I merged with Ange and her group, and the wedding ceremony of the day finally began. I only heard it would be a Traage ritual, and I was in a state of complete unknown regarding its contents, wrapped in mystery, but my heart swelled with anticipation as the preparations for it finally became clear. They even said they had surprises prepared, so I wonder what kind of ceremony it will be. So exciting!
“Down, down!”
“…”
And so, the very first thing done at the ceremony was this grand procession, or rather, this Japanese-style parade reminiscent of an Oiran procession. With me and Ange at the center of the line, people holding Japanese umbrellas and musical instruments cheerfully formed a procession and paraded through the town’s main street. Hmm, is this some kind of festival? In fact, a large number of people from the town gathered and cheered, saying “Ohhh!”
“A-Ange, this is…?”
“It’s called Tsumaobidochu, a traditional Traage ritual. Normally, it’s done on a smaller scale, but Tsubaki-sama said if we’re going to do it, let’s do it thoroughly! Flashily! So that it remains in everyone’s memory! And then she pulled some strings, and as a result, it developed to the scale of a royal family event… teehee~♪”
Ange winked one eye and stuck out her tongue slightly. Geez, what a charming mischievous face! It’s irresistibly cute! She looks even better in her white-based Japanese-style wedding attire, possessing a different atmosphere than usual! All right, I’ll accept everything!
…Or so I wanted to show my magnanimity today. Well, I’ve already experienced this kind of parade in Trisen. Moreover, on that occasion, we were exposed in a kissing scene the entire time. While today was surprising, it’s still not quite a surprise to the extent…
“It’s time for the opening act!”
“Let it hit!”
“Whaaaat!?”
My composure had barely returned when a samurai at the head of the procession, who had been repeating incomprehensible words like “down, down,” suddenly shouted something. Kicking off with that shout, people who were watching the Tsumaobidochu took out something like color balls from who knows where and started throwing them at us with vigorous shouts—No, what in the world is going on?! For now, to avoid dirtying the borrowed outfits, I dodged them, dodged them all!
“Ah, it’s time for it to start already.”
Dodging the balls coming from all directions, and sometimes hitting the people playing instruments in the procession, Ange seemed to understand something. Also, by using ‘Unblockable,’ all the balls heading towards Ange passed through her. Ah, that’s sly! I mean, it’s not really sly or anything!
“Ange, what is this…?! And the people in the procession, they’re marching on even when hit by the balls hot!? Ah, the spots where the balls hit are getting painted!?”
A ball hit the face of the person holding a Japanese umbrella nearby, and I saw their face become colorfully dyed. In addition, I noticed that the eyes of the people throwing the balls were strangely bloodshot. Scary!?
“Well, everyone knows about this event. Except for the bride and groom, even if they get hit by a ball, they are supposed to maintain a resolute attitude and continue marching in formation, that’s the rule.”
“What kind of rule is that!?”
“Hmm, where should I start explaining? First, these rubber balls that everyone is holding contain special dyes, so that after they can be identified who threw it and hit the target. That’s why.”
“W-Why such a thing!?”
“You see, if you can hit either the bride or groom with a ball within the allotted time of the Tsumaobidochu, then the next person to get married will be that person! That’s the custom in Traage. Moreover, the probability of the person who hit the target getting married within a year is an astonishing over ninety percent! That’s why everyone is desperately trying to throw them.”
“S-So, this is like a bouquet toss, in other words…!?”
“That’s right, it’s exactly like that. As expected of Kelvin-kun, you’ve hit the nail on the head!”
What an extreme bouquet toss this is…
*Pop!*
“Ah, the umbrella person’s face again!?”
I’m still unscathed through sheer guts, and Ange is also undamaged with her unique skill, but the secondary damage to the others is still terrible. They’re either focusing on playing and performing with professional guts, not trying to avoid the balls at all, and neither raising their voices nor changing their expressions. The expressions of the throwers are also amazing, but these guys are also amazing for maintaining their expressionless, unreactive stance…!?
“Ah, by the way, this ball throwing continues either until one of the bride and groom is hit, or until the balls distributed beforehand run out. If no one manages to hit the target by the end, the bride is supposed to designate the next person, so please participate with ease ♪”
“It’s impossible to participate with easeeeeee!?”
The balls thrown by the general participants are honestly not that threatening. Even if there are many of them, they are just balls thrown by ordinary people prioritizing control. They are easy to dodge, and it’s actually harder to get hit. The problem is the occasional vicious balls mixed in with them, which are strangely fast. No, this can be called an attack. Yes, it’s a malicious attack intended to inflict a fatal wound on me. Who is it that’s throwing from the hidden amidst the general public—Wait, I found them!
“Hey, Sera! And Dahak! Why are you guys participating too!?”
“It looked like fun!”
“I want to partake in this good fortune!”
Sera, you just got married to me the day before yesterday, so hitting me means nothing, right!? You’re definitely participating on impulse and don’t understand the rules at all, do you!? As for Dahak… Well, it might be a heartfelt wish. All right, I’ll forgive you. But I’ll dodge them with all my might!
“Don’t think your wishes will come true that easily!”
“Kelvin-niiki, please let Dahak have this moment!”
“No, I will be the one to hit him first! I won’t lose to Dahak!”
“No, I am the superstar who will defeat Kelvin! Take this, idol’s gyroball!”
“Hey, married person!?”
Following Sera and the others, Maria also began throwing color balls. They were unique balls, some with blood attached, some with seeds of strange plants mixed in, or some just thrown with brute force. And yet, their control is as precise as threading a needle, making them specially designed not to hit anyone else but me. Damn it, they can’t hit Ange at all, so they’re targeting me…!
“K-Kuh, kuhahaha! I never imagined Tsumaobidochu would change this much! It’s interesting! A wonderful surprise! And I accept your challenge! Bring it on, all of you! *Gof—*!?”
A sudden impact, it came from head-on. Did I just get hit by a ball? Was it over already when things were about to get interesting? No way…
But I can’t afford to be depressed. Since it was a rubber ball, fortunately, it didn’t hurt that much. I barely managed to brace myself from falling backward from the impact and had to determine who the owner of this ball was.
“Everyone, I apologize, but I will be taking the rights for this good fortune.”
Standing there was Efil, clad in a Japanese-style maid outfit. She held a bow in her hand, in a stance as if she had just shot it. However, oh? There are Japanese-style maids too? How aesthetically pleasing—but, Efil…!?
“E-Efil-neesan!? …Wait, no no! What’s with tying a ball to the tip of an arrow and shooting it with a bow!?”
Yeah, I have to agree with that.
