Chapter 66
Six months have passed, and the wedding day has finally arrived.
The ceremony at the chapel concludes without incident. Isamu and Yuka, having made their preparations, head to the reception venue.
They spend some time chatting with the staff about their impressions of the ceremony.
As the reception time approaches, the couple enters the hall.
Immediately, applause and whistles fill the air.
They bow in response, and as they raise their heads, they see various familiar faces.
There are friends from their university days, like [names omitted].
Members of the sales department from the food company where Isamu previously worked.
Colleagues from Sundapole Inc., including Kimura and the Human Resources Department Head.
Yuka’s friends and coworkers.
These are all important people who have been with them since the ceremony.
Expressing gratitude for the congratulatory words from these guests, Isamu and Yuka make their way through the tables towards the back of the room.
As they reach their table—
「Ladies and gentlemen! Please give a round of applause for the newlyweds who have arrived at the main table!」
A familiar voice rings out.
Turning towards the emcee’s podium, they see a well-known veteran announcer standing there.
As previously mentioned, when they informed him of their decided wedding date, he actually agreed to be the master of ceremonies—it’s Teshigawara Shinji.
「We will now begin the wedding reception for Mr. and Mrs. Taida Isamu and Yuka! Before we start, the groom, Isamu, would like to say a few words to everyone. Isamu, please go ahead!」
「Well, everyone! Thank you all for gathering here today—」
And so, Isamu and Yuka’s wedding reception begins.
☆
The following evening.
Isamu and Yuka have logged into Dream Fantasy.
Despite it being the day after their wedding, they’re already playing the game because they have an appointment with Kaito.
This goes back to a few months ago.
While playing with Kaito and the others, Isamu and Yuka casually mentioned their wedding date.
Just like when they announced their engagement and when they reported becoming officially married after submitting their marriage registration, the group celebrated grandly.
About ten days later.
Suddenly, Kaito sent a chat message asking, 「Can you spare some time the day after your wedding?」
They agreed, which brings us to the present.
「Let’s see… It says, ‘Come to the Novice Plains.’ Shall we go?」
「Yeah!」
A few minutes later.
Isamu and Yuka arrive at the Novice Plains, a vast grassland area, via a magic teleportation circle.
「Oh, you’re here!」
「Yahoo!」
「Good evening!」
At that moment, voices call out to them from the side.
Turning to look, they see Kaito, Emi, and Leon standing there.
「Ah, you three! Good evening!」
「Everyone, good evening!」
「Alright! Let’s get going then. You two, close your eyes and follow us.」
「Huh? Oh, okay, got it.」
「Remember, absolutely no peeking along the way!」
「Okay!」
Isamu and Yuka close their eyes as instructed.
Isamu is led by Kaito, while Yuka is guided by Emi as they start moving.
(Knowing Kaito and the others, they’re probably planning another celebration for us.)
☆
After walking for about two minutes, Kaito suddenly stops.
「Okay. You two can open your eyes now.」
「Alright… Huh?」
「W-What’s this?」
What Isamu and Yuka see before them are two lines of people.
A large number of players have split into left and right rows, neatly lined up.
Moreover, all the faces there are familiar.
「Alright, on the count of three!」
「Congratulations on your marriage, Tutorial Guy and Yuka!」
As soon as Emi shouts loudly, all the players gathered there call out with these words.
「Kaito… W-What’s all this about?」
「Haha, impressive, right? I contacted everyone who’s ever been helped by you old man and gathered them here. Shuka, Lucifer, Elena, and Mr. Takashi’s group all helped out too.」
「I-I see. But why?」
「Old man, you had your wedding yesterday, right? Emi and I really wanted to attend the ceremony and celebrate with you two, but we couldn’t. Because—」
「We’re not connected in real life, are we? We’re just close in the game, but we don’t know each other’s real names or where we live.」
「But that’s sad, isn’t it? Getting married and not being able to celebrate with everyone.」
Kaito and Leon nod at Emi’s words.
Then Kaito continues:
「So we thought, why not have a celebration party in the game?」
「In the game?」
「Yeah. That way, everyone can celebrate together, right?」
As Kaito explains with a smile, Isamu is overwhelmed with emotion and nearly bursts into tears.
Barely holding back, he expresses his gratitude for this surprise.
「Kaito, Emi, Leon. Thank you so much!」
「Thank you! I’m so happy I could cry!」
「Hey! Old man, Yuka, congratulations again on your marriage!」
「Be happy together!」
「Congratulations! Looking forward to continuing our friendship!」
「Thank you! We feel the same!」
As Isamu says this, the three of them smile gently.
Soon after, Kaito points between the two lines.
「Now, you two walk straight ahead between these lines!」
「Got it! Shall we go, Yuka?」
「Yeah!」
Isamu and Yuka bow deeply to Kaito and the others before starting to walk.
As soon as they enter the path created by the lines of people—
「Congratulations!」
「Best wishes!」
「Hey groom, don’t make your wife cry!」
Congratulatory words are called out from both sides.
These are the members of Agreable, excluding Kaito, Emi, and Leon.
Isamu and Yuka return their thanks to these words as they slowly move forward.
「Oh delicate flowers adorning the earth! Bestow your healing upon us!」
As they continue walking, being congratulated along the way, they hear the chanting of a spell from a little further ahead.
(Hm?)
「Sweet Blossom!」
Immediately after, several players in front of them cast a spell towards Isamu and Yuka.
From the magic circles drawn at their fingertips, giant flowers resembling water lilies are fired, soon colliding with them.
At that moment, the giant flowers transform into a shower of petals with a soft 「poof」 sound.
The sight of colorful petals fluttering gently is just like the flower shower familiar from weddings.
「Wow!」
「Whoa!」
Isamu and Yuka exclaim in admiration at this thoughtful performance.
「Congrats!」
The group who cast the earth magic congratulates the newlyweds.
The bride and groom express their gratitude as they continue to move forward.
☆
They continue walking, responding with 「Thank you」 to the congratulations offered to them.
As they near the end of the line, they see the faces of some particularly close friends.
「—You have arrived, my comrades! What a joyous occasion this is! I too offer my heartfelt congratulations!」
「Congrats!」
「Hey, you two! Congratulations!」
Lucifer, Destroy, and Rayleigh.
「Hey, Sieg and Yuka. Once again, congratulations on your marriage!」
「Congrats! Remember to get along and not fight!」
「Congratulations to you both. Wishing you eternal happiness!」
Mr. Takashi, along with Shoichi, Shigeru, and other members of the guild 「The Gathering of Old Dudes」.
「Tutorial Guy! Yuka! Congratulations!」
「Congrats!」
Nana, Gaia, and other members of Happinesstrong.
「Ah, here they come! Okay, on three—」
「Sieg! Yuka! Congratulations on your marriage!」
「Congrats!」
「Woo-hoo!」
「Happy Wedding!」
「We extend our sincerest congratulations」
Elena, Cocono, Mew, and the chat messages from their viewers displayed on the panels they’re showing.
「Congratulations to both of you! Looking forward to our continued friendship!」
Kaiser, who has become close to them since the Dullahan subjugation.
Isamu and Yuka express their heartfelt gratitude to each of these dear friends as they continue forward, finally reaching the end of the line of people.
At the end of the path stands a cute little girl.
The girl—Shuka—takes a deep breath and begins to speak with a nervous expression.
「Sieg! Yuka! Congratu… lations on your marriage! Always stay… close… um, what was it? …Oh right, always stay close and get along! And please be happy!」
Shuka offers her congratulations with the distinctive accent of a small child, reminiscent of what you might hear at a graduation ceremony.
It’s clear that she must have practiced many times, and Isamu is overwhelmed with joy, his eyes welling up with tears once again.
But he desperately holds back his tears and squats down with Yuka to meet Shuka at eye level.
「…Shuka, thank you! Yes, we’ll definitely be happy!」
「Thank you! I’m so, so happy that you’re celebrating with us, Shuka!」
As the two say this, Shuka’s expression finally relaxes, as if a weight has been lifted from her shoulders.
「And you know, Uncle and Auntie, we have presents for you from everyone!」
「Eh, presents?」
「Yeah, just a moment please. Let’s see—」
Shuka opens her menu window and operates it with practiced ease.
After a short while, her cheerful voice says 「Alright!」 and then—
<You have received an item from [Shuka]. Do you want to accept it?>
A system message appears in front of them.
「Oh, thank you! We’ll gratefully accept it.」
「I wonder what it is, I’m excited!」
「Right? Then let’s—」
Isamu opens his menu window and checks the received item.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
[Angel’s Tear] x2
Category: Accessory
Description: A beautiful, sparkling pendant
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
(T-This is…)
Isamu is at a loss for words.
[Angel’s Tear] is an item that was added in an update a month ago.
It can only be obtained by exchanging with an NPC in the Starting Town, and to do so, you need to collect 20 of a certain drop item that monsters rarely drop.
The drop rate is so low that only a few players have managed to get it so far, making it an extremely rare fashion item.
And they’ve received two of them. It’s no wonder they’re surprised.
「…Sieg?」
「Ah, sorry, I was just shocked. Hey, Shuka, is it really okay for us to have these?」
「Yep! One for Uncle and one for Aunt Yuka! Everyone worked together to collect them!」
Shuka says this, pointing behind Isamu.
When he turns around, he sees that the large number of players who were lined up vertically earlier have now formed a horizontal line without him noticing.
「…I see. Everyone worked together.」
Everyone put in effort for their sake.
More than the item itself, Isamu is deeply moved by this fact.
「—Hey, Uncle! Try it on!」
I’m the luckiest person in the world, Isamu thinks to himself as Shuka urges him.
Isamu nods and uses the gift function to give one to Yuka.
Then, from the item list screen, he selects [Angel’s Tear] and equips it.
At that moment, a pendant with a large diamond-like stone is placed around his neck.
「Wow, it’s beautiful!」
Reacting to the voice, he turns to the side to see Yuka wearing the same thing.
The sparkling pendant top is eye-catching, and in a word, it’s the epitome of 「stylish」.
「Yeah, it really is. Shuka, thank you!」
「You’re welcome!」
Shuka responds with a beaming smile.
After confirming this, Isamu turns back to face everyone.
「Everyone, thank you so much for today! We’re truly blessed to receive such a wonderful celebration, and even these items. If you don’t mind, we hope to continue our friendship with all of you as a married couple!」
He expresses his gratitude loudly enough for everyone to hear.
In response, everyone surrounds Isamu and Yuka, and voices shouting 「The pleasure is ours!」 come from all directions.
A few minutes pass, and as things settle down, Kaito rushes over.
「Alright, now that we’ve given the presents, it’s time for the entertainment!」
「Eh, you’re even putting on a show for us?」
「Yeah, everyone’s prepared various things. So, old man and Yuka, come this way.」
Led by Kaito, Isamu and Yuka join the circle of players sitting around.
Right after, Kaiser steps into the center of the circle.
「Now, to celebrate Sieg and Yuka’s marriage, we will begin the entertainment!」
(Oh, Kaiser is the MC.)
Kaiser, who recently won the latest event and is known as the strongest player, as the master of ceremonies.
Isamu can’t help but smile wryly at this extravagant choice, as Kaiser continues:
「First up, we have a dance performance by the guild [Woof Woof Cat]! Now then—」
After that, various entertainments are performed, including Shuka’s song, a quiz competition about Isamu by Strawberry Montblanc, and a play starring Lucifer.
Isamu enjoys these blissful moments to the fullest, smiling throughout.
Sub29: My Thoughts on ‘Tutorial Guy’ as the Series Nears Its End
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