Magi Craft Meister

Magi Craft Meister 589

18　Further Progress Arc

18-09　The Wedding

October 10th.

The day for the wedding of Earl Kuzuma and Beana had finally arrived.

The ceremony was to be held at the residence of Duke Blue, the lord of Blueland.

Jin was wearing his Magi Craft Meister long coat.

“The Church doesn’t have much authority in the Egelia Kingdom either.”

“It’s the same everywhere. The Church lost most of its authority after the Great Magic War.”

Elsa commented on Jin’s observation.

Whether or not they had believed in gods, the priests of this world had been more vulnerable to the effects of the Ether Stampede during the Great Magic War, as they generally possessed more magical power than most humans.

This began a trend of people believing that “God does not protect his believers” which eventually led to the Church losing its authority.

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The wedding was to be held in the Great Hall of the Duke’s residence.

Weddings in the Egelia Kingdom of Egerea were essentially a gathering where high-ranked nobles would bear witness and formally acknowledge a couple as husband and wife.

When either the groom or the bride are members of the Royal Family, the wedding is also reported to a predecessor within the family if one is alive, or to a portrait of said predecessor otherwise.

This was very similar to how weddings were in the Shouro Empire.

For Earl Kuzuma’s wedding, the feudal lord Duke Blue was to fill the role of predecessor.

“The bride and groom will be entering soon,”

The voice that announced them echoed, bringing the noise that had been generated from the mix of everyone else’s conversations to a halt.

Then the door in front of the hall opened, and the groom and the bride made their appearance.

Earl Kuzuma was wearing a white and gold suit, and Beana was wearing a pure white dress.

The two of them linked arms with one another and walked through the audience as everyone made way for them, and finally stood in front of Duke Blue, who was waiting for them at the far end of the hall.

“I, Lewis Wurtz Kuzuma, Earl of the Egelia Kingdom, from this day onwards, take you, Beana Lonsdale, as my wedded wife.”

“And I, Beana, daughter of Bernard Hamus Lonsdale, Earl of the Egelia Kingdom, swear to be your wife from this day onwards.”

It seemed that, being born a commoner, Beana had to be adopted by Earl Londsale in order to be able to marry Earl Kuzuma.

This reminded Jin that back in the Edo period of Japan, a similar thing happened with weddings within samurai families. Of course, this knowledge stemmed from the fact that the director of the orphanage where Jin had lived was an avid enjoyer of Japanese historical drama series.

“I wish health and good luck upon Lewis Wurtz Kuzuma, and to Beana Lonsdale, who from this day on shall be known as Beana Kuzuma.”

After Duke Blue solemnly approved the marriage between Earl Kuzuma and Beana, the ceremony itself was pretty much over.

The hall, which had been silent, now burst into a thunderous round of applause.

Then the newlyweds turned around and walked back towards the door amidst applause and cheers.

“It’s a fairly simple ceremony, isn’t it?”

As he joined in the round of applause, Jin muttered those words to Elsa..

“There is a strong tendency to keep the ceremony itself simple. The reception after this is what’s going to get much more lively.”

“Ah… I see.”

Come to think of it, Reinhardt’s own wedding ceremony hadn’t been all that long either.

It could be said that, for the weddings in noble families, the reception after the wedding itself was where the real party would usually start.

The bride and groom would greet each of the guests and show the presents they received in front of everyone. Jin thought that this was bound to leave them quite exhausted.

(Maybe I should have slipped some Pelshika juice into their drinks…)

While the guests waited in the hall, Duke Blue’s butlers and maids prepared everything for the reception.

They set up several tables with food, drinks, and flower decorations.

It was heartwarming to see how the work was carried out quietly, almost mechanically, without any rush being felt from the butlers and maids.

These preparations took approximately 20 minutes after the ceremony had finished.

Then, after everything was ready, the bride and groom made their appearance.

“Thank you for waiting, everyone. It is now time for the bride and groom to join us. Please welcome them with applause!”

The one doing the announcements seemed to be the head butler of the Duke’s household. He was an attractive tall man with a clear baritone voice, which seemed to turn a few heads among the maids.

A total of 51 participants gave their heartfelt applause, and the bride and groom –who had both changed into an extravagant attire– entered the venue once more.

“Oh…”

“How gorgeous…”

These comments were heard several times all over the venue.

Earl Kuzuma was now dressed in a black suit that resembled a tailcoat, and Beana was now wearing a bright red dress.

Once again, the two of them walked all the way to where Duke Blue was waiting for them, and each sat down on a raised seat that had been set up there.

“Now then, everyone, please allow me to introduce you to the bride and groom…”

Deep down, Jin thought, “Wow, what a public execution.”

He remembered how –during his time on Earth– he had once been half-forced to attend the wedding of a senior at work. He remembered how his senior’s “buddies” from his high-school days had openly shared stories his senior would have rather not to be reminded of in front of everyone, including the bride, during his reception

And here too in this wedding, as expected, the faces of the bride and the groom –who were at the centerstage of this day– had turned completely red.

After that embarrassing moment of the reception was over, it was finally time for the guests’ speeches. The wedding gifts would be shown at this time as well.

Most of the gifts were already set along one of the walls of the Great Hall, so all they really had to do was remove the cloth that covered them.

The one who went first was, of course, Duke Blue, as he was the first witness of this wedding.

“Congratulations, Earl Kuzuma and Beana. It is my hope that you can join your strengths, and to not only serve your country, but to build a good and healthy family together.”

“Thank you very much.”

The Duke’s gift was a crystal figurine in the shape of two eagles. Since eagles would only mate with a fixed partner throughout their life, they were said to symbolize marital harmony.

The second gift to be shown was the one from a deputy knight of the royal family named Bruno Thales Bright. Jin remembered him as the vice-captain of the Knights of the Imperial Guard.

The reason behind such a representative from the royal family coming second –although rather superfluous– was that Duke Blue was actually the cousin of the current King of Egelia, so he was directly related to the royal family.

The gift was a bust of a man in his prime. From what Jin had gathered, it was of Earl Kuzuma’s late father. The Earl seemed to be very moved by this gift.

The third in line was Beana’s foster father, Earl Bernard Hamus Lonsdale, and his wife.

“Lewis, Beana, congratulations. I hope you don’t hesitate to come to me if you ever need anything.”

“Thank you very much.”

Since Earl Lonsdale was on good terms with Earl Kuzuma’s father, he and the Countess offered to act as parents for the two of them on this day.

Their gifts were a ceremonial sword for Earl Kuzuma, and a beautifully decorated dagger for Beana.

Seeing Beana receive this dagger, Elsa remembered the time Jin gave her a dagger as well.

Looking back, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret about not having known anything about this world at that time.

“Elsa?”

Since Elsa had been acting as Jin’s escort, she had had her hand on his left arm for a while now, but Jin had felt a sudden slight pull on his elbow.

“Ah… I’m sorry, I was just… remembering the old days…”

“…Ah.”

Jin, who somehow guessed what was going on, turned his attention back to the stage where the newlyweds were without saying anything more.

A steward from the Earl Guarana’s household, which is also located in Blueland, had attended as a representative.

He had stated that Earl Guarana had still not recovered from the injuries he had sustained during the Golem Party, and regretted not being able to be present at the ceremony. But some of the guests –Jin included– had guessed that this wasn’t entirely true, and that, in fact, the reason for Earl Guarana’s absence was the fact that he wouldn’t dare to see Beana –who he had been relentlessly chasing in an attempt to woo her– getting married with his own eyes.

Another dozen or so nobles who were acquaintances of Earl Kuzuma followed, and after them came several important merchants. All of these merchants seemed to be very grateful to Beana, since they had been able to make huge profits by dealing with her inventions.

“The following is a gift from a friend of both groom and bride, the Magi Engineer from Shouro Empire, Reinhardt Randall von Adams.”

It was Reinhardt’s gift turn.

“Oh?”

It looked like some kind of square plate. It was actually a certificate of sorts, which had a drawing of a carriage.

“It’s a small carriage that seats four. It’s light and quite comfortable.”

It seemed that, though he hadn’t made it in time, Reinhardt had arranged for a carriage to be sent as his wedding gift.

“Next is the Magi Craft Meister, Jin Nidou, and his sister Elsa.”

Last but not least, it was finally Jin and Elsa’s turn..

Upon hearing the words “Magi Craft Meister”, the venue started to buzz with excitement.

(So he is the Magi Craft Meister…?)

(He’s so young…)

(But I’ve heard that both the Klein Kingdom and the Shouro Empire have officially recognized him as the Magi Craft Meister.)

Ignoring the noise, Jin and Elsa headed to the central platform together.

“Earl, Countess… Congratulations on your wedding.

Jin congratulated them, not entirely sure if his words had been totally on par with the required etiquette.

“Thank you, Sir Jin Nidou.”

“I would like you to accept this humble gift to commemorate this day.”

With that said, Reiko lifted the cloth from the gift that Jin had prepared.

“Oh!”

Everyone in attendance uttered the same words of amazement.

Under the cloth was a Golem. But he wasn’t just a regular Golem; it was wearing a maid’s outfit.

Its design was based on the Golem maids who worked on Hourai Island.

And in the Golem’s hand was a silver tray with a pair of drinking cups and wine glasses in red and blue pairs, respectively.

“The Golem is from me. The drinking cups and wine glasses are from my sister Elsa.”

The red ones were made of ruby, and the blue ones were of sapphire. The faceted, splendid design had been carefully handcrafted by Elsa herself.

And the Golem didn’t have the slightest bit of awkwardness or dullness in its movements. It was really hard to tell it apart from a real human maid.

“Yes… as expected from the Magi Craft Meister and her sister.”

Several whispers could be heard among the crowd.

After Jin’s turn was over, the reception moved onto the banquet. The time was exactly 12 PM.

“Well then, everyone, thank you for waiting. Let’s now have a toast to congratulate the bride and groom! And please enjoy yourselves to the fullest!”