Evelyn smiled and sat on the bench at the front of the carriage. She looked at me and said, "To even know how to chauffeur a carriage... Should I just knight you so we can make it even more scandalous, my love? You are more than qualified at this rate."
I chuckled and said, "As fun as everyone's reaction to that would be, I would rather not step on the real political field just yet."
Things were still on the level of 'child's play' according to the nobles.
Although the relationship between Evelyn and I was serious, in the eyes of those people, it was just on the level of messing around.
Of course, things would definitely change if we went all the way...
But I didn't plan to do that any time soon, and Evelyn was more than happy to just cuddle and kiss at the moment.
Honestly though...
No. Let's not corrupt the princess with lewd thoughts.
I'd let her set the pace.
But anyway, while I was being tolerated, things would change if Evelyn seriously gave me a title.
It wasn't like it would be unmanageable...
I knew which levers to pull and which buttons to push in the noble court. And even if I didn't I could pull out enough blackmail or make it with some time.
No, the main issue was that I'd be stepping right into Maximillian and Void Sovereign's home turf.
It was still too soon for that, so I'd have to refuse.
Evelyn looked a bit disappointed, but then she sighed. "I suppose it would be too dangerous to do so right now..." She frowned. "I just... I wish the world would see how wonderful you are, my love."
I smiled. "Don't worry about that, Eve. They'll see soon enough."
Roland hopped into the back of the carriage and laughed. "Yeah. At the rate Alex is improving, he'll be worthy of being your real fiance by the time we graduate."
I snorted and said, "You think it'll take me four years to do that?"
Marisa hopped in beside Roland and said, "You underestimate Alex, Roland. All he needs is some proper resources and support... speaking of which." She looked over and said, "When are you going to submit your ideas on mana flow and magical artificing to the Mage Tower? I can directly send them to Grandfather and have you promoted to an honorary member within the week..."
I hummed. "Thanks Mari. But let's put a pin in that for now."
...Mostly because that place was overrun by dark mages at the moment and sending in revolutionary material was just ASKING for a bad ending.
...Dammit me. Why did you have to be so thorough...? If this was something like the Novel's Extra I could have ripped it apart to shreds by now with all the loose threads.
Oh, right. Because I was a proper published and accomplished author, not a guy who left his novel on hiatus for over half a year.
Sigh...
Roland got comfortable, subconsciously pulling Marisa into a hug.
Marisa blushed but didn't resist, leaning against him.
"Anyway," Roland said. "Renting out a whole carriage for a long trip... If I didn't know any better, I would think you were setting us all up on a double date, Alex. Isn't this a romantic set up? A guy and a girl in the carriage to the back, then another couple up front... It's a cliche in various romance novels, isn't it?"
I got the horse moving and then said, "I never said it wasn't a double date."
Evelyn blushed.
Marisa gasped.
Roland stammered. "W-W-What?!"
I laughed. "Just teasing. Maybe. But it's definitely a date." I glanced back at Evelyn and smiled, blowing her a kiss. "Any time I spend with my Eve is a date in my eyes."
Evelyn laughed and then shook her head. "You are such a tease, Alex." She huffed and said, "Maybe I should hold back my kisses. You seem to have gotten far too bold..."
"You know if you do that then I'm just going to start taking them, right, Eve~?"
Evelyn turned a bright red. "W-W-What? B-B-But... so forceful..." Her silver eyes trembled and she said, "W-Would it be nice? If it was anyone else, it would not. But if it is Alex... submitting like that..."
H-Hey? Evelyn? Wait, what are you talking about here...? I was just talking about kisses! Where the hell is your train of thought going?!
Roland laughed and said, "You really do have our princess wrapped around your finger, don't you, Alex?"
"No. I just sincerely love her."
And I'm doing my best to make up for all the happiness she should have had in the first place...
Marisa sighed, a sound definitely filled with envy. But she shook her head and said, "Tell us more about this Gate, Alex. You said it was in some ruins?"
"Yeah." I nodded and said, "It's also mine. Since I was the one to discover it, Elio helped me do the paperwork to transfer ownership to me."
Marisa gasped. "Wait? You own it? As in, you own the rights to it completely? The whole Gate?!"
Evelyn's eyes widened. "You did say you had approval from Uncle Elio, but you didn't say you owned it."
"Oh." I coughed. "I guess I forgot that."
Evelyn shook her head. "I heard that first discoverers of Gates receive ownership once they register it... but discovering a new Gate in the first place is a monumental task." She looked at me with admiration and said, "How in the world did you manage that, my love? Not that I doubt you... but you seem to constantly be impressing me in new ways..."
I coughed. "W-Well..."
I couldn't say that I knew where it was because I put it there. Or that it was supposed to be discovered by other people and used for the mid-term...
That was just plain stupid.
> The system senses a potential shift in narrative...
HEY! I'm NOT considering spilling that I'm not from this world! I was just saying it'd be a bad idea!
> The system readings return to normal.
Sheesh. Trolling me through system messages now too...
...No. You're probably just trying to keep thing light, huh, Rob?
> Guilty as charged.
Wait, why are you even-
No, I'm getting distracted.
I glanced back at Evelyn and smiled. "Like how fortune favored me when I was grouped with you at the start, it seems to be favoring me even more now that you've given me your love, Evelyn."
Evelyn turned a bright red and covered her face with her hands.
Roland whistled.
Marisa clicked her tongue, grumbling.
I chuckled and kept us moving, driving the carriage and leading the horse.
It was a beautiful day out. Clear blue skies without a cloud in sight. And up ahead, there was nothing but a sea of grass, gently swaying in the faint autumn breeze.
But not much longer and all of this would be covered in white. The first major snow storm was due any day now... which was all the more reason why I brought us all out now instead of later to clear out the Gate.
As time passed, Roland hummed and said, "Since we have a lot of time on our hands, how about we get to know each other?"
I glanced back. "How so? Don't we know each other pretty well?"
Roland chuckled. "We do. At least enough to trust each other with our backs in combat. But I mean generally. We have known each other for a few months now, but I think we still don't know much about each other, right?"
I hummed and considered that.
...It was true, I guess.
I didn't think much of it since I knew all of them inside and out basically. Even the hidden backstories and secrets they didn't tell anyone. But we usually only talked about classwork, training, and where to hang out, now that I thought back.
But I also had a feeling that if I just said 'yes' I was going to immediately be grilled by questions I probably didn't have real answers to.
After all, while 'Alexander Smith' was me. I wasn't 'Alexander Smith.'
I took his place and roughly knew his backstory, but the finer details weren't there. Since it was mostly a blank slate and conveniently had enough gaps to fill, I would be fine... but if I was sloppy things could be troublesome later.
So, instead of just saying yes, I said, "How about we trade questions then? One for one, and we can go in a circle."
Evelyn blinked and said, "Trade questions?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "You ask a person something, and that person will ask something back. An answer for an answer, basically."
Marisa quickly leaned forward and said, "I'll go first then! How are you so talented and insightful in magic, Alex?"
"Well." I made a show of mulling over the answer while I was panicking on the inside. But after a bit, I slowly said, "I have had many, many, many great teachers who explored the limits and boundaries of what is and is not possible within the realms of magic."
It wasn't a lie.
Though, the teachers I referred to were webnovel writers and published fantasy authors. And video games. Lots of video games...
Marisa's eyes widened and she nodded to herself. "I see... As I expected."
Ah yes, the benefit of chatting with genius-type individuals. Say a little and they'll fill in the rest for you.
But now it was my turn.
Although I already knew the answer, this was a good chance to lay down more 'plausibility' for things I would pull off later. So...
"What about you, Mari? How are you so good with magic?"
"Well..."