As the sun set, the landscape of Neon City looked just like any other night.
Holographic beams shot out from the corporations into the sky, moving against the backdrop of clouds, and occasionally, vertical holographic billboards rose, exposing flesh tones as they boldly enticed the citizens.
It was already close to midnight, yet the city lights showed no sign of dimming.
Giant ships, flying dragons, and a woman’s naked body.
Holographic models, adorned in various designs, swam between the towering skyscrapers.
The view from the upper-class area was dazzling.
I stared blankly at the scenery.
Really, thinking about it, it was strange for the groom to be sulking like this at his own wedding reception.
But there was a reason for me being here, which was the same reason I was watching the ‘night view’ in the midst of the ‘reception.’
I slowly turned around.
Behind me, the banquet hall was still buzzing with the ongoing reception.
People were laughing, chatting, dancing….
…….
That’s right.
The reception was still going strong, even though it had been well after sundown.
I wanted to go home.
—
Truth be told, it was natural for a reception to last long in “Neon City,” where American culture was widely embraced.
I heard that typical receptions lasted over six hours since they would rent out the entire banquet hall (in net space).
However, I never imagined the reception would drag on without an end, even as midnight approached.
I cautiously tried to suggest, “Isn’t it about time we wrap things up?” but no one was willing to listen to the helpless groom’s opinion.
My one friend who could have been on my side, Drake, was already lost to the ghosts of the reception.
He was up on stage belting out jazz tunes, which was quite the eyesore.
Why could he sing so well…?
Anyway,
Our wedding reception dragged on at least twice as long as I imagined.
I really wanted to get back home and jump into a raid.
“…”
Come to think of it, most of our raid party members were here at the banquet hall.
Merlin, Teddy, Julia….
In other words, I was stuck waiting for the reception to end.
I chuckled quietly.
Connections really are strange.
Just as I was about to turn my head back to the cityscape,
I heard footsteps behind me.
“What are you doing here all alone?”
It was Eve’s voice, tinged with unexpected fury from the sudden appearance of my father-in-law (at least it sure was).
I turned my head to Eve.
“What do you think I’m doing? Just enjoying the view.”
Eve was still in her wedding dress.
Blame it on the late reception.
Still, the pure white dress suited her hair color beautifully.
Noticing my gaze lingering on her attire (particularly on her chest), Eve lightly twirled in place, holding her skirt.
“Do you like it?”
“…Yeah.”
If I had to rate it, it would be a perfect 100 out of 10.
Not many grooms would outright say their bride’s outfit looked bad, but aside from that fact, Eve was truly stunning.
Eve approached me and leaned against the city railing like I was.
The night view reflected in her white eyes. Even artificial intelligence found the scenery alluring.
As I watched Eve admiring the city, a sudden curiosity arose, and I asked,
“How long do you plan to keep this reception going?”
“Our schedule isn’t over yet.”
“What schedule?”
We’d already cut the cake, tossed the bouquet, danced, and Drake was singing while Harry and Mav had been stuffing their faces for the last 12 hours….
I couldn’t help but wonder what else was left to do here.
“…….”
“…….”
However, Eve didn’t explain the remaining schedule.
I let out a small sigh and shifted my gaze back to the city view.
So that’s how it’s going to be….
“By the way, what about your father-in-law─.”
“Entity ‘Pete Mc’ is not my father-in-law.”
Eve squinted her eyes.
It seemed she was bothered by his presence, as her discontented glare shot toward me.
I forced a calm smile and replied,
“Well, I honestly didn’t think he’d show up.”
“…That’s my oversight.”
Eve bit her lip slightly as she responded.
It seems I’d soon witness a virtual character of Pete Mc getting smacked down.
I comforted the stressed-out artificial intelligence.
“Well, whatever. It was funny, though.”
This AI bride needed a bit of encouragement regarding ‘mistakes.’
After all, we would have plenty of time ahead together. It was okay if not everything was perfect.
With that sentiment in mind, I conveyed to Eve,
“Being an AI doesn’t mean you have to handle everything perfectly.”
I jokingly called her the ‘God of Machines,’ but she wasn’t truly a divine being.
Just one bride, after all.
But Eve’s expression, having received my consolation, showed no signs of improvement.
She looked up at me with a pouty face.
I guess I picked the wrong choice of words.
I quickly added,
“So what I mean is, don’t worry about that. In the end, you’re still human too.”
As I spoke, I glanced at Eve.
“I understand.”
Eve nodded slightly at my words.
“Then I’ll do what I can.”
“…Huh?”
“It’s time.”
Hearing Eve’s words, I looked at the clock on my interface.
The time read midnight.
Had we previously discussed this? Before I knew it, people from the banquet hall had gathered around us.
What on earth were they up to….?
Eve’s eyes lit up with a round mechanical glow.
Her gaze at the city held a brighter light than usual.
And then,
I found myself lost in thought as the scene unfolded.
The entire city’s colors shifted.
Gasps of astonishment erupted from the crowd around.
“…Wow!”
The majestic skyscrapers, the billboards covering the sky, and the holograms flying through the air transformed in an instant.
They shimmered like the Milky Way in the night sky.
White, yellow, black, blue, and various colors danced across the displays.
Soon,
the entire city revealed a message.
【HAPPY WEDDING】
It was a massive event.
…Was this hacked somehow?
No way, how could one manage to pull off such a grand spectacle without getting caught….
I looked at Eve with mixed feelings.
While everyone was admiring the cityscape, Eve and I exchanged glances.
Eve murmured softly to me.
“It’s a small event using the credits I had saved up. We conducted it without violating city laws.”
…You mean you resolved all this with credits?
It was hard to believe.
I had wondered what she was saving those credits for, but I never expected it would be used like this.
The sight of all city advertisements displaying ‘one single message’ was truly a spectacle.
But the surprise event didn’t end there.
“…Dal!”
I heard Catherine’s voice from somewhere.
There stood her brother, ‘Dal,’ who had an affinity with Catherine, standing there transformed from the landfill.
By the way, Teddy was whining next to him.
Catherine hesitated as she reached out to the air, but Dal quickly hopped into her arms.
Considering Dal had ‘chrome allergy,’ that was a risky move. However, he showed no symptoms at all now.
“…Bioware artificial body.”
“That’s right.”
Eve replied to my muttering.
“I guess this was all part of the plan.”
“Indeed. We were prepared upon hearing the successful exchange of ‘Dal’s’ artificial body.”
So that’s why he hadn’t been seen.
They hadn’t just dragged out the reception until midnight for nothing.
The bride was, after all, the main participant in the wedding.
Seeing Catherine’s joyful face made me think that waiting had been worthwhile.
Of course, in the midst of this, some people were out of touch with the atmosphere.
“I wonder what happened to that person.”
“…Just shut up and clap.”
Harry and Mav were making noise, but anyway, those of us who understood the situation couldn’t help but smile sincerely at their reactions.
Thus,
blessed by everyone, sharing in the joy,
the reception finally came to an end.
—
I muttered to myself as I roughly loosened my tie.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
I had been strangled by it for over 12 hours. Even after loosening it, I still felt like someone was choking me.
I was really tired.
That’s why we decided to spend the night at Casa del Luso… whatever it was where we had our wedding.
I really felt like I could just wash up and fall into bed straight away.
Actually, I didn’t even feel like bothering to wash up.
Maybe I’d just crash into bed.
A fierce conflict raged within me.
– Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on my door.
At that moment, I realized the person outside wasn’t hotel staff.
After all, this was a luxury hotel with a contact bell at the counter. It’s safe to say staff wouldn’t knock on the door like this.
And it probably wasn’t to congratulate us on our marriage.
We’d already received all the congratulations during the 12-hour wedding and reception.
I pushed against my exhaustion and walked over to the locked door.
Who could it possibly be at this hour─.
…….
At that instant,
a primal sense of danger crawled up my spine.
I instinctively halted in my tracks.
– Knock, knock, knock.
When I didn’t answer, the knocking came again. To me, it sounded like the footsteps of the reaper.
I spun my mana around within me.
I used magic to count the people outside.
One, two, three… seven.
I realized my ominous instinct was indeed correct.
I had to move fast.
The floor I was on in this hotel was the eighth, a height easily reachable by magic. The only downside was the floor-to-ceiling windows that couldn’t be opened, but that could be paid off with credits later.
I slowly started to back away.
Alright, if I quietly move to the back…
– Click.
“?”
For the record, I wasn’t the one opening the door.
The door swung wide open.
“What’s up? You’re here.”
“Excuse us~.”
“……”
Greeting each other one by one, they all entered the room.
They hadn’t even had time to change clothes, still wearing formal wear like I was.
I was pushed back by their energy until I finally stopped at the large bed at the end of the room.
I tried to keep a neutral expression.
“…What’s the matter at this late hour?”
Of course, I knew the reason, but I pretended I didn’t.
“What do you mean, what’s the matter?”
The chairman answered with playful irony.
Her statement wasn’t incorrect.
Except for the simple fact that I felt like I was going to die from exhaustion.
I started to sweat buckets.
“…Um, is it possible to postpone this until tomorrow? I’m really tired today….”
With a smile, the chairman handed me something.
What was this now?
It was a neatly packaged ‘small ampule.’
Seeing me bewildered, the chairman continued.
“The contents are the special stamina-boosting…, health supplement I put in your coffee last time.”
Did she just say stamina booster?
I was well acquainted with the contents of that ampule.
I had unknowingly drank it when we had our little ‘encounter’ during coffee.
I guess there was no way out of this now.
I could feel myself being trapped.
– Thud thud thud─.
Then ‘dozens of ampules’ fell from the chairman’s bosom.
Questions about how she managed to carry all that were not worth pondering now.
An alarm of crisis began to ring.
I quickly turned my head to survey the surroundings.
An elite mercenary knows how to think of solutions, no matter the circumstances.
By chance, I noticed Catherine sitting at one side.
“Catherine isn’t quite stable yet, so it would be difficult for her, right? So it’s better to do this next time.”
“Oh, so I’ll just observe today.”
“?”
Catherine answered as if it was the most obvious thing.
Well, it was, but it was a little out of the bounds of my reason.
The six brides began to constrict their encircling formation around me.
These people sure looked a little terrifying.
I was genuinely getting scared now.
Why did the wedding dresses they wore look like battle garments?
The chairman looked at me and opened the cap on the stamina…, no, health supplement.
– Pff.
“If just one of you gets pregnant, it’ll mess up the timing, so the groom has to ‘put in a little’ effort.”
A little? That was an understatement.
“You all agreed on doing it five times, so keep that in mind.”
In the room, I had no allies.
…This might truly be the greatest crisis of my life.
I quietly closed my eyes.
It was one of those days when winter ended, and a new year began.
