Marriage was a tradition in this city where husband and wife didn't attend. The bridegroom's guardian and the bride's guardian would tie the bond and hold the marriage vows in a separate location. It was also tradition for the ceremony to be held first thing in the morning. And the Walking Day would come a few hours after that. All the bride and groom's families and friends would line up on the roadside where the bride and groom would walk. Everyone would bless the union with prayers and flowers and at the same time witness the completion of the marriage.

The same thing happened for Armad and Nostalgia. First thing in the morning, the guardians arrived at the shrine. King Bihanzin served as Armad's guardian and an old man from Nostalgia's maternal side served as her guardian. There were witnesses including Ilias, Spoon, Inara, and all the 31 kings of the kingdom and siblings of the princess.

The old man, Hilsu, began by saying, "I, the guardian of the bride, give my daughter's hand in marriage for a dowry of ten thousand years of pol."

King Bihanzin replied with a smile, "I, Bihanzin, accepted your daughter's hand in marriage for my son Armad based on a dowry of ten thousand years."

Bihanzin introduced his djinn who brought the pol forward in a small metal jar and gave it to Elder Hilsu. The marriage was then solemnized between princess Nostalgia and Armad.

Early in the morning, the people of the city lined up on the roadside from the palace to the end of the metropolitan area. It was the Walking Day and the groom must piggyback his bride around the city for everyone to bless them.

Inside the palace, Armad was having a hard time dealing with a group of maids. They insisted on putting powder on his face, pretending like it was tradition but he knew better. Though his struggle didn't last long as the young women ganged up on him, including Nostalgia, and 'held him down'. In the end, there was nothing he could do about it.

After everything was done, the two looked perfect.

Nostalgia wore a mysteriously colored robe. At first glance, the robe would appear white and almost transparent, but as you got closer, it would turn pink. When the sun shone, it set back to red. If the moonlight shone, it turned blue. In addition to beauty and elegance, this dress was the only one of its kind in the whole world. Even the rulers of the first world, when they looked at Nostalgia in this state, would be overwhelmed by her beauty. Nostalgia was known to have magical underwear that hid her natural skin glow, but on this day, she wore no mask. It was a day when the world should see her beauty and light. For she was Nostalgia, the most beautiful.

The bright light from her body and the mixed color of the robe looked ethereal. Even Armad began to think she wasn't the princess he knew. She had changed into the daughter of a King. On that day, the whole town of Jekis looked different. As if it had been affected by the princess' unique beauty. The smell coming from her body was just too pleasant it could knock any man out. She already smelled nice, but today, over 7,000 perfumes had been used on her.

Her hair was untied and it lay on her back, shining like lightning. Ver voluptuous figure was almost busting out of the dress.

'Is she even human anymore?'

The world's most glorious beauty was revealed on that day. Armad managed to prevent himself from fainting by thinking about his sword.

On his part, Armad was dressed in a grey costume. The robe was adorned with special feathery material that shone like gold. He didn't change much but his eyes were full of joy and happiness. His pants were the color of his shirt, but the feathers on them looked slightly pale in comparison to the golden feathers on the robe. It was extravagantly expensive even from lay man's perspective.

He took hold of the princess' hand and they walked to the exit door. A hundred maids follow them behind in order, but they all pale in comparison to the bride. Armad lowered his height and bent down a little so the princess could climb onto his back. As is customary in this country, Armad must carry his bride on his back and go around the city for the people to see and bless them. Even the princess wasn't exempted from it.

The princess' dress was a little loose around her legs to allow her to ride on Armad's back easily. The queen-length long pants that covered her legs were specially made to accommodate the process. The only thing left was to take the first step and climb onto Armad's back. Surprisingly, Nostalgia was feeling embarrassed about the whole thing that she couldn't lift her legs.

Armad, who didn't share their custom, should be even more embarrassed, but he didn't feel like backing out now. If this was the situation then maybe it was time to keep his vanity aside and piggyback the beauty. Besides, what idiot would shy away from piggybacking an otherworldly princess?

Having expected the delay, some of the maids there moved closer to Nostalgia to put her on Armad's back, but then they realized she was shedding tears. They were terrified for a moment. The princess' tears were about to ruin the make-up they spent the previous night making. They quickly went to work, cleaning the tears and putting on more make-up, all the while begging for the princess to stop crying.

In the end, Armad got tired of it all and took everything in his hands. He grabbed the princess and threw her on his back, opened the door, and stepped out. He didn't even have the time to appreciate the soft and warm feeling on his back before the sunlight shone on their eyes and the shouts of the people followed. Unprepared, Nostalgia swallowed her tears and hid behind Armad like a little girl while he began to walk forward. It was a historic day for both of them.

The first people they met were King Bihanzin, Hasanu, and Kiru. Each of them held a pink flower. Armad stood in front of them and they gave him the flowers. He took them with a smile and a slight bow and handed them over to Nostalgia. Then he continued on the narrow path that the people had created for them. Everyone wanted to bring Armad a flower but it was too much, Armad just smiled and waved at them happily. Nostalgia hid behind Armad, embarrassed. From time to time, her tears would touch his back and he would feel a bit bad for the whole tradition thing.

Armad walked toward Ilias and Spoon. He had to stop and collect flowers from them. Spoon insisted on giving him one more flower. Armad couldn't reject the burly man.

An hour passed as Armad slowly passed through the town. The crowd was nothing but cheers and music. They threw "flowers" to congratulate Armad and his bride. Of course, Armad, at first, thought this tradition was nonsense and only agreed to it because of Nostalgia, but he'd somehow started to enjoy the whole thing. Gradually, he and Nostalgia relaxed and began to talk to each other as they walked.

Some people waved at them, some knelt to show their devotion, and some even cried at the sheer beauty that made them want to worship the princess. Anyone who saw the glorious face and beauty of the princess would show their devotion. And the festival continued.

***

Meanwhile, in another part of the world, King Deniz Iluru and his army were still debating on how to deal with Armad. The boy must die, they all agreed on that. However, everyone had different ideas on how to do it.

Then...

Uznu Ururu suddenly appeared. He walked through the door with a predator's smile. All eyes turned to him.

What could bring the black-eyed man to this meeting, uninvited?