Ch.360Before the Overseas Trip (2)

We headed straight to the wedding venue.

‘The teacher said… I don’t need to give a monetary gift.’

That was fortunate.

When I lived a normal life in Korea before, weddings used to drain my wallet quite a bit. Once you hit your late twenties, friends start getting married. And for some reason, as if there are designated wedding seasons, everyone seems to get married around the same time. Including acquaintances I wasn’t particularly close with, the minimum gift was 50,000 won. If it was a close friend, honestly, I needed to give more than that to save face. Maintaining face was surprisingly important.

If three not-so-close friends got married in succession, that was 150,000 won gone. For a poor writer like me, that was a serious financial blow. I could have used that 150,000 won for gacha games. How many pulls would that have been?

“Ah, you must be the teacher’s student? I’ve heard about you. No need for a monetary gift.”

The person at the entrance said with a gentle smile. They must have figured out I was a student from my uniform.

Mika and I entered arm in arm.

I wanted to greet the teacher right away, but it seemed both he and the bride, Ms. Mimiko, were in the waiting room. Right. Some grooms hide away before the ceremony due to nerves. Others try to calm their nerves by chatting animatedly with friends.

“Sniff… sob…”

Two elderly people were shedding tears. From the looks of it, an elderly couple… Ah, I could tell they were the teacher’s parents.

“I can’t believe… our son is getting married… I was so worried…”

An elderly woman was crying.

“Yeah… I even secretly looked into international marriage websites… What a relief. Really.”

The elderly man also seemed to have gone through quite a bit of emotional turmoil.

Yes, it was indeed a relief. Besides them, there were quite a few people present, including relatives, other teachers from our school, and even other students from our class.

On Mimiko’s side… there were clearly aliens. They must be Mimiko’s acquaintances. Well… Mimiko was an alien, so naturally her acquaintances would be aliens too.

But… there were none of Mimiko’s own species. Mimiko was a rare species whose clan had been wiped out. Naturally, she had no family. I felt a bit bitter about that.

People were whispering about the aliens.

“What’s with those people…?”

“I heard they met at an alien enthusiast club and ended up getting married.”

“Ah, so that’s why they’re dressed as aliens?”

That seemed to be the explanation given to people.

Honestly, I was a bit worried. I wondered if the aliens would adapt well to Earth. If they made even one blunder, the wedding would be ruined.

Just then, a guest (human) tried to grab a simple pre-ceremony dessert.

At that moment, an octopus-shaped alien approached the guest.

“Oh, that tastes delicious with jam. There’s fig jam here.”

The octopus-shaped alien kindly explained.

“Ah… thank you.”

The human guest smiled kindly and took the jam.

“They’re adapting to Earth really well!!”

Mika commented on the scene.

“Yeah…”

I looked toward the alien guests. They all seemed to have shopping bags filled with items.

“Wow, I never thought I’d visit Earth in my lifetime.”

“I finally went to Akihabara. Bought tons of model kits.”

“I got games. That one that’s supposed to be fun? Ghost of Tsushima. Bought it right away.”

“Wasn’t that a PlayStation exclusive? That’s why I was hesitant.”

“Just buy a console while you’re here.”

The alien guests chatted among themselves.

“…Earth’s culture is amazing.”

Mika murmured without realizing it.

“Yeah, this is cultural invasion.”

I nodded. The universe might be more high-tech than expected… but I could tell that culture hadn’t developed to the same extent. Pril and Kirtan would make a fuss every time they saw something from Earth. Thanks to that, Earth was unexpectedly famous as a cultural hotspot.

Beauty standards were similar. Earth humans were quite recognized as handsome and beautiful. The setting was that species closer to humans were considered more attractive. Because of that, many had fantasies about Earth. A country of beautiful people with high cultural standards… that’s roughly how it was perceived.

At that moment, a group of aliens approached.

“Ah, Mr. Arigiri Shota. It’s an honor to meet you.”

I was quite famous among the aliens.

“I heard you liberated the Lesser Planet recently…”

Being an equal force that stood against Pink Beard garnered quite a response.

“I’m Remark, a diplomat from the Octopus Sashimi Planet.”

And there were also high-ranking individuals exchanging business cards.

“……”

I roughly understood the reason.

To them, Pink Beard was the setting sun, and now the rising force was our Earth’s Sasits faction. They were trying to align themselves with us. Well, at this point, every individual was valuable. I responded generally favorably.

Concerned that the teacher might not have any acquaintances and be a loner, I had distributed invitations to others in advance. This was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Even if one was usually pathetic, one had to maintain face in places like this.

“Ahem.”

Mr. Kujo, the president of Kunami Company, and his wife were seated. I had Madoka persuade them to come. And sure enough, they came.

‘Besides, Mr. Kujo owes me.’

Thanks to my exploitative policies, Kunami Company had become the industry leader despite being a newcomer to the gaming industry. Everyone complained but still bought the Kunacon. The profit structure was so well-designed that money flowed in. Kunami Company was enjoying unprecedented prosperity. Thanks to me.

“Isn’t that person… the president of Kunami Company?”

“I heard he’s an acquaintance of the groom… quite impressive.”

Thanks to that, the teacher’s reputation was somehow maintained.

And… there was a famous person that some would recognize.

“I expected an awesome Japanese wedding, but it’s Western-style. I’m disappointed. I came here to see a Japanese-style wedding.”

Todoki Hawado came too!! No, honestly, I didn’t invite him. He just came. Go develop games. What are you doing?

And… invest just a tenth of that love for Japan in Korea. Todoki… honestly, your games sell better in Korea than in Japan. Admit it!! Being loved is happier than loving!!

To the other half-human guests, he was just a foreigner, but the aliens were different.

“T-Todoki Hawado?!!”

“I’m glad I came here!!”

“I-I need to get an autograph!!”

The aliens immediately surrounded Todoki Hawado.

“I-I’m looking forward to your new work!! The zombie game!”

The aliens’ eyes sparkled.

“Oh, about the new game… just between us, it has 200 different endings. And each NPC has AI integrated to make them like real people…”

Todoki immediately started talking.

That’s his habit. When there are many people, he just makes things up.

“That’s awesome!!”

“Wow!! I’ll definitely buy it when it comes out!!”

The aliens were amazed by his words.

Of course, I didn’t believe it at all. I still haven’t forgotten his claim about Fallout 3’s endings. He said there were over 100 endings… but there were essentially just 2. What was he trying to do? Really.

Anyway, thanks to gathering guests, the teacher’s reputation was somewhat maintained. At least the groom’s side didn’t look completely pathetic.

——-

That’s when it happened.

“Now then!! The bride and groom will enter!”

With the announcement from the officiant, the ceremony began.

“That officiant… it’s that person.”

It was an officiant who appeared at every event. Duel tournaments, children’s dueling competitions, and even school arenas. He appeared at all sorts of events. This person… really works hard at events. Is he trying to buy a house or something?

Bababam-!! Bababababam-!

With a familiar tune that everyone knew, the neatly dressed teacher and Ms. Mimiko entered.

“They’re being vague because of copyright. DMCA is scary.”

I whispered to Mika.

“No… Shota. What on earth are you talking about?”

Mika said with an incredulous expression. It’s a thing.

The teacher… at this moment, looked happier than anyone else. I gazed at the teacher endlessly. Ah… there’s satisfaction in playing matchmaker. I nodded vigorously.

The officiant was indeed a professional. He smoothly finished the ceremony within 3 minutes, then seamlessly moved on to the vow kiss.

“Now! The couple’s first joint task!! The cake cutting ceremony!!”

The officiant announced.

Holding a plastic bread knife with a heart shape drawn on it together, they cut the large cake.

“Wow!! They have good chemistry!! They cut the cake cleanly!!”

The officiant said with a smile.

Anyway, the wedding wrapped up in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

———-

While eating at the buffet, Mika firmly held my hand.

“Our wedding will be… quite lively too.”

Mika said with a chuckle.

“Ah… because there will be so many brides.”

I said with a smile.

“Ah… I want to get married.”

Mika said.

“Me too.”

I really wanted to escape high school.

“Let me ask you this opportunity. Mika… do you have any romantic ideals about weddings?”

I asked Mika.

“That’s… a bit embarrassing.”

Mika cleared her throat.

“Come on, tell me. What’s the big deal?”

I said with a smile. I was willing to fulfill any romantic ideal I could.

“Well… don’t laugh when you hear it.”

Mika opened her mouth hesitantly with a cute expression.

“P-premarital pregnancy…”

Mika said in a barely audible voice.

“But… not with a big belly… more like getting married in the early stages of pregnancy? I like that feeling.”

Mika said.

“Sure. If that’s what Mika wants.”

I smiled and whispered to Mika.

“After graduation, when you turn 20 and it’s legal, I’ll get you pregnant right away. Be prepared.”

I immediately put my name on Mika’s baby waiting list.

“Hehehe. I don’t know.”

Mika seemed pleased with my answer and playfully hit my wrist.

And so, the big event before our overseas trip concluded.