New Side Quest: Marriage

"So..."

Noah spoke casually as he helped Bell-mère arrange the tableware one by one. "What could possibly be so important that you had to save money for a full three years..."

"Quit playing dumb!"

Those words were like a fuse igniting a powder keg. The chestnut-haired girl with the ponytail suddenly exploded, grabbing both his cheeks and snarling:

"Marriage! Marriage! I've been saving for the wedding! We should have gotten married ages ago, you bastard!"

The entire hall fell silent.

Swish, swish, swish. Every diner nearby turned to stare. Noah hurriedly broke free from Bell-mère, stood up, and awkwardly pressed both hands downward.

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding. Everyone keep eating, keep drinking, don't mind us..."

Once the spectators turned back around, he sat down and looked at Bell-mère miserably.

"Could you keep it down? The way you shouted made it sound like we're holding the wedding tomorrow..."

"Then give me a specific date!"

Bell-mère was clearly getting emotional. She said unhappily, "I asked you in the first letter I sent half a year ago, but you kept dodging the question and refusing to answer me properly..."

"You never promised we'd get married, did you? Back then, you only said that to coax me down when we were kids—"

"Hm?"

Seeing Bell-mère's face suddenly turn cold, Noah choked up and wisely swallowed the words "just a joke." Instead, he sighed faintly.

"We're definitely getting married someday, Bell-mère. But don't you think we're a little too young to be talking about this now?"

"Too young?"

The girl snorted and stared straight into Noah's eyes.

"After the New Year, we'll both be twenty! That's the perfect age to get married! Don't forget, Aunt Tulip and Captain were married at this age too!"

"..."

For a moment, Noah did not know how to argue back.

Their