Chapter 34 - What Lays Forgotten – III

Marisa fiddled with the hem of her dress and said, "Well..." She paused, thinking for a moment. Then she slowly said, "There... is something that I must accomplish. And to do so, I need to be good- No, the best at magic. I have to."

I didn't respond, letting her words hang in the air.

...Yeah. That was right.

Marisa Sagewind was the granddaughter of the Grand Sage, one of the oldest Rank 9 magic users still around. But it wasn't because of that she was good at magic.

I wrote every character to have a motivation. And hers...

Marisa clenched her hands and said, "If I'm not, then they..." She trailed off.

...Yeah. Hers was to save her parents trapped in a Gate. A stupidly restrictive one that only allowed blood relatives to enter. But not just blood relatives. It only allowed those who were blood relatives and younger than those trapped inside while having the same or better rank as those trapped.

The EX-Ranked Gate that drew inspiration from the infamous witch's murder of her own brother for the one she loved.

I wrote it to be that restrictive because it was the event that truly drew Roland and Marisa together.

With , Roland could brute force his way into any Gate by literally cutting it open. And it was this power and his willingness to help Marisa after learning about her situation that led to the arc where they really became a couple.

Of course, I had to top off that arc with tragedy, making it so that by the time they arrived Marisa's parents were already doomed and could only pass away while giving Marisa their blessings...

Hm. But if we went right now... Or at least within the next year, it might not be too late. There was a certain timed event inside that Gate that set up their deaths, but if we head off early-

No, I was getting sidetracked.

Roland held Marisa's hand and said, "Who's 'they,' Mari? And what do you need help with?"

Marisa flinched at Roland's touch. But then she let out a warm smile. "Thanks, Rolo. And..." She hesitated and said, "...I'll... explain another time. But... I need to reach Rank 9. As quickly as possible. That's why." She looked at me and said, "Alex. If you can help me... I'll do anything. Please. Anything..." She bowed her head.

"Hey." I glanced backwards from my place at the front of the carriage and said, "Don't talk like that." I frowned. "We're friends, so of course I'll help. And also... you need to keep your head up, Mari. No matter how desperate you are, there are people who will help you now. So don't run off giving people blank checks like that."

Marisa's eyes widened. Then she laughed, tears glimmering in her emerald eyes. She brushed them off and said, "Okay. Friends..." She giggled and said, "It's nice having them..."

Roland patted his chest and said, "Of course! We'll always be here for you, Mari. Right, Princess?"

Evelyn rolled her eyes and said, "You only ever call me by title when you need a favor, 'Sir Roland.'"

Roland laughed. "Well, shall I make a formal request then?"

Evelyn hummed and looked over at me. "What do you think, Darling? Should this princess grant that poor man's request?"

I chuckled and said, "You all are waaay too comfortable now."

Laughter filled the carriage.

I smiled. But as I did, I thought about Marisa's request.

It was definitely possible to help her.

After all, I designed this world's magic system. And I knew countless others. But I had to take into account the very annoying fact that I had written in superhuman geniuses who could bootstrap to godhood and probably past it if they really knew how things worked...

But that was where being Elio's sponsee came in handy.

If I kept up this charade a bit, I could plausibly find a certain 'artifact' in a Gate dropped by a monster. One that would help nudge Mari in the right direction...

But that was a later thing.

After all, I was still perfecting the whole forcefully merging the physical and magical mana systems what with the interconnected mana stars and mana circles in my body.

Couldn't help someone else without helping yourself first.

And besides. I... had a sinking feeling that Marisa might do something reckless if she knew it was possible to mix those systems. While I might be able to do it, and while Eve would be fine trying it due to , if Mari tried it... probably 99% chance of a mana explosion. Not good.

After a while, Marisa sighed. "...Thanks, Alex. And you too, Roland... and Evelyn." She smiled, warm. "It's been so long since I had any hope..." She placed her hands over her chest and said, "I appreciate this. Truly."

I waved my hand. "You're funding my crazy experiments and put up with Roland's shenanigans. Least I could do."

Marisa giggled.

I smiled.

Evelyn hummed and said, "Is it that much of a concern, however?" She looked at Marisa and said, "If it is a serious dilemma, I could muster the Imperial Mages..."

Marisa shook her head. "I'm grateful, Evelyn. But... even my grandfather couldn't help." She sighed. "It's something that I must achieve for myself."

Evelyn frowned. "Even so..."

Roland cut in and said, "Well, don't worry about it, Mari! We're a team now, and we'll sort it out together. Right, Alex?"

I gave him a thumbs up. "Of course."

There you go, Roland! That's how you raise affection points! Reading the mood!

...But hm. Come to think of it... Was he actually dense, or just playing the fool? Because even an idiot could tell that Marisa was into him at this point, right...?

Marisa leaned against Roland's side, smiling. "Thank you, Rolo. I l- like how you're always helping me."

MARI! Your chaaaance!

Roland pulled her into a one-armed hug and said, "Anytime, Mari."

I stared at Eve.

She stared back and let out a silent sigh.

I shook my head. This guy...

Evelyn spoke up and said, "Well... since we finished Mari's question and your own, shall I go next?"

"Sure." I nodded. "Go for it, Eve. What do you wanna know?"

Evelyn paused, considering the question. Then she said, "Alex... You do not have to answer if you do not wish to. But... will you tell us why you hate monsters and Gates so much?"

Roland spoke up. "I want to know too, Alex. I understand that you have a grudge... but even so, your actions are a bit extreme for just that, aren't they?"

I paused, mulling over how to answer that. But before I could, something else answered for me.

> The role [Alexander Smith] greatly resonates with [Playwright]!

> Warning! Knowledge and emotion are being transferred!

Wait, what are you-?

"Because I saw it."

A harsh and cold voice.

It was Alex's, but it wasn't [mine].

[Alex] looked up at the sky and murmured. "I lost everything that day. My parents. My sister. A Gate formed out of nowhere, and the 'Heroes' ran away leaving it to burst. Monsters overran everything and everyone. And I... was lucky. I lived when they didn't. And so I swore that day. That I would end the Gates and monsters no matter what I had to do."