563 - A Wedding on an Early Spring Day #3

Preparations for the wedding proceeded smoothly.

I was able to successfully complete the tasks required of prospective grooms before marriage, ending with the tears of a twenty-year-old maiden handed to me by Hippolyte.

Gloria, the representative of Juno who had seen all the evidence of those tasks from me, nodded and replied.

"Everything is confirmed. Now we just have to wait for the wedding date."

Sseuk-. I quickly scanned Gloria's appearance.

Perhaps because she had been running around in the garden with various Nymphs lately, her clothes were dirtier than usual, and there were blades of grass and soil in her hair, but her expression looked a bit brighter.

I asked.

"Don't you need to wear a dress?"

"In what sense are you asking that? Are you, like, proposing to me right now?"

Instead of answering Gloria's question out loud, I remained silent for a moment. It was a way of telling her to take it as she pleased, while simultaneously being an affirmation.

Even though there were various circumstances, I had become deeply entangled with Gloria. However, Gloria slightly pulled down the raccoon hide on her head to hide her face.

"You and I aren't quite at that stage yet. Let alone a dress.... I'm trying on various clothes right now, but I'm not ready to wear something like that yet...!"

Apparently, that was the case.

Well, even if I suddenly asked her to marry me, it might be bewildering from Gloria's perspective.

Unlike Luna and Hippolyte, who had spent quite a long time with me, it was only recently that I had stood shoulder to shoulder with Gloria.

'I made her lose her maidenhood, so I must take responsibility. Therefore, we must marry-.' I might have been thinking too self-centeredly in that regard.

Gloria said, her face still hidden by the raccoon hide.

"Hassan, I'm only twenty now. There are still... many things I haven't tried. Many things I want to do. And, there's still something I must do."

Her voice was quite serious.

"If it's something you must do, is it going back to your hometown in Samaria?"

"...It seems you heard it from someone."

"Yeah, Luna told me. She said you were chattering away to her about how you wanted to go back to your hometown in Samaria once this wedding is over."

I recalled the afternoon I had visited Luna's workshop.

Did Luna say she was quite flustered because Gloria came to her workshop, talked about this and that, and hugged her around the waist?

She said it was around then that Gloria mentioned wanting to return to the wilderness of Samaria.

I asked.

"If you're going back to the Samarian wilderness, does that mean you're going to live there forever?"

"I don't know. But, I want to go back to my hometown at least once. Because I couldn't even make proper graves for everyone.... I couldn't even offer a single flower at a tombstone."

Her eyes, faintly visible beneath the raccoon hide, were full of determination. It was a moment that reminded me of Friede's ruby-like eyes when she said she would return to Alfheim someday.

It seems she intends to properly face her past.

Perhaps that's why I suddenly felt a sense of longing.

"If you're gone for too long, I might start to miss you, Gloria. Hanging out with you was more fun than I expected."

I spoke with quite a bit of sincerity, but Gloria just gave a small, hmph-like snort.

"Hmph, just take care of your wives. You philanderer."

"That goes without saying."

"Still, I think I can tell how much you care for Luna and Hippolyte. Maybe it's because of the memories and karma I received from you, but when I see them, I find myself wanting to hug them without realizing it."

"Is that so?"

So Gloria hugging Luna and spinning her around was due to the influence of the karma she had received and mixed with mine.

Gloria continued.

"The affection was so strong it wouldn't be strange to live while hugging them every day. You, you did well to hold back."

"Well, of course. If I hugged them every day, even Luna or Hippolyte would get sick of it. Anyway, yeah. I understand your thoughts well."

So Gloria won't be wearing a dress at this wedding.

In truth, marriage shouldn't be rushed.

Even for a couple who fell in love at first sight, they usually get married after having time to date and get to know each other.

In that sense, Gloria, the holy warrior of the household, was surprisingly conservative.

Only twenty years old.

And a girl who had just begun to break free from the tasks of a holy warrior.

Perhaps it wasn't strange for her to want to travel the world and enjoy the moment she became free, rather than being tied down by something like marriage just yet.

It was perfectly understandable.

* * *

A few days passed.

"Aat-! Hassan-nim, look over there-ssi...!"

While I was walking down the street with Paranoy, a member of the Hassan Rocket Team, and Antiope.

Paranoy made a fuss about something, and when I looked where his finger was pointing, I saw some strange-looking parrot-like creatures sitting on a clothesline.

━Jijibae-bae, jijibae-. Jijib, jijib, jijibae-. Jijibae-.

━Jijib, jijibae, jijib, jijib-. Yeah baby-.

━Defeat! Domination! Mating!

They were birds with strange cries.

"They are the Ship-parrots that flew to the far western lands-ssi...! They are mysterious birds that enjoy overhearing and mimicking words that end in 'ship'-ssi...!"

Parrot-like birds, huh. Then it can't be helped.

As I was accepting this, Paranoy said.

"The weather is so warm that the migratory birds seem to be returning-ssi...! No wonder the Nymph sisters have been waking up from their hibernation one by one-ssi...!"

"Has it already been that long?"

It felt like only yesterday that the cold-sensitive Nymphs were busy preparing for winter.

To think the time for them to wake from hibernation has already arrived makes it feel like time has passed very quickly.

Even though it was only just January.

The city was filled with flowers, greenery, and brilliant, warm light.

The snow was melting, and the birds were chirping. It was a truly beautiful day.

The current weather was exactly like May, which is called the queen of seasons. As I recall, January on the Gaia continent should still be in the realm of chilly winter.

Why has the world become so strangely warm? In a world without worries about air conditioners or Freon gas, there should be no reason for global warming.

As I was wondering about the reason, Paranoy said.

"Perhaps the gods of Hypos are taking action-ssi...! If the Goddess of Seasons and the God of Light use their power, this much is easy-ssi...!"

"I suppose that's true."

The power of a god is immense.

If they exerted their full strength, they could even shatter a world like Hell and establish new rules.

If my grandmother Ceres, who is in charge of the concept of seasons in this land, and Apollo, who wields all kinds of light, used their power, creating a warm January would be an easy task.

However, a question remained.

"Why would they?"

"It's a loss to even question what the gods of Hypos are up to-ssi...! It's bound to be for some stupid reason-ssi...!"

Paranoy ground his teeth, saying the gods of Hypos might be up to some scheme.

However, Antiope, who was walking alongside us, just yawned lazily with her hands behind her head.

"Maybe they just want to congratulate you on your wedding, Hassan? A wedding on a warm spring day looks better than getting married in the cold winter."

"That's true."

Antiope's words made sense.

An outdoor wedding in the freezing winter would be nothing short of terrible. The guests would be shivering, and the bride and groom would have runny noses.

And snow would be falling like crazy from the sky.

A white snowy background might have some charm, but it wouldn't remain as a very good memory.

"So, Hassan-. When are you planning to run away-?"

"Run away from what?"

At Antiope's sudden question, curiosity spread through my mind like a single dot of ink.

"Do I have to run away?"

"No, it's just that usually men in the land of Gaia run away the day before the wedding, or they run away after the wedding night."

"Seriously?"

"Why do you think there are so many single mothers in this world? Don't you know why there are so many bastards claiming to be the sons and daughters of gods?"

At Antiope's words, I thought about the men who run away the day before their wedding. And what's with the men who run away after the first night?

They're absolute fucking lunatics.

Then, a certain fact suddenly occurred to me.

"Wait, Antiope. I was wondering why you were following me around today. Are you monitoring me right now so I can't run away?"

"That's right-. Usually, the bride's family sticks to you for a day to make sure you don't escape. Since my sister will be busy with wedding matters tomorrow. Anyway, Hassan. Just try running away-."

It seems Antiope has become my guard and errand girl for the day. Good grief, why would I run away at this point?

At this point-.

But, in truth, I could somewhat understand the desire to run away.

Compared to a week ago when I felt nothing, now that the wedding was only a day away, my heart was like a storm.

An uneasy feeling that wouldn't let me stay still.

It's indescribable.

I even felt something crawling up my back.

Wondering if Keong-keong-i was clinging to me again, I checked my back, but nothing was there.

Anyway, I felt anxious and unfamiliar, yet also somewhat calm. My heart was shifting back and forth.

As if the fire contained within the glass cup called 'me' was being shaken around to create a whirlpool.

I wonder if every prospective groom in this world felt the same way I do?

At least some of the men who ran away the day before their wedding might have felt this way.

If it weren't for Paranoy or Antiope, I might have left this noisy city center and been alone on a quiet hill.

I turned my gaze to the street to distract myself from my complicated feelings.

With the sudden blooming of flowers and the warm weather, the steps of the merchants and people passing by were light.

━To think the weather would clear up so suddenly-. I was worried because there was no work in winter. Now I can finally breathe-.

The heavy layers of leather and fur clothing were becoming lighter one by one, and their expressions were as bright as the weather, as if their relatively closed hearts had opened up.

━I haven't even sold all my winter goods yet. I'm in trouble-!

Of course, there were those who were unfamiliar with and worried about this early spring. They were the merchants aiming for the winter peak season.

━What does it matter-. The Temple of Juno released a ton of money this time!

━That's true. How much did they say was released? Was it 5,000 gold?

━That's right-! 5,000 gold, the economy in Sodomora is booming right now-!

If it's the money released by the Temple of Juno, could it be the 5,000 gold I paid to rent the temple? It was about half of the wealth I possessed.

It seems that money spread from the Temple of Juno to various parts of the city, breathing life into the economy.

I am boosting the economy.

I, I am Hassan, the God of Economic Circulation.

Of course, I'm joking.

Anyway, it was certain that the streets were full of vitality.

Beyond just being lively, the city itself has been filled with songs and laughter since the wedding preparations began, as if it were a festival.

"A wedding of gods...! Also, if Luna-nim's nectar is properly approved by Hypos, she might even gain the position of Chief Deity of Wine, it's a major event for the city-ssi...!"

Listening to Paranoy, it certainly was a huge event.

It wasn't just about Luna, Hippolyte, and me getting married.

The city, the continent, and the world are paying attention to what will happen tomorrow.

Because I had invited everyone when I was drunk, there were many people on the streets even now talking about attending the wedding tomorrow.

━Rene, what should I wear tomorrow? How about my hair? A brooch? Would a skirt be better, or pants?

━Hey, anyone would think it's your wedding-. Why are you being so careful?

━You don't know anything-! Surely, lots of handsome men might come-! Since it's a god's wedding, maybe some handsome, unmarried male god will attend-!

━That's true.

Listening to the conversation, I could tell that all sorts of people from all sorts of places would be flocking here for their own reasons.

Since I don't even know who I might have invited when I was drunk.

Honestly, I was starting to get scared.

But, according to Hippolyte, she said I could be brave because I am a coward. So, I decided to have courage and face tomorrow somehow.

"I won't be able to see Luna and Hippolyte until tomorrow, right?"

"That's right-ssi...! It's tradition not to face each other the night before-ssi...!"

"I see."

Morning, lunch, evening-.

Time flowed to midnight.

And morning again.

The time for the festival and the wedding has arrived.

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