A gentle wind swept across the sea of flowers. Himmel's hair lifted in the breeze as he tilted his head back, wearing a smile, gazing up at Frieren's face.
Frieren stood there, lips parted slightly, looking down at her hand held in Himmel's palm.
"Himmel?"
At last, Frieren spoke softly, voice still carrying no particular inflection — yet with just a trace of something hesitant. "What is it?"
"Nothing. It just feels a little sudden."
Frieren let her eyes drift downward, murmuring those words, and then let them close entirely.
This scene had played out in her memory before — only that time, there had been no confession quite so plainspoken. But that time, in the sea of flowers, the ring Himmel had offered was still vivid in her mind.
When Frieren opened her eyes again, she found herself instinctively glancing toward where they were staying. Himmel noticed, and a flicker of nervousness rose in his chest despite himself.
The truth was, he was nowhere near as composed and self-assured as he appeared. If anything, by this point, his heart had long since been wound up tight enough to burst.
"What's wrong?"
Himmel looked at Frieren and asked softly. After a brief pause, Frieren spoke.
"The ring. The one you gave me last time — I don't think I brought it."
"That one doesn't matter anymore."
Himmel exhaled slowly, then said with quiet gravity:
"After this, you can have as many as you like."
Frieren kept her head bowed and did not answer right away. It was only after a long moment that she asked softly:
"So then, what does this count as?"
"A genuine proposal, Frieren."
Himmel gave a solemn nod, then continued: "I love you — same as always. And now, I believe I can walk alongside you all the way to the end."
"So — Frieren. What is your answer?"
What is your answer?
The question seemed to embed itself inside Frieren's mind. She kept her eyes lowered, feeling as though it had been a very long time since she had thought this much about anything at once.
She found herself genuinely uncertain, even on her own behalf, as to what answer she would give.
Himmel had always been her traveling companion. Ten short years — and yet, after those ten years, even Frieren could not deny that he had come to hold an irreplaceable place in her long life.
The impressions she carried of him — when she called them to mind, there were surprisingly few scenes of battle. Mostly it was the ordinary ones. Everyday moments.
And yet it was precisely those ordinary moments that played again and again through her mind, until at last something rare stirred within Frieren's heart.
Her feelings for Himmel.
Could they go on traveling the way they had before?
Mm. That was something she found herself missing. — Come to think of it, why was she so nostalgic for it?
There seemed to be a hazy answer taking shape. Frieren could gradually feel it, reach toward it, and at last dimly grasp its contours.
And so Frieren looked at Himmel, and at last, a faint smile appeared on her face.
"That sounds… not so bad, I think."
"What?" Himmel blinked, and then instinctively followed up: "Does that mean yes?"
"Ah, I'm not entirely sure myself."
Frieren looked a little troubled for a moment, but in the end, she gave a small nod and said: "But — yes, I suppose it does."
The next instant, Frieren felt the world blur before her eyes — and in the moment after, felt Himmel's arms around her in an embrace full of surprised, uncontained joy.
It was only much later that Himmel finally let go. And as he did, the two of them heard the sound of applause from close by.
"Oh-meh-day-toe."
Himmel and Frieren turned to look, and there, standing before them, were Anthony and Fern, facing the pair. Among them, Anthony was clapping with a perfectly blank face while delivering his congratulations in a flat, affectless monotone — which left Himmel not quite sure whether to laugh or cry.
After a little while, Anthony lowered his hands and looked over at Himmel.
"Seems the proposal went well. Congratulations — you've finally taken care of one major piece of business."
Then Anthony addressed Himmel with those words. Himmel gave a slight nod, and a moment later, Anthony spoke again:
"So — are the two of you planning to have a wedding?"
A wedding?
Himmel and Frieren exchanged a look, and what they each found in the other's eyes said the same thing: neither of them had given this any thought whatsoever.
Which prompted Anthony to sigh once more.
Until Himmel's still-slightly-dazed gaze drifted over to Anthony, carrying a tentative, questioning look:
Wait — you do that on the side too?
Anthony's answering look was perfectly serene:
Relax. I'm a Forgemaster — what's wrong with picking up a little side work?
Just tell me whether you want it or not!
And so, in that instant, with almost no hesitation whatsoever, Himmel seized Anthony's hand: Yes, absolutely yes, brother!
You are my actual brother!
"But — who are we supposed to invite to the wedding?"
Suddenly, Fern, who had been standing quietly to the side, raised a question: "Lady Frieren is an elf, so it seems like she doesn't know many people."
"And Sir Himmel — though he is a Hero — it seems like everyone from his era has already grown old, hasn't he?"
"That's nothing to worry about. I'll handle it."
Anthony gave a gentle shake of his head and said calmly: "Don't worry — I know quite a few people."
After all, it was true that Himmel didn't have many acquaintances left — but wasn't that what the group chat was for? This guy had finally gone and gotten married; everyone else was practically dying of boredom. Perfect timing to drag them all over and have them serve as an audience for Himmel's wedding.
As for the question of an officiant — if it really came to that, wasn't Anthony right here?
Doing a small favor for the group chat wouldn't take much effort.
"Friends-wise, a wedding shouldn't be a problem. But what exactly do we need to do?"
Himmel furrowed his brow and asked. He couldn't help it — when it came to weddings, he genuinely had no experience.
"Ah, well, don't worry about that — same answer as before, I'm actually pretty familiar with this sort of thing."
"There's a lot of prep work before the wedding itself. Laying out the banquet and everything — just leave all that to me. If you two try to help you'll probably only make things worse."
"Plenty of steps can be skipped entirely, but there are a few that probably can't be glossed over."
Anthony thought for a moment, looked at the two of them, and said:
"Get ready. Time to meet the parents."
In that instant, question marks appeared on the faces of every remaining person present.
Meet the parents?
"On Himmel's side, that's not necessary — I'll count myself as a parent you've already met, and I have no objections to this union."
Anthony said this at rapid-fire speed, not even waiting for Himmel to get a word of protest in, then swept a glance over at him and continued with unhurried ease:
"That said, you'll still need to go and meet the other party's family. Ideally with their blessing."
"My family?"
This time, genuine puzzlement seemed to flicker across Frieren's face. But Anthony simply gave a generous nod:
"Yes. Your family."
As he said it, he turned his head — still smiling — and gazed toward somewhere far in the distance.
Sure, helping out a friend from the group chat was a small thing and wouldn't take long. But really, some wool just begged to be gathered — it would be a downright waste not to.
Come all this way, and the kid's still young.
And besides, this was a genuinely interesting errand, wasn't it?
A wedding without meeting the other side's family first? That would just be a crying shame.
And so Anthony let out a low whistle, looked back, and turned toward Himmel and Frieren, a pleased smile spreading across his face:
"Go on, get ready. How about we pay a visit to your grand-master?"
...
The Mages' Association.
An elf who had long since lost count of how many years she had lived, whose face remained young as ever, was strolling through the courtyard — when she sensed something.
She raised her head and glanced around.
A familiar presence. A very, very familiar — and deeply irritating — presence.
Like a certain shiftless, freeloading parasite from her own lineage had come crawling around to be a nuisance. The kind of thing that raised one's blood pressure from the very bottom of one's soul.
And so, Saelyae spoke in a cool, flat tone:
"Frieren?"
Saelyae raised her hand, folding the light from some corner of space to reflect Frieren's figure — and looked at her grand-disciple.
Frieren opened her mouth, but for a moment couldn't find anything to say. She simply stood there looking at Saelyae, not uttering a word.
Which only made Saelyae increasingly irritated.
"What are you here for? And how did you get in?"
Saelyae looked at Frieren, brow furrowed, and asked, her voice carrying a note of displeasure.
"I came to find you."
After spending some time thinking over what tone she ought to take with Saelyae on this visit, Frieren finally spoke.
But Saelyae's frown only deepened: "The second question. And what do you want from me?"
"Ah. I'm getting married."
Frieren bit each syllable off clearly and said those words with crisp, unambiguous enunciation. And in an instant, silence fell over the courtyard.
It was only a very long time afterward that the look in Saelyae's eyes, fixed on Frieren, slowly changed.
It became a… question mark.
Would you care to listen back to what you just said?
That was what Saelyae genuinely wanted to ask Frieren.
But unfortunately, she couldn't. All she could do was stare at Frieren, struck entirely speechless — and then struck speechless again.
Until the space in the courtyard flickered again with light like the surface of a mirror, and a voice came from that refracted space:
"On that particular question — perhaps allow me to answer."
And then, from the fold in space, Anthony's figure emerged — wearing a smile, stepping forward to stand before Saelyae, bowing slightly toward her.
Saelyae was just about to say something when her gaze landed on the figure standing behind Anthony:
"Himmel?"
Even across so vast a span of time, Saelyae had rarely been this astonished.
It was like telling someone, in one breath, that the dead cannot return to life — and then, in the very next moment, having the dead person sit straight up in their coffin and slap you across the face, twice.
Bullshit, the corpse would be muttering. Who says they can't come back?!
Absurd — and yet here was the scene, unfolding right before her very eyes.
In that single instant, Saelyae was first astonished — then a keen and intense curiosity rose in her eyes — and then, the very next moment, something like wariness.
Wait — didn't Frieren just say she was getting married?
Preposterous, but — hold on. Let her work through the logic.
Himmel and Frieren were companions who had defeated the Demon King together. And now Himmel had suddenly come back to life — and Frieren was saying she was getting married.
In that instant, alarm bells rang in Saelyae's mind and she immediately turned her gaze to Anthony and Himmel.
There was a pig at her vegetable patch!
"Good day to you, Lady Saelyae."
Anthony offered his greeting with a smile and said:
"I'm the one who brought these two here — through a few special little methods."
As for what those methods were — why not ask the wonderful group chat?
"Now, as for the purpose of the visit — you heard clearly enough just now, didn't you?"
As Anthony spoke, he snapped his fingers, stepped back half a pace, and pushed Himmel and Frieren forward, grinning as he said:
"These two are getting married. Whatever you may say, at this point you could fairly be counted as Frieren's family — don't you want to offer your blessings?"
"These two came all this way just to meet the family."
Anthony said with a smile — and Saelyae instinctively slapped the table and stood up straight, pupils snapping tight.
"Absolutely not!"
"And why not?"
Anthony asked with genuine curiosity, and for a moment, Saelyae was at a complete loss for words.
Yes — why not? Even she couldn't work out why that answer had leapt out of her.
Well — yes, the little layabout was slightly lazy, slightly insufferable, ate slightly too much — but she was still the parasite in her own household, wasn't she?
And moreover, a parasite who'd actually stuck around for a remarkably long time by the household's standards — longer than just about anyone else, quite possibly.
You take your eyes off her for one blink and she's moved into someone else's pantry — how does that happen?
How had her own cabbage actually been eaten by a pig?
Was this even reasonable?!
In that instant, Saelyae opened her mouth. The elf who had lived through more than a thousand years of life scratched her hair in agitation and said, irritably:
"I don't need a reason. No means no."
"And another thing — coming to find me about something like this, as if you want to convince me to approve your marriage and send you off with my blessing? Don't make me laugh. Do I look like I have nothing better to do?"
"Two children showing up uninvited talking me into — I don't have to—"
"Ah, that part you needn't worry about."
All at once, Anthony cut Saelyae off, and said easily:
"I am Himmel's adoptive father. In that capacity, I believe I should be quite qualified to speak with you on this matter."
Himmel: ? Wait — Anthony, what the hell—!
For a moment, Himmel stared back in wide-eyed bafflement — only to catch Anthony winking at him.
Don't panic, don't rush. We're almost there.
These are all necessary sacrifices, Himmel.
You need to learn to endure. One step back — sea and sky open wide. Ten thousand steps back — wind settles, waves calm.
And so, at last, while the corners of Himmel's eyes twitched steadily, Anthony cheerfully ignored him, turned back, and continued addressing Saelyae.
And in the silence Saelyae offered, pressed forward:
"They are truly in love, Lady Saelyae."
"People like us in the parental generation — we shouldn't be interfering in the lives of the next, don't you agree?"
"Stop talking for a moment."
Saelyae said with some irritation, then turned and looked down at Frieren, abruptly asking:
"Then what about you, Frieren? What do you think?"
She fixed her gaze on Frieren and asked quietly. Frieren, confronted by the question, first blinked — then dipped her head slightly.
Anthony had just opened his mouth when he received a sharp glare from Saelyae.
"Everyone else, be quiet."
Saelyae said it almost point-blank: "I want to hear what she thinks."
And so Anthony simply held his silence, watching the scene with a small smile, inwardly clicking his tongue in quiet admiration.
Frieren stood beside Himmel, thinking.
"What do you think, Frieren? Every word that was said just now — everything he said — is all of that exactly what you yourself wanted?"
Saelyae pressed, her voice carrying almost a pointed, challenging edge.
Frieren opened her mouth. Silence. And then in the next instant, she felt it — Himmel, at her side, tightening his grip around her hand.
And for some reason she couldn't quite name, it was as if her entire mind grew calm in that single moment.
And at the same time, she finally found herself able to settle down and think through Saelyae's question.
Or rather — a question whose answer had already long since been decided.
Were all the words she had just spoken entirely her own?
Wasn't that decided the moment she accepted Himmel's words?
It really had been such a long time. So long that for a very long stretch, she hadn't even been able to notice her own heart.
Not until after Himmel was gone — or even earlier than that — that Frieren had finally realized she might have been in love with Himmel for a very long time already.
Why hadn't she noticed? Was it the dullness that came with being an elf?
Frieren didn't know. Frieren didn't care.
She simply didn't want to lose Himmel again. That was all. Perhaps a little selfish. Perhaps rather self-evident.
But at last, in this moment, Frieren raised her head and gave that answer:
"Of course it is."
She said it openly, without reservation. For a moment, Saelyae's face showed no expression whatsoever — and only silence could be felt spreading through the entire courtyard.
"Is that so…"
Then Saelyae murmured softly, and turned to look at Himmel. After a long moment, she closed her eyes.
Seems like there's no getting around it.
At last, Saelyae opened her eyes, and let her gaze sweep over everyone present. Finally, she pressed a hand to her temple with an expression of profound weariness.
"Hey, you there. The Hero."
Then she addressed Himmel directly: "Come here and let me punch you a few times."
"Ah? What for?"
Himmel blinked, thoroughly confused — only to see the corner of Saelyae's eye twitch slightly:
"How on earth did a child like Frieren end up falling for someone like you. Terrible taste."
"I actually don't feel that way at all," Frieren said in a calm voice, which prompted another sharp tch from Saelyae.
Even she wasn't quite sure what to make of this situation anymore.
"Then — your final answer, Lady Saelyae?"
At this point, Anthony stepped in at precisely the right moment, smiling as he asked. Saelyae turned her head away with a show of complete indifference and said:
"I couldn't care less. You two sort it out yourselves — it's got nothing to do with me."
"Ahem — that's not what I meant."
Anthony cleared his throat twice, turned to Saelyae with a somewhat sheepish expression, and said:
"Well — as for the bride's dowry — would you like to contribute something? It is your side, after all."
"Oh, and the gift money from your side of the family — go ahead and settle that too, while you're at it. Come now, it's a happy occasion — a wedding, rare as they are — and you are rather the bride's family representative, aren't you?"
"No trouble at all. Just hand it straight to me."
Saelyae: ?
She turned back and looked at the grinning Anthony, feeling as though the world had tilted sideways.
What do you mean, 'give you the dowry'?
Is that right? That's not right, is it? In what possible sense is that right? Isn't that completely backwards?
In that moment, Saelyae lost the very last of her patience and gave every single one of these obnoxious individuals a good solid kick out the door.
"GET OUT."
After sending them flying, and to prevent herself from being pestered further, she threw together a few magical constructs to leave with them for good measure — then sat down in a huff, refusing to concern herself with the matter any further.
But she had barely settled back down before she found herself fretting over them again.
Still a little worried. — No. No, that's absurd, how could she possibly be worried? That lazy parasite — she could take her chances and fend for herself!
But then Saelyae, just back inside, spotted something in the courtyard: a letter.
She picked it up with a furrowed brow, only to find — it was an invitation.
[Lady Saelyae is cordially invited to attend this wedding as the bride's family representative. Enclosed herewith as the formal invitation.]
[Your presence is most warmly awaited, at your convenience.]
[P.S. When you come, please don't forget to bring the dowry you still owe — the gift money we got from you is really not going to cover it.]
Her first impulse was to tear the thing to shreds.
A wedding? An invitation? Don't make me laugh — I have ten thousand things to attend to. What possible reason would I have to go join in a circus like this?
I have had quite enough of this nonsense!
But in the end — she did not tear up the invitation. She only tossed it aside in a huff.
And in her heart, she made a firm and absolute resolution:
No matter what happens — there is absolutely, positively no way she would ever accept the invitation and show up at Frieren's wedding and make a fool of herself like that!
But much later, a small hand quietly reached out and picked up the invitation from the table.
The business of meeting the family had been, in the grand scheme of the wedding preparations, little more than a brief, minor episode.
Once something approximating Saelyae's approval had been secured, Anthony got straight to work.
Of course, whether Saelyae had actually agreed or not wasn't especially important — close enough was good enough.
And whether that awkward old elf would even show up was anyone's guess.
Rather than worrying about her, he might as well get the wedding going.
Get it done, and then he could go back to cutting a tributary from the Primordial River and finally find out what it was that had been calling to him all this time.
And so, under Anthony's direction and in keeping with Himmel's wishes, everything moved swiftly.
A chapel — there was one right in this town. When he explained that a wedding was to take place, the resident priest agreed without hesitation, and went on to ask whether they needed him to serve as officiant.
After politely declining the well-meaning priest, Anthony quietly activated the Forgemaster's divine power and silently steered the Styx Skiff right down underneath the chapel.
No buildings were damaged in the process — Anthony had simply slid the Skiff into the ground beneath the chapel.
They could always patch the ground back up after they left.
And so, with this breezy attitude, Anthony began setting up the venue, and announced it to everyone in the stream.
Yes — the stream was still running. Or rather, it had never been closed. After watching the scene of Himmel's visit to the family, the members of the group had made their feelings known:
This is great. Can it continue?
And so, encouraged by the group, Anthony simply never closed the stream.
As for whether Himmel might have thoughts about that — well, that was no longer Anthony's problem.
After the announcement in the stream, everyone filed through the Styx Skiff's phase-transit engine one by one and came aboard.
Then they took their seats in the wedding venue.
At the wedding venue, Fern was dressed in bridesmaid attire generously provided through Anthony's Forgemaster divine power, looking around a little nervously at the people coming and going.
Then she turned to glance at Frieren, and asked curiously:
"Lady Frieren — are all of these people Sir Himmel's friends?"
"Ah. I suppose so."
Frieren murmured her reply with lowered eyes, then raised her head and looked around at the festively decorated surroundings.
The wedding venue had been done up in bright, celebratory splendor — even the two chamber pots that had been sitting on the Styx Skiff's deck had been temporarily removed for the occasion.
Muzan and Adam Smasher had by now grown thoroughly numb to it all — but Aura, the most recent arrival, hadn't adjusted yet. It wouldn't do to have the young one hearing screams.
And Frieren, watching all of this, felt a host of emotions rise up inside her.
She didn't know any of these people. When had Himmel come to know them?
"They're all good people."
At that moment, Himmel walked over and sat down beside Frieren, saying with a smile.
Then he looked toward the slightly further distance. Jonathan was wearing a groomsman outfit that was a little too small for him, leaving it somewhat ill-fitting — and yet his every movement still radiated impeccable gentlemanly grace.
David was still a little out of his element; clearly, dressing like this had been a rare thing back in Night City.
Beyond that, Yoriichi had made it too. And Minato had made a special trip, having set Naruto aside for now.
"It looks like there are far fewer bridesmaids than groomsmen."
All at once, Carmen's voice drifted over with a light, teasing laugh — making Frieren glance around in puzzlement, without being able to spot who was speaking.
But soon, she saw in front of her a gentle woman with a resigned smile on her face.
"It seems Carmen is still up to her teasing."
The woman let out a quiet sigh, her resigned smile growing more pronounced. She took Frieren's arm and chatted with her easily, this and that, nothing in particular.
And in the end, with a smile clearly visible on her face, she greeted Frieren warmly:
"Well then, I won't take up any more of the bride's time."
"Congratulations on your wedding."
She offered her sincere wishes, then turned and walked away. Himmel then turned back and looked at Frieren with a smile.
"See? All fine people, aren't they?"
"If you think so, then I suppose that's good enough."
Frieren gave a thoughtful nod and raised her head to look at the stage before them. Along the banquet tables around them food had been laid out — all of it prepared by Himmel himself.
For the living, naturally.
Meanwhile, below the stage, Anthony quickly tidied himself up in his role as officiant, then turned his head — and all at once a smile appeared on his face.
"Oh — you came. Did you remember to bring the dowry?"
For a moment, the figure in the black hood was silent, regarding Anthony. Then at last, a quiet sigh.
And so Saelyae pulled back her hood, and looked somewhat silently toward Himmel and Frieren, who were chatting and laughing further away.
"We'll talk about that later."
She said it without turning her head. Anthony was in no hurry, and continued:
"How does it feel?"
"Awful, to be honest. That lazybones is one thing, but her just up and leaving like this is still hard to accept."
Saelyae said with open disdain, and Anthony's expression became something between a smile and not quite:
"Then how come you showed up anyway?"
"Who said I showed up? I was just passing by for a look!"
"Is that so? This is underground, you know — I gave you a special-issue teleport beacon. Are you sure it wasn't intentional?"
Looking at Saelyae's stiffened expression, Anthony smiled and let the topic pass:
"Alright — if it hurts, let it hurt. There'll be plenty more days ahead that hurt too. That's the lot of an elf — live long enough, and you'll carry this feeling with you through all the years to come."
"As for right now — you might as well offer the newlyweds your blessing instead."
"I don't need you telling me how to live my life."
Saelyae took on a suddenly world-weary, ancient air, though Anthony couldn't be bothered to mind it, and simply waved a hand at her.
"Since you're here — find yourself a seat. You came all this way, you've already handed over the gift money — just make sure to top up the dowry afterward."
"As for the rest — well, the fact that you're here says it all, doesn't it? Means you can accept this, doesn't it?"
And so, with a laugh, Anthony strode in great, unhurried steps to take his place at the front.
He drew out the script he had long since prepared, cleared his throat, and said:
"Today, we are privileged to witness the union of two people."
And so the lights converged. The assembled guests fell quiet all at once, turning one by one to look at Himmel and Frieren standing in the light.
"And now, I invite the two of you to come forward."
And so Anthony spoke — and Himmel smiled, turned, and offered Frieren his arm with a gentleman's grace.
"Shall we?"
He said, and so, in a kind of daze, Frieren fell into step beside Himmel and walked toward the wedding stage.
The distance was very, very short — yet Frieren found herself feeling, all at once, as though it had grown somehow long.
Himmel walked at the front, and around them the guests were not many, but every gaze had settled entirely on the two of them. In the still silence, only the anticipation in those eyes carried itself across.
Even Frieren herself couldn't quite say how she walked that stretch of ground and at last arrived at the stage.
By the time she came back to herself, she was already hearing the officiant's words:
"Please — your attention, Lady Frieren."
Anthony turned his gaze to Frieren, his expression solemn, and asked: "Do you, of your own free will, take Mr. Himmel to be your husband — to stand by him and remain with him, for all the days of your life?"
At this moment, with this question before her — was there anything left to hesitate about?
And so, under the eyes of everyone present, Frieren gave a small nod and spoke those three words:
"I do."
Still in silence. Only Anthony, turning toward Himmel, asked once more:
"Then — Mr. Himmel, do you take Lady Frieren to be your wife — to share all things with her, to face all things beside her?"
And at last, Himmel smiled.
For him, this too was a question that had never, from the very beginning, required a single moment's consideration.
And so, in the instant just before the applause broke across the hall, he said:
"I do."
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan in "P" for more!🔥👻
🔥 New history: Jujutsu x Mieruko: Oh no, am I a villain too?
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone