By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 29

Chapter 5 Episode 29: The Pre-Ceremony Feast and Reminiscence

Thanks to the army of slimes working overtime, the lake was now filled with crystal-clear water. Since the water gate had to be closed to drain the lake entirely, its water level was still lower than before, but it seemed like the lake would return to normal by morning. There wasn’t really a need to watch it anymore, but I was standing there all the same, watching the lake refill. The night was a bit chilly, especially by the water, but it felt nice after a good day’s work. Meanwhile, the maids who had been setting up the wedding venue started to return to the manor.

“And then there were none... I remember reading that book.” The book, of course, was a murder mystery and not nearly as quaint as my own situation. As my mind began to wander, four sets of footsteps approached me from the direction of the manor.

“Hey, Ryoma!”

“Hughes! And Jill, Camil, and Zeph too.”

The familiar quartet of guards came bearing pleasant-smelling baskets and cases of bottles.

“What’s all that for?” I asked.

“Supper. We decided to dine with you, since it’s the night before the ceremony and all.” Traditionally, the bride and groom would spend the day dining and talking with their families, but Hughes had already lost both of his parents.

“Not that you’d be filling in for my dad or anything, but I wouldn’t even be here today if not for you. Besides, you couldn’t come with us yesterday. What do you say? How’s a drink or two under the stars sound?”

I felt honored that he’d choose me as a drinking buddy for such an important occasion.

“I’d love to.”

“Now we’re talking!”

“Let’s get things started, then. Camil. Zeph,” called Jill.

“We brought a table and a set of chairs. Here.”

“I’ll set up a barrier against the cold,” I offered. “And I’ll bring out a few slimes as well, so please pass them any trash.”

We each took on a set of tasks for a few minutes, and soon we had ourselves warm stew and loaves of bread, as well as a pot full of melted cheese for fondue atop a portable stove magical item. The rest of the table was filled with snacks and finger food to go with drinks.

“Right, a toast to Hughes’s marriage-to-be! Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

Glasses were raised in jubilation. I tipped mine back, and a rich aroma rushed through my nose.

“Mm! Now this is some fine stuff!”

“You brought the drinks, didn’t you, Jill? Weren’t these expensive?”

“We don’t have an occasion like this to celebrate every day; there’s no harm in spoiling ourselves a little.”

“You’re right about that, but I would have brought some better snacks if I knew I’d be pairing them with this.”

The four of them continued their conversation, and I realized that I had never asked about how they came to know each other. They did seem closer than mere coworkers.

“How long have you been working together?” I asked.

“Hm? For about ten years now. Jill already worked for the duke, while Zeph, Camil, and I joined the security team out of adventuring. It all started on our first day... The three of us were hired at the same time, and Jill was our trainer.”

“Really now...”

“Dealing with Camil and Zeph was one thing,” Jill chimed in. “But Hughes put me through the wringer. Sure, he could take care of himself in combat, but he didn’t even try to hide how much he hated rules and formalities. He couldn’t even muster up the bare minimum of etiquette to deal with nobles.”

“I remember you made it your life’s mission to fix that, Jill.”

“Even security has to appear at the front-of-house when there are guests sometimes. If something goes wrong, it will tarnish the duke’s name.”

“I remember all of the shouting like it was yesterday... ‘In case you’ve lost your bearing, you are trying to work for a noble!’ Among other things.”

“I couldn’t for the life of me understand why you decided to apply, or why Duke Reinhart decided to hire you.”

“Well, why did you?” I asked the man of the hour.

He thought about it for a bit. “Back then...” he started, and went on to tell us how he was raised as the first-born to some farmers; dreading a life of working in the fields, he left home at a young age to become an adventurer and test his mettle. “I struggled at first, but I started making a more stable living, and made it to B-rank. I wouldn’t have minded staying an adventurer... But more and more of my buddies started to quit once they reached B, saying that they were getting too old for the work, or they’d saved up enough to live a safe and normal life. None of the parties I joined lasted too long because of that. That’s when I met the duke and duchess.”

“I’ve heard they were adventurers back in the day.”

“Yeah, they were in a B-rank party too. They kept their titles a secret while they were working, but they couldn’t keep this sort of elegance a secret, I guess. Some guessed they were nobles, but everyone knew they were loaded.”

Amused, Hughes told us how badly they stuck out in the guild. “I just thought they were a couple of weirdos at first. But then, there was this big quest that hired all the high-ranking adventurers, and I was thrown into a makeshift party to join the fray. Our coordination was nonexistent, so we didn’t make it. Everyone in the party but me was hurt so badly that they were incapacitated. I thought we were done for, when the duke and duchess showed up and saved our hides. It started with me trying to repay the favor somehow, and we just got along naturally, so we ended up working together.”

“I got to know them through that big quest too.”

“Really, Zeph? What about you, Camil?”

“Well, I...”

“Camil came into the picture a little bit after us. He was good at magic, but kind of sucked at everything else. We had to take care of him this one time...”

“Wha—Okay, Ryoma, don’t let him twist this. By ‘kind of sucked,’ he just means average. I just didn’t get to the top-tier B-rank like these people.”

“If you say so.” Hughes chuckled.

“Camil is well-versed enough in magic to deal with various situations. Even without the duke’s recommendation, he would have never become a guard if his abilities were insufficient,” Jill said, apparently to Camil’s relief.

Now I get it. While the four of them seemed close, Camil always seemed to be at the bottom of the metaphorical totem pole; it all made sense now.

“I bet we could have gone for A-rank... But their time was up,” Hughes said. “That was when the duke and duchess came clean with us. They told us who they were, and how they had to get married and inherit the dukedom.”

“That was quite the surprise... Not that we ever doubted those lovebirds would get married, nor that they were nobles.”

“But no one expected to find the future Duke and his fiancée at the Adventurer’s Guild!”

“You can say that again,” Hughes chimed in. “Of course, then the conversation turned to what we were going to do with our lives, you know? So they gave us all an offer, and told us we were trustworthy and that they knew we could handle ourselves. To be honest, I needed to mull over it a bit. But I didn’t expect to find a party as good as ours again, and besides, how often does a lowly adventurer get to see the duke? Worst case scenario, I’d never see them again, and just as we were starting to get along. Didn’t feel like it was the right time for goodbyes, you know...?”

That ended up pushing Hughes to accept, under the conclusion that it would have been easier to have a job working for the duke and quitting than trying to get one. “And since that was my motive, Jill and I ended up butting heads, to say the least.”

“What did you expect?! Serving a noble, especially in a position as close as a guard, demands loyalty! When I was allowed to work here, I resolved to devote my life to the service of...” Perhaps with the help of some liquid encouragement, Jill began harping on Hughes about it, prompting the other two to intervene.

Our night thickened with conversation, as Hughes began sharing aspects of marriage that he had been nervous about, but unable to bring up until now. I didn’t have much advice to give, as I hadn’t married once over two lifetimes, but I tried my best to console him.

Eventually, everyone but me completely crashed. “Hello... Are the lights still on? Is anyone home?” No response.

“Uh... A little help would be nice!” I called.

After a few seconds, a woman responded from behind me, where nobody else should have been.

“May I be of service?” I heard someone approach me, the grass crunching under their feet.