Reincarnated Hero System

"Woah, that's a lot lesser than I had expected."

The trio chatted for about a minute much to the dissatisfaction of the mages who she kept waiting but they could not say anything as they didn't want to piss Joanna off.

As for Evan, he didn't have a good impression of any of the Grand Mages in Kasteblum, besides those directly related to Gavin and Joanna.

He felt that they were all arrogant old fogeys who looked down on people and liked to feel superior to them because of their magic prowess. 𝐟𝗿𝒆𝐞𝓌e𝒃𝒏𝒐ѵ𝒆𝒍.c𝚘𝗺

Thus, he couldn't really care less about whether the Grand Mage got pissed off waiting for his conversation with Joanna to finish or not.

"So, you two were a thing, huh? I feel jealous, I want a partner too."

The dark-skinned woman alternated her gaze between Evan and Eliza before gazing into the distance as she spoke.

Evan didn't bother correcting her small misunderstanding as he replied faster than Eliza could speak.

"Maybe I should introduce you to Jenson, you guys would definitely get along well."

Hearing the name from Evan, a conflicted look appeared on Joanna's face as she muttered the name to herself multiple times.

"Jenson...Jenson..."

Before Evan could even begin an explanation, recognition flashed through her eyes as she spoke.

"Ah! the one from The Gr-, Gerfast."

Evan's lips twitched as he realised what Joanna did in the latter half of her statement.

'Did she just say 'Gerfast' because Saying 'The Great Western Empire' would have been too long?'

Oblivious to the young hero's thoughts, Joanna continued speaking, recounting how she came to know about Jenson's existence.

"I remember him, He came over some time ago.

Exactly my type. A pity that I slept through the entire time he was here and only got to talk to him a few moments before he left."

'I'm not even going to question how she slept through the entire time he was here.'

Evan sighed internally as he wrapped up the talk with Joanna and left the ski resort with Eliza to continue with the rest of their date.

The duo went on a small tour of the districts of Kasteblum that they weren't familiar with, and participated in a few late winter events in the process.

By evening time, they made their way over to the Arts Theatre Centre in Kasteblum where the show was to happen.

Apparently, their tickets were VIP tickets, which allowed them to seat at a private booth on the second floor of the theatre. This gave them a nice view of the stage without any obstructions whatsoever.

Fast-forward to two hours later and the duo were exiting the theatre using the special exit prepared for VIPs as they discussed their thoughts on the performance they had just watched.

Even Evan who had only seen the show as a means to ask Eliza out on a date ended up being engrossed in the storyline of the musical midway through.

It was a romance story with a bit of action and comedy elements added in the right amounts and at the right places that held the attention of all those who came to watch throughout the two-hour duration.

The two took a carriage ride to The Lotus restaurant, arriving barely thirty minutes after and just in time for their reservation.

They were led to a private room that had a large one-way glass window on the wall that allowed them to see the late-night skyline of the city-state of magic.

After ordering their meal and having their food delivered in less than ten minutes, Evan and Eliza savoured their meal while having a light conversation regarding the show they had just watched, discussing their favourite acts and scenes, their impressions of the characters, and the parts they wished turned out differently.

However, their conversation about the show gradually came to an end, with them digressing into other topics as they rounded up their meal.

As it was his first time placing a reservation at their restaurant, Evan received a free bottle of non-alcoholic wine from the restaurant for free, which he had them open up immediately and pour into his and Eliza's glasses.

"Their service really does match their reputation."

Eliza voiced those words out after the waiter closed the door of the private room, before picking up the glass and taking a sip of the wine.

"I'm glad you liked it."

A small smile formed on Evan's lips as he replied while sipping his wine slowly, his gaze on Eliza all the while.

Naturally, it was simply impossible for Eliza to ignore his slightly heated gaze, given that they were the only people in the room.

"Hey, Evan."

"Yes, Liz."

"Why?"

"Huh?"

Evan let out a confused sound upon hearing Eliza's no-context question. Perhaps understanding his confusion, Eliza went on to elaborate.

"Why'd you ask me out?"

Hearing her question, Evan's eyes narrowed as he shot back with a question of his own.

"Are you really asking me this?"

"Well, I can pretty much guess the reason but I just wanted to hear you say it, that's all."

Eliza calmly replied to Evan without a hint of nervousness, internally and externally, while taking small sips of her wine with her gaze locked on Evan.

"Hmm...

Oh well, I was still going to say it either way just for 'formality'."

The young hero shrugged his shoulders and dropped his glass on the table before continuing.

"I Like you, Eliza.

The more than just a friend kind of 'like'."

_{𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢}

Although Eliza tried to remain calm upon hearing this, she could not stop the small blush that crept onto her cheeks.

" 'Like', huh?"

"Hmm? Were you perhaps expecting me to say that I love you?"

Evan tilted his head to the side and asked; however, Eliza dropped her glass and waved her hand in denial as she replied.

"Nahh. I already know that whatever you feel for me isn't that deep."

Her words caused an expression of surprise to appear on Evan's face as he didn't expect Eliza to react the way she just did.

? 'Perhaps 'she' caused me to have some sort of prejudice against how girls react to confessions?'

He shook his head as if to get the unwanted thoughts out of his mind as he turned his gaze back to Eliza who rested her elbow on the table before propping her chin up against her palm and asking.

"Hey, just what is it about me that you like?"

"What about you that I like? Almost everything."