Side Story Chapter 46   - Marriage (1)

“Haha, goodness gracious. This side of you might be genetic too.” Rhea was the first to break the silence. She covered her mouth as she chuckled, looking at Kronos for some reason.

Kronos turned away as if trying to avoid his wife’s gaze. Yeon-woo became suspicious, speaking up, “Did you…?”

“…No. It’s nothing.”

“I didn’t say anything yet.”

“You were about to.”

“I wasn’t.”

“You punk…!”

As Kronos frowned, Yeon-woo slowly crept behind Rhea. “Mother.”

“Hahaha. Actually, when your father was younger—”

“Ahhh! No! Don’t tell him!”

“He had such a big head. So he…”

“Ahhhhh! Can’t hear you!” Kronos jumped around, trying to stop Rhea, but of course it didn’t work.

* * *

Another rumor soon spread throughout the village.

“Did you hear?”

“What?”

“Cain brought his parents.”

“Oh? Oooooooh! Ooh!”

“And it’s not just one or two people who have seen this.”

There was a rumor that Yeon-woo had appeared in the middle of the village with his parents and niece in tow and went to where the Martial King resided. It was definitely not just a silly rumor to gloss over. The current hottest button issue in the village was of Yeon-woo and Edora’s marriage. No tribe member was going to miss out on this big news.

“Let’s go see!”

“Let’s watch!”

“Let’s goooooo!”

And like that, the Martial King’s residence was filled with countless members of the tribe. Each of them had mischievous smiles, and they didn’t hide the reason why they were there.

“You know… I heard this is the first time our princess is meeting her in-laws.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Cain’s family had some stuff going on. It’s because of that.”

“Her father-in-law is Kronos, and her mother-in-law is Rhea. Then it’s understandable. Regardless…it’s going to be amusing.”

“Right? Hehehe.”

Would the aloof Edora be shy in front of the in-laws she was meeting for the first time, or would she be the same? It was a very amusing subject for the tribe. And that wasn’t all of it.

“But I’m also curious about that.”

“Ooh! Is there another topic to be interested in?”

“You know. Cain always acts up and talks back to our king, but he’d do anything the princess wants.”

“Yeah. He had trouble bringing up the wedding too.”

“How do you think the first meeting between the families is gonna go?”

“A nervous Cain… I can’t imagine.”

“That’s why we should go and watch!”

The members of the tribe all agreed.

Bustle! Clamor! The Martial King’s residence was chaotic because of the people who were trying to peek inside. A few of them even attempted to use their martial arts to sneak inside, but it was impossible to enter because of a barrier.

“Wow, he made a barrier like this just by projecting his personal defense art. He really is a monster.”

The tribe members were astonished at how strong the barrier was, but they still attempted to find its weakness. The One-horned tribe consisted of people who were united with their challenging and adventurous spirits anyway. Having a barrier like this would only encourage their competitive side.

“Our martial arts to sneak inside won’t work! What should we do?”

“Should we just break it down?”

“How? That inhumane monster even transcended this time!”

“Should I use sword energy?”

“Yeah! It won’t hurt to try. We’re going to die from frustration at this rate!”

There were a few tribe members attempting to break the barrier with brute strength. Pow, pow, pow! Du du du. But of course, when they did, opposing energy was created and they were flung back with an impact that was multiple times stronger than what they had inflicted.

“Owwww…!”

“Kegh!”

“As expected…this isn’t easy!”

“Still!”

“Nothing can stop me!”

“Like always, I’ll find a way to climb over this obstacle! Hiya!”

The tribe members spoke like they were mercenaries trying to invade a demon king’s castle, and crashed against the barrier. A few of them spoke victoriously of how they managed to last a few seconds longer or leave a minuscule crack.

The competition among the tribe members pulled them to the Martial King’s residence like a magnet, and the barrier was like a great mountain that had to be overcome.

“…They’re all idiots.” The Head Elder shook his head in disbelief as he watched. Old and young people alike were wasting time on such a futile act.

Was this tribe really going to be okay? The Head Elder genuinely was concerned about the tribe’s future. “…” But of course, the greater concern was inside of the barrier.

* * *

Thump. Boom. No matter how many layers were combined to create the barrier, it was impossible to completely eliminate the minor noise without using magic. Faint shaking could be easily felt by beings like the Martial King and Kronos. Moreover, the tribe members seemed to be making a new attempt because the quaking was becoming worse. It appeared they’d found some method.

The Martial King was incredulous of his own tribe. “Hahaha. They’re quite loud, aren’t they? I hope you understand. They tend to be really noisy…”

Kronos lightly waved his hand from where he was sitting opposite the chuckling Martial King. “It’s better they’re active than staying silent. And I’m used to atmospheres like this.”

Kronos took a liking to the One-horned tribe. It reminded him of Olympus from when he was younger. Back during Uranus’ rule, when it hadn’t been that long since all the forces were united, there was never a silent day. There was never a civil war thanks to Uranus, but small conflicts often occurred. Uranus used this in a positive way to raise Olympus’ morale.

The reasons might be different, but Olympus and the One-horned tribe were similar. Hot-blooded tribe members, a competitive atmosphere, and a free-spirited society… Kronos liked it all. If Rhea and Yeon-woo weren’t here, he’d forget about acting polite and go hang out with the tribe members.

‘This guy seems to have become different too.’ Kronos felt the competitive spirit sleeping inside of him slowly waking up. He still remembered the man who didn’t even blink in front of the armies of Asgard and defeated them all with a laugh. As a fellow martial artist, he naturally felt respect. Of course, the Martial King here was more a vestige than the real Martial King, but he still seemed like the Martial King to Kronos’ eyes.

“It’s a celebratory day. Would you like a drink?”

“Ooh, do you have nice liquor?”

“There’s some I’ve been saving for days like this. Hehehe.”

“Is that…?”

“You have a good eye, in-law. Yes. It’s monkey wine.”

“Huh! Such a precious drink…!”

Pop! The moment the bottle was opened, a thick fruity scent was released. The Martial King smiled confidently, and Kronos swallowed. The two began to engage in animated conversation, and Rhea and the Psychic Medium sat politely and spoke of their children’s marriage.

“When should the wedding be?”

“An auspicious day would be suitable.”

“What days are auspicious for the One-horned tribe?”

They spoke of setting the date, the newlywed house, the dowry and jewelry… Yeon-woo and Edora had a hard time keeping up. Since it was both their first time getting married, they had to leave everything to their parents. To be exact, their mothers would be taking care of everything.

In fact, Yeon-woo and Edora just wanted to have a simple wedding, but since this was also a union of Olympus and the One-horned tribe, they couldn’t gloss over this large event.

“You raised such a beautiful daughter. How is she so pretty and kind?” When the conversation was about wrapped up, Rhea looked at Edora with warm eyes. She looked like she adored her future daughter-in-law. Rhea had already given her silently permission to marry the moment she saw Edora politely greet them immediately after they entered the village.

Of course, since Yeon-woo said he liked Edora, Rhea didn’t have any intention of suggesting against it even if she wasn’t satisfied. However, it was clear how kind Edora was and how well she was raised from her attitude to the adults, so Rhea was able to continue the wedding planning more delightedly than expected.

But every time Rhea looked at Edora, Edora looked down.

Thump, thump, thump! The previous day, Edora had been determined to be warm and polite to her in-laws, no matter how nervous she was. It had been going fine when she met them, but the moment they sat down, everything in her head flew away.

‘…What should I do?’ Edora thanked them, but it was difficult to say anything else. She questioned whether or not what she said might be offensive to her in-laws, and she repeated everything in her head multiple times so as not to say anything that tarnished the reputation of her parents. She was tense from nervousness. ‘But…Oraboni doesn’t seem affected in the slightest.’

Yeon-woo was sitting with a composed face. He didn’t jump into the conversation so as not to get in the way of the parents’ discussions, but every time the atmosphere became awkward, he brought up an appropriate conversation starter to make the talks flow naturally.

‘He’s amazing.’

He didn’t appear nervous at all. Before today, he had seemed anxious, but did he feel more at ease now that they were doing the real thing? Edora nodded, thinking of how like Yeon-woo that was.

‘Huh…?’ But then Edora saw how Yeon-woo’s hand was trembling slightly. The water in his cup was faintly rippling. He just seemed normal on the outside, but he was actually more nervous than her. Edora grinned, thinking him adorable for trying not to show his anxiety. Thanks to him, Edora felt less nervous, and she joined their conversation more comfortably.

Yeon-woo’s hand continued to tremble until the end.