Lithia took Geo’s hand and placed it on top of her lap, while sending an upward glance his way. She couldn’t pretend anymore.

“Yesterday, I wasn’t scared. Rather, I was excited. I just found it unexpected. I fainted because I was surprised and overwhelmed, but I didn’t dislike it!”

“Lithia…”

Geo wrapped his hand around hers and stared into her eyes.

When he peered into her eyes, Lithia flushed.

“…Lithia, I can’t lie.”

“Yes, I know that part of you.”

“No, I’m saying that I can’t lie to anyone. I can’t even come up with small excuses. Not even to Baron Selvi and his wife, who we’re about to meet.”

“…Geo?”

Geo was acting weird. Even though he seemed to be excited, he also seemed to be suppressing his desire, making him to look unusually impatient.

—Also, why did he suddenly bring up Baron Selvi and his wife?

“I wrote a letter to the baron and his wife saying that we’d be leaving before noon yesterday.”

“R-right…”

“Assuming we’ll stay overnight in a town somewhere along the way, it’ll take two days to reach their territory with Magical Stone Express.”

“Uhm…?”

Does that mean we can’t be late for our appointment?

If they got off the train now and stayed at an inn, they wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.

However, Geo only told them the date of departure, instead of promising to arrive that day.

“If we were to arrive tomorrow, they might ask if we got lost or fell ill. An ordinary guy would probably be able to come up with something, but I… I can only tell the truth… But there’s no way I can just say that—”

“—Oh!”

Lithia finally understood how serious it was.

If Baron Selvi and his wife were to ask, “You were late, did you get lost?” Geo would tell them the reason for the delay. The reason why he got off the train, and what he did afterwards…

“Y-you can just stay quiet?”

“I also can’t show affirmation to your words. I’d have to remain silent the entire time, like a statue. Above all, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for making Lithia lie to cover my own skin.”

…She didn’t realize that his inability to lie would have such a negative impact. Even if she was mentally prepared for the deed, nothing would be able to prepare her to tell the truth to her future parents-in-law.

“The Spirit of Light is strict when it comes to lies about the past. The future may change, but not the past…”

She told herself the same thing, too. Geo’s frustration was conveyed through his painful grip.

There was nothing she could do about it. She tried to picture a scene where she honestly told her future parents-in-law why they were late.

“If I lose the ability to use light magic… No, I can’t—!”

Apparently, Geo also pictured a scene where he tried to lie, but soon covered his face. Lying wouldn’t get them anywhere. In the first place, they were welcomed to that territory because of his light magic. It’d be anticlimactic if he lost his power as soon as they arrived.

Everything would have been in vain.

“…How I wish that the train would stop as it is.”

“Eh?”

A few minutes later.

After the two of them passed some time in silence Geo muttered with a determined gaze.

“—Then, even if we stop by a town along the way, we could just say, ‘we got delayed because the train stopped.’”

“R-right.”

‘How I wish the time would stop.’ was a line often said by lovers in romance novels, but now it carried a different undertone.

“Poor maintenance? Out of fuel? A faulty rail? Which one would stop the train with the least possible damage?”

“Improper maintenance and faulty rails can lead to accidents, so their dangerous. But if the train runs out of fuel, it can just quickly refuel from the surrounding towns.”

“So, it’d be useless unless there’s a fuel shortage in all the towns around here… Any ideas?”

“…A fuel shortage can happen if the Fire Magic Stone Mine becomes inaccessible.”

Rather than joking, they were seriously considering it.

However, no matter what they did, the Magical Express Train continued to glide along its tracks.

---

***T/N: And there goes the r-18 tag.

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