Ch.146Side Story 1 – The Wedding (Complete)

In the bridal waiting room, while waiting for the wedding to begin, Agath and Rebecca entered, both beautifully dressed.

It might seem impolite, but they probably just look overdressed because of their faces.

To be blunt, if someone with an ordinary appearance wore those clothes, they would look quite plain.

The good thing is that I’m the most beautiful one here. So wearing this beautiful pure white dress, I’ll look the most stunning, which means there’s no problem.

…Just thinking about it makes me cringe. I should never think like this again.

Anyway, I greeted Agath and Rebecca.

“Hello, have you been well?”

“I can’t even say I’ve been well as a courtesy.”

The deep, drooping dark circles on Agath’s face confirmed her statement. She really must be having a hard time.

“I’ve been enjoying myself.”

In contrast, Rebecca answered with a refreshing smile and a glowing face. Is it normal for a saint to rest well while a knight works hard?

While I was thinking about this, Agath chuckled and pointed at my pretty dress.

“Doesn’t this remind you of the old days?”

“What do you mean?”

“When you were made to wear that dress at the department store.”

“…Why bring up such an embarrassing memory?”

Even if I went back to the past with my current mindset, that situation would still be embarrassing.

The age gap was too wide to begin with—that kind of outfit is something kids would wear for Halloween.

While I was grumbling to myself, Agath started teasing me again.

“So where did the Lite who desperately fought against wearing women’s clothes go?”

“…The past is the past, and the future is the future, right?”

“Why do they say those who forget the past have no future?”

“…It’s my wedding day, would it hurt to just congratulate me?”

“Alright, I’ll tease you again tomorrow.”

Agath stepped back, still smiling playfully. At least it ended here for today, which is fortunate.

As the three of us were chatting, we heard someone opening the door and coming in.

Curious about who it was, I turned my head, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe.

And Ju-an, who entered looking incredibly handsome, had the same reaction when he saw me.

I knew he would look much better dressed up, but seeing him in person was beyond my imagination.

To give you an idea of how impressive he looked—I could feel my lower abdomen tingling.

“…Want to?”

Despite people being around, my cursed mouth blurted out my true feelings. Should I just rip out my vocal cords?

Before I could even start regretting it, Agath’s face turned bright red, and she hurriedly left.

“I-I’ll go greet some other people!”

And Rebecca gave us a smiling glance before slowly walking away.

“I’ll go say hello to others too. Have a good time.”

Thanks to my stupid mouth, I created an embarrassing memory before the wedding even started.

…I don’t even know anymore.

“So, do you want to?”

“…Let’s do it a lot after the wedding.”

“Once should be fine. And I have the ability to stop time, so even if we do it, no one will know.”

Even Ju-an, who would normally remain composed, moved me to the bed in the bridal waiting room with an excited face. Am I really that beautiful right now?

To confirm the answer to that question, I asked Ju-an, who was on top of me.

“How pretty am I right now?”

“I can’t even begin to describe it in words.”

Ju-an whispered in my ear with such a sweet voice.

“I love you.”

“Hehe… I love you so much too.”

Just as we were about to share our affection with our whole bodies,

“I’m her—”

Leo and the former Saint entered without any sense of timing.

“L-Leo?!”

“……..”

“I-It’s not what it looks like!”

If we were going to do it, we should have locked the door. While I was regretting this, Leo suddenly grabbed his head, collapsed to the floor, and began muttering in a panicked voice.

“Don’trunawaydon’trunawaydon’trunawaydon’trunawaydon’trunawaydon’trunawaydon’trunaway…”

Ju-an and I were too embarrassed to know what to do, the former Saint looked perplexed, and Leo kept repeating his maddened cries.

In the midst of this chaotic situation, Ha-eun and Yong-in entered.

“Hello, sen… What is this person doing?”

“AlmightyAkartprotectmewithyourholylight,AlmightyAkartprotectmewithyourholylight,AlmightyAkartprotectmewithyourholylight…”

“…Nothing happened. Right, Ju-an?”

“Huh? Y-yeah. Nothing happened.”

While Ju-an and I avoided Ha-eun’s gaze, she looked around and asked us incredulously.

“Senior, don’t you think doing it in the bridal waiting room is a bit much?”

“…It’s because Ju-an is too handsome.”

“…It’s because Lite is too pretty.”

Ju-an and I blurted out excuses simultaneously. So the saying that lovers grow alike is true.

Anyway, Ha-eun sighed at us and continued her nagging.

“You could have done it after everything was over. And why didn’t you lock the door in the first place?”

“Lite suggested it first.”

“But you agreed too!”

“But you were the one who suggested it first.”

“And who carried me to the bed?”

“…”

While Ju-an and I were arguing over trivial matters, Ha-eun spoke with an annoyed tone.

“You know how irritating it is to flaunt your relationship in front of a single person, right?”

“…Sorry.”

“Sigh, since it’s your wedding day, I won’t say anything more. So, have you been well?”

“We’ve been doing fine as usual.”

The conversation should have continued, but thanks to our blunder, it didn’t.

So Ha-eun and Yong-in left the waiting room with bitter expressions.

“See you later. And congratulations on your wedding.”

“I congratulate you too. So how many children are you planning to have?”

“Well, maybe three?”

“Three, is that a lot by human standards?”

“Three is quite a lot.”

“I see. Anyway, congratulations on your wedding.”

After they left, it took a full 20 minutes before Leo finally spoke.

“Holy shit…”

“Why… were you like that…”

“Shut up.”

Leo began walking toward the door with a seriously dark expression.

“I had something to say, you know? But thanks to that fucking situation, I can’t remember any of it.”

Just before leaving completely, Leo paused and said in a dying voice:

“Con… congratu…lations… on your… wedding…”

Although I heard more curses than congratulations, at least he came this far.

While I was thinking about that, the former Saint gave us her sincere congratulations.

“Congratulations on your wedding! I sincerely pray that you’ll stop fighting and live happily together for a long time!”

Now only the two of us remained. And no one else would be coming here.

Of course, there were others like Sun and Partina, but we weren’t close enough for them to come all the way here.

So just as we were about to continue what we couldn’t finish earlier, an usher suddenly arrived.

“The wedding ceremony is about to begin.”

At least this time we didn’t make it to the bed, thankfully. With that sense of relief, I followed the usher.

***

After the wedding ceremony began, everything up to the groom’s entrance happened in an instant. Now it was time for the bride to enter.

This is truly the moment I’ve been waiting for, but I’m still so nervous I feel like I could die.

“Now, the bride will enter.”

The officiant, unaware of my feelings, called for me. I’m not mentally prepared yet…

But if I don’t go out now, Ju-an will be left alone awkwardly. So I have to move somehow, if only for Ju-an’s sake.

With that thought, my feet, which refused to move, finally started moving.

Anyway, by the time I reached Ju-an, my mind had gone completely blank. To give you an idea, I couldn’t even understand what the officiant was saying.

This seemed to be the case for Ju-an too, as we just stared at each other in a daze.

As time flew by, suddenly the officiant addressed me.

“Does the bride swear to love only the groom for the rest of her life?”

Thankfully I heard this. I tried to answer, but I was so nervous that the words wouldn’t come out.

So, out of frustration, I gently kissed Ju-an’s lips in front of everyone, then spoke as calmly as possible.

“I-I sincerely swear to love only Ju-an.”

I think I managed to speak quite calmly. While I was feeling relieved, the officiant asked Ju-an.

“Does the groom also swear to love only the bride?”

“Yes. I swear that I will not give even a glance to any woman other than this beautiful partner before me, and that I will sincerely love only Lite.”

Ju-an unfairly delivered a wonderful line so naturally and then kissed me just as I had done to him.

Thanks to that, I’m feeling happier than anyone else right now. If I had to describe this feeling in words… if heaven exists, would it feel like this?

No, I’m happier than heaven. While I was thinking this, I saw a red-haired man hurriedly leaving the place.

But I’m so happy right now that I don’t really think much of it.

Anyway, I whispered to Ju-an, just loud enough for him to hear.

“I love you.”

And Ju-an, with a dazzling smile, sweetly whispered back.

“I love you too.”

And so our new and incredibly happy life began.

***

Leo hurriedly left the wedding venue, and Zoe quickly followed him.

Of course, since Zoe had heard about the parallel world from Leo, she wasn’t completely unable to understand his current feelings.

‘But this is too impolite right now…’

She was going to scold him once he calmed down. Zoe continued to follow Leo with these thoughts.

As a result, she found Leo standing in front of a dust-covered building with a somewhat melancholic expression.

“Ah, you came?”

Leo spoke to Zoe very casually.

“Hero, no matter what, that was too…”

“Let’s talk about that later. Would you listen to me first?”

As Leo opened the door and entered the office, Zoe sighed and decided to go along with him for now.

“So where is this place?”

“The place I kept holding onto until you returned. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Yes, something sweet please.”

As Leo started making coffee as usual, the office began to fill with the aroma of coffee instead of dust.

After Leo finished making the coffee, the two silently faced each other and slowly drank their coffee.

“How did you manage while I was gone?”

Zoe spoke first when about half of the coffee was gone.

“Well, rather than saying I managed, it would be more accurate to say I was dying.”

Leo had a dark expression for a moment, but then smiled faintly and said,

“But I think it wasn’t too bad when I was here.”

Zoe was also satisfied seeing Leo’s improved state.

After the coffee was completely gone, Zoe spoke again.

“So why did you come here?”

“I had something to pick up.”

The magician got up from his seat, went to the cabinet, and took out a badge.

That pink badge that proves he is a hero and is used to confess to a lover.

But the magician pinned the badge on himself rather than giving it to the object of his affection, and said,

“I’m sorry, I’m still trapped in the past. So please wait a little longer.”

As the hero spoke with a determined voice, the saint smiled and replied.

“Then how much longer should I wait?”

“Three years. That should be enough.”

And so the magician began a journey to accept the hero.

“Ah, wait a moment.”

The magician-cum-hero hurriedly went inside the office and came out with paper and a pen.

Then Leo attached the paper to the front door of the office and left a final record there.

[Hero’s Office, Closed for Business.]

(The End)