WE HELD A SISTERS’ WEDDING
The family all went to the Misjantie Temple in the village of Tazine.
We were renting out the temple for about two hours that day.
Misjantie was helping Falfa and Shalsha get dressed, so I didn’t have to be around for that. Instead, I had another job waiting for me.
“Since you’re the mother of the brides, you’re in charge of reception, man.”
“Reception?”
“Your job is to hand out the seating charts to anyone who comes and accept gift money, man.”
“This sure is Japanese style…”
I laid out a table at the temple entrance and sat there until, eventually, attendees started trickling in.
First was Eno, Witch of the Grotto.
“Congratulations. Here is my gift money.”
I took the gold coins wrapped in cloth. There weren’t any paper bills in this world.
“Th-thanks… Er, people give gift money in this world, too?”
“Uh, isn’t it common practice? I believe people typically wrap up thirty thousand gold as a gift. Well, this isn’t a real wedding this time around, so they probably don’t need it, but you’re holding it at a ceremonial venue. I’m sure it cost a lot.”
She was being realistic in the weirdest way…
Eno went right to registering her name, picked up the seating chart, then went inside.
Momma Yufufu came next. “Heh-heh, the day has finally come, hasn’t it? Here, a gift.”
“Spirits give gift money, too…?”
The demons then came en masse.
There were the obvious ones, like Beelzebub and Pecora, as well as the leviathan sisters Fatla and Vania, plus Fighsly—Pondeli the recluse was also with them, so they probably all came riding on either Fatla or Vania.
“You have my congratulations. Here, a gift.” Beelzebub handed over money like it was a given.
Then Pecora. “Congratulations, truly. Here is gift money, as well as a message of felicitations from the demon king. I believe we will have time to present, so do read it out loud.”
There were even cards, too…
“Well done, Miss Azusa. If you need extra hands, then I would be happy to help.” Fatla had her stuff together even during times like this.
“Well, doing reception alone is easy enough. I’ll be fine.”
“Reception is fine, but you might have to prepare for an after-party.”
“We’re not doing an after-party!”
This was way too similar to weddings in Japan… Way too similar…
Lastly, Kuku the almiraj came.
“Here… Gift money… I’ve gotten more work, and I’m selling well enough that I can finally pay the thirty thousand with ease… Thank you…”
“Oh, thanks… You don’t have to overwork and force yourself to pay the gift money, though…”
“Right, why don’t I play a song for some entertainment? I have a new one, ‘Twenty-Five Years Since I Left You.’”
“That’s definitely not a song for a wedding!”
Afterward, Natalie and some other villagers and even employees from Halkara Pharmaceuticals came.
Honestly, this wasn’t even a real wedding, so I was starting to feel kind of bad…
Just throwing together all the people our family knew was enough for a small crowd.
My circle of friends had exploded in such a short time period.
Then Misjantie appeared. “Good work on the reception, man. Now, Witch of the Highlands, take your seat. The parent has the seat lowest and closest from the attendees, by the way.”
“Hey, have you ever worked at a wedding venue in Japan…?”
“A pan of what, now?”
She didn’t seem like she was playing dumb.
I took my own seat. The rest of the family was being treated as extended relatives, so they sat behind me. I see how this works.
“Lady Azusa, I know no change will come of this, but I am still nervous…” Laika sat beside me, and she was rather stiff. It was like she was attending a wedding ceremony of one of her dragon relatives.
“Yeah. I guess it is still a ceremony… This is more put together than I thought it would be. They put decorations all over the temple, too…”
Because this was the temple of a pine spirit, those decorations were pine-themed. They made everything seem Japanese style, but they matched this temple well.
“Falfa and Shalsha will be even happier from now on…” Beelzebub sat in her guest seat, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. She was reacting like a parent at a real marriage ceremony for her daughter… Isn’t she getting a little too emotional about this…?
“Spirits that humans worship, like the pine spirit, sure have their hands full. The life of a droplet spirit is one of leisure, free from worldly cares. My shoulders would grow so stiff if people worshipped me like a god.” Momma Yufufu offered her opinion as a fellow spirit.
She was right. Even though they were both spirits, their ways of life were totally different.
“I would not mind holding a wedding with you, elder sister. Or even just as friends, so long as we’re close enough.” Pecora, from her seat near the front, said what I thought she would.
“I have no intentions of getting married to anyone, but please don’t take it the wrong way. If word got out in the human lands that I was getting too close with you, the demon king, then they would probably come after me.”
The villagers of Flatta had finally built up a tolerance for demons, but that wasn’t necessarily true for all humans. Plenty of them were still terrified of demons.
If the human countries considered me a threat, it would be awful for my leisurely life.
—That was my own very logical reasoning, if I do say so myself.
“Indeed. Our feelings will still reach each other even if we don’t fuss over ceremony and form.”
It sounded like she understood, but she had taken it way better than I thought…
—Then the inside of the temple suddenly went dark.
It wasn’t nighttime yet, so it was probably some kind of magic.
“All right, guys, the couple will now be entering the venue. Please refrain from talking. Let’s welcome them with some warm applause.”
Misjantie’s voice came from the air, like the announcements before a play.
The hall was suddenly filled with light again, and the blinding brightness almost felt divine.
Walking down the brightly lit center aisle from the back was Falfa and Shalsha, hand in hand. They were both wearing what I’d call tuxedos. Even though they probably had never worn them before, they both looked great.
Falfa had a bright smile on her face, and Shalsha still seemed a bit nervous.
I stared at them, captivated, but I did remember to clap. I was their mother; I couldn’t be rude now.
What the heck. This isn’t just for funsies. The whole atmosphere is pretty serious.
When they reached the altar, they turned around to face the rest of us, and Misjantie appeared behind them, floating exactly where a god might appear.
“I’m the pine spirit, man. People have called me Misjantie for ages. I’m here to see that these two trusting individuals will feel the same about each other forever. I’m also gonna be the master of ceremonies.”
There was a somber air about her and a serious expression on her face, but her idiotic-sounding manner of speech was the problem…
Couldn’t she at least change character just for this moment…?
“A wise man once said that life is ashes to ashes and dust to dust. But that’s only talking about the physical. The heart will never die, man. We pray that these two hearts will grow to the ends of the earth and the ends of time.”
The two of them made eye contact and then nodded slightly.
“I, Falfa, will walk with Shalsha, my younger sister, through all the joys and sorrows of our days to come.”
“I, Shalsha, will walk with Falfa, my older sister, through all the joys and sorrows of our days to come.”
They both looked perfect. I was genuinely glad we held this ceremony.
We could create our own special celebrations. The normal days in our lives were precious and dear, but we needed days like this, too.
“Now, place your vows into your rings and put them on each other’s fingers, man. First we’ll start with big sister Falfa giving hers to Shalsha, and then the other way around. There’s a whole reason for this, but we’ll skip that.”
Misjantie came over with a board where their rings rested. She sure had put a lot of effort into a fake wedding. I mean, she was a spirit who’d worked as a matchmaker, after all.
“Ohhh, how absolutely lovely! Everything is happening exactly how it went in a book I read!” Pecora’s eyes were glittering. She really did like this kind of girly stuff. “As I am in no position to refuse, I have been forced to attend the weddings of important demons, but this ceremony is much nicer; it’s so wonderful!”
That was weirdly spiteful!
“Ooooooh… They’ll both be so happy… As their mother, I shall support them the best I can…”
“Hey, Lord of the Flies! Don’t call yourself their mother! You’re in the guest section, not the family section!” Lately, Beelzebub had been acting more and more like some things were a given, so I had to tell her no whenever I could.
“So touching, watching my granddaughters get married…”
Momma Yufufu was saying weird things, too… Wait, but I guess I do call her my mom, which would make the girls her grandkids…
“Okay, Shalsha, I’m putting the ring on.”
“Okay, Sis, go ahead…”
Both of them seemed somehow nervous. I guess brothers and sisters didn’t go out of their way to tell each other they cared for one another.
If this were a couple getting married, they might get a chance to say something about it, like when they got engaged, but an opportunity like that doesn’t usually come for sisters.
“Falfa’s remembering how important you are to me, Shalsha.”
“Shalsha wants you to be my big sister forever. I’m not the best little sister, but I want you to protect me.”
They shared their feelings as they placed the rings on each other’s fingers.
Was it better to call those feelings friendship? Or love?
It didn’t matter which, and maybe it wasn’t either of them. Still, I thought it was meaningful that the two could take the time to reaffirm how they felt about each other.
Good work, Misjantie.
“Thanks, guys. Now I’m gonna take your signatures for your vows. I want you to write your names on this contract, which says you will always stay loyal and bring each other happiness. You’ve written your names countless times before this, but it’s gonna mean something special this time.”
Things were pretty particular at this point.
The two turned the contract toward us to show that they’d signed it. Their writing was childish, but it was done in careful, familiar characters.
“Now, all of you here today can see that this contract is authentic. Please give them a big round of applause.”
There was no reason not to clap. We blessed the two with a thunderous applause.
Finally, after we were done clapping our hands off—
“Mommy!”
“Mom!”
Both of them turned to me and spoke in unison.
““And everyone else, thank you!””
No, thank you. I’m so glad you were born.
Beelzebub was already bawling her eyes out. She wore her emotions on her sleeve way more openly than I did.
Sheesh, let it all out, I guess.
The two girls grasped each other’s hands again, passed down the aisle between the chairs, and then vanished.
Right afterward, wooden tables and chairs appeared out of nowhere in the open area. On the tables were plates filled with food.
“Now, everyone, please enjoy your meals, mm-kay? Your names are in front of your chairs to show where you’re sitting.”
I was at a table with Laika, Beelzebub, and Pecora.
Pecora was sitting awfully close to me, while Laika was frowning at her with a glare for doing so. And Beelzebub was sobbing the entire time. This is a really strange table, but let’s just dig in for now.
Here’s the menu, by the way:
This is more of a real full-course meal than I thought it would be!
“This is very helpful. Let me just write this down…”
This was happening at another table, but Vania seemed to be writing something about cooking down on a piece of paper. I guess she just couldn’t help herself when it came to food.
“Elder sister, this is a lovely event,” Pecora commented.
“Sure is.”
“I do wish I had one for myself.”
“Keep wishing. I’m not doing it.”
Laika nodded to back me up.
Then, as we were eating, the room dimmed again. MC Misjantie was standing at the front of the room, in the only light. Maybe it was because of her spirit powers.
“Now, let’s welcome the sisters once again, man!”
I’ve been waiting for this! The food is good, but I want to see Falfa and Shalsha right now!
But as we were clapping, Misjantie came to stand right beside me for some reason. It was still dark around me, so it was a little scary…
“Can you stop appearing so suddenly…? This isn’t good for my heart…”
Spirits were apparently good at teleporting around; Momma Yufufu was the same.
“Now, come with me, mother of the brides. You have an important job to do.”
“What job? I’m already done with reception, so…?”
“This is way, way more important, man! Come with me!”
She took me through the darkness and into a different room. What was going on?
Falfa and Shalsha were here in this other room—and both of them were wearing wedding dresses!
“You’re both too cute! Way too cute! This should be illegal! You both maxed out your cute levels! I’m not the strongest at all—YOU are!!”
I wanted to use all the figurative expressions that existed in this world to express how cute they were, but all I could do standing there in front of them was call them cute over and over. Was there anything greater in this world? No, there wasn’t. There couldn’t be.
“Thank you, Mommy!”
“It was tough to put on, but it was worth it if it makes you this happy, Mom.”
Falfa seemed in a much better mood now that she was in the wedding dress she’d been hoping to wear. Geez, her smile was the best and brightest in the world. I doubted any brides smiled this much at any real wedding. It was like she was eating her favorite candy.
And in that sense, it was a relief, because Falfa was still a child at the end of the day.
I was probably being a selfish parent, but I didn’t want her to grow up too quickly.
On the other hand, Shalsha wasn’t as stiff and nervous as she was before, but her face was red and she was looking down in embarrassment. She was savoring the happiness in her own way, I think.
Even at a time like this, even though they were sisters, their reactions were clearly distinct—and that was what was so wonderful about them. Everything about them was wonderful to me!
But I still didn’t know why I was here.
“So, Misjantie, what job do you have for me?”
“In weddings, the groom enters first, man. And then the father brings out the bride. The participants always come in that way, even in other ceremonies.”
I was starting to catch on. “So you want me to act as the father, right?”
I pointed to myself as I asked, and she immediately responded, “Yep.”
There was nothing really to question about that. If there was something I didn’t know, it was—
“What should I do if there are two brides?”
We were already in an exceptional situation.
“Here I think we’ll have you be in the center, then have one girl on either side of you,” Misjantie replied easily, almost like this had happened before.
Me walking in the middle, my daughters in their wedding dresses on either side of me—I had only a brief glimpse in my mind’s eye, but it was already perfect…
“Mommy, you’re grinning.”
“You look like an evil god they pray to in the north.”
Crap. It was so wonderful…it showed up on my face…
“Sorry, sorry. I was just thinking about what a wonderful moment this is for a parent…”
Normally, the father doing this job would be feeling a sense of parting as he walked his daughter out. I’m sure plenty of them cried with sadness as well as joy.
But in this wedding ceremony, they weren’t being married off or moving away. It was just a great reason to be happy!
Still, to the girls, and all the other attending guests, of course, this ceremony was just going to become a nice memory. In that sense, it wasn’t much different from a regular wedding. That was why I had to do my job right. I didn’t want to ruin my daughters’ memories.
There was a mirror right there, so I checked my expression. More like, I adjusted it.
Good, now I looked serious and earnest. It was time to do what I had to do.
I took the girls’ hands.
Falfa was on my right.
Shalsha was on my left.
Even though they were twins, I could tell right away which hand was Falfa’s and which was Shalsha’s.
Oh, I’ve spent such a long time with these two. That’s why I can sense even the slightest differences between them.
I was on the verge of tears even before we left the room. I was getting ahead of myself.
“Well then, let’s go, girls. We can’t keep the others waiting in the dark for too long.”
They nodded at the same time.
Misjantie opened the door for us, and we made our way to the hall where everyone was waiting.
The room as a whole stayed dark, but the area around Falfa and Shalsha, including me, lit up like it was under a spotlight.
The three of us walked together holding hands, so this wasn’t like a wedding where the bride would follow her father.
But Falfa was just slightly ahead of us.
I was in between them, but she was essentially pulling Shalsha along. She was trying to put herself in front of Shalsha. It was probably unconscious.
I know we were already well into it, but I finally truly felt how this was supposed to be a ceremony for sisters to reaffirm their love for each other. This wasn’t a fun little event for me to see my girls all dressed up for a wedding; it was something nobler.
The clapping of the guests from the tables on either side echoed around us.
I think all three of us had a bit of pride on our faces.
When we came to the altar, we turned around to face our guests.
Just as I was wondering what we were going to do now, Misjantie nudged Falfa. “Falfa, go ahead, man.”
Falfa took out something that looked like a message card and slowly began to read.
“Shalsha, Falfa wonders when you said you would call me big sister. It was so long ago, I can’t remember. You always get obsessed over things, and sometimes that’s all you can see. One of those times, you said you were going to defeat Mommy. I was so surprised.”
I see, this is a letter from big sister to little sister.
Shalsha was looking down, tears pooling in her eyes.
“But if you never ran to Mommy’s house, then we probably would have spent our lives hiding in a forest somewhere. Falfa believes that Shalsha is the reason I’m so happy now. I hope we stay good sisters. From, Falfa.”
Beelzebub wailed out loud. It was getting kind of annoying. I think this was my first time seeing her actually lose it.
This time, Shalsha took out a message card.
“Sis, Shalsha sometimes thinks about how you are always looking out for me. I think the only reason why I’ve managed to live this long is because of you. I don’t know how to pay you back, but I want to stay with you. I hope we stay good sisters. From, Shalsha.”
Shalsha’s message was shorter than Falfa’s, but I noticed how it showed their personalities—and that’s when the unexpected came.
“And it’s a little weird to read this here, but, Mom? A lot of things have happened, but…we are glad you are our mom… Thank you… I hope we can alwahays, alwh…”
By the end, Shalsha couldn’t talk because she was already sobbing.
I was crying, too, so we were even. I’d really learned how much my girls had grown.
They were thanking me, but I wanted to thank them, too.
I’m so grateful for this sister wedding. Thank you, Misjantie.
“What wonderful messages, man. And as proof of the vows, please kiss each other on the cheek.”
They were sisters; a kiss on the cheek was nothing. Without hesitation, they gave each other little pecks.
First, Falfa gave Shalsha one.
Then Shalsha gave Falfa one.
“Your cheek is salty, Shalsha.”
“It’s the tears. Slime spirit tears still have salt in them.” Shalsha was crying too much to hide her tears.
“Everyone, please give our happy couple a big round of applause!”
I clapped my hands together as hard as I could.
But I had one more job left.
Falfa and Shalsha came to either side of me again.
“Mommy.”
“Mom.”
They both looked up at me with wide eyes. For some reason, even MC Misjantie seemed excited.
“Please also give your mother a vow kiss!”
“Oh, I see…”
In front of me, I could hear the demon king and her minister yelling.
“Ahhh! Elder Sister! How brazen!”
“Damnation! I’m so jealous!!!”
It wasn’t like I wasn’t embarrassed, but this was an important ceremony.
“Go ahead, you two.”
They both kissed me on the cheek. I had to be their mother for as long as I could. I would devote myself to doing an excellent job of it.
Clap, clap, clap. Loud applause echoed through the hall.
I made this event happen with the ulterior motive of seeing my daughters in little wedding dresses, but I ended up crying, too.
“My job as the pine spirit is done, man. I was here to witness, but it’s ultimately up to you two to make sure you stay good friends. If you end up fighting, then I want you to remember this day. Today, I can attest that your hearts were full of compassion for each other. You have my word as a spirit, man.”
Misjantie expertly wrapped it up.
“I want you to continue enjoying your meal, but there’s something I wanna give to these two first, man. It’s like a memento.”
What Misjantie handed to Falfa was a small pine sapling.
“If you can, I want you to plant this near your house. It’ll grow into a totally awesome tree.”
“Thank you, Miss Misjantie! Let’s see each other at the World Spirit Summit again, okay?”
“You got it. And until then, I’m hopefully gonna keep working on restoring the Misjantie Temples all across the country.” Misjantie bowed briefly.
I think I understood why people had believed in this pine spirit as a matchmaker for so long.
I stood from my seat and then looked at the girls. “I’m so happy for you both.”
I gently embraced the two of them.
This was the best day ever!
After that, word spread that the Witch of the Highlands had held a sisters’ wedding for her daughters in the village of Tazine and deepened ties there, and more tourists started to visit. There were also more visitors to the Misjantie Temple.
Saying I did all I could to help revive the village would be overstating things a bit, but as long as it benefited them somehow, that was fine with me.
And by the way, when we planted the sapling that Misjantie gave to us next to the house—
It practically grew to adult size in just three days.
“Okay, it might have some spirit power inside of it, but it grew up way too quickly…,” I murmured as I looked up at the tree. I wondered if it was disturbing any laws of nature…
“What’s with this smug-looking tree…? It sure is cheeky for a newbie,” Sandra the mandragora complained.
“Plants have a concept of newbies…?”
“And…this tree is absorbing a lot of nutrients… There’ll be less for me… I can move, so it’s not a problem, but it sure is a nuisance…”
Exactly! If it’s growing so fast, then it is taking a lot of underground nutrients!
I think I’m going to have to buy fertilizer or something again…
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