Chapter 166 : The first night
They danced, sang, and made noise —- By the time the spirits’ lively marriage celebration came to an end, the moon was high in the sky.
On the balcony of the small castle above the clouds were Shin and Reno. They had both changed out of their wedding outfits and were now back in their normal clothes.
From that vantage point, the two watched the spirits go home through the cloud corridor.
“Thanks, Shin.” Reno said.
“Our way of celebrating marriage must’ve seemed very disorderly to you, right? Demons do it with so much discipline, so I hope this didn’t come as a shock to you.” (Reno)
“There is nothing wrong with the spirits’ way.” Shin said with an unusually tender expression.
“Reno.” (Shin)
As the last spirit disappeared from the cloud corridor, Shin turned to her.
“If it were not for you, I would surely never have been wedded to anyone in my life. You have my thanks for allowing my loveless and empty self to witness this dream.” (Shin)
Reno’s cheeks turned bright red at Shin’s words.
She stared blankly at her spouse standing next to her.
“…You know…” Reno said shyly.
“You’re not loveless. I’m sure there’s a tiny little love bud in your heart, and that it will bloom into a flower someday. Even if it’s still a bud, it’s still love.” (Reno)
Reno smiled at him.
Without saying anything, Shin gently looked up at the sky.
“I wish I could keep gazing at it forever.” (Shin)
Shin’s gaze was drawn to the pale, shining full moon.
His profile provided a sense of loneliness, somehow.
“Is it already the end of this dream?” (Shin)
“Eh…?” (Reno)
Shin slowly turned his gaze back to Reno, who looked at him with a questioning expression on her face.
“Ah… Yes…” (Reno)
Reno slightly cast her eyes down.
“I guess… this is the end…” (Reno)
“Well then—” (Shin)
Just as Shin was about to finish his sentence, the little fairies suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Is it the end?” (Titi A)
“Is it not?” (Titi B)
“I don’t think it is~!” (Titi C)
“Now it’s time for the main act!” (Titi D)
“This is your first night~!” (Titi E)
The fairies flew around the couple while making a fuss and shouting “First night! First night!”.
“S-Stop that, Titi! Don’t say anything weird! He’s not a spirit, so there would be no point even if we did it!” (Reno)
For a moment, Reno glanced at Shin, and then his face turned red.
“Wait, no! It’s not what you think, okay!? I-It’s not like whether there was a point or not would’ve changed anything…!” (Reno)
Reno chased after the Titi with her fists raised in the air in frustration. The fairies landed on Shin’s head and shoulders, as if frightened.
“Reno’s scary!” (Titi A)
“Super scary!” (Titi B)
“Spirit King!” (Titi C)
“Calm her down!” (Titi D)
The Titi shivered and trembled. Reno pouted and glared at them.
“How may I do that?” (Shin)
When Shin asked, The Titi whispered in his ears.
“With your first night!” (Titi A)
“With what comes after the wedding!” (Titi B)
“It’ll lift Reno’s mood!” (Titi C)
“It definitely will!” (Titi D)
“In one go!” (Titi E)
At that moment, small spheres of water shot by Reno enveloped the Titi’s bodies. They were gurgling and drowning.
“For goodness’ sake, quit saying weird stuff. You’re causing trouble for Shi-” (Reno)
Shin was suddenly holding out his hand to Reno.
“…Umm…?” (Reno)
“If it is not over yet, we can see the continuation of this dream.” (Shin)
“Ah…” (Reno)
“If you wish to, that is.” (Shin)
Reno stared at Shin in astonishment.
The Titi struggled and managed to swim out of the water Balls.
“Let’s not disturb them.” (Titi A)
“Gotta go home.” (Titi B)
“Hurry, hurry!” (Titi C)
“While the heat is still on!” (Titi D)
“And take your time!” (Titi E)
The fairies left the castle while scattering glittering scales.
Reno was blankly gazing at the lines of light they drew in the sky, as if in a daze.
“Shall we go back inside?” (Shin)
“…Eh? Ah…” (Reno)
Reno stared at Shin in confusion.
When he said nothing and waited patiently for her to reply, Reno shyly averted her gaze.
“……Okay…” (Reno)
Reno replied in a feeble voice and took his hand.
Shin led her back into the room.
In the center of the room decorated with colorful flowers was a large canopy bed.
She meekly sat down on it.
“Um… You know…” (Reno)
Reno weaved a web of words in a disordered fashion.
“The thing is, our marriage ritual includes the first night too. But just sleeping next to each other is good enough…! So we can settle for that!” (Reno)
Reno was repeating her own words, as if to convince herself.
Shin nodded graciously.
“Then, would you like to go to sleep?” (Shin)
“Ah… Um, I’d like to…” (Reno)
After momentarily cutting off her own words, Reno spoke up again.
“…chat with you…some more.” (Reno)
Shin nodded.
“What would you like to talk about?” (Shin)
“…Um, well… Could you tell me about the Demon King Anos?” (Reno)
Shin slightly relaxed his gaze.
“The Heavenly Father mentioned it, right? How you were picked up by the Demon King, and grew to develop a human heart since then. Well, I’d like to hear more about it.” (Reno)
Reno gently patted the spot next to her on the bed.
“H-Here. Can you… sit down…?” (Reno)
“If you do not mind.” (Shin)
Shin slowly stepped forward, and sat down next to her.
“I must tell you, my story is nothing very interesting.” (Shin)
With that preamble, he turned his gaze toward the balcony.
