After-Story Chapter 15: The Happy Wedding Planner (Part 3)

—Some time later…

“I have to say… they both look almost too well-matched,” Liscia commented with a sigh of admiration.

“Yes. I completely agree with that,” I confirmed with a nod.

Standing before us were Tomoe-chan and Ichiha, dressed in wedding attire. Today was their wedding ceremony, but instead of the typical dress and tuxedo common in the Kingdom of Friedonia, the two were wearing traditional Japanese-style wedding clothes: Shiromuku (white wedding kimono) with a Tsunokakushi (wedding hood) for her, and a Montsuki Hakama (crested kimono and divided skirt) for him.

“Thank you, Brother-in-law, Sister.” Tomoe-chan, in the shiromuku, smiled brightly.

“Y-Yes, thank you very much,” Ichiha, in the hakama, seemed stiff with nerves, his shoulders rigid.

Incidentally, these were the formal wedding garments worn by high-ranking people in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago. While I had always felt the Nine-Headed Dragon Kingdom had a mixed culture of Tang and Edo periods, their wedding ceremony seemed to lean towards the Japanese style.

Liscia stared intently at Tomoe-chan’s outfit. “Tomoe and Ichiha have always worn clothes like these, haven’t they? It’s probably natural that they suit them so well.”

“Well, the clothes Tomoe-chan wore when she was little were ones I made myself as a hobby.” When I first met her, she was wearing rags, similar to a refugee’s simple tunic. After she became Liscia’s adoptive sister, I enjoyed making and gifting her Japanese-style dresses, and she seemed to have grown accustomed to them, even ordering similarly designed clothes from the ‘Silver Deer Shop’ as she grew up.

Ichiha, on the other hand, was already used to an Asian-leaning style of clothing from the former Chima Principality, so he wore the montsuki hakama without difficulty. Besides the two of them, Hakuya and Excel also habitually wore Asian-style clothes. Thinking about it now, perhaps these were designs from my original world that had persisted through time.

Just then…

“Indeed, you two. You both look wonderful.”

“Yes. Truly the most beautiful bride and groom in the Nine Lands.”

Shabon and Kishun arrived and offered their compliments. Trailing discreetly behind them was Princess Sharan, holding Prince Sharon’s hand, hiding behind her parents.

Seeing Shabon, Tomoe-chan’s face brightened immediately. “Lady Shabon! Thank you so much for lending us these marvelous outfits!”

“Fufufu, I’m delighted you like them. That attire has been passed down through the Nine-Headed Dragon Royal Family, and I also wore it for my wedding ceremony.”

“What! Is it really alright for us to borrow something so precious?!” Tomoe-chan’s eyes widened in surprise.

Yeah, I was surprised too. I was grateful for the beautiful clothes, but aren’t these practically national treasures?

In contrast to our astonishment, Shabon smiled serenely. “It’s fine. It’s something that the women of the Royal Family only wear once in their lifetime, so the next time it would be used, at the earliest, would be for Sharan’s marriage. Rather than letting it stay locked away until then, it’s better for the garment itself to be used to promote weddings in our country.”

Chabon said this with an air of nonchalance. She was right, of course. This wedding was part of the bridal project that Roroa and Lucy were pushing, and it was being broadcast live to our country, the Nine-Headed Dragon Kingdom, and other nations like the Republic of Turgis and the Kingdom of Euphoria that wanted a piece of the bridal business. If this broadcast made unmarried women want to wear Nine-Headed Dragon-style attire or hold a ceremony in the Archipelago, it would benefit the Nine-Headed Dragon Kingdom.

Chabon was growing stronger and more calculating as a Queen.

“Big Sister Tomoe… you look so wonderful.” Princess Shalan said, her eyes sparkling.

Tomoe-chan smiled with a mix of joy and shyness and spread the kimono out slightly. “This is the outfit Lady Shalan will wear someday. I’m just borrowing it for today.”

“Can I wear it too?”

“Yes. Someday, absolutely.”

The small Tomoe-chan I knew was now behaving like an older sister to a girl about the age she was when we met… My eyes are starting to feel hot.

“Tomoe-chan… you’ve really grown up.”

“Lord Inugami said the exact same thing a moment ago,” Liscia said, sounding slightly exasperated at my comment.

Tomoe-chan’s family had already seen her in this bridal attire. Inugami, who still wore his mask despite being in formal wear from the neck down, was so moved that his mask was noticeably damp from crying. His biological mother, Tomoko-san, was smiling and comforting her troubled husband.

…Yeah. Remembering Inugami’s crying spree made me calm down a little. The theory that you can become calmer when there’s someone more distraught nearby.

“Still, Tomoe Chima, huh. She’s moving out of the castle.”

“It would be cruel for them to live inside the castle when they’re newly married. Well, since Tomoe has her work as the Steward and Ichiha as the Prime Minister, they’ll live in the castle town and commute daily, so it won’t be that different. Inugami and Tomoko-san are apparently managing the territory granted to the Chima family.”

“Ro has grown up too. Belle will be raised in the territory?”

Ro is Tomoe-chan’s younger brother, and Belle is the girl born to Inugami and Tomoko-san. Ro, now around middle school age, has been trained by Inugami and is enrolled in the officer’s academy. Belle is a girl who looks like a mini-Tomoe-chan, and her name is supposedly taken from her father… I wonder where the ‘Belle’ comes from in Inugami—that’s a mystery.

As I was pondering this, Lucy, who was acting as the ceremony coordinator, came over.

“Alright, you two, it’s almost time. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“Yes.”

When we moved to the designated location, we found my family, Tomoe-chan’s family, and friends from their academy days gathered. Ichiha’s relatives—Yomi, Sami, and Nike—couldn’t attend due to security and scheduling issues related to their important roles in other countries, so they simply sent gifts of local specialties and broadcasted their congratulations.

Gasps of admiration escaped the crowd gathered for the couple’s big day.

“Tomoe has become truly beautiful.”

“Hohoho, indeed. So this is what it feels like to marry off your daughter.”

Those were the comments of my in-laws, Mother-in-law Elisha and Father-in-law Albert.

“Um, you have a daughter who married out right here, you know?” Liscia said with a slightly displeased look.

The two chuckled. “In Liscia’s case, we took a groom into the family. She remains in the Royal Castle, so it never felt like we married her off.”

“Fufufu, we tend to view that as a royal wedding ritual. In that regard, we can send off Tomoe, our adopted daughter, without any reservations, as a true daughter.”

“I find that somehow unsatisfying…” Liscia shot a cold glare at my in-laws, but they laughed it off.

While my in-laws and Liscia were talking, Tomoe-chan and Ichika were surrounded by the usual crew: Yuriga, Lucy, and Velza.

“…I hate to admit it, but that outfit is truly beautiful. It suits you.” Yuriga admitted.

“Fufufu, thank you, Yuriga-chan.”

“Hoho~. For Yuriga-chan to compliment Tomoe-chi so honestly, it must be about to rain. Wait, no! If it suddenly rains, it will ruin the ceremony arrangements! Yuriga-chi, your usual! Tsundere attitude, please!”

“What on earth are you talking about?!” Yuriga pinched Lucy’s cheek.

Their interactions hadn’t changed since childhood, and watching them gave me a warm feeling. Ichiha and Velza, who were in the circle, smiled as they watched the three interact.

Then, “Oh, that’s right,” Tomoe-chan suddenly clapped her hands. Seeing Carla, who was waiting as a steward (the royal castle stewards were assisting with this ceremony), Tomoe-chan called out.

“Carla-san. Could you bring that item, please?”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Carla rushed off and returned a short time later with a bouquet in her hands. A bundle of pure white flowers… a bouquet? I thought they didn’t use those in a Nine-Headed Dragon-style wedding? As I wondered this, Tomoe-chan took the bouquet from Carla and offered it to Velza.

“I wanted to give this to Vel-chan.”

“Eh, to me?” Velza looked surprised.

Tomoe-chan smiled warmly. “Yes. We aren’t using a bouquet in today’s Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago ceremony, but Yuriga-chan and I received bouquets from Taru-san and Leporina-san at Kou-san’s wedding, telling us they were ‘for future brides.’ Vel-chan is marrying Hal-san next, right? So, I wanted to give you this bouquet.”

“Tomoe-san…” Velza took the bouquet, hugged it to her chest, and her eyes welled up with tears. “Thank you so much. I will definitely be happy!”

“Wait, isn’t that something the bride says! Vel-chi isn’t the one getting married today!” (Whack!) Lucy delivered a sharp tsukkomi, and Ichiha gave a troubled, wry smile.

Then Yuriga said to Tomoe-chan, who was also smiling wryly, “Is it alright for her to say that? You’re the star of the day.”

“I like Vel-chan’s slightly scatterbrained nature.”

“No, I mean, someone might misunderstand and think Velza is marrying Ichiha…”

“…Ichiha-kun is my husband, you know?” (Smile)

“Hey! Don’t give off that strange aura! That smile of yours (with the black aura) is scary!”

Tomoe-chan… or should I say, Tomoe-san now? She’s really grown up… in many ways (distant look).

Despite that normal-for-them interlude, Tomoe-chan and Ichiha’s wedding was successfully carried out. The upper class of the Kingdom who watched the ceremony became aware of the concept of an overseas wedding, and among the general public, a Nine-Headed Dragon-style wedding (though the hurdle of actually going to the Archipelago was too high, so just having a Nine-Headed Dragon-style ceremony domestically) became a temporary trend.

However, this trend would be completely replaced by the time of Velza’s wedding.