Chapter 239

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

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 . 」