Chapter 376

[Just a small reminder that this series has been completed for a month now. Read ahead for only 36 cents per chapter!]

Volcanic Desert (1)

One bright afternoon, when half of May went by, the wedding of Raihan, Hannah, and Serpina was held.

"It's been a while since I've seen a wedding with two brides."

"The brides are friends with one another."

"Serpina is the bishop. Then, who's the other bride?"

"Well, you know the pretty lady in the Brotherhood Pharmacy? The three of them usually hang out together, so it's hard not to figure it out, isn't it?"

"Well, it's a surprise that a dense man like you knows about it."

Astray was famous in Sherden since before, but their fame skyrocketed once more as the members flawlessly subdued the current scenario...to be honest, if they made even a slight mistake, it would have done great harm to their reputation. Still, nothing happened as all the villains were defeated. To point out the huge change that happened due to the scenario, Serpina finally became the official bishop for the Sherden parish. The previous bishop decided to retire after experiencing a huge uproar.

"Becoming a bishop at such a young age; what a talented woman."

"Besides that, it's more amazing that she decided to stick to one man."

"The groom is Raihan Drukas. So, it's something to be expected."

"Yeah, yeah, you're definitely right."

The wedding hall was packed with people as it was the wedding between Serpina, the bishop of the most powerful religious body in Sherden, and Raihan, a famous member of Astray. In fact, Hannah was being overwhelmed by the other bride, but she didn't seem to care about it. Evan knew the reason for it after visiting the brides' waiting room.

"So, did they make it?"

"Yeah. She is five weeks pregnant."

"Then there's not much of a difference between Serpina Noona and her..."

"Well, that's right. Hannah said it worked due to the ceremony, which she learned from Illoin."

"..."

Shine's face turned pale at Evan's word. He looked around to check if Anastasia was nearby, and he spoke in a quiet voice.

"I will make sure Asha never meets them."

"Hmm...I guess you are a bit too late for that. It seems like they had their own meeting without us knowing about it."

Shine stood still like a statue, and Evan felt joy and sorrow as he saw Shine's remorseful expression as if he lost everything.

"Shine, are you having trouble at night?"

"No, there's no problem at all during the night...in fact, Asha kept on talking about houses recently."

"Are you planning on buying a house for yourselves?"

"No...it's a house for six, including two sons and two daughters."

"I've never thought of excluding the duke and including two sons and daughters instead."

It sounded like a plan bigger than what Evan imagined was going on in Anastasia's head. He touched his forehead due to a sudden splitting headache and let out a sigh.

"I've been thinking that her love for you is a bit too much."

"I don't want to hear that from you, who is being loved by Belois."

Evan sneered as he heard Shine's answer. It would have been acceptable if he mentioned Maybell or Serena, but Belois of all people.

"What are you talking about? Lua is very considerate of me, isn't she?"

"The fact that you're thinking that way is the most fearful matter here."

Surely, Evan knew that Belois was deeply in love with him, but this was something different. How could she be compared to Anastasia, who talks about her family planning in front of Shine?

"Lua is a soft-hearted girl who can't even say what she wants properly. That's why I always feel sorry for not taking care of her properly. Aside from that...hmm, she is jealous over other girls, but that can be regarded as something cute."

"That's how you want to play your cards...I guess that Belois must have about nine tails like the fox."

[Master Evan is rather happy. It would be better if Anastasia learned from Belois. Now, she's a pain in the behind.]

Christina's voice was heard. She seemed invisible to others, but she was standing still on the ground like a real person. It was a shame that others couldn't see her beauty as she wore a lovely dress with her braided hair, which suited her as a guest of the wedding.

[Ta-da. Do I look perfectly like a human?]

"Except the echo in your voice."

[That can probably be achievable. Maintaining my body in the real world isn't much of a burden now since I reached Max level in the dungeon.]

"Do you want to hunt some slimes if you ever lack for existence level?"

[Well, thank you for the offer!]

"Master."

Evan sneered at Shine's resentful gaze.

"Christina is going this far for you, so what's up with that attitude of yours?"

"Asha won't let this slip by. No, moreover Tina is my companion."

"Well, what do you say about that?"

[Shine's really dense. I knew you would say that. He can't even understand the feeling of a girl who has been loving him for the past years.]

"Loving me? Me? Who?"

[Look at this.]

Christina swept her hair and sighed out loud.

[That's why, in order to start a relationship with Shine, the girl has to take the initiative first. I know that since I've observed him for a long time now.]

"Well, indeed. Like what Anastasia did?"

[That's right.]

Anastasia... surely was a lady with a lot of achievements. It was good that all the female members, including her, were inside the brides' waiting room.

[Besides, I get to live with Shine for the rest of his life, don't I? But, does it make sense that I have to bear this kind of life just because a kid showed up and hooked up with Shine? I don't plan on letting her take Shine away even if she becomes the duchess or the queen.]

"Christina, may I ask you a question? When will you return to the spirit realm?"

[Didn't Shine tell you that I'll return with him when he dies?]

"What...?"

Maybe it was Shine's first time hearing this too. It was expected from the Silent Knight, the charming assassin who captivated humans and spirits alike.

"No, wait, saying that we will be together for our lifetimes...you're joking, right?"

[Hey, Shine will be sad if I return. I'll stay by his side since I don't like it.]

Christina put her arm around Shine's neck while she said it jokingly. Then, Anastasia spotted it just in time, and she shook off Christina's arm.

"Ghost, I'll definitely have you returned to your realm today."

"Asha, relax. I'm just fooling around."

"Yup, I know. I'll fool around with that ghost for a while, so Shine, close your eyes...when you open them again, it will be all over."

[What an abusive druid! I'll protect what's left of Shine's pure heart!]

Evan started to see the relationship among those three briefly. At this pace, Evan suddenly thought that they would all get along well together. And if things turned out like this, one person who wasn't able to confess her feelings to Shine was starting to bother Evan...unfortunately, she didn't stand a chance at all. Marie wasn't a fool not to make the first move so far, was she? It's just that she didn't even try since it looked completely hopeless.

Even Christina, who spent ten years with him (although there was the petty matter that she was a ghost), couldn't get recognized by him, so what more was there to say for Marie? Evan sympathized with her. But it was truly absurd that he didn't notice Ena, who was in the same shoes as Marie.

'I wasn't able to pay much attention to those in the Junior group as I was too occupied with other operations...I'll spend more time with them once the Demon King is defeated.'

Aside from Jhin, Lin, and Lan, who was deeply involved with the scenario, he barely spoke to Paul, Marie, Ena, Ditto, and Melson during their training in the morning and the evening...

'I'll have more free time once I'll defeat the Demon King, and I'll have children after getting married...'

This felt more and more like an event flag, but he decided to ignore it. Mirole's face appeared in his head, which told him that there were other things to be taken care of after defeating the Demon King, but Evan did his best to ignore it.

"Here come the brides and the groom."

As Evan tried his best to forget the present, which he wanted to evade, a voice from an old man echoed throughout the parish. The bishop who gave up his position to Serpina decided to take charge of her wedding as his final act before retirement.

"This is nostalgic."

Both doors opened, and Raihan appeared with his neat ceremonial clothing while the two brides entered with their stunning wedding dresses. Raihan was tensed up, but his two brides were as relaxed as ever. The two of them held each other's arms like close friends, which made everyone burst into laughter.

"She is truly befitting to be the bishop of the Sherden Parish."

"There won't be any conflicts between the couple, thank goodness."

"Is that young man the famous Sir Raihan Drukas? Wow, he looks great, really."

"Don't you know him? Only the best can join our Sherden's Dungeon Knighthood."

There was no way to settle this misunderstanding. Evan murmured quietly to himself and let out a sigh. His attention was directed to the wedding dress which Serpina and Hannah were wearing. The wedding dress made by Evan's private designer Ottpah made their beauty shine brighter than ever. But Evan was deeply relieved while looking at the belly of Serpina. He knew how worried Raihan was when he was informed of her pregnancy.

He didn't like his pregnant wife Serpina joining the scenario. He was worried that the child would be born even before their wedding. On top of that, he was also concerned about having a wedding ceremony when she was in her last month of pregnancy. It was given that her belly, which was merely three months in terms of pregnancy, became lean during her conception from the blessing from the Great Mother, which was known to take away even the fats of a heavy drinker. Therefore, she was in her best condition during the wedding.

'How many people know the fact that those Noonas are already pregnant...?'

It would be a hot topic if people knew that the bishop who managed the Sherden Parish of the Great Mother Order became pregnant before her wedding. Could she really hide that fact? It would be too much...?

"But it's good that she evaded the worst-case scenario."

"Yes, thank goodness for that."

Belois was standing next to Evan before he knew it. Well, it was expected from Belois since Evan saw Anastasia entering the hall.

"What did you two talk about?"

"I just listened to her bragging about lots of things. Like how the world looks different after she conceived her child, how he looks like candy to her eyes, how she feels like a princess..."

Belois was putting up a ghastly look which made Evan laugh. The ceremony was being carried out in front of the platform. Raihan's face, as he looked at his two wives, reminded people that it was the face of a man who would soon become a father.

'He sure became a great man.'

Evan narrowed his eyes as he recalled the day he had met the tearful Raihan at a pub. It felt like time didn't pass by that much, but Raihan had changed a lot since then. No...his instinct in wanting to protect people remained unchanged.

"Unnie wants the boy to look like Raihan."

"Really? Raihan said he wants his daughter to look like his wives."

"Isn't that like a promised ritual? Like a proof of their love towards each other."

"It might be. In the case of my child, I'll love them regardless of their look."

"I hope our child will look like me."

Belois said so suddenly. Evan tilted his head but finally understood her intention.

"Our child?"

"Yes."

Evan secretly took a step back away from her and tried to defend himself.

"...Lua, will you wait until I defeat the Demon King?"

"Yes. I'm just saying that if I'm to give birth to a child someday, I want her to look like me."

"Why?"

Thankfully, there was no reason to cast a barrier in his bedroom tonight. Evan asked her why as he felt a bit relieved, and Belois laughed quietly, replying without the slightest hesitation.

"So that the children will protect you, Master."

"Wait, getting protection from my own children is a bit..."

"Children that look like me will definitely do that. Definitely."

Evan imagined several little Beloises following him to protect him. Hmm, it wasn't bad. He would rather be happy. No, that didn't mean he intended to make it happen anytime soon.

"Don't worry. I'll do what I can to remove that curse."

"But I won't be able to wait for that long, you know?"

"Argh..."

Belois smiled at Evan's firm answer. Such expressions from her made his heart skip a beat. As Evan was at a loss for words, she held his hand and leaned on his shoulder. The ceremony was halfway done. The groom and the brides were exchanging wedding gifts. And at that moment, the Great Mother descended and gave her blessings to the couples!

―May there be happiness and safe deliveries for my beloved children.

"The Great Mother's voice!"

"Wooah, the rumors of receiving a direct blessing from her was real!"

"O Great Mother, give us your blessings too!"

"Great Mother!"

The hall suddenly turned chaotic. The ex-bishop who was in the middle of officiating the wedding broke out in tears, so nobody could subdue this situation. Evan let out a deep sigh after witnessing a scene that looked somewhat familiar.

"What the heck? They won't leave the wedding alone, will they?"

"Huhu, same happened during the wedding of Mr. Bernard."

"Yeah. It was quite a commotion."

While talking about it, Evan suddenly recalled the promise he had made to Belois.

"Nobody will blame me for having a grand wedding after defeating the Demon King."

"That day will soon come. It felt like I had to wait forever."

"Right."

Evan held her hand tighter and calmed his heart. It was time for him to make a move for her. The expedition of Astray was decided at that moment.

The destination: The Flame Hell, the antithesis of the Eternal Glaciers. Its name was the Volcanic Desert.