The Goddess Needs A Break!

Returning home from school, Takei and Akari leisurely walked home in the slightly cool spring weather.

It was an incredibly normal day at school, without any irregularities.

Besides the casual teasing from Akari, Takei had gotten used to the more energetic life that he had been experiencing.

"Hey! The beautiful couple over there!"

Walking down a busy street, they were called out to by a spokesperson for a marriage photo shoot company.

Both the ex-loner and the goddess stopped in their tracks to see what the spokesperson had to say.

"What is it?" Takei asked in a slightly confused tone.

As if expecting the couple's confusion, the spokeslady explained the situation in a careful and relaxed way.

"Our bride and groom called out last second during their marriage photo shoot. Since we really need a couple for our advertisements, we were hoping that you were interested in a free photo shoot? We'll provide all of the clothing, for free of course."

Essentially, they were being offered a free photo shoot with everything included in the package. All that they had to do was just take a couple photos for the company, and then they could do anything they want.

Feeling that this situation was a bit troublesome, Takei decided to decline.

"We're fi-"

"We'll do it!"

Interrupting his refusal, Akari voiced her affirmations.

Takei looked at Akari and found an expectant gaze awaiting him. It seemed that she really wanted to do this.

From his past experiences, he could tell that there was no way of changing her mind. He was just an apostle after all.

"Fine, we'll do it."

"Woohoo!"

After Takei gave his confirmation, Akari was beyond elated.

"That's wonderful, please follow me."

The spokeslady urged them to come with her through the front entrance.

Walking through the studio, Takei could tell that this place was very professional and high quality.

He was seriously confused as to why the him of the recent past tried to refuse this offer.

It was obvious that this was a very prestigious place to go to.

"Alright, Ichirou. Go help fit this young man into his clothes. I'll go do the same for madam."

The spokeslady instructed the well-built young man named Ichirou to go help Takei out with his clothes fitting,

Leaving the area, Akari and the spokeslady left to go into another room where the ladies' dressing room was.

"You have a cute girlfriend."

Ichirou bluntly told Takei that Akari was a big catch.

He looked like someone who was a natural when it came to girls, due to his relaxed demeanor.

"She's not my girlfriend."

Instead of accepting his compliment, Takei responded with a curt and brief answer.

Remembering Akari's expressions when she was walking with Takei, Ichirou could only sigh at the sheer denseness that she had to fight.

"That poor girl..."

Ichirou just shook his head in disbelief and motioned Takei to follow him.

Entering the men's dressing room, Takei was amazed at the sheer amount of different clothing options.

There were many tuxedos, suits, and many other formal attires to choose from. As well as the many different varying sizes, there were many different varying colors as well. Some of the outfits had an outlandish color style and the rest had normal patterns.

"We're lucky that the previous groom had a similar build to you."

Ichirou mentioned that the preceding groom was luckily built similar to Takei.

They both had an average height and build, so it wasn't completely improbable.

Pointing towards a specific outfit, Ichirou nodded to Takei.

It seemed that his attire today would be a standard tuxedo that was widespread for weddings.

Takei walked up to the tuxedo and examined it. It seemed to call his name due to the sheer mediocrity of it. The tuxedo wasn't bad by all means, but compared to more luxurious ones, it stood no chance.

Feeling a sense of kinship, an understanding smile appeared on his face.

"Alright, let's do it."

Once Takei gave his confirmation, Ichirou nodded and began to dress him.

Since tuxedos were just simply layers of clothing, it took much quicker than a full-on wedding dress that Akari was going to wear.

After a few minutes of getting dressed and making sure that every detail was perfect, Takei was ready to present himself.

Ichirou led him to a studio room with a white backdrop that helped emphasize the atmosphere of a wedding happening.

Receiving a text on his phone, Ichirou notified Takei that Akari would be here soon.

Slightly nervous at the thought of the events that were about to unfold, Takei gulped anxiously.

A few moments later, the doors to the studio opened.

Standing in the entrance was the person he was so anxiously waiting for.

Akari stood in an enormous frilly white gown with a veil that hid her face. There was some light shining in from an outside window from the hallway which resulted in an angelic light being cast over Akari.

The spitting image of a real goddess left Takei in shock. He was truly entranced by the beautiful girl standing in front of him.

"Goddess..."

Takei murmured to himself as he saw the peak of divinity grace him with her presence.

Ichirou chuckled at the situation and suggested that Takei take control of the situation.

"It's a man's duty to praise pretty girls."

Agreeing with his sentiments, Takei decided to take his advice.

"Akari, you look strikingly beautiful. It suits you very well."

As a result of Takei's praise, Akari's expression became a half-embarrassed, half-pleased expression.

"Thank you so much. You look very handsome as well..." Akari meekly said. "Please don't show this look to other girls."

As fast as her praise was, her jealousy came even faster.

"Don't worry, you're the only one I would show this to."

"!"

Unknowingly, Takei had told Akari that he would only show her his wedding clothes. Once again, an accidental marriage vow was made.

Smiling warmly at the situation, Ichirou and the spokeslady nudged Takei and Akari together.

Now that they were situated in the picture frame perfectly, the photo shoot finally began.

They ended up doing many poses and spent well over half an hour on just the first initial photos.

For the last photo, Takei and Akari were instructed to do the "seal the vow with a kiss" pose. They would have to lock hands and pretend to kiss under Akari's veil.

Embarrassed as they were, they didn't want to let the photographers down after Takei and Akari had received a free photography session from them.

"Alright, let's do it."

"O-okay..."

Takei steeled his will and Akari followed along as a result.

Locking hands with each other, they were inching their faces closer and closer.

It seemed that they would inevitably kiss. Slowly, but surely, the fated reality came closer to fruition.

"Stop! That's good enough."

Well, that was until Ichirou had stopped the two before it happened.

He enjoyed seeing a blossoming romance, but he wanted it to happen naturally and not under circumstances.

The two immediately retracted from each other and then averted their gazes in an attempt to hide the embarrassment that was evident on their faces.

On that day, both of them went home with a red-stained face that seemed to refuse to disappear.

---

Akari's Final Affection Meter: 39 -> 43%

Hm, this is practice for the actual wedding, isn't it?

Sugar-san: Yes, it is.

Serious-san: Undoubtedly... Wait, what am I saying?!