81 Chapter 79 ~ Backstory

Flash.

Yuuji clenched his eyes tightly from the brilliant light that blinded him as soon as he and his friends all decided to start the mission.

"Nngh…"

"M-My head… I-It hurts…"

Tatsuya and an unfamiliar man's groans resounded from his side as Yuuji slowly blinked his eyes repeatedly, adjusting his sight to his surroundings.

Having experienced the intense headache from years upon years of memories that was given by the Group Chat for the mission rushing into his mind and his immense pain tolerance, Yuuji only felt a bit unpleasant. But for the two, who were experiencing it for the first time, it proved to be much worse.

Even with Tatsuya's innate pain tolerance from being a super soldier in his world and Satoru having his own SSR, the throbbing headache their transfer and memories rushing into their mind was still a bit too much.

"Are you two okay…?"

"Yes… I'm fine…"

"Y-Yes… It's getting better."

The three slowly began taking in their surroundings.

The first thing they saw once their vision returned was an immense, luxurious, and grand hall in the style of a modern, European, royal palace with a massive, jeweled chandeliers, luxurious sofas, an elegant marble table with gold gilded along its rim, and a massive television.

It was… a sight to behold. It was almost on par with the one Yuuji and Aika owned in Tatsuya's world. The only difference being a difference in the technology.

"T-This is… Amazing… Where are we…?"

The unfamiliar man's voice slightly echoed from the sheer size of what looks to be the living room of a royal palace.

This was the most luxurious sight he had seen in his life… At least in "reality". He had seen much more stupendous sight in his "home", but this was still a truly wondrous sight to behold in real life.

"This… must be the residence given to us by the group chat."

"R-Really? B-But why is it so big…?"

"It is because of Yuuji's wealth, Satoru-san. He and Aika also got a luxurious mansion on par with this one when they came to my world. And with the rewards he received from his previous mission, I'd imagine his wealth had increased once more."

Tatsuya surmised, still admiring his surroundings in both awe and surprise.

"O-Oh… That's right… Yuuji-kun got massive amounts of shares in a large company in his world… So the riches in his world translates to the level of luxury of the residence and the amount of assets he got during the mission, huh?"

"Yes. The mission gives him assets equal to 60% of his wealth."

"That's amazing…"

Satoru glanced towards Yuuji secretly, looking at him in both admiration and shock.

As someone who had been… mediocre his whole life, if he was being generous, he couldn't even begin to wrap his head around how someone this young could have this amount of riches.

Yuuji noticed Satoru's gaze and smiled helplessly.

"It's all thanks to the group chat, Satoru-san. Without it, I'm just a normal high school student. So please don't think too much of it."

"A-Ah, uhn… I understand."

The black-haired man in his early thirties let out a weak, awkward laugh before Yuuji approached him and gave out his hand for a handshake.

"It is nice to finally meet you, Satoru-san. Please take care of me from now on."

He felt his heart skip a beat when he looked down to the hand Yuuji gave him.

Just… how many times in his life had he ever been given such a friendly handshake.

Perhaps never in his real life… He was a loner in school, quiet to the point that he was treated like air. And in his work life, he still kept to his lonesome, choosing to spend every second of his free time in Yggdrasil.

It was only in Yggdrasil that he had ever been given such a friendly handshake. And memories of it began to flash across his mind.

Touch Me giving his hand to him after saving him. Peroroncino grabbed his hand for a handshake in excitement when he hinted at his interest for a woman's behind. Ulbert shaking his hands and thanking him for helping him with a raid.

All of his friends… the ones who built the only thing he'd call his "home"... Such warmth…

He could feel it from the hand Yuuji was giving him.

"Satoru-san…?"

"A-Ah, it's nice to finally meet you too, Yuuji-kun! Please take care of me as well."

Satoru quickly took Yuuji's hand and shook it. And a newfound admiration for Yuuji was born in his mind.

Wow… Why does it feel like I'm shaking the hand of a boss of a massive company…

"It is nice to finally meet you as well, Satoru-san. Let's do our best in this mission."

"A-Ah, yes. Tatsuya-kun, please take care of me as well."

Satoru shook Tatsuya's hands as well and… felt a bit more comfortable. Though Tatsuya was handsome in his own right, and definitely more handsome than himself, Satoru felt a bit intimidated by Yuuji's appearance and charisma, even though he was very friendly.

"Now then. Shall we talk about what we got first?"

Tatsuya suggested.

"Sure!"

"Alright. You guys go ahead and take a seat on the couch over there. I'll prepare some tea. I have a feeling it'll be a pretty long one."

Tatsuya and Satoru nodded and headed to the couches before them, right under the chandelier at the center of the massive "living room" of the mansion while Yuuji searched for the kitchen and prepared tea.

The moment they sat, Satoru let out a sigh of relief and comfort as the luxuriously soft, maroon cushion seemed to embrace his entire body. For him, who was used to his stiff, no-longer cushioned office chair, this was equivalent to sitting on heavenly clouds.

Perhaps if he could feel the sensation of the chairs in Nazarick's main meeting room, this would be how it feels.

"Satoru-san, I shall be contacting Lelouch and tell him of our arrival."

"A-Ah, yes. Thank you for doing it."

Satoru snapped out of his momentary trance caused simply from sitting down on the couch and replied.

"Of course."

Soon, Yuuji returned with a tray of freshly brewed tea in a beautiful, vintage, European, ceramic teapot and three ceramic glasses. Steam rose from the beautiful, delicious-looking golden liquid as the sweet smell of jasmine wafted into their nose.

"Here you go."

"Ah, thank you, Yuuji-kun."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Yuuji placed the tray onto the ceramic table, set one glass in front of Tatsuya, one in front of Satoru, and one in front of his seat before sitting down.

"Tatsuya, did you contact Lelouch?"

"Yes. He said we could discuss amongst ourselves first since he didn't want to talk about… this through the phone. He also said that we could meet tomorrow after school in his dormitories since it's already late."

"Oh, that's right… You and I will start attending Ashford Academy starting tomorrow too, right?"

"That's right."

"Alright… We'll need to ask Lelouch where it is. And considering the size of this mansion, I don't think it's in the middle of the city or near the academy. So we need to arrange transport as well…"

Yuuji held his chin as he began to contemplate out loud.

This was also the case with his mansion in Tatsuya's world. It was located on the outskirts of the city. But thankfully, First High was still within walking distance for him and Aika, so they never had any problem.

But now, he didn't know his current exact location nor the location of Ashford Academy, since it was never mentioned in the anime. So, he needed to consider the worst.

He could cast the spell that would make both of them invisible and fly there easily. But with the level of technology here, he didn't want to risk getting caught in a CCTV camera when he dispelled their invisibility.

The most safe thing would be to go there normally, but the distance might cause a problem if they don't have a car or a bike.

This might be something he'd need to prepare for…

If there's no car or bike here, then I might need to buy one as soon as possible…

It would be a simple matter since he had 60% of his total wealth here.

"Before anything else, shall we discuss our backgrounds and geass first?"

Tatsuya suggested.

"O-Of course."

"Ah, yes. Of course. Then… Shall I start first?"

Tatsuya and Satoru nodded.

"Alright. Then, let's start with my geass first. My geass allows me to negate the activation and use of any and all geass within my field of vision."

Both men widened their eyes in surprise the moment they heard it.

To negate all activation and use of all geass within his field of vision… That might make even Lelouch's geass of absolute obedience, which required eye contact, useless before him.

Not to mention geass such as Mao's. He would be able to nullify the effect and activation of any geass as long as they're within his field of vision.

To Tatsuya and Satoru who had lived their lives surrounded by magic, real or not, they immediately equated Yuuji's geass to an anti-magic spell or ability.

"That's… amazing."

Satoru muttered in amazement, his mind immediately considering the impact of such power if it existed in Yggdrasil.

It'd be totally broken!!! If someone could cancel any and all magic effects in sight, then he'd be reported for cheating a million times over!!!

A truly game breaking power, and even more so in a reality with magic.

"Note, however, that it doesn't erase the effect of a geass."

"I see… So you won't be able to erase, for instance, the effect of Lelouch's geass on a person if he had cast it before entering your field of vision."

"Correct."

Tatsuya nodded in understanding. His lips curling into a small smile at the pleasant prospect.

"It's still amazing. It'd be extremely useful when we deal with geass users in the future."

"It is. Then as for my background… Well, just like my background in Tatsuya's world, it's not all that pleasant…"

Yuuji then began summarizing the background and memories he received from the group chat.

"There was once a genius scientist and engineer who spearheaded the development of Britannia's best knightmare frames. He developed the knightmare frames that would come to be used by the Knight of the Rounds. Masterpieces after masterpieces. But even among these masterpieces, there stood one that was beyond any other.

He named it after the legendary sword of promised victory, Excalibur. It was meant to be the knightmare frame of the Knight of One, the greatest of the Knight of the Rounds. But even he wasn't able to utilize it.

Thus, the Excalibur stayed not wielded. Unable to be wielded. And it was lost after he reached his end under the angry swords and guns of those he oppressed."

Tatsuya narrowed his eyes as Satoru slightly tilted his head confusedly at the sudden turn of the story.

"He was an extreme purist, a man who believed that everything in this world belongs under the rule of the Holy Britannian Empire. That all "numbers" should kowtow and shout out their gratitude for being ruled by his superior race. That the notion of being slaved to them was an honor and greatest happiness.

His masterpieces were tools created solely for the purpose of destroying nations and killing those who dared to stand against the Holy Britannian Empire.

And with his charisma and influence, he gathered many followers that shared his belief, and indoctrinated even more. Even now, after his death, some still endured, holding onto his radical beliefs, and became a faction known as the Purists Faction within Britannia. His name, Arthur von Morningstar, was worshiped by them.

He was my "father". And I'm supposed to be "Alexander von Morningstar", the son of this terrible excuse of a human being. And the one who caused the death of his own father and his followers."

Yuuji let out a sigh and leaned back to the couch with a 'thump', completely losing his energy from telling such a depressing story…

Silence fell unto them as Tatsuya and Satoru still trying to process his… heavy story.

"...That's quite the story."

"Yeah… It's even worse when you have the memory of it playing in your mind like some sort of movie you can't look away from."

Yuuji shook his head tiredly.

"Yuuji-kun…"

Satoru looked at the young man before him with pity. Although it was simply the "setting" and the background given to him so he could "fit" in this world, it was still… depressing to hear.

He didn't know what to say to make him feel better… Perhaps if it was Touch Me or Bukubukuchagama, they'd know. They've always made people who were troubled feel better.

"...So, should we call you Alexander from now on? At least in this world."

"Yes. At least in public. And if the need for me to reveal that I'm the one who killed the greatest racist person in the world came, "Alexander von Morningstar".

But in private… I'd like to still be referred to as "Tsubakihara Yuuji."

"Understood."

"A-Alright."

Yuuji took a sip of his tea, trying to wash away the unpleasantness of "recalling" such depressing memories, and turned towards Tatsuya.

"Tatsuya, shall we go to you next?"

Tatsuya nodded.

"Yes. My geass allow me to experience what the person I'm using it on was feeling."

He said with a calm smile.

Yuuji and Satoru froze for a moment before their expression morphed into that of happiness and excitement.

"T-That's… isn't that amazing?! Tatsuya-kun!"

"Yes! That means you can feel emotions once again! Even if it was for a moment, it will let you feel these emotions. And maybe… you can even regain them in the future!!!"

Seeing the happiness overflowing from the two, Tatsuya couldn't help but smile. They were even happier than he was for this. So much so that even without using his new geass, their happiness was infectious enough to cause a pleasant feeling to grow within his cold heart.

"Mm… Perhaps. I hope so as well."

It was a hopeful thought. He didn't know how this would lead him to be able to regain his emotions when his innate ability to feel them was literally erased from his brain. But at least, it was a hope he didn't have before. And magic worked in wondrous ways, especially since it was magic from another world.

"As for my backstory… Well, it was fairly depressing as well."

In Tatsuya's backstory, his parents, Shiba Shirayuki and Shiba Haruto, were leaders of an independent resistance group that was supported and sponsored by the Japanese Government.

They were genius engineers, and they've been helping the Japanese Government, as well as several resistance groups, by building them knightmares and various other weapons and defenses to be used against the Britannians.

"They were working on a mobile headquarters that could be used as a mobile hanger for several knightmares and a lab for research and development of knightmare frames. And "coincidentally", they also found the knightmare your "father made, Yuuji, the Excalibur, in a heavily damaged state."

Tatsuya turned towards Yuuji, who's eyes widened in shock at the revelation.

"They tried fixing it in hopes that it could be used as their ace in their fight against Britannia, but no one was able to use it. Thus, it stayed unused inside their headquarters."

He continued.

"They completed the mobile headquarters, but when they were about to use it to launch a counterattack, their resistance group was found and annihilated by the purist faction. The only thing they managed to save was this headquarters and me."

A heavy silence fell upon them once again.

But this time, it didn't last long as Tatsuya broke it himself.

"Yuuji, I believe that the "Excalibur" and this mobile headquarters my "parents" made were the supporting items promised to us by the Chat Group."

His voice was as calm as ever.

It seemed like only Yuuji and Satoru were the only ones bothered by his "backstory".

"...Yes, I believe so as well. But I really didn't expect the Chat Group to give it to us… like this."

Yuuji shook his head tiredly. Even if the Chat Group wants to justify their existence here and the existence of their supporting items, giving them such terrible memories was still a bit much, wasn't it?

"Uhm… I think my backstory is greatly entwined with Tatsuya's."

"Eh? Really?"

Yuuji turned towards Satoru with surprise in his eyes. On the other hand, Tatsuya simply nodded. He had received memories about Satoru as well, but decided not to mention it and gave Satoru a chance to say it himself.

"Yes. I actually worked with Tatsuya's "parents" by helping manage the people there… Thanks to my geass, which lets me see someone's name, age, skills, strengths, weaknesses, a snippet of their backstory, and their current thoughts like a game's status screen, I'm in charge of filtering through their ranks and making sure that there were only trustworthy people in their group."

"I see…"

The obvious usefulness of Satoru's geass was beyond apparent to anyone who knew of it.

And normally, Yuuji would've immediately tried to incorporate such a powerful ability into his plans for completing the mission.

But this time, his thoughts traveled elsewhere.

The power called Geass… manifested differently in each individual, as they've proven here. And it is possibly related to their personality or inner desire.

Lelouch's geass gave him the absolute power to exert his will unto others possibly due to his disposition of becoming the mastermind and his desire to make others do as his will in order to accomplish his goals.

Tatsuya's geass gave him the power to empathize and feel the emotion of others might have stemmed from his inability to do so normally and his wish to, at the very least, understand the emotion of his beloved sister.

While his geass, which gave him the power to negate any and all geass from being activated and used, he knew stemmed from his desire to protect those he cared for.

They all made sense and true to each and every one of their personality and desires. And this was also true for Satoru's geass.

The reason why his geass gave him the ability to see someone's… "Status Screen" might be due to his intense attachment and longing for Yggdrasil and the time he had spent with his close friends for all those years.

Simply imagining the sadness and loneliness he must've felt when his friends left one by one was far more heartbreaking than if they were to leave all at once, or if the game ended before they all left.

Yuuji glanced up towards Satoru, trying his best to hide his pity and sadness under his smiling mask and encouraged him.

"That's amazing, Satoru-san! With such a geass, you won't ever need to fear someone lying to you. It'd be very useful not only in our mission now, but in the new world if you decided to go there!"

"Y-Yeah… That's true… It won't work on people with SSR ranked skills, but it'd still be very useful…"

Satoru forced his lips to smile, just like he would when his proposal was rejected by a potential client he had been chasing for months.

Yuuji's smile was perfect. But perhaps due to his understanding of Yuuji's kindness despite this being their first time meeting face to face, or that he was also thinking the same thing, he noticed the sadness in his eyes and what had caused them.

His heart wrenched when he found out about his geass. How it reminded him of his "home". And how painful it was when his closest friends and comrades left it one by one, leaving him alone.

The anger, the pain, the despair, the loneliness, and the helplessness he felt when the last of his friends gave all of their treasures to him and announced their retirement all came back to him for a moment. He clenched his hands into fists.

No matter how much time had passed, the pain in his heart still felt so fresh and the memories in his mind were still so painfully clear.

"Satoru-san…"

A soft, gentle touch on his shoulder and a gentle voice brought him out of the spiraling darkness and made him look up to see the kind, handsome countenance of the first-year high school boy who was apparently the protagonist of a hentai anime.

"You're not alone anymore, Satoru-san… We're here. All of the members of the Group Chat are here with you. Although we won't be able to replace your friends, we'll at least be able to keep you company."

From his side, Satoru could see Tatsuya nodding at Yuuji's words in agreement.

A wave of warmth washed over his heart, dissipating the dark emotions within him.

"...Thank you. I-I'm sorry for putting down the mood."

"You didn't. How about we take a look outside and get some fresh air, Satoru-san?"

"Fresh air…"

His eyes widened in realization.

That's right… This air in this world was not contaminated like the one in his own. He could actually get some "fresh air" without the need of a breathing mask. And at this time of night… perhaps he could also get to see the stars that he had only ever seen in Yggdrasil…

"Y-Yes! Let's go!!!"

And thus, they spent the rest of their first night in this world in the massive courtyard of the mansion until they returned inside to sleep.