C48: Wedding Vows

The Demon King is getting married right here and now.

“Are they seriously doing it right away?!”

I understand the need to rush, but isn’t this a little too sudden?!

“The situation leaves us with no other choice. In order to shut those people up, we mustn’t give them even the slightest chance of interfering. The sooner, the better!”
“That may be so, however-!”

The demon couple can’t help but simply stand motionless against the hectic turn of events.

“Truth is, only the concerned person’s consent is needed for a marriage to work, but it’s different in their case!”
“The proof of your marriage must be so solid that the entire nation will be at a loss of words! Only then can you shut up those conspiracists!!!”

Even Veil is getting psyched up about this.

What’s gotten these two so riled up? Do they have a thing for political strife?
…Ah, or is it because they find nonchalantly supporting the path to the romance of others fun?

“Miss Platy, a question!”
“Okay, Belena, shoot!”

One more person is in high spirits.
Seriously, girls and their girl talk.

“How does one go about a marriage that everyone will acknowledge? What is needed?”
“Good question! Let me tell you. What’s needed is…”

She pauses.

“What’s needed is…!”

She’s still keeping us in suspense.

“A witness!”
“A witness?!”

This is important, so let me recap things.
Currently, four people are hyped up: Platy, Veil, Batemy, and Belena.
The concerned persons, Miss Astres and the Demon King, are dumbfounded because they can’t keep up with the situation.

“Witnesses are living proof that the ritual occurred! The higher the social status of the witness, the more credible the wedding becomes!”
“Credible enough that those rascals won’t be able to interfere!!!”

And their marriage will be set in stone by doing so?

“I see! Well, good thing this place has several first-class witnesses!”
“We have the dragon, Miss Veil, the Princess of the Mermaid Kingdom, Miss Platy, and of course, Lord Saint himself!”

But for some reason, Platy waves her finger in disagreement to Batemy and Belena’s cheers.

“Nuh-uh. Too naïve. We need the most influential witness with us!”
“Most influential?!”
“Are you saying there’s someone far superior to all of you combined?!”

The story further unfolds.

---

“…Me?”

Sensei arrives, somewhat exhausted, upon hearing the situation.
He probably ended up like that after being called all of a sudden to bear witness to a wedding ceremony.

“A L-L-L-Lifeless King?!”

Seeing Sensei intimidated the Demon King.
Everyone reacts like that the first time.

“I doubted the story of the saint commanding both a dragon and a Lifeless King, but seeing it for myself is still hard to believe!”

I don’t command them. They’re just my friendly neighbors.

“But Platy, is it really that important for you to call even Sensei?”

My wording might’ve been a little rude towards Sensei, but what exactly is the purpose behind calling an unrelated person out of the blue?!

“It is. Wasn’t Sensei a former archbishop in some big church?”
“Yeah.”
“A priest is essential for a wedding ceremony! Let God bear witness to the couple’s vows of love! How can you call it a wedding if they don’t go through this?!”

Now that she mentions it, she has a point. Looking at it that way makes Sensei an undead priest with experience for over a thousand years. There’s no better substitute for a God than him!

They’re going for a full-scale wedding ceremony under Sensei’s presence!

“U-Um, sorry to be a party pooper…” Sensei speaks with hesitation in his voice. “I am all right with holding a wedding ceremony, but isn’t the bride and groom those two demons over there?” he says, pointing at Miss Astres and the Demon King.

“I used to serve the human race back when I was alive…”
“Huh?”
“The god we worship is the same god who created us; Zeus, God of the Heavens. Doesn’t the demon race worship Hades, God of the Underworld?”
“…Yes!”

Of all the aspects it could’ve had a discrepancy, it had to be the most basic one!
So, does this mean Sensei holding the Demon King’s wedding ceremony is analogous to summoning a monk to church?

“But I’ll see what I can do,” says Sensei as he waves his sleeves.
“You will?!”
“When you live for at least a thousand years, you acquire a lot of knowledge. Our tenets may be different, but I’ll consider the etiquettes of prayer that will reach Hades.”

After saying this, Sensei proceeds to make symbolic gestures with his hands and starts chanting in mumbles.

“Bestow upon us good fortune and let it come to fruition… Thou art taken to the depth of the earth, impart the blessings of mother God.”

…There’s a heavy mood in the air.
Even though it’s the middle of the day, the sky has become gloomy!

“This place shall become a sanctuary. Purify it as ye wish!”

And as if to respond to Sensei’s prayer, there appears a god.
The God of the Underworld, Hades.