Chapter 239 (1/2)

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Chapter 239 – 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 mult.i.tude of people converged around the stairs and crowded the open s.p.a.ce 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 wors.h.i.+p for this world's G.o.d. 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 G.o.d.

《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 gla.s.s 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 G.o.d; 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.

《G.o.d 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 G.o.d 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.