Chapter 990: Chapter 990: Marriage
The largest palace in the Upper Floors of the new world had become exceptionally lively. Even the areas surrounding the palace were now filled with large numbers of ordinary people.
Normally, the Upper Floors were a domain only accessible to gods of four-digit rank or above, a place ordinary people could never enter. In fact, even gods at the current stage shouldn’t have been able to step foot here. And yet, under these extraordinary circumstances, the Upper Floors had recently received nearly all the gods and humans from the Lower Floors.
The reason was simple.
A grand wedding.
One of the central figures of the ceremony was one of the creators of the world itself, which was why such a special exception had been made. The brides were equally extraordinary—goddesses from two different worlds. Precisely because of their unique identities, this wedding carried a significance unlike any other.
"Who would’ve thought Loki would actually get married one day?"
Finn, seated among the members of Loki Familia, raised his cup, his face filled with emotion.
There was a time when Finn genuinely believed that Loki would never change, even until death. And yet now, Loki had fallen in love—and with Bell Cranel, someone their familia frequently traded resources with.
"But Loki’s taste isn’t bad, is it?"
Finn couldn’t help but admire Loki’s sharp eye. The very first person she fell for turned out to be someone of such overwhelming stature.
"Yeah. Who would’ve imagined that junior we were negotiating with just two years ago would leap straight to such an unreachable height?"
Gareth couldn’t help but sigh as well. He agreed with Finn completely. To be honest, even now, it all still felt unreal.
Not just Loki getting married, but also Bell, that junior, reaching a height they couldn’t even hope to glimpse.
"What I never expected was that we’d be sitting here in our current positions, drinking wedding wine."
"Heh. True."
With a laugh, Finn and Gareth clinked their glasses and took a good drink.
"Riveria should be with Loki right now, right?"
Finn glanced at an empty seat and asked casually.
"Probably. But I’m more curious about where those two kids went."
Riveria’s whereabouts were easy enough to guess—she was almost certainly with Loki. That left the other two who needed attention.
Gareth’s gaze shifted toward Ais and Sanjouno Haruhime.
"Those two looked pretty shaken when they found out about the wedding."
Finn knew exactly who Gareth was referring to.
"Ais and Haru... When they heard Bell was getting married, those two were probably hit the hardest."
"Haruhime’s reaction makes sense. Bell saved her back then. If not for him, she might’ve been killed by members of Isthar’s familia."
"A classic hero scenario. Any girl in that situation would be bound to fall for him."
Finn wasn’t surprised at all by Sanjouno Haruhime’s feelings. In fact, before he got married himself, he’d often been pursued by many female adventurers.
From the very beginning, Haruhime had been like that. Even her reason for striving to grow stronger stemmed from admiration and affection.
But as Finn spoke, a trace of concern still crept onto his face.
"It’s Ais that worries me..."
Haruhime’s feelings were understandable. Bell’s rescue left a deep impression on a girl who had just escaped hell.
But Ais was different.
"It was probably that half year in the Dungeon, right?"
Gareth brought up the time Bell had taken Ais into the Dungeon for six months.
"Yeah, I think so too."
Finn nodded. Aside from that period, Ais had barely interacted with Bell at all. And it seemed that after that experience, Ais had started treating Bell as the biggest goal in her heart.
"Their ages aren’t that far apart. And back then, Bell acted more mature, even taking care of her. That probably sparked her feelings."
"Finn, you should also consider Ais’s parents."
Gareth reminded him.
"Oh, right. Her parents."
Finn smacked his forehead. He’d completely forgotten about them.
For Ais, the reason might actually be similar to Haruhime’s. The difference was that Ais herself hadn’t been trapped and rescued—her parents had been on the brink of death, and Bell was the one who saved them.
"So... is Ais okay right now?"
With all these factors layered together, even Finn couldn’t be sure about Ais’s current state.
"Who knows?"
Gareth shook his head. He usually paid close attention to the children in the familia, but matters of the heart weren’t something a single dwarf like him could fully grasp.
"Riveria’s close to Ais. If anyone knows, it’d be her. Asking me? What can I tell you as a bachelor?"
"Riveria’s probably busy helping Loki with the wedding preparations right now. I doubt even she knows how Ais and Haruhime are doing at the moment."
Riveria might know a little, but Finn didn’t think she had a full grasp of the situation either.
...
Elsewhere, inside a specially prepared lounge within the palace, several goddesses were getting ready in their wedding attire.
Hestia and Hephaestus were helping each other adjust their outfits.
The two Artemis certainly weren’t incapable of dressing themselves either.
Freya had Syr assisting her, while Riveria stood beside Loki.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Loki felt a rare surge of vanity.
She lifted the hem of her dress and slowly turned. The figure reflected back looked like a true maiden.
A gently rounded chest, a slender waist, and a faint smile of happiness playing at the corners of her lips. Anyone who saw this scene would have offered generous praise without hesitation.
"Mom, what do you think?"
The female elf who had been smiling froze the moment she heard that word, her expression instantly darkening.
"Loki, I’ve told you before. Don’t call me ’Mom’!"
She might not be young anymore, but she certainly wasn’t about to become the mother of a god who was billions of years old.
Riveria took a breath to steady herself, her heart filled with mixed emotions as she looked at Loki. It was the complicated feeling of watching a tomboyish daughter finally get married.
"Loki... I never thought I’d see the day you’d get married."
That single line carried the weight of an entire generation.
Hearing it, Hestia and the others nearby barely managed to keep their expressions under control.
