"Then how about the aquarium next, Yutsuki?"
"...Yutsuki?"
Seeing that Yutsuki didn't answer her, Shiori let out a puzzled voice.
"Hm? Ah, sorry, I spaced out."
After spacing out for a mont, Yutsuki finally reacted to Shiori's voice.
"Mhm—you were looking sowhere else just now, weren't you? You said you'd only look at , you big liar."
Saying this, Shiori puffed out her cheeks slightly to show her dissatisfaction. As ti went on, she gradually understood the role she had to play in this date, perfectly replicating the coquettish thods a heroine in an oto ga uses to conquer the male lead.
Of course, a bit of her true self was also mixed in.
"That's not true! Of course I'm only looking at Shiori. I heard what you said just now, too. The aquarium, right?"
Seeing Shiori pouting, Yutsuki hurriedly explained.
"Then what were you looking at just now?"
"Well..."
Faced with Shiori's question, Yutsuki looked a bit hesitant to speak.
(Could it be that Yutsuki accidentally saw the others taking action again?)
Feeling an uneasy premonition surface in her heart, Shiori frowned slightly and looked in the direction Yutsuki had been looking. What appeared before her was quite unexpected.
"...Marriage Experience?"
A small church had a signboard hanging in front of it with those words written on it. Perhaps it was a holiday event in collaboration with a nearby wedding photography studio. According to the explanation on the signboard, couples could put on wedding dresses and suits in the church and experience a mock wedding.
"Yutsuki, do you want to try it out?"
Shiori asked tentatively.
"No, no, no! How could I? I have no interest in wearing a fluffy wedding dress."
Yutsuki hurriedly waved her hand in denial.
"So you want to wear the n's suit?"
"Uh... well..."
Seemingly having her thoughts guessed by Shiori, Yutsuki awkwardly shifted her gaze to the sky without denying it.
(Co to think of it... it was the sa back then.)
Looking at Yutsuki's vague attitude, Shiori couldn't help but recall the days when she and Yutsuki first t.
At the end of the date to conquer Yutsuki, Yutsuki ultimately chose to seal her Spirit power. The reason was that she believed a kiss was a vow that could only be made during marriage.
She rembered that Shido and the others were a bit troubled by the girl's unexpectedly pure heart back then. Now that she thought about it again, perhaps even Yutsuki herself didn't realize that the part she cared about more was marriage.
"It's a rare chance, let's try this marriage experience too, shall we?"
"Eh, eh, eh?!"
Shiori's proposal clearly caught Yutsuki off guard.
"What's wrong? Didn't you agree to accompany anywhere I wanted?"
Shiori readily utilized the advantage of currently being female to act spoiled with Yutsuki.
"Of course I did!"
Yutsuki nodded without hesitation, but then scratched her cheek with a headache.
"But there's an age restriction written on this, right? Only adults over twenty can participate."
Although counting her ntal age, Yutsuki qualified, the two of them were actually just high school students, so they naturally couldn't et the participation criteria.
"Oh... about that."
For so reason, Shiori wasn't surprised by this crucial problem raised by Yutsuki. She seed to have thought of a solution already, though for so reason, she let out a long sigh with a sowhat complex expression.
"I have a way. Yutsuki, wait here for for a bit."
Saying that, Shiori walked into the church and conversed with the event staff inside.
...
"Alright. They agreed to let us participate in the wedding experience."
Soon, Shiori returned with a victorious smile.
"Eh? We can? Shiori, what did you do?"
Yutsuki looked surprised. She turned to look inside the door, only to see the staff inside looking at her with extrely warm gazes, which puzzled her greatly.
"Uh. How should I put it... I understood the clerk's personality a bit and told a little lie. 'Her parents passed away in an accident, and she has been all alone and helpless ever since. Her personality beca withdrawn and she stopped trusting anyone. So I want to take this opportunity to tell her my feelings for her, tell her she isn't alone, and that I'm willing to stay by her side like a wife'—sothing like that."
Shiori answered with a bitter smile.
"...That actually worked?"
Yutsuki wore an amazed expression. There's a trick like that? Are we sure the clerks inside haven't watched too many Korean dramas or sothing?
"Um... did I cause you trouble?"
Shiori cast a pitiful glance at Yutsuki.
"No, not at all!"
Yutsuki tossed her doubts to the back of her mind without a second thought.
—————————————
"I didn't expect that after becoming a woman and coming to this world... I'd still have the chance to wear these kinds of clothes."
Adjusting her collar, standing in front of the mirror in the changing room, looking at herself wearing a white tuxedo, Yutsuki couldn't help but sigh with deep emotion.
"Groom, are you ready?"
Seemingly timing it just as Yutsuki finished changing, the female clerk who spoke with Shiori at the reception desk earlier walked in.
"I'm ready. Also, thank you for agreeing to Shid-... Shiori's selfish request."
Perhaps feeling a bit guilty about winning the other's sympathy with a lie, Yutsuki apologized softly.
"Not at all. We're the ones who are sorry that we can't hold a formal wedding for you. Do your best. There are still many beautiful things in life. Oh, by the way, big sis here is quite supportive of yuri romance too."
The clerk waved her hand dismissively, acting very enthusiastically like a senior in life. This made the guilt in Yutsuki's heart even heavier.
(But... parents deceased, and then all alone... huh?)
In a way, Shiori didn't lie about that part.
"Then co over here when you're ready. The bride is already prepared."
"O-Oh!"
Pulled out of the room by the highly motivated female clerk, walking down the long corridor, Yutsuki saw the figure waiting for her at the entrance of the church's main hall.
"—!"
In an instant, Yutsuki couldn't help but be left speechless by the stunningly beautiful scene before her.
Holding a vibrant bouquet of flowers in her hands, her long aqua blue hair, slightly veiled under the headpiece, was as pure as the blue sky. The pristine white wedding dress enveloped the girl's tall and slender figure, looking as dreamy and beautiful as a princess straight out of a fairy tale.
"Shiori..."
"You don't have to tell your evaluation of the outfit. Please!"
Shiori said with a complex expression.
"Oh... I see. But why go this far..."
Nodding blankly, Yutsuki looked at Shiori in her wedding dress, a hint of confusion surfacing in her eyes.
"Say, Yutsuki."
A faint cherry blossom hue appeared on her cheeks. Shiori's eyes gazed at Yutsuki, revealing a gentle and elegant smile.
"Like I said before, I cannot marry you. Even today, what I said back then hasn't changed. But today is different. For today only, I am willing to answer your request from back then as Itsuka Shiori."
"—!"
For so reason, the words spoken by the person before her deeply shook her heart. Yutsuki felt her own voice becoming strange.
"Hey, Shiori. I'm so happy I want to cry right now..."
"No."
Shiori gently shook her head.
"This is a wedding. In return, the one thing I want to see is Yutsuki's happy smile."
"Mhm! Thank you... Shiori."
Responding with a sense of gratitude, Yutsuki smiled slightly. Like a true groom, she reached out her hand to Shiori and held hers tightly within it.
Stepping on the red carpet-paved path, passing through the empty pews, Yutsuki and Shiori arrived before the clerk playing the role of the officiant.
"Ryougi Yutsuki. Do you take her to be your wife? And promise to love her, be faithful to her, in poverty or in sickness, or in disability, until death?"
"I do."
"Itsuka Shiori. Do you take her to be your wife? And promise to love her, be faithful to her, in poverty or in sickness, or in disability, until death?"
"I do."
After exchanging a glance, the two smiled in unison and answered with voices free of hesitation.
Then, after exchanging vows, another clerk suddenly stepped out and handed a pair of rings to the two of them.
"Wow, to go this far. The service here is really thorough."
"Wh-What do we do, Yutsuki? These aren't real diamonds, are they?! Did I do sothing terrible?!"
"Well, who knows? It's too late to regret it now."
Yutsuki chuckled happily, placed the ring on the other's ring finger, and then put the other ring on her own ring finger.
Honestly, Yutsuki knew very well in her heart. This wedding was fake, the wedding rings in their hands were fake, and even the peerless beauty she dread of before her eyes was fake.
But even so, there was definitely sothing real and precious existing between her and him.
"Shiori..."
"Yutsuki..."
Softly calling out to each other, the two then seemingly fell into a silent understanding, enjoying this soundless mont.
Finally, gently, slowly, the lips of the two intertwined just like that, unintentionally yet naturally.
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