"Good grief... trying to get married without even acknowledging me! Even if the heavens themselves let it pass, Nami-chan won't stand for it!"
As he said this, Namitaro ignored everyone on high alert and tried to take a seat in the second row on the Ootori family's side (next to Jeanne)... but the rows were too close together for him to squeeze through, so he moved over to the corner of the venue where Shiromaru and the others were.
"Ahem!"
The intruder
being Namitaro
—was the anticlimactic punchline. On top of that, despite making such a flashy entrance, he voluntarily shuffled off to a corner, leaving those of us who had scrambled into full combat readiness completely dumbfounded and frozen in place. It was the King's throat-clearing that brought us back to our senses. The King and Maria beside him didn't seem particularly surprised that Namitaro had barged in. Curious, I scanned the surroundings, and there were two other people besides the King and Maria who looked somewhat out of place.
"Primera, did you know about Namitaro?"
"Yes... I'm sorry."
When I asked Primera in a whisper, she readily admitted it.
"Emi, too?"
"Yes..."
Primera had been acting strangely calm, so I was fairly sure she'd known, but with Emi, it had been more of a gut feeling. She looked less startled than frightened, so I'd asked on a hunch.
"You all know the history between Namitaro and the groom, Tenma. But as for this Namitaro...
"An
"unfor-
"tunate
"mis
"un
"der
"stand"
"...was because the arrival ended up being now. It was unexpected, but there shouldn't be any problem continuing the ceremony as is."
The King, shielding Namitarou more for the benefit of the Duke's side guests than anyone else, explained the situation and sent a glance to the priest to continue the wedding ceremony. In response, those who had left their seats returned to where they had been.
Once everyone had returned to their seats, the priest quietly signaled to resume, but... there was one big problem at this point. That is,
(Having to do the kiss of vows in this situation is pretty embarrassing.)
The flow had been interrupted, and on top of that, the atmosphere of the venue had completely changed with Namitarou's appearance, so getting back into position for the kiss was extremely awkward. I managed to lift Primera's veil and place my hand on her shoulder, but from there I froze.
Primera was the same... or rather, since I was the one who was supposed to make the move but I was the one who stopped, she seemed somewhat at a loss. Because of that, Primera and I ended up gazing at each other from close range... but I felt Primera close her eyes and lean her face toward mine, so reflexively, I was the one who managed to kiss her. Well, I don't know how the Duke's side guests perceived it, but most people who know me probably saw that I was being a wimp.
"With this, I hereby declare that a husband and wife have been born here."
With the priest's declaration — who, I think, didn't know about my predicament — Primera and I were officially recognized as husband and wife. The plan was for Primera and me to leave here, and after everyone moved to the venue for the reception banquet, we would be the last to enter... but before that, there was something we needed to discuss regarding Namitarou, so I had Aina immediately summon the relevant parties to gather in my waiting room after we exited.
The people Aina brought were Grandpa and Emi, Duke Sanga and Albert, the King and Maria and Caesar-sama, Marquis Samons and Margrave Haust, and Cain and Lion.
Family, royalty, high-ranking nobles, and the prostration reserve force, basically. Since they were all central figures among the guests, if these people were satisfied, everyone else would have no choice but to be as well (Primera was also a concerned party, but unlike me, she needed time for her costume change, so she didn't attend).
Before those people, I,
"Namitarou-sama, I am truly sorry."
prostrated myself to Namitarou. Albert, the first prostration reserve force member, and Cain and Lion, the second reserve force, were excused from prostrating thanks to Namitarou's grace, so they all watched my prostration alongside the others.
As for this prostration, I had no complaints. I had wanted to at least say one word of grievance, but before I could, the words Namitarou spoke caused everyone gathered to take his side, and I ended up prostrating sincerely. What he said was,
"I actually wanted to bring Hii-chan and Bon along too, y'know... Bon was all set to come, but Hii-chan wouldn't let him. I even thought about sneaking just Bon in on the sly, but Hii-chan's right — no point ruining a perfectly good wedding. Plus, Emi was kind enough to tip us off, so let's just call it even with Tenma's apology, how about it?"
That's what he said.
You could say it was thanks to Hii-chan, aka Behemoth, but if Namitarou had been so inclined, he could have brought even just the baby. In that case, the wedding would almost certainly have been cancelled or significantly delayed.
For the record, Emi hadn't called him out of consideration — she had wanted to ask Namitarou about aquatic Monsters and contacted him, and during that conversation, she apparently brought up the topic of my and Primera's wedding.
Upon hearing Emi's story, Namitarou apparently realized I had forgotten about him, and essentially threatened Emi into keeping quiet about his planned intrusion. However, Emi wasn't sure if staying silent was really the right call, so she consulted with the other main party involved, Primera. But Primera also couldn't decide, so she consulted with the King and Maria. Normally, even as a Duke's daughter, you wouldn't consult the King and Queen about something like this, but the two of them frequently visited my home, and given that relationship and the fact that I was Primera's fiancé, she often spoke with them quite casually. Moreover, this consultation apparently happened just one week before the wedding, and when Maria, worried that Primera might be nervous with the ceremony so close, reached out to her, Primera apparently mustered the courage to bring it up.
For the record, the reason Emi appeared frightened wasn't my mistake — it was because she was worried that Namitarou would be angry with her for leaking information to Primera despite being told to keep quiet. However, this was apparently due to Namitarou's poor choice of words, and '...
Apparently, what Namitarou meant to say was "Don't let Tenma know" rather than "Don't let anyone know." As long as I didn't find out, it wouldn't matter even if everyone in the Royal Capital knew.
That was why Emi was looking so relieved now. The stress she'd been under since Namitarou appeared must have been enormous. And since her timing happened during what was arguably the most memorable moment of the wedding, combined with the whiplash from thinking "Maybe it'll be okay?", she could have been forgiven for crying.
"Well, she did apologize properly, and all~... I shouldn't go poking at Tenma too much and cause trouble for Primera, I suppose~... I think I'll let it go around here~... but to heal Namichan's wounded heart, you know~... I'll need a box or two of those golden-yellow sweets, you see~... right?"
And with that, Namitarou demanded a bribe with a deliberately irritating tone while I was still prostrating myself.
"Slarin, bring the usual thing here."
I immediately called Slarin over and had her bring out what I'd entrusted to her.
"These are Namitarou-sama's favorite golden-yellow sweets. Please accept them."
The boxes Slarin brought out numbered five in total.
Namitarou opened one of them slightly,
"...Mufu! You're not so bad, you know~"
and let out a satisfied sound.
"I'll consider this matter settled with these sweets. Well then, Tenma. Don't you need to start getting ready for the reception banquet soon?"
Thanks to the golden-yellow sweets, I was able to successfully earn Namitarou's forgiveness. The only regret was that Albert hadn't had to prostrate himself.
Honestly, while I'd accepted that Cain and Lion were out of the question, I was certain Albert could be dragged into it — but since Namitarou had burst into my waiting room alone right from the start, there'd been no opportunity to involve him.
Well, the whole prostration thing had been my fault to begin with, so I supposed it was wrong to drag anyone else into it in the first place... Still, I couldn't quite let it go, and I seriously considered whether I could reduce Albert's cooking (especially dessert) at all.
After Namitarou and her group left, Primera and Aina arrived, just missing them.
The timing was good, but both of them looked a bit exasperated upon seeing me, who still hadn't finished getting ready.
I quickly finished preparations, passed Aina's inspection, and moved with Primera to a waiting room near the reception venue.
We were originally supposed to enter the venue from there, but because I'd gathered all the relevant parties, the guests' entrance had apparently been delayed a bit.
"Then, if you'll excuse me, I'll return to help with the venue."
Aina guided us and then headed back toward the venue, since she needed to start preparing the food. For the meal service specifically, Kurif and the other royal butlers and maids would be helping out. The reason was to prevent poisoning.
If someone with malicious intent were to use this wedding to harm the royal family or other nobles — or to sow seeds of discord — the most vulnerable moment would be during the meal. No matter how much trust the Sanga Duchy and I enjoyed from the royal family, with everyone saying poisoning was unthinkable, there was still the possibility that poison could be introduced while the food was being transported to the King and the others.
So Kurif and Aina, who normally attended to the King and the others, took on the role of servers under the pretense of helping out the Otter family, who had very few servants. While this meant the Sanga Duchy's servants wouldn't be participating, I had been given authority over the food, and since nearly all the staff during the ceremony had been the Duchy's servants, they'd split the duties between the ceremony and the reception banquet. As for the crucial taste-testing, it was carried out by the royal butlers and maids — excluding Kurif and Aina, who had participated in the ceremony — in a separate room during the ceremony itself. Although it was called "taste-testing," it also served as a pre-work meal, with each person receiving roughly half portions of everything from appetizers to dessert. So when Maria conveyed these conditions to the royal servants, every single one of them volunteered immediately. The members Kurif and Aina selected from that group meant that the finest talent in the country had been gathered — and that was no exaggeration. Incidentally, Kurif and Aina attended the reception as ordinary guests, while the Sanga Duchy's servants ate the same food as the guests' servants in a separate room (though in smaller portions, and not every dish was served).
"Still, it's great that we were able to use a church for the venue. Now we have a legitimate reason not to use a gondola."
"Indeed. No matter how much my brother insists, if the Duchy's authority can't be exerted there, what simply can't be done can't be done."
When the representatives of both families sat down to discuss the wedding proceedings, Albert had been persistently pushing for a gondola presentation. Moreover, he kept insisting that "
" sisters—"
" it'll be the talk of the town" — he'd managed to win over Eliza and was trying to get Primera to go along with it as well. Well, Albert's plan had been that if the ceremony were held at the Sanga Duchy's estate, setting up a gondola would be easy enough. But Primera had argued that "since I'm marrying outside the family, holding the ceremony at the Duchy estate would be inappropriate," and through Maria's connections, they'd been able to use a famous church in the Royal Capital, forcing Albert to change his plans.
The next proposal Albert put forward was to use a gondola at the party held at the Otter house, but this was easily shot down on the grounds that there was nowhere to install one at the Otter residence (it would have been possible to use the second floor or roof of the mansion facing the garden, but that was rejected because it could damage or destroy the walls).
While we were discussing all this, word came that the venue was ready, and Primera and I stood side by side in front of the door just as we had for the ceremony. We couldn't exactly say we were used to it yet, but we had a bit more composure than the first time and were able to enter together. On the way to our seats, I caught eyes with Albert, who was wearing a frustrated expression, so I gave Primera a subtle signal, and we both flashed him a smile. It might have looked like a heartwarming scene to onlookers, but to Albert it must have felt like pure spite.
Once we took our seats, Count Sylphild — who had been asked to serve as emcee — introduced us, followed by greetings and congratulatory speeches from the guests: on my side, the King and Count Haust; on Primera's side, Caesar-sama and Marquis Samons. Originally, only the King and Marquis Samons had been planned to speak, but when Count Haust was confirmed as a guest on my side, they had him go after the King as a way to showcase the relationship between the Otter family and the Border Count's household. To keep things balanced between the two families, Caesar-sama was also asked to speak. Incidentally, Grandpa had suggested that Count Haust should simply go in the King's place to maintain balance, but the King flatly refused to yield, so Caesar-sama was asked as well.
After the King and the others finished their remarks, glasses were distributed to all attendees, and a toast was called by Count Sylphild. The meal now began, and dishes were brought out to the guests. Once the first course had been served, a butler moved near Count Sylphild and began explaining the dishes. He was a butler I'd crossed paths with several times in the royal castle, but we'd never actually spoken — our relationship was limited to a nod of acknowledgment. However, when I casually confirmed details with him while arranging for his help this time, a shocking truth came to light.
His true identity was—
"Is that butler really Kurif's son?"
Primera was just as stunned. It wasn't unreasonable for someone his age to have children, but since she'd always assumed Kurif was single, she was so shocked the words slipped out before she could stop them.
The dishes that Kurif's son was explaining surprised the vast majority of attendees. The menu had been selected from previously prepared dishes with good reputations, choosing ones as suitable for a noble audience as possible. To be safe, I'd had Primera, Aina, and even Kurif confirm everything, so aside from personal preferences, there shouldn't have been any dishes that posed a problem.
The first surprise was the chawanmushi served as a soup course. Chawanmushi was technically classified as a
soup
dish, and while there had been some question about whether it fit in a formal course meal like this, it turned out to be unique and delicious — the reputation was excellent. The baked baguette with sea urchin served before it was also highly praised. The sea urchin, incidentally, had been sent from Maria's family estate.
After that, the marinated and grilled Tyrant Salmon from the south was served, and then a massive cake was brought into the venue. It was approximately two meters tall, up to two meters in diameter, and eight tiers high — a gigantic wedding cake. Naturally, simply stacking the tiers would have crushed the bottom ones, so it was supported by what amounted to cake stands, but even so, it looked like it could collapse if not carried with extreme care. Under no circumstances could Aura be allowed to help with this thing. That said, even though it was an absurdly large cake, nothing would go to waste — the leftovers would be distributed as gifts or used at the party being held at the Otter house.
Actually, the wedding cake had been scheduled to appear near the end of the meal, but since it was so enormous, concerns were raised that both transporting it and slicing and serving it after the cake-cutting ceremony would take too long. As a result, it was decided to move the cake-cutting up to an earlier stage, remove the cake temporarily, and then slice and serve it later. The plan was for the cake-cutting and meal service to happen simultaneously, so a yuzu sorbet was supposed to be served after the salmon dish. In other words, by the time Primera and I finished the cake-cutting and returned to our seats, the yuzu sorbet might already have been replaced by yuzu juice! Well, it didn't really matter, though.
"Now then, I'd like the two guests of honor to perform their first task as a married couple. Please, both of you, step forward."
At Count Sylfiid's signal, Primera and I moved in front of the cake and received a large knife from the staff. Then—
"Everyone! Please give the two of them a warm round of applause!"
Our first joint task was over in a flash. Plunging a knife into a cake — that was about all there was to it. After that, we handed the knife back to the staff, and it was done. It would have been perfect timing for a costume change, but this time we'd be wearing these outfits for the rest of the evening, so we returned to our seats to continue the meal.
However, at that point, something unexpected happened — not just for Count Sylfiid, the master of ceremonies, but even for me.
"Tenma, please."
Primera had scooped up the cream off the knife with her finger and brought it to my lips. With the eyes of nearly every guest upon us, I couldn't refuse, let alone hesitate. So I took Primera's offered finger into my mouth without pause, and in return, I scooped up some cream with my own finger and held it out to Primera.
"Let's have another round of applause for the bride and groom's first bite!"
Just as Primera took my finger into her mouth, Count Sylfiid asked for applause as though this had all been part of the planned program. Incidentally, among commoners the phrase "first joint task" wasn't used, but there did exist a tradition of staged moments where the bride and groom performed some action together, like the cake-cutting. Among the nobility, however, such performances apparently didn't happen — probably because they basically never served food themselves. Instead, the first bite, where the couple fed each other, was practiced by both commoners and nobles alike, and Count Sylfiid had turned it into a staged highlight on the spur of the moment.
When we returned to our seats, Primera's cheeks were flushed. I couldn't tell whether that was from embarrassment or from being tipsy — whether from the aperitif or simply from the atmosphere — but my own cheeks were probably just as red.
Once we were back in our seats, the introduction of the next dish began. Primera and I cooled down in the meantime with the half-melted sorbet. It was only enough to cleanse the palate, and I would have liked a bit more to bring down the heat, but the next course was already being carried out before we could ask.
The next dish was the main course of the meal — a meat dish. Moreover, it was a rather substantial plate featuring three different kinds of meat all at once. That said, each portion was kept small, and because the ingredients used were expensive and rare, complaints actually came from some guests about there being too little rather than too much. The dishes were braised beef in wine, a hamburger steak, and roast Wyvern. The braised beef used White-furred wild ox, while the hamburger steak was made from a blend of White-furred wild ox and Wyvern, making it an incredibly luxurious combination. There had also been Baicorn meat remaining, but there simply wasn't enough to serve everyone, so it went unused.
"It looks like the roast Wyvern is going to disappear at an alarming rate."
"It's rare and delicious, so that's only to be expected. Honestly, if I weren't wearing this dress, I'd go back for seconds myself."
The dishes made with White-furred wild ox were prone to losing flavor once they cooled, and considering the remaining supply, only the portions on the plates had been served. The roast Wyvern, on the other hand, was available for seconds. As an added touch, it was sliced right at the table when served, with the first cut thick and the next thin and so on — a presentation that prompted guest after guest to ask for more.
"There's still dessert left — is everyone really going to be all right?"
"Well, if anyone can't finish, we're planning to let them take it home as a souvenir, so maybe they're counting on that?"
There were probably some people who had simply forgotten about dessert entirely, but in any case, a box of assorted sweets was planned as a souvenir for every guest, so even if they couldn't eat everything here, it would be fine — as long as they could still eat it once they got it home, that is. But I couldn't take responsibility for guarantees all the way to that point, so if anyone wanted sweets with a similar flavor, I'd just direct them to pick some up at the "Manpukutei."
After the meat dish, fruits would be served before moving on to dessert. Since there were several kinds of dessert prepared, I had initially considered using a self-serve buffet style, like we had during Serna and Anri's event. But that obviously wasn't something you could ask nobility to do, so this time we prepared multiple small wagons, loaded them with desserts, and first sent them around to each table so guests could take whatever they wanted. After that, anyone who wanted seconds simply raised their hand to summon a wagon. This way, guests could choose their desserts without ever leaving their seats. But before that, the sliced wedding cake had to be delivered in front of the guests.
This cake had generous amounts of fresh cream and fruit piled on sponge layers, and since each tier was enormous, I had it sliced thin for serving — but for some people, the sheer volume may well have been enough to consider it a complete dessert on its own.
"I made this thing half as a joke, but... I doubt we'll even be able to finish it at tonight's banquet."
"Originally it was supposed to be about half that size, wasn't it? I was surprised when it had doubled without anyone noticing. Also, this is a wedding reception, not a banquet, so please don't get those mixed up."
As I murmured those words while lifting a piece of cake to my mouth, Primera scolded me. When you gathered the people of Kukuri Village together with the close acquaintances of mine and Primera who were here today, no matter how hard you tried, there was no avoiding it turning into a feast. In fact, I thought the possibility of it becoming one from the very start was extremely high, but I couldn't say that out loud. Because it was scary.
For Primera, what mattered might have been that even if it ended up as a feast, that was still part of the wedding. So I offered a quick apology and corrected myself.
"But still — or perhaps as expected — the ones asking for dessert refills tend to be the women. The men are..."
"The ones standing out are Grandpa, Lion, and Lord Lyle... and then there's Count Haust and Yuri. Yuri is one thing, but Count Haust is surprising."
Since he was a reasonably close acquaintance, I had sent Yuri an invitation as well, and he cheerfully accepted. I had relatively few friends and wanted as many acquaintances as possible to attend, but there were still a few who turned down the invitation, saying something to the effect of "a stuffy gathering full of nobles really isn't my scene." Because of that, people like Count Haust, who graciously switched to being my personal guest, and people like Yuri, who rarely got the chance to see me yet still showed up, were truly precious.
Those kinds of people — though I feel a bit awkward saying this about Count Haust — personally, I had always associated the Count more with salt than with sweets, more with drinks and snacks than with dessert, based on his appearance, so seeing him eat dessert with such genuine enjoyment did catch me off guard. Incidentally, the ones who declined the invitation were Jin and the "Dawn Sword," the "Tamer's Guild" minus Agri, and the three from "Lynx Princess." Jin and the others, plus the remaining members of the Tamer's Guild, would apparently be attending the evening event, but Lilly and the others said they wouldn't be going to that either — or rather, couldn't.
Apparently all three had originally planned to attend both wedding ceremonies, but their respective families were in a tough spot — harvest season was right around the corner, one's mother had thrown out her back, a younger brother was going through a rebellious phase and starting to act out, and their grandparents weren't in good health — so they couldn't be away from the Gunjou City area for too long.
So, excluding relatives, the King's entourage, and the royal guard, that left Count Haust and his wife Edilia; Yuri, the adventurer's guild master of Russell City; from Gunjou City, Serna, Anri, and Marx; from Seigen, Agri and Master Gantz, plus Amy's parents Rick and Karina; from the south, Hana, Sana, Branca, and Yoshitsune; from the Royal Capital, Kelly and four female dwarven employees; and even Baron Mustang of the Neutral Faction. On top of that, a fish species capable of speaking human language, something exceedingly rare even on a global scale...
There were some who couldn't make it due to work or family circumstances, but even so, over thirty people had shown up as my acquaintances. I was truly grateful for that. Well, even so, Primera's side had more than double that number, so the headcount wasn't exactly balanced — but aside from a few, it was a gathering of people with deep connections, so in that sense, the number may have been just right.
The sweets were disappearing more slowly than expected, but from the looks of it, the guests seemed satisfied with the overall meal, and most of them were enjoying their post-meal tea.
Tea time continued for a while, but then Count Sylfield informed me that the time for the final performance was drawing near. In that instant, there was someone whose eyes visibly lit up. It was Chris.
The performance Chris had been looking forward to besides the dessert was the bouquet toss. She was even more fired up than usual — perhaps because of the good fortune associated with weddings — and looking at the lineup of participants this time, she had the highest chance of catching it. The participants were Chris, Aina, Jeanne, Aura, Amour, Luna, Amy, Kelly, and the female dwarves. Notably, they were all from the groom's side, which was because every guest on Duke Sanga's side was either a married couple or already married. For that reason, Chris was currently completely unburdened by any sense of restraint or courtesy.
Perhaps sensing the fierce determination radiating from Chris, Count Sylfield hastily suggested that the bouquet toss should be held outside, so we moved to the garden. As soon as we arrived, the participants gathered in front of me and Primera, while the other guests watched from a distance.
"Well then, whenever you're ready, please begin the bouquet toss."
At those words, Primera turned around and launched the bouquet with a forceful toss. The bouquet sailed over the heads of the participants with tremendous momentum, and the first to react was Chris.
Chris tried to sprint to the landing spot before anyone else. But standing in the way was a wall of female dwarves. Undeterred, Chris attempted to bulldoze right through the wall of four. However, just as the wall was about to break, Kelly and Aina grabbed her arms from both sides. You'd think that would have been enough to eliminate her, but Chris tried to drag the two of them along toward the landing spot anyway.
Chris was showing a breakthrough power that would amaze even rugby players, but this time Amour used her as a stepping stool from behind, and when she lost her balance, Kelly and Aina tackled her to the ground, resulting in her retirement from the bouquet toss.
Amour had used Chris as a stepping stone to leap toward the bouquet, but this time Aura grabbed her by the tail, sending her crashing right back down onto Chris. As it happened, the reason Aura had been able to grab Amour's tail and drag her down in the first place was that she herself toppled over onto Aina. She'd probably catch an earful for that later.
With that, it looked like the field had been narrowed down to just the three of them — Jeanne, Luna, and Amy. Or so it seemed. Amy and Jeanne, perhaps startled by all the commotion involving Chris and the others, had bumped into each other and ended up sitting side by side on the ground in matching embarrassment. As for the remaining Luna, she had tried to take the shortest route (straight over Chris) and promptly tripped. All of this happened within mere seconds of the start.
In the midst of this utter chaos, who actually managed to catch the bouquet?
"I got it~"
It was Yoshitsune! Yoshitsune apparently believed the bouquet toss was an event open to everyone. She had slipped away while Branca and Sana were distracted by the Chris commotion, and by the time anyone noticed, she was already standing right next to the fallen bouquet.
As for the guests on the Duke Sanga side, many seemed at a complete loss for how to react. The Ootori side, on the other hand, was fired up — with Grandpa and the King leading the celebration.
Normally, if a man caught the bouquet, he'd be met with thunderous boos and likely face the wrath of every woman present. But this time, the catcher was a child who had no idea what a bouquet toss even meant, and to top it off, the most important person in attendance was absolutely delighted about it. Besides, all the participants had come exclusively from the Ootori side, so no one had any grounds to complain, and the bouquet officially became Yoshitsune's.
Behind Yoshitsune, who came running over to proudly show off her prize bouquet, Branca and Sana were frantically bowing apologetically to the Duke's side over and over again — they looked utterly harried, but this would surely become a funny story soon enough. And by the time Yoshitsune came of age, it would no doubt become a staple tale from her dark history, retold at every drinking party.