Suzaku took a deep breath, filling his lung to the brim, before letting it all out through his mouth as he stood before the large, mahogany double doors that lead into the Student Government Office, wishing all his nervousness would be expelled along with the air in his lungs. But it didn't.
Instead, he became even more nervous the more he took his time trying to calm down outside the office.
It has been quite a few days since he came to the office. He couldn't even attend school for quite some time due to his military obligations, preparing for the operation in Port Yokosuka.
He had taken a few days off from his duties in order to refresh his mind and calm his heart after experiencing such a disheartening and utter defeat.
He wanted to experience some semblance of normalcy that someone his age should be experiencing, and spend time with some friends.
But now… after not seeing them for so long, he became quite nervous.
Would they treat him the same? Or would their relationship be reverted to when he had just transferred in?
Lelouch might still treat him the same, but what about the rest? They've all knew him for only a few months. Even then, they've only met a few times since he had to be absent for school due to his military obligations.
No, calm down. They're nice people. They won't do such a thing.
He psyched himself up once again, took a deep breath, grabbed the handle to the door, and pushed it opened.
"Oh my~! Suzaku-kun, it's been a while!"
"Y-Yes, it has been a while, pres."
Suzaku froze for a moment when he was greeted by the ever cheerful Milly. He awkwardly raised his hand in a wave and greeted her back shakingly, a bit taken aback by her energy.
"Hey, Suzaku! If you're coming, then we should've just come here together. I thought you won't be coming here either today."
"A-Ah, sorry. I'll do that next time, Rivalz."
He nodded and walked into the room, feeling slightly relieved that everyone was still acting warmly towards him.
As he entered, Suzaku began to look around. The first one who caught his eye was Nina, who was sitting separately from the others in her own desk located right at the opposite side of the door he came from, minding her own business with her computer.
Then, he shifted his gaze towards the large rectangular table where everyone else gathered.
Milly was sitting at the head of the table, while Rivalz sat to her left with a laptop right in front of him and several files scattered on his space.
To her right was Shirley, working diligently as usual and organizing the files and documents that Lelouch, who was sitting by her side, had completed and reviewed.
There were a few piles of papers around him, a testament to the immense work Milly had put upon him. But, Lelouch didn't seem to be even the slightest bit tired, a stark contrast to Rivalz who seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else if not for Milly's presence despite the small amount of work he had to do comparatively.
But then, he saw something even more absurd…
Right beside Lelouch's pile… Were even larger piles of files, documents, and binders that had been stacked up high.
And the one sitting before it was Alexander, working on his laptop quite relaxedly, with Arthur resting on his lap, seemingly asleep.
Sitting opposite him was Kallen, who was also silently doing her work and briefly nodded at him upon his entrance before returning to her task.
Suzaku would've normally responded to Kallen's greeting in kind, but right now, he was too shocked at the mountain of documents Alexander had around him.
He stopped and turned towards the president as he pointed at the mountain of papers.
"Uhm… P-President, i-isn't that a bit too much for one person to work on?"
"Hm? Yes it is."
"T-Then why…"
Seeing his confusion, Milly smirked and pointed at Alexander as she winked at Suzaku.
"That's how amazing he is~! No matter how many I give him, he'd always finish it so quickly! And they're all perfectly done! I was so amazed that I ended up giving him more and more to test his limits, and I ran out of work before he ran out of energy~!"
"Hah… Isn't that just your excuse for dumping all of your work to me, Pres…?"
A tired sigh escaped Alexander's lips as he shook his head, glancing at Milly with a reproachful look.
"Oh my~ That's just a misunderstanding, Alexander. How could I do that to my precious council member~? Fufu~"
"Hah..."
Suzaku looked at Milly incredulously and sent a pitying gaze at Alexander, who was forced to handle such a tremendous amount of work.
He shook his head and approached Alexander, casting a glance at the mountain of papers on the table.
Now that he was closer, they were… much more than he first expected. And they're all actual documents, accounting ledgers for club budgets, forms, and tables that the student government used to organize the tens of clubs that existed in this massive academy. Moreover, there were also requests that came from students, plans for future events, and a myriad of other things the student council had to deal with as the student governing body.
Even just by looking at it and merely glancing at its contents, Suzaku couldn't help but gulp. This was even more work than what he had to do as an officer in the military.
That said, he couldn't just abandon him and leave Alexander with all the work…
"H-Hey, do you need some help with that?"
He might not be of much help, but he could at least be an extra hand. Perhaps, he could sort out the documents and finish some simpler ones to help. But, an unexpected answer came from his handsome classmate and friend.
"Hm? Oh, thank you, Suzaku. But there's no need, these are all done."
"Eh?"
Suzaku froze, his eyes wide as saucers as he looked at Alexander with an incredulous look.
He then glanced at Kallen, wondering if he heard Alex's word right, or if the battle with the crimson knightmare a few days ago rattled his brain a bit and made him slightly hard of hearing.
But, Kallen simply nodded and showed an expression of disbelief, incredulity, and exhaustion.
She thought there wouldn't be another monster like Mordred who could do ten or more people's worth of work. But here she was, seeing another monster like Mordred before her very eyes.
Kallen stared at Alexander curiously, her eyes narrowing as if she was trying to see through him.
Both Mordred and Alexander were so… strange and unique.
Although they lived in two completely different worlds, they somehow… resembled each other, especially with how skilled they were with seemingly everything.
Enough that a suspicion that they're the same person flash across her mind.
No… You're being absurd. There's no way they're the same person.
Kallen shook her head and tried to return her focus back on her work. Though, without even realizing it herself, she would still occasionally steal glances at Alexander as she worked.
"He's a machine, Suzaku. You shouldn't put him on the same standard as a human."
"Hey, what do you mean by that?"
Alexander narrowed his eyes at Lelouch as he let out a smile and shrugged.
"Geez, Lulu. Stop being distracted and focus on your work. Else, you won't finish in time!"
"Yes yes."
Shirley nudged Lelouch with her elbow and pouted when he answered so nonchalantly. They have a lot of work to do today that she even skipped her swimming practice to help him so they can go on their date this afternoon. But here he was, wasting time and even teased Alexander like that. Was she the only one who's looking forward to this date?
"That's right, "Lulu". Finish it quickly so you can go on your date."
"Wha- Y-You…!"
Alexander smirked triumphantly at Lelouch, who was blushing, and returned his attention to his laptop.
Meanwhile, Suzaku, who was stunned by Alexander's absurdity before, finally snapped out of his daze.
"Uhm… If you're done, then what are you doing now, Alexander?"
"Hm? I'm just doing a bit of work. It's nothing big."
"Work…?"
Suzaku tilted his head and looked at Lelouch questioningly.
Lelouch was the closest to Alexander, so if he wanted to know what work Alexander was referring to, then he had the best chance of knowing.
Noticing his questioning gaze, Lelouch just smiled and glanced at Alexander's laptop.
"Hm?"
Suzaku followed the direction of his gaze towards Alexander's laptop, and froze in shock.
"Y-You… You're making… millions…"
On Alexander's screen, Suzaku saw more than 8 digits lined up with the Britannian Currency in front of it. And then, a few moments later, it increased.
Is this… a game? Was Alexander playing a business game where he's pretending to earn money?
"It's nothing much. They're just a bit of pocket money I'll be reinvesting in the market right now. I'm only taking a small percentage of it for my own use."
"Are you serious…?"
Even if it was a small percentage, it would still be in the millions. With that much money, Alexander could easily buy numerous high end estates and lands in the royal capital of Britannia.
Suzaku stumbled back in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He… He's never seen anyone with that kind of money… Muchless a high school student like Alexander. Even Milly, the heiress of the prominent and rich Ashford family would pale in comparison when he recalled the ever increasing number on Alexander's screen. He might be even richer than the Ashford family itself!
"Hm? What's wrong? What's he doing?"
Noticing their exchange, Milly couldn't help but become curious and approached Alexander, trying to peek at his screen.
But before she could, Alexander closed his laptop and looked at her with a narrowed gaze.
"It's not a good habit to peek at someone's screen you know, Pres?"
"It's fine, isn't it! We're friends! And I'm really curious about how much you're making!"
"No."
Meanwhile, as Alexander tried to shoo away the ever nosy heiress, Kallen froze in her seat.
Reinvesting…? A trader? And judging by Suzaku's reaction, was he also a genius trader? Just like…
Mordred?
Kallen quickly shook her head.
No, there's no way they're the same person. He's a Britannian, while Mordred… He's fighting for us, the Japanese…
Even though Alexander was kind towards Suzaku, despite his Japanese heritage, and had declared his stance towards Japanese to everyone, it's still different from actually fighting for the freedom of the Japanese.
He's a Britannian… There's no way he'd risk his life and become the tip of the spear of the Black Knights.
I need to stop thinking about stupid things like this.
Kallen took a deep breath to calm herself, and tried her best to get Mordred and Alexander out of her mind.