Yasaka's Palace.
While I listened to Tia and enjoyed her care, Yasaka finished her work and Kunou finished his studies, and now, late in the evening, we gathered in this room and spent time together.
Kunou, of course, immediately settled down on my lap and received my caresses on her soft ears and hair. Tia redirected her attention to the slightly tired Yasaka, which looked quite amusing, because she, an adult female yokai, was being treated as if she were a child.
However, Yasaka didn't complain and let the original goddess do as she pleased. That is, Tia fed the fox 'with a spoon', interspersing it with praise, smiles, and small talk. It was clear that although Yasaka felt a little embarrassed and awkward, she was clearly relaxing and enjoying Tia's attention.
I continued to pamper the little fox on my lap, who had closed her eyes in pleasure, and structured what Tia had told me earlier.
So, the wedding was planned for a month later at the Emiya residence, taking into account everyone's wishes and the time needed for preparations. This timeframe was mainly set by Morgan and her whims, as Tia and Yasaka weren't particularly demanding in this regard.
Morgan wanted to learn about modern human standards related to weddings, including both general information and information specific to Japan and its traditions. In other words, she showed incredible attention and respect to Yasaka, me, and Tia, although the latter was basically fine with everything. And that naturally confuses me.
I'm not trying to say that Morgan is bad or anything, but you just don't expect something like that from someone like her. After all, she was a fairy, and from Nasuverse at that, and those creatures were, to put it mildly, not exactly pleasant, and their way of thinking was radically different from that of humans.
However, the thought crossed my mind that the choice of location and the preparations were meant to annoy Arthur once again. Heh.
At that moment, I felt the familiar magic belonging to Morgan, and a couple of seconds later, she appeared, but she wasn't alone.
- "Greetings, everyone..." Gabriel greeted them cautiously, holding little Gabi by the hand.
- "I'm back, husband," Morgan said with her usual smirk, kissing me on the cheek and then sitting down next to me and looking at Gabriel. "Sit down, seraphim."
- "Thank you..." Gabriel nodded shyly and sat down next to Tia, who greeted her with a kind smile. Gabi came up to me and stared intently at my knees.
- "Kunou, can you move over?" I sighed and stopped petting Kunou, who looked up and, seeing Gabi, nodded and moved over a little. Now my knees and both hands were occupied by two girls who couldn't care less about what was going on around them.
- "Gabriel-san," I addressed the uncomfortable-looking seraph. "I hope Morgan didn't kidnap you by force? She's definitely capable of it."
- "How rude. That wasn't necessary, husband. She asked to be brought here herself," Morgan said, turning her gaze to Gabriel. "Isn't that right, seraphim?"
- "I..." she began and took a deep breath. "Romani-san."
- "Yes?"
- "Can I... join in?" she said suddenly, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "I... have always wanted to experience what a husband and wife experience on their wedding day... Beautiful dresses... Eyes full of joy, happiness, and hope... Solemn vows to each other, to Heaven, and to Father... The exchange of rings and the culmination... The kiss..."
I sighed and shook my head as Gabriel, with her head down, lost in thought, talked about what happened at a modern wedding. Morgan looked at her thoughtfully, as if memorizing her words, while Tia and Yasaka smiled gently and kindly.
- "No matter how many weddings I've seen from Heaven, the husband and wife always looked so joyful, beautiful, and happy, and... I would also like to experience such an event as a wife..." Gabriel continued. "I know how selfish my wish is, and that I can't just take you and make you marry me, but... But I really, really want to be part of such a solemn day..."
She paused and raised her head, looking into my eyes as I remained silent.
- "Romani-san... You are a wonderful person," she said. "You are kind, gentle, and sincere, even if you don't think so yourself. But what I especially like about you is your humanity."
I smiled at that.
- "Father always said that humanity is his greatest creation, and his love for it is boundless. But at the same time, he also said that 'humanity' and 'humaneness' are different concepts, and not every person possesses this 'humaneness'. And you are one of the most vivid examples of it."
- "Oh? I can give you my autograph if you want," I chuckled, which earned me a smirk from Morgan and slightly disapproving looks from Yasaka and even Tia.
- "You follow your dreams, principles, and aspirations to the very end, but at the same time, you don't forget those who are close to you. You accept these people for who they are, care about them, consider their feelings and emotions, and are willing to support them even if it means sacrificing something of your own. And the atmosphere in your home... All the warmth and comfort in it..."
She paused and smiled sadly.
- "I 'was' there, but I wasn't there at the same time. I envied not being part of it all, so I left home, lying that I wanted to spend time with Gabi. And if you hadn't fixed the errors in the system, I might have fallen from that unpleasant feeling of envy alone," Gabriel confessed. "I asked Morgan-san to bring me to you, and I would like to sincerely ask you to grant my selfish wish to be a part of you, your care, and your home... Will you allow it, Romani-san?"
I closed my eyes, and the joy drained from my face.
It finally dawned on me, huh? I expected that Gabriel would want something like this sooner or later, but for it to be so... intense? Heh. I didn't expect that.
Gabriel must have really thought about all this for a long time, since she delivered such a huge and emotional tirade, and not even in private. On top of that, she was the purest creation of the God of the Bible, and the fact that a lie and an admission of envy that could have brought her down had slipped from her lips...
I smiled.
I guess I had no right to reject her.
Not after she had mustered up the courage and bravery to say all that to me directly. However, there were still a couple of things that needed to be clarified.
- "I suppose your situation is similar to Yasaka's, Gabriel-san, so I'll ask you what I asked her back then," I began. "Are you sure you won't regret this? We are all long-lived, and..."
- "No, I won't!" she interrupted me, jumping up and even raising her voice a little, then slowly sinking back into her seat. "This is my decision, and it will not change in a century or in eternity, Romani-san."
I smiled again, hearing the firmness in her voice. Morgan nodded approvingly, Tia clapped her hands, and Yasaka giggled, remembering herself. Their reaction was exactly that because after those words, they understood what decision I would make.
- "In that case, welcome, Gabriel," I said, without the respectful suffix, and at that moment her eyes moistened, releasing tears of happiness and joy.
- "Thank you..." she whispered with a smile on her face, wiping the tears from her reddened cheeks.
Yasaka, hearing my verdict, slowly stood up and gently hugged Gabriel, while Tia approached her and softly stroked her head. Morgan, watching the scene, muttered thoughtfully under her breath.
- "We'll have to make some adjustments to our wedding, won't we, husband?"
- "Yeah," I shrugged and glanced around at everyone present.
So, the original goddess, the queen of fairies, the nine-tailed fox, and a seraphim, huh? What a motley crew we'll have. Heh.
At that moment, the doors to the room swung open, revealing a clearly alarmed Azazel.
He was as serious as could be, not even noticing Gabriel's presence, and there was no cheerful grin on his face. I think I already knew why he had come here.
- "Hm? Azazel-kun? How did you get here?" I asked.
- "Romani! We need help!" he declared from the doorway. "Issei's house, along with Ophis and the rest inside, has been kidnapped by the Chaos Brigade, and we don't know where they are now! Communication is down, I can't even contact Vali!"
- "Really? Well, let's go, you can tell me on the way," I smiled and teleported us to my house, leaving the others here.
Well, the next arc has finally begun. And I hope the changes in it won't be so huge that I'll have to intervene. Yeah, right.
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