"So." Roland pinched the bridge of his nose. "To sum things up. You knew Eve was going to die, but destiny exists. Since you knew this, you forcibly enacted the destiny so that you became the final arbiter. Because of this, instead of Eve 'dying' you continued her life by connecting the future to the past, which became the present. And we are both here as well because I was closest in proximity to you, and because Marisa is a strong enough individual that her soul was dragged back in time when the future was disconnected and respun into the present?"
"Wow. That's... You're actually great at summarizing, Roland." I blinked, genuinely impressed.
I guess he WAS the one who made the system I was using. At least, a version of him.
But still, that was pretty impressive. I mean, I kind of rambled a bit, jumped around a lot, and then glossed over a lot of the details, but he summed it up pretty neatly.
Roland looked mildly offended. "I might not be on the likes of you, Eve, and Mari in terms of academics, but I'm not a layabout."
"Right. Sorry about that. Just a bit relieved." I chuckled.
Roland sighed.
Marisa poured out glasses of sparkling juice for us all, as well as giving a warm blanket to wrap around Emma.
Eve gave Marisa a grateful smile as she took the blanket and said, "Thank you, Mari. I hadn't even considered that Emma might be cold..."
Marisa smiled right back and said, "Well, it's your first time being a mother. You'll get used to it, I'm sure. And also, I've read quite a few parenting books, so..."
Roland nodded. "As expected- Wait. Parenting books?"
Marisa kept smiling.
...Huh. Well. I guess we know how that relationship is progressing.
Marisa HAD always been the obsessive type. I guess since I'd tipped that scale early...
No, no.
Slice of life and drama considerations later.
Right now, game planning.
I took a sip from my juice and said, "Alright. Since we know the general situation, let's discuss countermeasures."
Marisa nodded. "Of course. I've ensured both my grandfather and my uncle will be present this time. In fact, they should be arriving later today."
I blinked and said, "Really? Are they that free to drop everything and show up?"
I didn't think those two were. Marisa's grandfather WAS the overseer of the Mage's Tower after all. And her uncle was basically the Imperial Court Mage.
Since Maximilian was showing up here personally, at least Marisa's Uncle should be in the palace to make sure things ran smoothly...
Marisa smiled. "They aren't. But I took a page from your book and had a public scandal by kissing Roland in front of plenty of witnesses, so they should be here any moment."
I paused. "Uh, Eve?"
Eve giggled. "Yes... Mari DID do that, my love."
"Well." I looked at Roland. Then I reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck, my friend."
"W-Wait. You- Aren't you going to help me explain it?!"
I shrugged. "What's there to explain? You kissed Mari. She kissed you back. You're CLEARLY a thing. Plus, you complement each other very well... Both in abilities and appearances."
"..."
Marisa smiled. "And that's why we're still friends even though you got me killed, Alex."
"Okay, rude. You wouldn't have died if Roland had trusted me and kept his eye on you."
Roland's eyes widened. "Sh-Should we be talking about this so lightly?!"
Eve chuckled, shifting Emma in her lap so that our daughter was more comfortable. Then she said, "Levity is how you process heavy situations, Rolo. Relax. But..." Eve hummed, thinking. "...My dear older brother wanted to kill me that badly, did he?"
Her words hung heavy in the air.
Roland shook his head. "...I just cannot comprehend it. I would never do such a thing to Angela. For an older brother to not only harm the one he is supposed to protect, but cross the line all the way to plunder her life..."
Marisa sighed. "Well. That's the imperial family for you. It's always been a mess with the succession. The only time there's a clean transfer is when the other heirs voluntarily leave. Like Professor Endless."
Eve nodded and said, "Yes... If Uncle did not relinquish his claim, it would-" Eve's eyes widened. "Wait. Can I not simply just... relinquish my claim to the throne as well?"
I paused to consider it. Then I shook my head. "If it was that simple, it would be nice, Eve. But I'm sure you know it too, right? Your older brother is someone who wants to earn things 'properly.' He plays nice, but he throws tantrums if he can't get it 'correctly.'"
Eve pursed her lips. "That... is true. It IS why he still has yet to find a proper betrothed though he is nearing his thirties..."
Roland crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "So what do we do then? The nominal Crown Prince wants the throne and plans to seize it by ruining Eve's reputation before murdering her. Frostblade has gone off the deep end. The Emperor himself has not been seen for some time... and to top it off, Marisa's remaining family are due to arrive at any moment to cause another scene. Involving me-" Roland paused. Then he groaned and said, "...My father is going to scold me. Indefinitely..."
Marisa leaned against Roland and said, "But you'll have me."
"...That's true."
I stared at the two. Then I slowly looked at Eve and said, "...Is this what we seem like to other people?"
Disgustingly sweet. Feeling like we're intruding on something we shouldn't see. But also unable to look away...
That was the vibe I got from Roland and Marisa now.
Eve chuckled. "Well, I would not know, my love. But." She leaned over to kiss my chin. "I do know that I love you. Enough to give you my everything."
My eyes softened when I saw Eve's loving gaze. "Eve..."
At that time, Emma shifted on Eve's lap and murmured, "Papa... Mommy... love you..."
I smiled at that and reached out to pat Emma's head, making our daughter let out a warm smile in her sleep.
...Ah. Wait.
Can't get swept away in the family tenderness.
I forcibly set aside the tender warmth and urge to just stay like this forever.
Tempting as it was, we had problems to resolve.
"Okay." I looked at everyone and said, "Let's get back to it. Priorities, priorities. First... Eve's most critical situation is resolved. Since she's back here, the demonic energy is gone."
Eve paused, thinking about it. Placing her hand over her chest, she tilted her head, examining her own body's state. Then she slowly nodded. "...Yes. I do believe that is the case, my love. But... Just how exactly did you resolve it?"
"Ah, that's..." I coughed, pointedly avoiding looking at Emma.
But Eve was smart. She glanced down. Then she placed her hand over Emma's cheek and whispered, "Oh. My little angel..." She leaned down to kiss Emma's forehead and murmured, "You saved me. Didn't you?"
Emma giggled and then nuzzled closer to Eve's body.
Marisa gave me a blank look. Then she said, "Your notes. I require all of them."
Roland nervously shifted and glanced over at Marisa. "For... research purposes. Right?"
"Rolo. If I want a child, I am conceiving one the traditional way. Rest assured."
"Oh, that's good- P-Pardon?!"
"I know you heard me." Marisa huffed. But she focused on me and said, "I let the fact that you used a ridiculous magical artifact in that simulated alternate timeline slide because of Betty. But just what else can you do, Alex? We will need proper combat capabilities. CLEARLY our lack of coordination led to us failing miserably before we regressed to this time."
"Right." I nodded and said, "As a quick summary, I'm functionally similar to Eve's general battle prowess. Due to certain means, my physique and mana are tied together. I also have functionally limitless stamina. The main bottleneck I have is that I can't really do any attacks over Rank 5 without using tools, but my tools are VERY flashy. If I pull one out, we're instantly escalating to people on your grandfather's level interrogating us since they're threats to the empire level."
Rebellion alone would get me flagged since it unconditionally bypassed defenses, ranked people down in combat, AND added their stats to mine for one attack.
Then there was Artemis, as well as my Aquaburn Orichalcum Ring...
Marisa hummed. "...In short, you're better for running away."
I paused. "Huh."
Marisa paused as well and then gave me a blank stare. "...Alex. Tell me you considered that fact."
"..."
Eve glanced over. "...My love?"
Roland looked at me too. "...Friend. Alex... Come on."
I felt my ears burn and I said, "Okay. So I MAY have ignored the possibility of simply running away..."
It was a very real solution.
Since my mana and stamina were linked, I literally was inexhaustible. If I carried Eve and just booked it, EVENTUALLY people would have to give up.
I was confident no one else had as much sustainability as me.
And now with Emma in the picture...
"Yeah, actually." I paused, thinking it over some more. "...Why DON'T we just run away?"
This battlefield was NOT in our favor.
So...
Why not just head to one that WAS?
Especially now that the time pressure of Eve's demonification was gone?