Chapter 239 – Union Ceremony and the Beginning of a New World

Union Ceremony and the Beginning of a New World

Forestzard’s cathedral was a historic building made entirely out of stone. Its doors were wide open, located above a flight of stairs of about thirty steps. Just for today, entrance was limited. A multitude of people converged around the stairs and crowded the open space out front.

「That’s a lot of people.」

「Yeah. They all look happy.」

「They must’ve been waiting for this day.」

Hikaru, Lavia, and Paula (Drake around her neck) were in a terrace of a café—also secured through connections—overlooking the crowd of people.

「So there’s about 2,400 people dressed up among them, huh? I wonder what they look like.」Mikhail said.

「I don’t think you’ll ever be one of them.」Ivan said, earning him a fist from the Professor.

「Haa… I wish someone who’d take care of me and let me drink all day would appear before me.」Mille shot glances at Hikaru.

「Why are you looking at me, Professor?」Hikaru said.

「Lavia, you see that group over there? That’s Euroba’s traditional attire.」Catherine said.

「Oh… It’s different from what I imagined.」

Most of those related to the student alliance were here. League, being part of management, was inside the cathedral and so was Silvester as the head of Zubura. Katy remained in the academy, burying herself into her research.

Just tell me what happened afterwards, she said.

Mille sighed.「Research this, research that. That’s why she’s still single.」

No one bothered saying “You’re single yourself”. No need to stir up trouble right now.

「I sure hope a drakon doesn’t show up today. They can fly, right?」Mikhail joked.

Word had spread about the drakon that Silver Face told the guards about. He said it escaped, however. Only few believed that they existed. Most people were skeptical.

For a moment, Mikhail and the others suspected Hikaru to be Silver Face, but eventually concluded that Hikaru’s weapon, a dagger, couldn’t possibly hurt a huge monster and make it bleed a lot. Hikaru himself denied it and said that when Silver Face was around, he was with Paula the entire time.

「Who knows? Maybe drakons won’t ruin such a beautiful day.」Hikaru said.

The bell tolled, signaling the start of the ceremony.

The cathedral was created as a place of worship for this world’s God. Churches in the regional areas developed in their own, and the priests in Forestzard’s cathedral were not corrupt, but were clergymen that properly revered their God.

《We who are born unto this world must live our lives following the path of righteousness, not evil. It is a blessing to have a partner to walk that long path with.》

A gray-haired priest gave a speech on the altar with a voice amplifier. Dazzling sunlight streaming in through the huge, circular stained glass above shone on the couples packed inside the cathedral.

Some wore pure white dresses, some native attires. There were different kinds of couples too, not just the typical man and woman—the somewhat elderly, both men, and both women. They didn’t seem to have anything in similar, but every one last of them was feeling enraptured.

《Today, you will all exchange vows with your life partner before God; to love each other all for as long as you live, to share both pain and happiness—》

The priest kneeled and hung his head low. Some brides and grooms copied him, while some closed their eyes; there were various reponses.

Despite the large number of people, it was quiet and solemn. After about a minute, the priest stood up.

《God has heard of your vows. I have learned that most of you here have waited so long for this day to come, to finally be married to the ones you love. I pray that God blesses you all.》

The priest then shot a glance at the guests seated by the wall.

《Unfortunately Queen Marquedo couldn’t make it. But we have a guest, the head of the province of Rumania, League “Green Ogre” Rumania who has a few words to share with us.》

There was a slight stir among some of the couples. Most people here didn’t know much about politics, but those who did noticed two significant things from what the priest said.

First, he called Rumania a province. Up until now, the seven nations were allied only by name, and Rumania was often referred to as the “nation of Rumania” or “the domain of Rumania”. The couples present probably hadn’t heard of the term “province” used before.

The Forestzard church was basically saying that “we should be more united”. Of course, the fact that it was holding this ceremony already showed that the church belonged to the Unionist faction.

Second, the priest referred to League as the head of Rumania. It was clear that he represented his father Billion, but this was the first time that he was referred to as a head publicly.

Good job, League.

Grasping Luka’s hand the entire time, Claude regarded League as he took the podium. League cemented his position as the next head of Rumania during this winter.

Better stay focused or League might take everything from the student alliance too.

Silvester, one of their friends who was also in the guests’ seats, watched League talking with a smile on his face.

A new era was dawning on the Allied Nations of Forestia.

「What if a drakon shows up now? How do we deal with it?」Mikhail asked Hikaru.

「No idea.」Hikaru replied.「Why are you even asking me?」

「Look, Hikaru-sama! They’re coming out!」Paula said.

Hikaru turned his attention to the open space in front of the cathedral. The enormous door opened and the dressed-up stars of today’s event streamed out. Among them was Claude and Luka. People cheered even louder than before.

Claude glanced around and noticed the café terrace Hikaru and the others were in. He seemed to be saying something.

「What did he say?」Lavia asked.

「I didn’t really hear, but I can make a guess…」

My Luka’s the most beautiful of them all! or something along those lines. As proof, Luka elbowed Claude.

「A few hiccups here and there, but they look happy.」Hikaru watched them with a smile on his face, resting his chin on his hand.

「You look happy yourself.」Lavia said.

「Me?」

「You’re smiling.」

Not realizing he was grinning, Hikaru tried to play it cool.

「It’s okay to smile. It’s a special day.」Lavia said as she wrapped her arm around his.

A special day, huh? I suppose it is. This might be the first time since I came to this world that I’ve experienced such a joyous day.

Confetti fluttered under the bright sun.

「Is this true?」

Queen Marquedo and her cabinet ministers, Zofira included, were gathered in the conference room. In Zofira’s hands were several sheets containing information from across countries.

「Yes. We received the same intel from Ponsonia, Quinbland, and Einbeast. There’s no word from Bios, presumably because of the whole Pope situation.」

「What did they say?」

「They want verification of said intel. Only Quinbland seemed to already understand what it means, but wants confirmation all the same.」

「Hmm… What do you all think?」

The ministers gave their opinions, but none were decisive. The information was just that surprising and alien to them.

「So Vireocean’s weird movement was all for this, huh…」

A few months ago, Marquedo received information that the maritime nation of Vireocean was rushing to build a warship and buying up provisions. Now she finally understood why.

「Regardless of whether this is true or not, we must answer to their call.」Marquedo said.「I’m heading to Vireocean personally.」

Voices of awe came from the ministers. None of them objected. The matter at hand was that important.

「I’ll verify it with my own eyes and ears. I want to see if humans really survived to the east of Vireocean, to the edge of the sea—the Ruined Continent.」

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