tone. She turned to Ciel. “Ciel, you don’t have to worry so much about Nunna, I will protect her and nothing will happen.” She then turned to Nunally. “And as for you-”

That was as far as he could go before she shut up as she saw Nunnally pouting in such a way that I could swear that anyone would bow to her in defeat seeing it. Shouldn’t such a cute expression be a crime already?

“… Fine, you were right. Now please go back to normal.” The girl said in which Nunnally relaxed and smiled.

“Great, now take me to meet our new classmates, sister Marrybell.” Nunnally said to Marrybell who nodded and started directing the blind girl around.

I could see that Ciel was looking at the pair with extreme worry in his eyes and whenever he thought Nunnally would hit anything or get wounded in any way he would almost jump out of his skin to protect her. It was a side of him that I never imagined could exist, it actually reminded me a bit of Naoto before he began watching those speeches of Madara-sama (I looked that person up after the fight between my parents and Brother. Though I´m still astonished that Madara was not a woman given the long mane which he had.)

And so we continued enjoying our time, I guess I can get used to this school.