I sat looking at the small box that I'd designed. It'd taken work from both Simon and myself to bring it to existence, but it was something special, something worthwhile, something I was just a little bit proud of. It wasn't my normal work, or like it at all, but it was something I rather liked.

Simon had liked it too, but I'd convinced him his gifts for his crush were more than enough. It would also be completely tasteless if we gave girls the same thing. Not that I'd not done it in my previous life, but I'd been found out, and it had not ended with any happy women. Unhappy women could make your life unreasonably hard if they wanted to, so we were doing what we could.

A waiter came by looking me over along with my gift.

“May I get you anything sir?” he inquired, though he should have known the answer.

“No, not until my company arrives,” I answered.

This particular restaurant was well outside of the city proper, on a lovely little hill overlooking it. The view was marvelous, however the staff was less than impressive. I'd come here on a recommendation from one of my classmates, said that it was one of the best spots he knew of, and perhaps it was. Other than the stunning vista of Exion out from the side of my table there was good decor, smells drifting towards me from the kitchen that were making my mouth water ever so slightly, and a calm, relaxed atmosphere.

There was also the not so small detail that it was outside of city limits, one of the running requests from my professors. Honestly I didn't want to jinx it, but I was hoping we wouldn't have too many problems today. After all, I was here to meet a girl, not start a fight, burn something to the ground, or meet a monster of some sort. I would have to admit though that some of my classmates at times thought of girls as monsters.

Luckily at least I didn't have to wait for too long for my companion to join me.

“Percival, it's been too long,” Rowenna said as she took her seat across from me, her chaperone looking on keenly from the side.

I didn't love the habit, but in some cases such people would be employed, particularly when, like us, two young people were officially courting and in public. During our dinner with the duke such a thing hadn't been needed, since his people would be there, or the carriage driver otherwise, but here one was deemed appropriate.

“You as well Rowenna, I do hope everything is going well?”

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“Oh, quite busy, and everyone at the school is in a whole state. There's been some kind of change in the administration, people are saying the king himself is involved. Probably rumors, but you know how things are. How are things at your academy?”

“Well, I've actually been spending some time with people other than your brother of late. One of them even helped me to make this.” With a light gesture I offered her the small box I had nearby.

“Lovely,” she said, pulling open the lid with a small smile and admiring the runes on the inside. “What's it do?”

“Nothing much, just keeps itself clean and a small lighting charm.”

As she opened it fully the latter came into play, a soft white light spilling over her features. The inner lid held a mirror, made to stay magically clean perpetually. Well, actually I'd cleaned it manually, and it projected a tiny, almost infinitesimally thin shield over itself, repelling dirt and grime, the effect was the same.

“So many little compartments,” she giggled.

“I had to consult similar items, though I was told they were the right sizes,” I admitted.

That too was true, it was made for jewelry, cosmetics, and all the little things women used to keep themselves looking nice. Personally I thought it was all a bit much, particularly for a girl of her age, but it was still the style. What did I know anyway? I was a man in both of my lives and had almost no experience with that kind of thing.

“Thank you so much, I know just the place for it. Actually there was something else I was hoping you could talk to me about though.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What's that?”

“Do you know why I'm in town?” she asked.

“Not entirely, but I've heard a bit. Your school is taking a hiatus,” I confirmed, it was part of the reason I'd asked her to meet me once I'd learned she'd be around.

I actually knew quite a bit, her school had been really tied up with the now dead archmage. That death was a country-shaking event, still being kept under a shroud. People knew, a good number of people, but how exactly it had happened, who'd done it, and the like were still deeply secret. She'd even alluded to it earlier, to keep details from the public eye, they were getting out of school much earlier than normal this year.

“Well, mother and father don't have a teleport point near our summer home, so I'm staying in the city for now. They're trying to find me a tutor, but for rather obvious reasons those are in very high demand right now.”

“Yes, I can see that they would be.”

“My brother as well will be around a bit, but he's not of... a very intellectual persuasion either.”

“Indeed,” I snickered, Lucas was a dyed in the wool meathead, not stupid, but uninterested in things other than fighting.

“Would, would you be willing to help me with some of my studies... I mean, not the magic, but some of the other things. I really don't want to fall behind on math, civics, or the like. Sadly I feel that many of my classmates will be doing just that too. Also, if you can make this,” she said, pointing to the box. “Maybe you can help me with my magical items? I'm always ever so behind in that class.”

“Certainly, we can meet whenever we're able, and it always brings a smile to my face when you send me a letter. I may not know all that much more than you, but I'll help however I can.”

I'd spoken before I thought too deeply about it, and found that moment that I'd agreed to a perpetual study date. It would be taking at least part of my days off whenever I had one for the rest of the year, at least if we followed the plan she was now laying out before me. Rowenna had come prepared, with a small notebook full of days, times, and subjects, organized to a T. Well, at least it would keep me out of too much trouble with the school.

The waiter eventually interrupted us, and we made our orders. I had a pasta dish, served in a cream sauce with several herbs I couldn't identify. Rowenna went with a type of fish, ever popular on an island, with a reddish sauce spread over it. After her deluge of plans we moved to more background topics, the kind of things one normally did on a date, fun anecdotes, recent events, even the news. By the time I left I'd almost forgotten about the new thing I'd added onto my schedule.