Chapter 350 ·Side Story Chapter 1: The Legendary Restaurant
Chapter 350: Side Story Chapter 1: The Legendary Restaurant
“It feels strange to think that you’re getting married.”
“Ghk.”
Vladimir, dressed in a pure-white groom’s tuxedo and nervously bouncing his legs in the waiting room, looked as though he had seen a ghost the moment I spoke to him.
“Y-You really came, Aaron Stingray.”
“You sent me a wedding invitation.”
“Th-That I did. H-Hmm…….”
He then made a complicated expression and began picking at a hangnail. At least, he didn’t seem particularly displeased that I had come.
“Are you nervous?”
“N-Nervous? Ah, hahaha! Why would I be nervous! Linda and I are already married and even have a child together, so what is there to be nervous about? This is all just a show for appearances, a show!”
“You’re nervous.”
“Damn it, fine! I’m nervous!”
With a single push, Vladimir’s bravado crumbled helplessly.
He clasped both hands together as though praying, rested his elbows on his knees, and continued trembling his legs.
“J-Just think about it. It’s a wedding, isn’t it? Isn’t this an event you remember for the rest of your life? Isn’t this where my father brings every acquaintance he has from the business world and shows off the bride and groom? But as you know, most of those acquaintances are over 100 years old…….”
“Old Monsters.”
“Exactly!”
Vladimir shouted in agreement.
“They’re people whose way of thinking stopped 100…… no, about 150 years ago. How do you think people like that will look at us? No, I don’t care about myself, but how do you think they’ll look at my wife? If I see even one of them badmouthing her, saying I dragged in some woman from who-knows-where, I’ll definitely want to kill them all right there.”
“Is that what you think?”
“No, my father said that.”
Vladimir frowned.
“As you know, my wife’s physical features overlap quite a lot with yours. My father personally told me there are even rumors that I did something with one of the Stingray Family’s relatives because of that. Even this wedding is the same. At first, he nitpicked the person I brought home, and now he’s been tormenting me over whether we should hold a wedding at all, where we should hold it, and everything else!”
“Think of it as an old man throwing a tantrum. He gave his permission in the end, which is why this wedding was prepared at all. They say no parent can defeat their child in the end.”
“You sure talk freely when you’re not the one getting married.”
“Of course. What does it have to do with me?”
I answered with a mischievous smile, and Vladimir replied irritably.
“Well, at least I can take satisfaction in knowing I’m one step ahead of you in something. When the day comes for you to get married, as your ‘senior,’ I’ll thoroughly mock you while you tremble with nerves.”
“I know this is nothing new, but you have a terrible personality.”
“Look who’s talking. Ahh, just imagine it…… a man who fought confidently even before a Dragon, sweating bullets because of his wedding…… I’m already enjoying myself just thinking about it.”
“Fine. Mock me as much as you like. But before that, try not to trip while making your entrance as the groom.”
“Do you really think I’d do something that stupid?”
“I trust that you won’t.”
“But…… was it the left foot that goes forward with the left hand……?”
“Please calm down.”
You’re making me nervous too.
After leaving the groom’s waiting room, I reunited with Kalia, who had been waiting in the lobby.
Apparently, while I had briefly been talking with Vladimir, Kalia hadn’t been able to resist meeting with figures from the business world and discussing work.
That girl really was quite the workaholic.
Perhaps noticing me approaching, Kalia smoothly dismissed the people around her and welcomed me.
“You’re here, Brother. How is the groom?”
“He was extremely nervous.”
“That’s understandable. Judging by Chairman Kharitonov’s personality, he must have fiercely opposed this marriage. It’s a wedding he barely managed to get approval for, so he wouldn’t want to ruin it.”
“I suppose so.”
I answered casually while looking around, and soon realized that the people I expected to see were nowhere in sight.
“Where did the others go?”
“To the bridal waiting room.”
“Why are they there?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? The bride doesn’t have any acquaintances in this city. It would look a little strange if the bride’s side were completely empty, so we decided to attend as acquaintances of the bride. Think of us as mutual acquaintances of the bride and groom.”
“So it’s an act for appearances.”
“That’s what weddings are like in the first place. Ah, and for reference, you and I are also going to sit on the bride’s side, so don’t get confused later.”
“Fine, understood.”
At the same time.
Aaron’s group visiting the bridal waiting room consisted of Airi, Miyu, Maria, Ciel, Serena, and Evangeline. Six people in total.
None of them had ever met the bride, Linda Beta, before, but due to the circumstances, they had come to the bridal waiting room under the pretense of being acquaintances of the bride.
“A-Are we really allowed to go in here? We’ve never even spoken to the bride before…….”
“It’s fine. Apparently, everything has already been arranged with her side. We simply need to pretend we’ve known her for a long time, exchange some appropriate greetings, and leave.”
“……The rich really do care about appearances.”
Airi muttered in exasperation.
After turning the corner and heading farther inside, they saw the bride having her makeup done beneath dazzling lights.
Five staff members were attending to the bride in her pure-white dress, while off to one side, a young girl who resembled her sat swinging her legs in boredom with a flower basket beside her.
Linda Beta soon noticed the group’s arrival and gave them a light smile.
“You’re here. I already heard about you from my husband. I’m Linda. And this girl beside me is our daughter, Sasha, who’ll be serving as the Flower Girl today.”
“Hello~!”
The mother and daughter greeted them politely.
Maria stepped forward as the group’s representative.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Maria. These are, in order, Serena Beresford, Airi Aliceval, Evangeline, Miyu, and Ciel.”
“It’s nice to meet all of you~”
“N-Nice to meet you…….”
Linda smiled brightly as though nothing were awkward, but the others could only respond stiffly.
The only exceptions were Maria and Ciel. Maria was accustomed to situations like this, while Ciel had seen Linda at least once when they visited Honeycomb City together.
But the awkwardness didn’t last long, and it didn’t take much time for them to become friendly with Linda.
Linda possessed such a warm and affectionate personality that she had even managed to capture the heart of ‘that’ Chairman Vladimir, and she was deeply considerate of others.
By the time the group came to their senses, they were conversing naturally as though they had known Linda for quite some time.
Even Evangeline, who had found the wedding itself boring, had found common ground with Sasha, who was around the age of a younger sister to her, and the two were playing house on the sofa.
“……And that’s how things ended up this way.”
“Th-That really was quite an eventful marriage.”
Airi muttered in admiration after hearing Linda’s story.
“More than anything, I’m really surprised Chairman Vladimir is such a devoted husband. At the Academy, how should I put it…… I thought he was a little more authoritarian.”
“……Airi.”
“Ah, I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to badmouth him or anything, it just slipped out…….”
“It’s fine. I know better than anyone that my husband is normally like that. I know you meant it as a compliment.”
Linda chuckled.
Before long, the time for the wedding approached, and the bride’s preparations were nearly complete. When the stylist informed her of this, Linda spoke with clear reluctance.
“Everyone. It’s almost time, so I think I should get going.”
“Of course. Your story was so entertaining that we ended up staying longer than intended. Come now, everyone. Let’s head back.”
Maria picked up her pouch and rose from her seat, and everyone prepared to leave the bridal waiting room while offering the bride their own farewells.
“It was wonderful meeting you, Linda.”
“Y-You look so beautiful today……!”
“I’ll be looking forward to the wedding later~!”
“Let us meet again later, Sasha!”
“Ah, wait a moment. Everyone.”
At that moment, Linda stopped them.
“Could you perhaps pass along a message to Aaron Stingray for me? Please tell him I’m grateful that he helped my husband and me back then. If it weren’t for him, my husband and I would never have met, and I would have died in that city without knowing anything.”
“……Of course.”
“And…… you said your name was Miyu, right?”
“Y-Yes!? M-Me……?”
“Would you accept this?”
Linda handed Miyu a small paper note.
At first glance, it might have looked like trash, but considering the rarity of paper in this city, it was easy to guess that something extremely important was written on it.
“Wh-What is this……?”
“A token of gratitude. I heard you saved my husband when he nearly died once.”
She was probably referring to when Vladimir had become a vacuum cleaner and Miyu restored his body.
Miyu shook her head in flustered denial.
“N-No! I only did what I could because Aaron asked me to……!”
“Please accept it anyway.”
Linda ultimately pressed the note into Miyu’s hand.
Miyu tried to ask what it was, but Linda cut her off beforehand.
“Open it when you get home. Promise?”
And so, the wedding of Vladimir Kharitonov and Linda Beta was held in grand fashion.
Its scale was almost excessively large, probably to flaunt the confidence of Militech, which had risen to become the city’s new ruler after Stingray disappeared.
But setting aside those political implications, the bride and groom at the center of the occasion looked extremely happy.
There were a few incidents that could be laughed off, such as Vladimir getting his feet tangled and falling during the groom’s entrance, or trembling so badly that he dropped the wedding ring and everyone had to spend several minutes searching for it.
Aside from a few episodes like those, the atmosphere remained remarkably warm and cheerful.
After the grand event ended, everyone returned to their respective homes.
Miyu likewise returned to her room, took off the unfamiliar dress, and lay down on her bed.
That was when it happened.
Ring-ring-ring!
A call suddenly came in.
The caller was none other than Airi, so Miyu accepted immediately without hesitation.
“Hello?”
[Hey, Miyu. It’s me. Are you still awake by any chance?]
“I was just about to wash up and go to bed.”
[Really?]
“……I lied. I haven’t washed up.”
[Make sure you wash before sleeping. Leaving makeup on is bad for your skin.]
“Okaaay…….”
Airi still occasionally called her and acted like her mother.
“By the way, why did you call?”
[It’s nothing much. Actually, I was a little curious about that note Linda gave you earlier. I was going to ask you on the way back, but I forgot.]
“Ah, right.”
With a grunt of effort, Miyu barely managed to sit up and rummaged around until she pulled the note from the outer garment where she had left it.
“Let’s see…….”
[What does it say?]
“Hmm……?”
Miyu haltingly read the words written on the note.
“‘How to Find the Legendary Restaurant’…… is what it says?”