Chapter 26 - Volume 1 (1/2)

Side Story 3 — Part 6

There’s no need now to describe what happened next. Yulifalet and the party of heroes magnificently defeated the demon king and triumphantly returned to the capital.

Even Yulifalet ended up smiling wryly at Agedilus, who headed towards his fiancée instantly without joining the return parade.

When they had just left the capital on their journey, Yulifalet had asked his companions something like, 「Why did you take the responsibility of defeating the demon king?」 Clementine had responded, 「For my people,」 and Alhelm had responded, 「For my lost soldiers.」

He hadn’t been able to hear Agedilus’s answer then, but it may have been for none other than his fiancée. If someone else heard that, they might get angry at how terribly selfish of a reason it was. But Yulifalet couldn’t help wondering if it was the only reason Agedilus had.

Waiting for Yulifalet after the return parade was an approach from the aristocrats and wealthy merchants, lined up in rows. They flattered Yulifalet, calling him the hero that saved the world and things like that. They tried every single way to win him over, but Yulifalet himself was fed up with it.

If it was just presents or letters sent everyday to the mansion lent to him, he could deal with that. But it wasn’t just that, they would bring along young women his age and say, 「Please keep her by your side,」 which was why Yulifalet was greatly perplexed and embarrassed.

No matter the fact that he was a hero, Yulifalet’s family, the Schtorenviheins, were nothing more than small countryside aristocrats in the end. He couldn’t confront the powerful large aristocrats or wealthy merchants, and fatigue built up within him from days of being stuck there. Even if he tried taking refuge in Agedilus or Alhelm’s mansion, he couldn’t say anything to them since they were also facing the same circumstances.

Days turned to weeks, in a sense more harsher than when he fought the demons. He knew things would get more or less better if he immediately returned to the Schtorenvihein grounds, but he couldn’t. Because there was something Yulifalet still had to do in the royal capital.

「Yo, Yuli!」

「Hey, Al. You look cool, as expected from the leader of knights.」

「Thanks. Right back at you, you look great.」

It was one day, after several weeks had passed since their return to the capital. Yulifalet was in front of a certain temple in a corner of the capital with Alhelm who’d tagged along. The two of them were cracking jokes and laughing together.

Yulifalet wore a uniform for young aristocrat men, and Alhelm wore a uniform for the leader of the chivalric order of knights. Both of them had their hair smoothed down with perfumed oils, and both of them wore their respective uniforms very stylishly. If the women of the world saw them, they certainly wouldn’t be able to leave them alone. Fortunately, there was no one here to see them.

It had been a while since he’d been out of the public eye, able to relax. Yulifalet looked up at the sky, stretching. The sky was cloudless, blue and serene as if this day was blessed, and the tender sunlight rained down upon the white temple.

Yes, indeed. There was no day more befitting of being blessed than today. Even the guardian goddesses that sat in the land of the heavens were behaving considerably sophisticated.

「Has Agedilus prepared everything already?」

「No, seems like there’s still something left.」

Yulifalet remembered Agedilus disappearing into the temple earlier as he said that, and Alhelm laughed.

「The leading man today’s being pretty carefree, huh?」

「——Who’s being carefree?」

「Gah—!」

Alhelm’s shoulders froze in surprise at the interrupting voice from behind. Yulifalet smiled, following Alhelm’s vision as he timidly looked over his shoulder to see a figure stood there……In other words, Agedilus.

「Huh, is that the uniform of wizards in the Black Lotus Court? It suits you.」

Standing beside Alhelm, Agedilus shrugged off Yulifalet’s words.

「I don’t need flattery.」

「It’s not flattery, you look super cool and beautiful!」

「……」

Agedilus made a complicated expression at the unexaggerated praise from Yulifalet in front of him. The expression was really difficult to describe. But even with it, he was more beautiful than anyone.

The uniform he wore showed the highest rank even among the wizards in the royal palace’s Black Lotus Court. This robe was made of the finest black fabric, with delicate embroidery on it with a black thread the same color as the cloth, and a silver thread that shone amidst the black. It was a dress robe that was clearly different from the one Agedilus wore on their trip.

There were countless decorative jewels like the magical jewel added in place to place, adding color to the robe as if twinkling stars in the night sky. Printed on the left breast was the crest of the head wizard of the royal palace, and the Lancent family crest, also adding to the robe’s splendour.

Under the robe he wore the same young male aristocrat uniform as Yulifalet, but its color was white, allowed only since he was the lead role today. As far as Yulifalet knew, Agedilus prefered to wear dark colors. But the white clothes were far from not suiting him; in fact, the contrast between the black and white looked gallant, and it enhanced Agedilus’s charm.

「As expected, even great wizards are no match for great heroes, huh?」

「……」

「Ouch ouch ouch—! Stop stepping on my foot, stop!」

In response to Alhelm’s words, Agedilus trampled on his foot, snorting.

「At any rate, to think that you’d actually attend… I thought you’d certainly have immediately left to your hometown.」

「I wouldn’t do that, not when it’s your wedding.」

Yes, wedding. The reason Yulifalet still stayed in the capital even though he was a nervous mess everyday, was certainly this.

Today was the day of the wedding of Agedilus Von Lancent and the woman who was his fiancée.

By all rights, it wouldn’t have been unusual for them to hold it in a grand temple in the center of the capital, making it a large scale festival instead of holding it here in this tiny temple, as if hiding. But it had turned out like this since the couple themselves had wanted it.

The attendants were only the 『party of heroes』, Agedilus’s foster father, Agedilus’s fiancée’s family and wet nurse. While he did think it was a bit wasteful, he mostly understood that Agedilus was just like that.

‘What’ll it be like when I get married?’ Yulifalet laughed at himself for wondering that when he didn’t even have a partner, and he leaned against a pillar of the temple.

「Well? What about the other attendants?」

「My father and everyone are already inside. There’s only you two left.」

「Huh?! It’s already time?!」

「Yes.」