At the critical moment, a blue barrier materialized between the Dragon and Amelia. Bart’s voice rang out, letting loose a war cry to rival the beast’s roar as he, clad in a shimmering cape, drew "Sharp Sword" before the audience.

To protect his bride, the quick-witted and brave groom leaped into the air. With a superhuman jump, he plunged Sharp Sword directly into the Dragon’s massive right eye.

A blood-curdling howl proved the monster had taken considerable damage. In agony, it kicked off the ground and took flight once more.

At some point, many Mages from the Tower of Secret Techniques had appeared in the hall. They raised their Magic Staffs or simply their hands, and countless waves of light shot toward the Flying Dragon that was disrupting the wedding.

The Giant Beast was unable to withstand the focused fire. Meanwhile, the brave and invincible Bart held his sword with both hands. The blade ignited with blue flames and extended endlessly, as if to pierce the "sky" of the "forest." Roaring to protect his beloved, he slashed at the Dragon.

Brass instruments erupted with their loudest notes, mingling with the unrestrained roars of the two combatants. The Giant Beast was set ablaze, bursting into countless blue fireflies that filled the entire hall.

Like blue snowflakes, the points of light drifted down slowly. Bathed in their glow, the Knight Bart, who had protected his lady, sheathed his sword, knelt on one knee, and kissed Amelia’s hand.

The bride let out a long sigh, taking Bart’s hand to help him up. His Majesty the King, however, had shining eyes. He excitedly shoved Amelia’s other hand into the groom’s, who had just finished his dashing display, and declared loudly:

"Bart of the Balderom Clan, Dragon Slayer Knight, do you promise to protect Amelia von Wittelsbach, Princess of Bayern, for the rest of her life?"

"I do!"

The hall returned to its normal brightness. People were amazed to find that as the blue points of light landed on the carpet, they instantly bloomed into fragrant grass and fresh flowers. Though they were indoors, it was as if they had been transported to a lush meadow.

Master Humboldt, who was attending the ceremony beside Mage Mariano, reached out and caught a blue firefly, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The guests in colorful Magic Robes, who had entered just before the performance, began to applaud. Even the Nobility, seeing so many Mages for the first time, clapped along for the vivid performance, despite looking a little disheveled.

The performance was planned by Bart and executed in cooperation with Rorschach and a group of Mages from the Tower of Secret Techniques. When Bart shared his idea, the people from the Secret Technique Tower strongly insisted that the Dragon’s design be based on their Tower Guardian Beast. They wanted the satisfaction of at least pretending to beat it up with a [Light Technique]!

Rorschach, for his part, had complained that the whole "knight protects princess, slays dragon" routine was a bit... too classic (read: cliché). Bart challenged him to come up with something better, but Rorschach nearly tore his hair out before giving up.

Then came what everyone saw: the Dragon and the misty forest were both effects of Rorschach’s [Mirror Flower Water Moon]. Of course, it was extremely taxing for him to cover the entire hall by himself. The Dragon’s roar was simulated with Magic by Ouyeni, and many members of the Secret Technique Tower who knew Illusion Magic were also on hand to help cover up any mistakes.

The final blue light carried Bart’s and Rorschach’s [Resuscitation Skill], which stimulated the grass and flower seeds previously sprinkled on the carpet to complete the final stage effect.

Bart performed all his own actions and Magic, but the effort still thoroughly exhausted Rorschach. He was supposed to be a guest, but to help out his friend, he’d had to act as a human graphics card—one rendering a large-scale 3D scene, no less.

Next, the newlyweds exited to the sound of the prelude to Act V of Mendelssohn’s ’A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ They returned after changing their clothes, and the ball portion of the evening began.

The first dance was led by Bart and Amelia, followed by the King and Princess Consort, then Otto and his spouse, and finally Bart’s parents joined the dance floor. Once the song ended, the other guests began to twirl onto the floor in pairs.

"So, Milly? Were you satisfied with the performance?" Bart whispered gleefully to his dance partner. He hadn’t told Amelia the specifics of the show beforehand, only hinting that he’d do something a little different during the ceremony.

"It was wonderful, Bart," Amelia said with a smile. "I may have seen scenes like that in novels and plays countless times, but today I got to experience it for myself."

She paused, mustering all her emotional intelligence. "It feels like I wasn’t truly a princess until I was targeted by a Dragon and saved by my Knight."

"You’ll always be my princess, the brightest star in the skies of Bayern."

"But... now all the flowers and grass that grew from the carpet are being trampled by the guests, and the juices will ruin it! Oh my, I can’t even imagine how we’ll clean it..."

"Uh..." Bart glanced at the carpet beyond the dance floor. Indeed, the oxidized juices from the grass were leaking out, staining it a muddy color. It was a complete mess. He forced himself to look calm. "My dear, we still have Magic!"

...

Unfamiliar with the people and the place, Rorschach didn’t bother finding a dance partner. He’d used up a lot of energy as the "tool man" for the performance, and now he had only one goal: replenish that energy through his mouth.

’This looks good...’ He discovered that the food provided in the palace wasn’t limited to Bayern cuisine; there was also a large selection of delicacies from Valois, which perked him right up.

After grabbing an egg custard tart, Rorschach couldn’t wait to dig in. The melt-in-your-mouth filling burst with the aroma of cream, egg yolk, and vanilla, while the crust had the texture of a high-quality butter cookie.

"Rorschach? Rorschach? What do we do about the flowers and grass on the carpet? It’s all trampled and filthy now... I have to explain it to Milly, we need to figure out a solution..." While Rorschach was eating, he suddenly received a [Communication Skill] message. His brow furrowed. He mobilized the Magic Power around him to block the channel, then walked toward the savory food section with his half-eaten tart.

"It wouldn’t matter elsewhere, but here, one eats an egg custard tart with a fork, not a spoon." Ouyeni wasn’t dancing either. Seeing Rorschach, she reminded him of the court’s dining etiquette.

Rorschach glanced around. Indeed, some of the Nobility seemed to be looking his way, and he rudely glared right back.

"Who cares? A spoon is more convenient," Rorschach said, disregarding his image as he opened his mouth wide and stuffed the rest in.

"I was just like you when I was little. A visiting lady once gave me a disdainful look for it." Even while eating, she kept half her face covered, revealing only her perfectly shaped lips and teeth.

Though he couldn’t see her expression, Rorschach could still feel her sadness. "I didn’t see Sophie at the wedding today," she said. "We passed by each other a few days ago, and she’s aged so much."

Rorschach didn’t know what to say. After thinking for a long time, he could only advise Ouyeni to take the initiative and go see her sister.

Confined to the palace walls, the wedding was a great success, aside from the son of a Great Noble who publicly unfastened his trousers before the official start, and several ladies who fainted during the Illusion performance. Rorschach could only say that the ladies fainted because their corsets were too tight, restricting their breathing. As for the perverted young man, he got what he deserved.

Expanding the scope to all of Bayern, "Fanta" completed a united and victorious marketing campaign. During the celebration, all one hundred thousand bottles sold out, and it became a massive hit throughout the Duma Alliance. "The Magic Small Soda from Valuva" became the new fad among the citizenry.

Meanwhile, fueled by holiday traditions and the carnivalesque atmosphere, quite a few accidents occurred, and the people of Bayern caused a number of deaths. Overall, however, the population of the Bayern Kingdom still saw positive growth. Truly a cause for celebration.

For some reason, His Majesty Albert was extremely satisfied with his son-in-law’s dragon-slaying performance. With a grand wave of his hand, he organized a Royal Family-sponsored opera troupe to begin a national tour of Wagner’s plays, bundled with a production about a Dragon Slayer Warrior.

In the following days, Rorschach first met with Master Humboldt and Mage Mariano. However, the information Mage Mariano himself possessed was limited to the data from the Storage Bag, and he left Bayern via teleportation along with Humboldt.

’I need to visit the Tower of Secret Techniques again, and also check on the dye workshop.’ Now that he had time, Rorschach intended to continue with his original plans. The Secret Technique Tower had declined his previous request to enter their library, so this time, Rorschach decided he would make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.