#457 An Invitation

My name is Dalkish, a feudal lord in the corner of the land once called the Human Kingdom.

I only administrate a small territory, though. That’s the extent of someone as incompetent as me.

Anyway, I am one of the many weak feudal lords here.

There are far more powerful lords and high-ranking officials in the central government. Even the heads of the Adventurers’ Guild branches are probably in a higher position than I am, depending on the size of their branch.

With this in mind, I would like you to read the following story.

***

“We’ve received an invitation.”

“From whom?”

My beloved wife, Varlina, is a demoness from the Demon Kingdom.

She was sent by the triumphant army as a supervisor, but we became on good terms over time.

Our relationship surpassed boundaries that, at first, there was a lot of buzz surrounding our marriage, being the first interracial couple to be wed.

However, this bond with my dearest wife did not come spontaneously.

Certain people were indispensable to the start of our romance.

And the invitation we received came from them.

“Lord Orkubo personally came here to deliver this.”

“Oh, in that case...!”

Yes, this is an invitation from Lord Saint.

“Looks like they’re having a wedding.”

“Huh? But isn’t Lord Saint already married? He even has a son.”

Indeed.

However, as I kept reading the invitation, I found out that the saint and his wife did not have a proper ceremony, so they were going to hold a wedding this time.

“Lord Orkubo also explained this to me.”

“Does that mean they’re inviting us? What an honor.”

Lord Saint is an all-powerful person. He can lead the strongest army, easily change the universe, and even subdue any supernatural being. He could easily rule the entire world if he wanted to, but he refuses to do so.

Is he disinterested or just magnanimous?

Nevertheless, he is all-powerful and one whom we should never make an enemy of.

I got acquainted with him when he started illegally building a castle in my territory.

“Of course, we’ll accept the invitation. And I suppose this is also a good opportunity for us.”

“You mean... that?”

For better or worse, our relationship with Lord Saint has deepened over time to the point that we’ve been invited to an auspicious occasion like this.

We are grateful for the invitation but also feel pressured.

In particular, we feel terribly guilty toward Lord Saint for one thing.

“We didn’t invite them to our wedding, after all...!”

“It’s our time...!”

The castle he built led us to become aware of Varlina and me as man and woman, and we ended up getting married.

However, we invited no one from Lord Saint’s side.

Since then, we’ve wondered if they’re angry...!

“I’m sure someone as big-hearted as him won’t feel offended over such matters....”

“Then why didn’t we invite him in the first place if you’re so worried now? We were indebted to him in so many ways.”

I mean, wouldn’t it have been disrespectful to invite him?! He’s like a god-like person!

I wouldn’t dare invite him to celebrate the wedding of a weak feudal lord!

There’s this thing that we call prestige!

“I understand that too, but...!”

As expected of my wife, she understood.

Maybe it’s also because she used to be an army officer that she’s sensitive to these subtle differences in power!

“There are differences in rank and position, and depending on those differences, it can be insulting just to invite someone of far superior rank...!”

That’s why I didn’t invite Lord Saint, even though we’re incredibly indebted to him.

I thought reporting to him the results after everything was in order was more than enough.

However, our relationship after that became deeper than we had expected.

Our wishes aside, Orkubo’s Castle still stands in our territory and has become an important tourist attraction.

I can’t tell you how much we’ve benefited from it.

Lord Saint joins us as a participant during the annual event and challenges various obstacles.

He always gets eliminated halfway, though, so it’s painful for me to leave him behind and clear the rest of the course. Not only that, but when my wife and I were having trouble conceiving a child, he summoned a goddess to help us solve the problem.

As a result, a new generation was born between us, the first in the world to have both human and demon blood and our greatest treasure.

Our indebtedness to Lord Saint has increased even more.

And now, there’s the invitation.

We didn’t invite him to our wedding, but he’s inviting us to his.

I began to think, “Isn’t this bad...?”

I regret not inviting him to our wedding now.

“...Anyway, we have to accept this invitation.”

“Indeed. Not going isn’t an option.”

Thank goodness we agree as a couple.

“Varlina, please prepare a gift. The best of the best.”

To Lord Saint, any gift from me would be a mere trinket, but it is important that my feelings be conveyed!

I don’t care if it puts a little pressure on the family finances. We will express our congratulations by preparing the most unique gift we have.

“We will then explain to him with all our might behind the lack of invitation! I’m sure Lord Saint will find it in his heart to understand!”

To my desperation, my good wife Varina points out, “But wouldn’t it be disrespectful to bring that up?”

....

Huh?

“It’s a big day for Lord Saint and his wife; they are the stars of the show. Wouldn’t we trouble them by saying our worthless excuses on such a day?”

“Oh...”

“That’s not all. I’m sure many other guests will be present there. Do you think the couple will have any time to spare for us if they were to greet all of them?”

Stop it!

Don’t imagine such a highly plausible situation!

My wife, a former officer, is spot-on in her analysis of the situation, but I resent her wisdom right now!

And yet, we must go to Lord Saint’s wedding for the sake of the favors he has done for us and continued good relations!

Ideally, I would attend the wedding and greet him in person to show that I have accepted the invitation.

It’d be meaningless if we just show up and not do at least that much.

We can’t have him thinking we didn’t come!

Then, some small talk along with the greetings.

A weak feudal lord like me shouldn’t hold up the leading man for too long, and I’m sure there are more important people than us who would like to chat with him.

If we don’t make it brief, those people will stare at us!

“In other words, be as brief as possible. A word or two should be enough. Then, we’ll apologize for not inviting them to our wedding.”

What an ordeal this is!

But if we can’t pass it, there is no future for our territory.

That’s how big the opponent we’re facing is.

“I will be cheering for you while you’re away.”

“What are you talking about? You’re coming with me.”

“What?”

My wife is surprisingly dumbfounded.

She’s absentminded now of all times?

“Aren’t you?! It’s common practice for married couples to be together at social gatherings!”

“Oh, yes! Very well, my love! Let us go to hell together!”

You may wonder, “What do you think someone’s wedding is?” but please understand that that’s just how nervous we are.

Anyway, off we go to Lord Saint’s wedding!