Chapter 612: Memory in Karuizawa 5
Church.
When this one word came out of his mouth, it caused turbulence in their heart.
Unlike Roberta, since she only wanted to visit the church for religious reasons, the three women had strange expectations within their hearts.
Church had always been the favorite for a woman to get married.
It might be strange, but this was how this country was.
After all, instead of kimono, most women wanted to wear a gown like a princess.
Well, many women still wanted to wear kimonos when they married.
However, while wearing a gown was one of the reasons many would choose the church as a place to marry was that it was cheap.
Marriage ceremony in this country wasn’t cheap.
One should pay at least four million yen for the marriage ceremony.
However, if they did the marriage on the shrine, it could be tens of times even more expensive.
Crazy, right?
This was the reason why not many people married in this country.
Even if they were married, they might not have had a ceremony and only signed the marriage form to the government. That way, they could save money since they didn’t have to prepare for the ceremony.
Yet, without a doubt, the three women in front of him wanted to have a marriage ceremony, especially in the church, since it was more romantic. Naturally, it was subjective and their bias.
Shishio might not think too much when he said this, but it somehow caused the heart of three women to tremble.
They weren’t young anymore. They were at the age where it was normal for them to have a family, especially Hiratsuka. It was natural for them to be sensitive in this matter.
“…Why?” Hiratsuka looked at Shishio, and her eyes were almost bloodshot.
“…..”
Shishio looked at Hiratsuka for a moment and wondered why she reacted so much, but somehow he understood and said, “Roberta wants to visit the church.”
“…That’s all?” Hiratsuka asked after a moment of pause.
“That’s all.”
Shishio nodded since even if he planned to marry them, it was impossible for him to do so now. His situation aside, the law didn’t allow a man under 18 to marry. It was illegal, and they needed to wait for a few years.
Even so, he wasn’t sure whether it was possible since polygamy was illegal in this country.
“Well, why not?” Hiratsuka nodded, but her expression was strangely calm, too calm, which was almost scary.
On the other hand, Ayaka and Hina could only smile before they talked about something different. While they somehow could understand Hiratsuka’s feeling, their feeling wasn’t as intense as Hiratsuka’s. They were still in their 20s, after all, unlike Hiratsuka, who was almost in her 30.
However, their plan to visit the church didn’t change, and they decided to visit it later after they had prepared.
Still, Shishio looked at Hiratsuka for a moment and made up his mind somehow. After all, he must admit Hiratsuka was quite frightening now.
Anyway, after they finished their breakfast and finished their preparation, they went out to visit the church.
The west popularized Karuizawa, so it was natural for it to have more influence from the west.
The church in this town was extremely popular, and many wealthy people married in the church in this town.
This time, their destination was one of those churches.
They entered the forest and saw the trees become denser and denser, like the sea of trees. The branches and leaves covered the sky, but a few lights fell between those small gaps.
Deep in the forest, there was a triangle-like shape of a wooden church.
The massive triangular roof hangs down to the ground on both sides, like an elf hut in a fairy tale.
While there was some distance, with his excellent hearing, Shishio could hear the sound of the gentle harp.
This was Karuizawa Kogen Church.
“Can you tell me what you’re thinking now?”
Shishio held Hiratsuka’s hand and asked this question.
The others somehow read the mood and played around, watching the scenery curiously.
“Can you guess?” Hiratsuka asked depressedly.
“I can guess.”
“Then, what do you think I am thinking?” Hiratsuka asked while staring at Shishio.
“You want me to marry you,” Shishio said and didn’t look away from him.
“So…?” Her gaze was scorching hot, wondering what he was going to say.
While Shishio had the answer in his heart, he must admit the desire of a woman in her 30 to marry was scary. Yet he also had to sigh, wondering why he wasn’t born earlier or if he was slightly older, so he wouldn’t trouble her like this.
He knew that while they were happy with their relationship, she also had some worries in his heart.
Unlike him, who could change his woman or seduce another woman, he was the only one for her. Her future was with him, and she wanted him to give a proper answer about what he would do with their future.
“I love you, so I will marry you.”
He didn’t hesitate to give her this answer. He wouldn’t be like Hina’s previous boyfriend, who promised to marry her, but gave many excuses, so in the end, nothing happened.
He had decided to make her his woman, so he would take responsibility for her.
When they were together, he wanted her for the rest of his life.
Still, he knew that his answer was unsatisfactory since he didn’t have evidence or proof that he would really marry her.
However…
“That’s good.”
Unexpectedly, she smiled, and her smile was so pure.
“…You’re not going to ask when?” Shishio asked in surprise since he thought this woman would pressure him and ask him when he was going to marry her.
“I believe in you.”
Her answer was as simple as that.
“Also, your age isn’t legal yet.”
“…..”
Shishio wasn’t sure what to say at that moment.
“You have said that you will marry me, so that’s it. I will believe in you and wait,” Hiratsuka said calmly and held his hand firmly.
“…..”
While he was the man in this relationship and he was always the one who won at night, he must admit that this woman was so handsome at this moment.
Still, when Hina, Roberta, and Ayaka could see the relationship between them had softened, they also joined them, and their mood returned to how it used to be. They also continued to talk about this church, which was full of history.
Previously, Karuizawa Kogen Church was built in 1921 as a venue for liberal arts courses in Karuizawa. Therefore, the name of the previous venue could still be seen in the writing at the entrance to the church.
Hoshino Yugakudo.
Those words were written clearly in kanji carving at the entrance.
When they were about to enter, a female cleric in a robe at the door approached them and said, “There is a performance held in the church. If you don’t mind, please come in and listen to it for a while.”
“What do you think?” Shishio looked at everyone.
“Go in.”
They didn’t expect to see a performance in the church, so they entered without hesitation.
After thanking the cleric, Shishio pushed open the door, and while it was hard to describe, he felt that he was really in the church when he saw the inside.
There were rows of long wooden chairs on both sides, on which some people were sparsely seated.
Some of them were at the front and back and sat quite casually.
At the end of the church, a huge triangular glass window showed a clear view of everything.
Behind the huge transparent glass, there were lush trees, like a lively painting.
Light came in from the glass windows and illuminated the open bible on the wooden table, creating an atmosphere of holiness.
In front of the wooden table with a huge bible, a choice was singing the gospel, accompanied by harps and pipe organs.
He smelled a faint aroma, a smell unique from the wooden buildings.
When they entered, the people inside turned their attention toward them for a while, especially the women inside.
Now he only realized that most of the people inside were women. They were either a student or a housewife, and they were in the middle of vacation. They stared at Shishio for a while before they gazed over the four women beside him before they looked away reluctantly.
‘Girls?’
Shishio felt that his women were too fierce, but he didn’t say anything and chose an empty chair, so they could sit together.
The performance was okay.
It wasn’t that special, but maybe because it was played inside the church, it felt special for some reason. The belief and how engrossed the performers in the choirs made everything seem sacred.
He, who sat in the middle, between Hiratsuka and Roberta, glanced over his women and saw they were looking at the performance without looking away, especially Roberta. However, if he was asked whether he wanted to visit this place or not, he didn’t really want to.
This was a sacred place, but he felt he was full of sin.
While he had never thought much about how much sin he had collected, he didn’t want to remember them, but since he was inside this church, he couldn’t help but recall his life in Tokyo until now.
If he had to say his life could definitely be made into a novel, and he must admit many of his experiences were too outlandish for one to experience in their life.
If possible, he wanted to have a calm and without any up-and-down life.
He wanted to make such a prayer, considering he was in the church and all.
‘I hope that I can have a calm life.’
He made such a wish and hoped that wish would be granted.
However, suddenly a screeching sound, which caused an uncomfortable feeling, was heard.
Everyone closed their ears and frowned at this noise.
When they wondered where the source of this voice came from, they saw the string of the violin was broken, and the choir stopped.
“….”
Everyone was stunned, and the choir also stopped because of this incident.
“Are they alright?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will they continue?”
Somehow the murmur began, but Shishio didn’t have time to hear any of that since he let out a long sigh, wondering whether his wish couldn’t be granted. If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.