FIVE YEARS AFTER: BELL CRANELL
“Hmm? Where am I…?”
I look around. This is a room I don’t recognize. The walls are elegant and white, and when I look down, I’m wearing a white suit, too.
“What’s wrong, Bell?”
A voice draws my attention. Standing there is a girl in a pure white dress, holding a bouquet of flowers. When I see her, I smile.
That’s right. I remember now…
I’m about to get married. Right now, five years after I met her for the first time.
Outside, I can hear the wedding bells ringing. A clear blue sky stretches out beyond the window. A flock of birds takes flight, almost as if nature itself is celebrating our union.
Soon it’ll be time for us to exchange our vows. In the chapel where we wait, I turn to face her.
A thin, white veil covers her face. I see her smile, and I smile back.
I’ll say it again. I’m about to get married. To this amazing girl I’ve looked up to for so long. To this lovely, golden-haired, golden-eyed—
“I won’t let youuuuuuu!!”
“Huh?!”
However…
Goddess kicks down the door and marches up to us.
“Quite a cozy atmosphere you’ve got going on in here, eh, Bell?!”
“G-Goddess?!”
As if Lady Hestia’s intrusion wasn’t bad enough, my eyes shoot wide open upon seeing what she’s wearing—it’s another snow-white wedding dress!
“What are you doing here?! And what are you wearing?! Can’t you see you’re interrupting?!”
“Interrupting?! You really think I’m going to sit back and let you have your happy ever after?!”
“Are you a goddess or a demon?!”
I know it’s rude, but I just can’t help getting angry!
Goddess, meanwhile, tackles the girl by my side and drags her away before standing in the bride’s place herself. Then she wraps her arms around me and squeezes hard like a koala, pressing me into the ravine between her breasts.
I can see the girl I was going to marry is quite upset, so I try to tear Goddess away when…
“You can’t just forget about all of us!”
“What…do you mean, ‘all of us’?”
Goddess’s words cause me to freeze, and I lift my head.
Over Lady Hestia’s shoulder, down the aisle, through the open chapel doors, I see…
Lilly (“Mr. Bell! No picking favorites!”), Eina (“Didn’t you tell me you loved me?!”), Syr (“Hee-hee… Bell’s wife…”), Lyu (“I shall join you to ensure you and Syr are having a modest and proper relationship!”), Haruhime (“I-I don’t mind polygamy as long as I get to be with you…!”), Aisha (“No pussyfooting. Drag him into bed and have his babies before anyone else!”), a silver-haired goddess (“Hmm? I should be first, no?”), Tiona (“Argonaut! I wanna join in, too!”), an amber-haired elf (“Not only Aiz but Tiona as well?! I have to keep my eyes on him!”), Chloe (“Meow his little booty will be all mine!”), Cassandra (“I want you to make my dreams come true!”), Daphne (“Why am I here…?”), Wiene (“Bell! We’ll always be together!”), Rei (“I-I want to be with the human I love…”), Aruru (“Kyuuu!”), Mari (“I love you, Bell!”), Mord, also in a bridal gown for some reason (“Heh. Guess it’s time. You know I’ll never leave your side.”), a huge toad of a woman whose dress is bursting at the seams (“Geh-geh-geh-geh-geh!”), a sun god with a crazed look in his eyes (“Oh, Bell! Let us tie the bonds of love!”), a worthy partner whose blood-soaked labrys stands out like a sore thumb (“It’s time for our rematch.”)…
“W-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH?!”
…Chirping birds announce the dawn of a new day. I sit up in my bed, utterly drenched in sweat.
“…A dream…”
I don’t remember the details, but I feel like it started out happy, then quickly took a terrifying turn…
What will the future hold five years from now? Ten years? Twenty?
I don’t know. And as I get out of bed and leave my room, I try not to think about it.
…Just as I try not to think about the very last thing I saw in my dream—my grandpa grinning widely and giving me a big thumbs-up.
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