Chapter 5: Friends

The day I heard the gods’ commentary for the final time remains ever vivid in my memory...

It was the day of the crown’s Festival of Gratitude, hosted in the royal palace. Liese, Fiene, Baldur, and Art joined all of our smiling guests in giving thanks that we made it to see this blessed day.

From amidst the merry chatter came Lady Kobayashee’s voice.

“Oh my gosh... They’re really here...”

Although the goddess seemed somewhat dazed, hearing her voice for the first time in several days stopped me right in my tracks.

“We...managed to turn the final boss back into the Goddess Lirenna, and sealed away Kuon, who was the hidden boss,” Lady Kobayashee said. “That means the game is over, and our role as your play-by-play and color commentators is over too. Maybe that’s why we haven’t been able to see into your world lately. Maybe it’s just because Kuon is gone. Either way, this might be the last time we’ll ever get a chance to talk to you. I hope I’m wrong, but I want you to keep that in mind as you listen.”

The revelation that our kingdom had overcome its impending peril brought some amount of joy. However, more than that, I was struck with overwhelming sadness at our upcoming farewell.

“But I’m glad we have a chance to say goodbye,” Lord Endoh said, deep emotion baked into his voice. “I’m glad we get to see you all having fun, and that you’re all alive. Most of all, I’m glad that everyone, including Lieselotte, finally has the happiness they deserve... Make sure you all get along without us, okay?”

I gave a small nod. Some of my guests eyed me quizzically; I had been chatting with someone when the gods had begun to speak, and I’d stopped mid-sentence to listen.

“One day, this happily ever after will just become a part of your everyday life. Even then, I want you to appreciate this Happy End to End All Happy Ends for the total miracle it is! I’ll get really mad if you make Liese-tan cry! I might even smite you!”

Perhaps the nasal tone with which Lady Kobayashee cheerfully delivered her joke was something I projected onto her due to the tears streaming down my own face. If not, then maybe the gods were just as sorry to see us go as I was them. Although I didn’t know which was the truth, I could no longer keep my emotions contained and broke the promise I’d made with them long ago.

“We have been obliged to you,” I loudly declared. “God of Play-by-Play Casting, Lord Endoh, and Goddess of Color Commentary, Lady Kobayashee. You saved us all: the kingdom, the world, Lieselotte, and me. I will forever worship you as the greatest of all the gods in heaven. Here and now, I offer you my eternal devotion.”

I knelt down on one knee and bowed my head. My abrupt and strange actions drew the attention of all the partygoers, but that was the last thing on my mind.

“We told you to just listen to us and brush us aside at the very beginning, remember? Jeez...” Lady Kobayashee seemed troubled by my actions and then fell silent.

“Sorry, but Shihono—er, Kobayashi’s not in any state to keep talking...” Lord Endoh said. “Hey, come on. Don’t cry like that.”

The two continued to whisper to each other, and while I couldn’t make out what they were saying, the sounds of someone sobbing were loud and clear. I sat and listened. Despite the growing murmurs of the crowd around me, my attention was squarely focused on the gods and the gods alone.

“Hey, Sieg...” Lord Endoh seemed hesitant to speak. “I know this isn’t the kind of thing to mention when everything’s already been said and done, but...you’ve kinda been mispronouncing our names. Out of everyone from your world, I’d say Lirenna’s the closest to getting it right.”

“I-I’m so very sorry!” The news sent me into a state of alarm.

“No need to apologize or anything. But we’re not gods anymore, and both Kobayashi and I feel weird being called a lord and lady. So before we go, we’d like it if you’d remember us the way we introduced ourselves: the play-by-play caster Endo and the color commentator Kobayashi.”

Lord Endoh magnanimously looked past my terrible transgression.

“But...” However, the proposition that followed was even more troubling. Even with the permission of the gods themselves, to refer to them so informally was difficult to do.

I instinctively looked around for help and spotted my father vigorously shaking his head, all color drained from his face. Nearby, Fiene was casually nodding. Even the people who could hear the heavenly voices couldn’t come to a consensus.

Their messages were loud and clear: my father’s was “Know your place! Do everything you can to refuse!” and Fiene’s was “Why not?”

“We tried to keep up our godly image until everything was over because we thought you’d feel more secure that way,” Lord Endoh said, “and now it’s all finished! Besides, we’re the same age! Actually, no, you’re a year older than us! But most of all...we already think of you as a friend, Sieg. So you can drop the lord and lady and just talk to us casually, um, if that’s all right with you.”

Hearing Lord Endoh so meek pricked at my sense of guilt. I supposed I had no other choice.

“As you—er, g-got it.” It took everything I had to squeeze out these few words.

“There you go!” Lord Endoh sounded overjoyed. “Next up is pronunciation!”

We then went back and forth repeating the gods’ names. It took several attempts, but I eventually managed to enunciate the words to Lord Endo’s satisfaction.

“Yup, that’ll do. Well, that’s it for the things we wanted to tell you, so this is really goodbye. Oh, my bad. We’re friends, so I think it’d be better to say: see you later.”

“Thank you for everything, Endo and Kobayashi.” Emotions flooded my mind, and I managed a smile as I wiped away my tears. Along with the names I had just learned, I offered my friends a proper farewell. “Goodbye...for now. May we meet again.”

“S-See you again!” Lady Kobayashi heaved between sobs.

The goddess’s loud crying echoed in the hall, nearly causing me to burst out in laughter. In fact, Lord Endo failed to hold back and began laughing.

We were two worlds apart, but our hearts were as close as could be. With one final sniffle from Lady Kobayashi, the voices that had followed me since the springtime fell completely silent.

────

Two months and some change had passed since the gods’ commentary ceased. We were in the middle of winter, and the new year had just begun. Even without heavenly analysis, I was able to make sense of most of Liese’s actions.

...Or so I’d thought.

Liese was full of love and just didn’t know how to express it; she was quick to be embarrassed, but that only made her more adorable. With these truths self-evident, I’d convinced myself that I totally understood her, and our mutual affection had made me confident that we would have nothing to fear going forward.

In short, I’d grown cocky.

When the two voices that had long cheered me on first disappeared, I’d been overcome with loneliness and anxiety. Will I be able to understand Liese’s true intentions on my own? Will we slide back into the awkward relationship we had before?

However, despite my fears, I’d recognized that I couldn’t cling to the gods forever and mustered up all my courage. Swearing to become a man that my faraway friends could be proud of, I’d faced Liese head on.

At first, it had taken me time to decipher her messages. Yet I was slowly learning to uncover the truth hidden in her thorned words all on my own...or at least, I’d thought so. To put it bluntly, her behavior had been bewildering me for a number of days now.

“Very well,” Liese said. “With that, I shall be excused.”

“Wait, Liese,” I said. “How about a cup of tea before you go?”

“My apologies, Your Highness. I have a meeting with Her Majesty to attend to.”

Liese curtsied with a phony smile and quickly exited my personal office. This had been the pattern for the last several days; she was polite to the point that I felt a distance between us. Thus far, we’d spent the whole day in the royal palace, preparing our wedding, and yet we had hardly even met eyes, let alone engaged in friendly conversation.

“Hey, why do you think Liese’s so angry?”

My question was directed to Art, who was sitting at a table stacked with countless papers. Our wedding required a great deal of cooperation between the Church and crown, and the plans had been thoroughly rushed along to boot.

Thus, Art and a team of priests were here as liaisons. While it wasn’t traditional to have the clergy file away paperwork in the palace, this was the most efficient way of handling everything, since they could ask me for my opinion at any time.

All this to say, Art was here to work. He didn’t even glance up as he tried to smooth me over.

“Who knows? She looked normal to me. Maybe she really is just busy? Speaking of busy, sit down and help. Here, this giant stack needs signatures.”

“No, there’s definitely something wrong.” I sighed as I begrudgingly took my seat. “Liese hasn’t even called me by my name recently.”

I opened up further, but Art was so exhausted from his recent schedule that his tired eyes remained fixed on his work. He tilted his head in a conversational way, but his hand was still scribbling.

“Really?” he asked. “Then I guess it’s a case of wedding blues. I feel like not openly flirting is the bare minimum for etiquette anyway. She might be watching out for single people like me, and honestly? I couldn’t care less.”

“Don’t be so mean.”

“You know what’s mean? Making me plan out your wedding, of all things, when I’m suffering from a broken heart.”

Art’s quiet grumbling caused my pen hand to stop. I stared at his face in shock.

“Did something happen?” I asked.

Art hadn’t told me about any particular girl he was set on as of late. The thought that I’d been totally oblivious to my best friend’s suffering made me go pale. However, his response was very matter-of-fact.

“The girl who worked at that café on South Street followed her boyfriend to the countryside.”

I couldn’t care less.

Sifting through my memory, I recalled that he’d once told me about the girl in question. “She’s a bit of a bumpkin, but that’s what makes her cute!” he’d said in excitement.

However, Art reported on the beauty and charm of every woman he came across, so this was little more than a verbal tic. What I mean to say is, this sort of episode was business as usual for him, failure included.

“It isn’t as if she cheated on you or swindled you out of money, right?” I resumed my work as I kept the conversation going with a casual question.

“No, she didn’t do anything like that.” Art also seemed rather aloof as he answered. “She was a really nice girl... After asking her out a bunch of times, she finally agreed to a handful of dates. But even then, our relationship was really pure, and she even turned down any money I tried to give her. Just when I started to think about marrying a simple and honest girl like her...someone whisked her away.”

Surprisingly, Art had been relatively serious for once. Still, crying over a girl who wasn’t even in the city anymore would do him no good.

“I’m glad to hear that respectable young lady managed to escape your venomous fangs,” I said with a joking scoff.

“You’re terrible!” Art broke out into a smirk. “Not you too.”

I looked at him curiously. The word “too” piqued my interest. Noticing my gaze, he flashed me a bitter smile.

“You know, that girl told one of her friends, ‘Lord Artur is so dreamy, but someone like him would never truly love someone like me...’ I tried my best to love her in my own way, but girls have a sixth sense for this sort of thing, so I figured maybe she was right, and... Look, anyway, I’m seriously bummed out.”

Art hung his head. To me, it seemed less like he was hung up on a special girl and more that he was sick of his own frivolity.

Seeing that he was legitimately depressed, I pondered what I could say to cheer him up. At the same time, I had my own bout of self-loathing to overcome; my first instinct was to wish for a play-by-play and analysis to help me out.

“Well, for now,” Art said, stretching his back with a grin, “we need to do something about this mountain of work. Chop chop, get those hands moving or we’ll never get out of here. I want to go home, man.”

Stewards periodically came into the room to drop off more documents, so the ever growing pile of papers truly was a mountain.

“And once we’re finished, you can go visit Lady Lieselotte. Make some time to have a slow, unrushed conversation. Maybe you can visit her at home, where she’s more relaxed? You, Lady Lieselotte, and I have been so ludicrously busy lately—even though this dumb wedding shouldn’t be my problem... Anyway, it’s hard to open up when you’re in a stuffy place like this, and I doubt you’ve been a good listener when you’re worried about making us priests wait.”

Art nonchalantly tacked on his suggestion at the very end of our conversation, but I thought it was great advice. I began chipping away at our mountain of paper with renewed vigor.

For a few minutes thereafter, the sound of pen on paper dominated the room. Then, Art’s voice cut through the scribbling.

“Maybe if I’d gotten more time to go to that café...” he mumbled.

“In this case,” I said, “I think the result would’ve been the same.”

“Don’t say that. I think you’re right, but don’t say it. Let me dream a little.”

I glanced up to meet his eyes and we exchanged loose grins.

“Just you watch,” Art said. “Finding a lady to escort to your wedding is a walk in the park for a man of my caliber!”

In truth, the confident gentleman staring back at me was undeniably a good guy. He was kind, handsome, popular, and he was of reputable heritage. I genuinely wondered why his romantic endeavors always fell flat. Was it truly because of his flippancy?

Art must have caught on to my rude musings, because the smile on his face vanished.

...Anyway, I got to work. I didn’t want to keep him too long, after all.

────

By the time I managed to swing by Liese’s house, dinnertime had already come and gone. I bowed away the excessive hospitality of House Riefenstahl’s servants and somehow managed to get an audience alone with my bride-to-be.

Unfortunately, I’d come so late that we decided to just have a short chat in the parlor room. Now that she was in her own territory, Liese’s expression was significantly more tender than when I’d seen her at noon. That being said, she was clearly troubled by my sudden visit: she sat down beside me on the sofa and immediately began to fidget.

“Liese, have I done anything to upset you?” I asked, trying to be frank.

“I’m not upset at all,” she said, puzzled. “Um, have I done something to offend you, Your Highness?”

“Of course not. Your demeanor lately has been perfectly polite...but, well, you’ve been sort of distant.”

My roundabout speech only caused the angle of Liese’s tilted head to deepen. Seeing her so mystified almost made me believe that Art had been right when he’d attributed her attitude to how busy we were. However, I knew for a fact that something had to be wrong.

After all, I hadn’t seen Liese’s tsun in days! She’d gone around with a gentle smile, slipping away from trouble and keeping her thoughts to herself. Of course, these were the obvious foundation of aristocratic culture, and I was a prime example of all these things.

But in private, Liese was not that boring of a person. She was much cuter than that. Thus, I could only conclude that there was something wrong. With this in mind, I sighed and continued my questioning.

“You’ve been so cold as of late, treating me like any other stranger... Your smiles have been as phony as mine, haven’t they?”

“Your Highness, please,” Liese said. “Your smiles are anything but phony, and—”

“Come now. Even I can tell that my grinning feels like nothing more than a mask. I know there are times when our social positions force us to act in certain ways, but I felt so much closer to you back at the academy.”

“Um, well, I would venture to say that my behavior in those days was hopelessly poor etiquette...”

Unable to refute me, Liese trailed off. And in that moment, the words of Lady Kobayashi and Lord Endo flashed in my mind.

“From my perspective, today’s Liese-tan seems more dejected than angry.”

“It looks like there’s something on her mind that’s making her clam up. Maybe someone said something to make her lose confidence!”

Of course, these voices were a trick of the mind. My brain was automatically imagining what they would have said if they’d been here. Yet real or not, the gods’ advice gave me the courage to push forward.

“Liese, there’s no need for etiquette between you and me. We’re engaged and on the cusp of marriage, so our standing should be as equal as can be. You don’t need to speak politely; in fact, it’s your responsibility to scold and correct me when I stray from the noble path. If anybody tells you that you need to offer me your respects, they are the ones who are wrong.”

I looked Liese straight in the eye as I spoke. In response, she turned her face down to the ground. Now that I was speaking directly into the crown of her head, I chose to air a more personal grievance.

“Honestly, it hurts to hear my lover quibble over manners and niceties when we’re in private like this. Liese, the adorable way you usually carry yourself overjoys me to no end... So much so that I’m wondering what nosy snob’s careless remarks got you like this.”

My wording was akin to a subdued tantrum. It was childish, even for me. Yet my sincerity came through, and Liese’s face shot up to meet mine.

“Um, you see...” Liese mumbled. “I’ve had cause to reexamine my actions in the near past.”

“And what was that?” I said, furrowing my brow. “Did someone comment on your demeanor?”

“No, nothing of the sort. However, when we visited the palace for a New Year’s greeting...” Liese trailed off and looked off into space, trying to find the right words. I watched her with a tilted head for a short while, and she eventually readied herself with a sigh. “...Fiene had gotten along with everyone in just one meeting.”

A few days prior, the main branch of House Riefenstahl had come to visit the royal palace. I distinctly recalled how Fiene had managed to naturally fit in within minutes of entering the scene.

“I have frequented the palace since I was a young girl,” Liese said. “As I went to meet you and receive instruction from Her Majesty, I slowly earned the respect of those who call the castle home. Yet no matter how many years I dedicated to court life, not once have I seen the sorts of smiles that Fiene brought to the palace.”

What Liese said was true. She was strict on both herself and others, and her distant beauty made it even harder for others to casually smile her way. On the other hand, Fiene’s ignoble upbringing made it easy for others to converse with her; in fact, it seemed that many doted on her like they would a young sister or daughter.

“Well,” I said, “I’ll admit that Miss Fiene’s ability to charm others is astonishing. But that charisma is one of her unique traits, and I think you’re plenty alluring in your own way, Liese.”

Unfortunately, Liese’s mood did not improve. She merely shook her head from side to side without any energy.

“My sister has the power to lift up all those around her. Everybody loves her, and I’m sure that will include the populace. I can’t help but worry that voices will arise to say she should have been queen. I wanted to find a way to earn the good will of others, like she does, and...like you do, Your Highness. So I sought to imitate you.”

Apparently, the faux smile that had borne a striking resemblance to my own had been an intentional counterfeit. Yet that seemed strange to me.

“Why not imitate your sister?” I asked.

“I couldn’t.” Liese vigorously shook her head. “I gave up within three seconds.”

“Three seconds?!”

“Initially, I tried to replicate her cheery smile and practiced with a mirror. Alas, I simply am not cut out for such things.”

“...Can I see?”

I failed to hold back my curious nature. Liese hesitated for a moment, but eventually opened her mouth for a wide grin much like Fiene’s. It did not work.

Argh! Why is your dumb smile so stupidly cute?! You’re the cutest girl in the whole world! Her features were so stiff that it cast doubt as to whether she was smiling in joy or seething with rage. I wanted to shout my feelings for her to hear, but I barely managed to hold myself back. I couldn’t cry out and I definitely couldn’t laugh. Liese was trying her best!

Whether Liese recognized my internal struggle or whether she simply grew embarrassed from her failed attempt was hard to say, but she quickly shook the expression off her face regardless. Now bright red, she cleared her throat more than a few times.

“A-At any rate, I concluded that a more modest smile would be a better fit for me. Thus, I chose to model myself after your gentle demeanor, responding to anything and everything with a polite smile. Perhaps I’d taken it a smidge too far, leading to the distance you felt as of late.”

Oh, I see. This put me in quite a pickle. Liese’s objective was inherently flawed, but I would rather not explain why that was so.

“Hmm...” I groaned.

Even so, I had no choice but to speak. I took a deep breath and began my spiel with a disclaimer.

“I’m going to say something awful to you, okay?” I said.

“Something...awful?” Liese asked.

“That’s right. Something so awful that you might fall out of love with me when I put it into words.”

“I would never!”

Seeing Liese make her claim with such confidence before hearing what I had to say tickled my heartstrings. Her affection helped give me the courage to tell her the ugly truth.

“Ha ha, thank you. All right, here it is: when you let your disdain show on your face, sternly put others in their place, or even carry yourself in a way that causes others to fear you...it helps me out a lot.”

“...What?” Liese’s mind went blank with surprise.

“I have things that I like and dislike too,” I went on. “But all my life, I’ve been told not to let anyone on to what those things are. That, along with my absentminded nature, makes me slow to react, especially when it comes to anger. When you get upset in my stead, it helps me and makes me incredibly happy. What I’m trying to say is, your barbed disposition is a great boon to me when you’re by my side.”

Feeling down from my own explanation, I heaved a sigh. How pathetic could I be? I left the horrible task of playing the villain to Liese, relishing in my position as the kind prince loved by all... I was cowardice incarnate.

I knew there was a chance Liese could grow sick of me if she found out, and that had caused me to drag my feet. Yet between letting her kill her own personality and having her leave my side in disgust, the latter was far more palatable. She remained dumbfounded, so I continued on with another quiet sigh.

“I’m essentially a pitiful wimp hiding in your shadow. All the people in the castle know that I’m weak and wouldn’t be able to hold my ground against rulers from foreign realms. They all want a queen as steadfast as you. There are many who dote on Miss Fiene wherever she goes, but I’m certain that there are even more people who love your proud virtues, Liese.”

Liese was still frozen, but a smile made its way to my lips. I went on.

“My mother says that she can trust you without me, but fears the day I meet a foreign king without you. My father told me he won’t step off the throne if you aren’t the queen at my side.”

Liese’s status as the saint who had resurrected the Goddess of Creation naturally played a part, but my parents were incredibly fond of her in every other sense too.

“They said that?” Liese asked, tears welling in her eyes.

“So will I.” I leaned on her and took her hand. “I can’t imagine a life without you. Please, won’t you stay with me just the way you are?”

“Sieg...” Liese finally called me by my name. She squeezed my hand back with a happy smile.

Thank the gods. I let relief run through my heart. Having her accept my weaknesses was cause for celebration, but the more important fact was that she no longer seemed intent on pushing herself to fit a mold not made for her.

Liese was at her best when she was a tsun de rais. Not that I’d say that, of course. Yet for some reason, her eyes squinted into a glare.

“Sieg? Are you thinking something strange?”

First Art and now Liese. The people around me were too perceptive. Or perhaps I was just that easy to read...

My mother had noted how expressionless I was not too long ago. Maybe my time with Lord Endo and Lady Kobayashi had been enough to change me. The thought filled me with a mysterious delight, and I broke out into a genuine grin.

“Not at all,” I said. “I was just thinking that you really are the cutest girl in the world, Liese.”

“S-Stop! Don’t think you can string me along with that smile of yours! I’m not c-cute...”

Liese tried to pull back her hand, but I refused to let go. As we silently played tug of war, I felt like we were both being silly.

“Pft,” Liese chuckled. “Aha ha ha!”

It seemed I wasn’t alone. Our intertwined fingers lost all semblance of strength as we simply laughed in another’s embrace.

Ah, what bliss.

I prayed that I might continue laughing with this adorable girl for the rest of my life. I had only noticed her many charms thanks to Lord Endo and Lady Kobayashi, but I hoped to never lose sight of them.

My silent prayer went out to the gods in another world.

────

Afterward, I struggled with Liese’s stubborn, bold front on a handful of occasions. Yet each time, we worked to understand one another: she slowed down to try and tell me her honest feelings, and I used my own brain to think through all that she said.

Slowly but surely, my time without the gods passed by. I like to think that the days we spent like that only deepened our love.

At long last, the day of our wedding came.

“Liese, I’m coming in.”

Having finished dressing up, I entered the anteroom my bride was waiting in. Beside her were plenty of attendants praising her gorgeous looks, but it was as if they and the world at large had lost their shine.

To me, the radiant beauty of the blushing Liese was overpowering. Her divine allure was like that of...

“...A goddess,” I said.

“You called?!”

Unfortunately, my first reaction to Liese’s grace was intercepted by an unwanted third party. Lirenna hopped in between me and Liese, so I shoved her out of the way and made sure to let my bride hear the truth.

“No. I’m saying that Liese is as beautiful as a goddess. Wait, no, she’s far prettier than Lirenna, so...what do I do? Liese, I can’t think of anything stunning enough to liken you to!”

Liese awkwardly averted her eyes as I let out my frustration.

“Your Highness, aren’t you being a tad rude to Lady Lirenna? Of course, I want you to see me as the finest woman in all the land, at least for today. But I can’t help but feel that insulting Lady Lirenna in the process is a bit much.”

Although Liese was turned away, her tone and expression hinting at anger, I caught a glimpse of her lips twitching up into a smile. I was enjoying my fiancée’s heart-melting cuteness when the goddess I pushed to the side came back to block my view.

“Lady Lieselotte, you’re so kind!” Lirenna turned and invaded my personal space, shouting, “On the other hand, what’s with you, Siegwald?! I don’t think you’ve ever shown me a shred of respect!”

“The only gods I serve go by the names of Endo and Kobayashi,” I said curtly. “I refuse to worship anyone but my two friends.”

“But I’m the Creation Goddess!” Lirenna said, stamping her feet. “Neither you nor Lady Lieselotte would even exist without me!”

“Such a pity that all you have to be proud of are the accomplishments of yesteryear. It must be tough to grow old,” I said with a sneer.

“I can’t believe you’d break your princely character just to diss me!” Lirenna fell to her knees in defeat. “Dang it... Dang it!”

Lirenna continued punching the ground on all fours for a while. As I’d once thought, perhaps it would be best to recreate all the statues in our churches; if nothing else, her image wasn’t fit to be shown standing on two legs. This thought occupied my mind until an unsettling laugh derailed my train of thought.

“Mwa ha ha... But today is the day you thank me, Siegwald! You’ll be praying to me before you know it!”

Lirenna slowly got up and began channeling a large amount of magical power. Platinum light swirled around her as she prepared to cast her spell.

“Feast your eyes in wonder on the power of the Creation Goddess!” Lirenna sang, twirling around in a little dance. “This is my magnum opus!”

The brilliant light dancing alongside her flew into the air, morphing into a pair of shimmering statues.

When the light receded, what was left were a semitransparent boy and girl. They were around my age—no, actually, they were surely a year younger. The hearty boy and cute girl appeared hand in hand. Both of them looked surprised and happy in equal parts, and my expression was no doubt the exact same.

“Long time no see!” the girl said in a familiar voice. “Er, nice to meet you? I guess this would be your first time seeing us, huh?”

I knew it! The girl tilting her head was none other than Lady Kobayashi!

“Hold up,” Lord Endo said. “This is the waiting room for family and stuff, right? Are we allowed to be here?”

“It has been too long, Lady Kobayashi, Lord Endo. There is no need to worry, as Lirenna is here to give Lieselotte her blessing. In fact, I am most honored to have you join us.”

For some reason, my greeting struck a nerve, evidenced by the gods’ irked faces.

“Don’t call me a lady!”

“And quit it with the stuffy language...”

The pair were perfectly in sync. Although I should have felt ashamed for upsetting the gods, my first reaction was to laugh. These two had class, unlike the goddess who’d thrown a tantrum on all fours when I’d refused to respect her.

“Sorry,” I said with a light bow. “How’s this?”

“Much better,” Lady Kobayashi said with a broad grin. “We’re friends, remember?”

“You’re right,” I said. “I’ll loosen up a little as well, seeing as I’m surrounded by friends. But let me just say that you two are still the supreme gods in my heart. You watched over us, opened our hearts, imparted your wisdom, and led us all to this blessed day safe and sound. Asking me not to hold you in high regard is a pretty tough task.”

“Man, this is sorta embarrassing.” Lord Endo shyly scratched his cheek. “Nowadays, we’re just a couple of slightly lucky high schoolers.”

“Yup,” Lady Kobayashi said. “We’re such commoners that we ended up wearing our uniforms because we didn’t know what to wear to a real prince’s wedding.”

I felt a bit disappointed. Had I known they were coming, I would have prepared the finest clothes for them. That said, it would have probably been a waste, seeing as they were see-through and all.

Suddenly, I realized that my supremely gorgeous Liese was watching us agape. I’d forgotten that for as long as my two friends had watched over her, this was the first time she’d ever heard their voices. I figured I needed to introduce them, but my bride began to speak first.

“These...voices.” A single tear rolled down Liese’s cheek. “You two...”

“Whaaa?!” Lady Kobayashi was in a state of shock. “Why are you crying, Liese-tan?! It’s way, way, way too early for that! Let’s save the tears until you hand the letter to your parents, okay?!”

“Is that even a part of weddings in this country?” Lord Endo asked.

It is not, I answered in my mind. At the same time, I pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away my fiancée’s tears.

“Liese, these two are gods from a foreign plane of existence. Their titles are the play-by-play caster Endo and the color commentator Kobayashi. The two of them protected you from the Witch of Yore, and they opened my eyes to the obvious truth that you are the cutest person in the world. They are our saviors and my dear friends.”

“I’m aware,” Liese said with a heartfelt nod. “I’ve seen you two before, in a dream. I’d thought it was a fantasy of my imagination, but... It is good to see you again.”

The unexpected turn left me befuddled. Liese and Lady Kobayashi exchanged meaningful looks and nodded to each other. Liese recomposed herself and elegantly pinched her dress, bowing in a dignified curtsy.

“I humbly welcome you to join us today,” Liese said. “With all that you have done for us, it is difficult to find where to start expressing my gratitude, but allow me to first show appreciation for our reunion. Thank you very much.”

As Liese slowly raised her head, I saw that the tears had disappeared from her eyes. Her unusually serene smile charmed Lady Kobayashi to such a degree that the goddess turned to stone.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Lady Kobayashi said, trembling at what she considered an undue honor. “We’re just a pair of Liese-tan fans!”

“That’s right,” Lord Endo said. “We’re just two high school broadcasters who wouldn’t give up on our favorite villainess, Lieselotte.”

“Fans?” Liese was quizzical.

“Yup!” Lady Kobayashi said. “Liese-tan, you’re so darn adorable that we started shouting out in the hopes that Sieg would see your charms.”

“Honestly,” Lord Endo said, turning to Lirenna. “Just how rotten can the Witch of Yore be to try and possess someone this wonderful?”

Lirenna instantaneously slid into a groveling position.

“What are you saying?” Liese asked. “I’m not adorable. And Sieg! Don’t nonchalantly call me the cutest in the world like that! Oh my word, why must you all tease me together?!”

Lady Kobayashi, Lord Endo, and I exchanged looks. All three of us loved and cared for Liese, and we each smiled together; she really was the cutest.

...And so, with three gods in attendance, the wedding would go down in the annals of history. The day Liese and I married would forever have the honor of being recorded among the countless miracles and triumphs the Play-by-Play Caster Endo and the Color Commentator Kobayashi achieved.