The option laid out with him had to be considered with great care before Lelouch made a decision. The first one was out right away - it would only be tactically useful if he had sex with lots of people, which would be a mere hop and a skip away from a harem. It wouldn't be all that useful even if he disregarded his loss condition.The hard limit of once should be more than enough to get what he wants.
The second was defining his loss condition perhaps a little higher than it already was. That sounded promising - but it was like a prelude to checkmate. A gambit trying to bait him into hovering near the edge. It would be unwise to define his loss condition so specifically and think of it as a positive victory for himself.
Others being unaware of Shirley's new and improved body would be... Continuing the status quo. Things would go on as they had been as if she hadn't suddenly gained tremendous assets to her hind quarters or bosom. Though Lelouch himself would, of course, be exempt from this. No tactical advantage whatsoever.
Ah, but then there was the chance for him to gain knowledge of all the changes that had been made by this mysterious enemy. Tantalising. On a chess board you knew your enemies moves as they knew them, which allowed you an avenue of predicting their likely responses. In Lelouch's case, he was playing under the fog of war while his enemy could see the whole board. This would even everything up quite a bit, which meant he would be eliminating a gross tactical disadvantage. He very nearly jumped at the chance to take that.
Nearly.
It was too obviously superior to the others. Suspiciously so. The advantage he could gain from such knowledge was so stark and blatant that he could hardly believe it. Why then? Why would an enemy present a chance like that? A series of 'bad options' with one 'good option' sprinkled in the middle? The answer was - a trap of some form. Yes, there must be a trap in there somewhere. Consider it from another angle. If you were setting a trap at that good option, what would it look like?
For that, one must look upon the fact that knowledge, once learned, is difficult to unlearn. Yes, he could plainly see it. If he learned the perverse nature of the changes he made, all at oce, in a way that the enemy controled... Yes, that could have all manner of detrimental effects. It could be his goal was to assault Lelouch's mind with such erotic imagery all at once that it would be like drinking half his body weight in beer - by the time he'd recovered, he'd already be hip deep in ass of a variety of colours. It wasn't hard for him to imagine.
In which case, might similar traps await in the other options? For example, perhaps the others would be unaware of Shirley's body - thus Lelouch would be extremely aware of it? Driving him to distraction even when she was not around? This was worse than a genie in a bottle twisting your own desires, or some monkey's paw turning your words against you. It was a genie putting offers on the table for wishes that would go to their own end. While this enemy might be perverted beyond belief, they were also cunning in their own way. They knew what they were doing. They understood full well the game that they were playing. They understood the need to set multilayered traps. What was worse was that it was obvious Lelouch would not be allowed to progress until he chose <i>something</i>.
Zugzwang. To move is to weaken your own position. The compulsion to move even when it is disadvantageous. He could not do anything but move, but any move would lead him towards a harem. So this was the way this entity intended to battle? By closing off all possible options, including the one to stand still? Or perhaps it would be worse - he would leave Lelouch that option while knowing he would step forward anyway in an attempt to get what he wanted? Fascinating. When the game was over he would very much like to see it all unfold from a top down response. To tell if he had any way to escape the disadvantages set upon him.
"So?" the entity in Shirley's body asked. "What's your pick? Would it help take the edge off if you sucked on these tits?"
"Thank you, no," Lelouch said. Did he think to lose to this so easily? No! He was Zero, after all. The man who made miracles appear! A million of them at once if need be! If there was a way through this, then he would find it! Among these options there had to be a route that he could turn to his absolute advan-
...
These options? Hold on one moment. There was one he had not considered. Strangely, he had noticed it before but it was as though it had dropped out of his mind the second he had even considered it.
"Something else?" he read aloud. Shirley's body tensed. "Well, that's a strange thing to put there. Something else, indeed?"
"Darn, years of ingrained habit made me include that..." the entity groused. "Alright, fine, since I did include it there too, you can take it. Basically, you can suggest any sorta prize you want and so long as I agree we're all hunky dorey."
"Hunky dorey?" Lelouch asked. "What an odd phrase."
"Yeah, I don't know where it came from either, probably annoyance that you noticed that..." Shirley's cheeks pouted out, puffed up with air. "So? What's it gonna be? You've picked that, so you must have some kind of idea? Or would you rather go to a fatesplit?"
By that context, fatesplit probably meant 'I will choose more options for you,' but Lelouch wasn't going to play along with that. He already had something in mind that would play to his advantage, and that was -
"I want Shirley as my accomplice," he said. "She will be my public girlfriend and will help cover for my activities, in exchange for regular sex."
Silence filled the room.
"So... let me get this straight," the entity said. "You get to bang Shirley on the regular, and she helps you cover up for running around in a mask being all over the top and super cool? I mean - One sec... Yeah, like I thought, she'd be up for that even if I didn't do anything. But isn't that risky? You'll pull her into everything if you do that."
"Not any more than being her 'friend' will," Lelouch said. "Besides, if she knows what I'm up to she'll be able to keep her distance." As he thought, this sort of deal would tempt him. An ally like this, capable of helping with alibis and covering up what he's doing... Supremely useful to him in his goals. "Do we have a deal?"
"Deal," the entity said. "but you have to fuck her raw right here and now. Cum inside her. Make her squeal like a pig. Then she'll be yours for life."
"No pregnancy," Lelouch quirked an eyebrow.
"Urgh, fine! She won't get knocked up for at least three months." She winced ."Goodness, this girl really wants to carry your baby. She tried to make me go two months. You lucky prick, if you'd settled down with Shirley she'd have made you super happy."
"Not sure the same can be said in reverse..." Lelouch said. "Now, leave her be. I shall now have to ensure she understands our new... relationship."
This should help. It should help a lot. It would keep Milly off his back. Probably Kallen too - Thus hsi life at Ashford would be secure from harem growth. No matter how aroused he became, Shirley would be able to take care of it for him! The needle had been threaded. Lelouch had found another miracle to exploit to his advantage. But... he couldn't shake the feeling that this was yet another layer to that fiend's overall strategy. What else might he have been up to?
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