Chapter 266: Life Has Dreams, Each Splendid in Their Own Way
"All of this is nonsense! Does that mean it's justified for that person to be bullied by Britannians?!"
Kallen couldn't help but raise her voice.
Yotsuba Mahiro's argument could be described as utterly merciless—not only devoid of compassion but even implying the victim was at fault!
However, her outburst caught the attention of those young men nearby.
"Huh? What's your problem over there?"
A young man with gel-styled hair looked at them disdainfully and approached with his companions.
"What, are you two sympathizing with those Elevens over there?"
"Got it wrong, haven't you? They probably want to join us instead?"
"Oh? Look at this—it's a young lady from the private Ashford Academy, haha."
"Seriously? In that case, if she wants to join us later, that cute little lady will have to keep me company."
The group acted no different from street thugs, even going so far as to verbally harass Kallen, pushing her anger to an unbelievable level.
But before she could take action, Mahiro stepped forward and spoke:
"Is this really wise? Are you certain you want this young lady to accompany you? Do you know who she is?"
"Hah? Isn't she just some young master from Ashford? What's so impressive about that! My family has connections with the Viceroy's Palace!"
One of them boasted arrogantly.
The others joined in laughing.
Although Honorary Britannians held low status, akin to stray dogs on the street, those who dared to openly bully Elevens in such a place naturally had some background backing them.
"What if she's from the Stadtfeld family? Kallen Stadtfeld, the young lady of the Stadtfeld house—how would you handle that?"
"Huh? Stadtfeld? Who's that? Are they tougher than our boss?"
No sooner had these words been spoken than the thug who uttered them received a sharp slap to the back of his head.
"Shut up, you idiot! That's the Stadtfeld family, one of the Empire's eight great noble houses!"
As their leader said this, cold sweat nearly dripped down his forehead.
How could he have been so unlucky to encounter the young lady of the Stadtfeld family and even harass her just moments ago!
While his family did hold some influence, it was nothing compared to genuine nobility—not even worth a fart!
As for whether she might be an imposter, there was no need for doubt.
First, the young lady of the Stadtfeld family was indeed named Kallen and was a student at the private Ashford Academy.
Second, the head of the Stadtfeld family had fiery red hair...
Thus, every characteristic matched the girl before them—who else could she be if not that young lady?
Moreover, who would dare to impersonate a member of the Stadtfeld family in the Tokyo Settlement of Area Eleven?!
Risking their life for a mere Eleven? Unthinkable!
"Hmph, you got lucky today. We'll let this Eleven off the hook for now. Let's go!"
After weighing the pros and cons, the leader snorted coldly and immediately led his group away, choosing to retreat.
They didn't even dare to look back, fleeing the scene as if escaping for their lives.
"See? This is what they mean by 'every snake has its path'—when encountering a powerful dragon like you crossing the river, even the local snakes will voluntarily make way."
Nonsense like "a strong dragon shouldn't suppress local snakes" is pure bullshit. If you can't suppress the local snakes, it just proves the dragon isn't strong enough!
It's just like big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp.
Has anyone ever seen shrimp eating big fish?
Kallen fell silent.
For the first time, she discovered that the identity she had once loathed and hated could be so useful. Without even throwing a punch, she could make those bastards who bullied Japanese people stop and slink away with their tails between their legs.
If she could properly utilize this identity, then wouldn't that mean...
As this thought occurred to her, Kallen's eyes gradually brightened, as if she had pushed open a door to a new world.
"Better not dream such unreachable dreams."
Mahiro immediately poured cold water on the girl's aspirations.
He saw through Kallen's thoughts at a glance, then continued in a leisurely, flippant tone: "If you want to use power to liberate Area Eleven, just being from one of the Eight Great Noble Houses isn't enough. At minimum, you'd need to be Britannian royalty—one of those princes or princesses who can become colonial governors."
And it would require paying no small price.
Kallen also understood that she was indeed being somewhat fanciful.
But the moment Mahiro finished speaking, she saw this man snap his fingers lightly again.
Snap—
The few hooligans fleeing in the distance were instantly and silently decomposed into dust.
Not even the passersby noticed.
They only smelled a strange burnt odor and saw a patch of dust on the ground.
But Kallen saw everything clearly.
"What?"
She fixed her gaze on Mahiro, seeing his casual demeanor, and asked: "Didn't you just say 'mice have their paths, snakes have their routes'? Then what was that just now?"
She didn't care about the lives of those Britannian bastards, and this wasn't the first time she'd seen Yotsuba Mahiro's killing methods, so there was nothing to be surprised about.
Right now, she only wanted to know and understand Yotsuba Mahiro's true thoughts!
To this, Mahiro simply revealed a faint smile and said:
"Letting them go was only because of the conflict regarding ELEVEN. But those guys dared to verbally harass my lovely student—that's naturally a different account altogether."
"Moreover, what I just taught you was only to show you that everything in this world operates according to its own rules."
"But similarly, there are those who make the rules, and those who don't need to follow rules—people powerful enough to trample over rules."
"And I happen to belong to the latter category."
"Then I want to become the latter too," Kallen said without hesitation.
"You?" Mahiro glanced at Kallen briefly upon hearing this and shook his head. "You can't do it."
"Why? Just because you have that mysterious power?"
"Yes, but not entirely."
Facing Kallen's questioning, Mahiro only gave an ambiguous answer: "To trample over rules, at minimum you need to possess the power to break and overthrow them."
"Break and overthrow rules..."
Kallen carefully chewed on these words and phrases.
Though her persona was that of a sickly young lady, and as Kallen Kōzuki she did act quite recklessly, she was actually quite intelligent, ranking among the top students in her school.
Therefore, while pondering this statement repeatedly, Kallen had already begun to grasp something.
The existing world order was established by Britannia. If one wanted to break these rules, it would be equivalent to overthrowing Britannia.
And this man claimed to possess the power to trample over rules.
Did that mean...
He had the power to overthrow one of the three great superpowers—Britannia?!
At this realization, Kallen turned back in astonishment, wanting to ask more questions, only to see Mahiro walking toward the shop assistant who had just been punched.
"Are you okay?"
"Y...yes."
By the time he reached the shop assistant, the latter had already staggered to his feet.
However, the shop assistant first noticed Kallen who had followed behind. Seeing her uniform, he showed surprise, then noticed the Ashford Academy emblem on her chest.
"A...a Britannian student..."
The shop assistant quickly hid the pain on his face, replacing it with an obsequious smile.
"Welcome! Would you like a California hot dog?"
Witnessing how quickly the shop assistant changed his expression, even Kallen couldn't help but twitch her brow slightly.
Then, the shop assistant noticed Yotsuba Mahiro who had first spoken to him. Seeing his equally high-end clothing, youthful handsome appearance, and his companionship with this female student, he said:
"Ah... so you're with your boyfriend? If you don't mind, why not buy two to share? Our shop also has specialty ice cream, available in couple sets."
The shop assistant's pale face maintained an almost fawning smile throughout.
Just as Yotsuba Mahiro had said earlier, these people had abandoned their dignity to follow the way of rats.
To survive, even when insulted and bullied, they wouldn't resist, only continuing to beg for mercy from their oppressors while living in humble humility.
Kallen bit her lower lip tightly, as if wanting to say something.
But Mahiro stepped forward at that moment, gently putting his arm around Kallen's shoulders, and said to the bowing-and-scraping shop assistant:
"Then give us two hot dogs and two ice creams, thank you."
"Ah, thank you for your patronage! Please wait a moment!"
The shop assistant didn't even bother to wipe off the stains on his clothes, hurriedly preparing two couple-set ice creams and two hot dogs from the stall, specially arranged in romantic pairs, then respectfully handed them to Yotsuba Mahiro.
Mahiro took out money, left a "keep the change" comment, and led the dazed Kallen away from the place.
Settling on a bench in a nearby park, Mahiro shoved an ice cream into Kallen's hand before starting to eat his hot dog by himself.
Hmm, not bad tasting actually.
Though compared to the bread-wrapped hot dog with sausage, ketchup and mustard, he preferred the beef taco made with corn tortillas.
However, by the time he had finished both hot dogs and even devoured his own portion of ice cream, Kallen hadn't taken a single bite of the ice cream in her hand.
She let it slowly melt, the cream trickling down, flowing through her pale fingers, and eventually dripping onto the ground.
Drip, drip.
Gradually forming a milky puddle.
"You should eat your ice cream now, or it'll melt completely. Besides, if you don't eat it soon, passersby might think I've done something to you."
With a despondent expression, there was a small milky puddle right beneath the space between her legs under her uniform skirt.
Doesn't this look rather unusual no matter how you see it?
Naturally, as soon as Mahiro said this, Kallen snapped back to reality, glaring at him with a mix of embarrassment and anger, then picked up the melted ice cream and began eating it.
But what should have been a delightfully sweet ice cream melted in her mouth into a bitter taste.
"Hey, Sensei, why do you think this is happening?"
"Hmm, yes, why indeed."
Mahiro leaned back in his chair, watching Kallen sink into dejection again, and couldn't resist teasing: "Even though I, as your teacher, haven't done anything, I'm being treated as if I've done something to my student..."
"Can you please stop talking about this!"
Kallen flushed crimson and snapped angrily, then used her shoe to kick up a bit of dust, covering the milky puddle beneath her legs.
Seeing her little actions, Mahiro suppressed his laughter and replied, "Alright, alright, I won't mention it anymore."
But then, he gazed at the towering skyscrapers surrounding them and looked up at the clear blue sky overhead.
"Present-day Area Eleven is probably much more prosperous than Japan used to be, right?"
Mahiro murmured thoughtfully:
"Although the Britannians abandoned some parts of Japanese land without developing them, under their colonial rule, whether it's military, economy, or public safety, everything has become more stable than before.
People have also gained citizenship rights—just go through the procedures at the district government office, and you can become an Honorary Britannian.
However, all this was achieved at the cost of their original dignity... But when it comes down to it, as a defeated nation, they're essentially a conquered people anyway. What dignity is there left to discuss?"
These words sounded particularly harsh to Kallen's ears.
But she understood that they were undoubtedly true, and she never believed that pre-war Japan was all that wonderful either.
Kallen's gaze turned to the boulevard where a parent was anxiously scolding their child not to play at being ZERO, then she asked:
"And then?"
"What do you mean 'and then'?"
"Since you understand this, as Yotsuba Mahiro-sensei who has witnessed everything about Britannia, and as Shadow, leader of Shadow Garden—what exactly do you think? What do you want to do?"
"Is this an interrogation?"
Mahiro chuckled lightly as he looked at the girl beside him.
"This is just casual conversation. I want to know your thoughts, Sensei."
Kallen was also watching him, their eyes meeting.
"Alright then. Truth is, I don't have any particular thoughts, and I don't want to do anything either."
Mahiro admitted frankly, continuing under Kallen's shocked gaze:
"Ultimately, didn't these people make these choices themselves? The so-called 'wise ones' thought fearless resistance against the strong was dangerous and foolish, so they didn't hesitate to sell out their country, their homeland, to the invaders.
As for the weak, they simply want to survive. Like that ELEVEN earlier who understood perfectly well—only by bowing and currying favor with Britannians could they live comfortably.
They themselves abandoned their courage, gave up resistance. So why should I do anything to help them?"
"Then... then what was the meaning of establishing Shadow Garden and revealing yourself to the world that day?!" Kallen almost trembled as she asked this question.
"Just a whim. I did it because it seemed fun, including the cooperation with ZERO."
This answer shocked Kallen deeply. She had still held some hope and expectations for Yotsuba Mahiro, but this bastard's answer turned out to be like this.
Could it be that everything happening now was just an entertaining game to him?!!!
Slap!
A crisp sound suddenly rang out.
Coming to her senses, Kallen found she had stood up from her chair, but her wrist was tightly gripped by Mahiro, with such force that she felt some pain.
At the same time, Mahiro's cold voice drifted over.
"What's this? Hearing my true thoughts made you so angry you want to hit me?"
"Let go of me! Yes, that's right, I want to hit you, beat some sense into you, you bastard! Do you think this is cool!? Acting like some critic, only seeing the distorted side of the world!"
Kallen shouted with sorrowful anger, struggling with all her might.
But it was utterly useless, just like the powerlessness of ELEVEN being bullied by Britannia.
Only when Mahiro relaxed his grip could she withdraw her hand, but her wrist was already red and swollen from being squeezed.
However, Kallen paid no attention to this, merely glaring furiously at Yotsuba Mahiro—her teacher, and this man she had mistakenly considered a comrade.
Facing Kallen's angry shouts, Mahiro simply smiled indifferently.
"You think I only see the distorted side of the world? I'd say you haven't seen enough, Kallen Stadtfeld."
Whether it's the Black Bullet world, the Kill la Kill world, or the Eminence in Shadow world.
Or this current world.
Ultimately, aren't all these worlds the same? Like some massive makeshift theater troupe.
What difference is there?
"[Life has dreams, each with their own brilliance], Kallen. You might not understand the meaning of these words yet, but I think you'll soon know... Your ideas aren't wrong, but you can't force your ideas onto others either. That's just the lowest form of moral coercion.
Better to use your actions to inspire those who have become numb, awaken them.
Just like what ZERO is doing, just like what the Black Knights are doing."
Mahiro spoke quietly, and Kallen fell silent because of these words.
But the next second, Mahiro suddenly stood up and changed the subject:
"Alright, next up is a home visit to your place."
Kallen: "?"
The girl slowly typed a question mark, looking at him in confusion.
How did the topic jump to a home visit? And from his tone, it seemed he intended to visit the Stadtfeld Family?!
Meanwhile, Mahiro still wore that eternal, unchanging smile, as if nothing had just happened, and said:
"Don't look so surprised. In fact, this was my original purpose for coming out today—I just happened to run into you on the way, Kallen."
After speaking, Mahiro turned and walked away, beckoning for Kallen to follow quickly.
Watching his retreating figure, Kallen gritted her teeth in frustration, silently cursing:
"This self-willed bastard!"
But in the end, she still chose to follow him.