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Volume 4 Epilogue-3: The Wedding

We walked out of the village chief’s house and headed for the square.

In addition to Erucy’s citizens, there was Azul, the young lady from Erin, the beautiful woman dressed in a male outfit, Jii, and the five leaders from Bell Erucy.

A path had been opened in the middle of the crowd, and a red cloth was spread out on it. Yukino, Kemin, and Kurone each held our hands as we walked.

As we walked, cheers and applause from the crowd echoed on both sides.

We arrived at a slightly elevated stage, where Yukino, Kemin, and Kurone let go of our hands, and only Lucy, Kuu, and I stepped onto the stage. I stood in the middle, with the three of us in a row.

At that moment, the voices and applause ceased. On the stage, Kurao, dressed in fine attire, stood.

「Today, under the blessing of Yggdrasil, we will celebrate the wedding ceremony.」

An elven wedding blessing passed down through generations began.

「Groom, Cyril. Do you pledge to love and be with both Lucy and Kuu, even in the face of the raging winds of adversity, the plague of hunger, and the ravage of illness?」

「I do.」

I nodded. I would never let go of their hands, no matter the circumstances. My feelings would never change.

「Bride, Lucy, Kuu. Do you pledge to love and be with Cyril, even in the face of the raging winds of adversity, the plague of hunger, and the ravage of illness?」

「I do.」

「I pledge.」

Lucy and Kuu both declared, their voices filled with emotion.

「Now, kiss the brides to seal the vows.」

I kissed Lucy first and then Kuu. In my mind, the only thought that crossed was that their lips felt different.

「With this, the vows are sealed. May the three of you be happy forever.」

Kurao concluded, and Yukino and the others took the stage, handing the bouquet to Lucy and Kuu. As they received it, applause and cheers erupted.

「Thank you all for coming to our ceremony. I pledge here: I will be a good husband and make Lucy and Kuu happy. And as chief, I pledge to make everyone in Erucy happy.」

The applause intensified. Perhaps it was because they believed in me. Was I truly a good chief? The answer to that long-standing question finally came to me, and my heart swelled with warmth.

「We have a piece of happiness to share with all of you.」

「Everyone, come forward.」

「Please accept the happiness.」

As I spoke, the men and married women took a step back, and the unmarried women moved forward.

It was time for the bouquet toss. Strangely enough, elves and fire foxes had a tradition like this too. Whoever caught the bouquet was said to be the next one to get married.

I glanced at Yukino and saw her looking at the eager women with a cold expression while she refrained from participating.

I thought she was interested in marriage because she had mentioned wanting children, but maybe she wasn’t?

As I pondered this, the bouquet was released from the hands of Lucy and Kuu. Lucy’s bouquet, drawing a parabolic arc, was snatched by a young elf girl, Konna, who jumped desperately. It seemed like the results of her training with Nettle showed themselves.

Kuu’s bouquet, on the other hand, was fiercely contested by women trying to catch it in mid-air. It bounced out of their hands several times and by a miraculous chance landed squarely in the chest of Yukino, who had been standing idly in the back.

Yukino’s eyes widened, and she hugged the bouquet, wearing a complicated expression.

「The ceremony is over. Now it’s time for the party. We have prepared a sumptuous feast on the tables over there. And, Azul, who came from Erin, has sent some rare and exquisite liquor. Enjoy yourselves to the fullest.」

Cheers erupted, and everyone headed towards the tables with food. They were eager to taste the special dishes and the delicious liquors.

At the request of the fire foxes, we had prepared the same menu we prepared for their welcome party, venison soup, herb-flavored goat meat hamburgers, wild boar steak, roast chicken, chard steamed inside a hand-rolled crêpe, and, of course, Erucy wine, along with the premium liquor sent by Azul.

Today would be a grand celebration.

「Finally, my dream has come true.」

A dream I have been pursuing since childhood, to become a chief like my father. A dream I have once given up on. It has finally come true. And I have the best partners in life by my side.

From now on, I have to protect and build upon the happiness I have found, no, I have to become even happier.

「Everyone, look at this.」

Two hours into the party, as the dishes were starting to run out, I proudly revealed the ultimate weapon: the wedding cake.

It was a three-tiered, extra-large cake, big enough to be shared with everyone in Erucy. Unlike the British style, there was no particular significance to the tiers; it was just for the visual appeal.

Usually, only the cutting part was real, and the rest was fake. But this one was all real. I didn’t even use a base for stability.

To prevent it from collapsing, I made a sugar glaze from potatoes and coated the surface, then stacked the layers and decorated them with cream made from goat’s milk and maple syrup. The finishing touch was the intricate sugar art.

「Wow, this is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it, even in Erin.」

Azul exclaimed surprised by the intricacy of the cake.

「Lucy, Kuu, it’s the first joint effort of the newlyweds. Let’s cut and distribute this dessert to everyone.」

「Cyril, I was wondering where you were at night, so you were making this.」

「It looks like a tower made of sweets.」

The two seemed half impressed, half fed up, but I understood that on the inside they were really happy.

Lucy, Kuu, and I cut the cake together for the first time, smiling. This was the beginning of our life as a married couple.