It was a simple solution. It was also a solution I had completely discounted until now.
I had forgotten in the midst of trying to save Eve... but the lynchpin wasn't necessarily her death, although that DID serve as the root of the disaster.
No, it was the fact that she was turned into a demon AND killed on Starlight Academy's campus. The combination of events disrupted the commonsense that the Eternal Empire was safe.
And it was that disruption which led Maximilian to consolidate his forces in the turmoil.
But.
If we just left...
And since Eve didn't have to worry about the demonification anymore...
"Huh." I nodded and looked at Eve. "Hey, Love. How do you feel about eloping."
"I-I beg your pardon?!" Eve turned a deep red hue. "N-Not that I would say no! But... this is so sudden, Alex! A-A-And... I mean, we have a child now. And Emma is here, and I love her and you and all of this, b-b-but...!"
"Here." I slipped off my orichalcum aquaburn ring before sliding it onto Eve's finger. "Marry me, Eve. Be mine. Properly. Forget about the Empire and run away with me. We'll fix everything later. But... just for a while, let's just be us."
Eve froze.
Marisa gasped.
Roland covered his face. "...Alex. Friend. Seriously?"
Eve slowly blinked, staring at the shimmering rose-gold hued ring with a beautiful entwined ruby and sapphire. Then she looked back at me, her silver eyes glimmering with tears. "...Are you serious, Alex?"
"You know me, Eve. I'm always serious." I placed my hand over hers and said, "Run away with me. And Emma. Let's start over."
Marisa stared at Eve. Then Emma, sleeping in Eve's lap. Then at me. After that, she slowly said, "You DO realize this is worse than treason, right? This is stealing the Eternal Empire's future. If the Emperor finds out about this, your head's on a pike."
I laughed and said, "Even if he WAS able to do anything about it... Mari. What do I have to lose? Only Eve and Emma."
That was the beauty of the simple plan.
I was a man with no strings. From the start, I had been that way. An 'extra.'
Because of that... and because of Rob's prompting, I'd been going along with the story...
But in actuality.
'It isn't necessary.'
Especially now that the circumstances had changed.
After all, time was locked. We could only go forward. And no matter what happened, there were no do-overs.
But that played to our advantage.
Roland had already obtained
Eve was cured and would never be under demonification again.
Marisa had triple-downed on loving Roland, so Roland also would be focusing on protecting her...
Not only that, but if we made Eve suddenly 'vanish' in this state where the power struggle was still unclear, it would galvanize her allies against Maximilian, pinning him.
Roland paused and looked at me, then Eve, then Emma. After that, his eyes widened and he said, "That's true... The only family you have is Betty. And we would have to find her regardless."
"Yep." I nodded. "So." I gently kissed Eve's cheek. "...Will you be part of my family now, Eve?"
Eve's silver eyes softened and she said, "You already know the answer to that, Love." With a soft sigh, she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me close for a kiss. Then she murmured, "Always."
I smiled and hugged her as well. As I did, Emma was gently cradled between us both. Our daughter... and our little family of three.
Marisa cleared her throat. "I'm glad we got this sorted and all... but there ARE still some loose ends."
Roland nodded. "Yes. Do you even have a plan on where you are going?"
I leaned back and said, "I've got a few. Originally, I wanted to go into a Gate... There's a few safe ones I know about."
They weren't in the main story, but in my setting notes, there were a few 'Garden' Gates that I planned to flesh out the setting. Gates that had peaceful zones and monsters.
But I remembered that cautionary note from the system about how Gates were outside of causality, so I dashed that thought.
Next...
"...I was thinking we might go to the Holy Land."
===
The Holy Land. Although it was known as that colloquially, its full name was the Holy Land of Elysium where the Saintess and future Saintess candidates lived.
It wasn't exactly a religion or religious center, but it WAS holy. The reason for that was that it was the home country of the first Saintess, a woman who awakened to the Talent of
After years passed by, the woman who was once called a Saintess for her actions became perceived as an ACTUAL Saintess chosen by the gods, and then it ended up in the situation where fervant believers gathered and made a land separate from the Eternal Empire for people who just wanted peace.
It was also the setting of a good portion of Arc 2 after the First Disaster, since it was the Saintess who helped after Sophia died in the original story.
Speaking of which...
'That girl is probably just still in training right now...'
The Saintess was meant to show up at Starlight Academy next year to join Roland's party in 3D-ED. Through a series of events, that was how he would find out the true nature of his Talent and awaken to
I'd, uh. Skipped past all of that. Partially deliberately, partially by chance.
Which meant the Saintess was really just an unimportant 'extra' now in this story since I functionally took her place in the overall narrative.
Well, if we kept treating this world like a novel.
Which it CLEARLY was not...
But anyway.
Marisa tilted her head. "The Holy Land...? I suppose that would work. Even Imperial Forces have to tread lightly there."
Roland frowned and said, "I agree that it would be safe... but is it not quite far? Even in a vehicle, it would take a week. And teleportation gates would not be viable if you are running... As for going on foot..."
"Hm?" I blinked. "Of course we're going on foot. The path leads through Edelweiss."
Marisa's eyes widened. "Edelweiss... Of course." She slowly nodded. "The Imperial Forces wouldn't dare go through such a contaminated area. And even if you decide to not go all the way to the Holy Land, Edelweiss itself would serve as more than enough of a base. But..." She frowned and looked at Emma. "There will be monsters there. If even half of what we witnessed in that Gate was accurate..."
Eve hugged Emma close and said, "They will not harm our daughter."
I nodded. "It'll be fine. Roland's coming with us, after all."
Roland blinked. Then he said, "I beg your pardon?"
"What? You wanted help to avoid Marisa's grandfather and uncle, right?"
"That's... I mean, YES. But-"
Marisa's eyes sparkled. "Perfect. We can double elope. Grandfather and Uncle will be FURIOUS... and then the academy will be completely safe after they overturn everything looking for us."
"Yep." I nodded. "And if we leave tonight, people won't expect it. After all, in the first 'loop' we were strictly training and preparing for the Winter Solstice Ball. Even though some people had seen Eve wtih Emma, and you kissing Roland, Mari, there shouldn't have been enough time for that to properly spread yet. So..."
Marisa stood up. "So we leave now." She nodded. "With your ability in crafting and alchemy, supplies are unnecessary. If we just grab some food and put it in a storage bag or spatial fold, then we can have proper food on the go as well."
Roland's eyes widened. "H-Hold on. You all are fine to just leave, but if I just vanish, my family will disown me!"
I scooped Emma up from Eve and said, "Then just write them a letter saying you're eloping with Mari. Her status is high enough that it should help with your situation, right?"
"Well, yes, technically-"
Marisa tossed a bag at Roland and said, "Less complaining, more packing, Husband."
"H-H-Husband?!"
Eve giggled and said, "You have been waiting to say that, haven't you, Mari?"
"You have no idea."
Roland's eyes widened. "Th-This is all so sudden...!"
I adjusted Emma in my arms, bundling her up with the blanket. Then I said, "Unless you want to treat this as being abducted by a woman, Rolo, just go with it."
Roland sighed.