Haruhime returned to the table and I followed her. We sat down and ate in silence. Meanwhile, Hestia kept talking non-stop about the wedding. I had never seen her so excited before.
"Should I really have brought up marriage?" I don't think it was a good idea.
Right now, my focus is on getting stronger and on my work. I don't have time to think about marriage. Besides, Freya is watching my every move—I'm sure of it. "What a headache."
"Luan, what do you think about this?"
"Hm? Sorry, I wasn't listening."
"Hmph! Then pay attention! I was talking about the dresses!"
"Dresses? Already?"
"Of course! The dresses are one of the most important parts! What do you think about this one?…"
Hestia began talking about the dresses the three of them would wear. She wanted a light blue dress, Lili would wear a light brown one, and Mikoto would wear a white one. Those were the colors they had chosen.
"I think… they're fine?"
"You think?"
"I have no idea how to plan a wedding. Besides, isn't the groom not supposed to choose the bride's dress?"
"He's right, Hestia," Haruhime said. "The groom doesn't choose the dress—the bride does."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You didn't know that?" I asked.
"I thought we were supposed to plan everything together."
"I'll help you organize the wedding party. You, Mikoto, and Lili can take care of the dresses and the ceremony itself. Is that okay with you?"
"Fine by me," Mikoto said.
"Yeah, that's fine," Lili nodded in agreement.
"Well, if that's what you want, then it's fine."
I sighed in relief and finally managed to finish my meal.
"I can't back out of this wedding. Better get it done as soon as possible. I need to ask Elma for help—she always knows what to do."
I stood up and said, "I'm heading out for a bit. I'll be back in two or three hours."
"Where are you going?"
"I have some things to take care of regarding my books. Don't worry, it's nothing serious."
"Okay. Come back soon."
The girls said their goodbyes, and I teleported to the rooftop of a nearby building. I lay down and looked up at the sky. "Not a single cloud…" It's been a long time since it rained. I miss the rain.
Then, suddenly, clouds began to appear on the horizon.
They drifted over Orario, and within minutes, the sky was completely overcast.
I stayed there, lying down, thinking about the wedding with Hestia, Mikoto, and Lili.
Then, raindrops began to fall on my face.
"I should get out of here." I stood up and activated my teleportation skill. I teleported into the library's meeting room.
"AAAAH!" someone screamed.
It was Elma.
She had been startled by my sudden appearance and threw all the books she was holding at me. I quickly caught them all in mid-air. Once I had them in hand, I smiled. "Are you okay?" I asked.
"Huff~~ Huff~~" Elma was breathing heavily from the scare. She nearly had a heart attack. "Don't ever do that again! You nearly killed me! I'm an old lady, okay? My heart's not as strong as it used to be!"
"All right, I'm sorry." Elma took the books from my hands. They were all copies of Romeo and Juliet. "Where are you taking these?"
"I'm packing them in a box for delivery. They were ordered by a noble family."
"Oh, I see."
"But why are you here? Did you bring more drafts?"
"No, it's not about my books. I came here for something personal."
"Judging by your face, it must be something serious…"
"How do I put this…"
"Just tell me! I'm curious!"
"I'm getting married."
The moment she heard those words, Elma dropped the books again—but I caught them all in the air.
"Y-Y-You're getting married?! To who? Don't tell me…"
"To three women."
"…" Elma turned pale and fainted.
#####
I picked her up and laid her on the couch. She woke up a few minutes later, still in shock. "Did I hear that right? You're getting married to three women?"
"Yes, that's right."
"You've lost your mind!" Elma shouted.
At her outburst, some library staff entered the room.
"Is everything all right? Do you need help?"
"No, I don't need help! Please, get back to work."
The two men left the room.
"Luan, tell me you're joking," Elma said, grabbing my arms.
"I'm not joking. I wanted to marry Hestia, but she was the one who suggested I marry Mikoto and Lili as well."
"Wait—one of them is Hestia?!"
"Of course. What did you expect?"
"I knew there was something between you two, but I've never seen a human marry a god before. Is that even allowed?!"
"Even if it's not, we're doing it anyway."
"You lunatic."
"So… I came to ask for your help. I need help organizing the wedding venue and the reception."
"No. This is madness. I'm not helping you with this."
"You're overthinking it, Elma."
"...Luan, you have no idea what you're getting into. You're planning to marry a goddess and two more women at the same time! Do you realize your reputation is at stake? You could lose readers!"
"So that's what you're worried about."
"I'm not just worried about the readers—I'm worried about you. Can you handle being judged by everyone?"
"People will judge me for marrying three beautiful women I love?"
"I can see you're not going to change your mind."
"To be honest, I didn't want to get married right now, even though I do want to marry all of them. But they're so excited about it… I can't cancel the wedding now."
"Fine… I get it."
"Will you help me?"
"Okay, I'll help. But don't blame me if you end up regretting it."
"Don't worry. I won't regret marrying the three women I love. And even if you didn't help me, I'd do it all on my own. I only asked to make things easier."
Tsk! Elma clicked her tongue and picked up the books. "I'm going to finish my work. Come back tomorrow so we can talk more about this."
"All right. Thanks, Elma."
"You're welcome, you crazy man."
####
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Next chapters: Chapter 263 - Family and Friends. / Chapter 264 - Place for the Wedding. / Chapter 265 - Are You Going to Buy the Buildings?! / Chapter 266 - Ais Doesn't Know About the Wedding / Chapter 267 - She can be quite annoying. / Chapter 268 – Cookie Clicker. / Chapter 269 - Ais's Cofession? / Chapter 270 - Did I Break Ais's Heart? / Chapter 271 - I wish you luck. +18 / Chapter 272 - Haruhime fainted? +18 / Chapter 273 - All the girls from the Hestia Familia?! / Chapter 274 - Conversation with Ais. (Tiona's POV) / Chapter 275 - Being part of a harem. / Chapter 276 - Crazy Theory.