The wedding reception party had begun, and although such a thing should be a matter of course, there were no major problems that occurred. A sumptuous course meal was served, which we ate in order while listening to the speeches by the newlyweds and the guests of honor.
It was just as I had imagined a wedding party to be.
[Speaking of which, is there such a thing as cake cutting in this world?]
[It depends on the wedding format, but that does exist. In this case, they would also cut a cake.]
[Perhaps in accordance with Mitsunaga-sama's origins, they're going to conduct the Johann ceremony.]
[...Johann ceremony?]
Lilia-san and Luna-san answered Hina-chan's question, and hearing the unfamiliar term, Johann-style, Hina-chan tilted her head.
Thereupon, the one who answered this question was Chris-san.
[About 400 years ago, the Emperor of the Archlesia Empire of that time was so impressed by what he heard from the one who held the role of Hero about the different types of wedding ceremonies in the other world, especially the one where the couple was to cut a wedding cake together, that he performed it at his own ceremony, thus spreading this culture far and wide. Since then, the ceremony of cake cutting was called the Johann ceremony, after the name of the Emperor at that time.]
[I see...]
That's kinda interesting. In fact, within the period of a thousand years, various cultures from that world have been introduced and permeated this world's culture.
Some of them are transmitted in the wrong way like the RINGTOSS... but hearing about the story behind it like this, I can see that there are many ways culture is passed down.
After chatting and enjoying ourselves for a while, the aforementioned cake-cutting ceremony was held. After that, the time was switched to a time mainly for chatting, and the guests were told that they could move freely from one seat to another.
Lilia-san, Laguna-san, Chris-san and Ryze-san had to leave their seats for a while because they had various people to greet.
Luna-san and Sieg-san stayed behind out of consideration for us.
Even then, even though it was time for chatting, it was hard for me, Aoi-chan and Hina-chan to move around. Even if we wanted to go talk to Mitsunaga-kun, it would be difficult because he was the leading actor of the event and there was already a long greeting line.
However, there's no situation where someone comes to greet us at our seats... It's probably, no, it's definitely because of Eden-san, and while I'm grateful for this, I'm also wondering what to do now.
As I had such thoughts in mind, I saw a person walking toward our seat. He had a medieval-looking face, and at a quick glance, I couldn't tell whether he was a man or a woman.
He was wearing what looked like a man's formal wear, so I guess he's a man? He had light green hair swept to his back, and his deep amber eyes gave him a somewhat intellectual air.
When the person came up to me, he bowed his head in a gesture brimming with beauty.
[It's been a while, Miyama-sama.]
[...Eh? Errr... Ahh, could it be...]
For a moment, I wondered who this person was, but soon after I realized that I knew him, or rather, her, albeit only vaguely. It's just that her appearance has changed since we last met, so I didn't recognize her right away.
I was about to reflexively call out her name, but considering that she had changed her appearance, I thought it would be better not to call her by her name, so I hesitated for a moment and decided to stop.
Thereupon, perhaps sensing what I was thinking, the person in front of me brought her face close to my ear and whispered.
[When I am in this form, I call myself Elysion. You can call me Sion if you like.]
[Ahh, is that how it is? I understand... It's been a while. I see you've also come to attend.]
[Yes, as I have a considerable position in the Symphonia Kingdom, I've also been invited. I thought I had thought of coming to greet you earlier if possible, but I apologize for the delay.]
[No, don't worry about it... Ahh, thank you for your help with the special request before.]
[I'm glad I could be of service.]
As I had thought, Sion-san really was Catastro-san in disguise. Come to think of it, I was told that she was the Guild Master of the Symphonia Kingdom's Adventurers' Guild, so it wouldn't be surprising for her to be invited to such an occasion.
[Speaking of which, you aren't wearing gloves anymore?]
[No, I'm wearing them. I'm having them appear like normal hands... The gloves itself were something I almost always wear, so anyone who sees those gloves may recognize them.]
[I see... Errr... It's a nice outfit.]
I haven't had much conversation with Catastro-san, so I'm unable to gauge what she's like. I did have an impression of her living in extreme poverty, but she was currently wearing beautiful and expensive clothes, so I guessed that she had some money to spare due to the influence of the gloves I gave her but...
[Isn't it? I had them custom-made. Since they're an outfit I would wear only on occasions, I tried keeping the price modest... but instead, I prepared these earrings, which are expensive. Because of that, this would be this month's "first meal" but...]
[...….]
No... It's the middle of the month... This woman has been fasting for half a month. I know some Demons don't need to eat, only eating as a preference... but considering the previous exchange, Catastro-san should be one of those Demons who needs to eat.
However, isn't that strange? I thought she was poor because she needed to replace her corrosion-resistant gloves frequently...
[...Errr, you no longer have to pay for your gloves, right?]
[Yes. It's thanks to Miyama-sama. Thanks to that, I have more money to spend on "accessories and beauty", and it's something I'm thankful for from the bottom of my heart.]
No, use your money on food!
[...Errr, rather than caring about beauty, wouldn't it be better if you use that money for food?]
[Ahh, no, strictly speaking, I don't really require food. Maintaining my body isn't a problem if I have magic power... but I do feel hunger. Perhaps an effect of my past self needing to eat, even though the act of eating isn't necessary anymore upon becoming a High-ranking Demon... There were still traces of my past self in me. So, hunger is simply painful, so there's no problem.]
No, you yourself said it's painful! That's totally a problem, isn't it?
[Is that really okay with you, Sion-san?]
[If such an act is essential to enhance my beauty, I would have considered it, but as long as it's not essential, I will put it off. As I'm currently in disguise, it's unfortunate that I can't show my beauty to Miyama-sama. I've matched the makeup to match the best of the thousands of the finest products to look good with these earrings... Seriously, how regretful it is that I can't show you my beauty.]
[...….]
Speaking of which, if I remember correctly... Alice said something about Catastro-san being some sort of narcissist, but it seems to be true.
To be honest... I'm troubled about how I should react to this.