My Sex Friend Is My Childhood Friend? - 39

Chapter 39: Mahiru, Dressed as a Bride

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

It seemed they wanted to start the photoshoot immediately.

After taking a shower, we headed straight to the venue. The venue was decorated just like a real wedding ceremony. Although it was a Shinto-style wedding, it was also arranged so a reception could be held at the same time, giving the place a blend of Japanese and Western styles.

Plates and flowers lined the tables, and over a dozen staff members and makeup artists bustled about. Indeed. We certainly couldn’t get cold feet after coming here now. 

After a short while, someone from the wardrobe team arrived. The groom’s outfit was a formal montsuki hakama. It had five crests on it. Normally, you’d use your own family crest, but in this case, the crest belonged to the founding family of the inn.

As I listened to an explanation about how the photos would be handled and other precautions, I was dressed in a black montsuki haori hakama. Then Mahiru appeared. There was an audible “Whoa” from the male staff. When our eyes met, Mahiru gave me a bright smile.

Her hair color had been toned down for the shoot, and in that moment, the image of Mahiru overlapped with Maya in my mind.

Mahiru. No—Maya Hatsuharu. She looked so beautiful, as if I was in a fleeting dream.

She wore a black iro-uchikake. From the hem to the cuffs, countless cranes flew upward. Each one seemed to be rising along golden morning light breaking through stormy clouds, heading toward the bride’s chest in the design.

Her hair was pinned up, adorned with orchid hair ornaments. Her makeup, done by professionals, was both seductive and innocent—perfectly capturing Mahiru’s unique charm. The moment I saw her, I accidentally dropped my fan. It felt like I had fallen in love all over again. Seeing my reaction, Mahiru giggled softly.

Whoever gets to marry her must truly be the luckiest man alive.

From there, we followed the staff’s directions, posed for pictures, did the traditional first-bite using kaiseki cuisine for the reception shots, and the photoshoot ended smoothly. When it wrapped up, I thought that was the end—but the staff suddenly parted like Moses parting the sea, creating a flower-lined aisle.

Everyone turned to us and began waving. When I asked Mahiru what was going on, she also shrugged. 

“I don’t know.” 

Apparently, the Okami-san had asked her, “Have you had a wedding ceremony yet?” and she replied, “We haven’t.” Then the Okami-san stepped forward and began to speak.

“Everyone, these two haven’t actually had a wedding ceremony yet. It’s just an informal celebration, but shall we take this opportunity to hold one right here? We’d love for you all to attend. We’ve prepared a banquet for the occasion and drinks are all-you-can-drink!!”

A round of applause burst forth from the staff. Apparently, they’d mistaken us for a couple who’d had a quiet, low-key wedding.

I mean, technically… We’re just friends with benefits.

But it was too late to correct that now, and the ceremony began immediately. Just like earlier, Mahiru and I walked side by side toward the altar. The assistant manager, dressed in ceremonial hakama for the shoot, took on the role of the priest and waved a sakaki branch adorned with sacred paper streamers as he began to chant the purification prayer.

“Harai tamae, kiyome tamae…”

Mahiru and I bowed our heads before the altar and listened. When everyone rose, the assistant manager began to solemnly recite the wedding norito (Shinto prayer).

“Humbly, we stand before the great deity of this sacred shrine…”

He then stopped the waving of the sakaki and glanced over at the okami-san.

“Normally, this is where we would perform the san-san-kudo and the exchange of tokens, but…”

Ah.

I rummaged through the nearby bag.

It should be in here… Found it.

I pulled it from the pouch, opened the box, and returned to the altar. I placed my left hand under Mahiru’s left wrist and asked her to turn her hand so the back was facing up. Then I slid a ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand.

I had come up with the idea during the school festival and had planned to give it to her at some point during this trip. For my salary level, I really gave it my best. The platinum ring shone a faint bluish-white on Mahiru’s finger.

Mahiru widened her eyes and stared at her left hand in surprise, then gently closed her eyes and placed both hands over her chest. Without even wiping her tears, she quietly began to cry.

Her kimono’s going to get stained…

When I looked toward the Okami-san, she shook her head slightly, as if she was trying to reassure me, “Don’t worry about it.” A photographer who had been watching captured several photos of the moment.

Maybe they’ll give us those shots as a gift?

After that, they served food, and what began as a photoshoot turned into a full-blown reception-style celebration. When the party was in full swing, the Okami-san came over to greet us. I thanked her for everything she had done for us. She waved her hand as if to say, “Think nothing of it,” then continued speaking while seated formally in seiza.

“Thank you very much for today. Please consider this banquet part of our thanks. Takasaki-sama declined the honorarium, so at the very least, please accept this.”

With that, the Okami-san handed me a voucher for a free stay at the inn (Jade Pavilion).

Then she leaned in and whispered in my ear.

“…And when you do have a real wedding, please consider having it here. We’ll offer you a generous discount.”

She smiled warmly as she said it.

As for Mahiru, she was smiling from ear to ear while rubbing her ring happily. She then said. 

“This is just a pretend wedding reception and even if we don’t have a real priest with us, but we actually managed to have a wedding…”, 

Hearing that, the Okami-san winked.

“Oh, our assistant manager actually has official credentials as a Shinto priest. So yes, it was informal, but what you just had was a real Shinto wedding ceremony.”

What? Did we… Did we just make vows in front of the gods? If I ever betray Mahiru, I feel like I’ll seriously be punished by the heaven.

(Epilogue)

About a month later, the completed pamphlet was sent to us. The cover didn’t feature any of the posed shots—it was a commemorative photo taken later, showing Mahiru holding her hand to the ring and crying.

A letter from the Okami-san was enclosed:

『Her expression was so beautiful and full of emotion that we decided to use it as the cover. There are several other commemorative photos as well, so please, feel free to have a look.』

I see… As expected of the Okami-san of a long-standing inn. She’s really clever.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー