After that literally earth-shattering battle, I became a hero and a distinguished guest of the Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe Rybak. As a sacred ritual, there was to be a banquet in honor of my achievements and those of my friends, to officially bestow upon us the title of 'hero'.
My teammates and I were led to rooms to rest, recover, bathe, and change into nice clothes in preparation for the celebration. After a month of constant travel and fighting until I was bald and browless, finally getting a proper bath felt like ascending to heaven. Once clean, I was given a set of clothes that were quite handsome and polite, and they even fit me perfectly.
When I asked why they had clothes for a teenager here, I received this answer:
"They are the clothes of Lady Atofe's grandson, Sir Hero."
If I'm not mistaken, Atofe's husband is the North God. So I'm wearing the clothes of the North God's grandson? That's quite an honor.
Come to think of it, before coming here, I also got to wear the clothes of the Demon Race hero Lan Xian. It seems I have a destiny for enjoying the hand-me-downs of powerful figures, don't I? Honestly, I don't mind it at all. Because it gives me something to tell Eris, hehehe.
Well, but first of all, I'm quite hungry. Let's go eat!
But just as I stepped in front of the door where the celebration was to be held, I saw a familiar face.
"Ke ke ke ke! I knew you could do it, Dragon Child named Atur!" Lan Xin grabbed me by the waist and tossed me up like a ball. "Congratulations on becoming a hero! Ke ke ke! Hero Lan Atur!"
"WOAH—What are you doing here, Lord Lan Xin!?"
"To celebrate your victory, of course! Ke ke ke ke! Now you are on equal footing with my son!"
Of course Lord Lan Xin would be here; who was I kidding? More accurately, he had probably been waiting here for a few days, ignoring Vasile and leaving Luciano to manage things, just to see how my battle would play out. Perhaps I had anticipated this would happen, so I could only sigh.
Meanwhile, Lord Lan Xin continued.
"Besides, I wanted to see with my own eyes what the fruits of my investment looked like! Ke ke ke ke!"
"You have a point..."
The fact that I was able to defeat Atofe was largely thanks to Lord Lan Xin's help.
On the day I realized I had to go to Necross Fortress to save Isolde, I came up with a plan.
Ah… no. Calling it a plan is a bit generous; it was more like gunboat diplomacy. Basically, I intended to use a Plasma Fireball to blast the fortress apart to force Atofe to release Isolde. But since I'm Japanese and not American, I thought that wasn't very reasonable.
Besides, I didn't have enough mana to besiege and bombard an entire fortress built of magic-resistant stone. And there was also the possibility of stray fire hitting Isolde, so I gave up on that.
Oh, and for the sake of friendly relations with Atofe, too—I almost forgot that part.
Honestly, my reaction to finding out my friend was kidnapped for a nonsense reason—wanting to blow the kidnapper's house to smithereens—might have been a bit excessive. So, after reconsidering, I found a much more reasonable solution.
"Thinking about how you wanted to bring Laplace's entire magic circle along just makes me laugh! Ke ke ke! If you had told me then that you planned to seal away Necross Fortress entirely, I might have actually agreed!"
It's true, I did intend to bring the Demon God's magic circle, but unfortunately, I had no intention of sealing anyone's fortress. And so Lan Xin sighed back then. Did he think throwing a hundred suns at an old rival's house would be fun? Even if that idea sounded a bit psychotic, to Lan Xin, he just saw it as a prank.
Ultimately, I think by this point everyone knows my plan, right? I intended to absorb the mana from that magic to become strong enough to fight Atofe one-on-one.
Because to use the Blood Tribe Battle Aura, I need fire, right? Although in the past I could only absorb enough fire to keep myself from evaporating, after a long period of continuous training, I was able to convert solar energy to make myself stronger.
But to become significantly stronger, I needed to use magic. And what magic is better than the God-tier magic Laplace left right on top of Lord Lan Xin's castle?
Of course, after hearing my plan, Lan Xin laughed for a solid half-hour. Then he said it might actually work. The only problem was that the magic circle was the size of a city; bringing it along was impossible.
But fortunately, during his thousand years of imprisonment, Lord Lan Xin had been so bored that he studied that magic and created a smaller circle for me. Though not as terrifically powerful as Laplace's, it had to be at the King or Emperor tier. But it still works.
The magic problem was solved; now I needed mana.
Activating this magic circle required a horrific amount of mana. Firstly, because the thing Lan Xin made wasn't as good as Laplace's. The magic circle created by the Demon God had the ability to use the labyrinth's mana and sustain it seemingly forever. Whereas the one I had wasn't that cool, and Necross Fortress wasn't a labyrinth.
And I definitely didn't have enough mana to activate it. I asked Roxy to try, and she could only make it appear for about a minute or two before running out of mana. So, my only option was to use magic crystals.
LOTS, AND LOTS, AND LOTS OF MAGIC CRYSTALS!
Specifically, five backpacks full of the most colored and mana-dense types. Including those I harvested from the Ant Nest Labyrinth and those borrowed from Lord Lan Xin.
Total value around five hundred thousand Asura gold coins.
Which calculates to about half a billion USD.
If I remember correctly, that equals the GDP of all of Fittoa for two or three years.
I threw that massive fortune out the window just to be able to punch Atofe continuously for five minutes and save my friend.
And the rest, as everyone knows, became history. I would later gain a pretty cool title, a god tier title at that. But that's a story for the future.
Honestly, after the battle, I didn't expect I could be that crazy.
But it's like a one time wonder kind of trick so I don't think I could pull that kind of fight off again anyway. Not to mention it's not something to be proud of, I would prefer to win by my own power and hard work than just some magically gifted trait like this but oh well… let's say it's a motivation for me to train harder and become a better swordsman then.
While I was being tossed around by Lord Lan Xin, Roxy seemed to have finished bathing and changing as well. She was now wearing her usual traveler's outfit instead of formal wear like me.
"Oh, hello Atur." Roxy immediately bowed to Lan Xin. "Ah, greetings Lord Lan Xin!"
"Ke ke ke! Hello, Talking-Migurd-girl named Roxy!" Lord Lan Xin laughed loudly as he used that slightly weird nickname.
Actually, as I recall, the Migurd race has a special ability to communicate through telepathy. That's why they don't usually speak, some never saying a word in their entire lives. Yet Roxy can speak quite normally and knows both the Demon God Tongue and the Human Tongue , so Lord Lan Xin just assigned that nickname to her.
That's also how I realized Lord Lan Xin has a habit of giving nicknames to people he likes.
For example, Roxy is as above, I am 'Baby Dragon named Atur' or recently is 'Dragon Child named Atur', and...
"Oh, hello Sexy Elf Girl Elinalise!"
"Lord Lan Xin!"
And this weird elf woman too. But why are they hugging?
"What the hell is this?" I glared at the Great Demon King and Elinalise.
"Ah, the thing is, a few days ago while traveling here, I accidentally met Lord Lan Xin watching us from afar." Elinalise explained while nestled in the arms of that Great Demon King. "So that night, the two of us 'talked' quite a lot."
"That's how it is! Ke ke ke!"
"Uh... huh."
This is probably a couple I thought would never happen. Based on their personalities, they'll probably only stick together for a few days. But for some reason, looking at this scene, I felt strangely annoyed.
Talhand arrives at this moment too, he looks at Elinalise for a mere second and shows absolutely no surprise. And like Elinalise and Roxy, he was still wearing adventurer gear. Thinking about it, it makes sense; why would anyone bring fancy clothes while traveling? And it seems this castle didn't have suitable clothes for them, so they had to wear their own clothes.
I wonder what Isolde will wear? If she actually wears her full armor to the party, I'll definitely tease her about it forever.
But anyway, let's go in and eat, I'm starving.
So, I walked with everyone into the banquet hall of Necross Fortress.
"Eh..."
And I was shocked immediately.
The dining hall here was truly a massive place. To describe it briefly, it looked like the Great Hall in Hogwarts. If there was any difference, it was that this place looked less formal and less sparkly, since, after all, this is still a medieval world.
But that wasn't what shocked me.
The thing that made me freeze in place was a person standing at the end of the hall. It was a girl in a pure white dress.
To be blunt, a wedding dress. And that was none other than Isolde.
"Congratulations on the wedding of the hero and the princess!"
The MC from earlier shouted, and the whole room erupted.
Only then did I realize why I had to wear formal wear. Oh yeah! Because this is my wedding, isn't it? Ha ha ha...
Nigerundayo! I have to escape from here. I can't get married right now!
But just as I turned my back, two hands immediately grabbed my collar and pulled me back.
"Ke ke ke! You're a big boy now, still being shy, Dragon Child named Atur?"
"Mu wa ha ha ha! I organized this wedding for you! Now you just need to go up and kiss the bride!"
Of course, these two weirdos definitely wouldn't let me go. Now the only way was to ask for help... Ah!!! Roxy! Elinalise! Talhand!!! Don't leave me! Save me!!!
"Please, I can't marry Isolde yet!" Out of options, I knelt down. "I... um... I'm underage! Right, right! I have to be 15 to be considered an adult, so I can't get married!"
"That's in the kingdom of those humans. On the Demon Continent, we don't have limits, so don't worry! Ke ke ke!"
"Exactly! Anyone who dares to stop you and the princess from marrying, I will kill them immediately, ehehehe!"
"No... I mean—"
"No more words! Let's go!"
So Atofe immediately hauled me up and threw me straight towards Isolde. And ironically, I flew straight into the 'bride's' arms. Nice catch, but this only seems to make things worse, Isolde!
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for attending!" At this moment, the MC guy appeared out of nowhere. With his unreasonably loud voice, he immediately raised his beer mug and declared. "Let us raise a toast to the hero Dragon Demon King Lan Atur and the princess Isolde Cluel!"
"Cheers!"
"Yay!"
And so everyone started the party, while I was being held in the 'bride's' arms.
Thinking back, I should have known this would happen. Every story about a hero defeating a demon king has the same ending, right? Save the princess, then they get married. I beat Atofe and saved Isolde, so of course, I'd be forced into marriage.
If I had known, I would have run away right after winning! Argggggg!!!
Only now did I have the chance to look closely at Isolde in the wedding dress. It was a long, white gown adorned with gemstones, looking quite sparkling under the candlelight of the hall. The design was noble and subtly flattering. Isolde's curves were clearly accentuated, and she was clearly a creation of the gods. Not the mention the blue violet roses on her hair is truly the cherry on top.
Honestly, whoever marries her must have the blessings of three or four lifetimes combined. But wait, I don't want to marry her! So what do I do now!? If Eris finds out about this, I'll be castrated!
But she smells really nice, doesn't she? It's like...
"Do you want to get down yourself, or shall I throw you down?" Isolde asked with a gentle voice, but she seemed a bit annoyed by my slightly perverted sniffing.
"I'll get down myself..."
Then I landed on two feet, trying to straighten my clothes as if I were a real groom. Well, it seems hopeless at this point. I'll marry today and divorce tomorrow. What should the reason be? Incompatibility? That should work. I hope no one records this and spreads rumors. Sigh...
"You look uncomfortable, don't you?" For some reason, Isolde smirked. "Are you that miserable being my husband?"
"Don't choose this moment to tease me." I sighed. "And you don't seem worried at all?"
Don't tell me she actually wants to marry me? I know I'm handsome but—
"Talking about being handsome, your hair sure grow back fast huh?"
"It's a wig." I explained.
Because of my training back in the day so I made one just in case. But I never think I would have a chance to use it. Ah wait a minute.
"Did you just admit that I'm handsome?" I gasped.
"Maybe, but you're not my type."
Hey now, don't say your groom isn't your type like that. That hurts. Even if it's true I don't want this wedding, I can still feel sad, you know.
"I don't mean appearance." Suddenly Isolde spoke up again. "I don't have a hobby of marrying people who already have a fiancée." Huh? "Her name is Eris, right?"
"Eh?" I froze. "You know?"
If I remember correctly, I never mentioned my fiancée's name. Then how could she know Eris's name?
"I knew from the moment Moore said your girl had red hair." Isolde shrugged. "And the young lady in Roa also has quite famous red hair. So I just guessed."
"Ah right, Eris is indeed quite famous in Asura."
Almost every noble knows about her, but not for a good reason. Luckily, she's now less and less fierce compared to before now.
"Uh huh. So I also guess your type is violent women? Who will kick and slap you every now and then to show her love?" Isolde covered her mouth and pretended to be sad. "Then I'm not your type either."
No, you're dead wrong. You are exactly my type, it's just a pity I already met the love of my life. Or else, I would be more than excited to take you as a wife… Oh wait, stop thinking, if Isolde hears that, I'm dead!
"Scum. Go die."
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! She can read it! Don't look at me with those eyes! It's hurts!!!
"Cough..." I cleared my throat. "Even if I think that, I still remain faithful, isn't that something to be praised?"
"Maybe you're right." Isolde nodded in agreement. "But in the end, you married me anyway. Do you know how to explain this to that young lady yet?"
"Not yet..."
I started wanting to cry, right at my own wedding. While everyone else was partying and having fun. Ah, Isolde is smiling too. She must be happy to be able to get back at me.
"He he. But don't worry. This wedding of ours doesn't count."
"Doesn't count?" I turned my teary eyes to Isolde. "What do you mean by that?"
Is she gonna say something like 'if we have no feelings for each other then it's not a real marriage' or something?
"Well..." Isolde pointed to her neck, a place I think plenty of men would want to nuzzle. It's quite sexy though. "You haven't given me a necklace."
"Ah..." At this point, I suddenly remembered. "The necklace of Saint Millis."
"Yes." The 'bride' nodded. "And I haven't kissed your forehead yet. So how can it be called a wedding?"
The benefits of both being followers of Millis, huh? So we haven't truly performed the ceremony, nor have we been witnessed by the gods since the venue isn't a church. Alright, I'll take that excuse.
Although I don't think Eris will understand, as long as I haven't truly married anyone, she should be fine with it. I hope so.
"Even so..." Isolde held out her hand to me. "We have to play the part to the end, right? Hold my hand."
"You don't mind?"
"Compared to what will happen after the banquet, holding hands isn't that bad."
What happens after the party... Ah… Right, that huh?
"I will sleep on the bed." Isolde said.
"I suppose so." I sighed.
"And I don't want to kiss you. So you can just kiss my hand if needed."
"Erm… Do I have to do it?"
In the end, I still have to hold Isolde's hand and kiss it to prove to everyone in the hall that we are married.