TAMWSFB 105

Chapter 105

The Engagement Ceremony

As expected of my big brother. His specs are way too high.

“Even the church is overflowing with flowers, so I think Letty will like it too.”

Saying that, he held out his hand. I wobbled slightly, as if drawn in, and took it.

Fwooooo—!

I-Is it really okay to be this happy?

I felt my magic power starting to rise a little, so with my free hand—the one not holding my brother’s—I hugged Moko tightly.

Moko, please absorb my magic!

Moko’s fur soaked up my magic, turning fluffy as if charged with static electricity. That calmed my symptoms a bit.

“Haa…” I took a deep breath.

“You really do like Serios, don’t you,” my brother said.

“Lord El, would you like to hold hands too?”

Thinking he might feel left out, I asked. Elvin looked thoughtful for a moment, then held out his hand.

Moko hopped down from my arms, so I took Elvin’s hand with my newly freed one.

The road leading toward the center of the village was paved with stone.

Poor villages don’t have paved roads, so just that alone told me this was quite a wealthy village.

On both sides of the road stood rows of vividly colored wooden houses.

Their roofs were painted bright reds, blues, and greens, and white smoke curled gently up from the chimneys.

In short, it was a very fairy-tale-like village.

At the center of the village was a small plaza, with a beautiful fountain in the middle.

Fountains like this serve as social hubs, so most moderately sized villages have one.

Clear water sparkled as it caught the midday sunlight.

“That must be the church.”

The village church stood just beyond the plaza.

It had white walls and a red roof, and a large bell hung in its bell tower.

Inside, light streamed softly through stained-glass windows, gently illuminating the interior.

At the very back of the church stood a statue of Rekarte, the Goddess of the Earth.

When you think of churches, you could almost say they all enshrine the Earth Goddess Rekarte.

After all, she promises fertility and grants the power to defeat the Demon King, so she gathers the most faith.

Though… technically, the appearance of the Demon King was caused by the gods in the first place.

Gods who didn’t get along fought among themselves, and as a result, miasma overflowed into the world.

With the world on the brink of destruction, Goddess Rekarte had her husband, the Underworld God Chtonios, reshape the miasma into something humans could defeat—and that became the Demon King.

So the Demon King isn’t really a living being, but a mass of miasma.

“Oh my, do you have some business with the church?”

Perhaps he sensed our presence, because a kindly looking priest emerged from a door at the back.

Seeing him, my brother stepped forward.

“Please forgive our sudden visit. We came because we would like to hold a friend’s engagement ceremony here.”

“Your friend’s…?”

As he said that, the priest looked at Abel and Maria-chan, who were still holding hands.

Then he made an “I see” expression.

“These two, I presume?”

“Yes! That’s right,” Abel replied energetically.

The priest chuckled, amused.

“Such liveliness. Very well—let us conduct the engagement ceremony.”

At some point, Ran had prepared a bouquet, so I handed it to Maria-chan.

Instead of a veil, she would wear a flower crown.

“Maria-chan, this is to replace the veil.”

“Wow, it’s beautiful. When did you prepare this?”

“Thanks to a very capable butler, I guess.”

I glanced at Ran. Maria-chan nodded in understanding, while Ran looked slightly smug.

(Thank you, Ran.)

When I thanked him in my heart, his smug expression grew even stronger.

“Bend down a little, okay?”

As Maria-chan lowered her head, I placed the flower crown on her.

Ohhh!

A beautiful girl has become an unbelievably beautiful girl. So cute.

“Thank you, Leticia!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Maria-chan hugged me.

I wasn’t the one who prepared it, but… well, she can’t exactly hug Ran, after all.

The only attendees were the members of the Demon King subjugation party, but even so, the engagement ceremony was truly wonderful.

Maria-chan’s cheeks were flushed with joy, and she looked so happy. Abel seemed embarrassed, but his eyes were overflowing with love for Maria-chan.

At that moment, a question suddenly came to mind.

In the novel, Abel definitely gazed at Princess Fiona in this church.

But even though it wasn’t written explicitly, Maria-chan should have been here too.

It’s not like she died from mana overload like me, so they should have remained close childhood friends.

And yet… would Abel, who can see no one but Maria-chan now, really come to love someone other than her?