Chapter 182: Wedding Ceremony I (1/4)

“What a disaster…” [Ryouma]

After the crowd became excited because of the acting priest’s explosive statement, the preceding part of the ceremony ended…　safely? The bride and the groom went down the altar with their family and those acting as their family members, and we were all about to proceed to the banquet, but before I knew it, I was swept away by the crowd.

I was careless and let my guard down. By the time I realized what was going, I had been taken away like a prey being dragged by a cauldron of vicious raptors to a place away from the bride and the groom. Just when I thought that was it, this time, the guests that couldn’t approach the bride and the groom before appeared. Moreover, because of the blessing of the gods, every one of them was enthusiastic.

They were all in cloud nine, and they clamored over what the gods might have taken a liking to in this wedding, be it the compatibility between the bride and the groom, the dress, the decorations, or even the taste of the food. I was responsible for sculpting the idols of the gods and directing the construction of the altar, so at one point, I too was captured and showered with praises. It was really exhausting.

…Nowadays, even I believe in the gods, but as a former Japanese, I’m really just not as enthusiastic as these people when it comes to religion. Anyhow, putting that aside…

“Thank you. You really saved me there.” [Ryouma]

“You don’t need to thank me for something like this. I was just on my way to get food, after all.” [Ryouma’s Rescuer]

Since it’s her, she probably really was just on her way to get food.

The one who saved me from the crowd of people that kidnapped me was none other than the self-proclaimed Marriage Tie Yui.

She was just like a veteran waitress with the way she filled her hands and arms with plates full of food. She even had a plate balanced atop her head, bringing the total count of plates she had on her to five.

And interestingly enough, there just happened to be an unoccupied table amidst the seemingly inexhaustible crowd of people. She set her plates upon that empty table, seated herself, and then promptly began stuffing her cheeks. There were a lot of people around her, but they didn’t seem to notice her. That’s probably her doing. If I focus, I can sense something akin to a Barrier of Concealment.

…But it’s so thin that it’s hard to notice despite knowing it’s there…

“Why don’t you take a seat? At least, until after all this ruckus calms down.” [Yui]

“In that case, please excuse me.” [Ryouma]

I took the seat in front of her.

“Is it so strange for the groom and the bride to be blessed by the gods?” [Ryouma]

“‘Tis a rare and honorable thing, yes. If a couple is lucky, then they might find themselves receiving such an honor. There have been several such fortunate couples among those I’ve supported, but the last one was 30 years ago. But it’s not as if all the couples in the world are related to me, so finding out the percentage of couples that receive such a blessing from my sample size is a bit… In any case, what’s really important isn’t the fact that they received a blessing, but that they received many blessings, right?” [Yui]

“So receiving a lot blessings at once is strange after all.” [Ryouma]

“From what I know, the norm is to receive no blessings, and even if one were to be graced with such an honor, it would be at most a single blessing. And yet from what I hear, those two both received a blessing from Rurutia-sama. And then the groom received another blessing from Kufo-sama and Tekun-sama, while the bride received another from Willieris-sama and Gayn-sama. Hence, they received a blessing not just from three gods, but five.” [Yui]

She knew I was from another world, so she carefully explained these things that would have been common sense to anyone else.

Mr. Arafral said that the couple received a blessing from three gods each, but it seems that those three gods weren’t the same for the both of them.

“…Did you do something? Your expression seems to say so.” [Yui]

“I haven’t done anything directly, but I do have an idea of what may have caused this… You’re the familiar of the otherworlder that came before me. I believe you’re trustworthy enough for me to talk.

The truth is I possess the Oracle skill. That skill has granted me the opportunity to talk with the gods, from which I found out that the gods sometimes watch the activities of the otherworlders. There are various reasons why they watch. Sometimes it’s merely to see if the otherworlder has gotten used to his life. Sometimes it’s because there’s something to that otherworlder that caught their interest. And sometimes, it’s because they want to see if the otherworlder is abusing the power they were given for evil.” [Ryouma]

“I see. So basically, what you’re saying is that the gods are watching you. And because they’re watching you, they ended up watching the marriage too.” [Yui]

“Yes. That’s most likely the case.” [Ryouma]

Moreover, since Tekun is around, they’re all probably drinking. Kufo and Gayn are also the sort to give away blessings freely.