Lelouch didn't want to gain the attention of magi this early. Their trips in Asia proved useful when, after Iraq, Lelouch and Nobunaga managed to secure some third rate magi families under their thumb. Not enough to wage war but enough to start building their own network. Even if Asian magi were very limited in their talents, quality and authority in the magic world was centred on the Clock Tower. Touching someone related to them would certainly draw more than a couple of eyes, hated individual or not.
"You exaggerate, my good professor!" He opted to play dumb. "It's only magic if one can't ascertain the methods to the madness. My skills are merely that, something I've honed after living life with calculated gambles one after another."
"'After'? Come now. You're still quite young and will live longer still, no?" The man's smile was dangerous. He was prying just as Lelouch was. "But to admit it so easily speaks of any lack of guilt. You must be the type to go all-in upon being assured of your win, no? I'd say that's quite the thrilling way to live."
"The same can be said of yourself, isn't it so, professor? Coming here to slack off despite having others hate you so… The cares of those who live in the mundane are of no concern, as they should."
"Quite the quick one to discard the opinions of the talentless to the wayside."
"Is there any need to call it anything but the truth? Even though I'm just too good for this place, others can't comprehend it. But I do understand the feeling. No matter who they are, so long as they carry something others don't, they will experience problems of alienation."
"Hm." The man hummed inquisitively. "I've never been into anthropology, but I absolutely concur. When it comes to circles of influence and trust, outsiders are the first to be outed because they think of them as barbarians. With intellect and talent in the mix, however, people start to behave like it's the Middle Ages."
"Does that imply you getting kicked out was the result of a would-be witch-hunt, professor?"
"It is a terrible shame, but nothing I can prevent with my power alone." The smiling man eyed him again. "Yet, as America is quite different to old London, I was interested enough to take a stroll. See what the States has to offer before I returned once more and, shall we say, pay them back for their kind hospitality?"
An oppressed that planned on leaving his old place for someplace new, was it? Lelouch sighed at that. Suspicions he may have had for some random weirdo, he wasn't above sympathy.
Britannia once thought of the Japanese and all others not of their blood as second class citizens. Labelled and demeaned enough to have their nationalities replaced by numbers, the might of Britannia dictated it their sovereign right to oppress others.
But even if it carried some truth, it wasn't one Lelouch absolutely aligned with. Even he, the Demon Emperor, chose not to oppress the weak. Only the wrong and greedy, the conniving and spiteful.
"The world has never been kind to the different or the weak. But that being said, we individuals have our own right to exist."
"Oh ho? That's not something you'd hear a child say nowadays." The man smiled widely, still empty but brimming with deep interest. He even raised his glass to Lelouch again. "Or would it be better to call you a young adult instead?"
Clinking his glass against the smiling stranger's, he offered his sympathies. "Far be it for me to condemn a person's will to live and enjoy life."
"Is that your philosophy? Or are you a man of God?"
"Well," a sardonic smile appeared on Lelouch's face, but the sarcasm was for him and him alone. "My parents, especially my father, were that type. Obsessed and devoted to their beliefs at an unhealthy degree. You could say that my beliefs are merely the product of nitpicking the good from the bad born from overzealousness."
"Hm… I see. In that case, you have my sympathies as well." The professor then pushed away from the counter as he left some pay for the bartender. "This night has been quite the good one for me. I must thank you for the small peace of mind you've given me, young man."
"Leaving so soon?" Lelouch watched carefully but acted disappointedly. "Hm. Honestly, I would've paid for you, considering it's been a while since I met quite the interesting individual."
The man waved it off. "Oh, no need to do that for me, young man. Besides, I too enjoyed our conversation. But pardon an old professor for falling into bad habits as I leave you with a bit of advice."
"Oh? Imparting words of wisdom before you go, is it?"
"Think of it as nothing more than charity and my way of compensating you for your time." The smile turned only polite and no more. "In truth, I'd actually stopped by in search of like-minded people like yourself. However, I changed my mind. Seeing someone quite willful in the way they live, I'm reminded that, despite our similarities, children like yourself still have a long road ahead of them. Unlike old relics like me."
"Had you been more forthcoming with it, then maybe I would've given it a thought." Lelouch narrowed his eyes, but played along. "Or is it too direct to say that I'm not fit for the task you had in mind?"
"Oh, nothing of the sort, young man. I find your intellect and directness to be impressive in and of itself. Though you may experience difficulty, I have been recruiting for my old workplace. No, it's not that." The stranger spared a glance around the place, his eyes scouring each and every detail insight. Like a machine in search of something. Or someone. "I was looking for someone and had half-expected for clues on their whereabouts to turn up here, in one of the seedier parts of this country."
"From your words, it seems to me like you're looking for a criminal."
"An arsonist, actually." The smiling man turned his gaze back on Lelouch as he firmly stated. "I was looking for any information related to the fires that had ravaged a city of Japan called Fuyuki. Perchance you may have heard about it?"
Lelouch's mask of indifference remained strong. Had he been human, he may have worn his emotions on his sleeves, but years of practice, as well as the threat of death, looming, should he give himself away, had the mask on perfectly still.
"Apologies, professor, but my knowledge about Asia is severely limited. Apart from their weird TV shows, I've heard little in regard to that country especially." The liar within him played its part in feigning ignorance as well as indifference. But there was no denying his swift train of thought as he faced the definitely-suspicious smiling weirdo. "Still, a large fire that devastated a city… hm. Is there some reason you'd believe the perpetrator to have come here?"
"Just a niggling feeling." He didn't disclose further. "I'd heard that if there was a place to find those in the know, it was Vegas. But as far as people interesting enough to maybe have a connection to that side of the world, honestly, you're the only one that caught my eye. A shame that you were just a mere student."
"Unlucky guess. It happens to most of us." He withheld clicking his tongue as he offered final cheers to the man about to up and leave. "I wish you luck in finding someone that does know then."
"Thank you, young man. And thanks again for the game. I had fun playing tonight."
He upped and took steps to leave, but a niggling feeling forced Lelouch to call out to his back. "One last thing, oh stranger of a professor."
"And what would that be, dear genius posing as a student?" Witty enough to reply, the man met him with a kind mask as fake as can be.
"Pardon the last of my disbelief, or maybe it's just the booze talking. But I can't imagine that someone as unique as you would trust 'a niggling feeling' to find an obscure arsonist. What led you to believe you'd find the cause of an incident halfway across the globe all the way out here?" Lelouch didn't say 'all the way to me?'
The redhead chuckled once before answering the raven-haired lad with a casually false smirk. "Oh, it was just a feeling… The fae had been quite keen to inform me that I'd find something quite interesting in this city on this very evening… I know it sounds odd, but don't pay it any mind, young man. Have a good night."
With that, the stranger vanished into the crowds, leaving any would-be onlooker to assume him high on drugs or simply tipsy drunk.
But not the Demon Emperor who was far too wary to relax now that he'd been found out.
'His words no doubt confirm he's a magus…' Calmly, he assessed the situation. 'Guess I should have him looked into.'
Aloof and careless, yet the man remained a mystery and used cryptic words. It honestly reminded Lelouch too much of Schneizel. An issue that he couldn't deal with on the spot. Not for fear of misusing his Geass, or even giving any would-be spies a chance to glance at his power.
'At least Nobu wasn't here or she would've been exposed all too easily.' Aside from burning the man alive for his bluntness, she would've been outed for the sheer presence she gave off alone. He was lucky that, despite being a Heroic Spirit, his presence was as weak as a human, about on the same wavelength as others in his vicinity. 'That aside, where is she anyway? I need to find her.' Lelouch was about to finish his drink and go after his lover but was distracted by a tap on his shoulder. "What now—?"
"Young man." Unfortunately, it wasn't a creepy smiling magus or his missing redhead beauty. A casino guard stared at him dead in the eyes with an uneasily furrowed brow. "Can you please come with us for a moment?"
"Something wrong, sir?" Lelouch offered them a friendly smile. But on the inside, he was debating himself. 'Annoying… should I use Geass and get on with it or—'
"It's about the—your lady friend… We are under orders to escort you upstairs. Please," The man stepped aside, a gesture to follow him. Now that Lelouch saw behind him, there were several of them waiting behind. The most senior of them had a face of thunder not looking too pleased but also not giving anything away. "It will only take a moment, so could you please follow me."