Strangely enough, I woke up feeling super refreshed the next morning. I’d had almost no sleep, but both my body and mind were overflowing with energy, and I had almost no residual drowsiness. Actually, sorry, that was a lie. Honestly, I was still a little tired from yesterday. Part of the reason was, of course, because I had to wake up so early thanks to my schedule, but more than that, Shutola had gone over our allotted time—in other words, I hadn’t gotten as much sleep as we’d intended.
“Kel-nii...are you okay?” Rion asked. “You kind of look like Colette did yesterday...”
“I’m... I’m fine. Of course I can take part in the objection and the ceremony...”
“No, the sound of your voice alone says the opposite. So the question is: Why does Shutola look so energetic when you look like this? Her skin looks...glossy, almost. Did something happen?” Ange asked.
“Oh, erm...well, it’s the benefit of happiness, I guess?” I replied.
“The benefit of happiness? Ah, I see! So you’re saying the wedding yesterday had that much of an effect on Shutola! Ooh, now I’m really looking forward to my own!” Ange gushed teasingly.
Shutola and I chuckled nervously in unison.
“I will cook some food in secret later to energize you, master,” Efil offered.
“Sorry for the trouble, Efil...”
Of course Efil managed to pick up on what I needed most. Her cooking would definitely do me wonders. Seriously, cooking when taken to its extreme was amazing and something I could no longer do without.
We had returned to Parth from Trycen by teleportation gate and were now doing final checks on the schedule at home. Without needing to waste time traveling, we managed to free up quite a lot of time—or not. Even with no travel time, our schedule was tight. Just like with Trycen and Shutola, the wedding I’d be having with Rion today was a big one that would involve all of Parth. It would be so big that the crowds rivaled those at my promotion ceremony. The Adventurer’s Guild and townsfolk were helping, but as the stars of this event, there was a lot for us to do, which was why we were so pressed for time.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Kel-nii?” Rion asked again.
“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. Totally fine. More importantly, Rion, let’s go over our plans for today one more time.”
“Okay! Um, first, we’ll have a basic rehearsal. But Parth has been holding a festival alongside our wedding since the morning, which will go on regardless of what happens with us. It’s clear that the stalls and stages for the festival, along with magic performances, already have the town in a huge uproar,” said Rion.
“Yeah. We’ve been hearing the sound of fireworks going off and drunk laughing all this time.”
I turned to look out the window, confirming that the town was in such a lively state that it was hard to believe it was still morning.
Yeah, this might be even busier than my promotion ceremony. I’m sure there are a lot of tourists here, since the other great nations of the Eastern Continent are having festivals to coincide with our weddings, not just Parth. That reminds me, I heard some ridiculous rumors that the great nations worked together to invent dragon-drawn carriages for tourists that could cross between the countries in just half a day.
Actually, they were more than just rumors, I’d seen them in person. Apparently Trycen’s Dragon Knight Order was giving this project their full support, Toraj had spared no secret of its technology to create the carriage itself, the materials were the highest-quality wood straight from Gaun, and Deramis had provided each one with a safety barrier.
Hey, guys, don’t you think you tried too hard? Of course with all your powers combined, you could make it easier for tourists to get around. Naturally, you’d have money falling into your laps too. Well, I guess I’m fine with it as long as you’re all getting along!
“And as for the actual wedding, it’ll be held in the church on our estate! The one right there!” Rion exclaimed.
The smile she gave was perfect. Normal people would ask, “Why have the wedding in your own home?” But there was a reason for it. As I said before, Parth was currently filled to the brim with people, people, people, elves, and the occasional angel and demon. This situation didn’t make it easy for large groups of us to get around. So we’d decided to build a church on the grounds of the estate and just hold the whole thing right at home. It was a seemingly backward idea, but it was taken in earnest. After all, it was the conclusion we’d come to after some serious thought.
Dahak had claimed to be able to build a good church in a day, and he’d made good on that. Since Colette would be staying with us from now on, it would be best to have a place at home where she could pray anyway, so this seemed like the perfect solution. Still, the church turned out more impressive than I’d expected. It was also right next to Dahak’s field, so I’d been seriously shocked when I’d first laid eyes on it. But in the end, both Rion and I had accepted the idea.
“We also have a stage outside that will be showing footage of the wedding for those who want to see it but weren’t invited,” Ange added. “Man, that thing we borrowed from Gaun that does all this is as impressive as ever!”
It’s a magic item developed by my comrade, Kilto, so of course it is. Heh heh! I heard he happily let us borrow it when Rion went to ask him. Heh heh!
“Then, after the ceremony comes the reception in our garden!” Rion continued. “I think they call it a garden wedding? Or, since the actual ceremony is inside, a semi-garden? Hrm, anyway, it has something to do with gardens!”
“Ha ha! I see. No wonder Dahak’s been putting so much effort into pruning the plants there. Wait...Dahak again?”
It’s a bit late to be realizing this, but isn’t Dahak doing way too much? He built the church and is taking care of a garden big enough to have a wedding reception. His workload has got to be insane. Is this what the new Earth Dragon King is like when he’s serious? Well, it’s seriously amazing!
“The weather is great today, so I think it’ll be a comfortable event. By the way, what’s the food for the reception looking like?”
“Clare-san and I will be taking care of the multicourse menu for today,” said Efil.
“Ohhh, a special showing from the Fairy’s Song! I’m excited. Yes, very excited!” Mel exclaimed, her gluttony on full display.
Certainly, Efil and Clare-san’s cooking was something to look forward to. That was undoubtedly what I thought of when I thought of Parth food.
“By the way, all of the vegetables, fruits, and grains that will be used have been provided by Dahak’s fields,” Efil added. “He worked very hard for today.”
“He did all that too?!”
Oh no, I’m indebted to the Dragon Kings now, especially Dahak. I’ll have to repay this favor someday!