Episode 100 - A Clear Autumn Day at Meiji Shrine (Final Episode)

【Eternal Vows, Beneath the Autumn Sky】

At the end of September, the sky over Tokyo was clear and cloudless—an autumn day of perfect blue.

The faint fragrance of Sweet Olive drifted through the air, and the trees of the shrine forest were just beginning to turn red and gold. The cry of cicadas had vanished, replaced by a cool breeze that swept gently through the shrine grounds.

This was Meiji Shrine, a sacred grove with over a hundred years of history.

Footsteps sounded softly along the gravel path leading to the Kagura-den, the sacred dance stage. The air was tense with anticipation yet imbued with boundless gentleness.

In the preparation room set up at the shrine office, Shota was greeting both families and relatives.

Dressed in traditional Japanese attire, his expression was a blend of tension and joy, an indescribable mix on his face.

“…Thank you all for coming today.”

Smiling warmly, Shota met each of their faces in turn.

From the Sasaki family, his father Iwao was standing unusually straight-backed, while his mother Shizuko clutched her handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes.

His elder sister Yumi wore a stylish modern kimono, arms folded as she muttered, “You'll always be a helpless little brother,” though her eyes were wet with tears.

Beside her stood her husband Mark, always with a smile on his face, and their son Ren, waving his tiny hand. Ren said innocently, “Papa, he looks cooler than you!”

“I’m truly happy that everyone could gather here today.”

As Shota bowed deeply, footsteps quietly approached in response to his words.

Next appeared Masako, clad in a black formal kimono, and beside her stood Hans in a composed suit.

Masako’s gaze was soft, suffused with an air of serenity. Hans, on the other hand, looked around curiously, still playing the role of a strange foreigner.

Shota bowed to the two of them, while deep in his heart he thought—

(At last… we’ve made it this far.)

Outside, the shrine priests began their preparations, and through the paper sliding doors of the room, the solemn sound of gagaku music drifted gently inside.

Guided by its melody, Shota closed his eyes.

He was about to be united with Ryoko, and together they would live in a new world.

No matter how strange their days might be, no matter how supernatural—they could surely laugh and overcome it all, as long as they were together.

With that thought in his chest, Shota slowly enjoyed conversations with the attendees of the day.

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[Iwao & Shizuko]

Shizuko: “The other day, a man named Mr. Sakurai from Sunrise Global Trading came to apologize to your father. He said,
‘Forgive me, for I have brought thee naught but turmoil with the Sonokata-shiro affair. I beseech thee—let the noble house of Sasaki watch over the mountain henceforth.’
He actually put his head to the ground in apology. And as an apology for all the trouble, he offered an unbelievable amount of money to cover the management costs of the mountain for the time being.”

Iwao: “Haha! those Sunrise folks aren’t half bad. I hear they’ve got a new president now, and he’s someone who understands things, apparently. Well, of course, it’s all the result of my own virtue!”

Shota: “Haha, that’s true. The neighborhood association and the people at Sunrise recognized that Dad has been protecting the mountain all this time. As for the money… you should just take it. It’s not like having it will cause problems.” (Ryoko told me to keep it a secret that I became president until people naturally found out… well, that’s just like her, huh, lol.)

Iwao: “Ever since Ryoko-san came into our family, everything’s gone well! Honestly, Shota, you’ve brought home a fine wife! Next time she comes to visit, tell her I’ll show her my superhuman trick of ‘eating curry without using my hands!’”

Shizuko: “Ah yes, your father’s special skill—eating curry with chopsticks♪ The Indian guest at the neighborhood association was shocked, saying, ‘You don’t use your hands!’ If it’s soup curry with chopsticks, it’s a skill that matches Ryoko-san’s trick (drinking tea without using her hands)♡”

Shota: “……”

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[Yumi, Mark, Ren]

Mark: “G’day Shota, that bike P-chan is a ripper! Love the ventilated disk brake, automatic horizontal gyro sensor, and mate, Shota’s shout button is a top-notch feature, haha. I swapped the stuffed pumpkin for a croc head and now I’m riding it. Pretty ace, eh?”

(Oi, Shota! That P-chan’s amazing—ventilated disk brakes, automatic horizontal gyro sensor, and Shota’s shout button is the best! I replaced the pumpkin with a crocodile head and I’m riding it now. Cool, right?)

Yumi: “Mark’s remodeled P-chan even further and rides it to the vineyard every day. Recently, whenever he rides through town, elementary school kids follow along. P-chan is super popular.”

Ren: “I like crocodiles because they’re tasty~”

Shota: “At this point, it’s not Pumpkin-chan 🎃 No.1 (P-chan) anymore… it’s Crocodile 🐊 No.2…”

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[Hans]

Hans: "Shota! This is my first time in Tokyo. The toilets are free and have fountains, and there are vending machines everywhere. The girls are wearing super-short skirts! I'm totally Bikkuri-Dayo(surprised)—!”

Shota: “Mr. Hans, for your first time in Tokyo, your Japanese is awfully fluent😅 (sweat). Since Rhein Welt Asset has a Japan branch, I thought you’d be a regular visitor here!”

Hans: “Of course, I had someone else take care of everything for me, Shota! By the way—”

—Suddenly, Hans wrapped his arm around Shota’s shoulder and lowered his voice.

Hans: “Shota, I'm keen to check out Yoshiwara, the red light district. Show me around later..”

Shota: “Eh!? Yoshiwara… that’s… what would Ryoko say… But Yoshiwara, huh♡…” Shota grinned slightly.

“Yoshiwara is off limits, Hans.”

It was Masako who cut in.

Hants: “Shota! That's not good. Yoshihara is listed in Lonely Planet as a dangerous place. If Masako hadn't warned me, it would have been dangerous.”

Masako: “Hans, don’t try to cover it up. You’ll be punished later♡”

Shota: “(Mr. Hans Sempai… you really have it tough, don’t you…)” he thought, deeply sympathetic.

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[Masako]

Masako: “Shota-san, truly, congratulations. To think this day has finally come… even I am deeply moved♡”

Shota: “Mom Masako, I’ve always wanted to ask… since when did you know about me?”

Masako: “Fufu♡ That was… after I reunited with Ryoko when she was in high school. Some time later, at Heian Shrine in Kyoto, I foresaw you, the future Shota-san. I properly greeted you then, didn’t I? I said, ‘Take good care of Ryoko’♡” (See Episode 47)

Shota: “Eh, when I saw Ryoko-san’s past through that hormone that let me travel back? …Yes, Mom Masako, you did greet me then… Just what is future-seeing, really? It’s so mysterious.”

Masako: “The future is always a scenario that can be rewritten. At that time, I interfered with one of many possible futures. After that, at key points, I make small adjustments so events move toward that future. Remember when we met in Shinsekai, Osaka? That was one of them.”

Shota: “Ah, come to think of it—that fortune-teller with golden eyes? Just who was that person?” (See Episode 78, 79)

Masako: “Oh yes, I promised to tell you today, didn’t I. I don’t know if that person actually exists as a human. It’s more like… a guardian of time that appears whenever I interfere with the future. In Osaka’s Shinsekai, it was about ‘your meeting with Ryoko.’ At Hanayashiki in Tokyo, it was about ‘this very wedding today.’ They were points leading toward those futures.”

Shota: “Eh! A guardian of time? That fortune-teller was that dangerous!? But at Hanayashiki, Ryoko thoroughly ‘adjusted’ her though…”

—Masako lowered her voice.

Masako: “Even a guardian of time doesn’t stand a chance against Ryoko… Her hormone manipulation and telekinesis, depending on how they’re used, could surpass the military power of an entire nation. And, though it may sound strange coming from her mother… what’s truly dangerous is her personality. When it comes to you, Ryoko loses all restraint. So when I foresaw the futures where she didn’t meet you at twenty-eight, or where today’s wedding never happened, I trembled. Such a future must never come to pass…”

Shota: “Eh!? (What’s that supposed to mean? In that case… would I even still be alive!?)”

Masako: “That’s why… I’m so glad Ryoko can marry you like this. As long as she has you, she’ll be fine. Because you’ll accept everything about her♡”

Shota: “…Hahaha, that honestly just made me a little worried😅. …Please tell me one thing. Three years from now, after Ryoko and I are married, what will things be like?”

Masako: “Oh my? I feel like I once foresaw that… but I can’t remember. Ufufu♡ Maybe I’ve gone senile lately♡”

Shota: “Forgetting the future like senility… Mom Masako, you really are just like my beloved Ryoko in personality.”

Masako: “Fufu, if you like Ryoko’s personality that much, Shota-san, you’re quite the unusual one. But don’t fall for me just because we’re alike—Ryoko would kill you♡ …By the way, Shota-san, it’s been a while, but your hormone… it still has such an irresistible scent.”

—Saying that, Masako lightly brushed her fingertip along Shota’s cheek. Shota felt as if her touch brushed directly against his heart.

—And in the next instant, Shota’s body stiffened and he could no longer move. He floated softly a few inches above the floor, carried upright by Ryoko’s telekinesis, and was transported to the bridal waiting room.

Masako: “I carried this future together with Shota-kun all the way here, and yet Ryoko only let me touch him for a single second… she really is stingy. But since it’s her wedding day, I’ll let it slide♡”

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【Ryoko in a White Wedding Kimono】

—The door of the bridal waiting room opened on its own. Floating in, Shota was carried through the air—

And there she was, Ryoko, wrapped in pure white wedding kimono.

Ryoko: “Mama Masako really doesn’t leave me a moment’s peace. Shota-kun is mine.”

The moment Shota saw Ryoko in her white kimono, he lost all words.

That attire was more than mere tradition.

The pure white fabric, embroidered with delicate patterns, shimmered faintly in the light. From beneath the Tsunokakushi that veiled her hair, a dignified grace radiated.

(Tsunokakushi… not a Wataboshi…)

Ryoko glanced at him and smiled sweetly.

“See? The Tsunokakushi suits me better, doesn’t it♡”

Her figure was more beautiful than any actress, more divine than any princess of myth, and Shota’s heart was pierced in an instant.

Ryoko: “But you know, Shota-kun♡ On such an important day, just what were you thinking? You were so eager to go to Yoshiwara with Hans, huh. Hmm♪”

Shota: “N-no, absolutely not! I don’t know anything about Yoshiwara. That was only because Hans wanted to go.”

Ryoko: “You know lying doesn’t work on me. I felt that little grin of yours. Tonight… punishment confirmed♡”

Shota: “Hiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee!!”

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【The Procession and the Shinto Wedding Ceremony at Meiji Shrine】

At last, the solemn moment arrived—the bridal procession toward the Hōsaiden the worship hall.

Led by the Shinto priests, shrine maidens walked ahead, ringing bells softly. Following them, beneath a large scarlet umbrella, walked Ryoko and Shota. Behind them, the families of both households proceeded in a single file, treading quietly over the gravel path through the shrine grounds.

The fragrance of Sweet Olive drifted, and whenever the wind stirred the trees, light and shadow wavered and danced. Each time the sunlight filtered through the leaves and touched Ryoko’s white kimono, it shone as if she were clad in light itself.

Ryoko’s appearance, her hair bound with the Tsunokakushi, carried both dignified beauty and calm intensity, her every step imbued with a trace of the divine.

The worshippers gathered at the shrine instinctively stepped aside, some even pressing their hands together in reverence.

And so the procession entered the Hōsaiden hall. Amid solemn gagaku music, the San-san-kudo ritual (three-times-three exchange of nuptial cups) was performed, and vows were presented before the gods.

——In that moment, before their families and relatives, Shota and Ryoko were formally united as husband and wife.

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【A New Resolve in Marriage】

Ryoko: “Shota-kun, at our Okinawa wedding you vowed eternal love and submission, but today—what will you vow for me?”

Shota: “Eh, do the vows increase every time we have a wedding!?”

Ryoko: “Ufufu♡ But of course. My love is heavy, you know♡”

Shota: “Hmm, this isn’t so much words as it is a kind of resolve… but you know, we never actually made marriage rings. Since we’ve had a proper wedding now, how about we go and have them made?”

Ryoko: “Eh!? How did I never realize that until now? That I’d forgotten to put a ring on you… That’s like… not putting a collar on a pet dog—no, it’s like forgetting to put a nametag on something that’s mine… Shota-kun, this is an excellent suggestion. It requires immediate action♡”

Shota: “Ahaha—😅 (sweat), then when I put on the marriage ring, I’ll never take it off. That’s my resolve.”

Ryoko: “That’s only natural. Then if you ever take the ring off, I’ll put a ‘curse of crying when you can’t see me’ on you.”

Shota: “I-I’ll be fine! I love you that much, Ryoko, so I’ll never take it off!”

Ryoko: “Ufufu♡ Then as long as you’re wearing the ring, I’ll put another curse on you—‘the curse of kissing me three times a day♡’”

Shota: “W-wait, that’s basically a real cursed ring!!!”

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【Group Photo, and Then…】

The ceremony ended, and a group photo was taken in a special area of the shrine grounds.

With the vermilion-painted bridge as a backdrop, the relatives lined up, the air filled with a mixture of tension and relief. Smiles spread across their faces, yet there was still a solemn air as everyone gazed into the camera lens.

The one holding the camera was a woman in traditional dress, wielding professional equipment—a side profile that seemed oddly familiar.

“…Eh?” Ryoko let out a small voice. Shota’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Wait a second, aren’t you Miki-chan?”

Still holding the camera, the woman grinned.

“Hehe, turns out there’s some mighty close Isekai worlds ‘round here. Ah finally found ya, Ryoko, ma’am, an’ Shota-senpai♡”

Standing there was Miki Endo. She winked at Ryoko and Shota.

Shota: “Why are you here…!?”

Miki: “Ryoko, ma’am, ya always had the upper hand on me, so think of this as a lil’ payback. ‘Member when ya asked me to do some snoopin’ ‘round your place? You let me see them Rules for Livin’ with Ryoko (see Episode 23). You do love surprises, don’tcha, Ryoko, ma’am♪”

Ryoko: “Ufufu♡ As expected of a professional, Miki-chan♪ Looks like you and I are going to have a long relationship♡”

♢The End♢

☆☆☆ Ryoko and Shota’s story ends here. To everyone who has read this far, and to the beloved characters—thank you so much for staying with us through this long journey. ☆☆☆