My name is Dalkish.

　I am the lord of a corner of the land once known as the Human Nation.

　It's only a very small fiefdom, though. That's why even an inexperienced person like me can manage to run this place.

　Anyway, I'm one of the many weak lords in the old human country.
　I'm one of the ragtag ones.
　There are lords of great lords far more powerful than me, and even high officials in the center. Even the heads of the local Adventurer's Guild branches are probably in a higher position than me, depending on the size of the branch.

　With that in mind, I would like you to follow the following story.

　　　　* * * *

The invitation came.
Who told you that?

　My beloved wife, Varina, is a demon from the Demon Kingdom and is different from me in terms of race to begin with.
　I was originally sent by the victorious demon king's army as a guardian, but we somehow found ourselves on good terms with each other.

　The marriage between a man and a woman is out of the question, or rather, the relationship between my girlfriend and I is like that, and at first there was a lot of noise about it, such as the world's first international marriage.

　However, the bond between me and my beloved wife did not come about naturally.
　There was one person, or rather, one group of people who were absolutely essential to the beginning of our marriage.

　The invitation we received this time was from that person.

''Lord Okubo-dono came to deliver it to us personally...!
Well, then...?

　Yeah, it's an invitation from Saint Francis.

He's having some kind of a wedding.
Huh?　But isn't the saint already married?　You would have had a baby, right?

　Indeed.
　But when I carefully read the invitation, I found out that Saint Akishino and his wife hadn't held the wedding ceremony right after they got together, so they were planning to hold it again this time.

Mr. Okubo has verbally explained that to me.
'And you've been invited to join us? I'm afraid so.

　Absolutely.

　When it comes to the saint, he is an all-powerful person.
　He can lead the most powerful army, easily change the shape of heaven and earth, and subdue any supernatural being.

　If he wanted to, he could easily rule the entire world, but he doesn't try.

　Is it selflessness or hawkishness...?

　However, the fact remains that he is the ultimate all-rounder, and he is one of the people you should never make enemies with.

　The reason why I became acquainted with such a person was, of all things, when that person built a castle in my territory....

''It's only natural for me to accept the invitation, but this might be a good opportunity for me.
''You mean that...?

　Fortunately or unfortunately, my wife and I have become so close to the Almighty Sage that our relationship with him has deepened over time, to the point where we are invited to celebrate like this.

　We are grateful for this, but we also feel the pressure to be with him.

　In particular, we felt a sense of debt to our saint.

You didn't invite me to your wedding.
It's time for us...!

　The castle built by the saints led us to become aware of each other as a man and a woman.
　Varina and I ended up getting married.

　But, to our surprise, no one was invited to our wedding ceremony, not even the people involved.
　Wouldn't the saint be angry about that...?

'I'm sure he wouldn't be, since he's a big-hearted saint, but...?
''Why didn't you invite me if you're still bothered by it now?　After all that you've done for him?

　No!
　Wouldn't it be rude to invite them?

　You're dealing with a man who's as good as God!
　And to call it a celebration for a weak lord like me!

You're saying, 'There's a thing called class!

I understand that very well, but...!

　You're right, my wife understands.
　She's also a former officer in the Demon King's Army. She is very sensitive to these delicate power relationships!

''The difference in status and position, and depending on it, just inviting someone of far higher rank into the same place can be outrageously rude...!

　That's why I didn't dare to call out to him, even though he was a saint to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude.
　If I only reported the results after everything was in place, then it would be 'Yoshi! We thought.

　But since then, our association with the saint has been deeper than we expected.

　Despite what we had hoped, the castle Okubo built by the saint still stands in our territory and is an important tourist attraction.
　I can't tell you how much that castle has enriched us.

　During the annual event, His Holiness joins us as participants in the various challenges.

　He always drops out in the middle of the event.
　Even though it's always painful for me to clear all of the hurdles in spite of that!

　Not only that, when my wife and I were having trouble conceiving a child, she even summoned a goddess to solve our problem.

　Thanks to her, a new generation of the world's first human and demon blood was born between us.
　They are my greatest treasure.

　You have helped us to have a child, and our gratitude to you, Mr. Sage, has increased more and more.

　And the invitation to come here.

　We didn't do it at our wedding, but they invited us.

'Isn't this a bad idea...?

　The thought that we were going to be able to do that is growing in my mind.

　I now regret that I did not invite the saint to our wedding that time in the past, and it was a mistake.

''Well anyway, I'll have to accept the invitation.
Not going is not an option.

　Again, we were in agreement.
　Good.

Varina, I want you to have something to celebrate. I'll have something for you to celebrate.

　From a saint's point of view, any gift from my level would be like dust, but it's important to me that the feeling is understood!
　We don't mind if it puts a little pressure on the family budget. We celebrate by bringing more than we can afford.

We'll make our excuses as best we can. Why didn't you invite us to your wedding?　Explain it all with arguments and you'll understand, wise saint, you'll understand!

　My good wife, Varina, pointed out to me in my desperation.

'But wouldn't it be rude to explain?

　.........
　Eh?

'It's a day of celebration for the saint and his wife that they are the stars of the show, right?　Doesn't it bother you to hear the arguments of our woodworkers on such a day?
'Oh...'
That's not all. When it comes to the ceremony, there will be many more guests, and it must be a lot of work for you and your wife to greet them all. It must be a lot of work for the saint and his wife to greet all of them. How much time do we have to deal with such a situation...?

　''Stop!
　Don't imagine such an actual, seriously likely situation!

　The wife of an ex-magic officer has a really good analysis of the situation, but now I hate her for being so wise!

　But I still have to go!
　To the wedding of a saint!

　To repay the debt of gratitude that my predecessors have placed on me so far, and to continue our good relationship!
　For the sake of the future of my territory, I must challenge you at this time.

　Ideally, I would attend the saint's wedding table and successfully greet him and show him that I accepted the invitation.
　Attendance would be ruined if you didn't get it, you know.

'I haven't seen Darquish-kun. Didn't you come? And it's definitely not going to be!

　And a little chatting while I say hello.
　It must not be too long. Weak lords like me shouldn't hold the lead for too long, and I'm sure there are people several levels higher than us who want to have a chat with the saints!

　If you don't keep it brief and leave, those people will stare at you!

I mean, be as concise as possible. A quick word or two would be nice. In the meantime, I'll have to make an opening that I didn't invite to our wedding.

　What a difficult mission!

　But if I can't complete it, there's no future for my territory.
　That's how big they are.

"Good luck to you. I'll be supporting you while I'm away.
What are you talking about?　You're going too, right?
What?

　My wife, Varina, is a bit of a surprise to me.
　It's the only time she's out of it.

'Of course!　In a social setting, one set of clothes is all you need!
Yes, it was!　It's no use, sir!　When this happens, we'll go to hell together!

"What do you think a human's wedding is? That's a statement, but please understand that this is such a nerve-wracking place for us.

　Anyway, we're heading to the wedding of the saints!