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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 447: Princess of the Sun (4)
Marriage.
Its official term in the universe is the "Consent Ritual."
It’s a necessary process to have a union recognized by the Family Court—one that Jiseon and Jeonggu had undergone in the past.
And Yeongwoo had used that very ritual to invite countless villains as guests and extorted enormous congratulatory money.
So to not hold a wedding ceremony now?
‘Wait, are you telling me you're passing up the chance to extort money from the stars?’
That’s essentially the same as burying hundreds of billions—no, possibly even more money—straight into the ground.
Not to mention, Parina is a daughter of the sun, one of the highest-ranking stars.
If she were to get married…
‘Of course all the planets would show up, and most of the stars from across the universe would flock in too.’
But that might all be meaningless now.
“Wait, don’t you need the Consent Ritual for a marriage to be official? How do you expect to forge a pact without a ceremony?”
Yeongwoo asked, based on the universal knowledge he had acquired so far. In response, Parina flicked her dark scales.
『You want me to broadcast to the entire universe that I'm taking you as my partner? I'd rather die than do that.』
There was no doubt this was her genuine feeling.
Still, whether she liked it or not, didn’t the planetary ship require them to get married in order to function?
So Yeongwoo tried to summon Kubu to ask an administrative question.
“Kubu! Administrator, please come out!”
Earth glanced up briefly and then answered in Kubu's stead.
『This is planetary territory. Your administrator cannot enter. Of course, if you threaten me, I’d be forced to lift the restriction, but there’s no need for that.』
“What? Why not?”
『Because I already know the answer to your question.』
Then Earth turned its gaze to the sky.
『You’ve experienced a planetary audit, haven’t you? I’m talking about the Planetary Court.』
“Right…”
The Planetary Court.
A powerful institution that commands level-4 beings for planetary evaluations under interstellar law.
Yeongwoo had only seen them handle planetary promotions, but it was clear they were responsible for far more.
“But why the Planetary Court?”
『You’re surprisingly slow on the uptake for this. If there’s a Planetary Court, what else would there be?』
“Oh.”
Yeongwoo realized belatedly.
“There must be a Stellar Court. So do stellar marriages fall under their jurisdiction?”
『Unless it’s a marriage to form a new house, the Stellar Court holds greater authority. In other words…』
Earth glanced subtly at Princess Parina.
Then delivered a line that essentially sided with her.
『A wedding ceremony is not mandatory to marry a star.』
“What?”
『Even the Stellar Court finds it difficult to exercise authority over stars, so it grants them significant autonomy.』
“…Okay, that actually makes some sense.”
Since it was such a profoundly “cosmic” reason, Yeongwoo couldn’t help but chuckle.
Put simply, the stars were so powerful that not even their own courts could restrain them.
Planets only had a prestige level of 30 or 40 at most, but stars could easily exceed level 60—true heavyweights.
‘So even universal institutions have limits to their power.’
Another cosmic truth learned.
And it made his heart race.
‘So in this universe, if you’re strong enough, you can just tell the courts to get lost?’
And the person who lived exactly like that—was Chairman Dogo.
His life must be filled with moments like bashing lawmakers to death in intergalactic hearings and browbeating king of ten thousand demons.
‘A true King of Destruction.’
Of course, for Yeongwoo—who had only recently become a “major cosmic ant”—the priority was solving his immediate problem.
“Wait, so we really don’t need a wedding? But we still need to form the pact, right?”
Earth responded with a slightly troubled expression, cautiously answering.
This was approaching territory that even it wasn’t sure it should comment on.
『Marriage ultimately requires approval and guarantees from both families. So the way stars form pacts is…』
At that moment, the Sun, who had been looking at his daughter with a hint of pity, continued in Earth’s stead.
『With the guarantees of myself, Proxima, and those who created you, it will suffice.』
Then the Sun pointed a finger at Yeongwoo.
『However, all guarantors and the participants of the pact must be gathered in one place. So choose an appropriate time and location. That much you can handle, can't you?』
Simply put, the pact would be handled at the equivalent of a formal meeting between families.
And he would need the approval of another star—Proxima—whom he had yet to meet.
“Then how about right now? Earth’s already been converted into a planetary ship, so time is of the essence.”
This time, Earth was the one to stop him.
『We won’t receive the results of the planetary promotion until tomorrow morning. So the best time for the mass transition would be right after the promotion is finalized.』
Meanwhile, outside the office, a “grand reset service” was beginning due to the reset process.
Put another way, it was nearly time to pay taxes.
『And we must report this to Proxima as well. He’s also a star, and a member of the Centauri brothers.』
Indeed, Yeongwoo couldn’t just barge in and demand marriage approval from the man who would soon be his father-in-law.
He had to concede the point.
“But who knows what kind of hellish events might happen tomorrow… it’s a variable.”
Yeongwoo tried to peer into the future with a vague gaze, but of course, nothing came to mind.
“Very well, then. Let’s meet tomorrow at 2 PM, Earth time, at the Grand Hall in Metal Seoul.”
『Good. I’ll bring Proxima with me on that day.』
Thus, the meeting to substitute for a wedding ceremony was officially scheduled.
And the planets that had been anxiously hanging close to Earth’s office began to brighten with hope.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Because once those two formed their marriage pact, the planetary ship filled with everyone's dreams could finally set sail.
『Voltu.』
The Sun called the true name of Jupiter, and the one-armed planet Voltu quickly dropped to one knee.
『Yes, Moro. Your command?』
『Go to Centauri immediately and relay what you saw and felt to my husband.』
What you saw and felt—a phrase loaded with meaning.
『Also, tell him this caught my interest. Then you’ll likely gain the favor of the other two as well.』
At that, Yeongwoo muttered to himself without even realizing it.
“The other two…?”
Then Earth leaned in and spoke in a very low voice.
『She means the other two of the Centauri brothers. Their temperaments are… formidable.』
Since Earth was merely a planet, it had to speak very indirectly. But even so, saying “formidable temperaments” practically meant they were stellar trash.
‘Oh… are they some real cosmic delinquents?’
Triple star system, Centauri.
Perhaps the reason the high-class star Sun married the weakest youngest of the three was also related to that “temperament.”
And meanwhile, Jupiter, following Moro’s command, turned into a streak of light and vanished.
It had begun its journey toward Centauri, as instructed.
『By tomorrow, many things will be decided. You creature, go and deliver this astonishing news to your parents as well.』
As Moro said this and swept the air once, the planets gathered there knelt one by one in respect.
They were preparing to leave.
Then, in order of mass, they were enveloped in light.
Paaaah!
“So, does this mean I should go too now?”
Yeongwoo asked as he watched the planets disappear quickly.
Earth, now kneeling, spoke quietly.
『This is our planet, after all. We must first see the guest off.』
Then Earth’s forehead touched the ground.
『We committed a great discourtesy today. Please forgive us.』
From atop the throne, the Sun looked down at Earth.
『You’ve become truly shameless over time. I can’t even imagine what kind of "discourtesies" you’ll commit next.』
Then the Sun turned its gaze to Yeongwoo.
『Creature, make sure you stay alive until tomorrow.』
This was essentially saying that once the marriage was complete and the Earth-ship was whole, the Sun no longer cared whether he lived or died.
After all, once that happened, ownership of the Earth-ship would be split in half, making things easier for the solar system.
Yet Yeongwoo, unfazed, replied:
“Tomorrow will be the last time you’ll be able to locate us by coordinates.”
Of course, the Sun, being practically one with the Earth-ship, would still be able to locate them easily.
“In any case, safe travels. I’m excited to see both families stand face to face tomorrow.”
The respectable family of the Sun, and the lawless bandit gang called Renaissance.
Frankly, if not for the planetary ship, the two families would have never even met, let alone united.
『Let’s go now.』
With that, the Sun sent a return signal to her daughter and began to shine in pure white.
Swaaah!
Following her mother, Parina also emitted a bright light and let out a long roar.
—Kyaaaaah!
As the echo of the roar faded, her massive body vanished cleanly from Earth’s office.
Pop!
At last, most of the troublemakers who had wrecked Earth’s private space had disappeared.
And now, what remained—
『…….』
Was the biggest problem of all: Jeong Yeongwoo07.
『You, too, should disappear from my sight now. I need to clean this place up.』
As Earth looked blankly at the wrecked office and spoke, Yeongwoo responded with a troubled expression.
“That’s the hard part.”
『It’s not something you can fix by worrying about it. I’ll just—』
“No, I mean my parents.”
『What?』
“How much of what happened here should I even explain? Either way, I need to make them accept this new marriage somehow.”
Were Jiseon and Jeonggu really ready to accept stars as in-laws?
They hadn’t even come to terms with his current marriage yet.
As Yeongwoo rubbed his forehead with a pained look, Earth touched the ashes on the ground and said:
『That’s already being thoroughly discussed.』
“What? What do you mean?”
『Everything that’s happened here was being broadcast.』
Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.
“What? Where?”
『To Earth.』
“You mean… where on Earth?”
『The entire Earth, you little punk.』
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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