While we were listening to Butts-sand and Rurunez-san talk, the madam asked me quietly.
“Did you advise him, Ryouma-kun?” [Elize]
“Well, actually, I was just planning on chatting with him a little, but… Do you remember how I made a bath bomb for you? That bath bomb was made using only food ingredients, every one of which could be safely consumed, so I ended up talking about how it would be possible to use those same ingredients to make a cake fluffier.” [Ryouma]
I also had a lot of excess ingredients, so I handed those to him too, but I didn’t expect that he’d actually be able to make something out of it so quickly.
While we were talking, Rurunez-san and Butt-san noticed us.
“Well then, I’ll see you later. There’s more cake inside the box, so take your time eating it with your husband. Hyuzu-kun, I’ll be leaving her in your care.” [Butts]
“Thank you very much.” [Rurunez]
“Please leave her to me.” [Hyuzu]
After a short greeting, the gift was passed to the maid in charge of safekeeping the gifts, and Butts-san vanished into the crowd of servants watching over the event.
Next up was…
“Please go ahead.” [Ryouma]
I offered for the duke and his wife to go on ahead, and they accepted my suggestion.
“Hyuzu, Rurunez, congratulations on your wedding.” [Reinhart]
“Thank you very much, Master.” [Hyuzu, Rurunez]
“What’s the matter, Hyuzu? Where’d the usual you go?” [Reinhart]
“He he, as expected, even I can’t act so unbridled today.” [Hyuzu]
“So even you know to rein yourself in at times like this. Personally, I can’t help but feel that something is out of place from seeing you so docile, but… Putting that aside, to celebrate this joyous occasion, my wife and I have brought you our gift. Please accept it.” [Reinhart]
Reinhart-san has been carrying a luxurious-looking wooden box with him since awhile ago. He handed that same box to the groom, and the groom immediately revealed its contents.
What appeared next was…
“Oh my!” [Rurunez]
“This… This is an armor! What’s more is that it’s made out of Dragon Scale!” [Hyuzu]
“My dad’s familiar just so happened to be shedding, so I asked a craftsman to forge an armor using its scale. You will be continuing to work for our family for some time to come, and there’s also Rurunez, so it will be very troubling for us if you aren’t able to come back safely after attending to your duties. Besides, you’ll be needing something to show that you’ve finally made it in life, now won’t you?” [Reinhart]
“Thank you. Thank you so much. I will surely repay this gratitude.” [Hyuzu]
“I look forward to it.” [Reinhart]
“Rurunez, do make sure you support Hyuzu, alright? He might be saying a lot of praiseworthy things right now, but he’s always been lacking in some areas.” [Elize]
“I understood, Madam. I will do my best to support my husband, while making sure to attend to my duties as a maid.” [Rurunez]
“Fu fu. It’s you we’re talking about, Rurunez, so I’m sure everything will turn out just fine. Take this as a guarantee from someone who’s been helped by you so much ever since I came here. Just as you’ve taken care of me in the past, please do continue to take care of me from now on as well.” [Elize]
As the four of them all became teary eyed, applause broke out from the crowd.
The four of them refrained from spending too much time talking, however, and before long, the duke and his wife urged me to take my turn.
“Hyuzu-san. Rurunez-san. Congratulations on your wedding.” [Ryouma]
“Thank you very much. Ryouma-sama.” [Rurunez]
“You really saved our skin this time, and for various reasons too. You’ve done so much for us, and we couldn’t be more grateful.” [Hyuzu]
“Thank you. But even then, please accept this.” [Ryouma]
I took out a wooden box from my Item Box and handed it to Hyuzu-san.
As dictated by tradition, they opened the box right there and then, and…
“Oh my!” [Rurunez]
“What a beautiful work! Is that glass?” [Hyuzu]
Hyuzu-san remarked honestly as he opened the box and took out a transparent red and blue glass with white lines engraved on it. Yes. This was none other than an Edo Kiriko Style Glass. When the crowd saw that, they immediately became silent. Their reactions could be largely divided into two.
One group’s reaction included those who were already interested in glasses.
This group included Serge-san and Pioro-san, who had joined in on the festivities. It also included those who didn’t care much for the superstitions.
The other group’s reaction included most of the people here. And perhaps it consisted mostly of the older people.
They all wore faces that seemed to say ‘it’s beautiful, but…’
…Yes. That is indeed the normal reaction. After all, a glass is something that can ‘break’ or ‘shatter’. When offering gifts in an event such as a wedding, thoughts and words that give the image of ‘breaking’ or ‘shattering’ or anything really that might remind one of the idea of ‘separation’ is usually best avoided. That’s true back on Earth, and it’s true here as well.
But I’d already foreseen this, so I’ve already prepared another item on top of this glass. I took that item out of my Item Box.
“Hyuzu-san. Rurunez-san. Please look at this.” [Ryouma]
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