I Reject Quests

On the stage.

Rewen and Vinia separated and together moved down the stage.

Vinia went to meet her relatives while Rewen went to meet his own.

Rewen's friends and family got up and walked up to him. 

Josh patted his arms. "How do you feel?"

"Not much different from normal." Rewen honestly said. According to what he had heard, both sides (male and female) seemed to agree that marriage wasn't the best thing in their lives. Therefore, needless to say, he had to prepare for the worst.

"Well, let a few days pass. Then, you'll sort out your feelings." Veronica smiled gently.

"Dah! Dah! Red!" The little imp in her bosom stretched her arms towards Rewen. However, this time her mother stared at her without a word. The little imp stared back at her mother with her mouth open, then quietly shrunk back to her bosom.

Rewen laughed, then brought his face closer to her. 

Shirley gave a light peck on his cheeks.

Rubbing her hair, Rewen turned to look at his friends. "Why are you all still here? The food here is not for you."

"Is this what brotherhood means?" Junar sighed with a distant look on his face.

"Our brotherhood already ended when you brought Chicken Soup on your kindergarten lunch and didn't give it to me."

Everyone laughed except for Mrs. Klofar who gave a light slap on his arms. "Kids, don't mind his words. Eat how much you like."

Rewen's friends nodded with a smile.

Salica then approached her with the picture in her hand.

"Auntie, doesn't this look good?"

"Oh Seven Lords! How beautiful. Did you take this?" Mrs. Klofar received a huge shock when she saw her memory painted on a piece of paper. "Can you sell it to me?"

Salica smiled. "You can take it, Auntie. I have a copy."

Mrs. Klofar seemed ecstatic when she heard this. Then, she immediately turned to her son. "Quickly thank her."

Rewen's face was dark when he saw Salica having a smug look on her face. "Than-"

"Rewen! Could you come here for a second?" The Baron called him while conversing with a noble.

"Well, duty calls," Rewen said, before walking towards the Baron leaving Salica unsatisfied.

***

It was night.

Most of the people had already left the villa.

The only people remaining were the Baron himself, Vinia, Rewen, his friends, and his relatives. A fire was lit in the garden with them sitting in a circle.

Gill, who sat by Rewen's side, whispered in his ears. "I have been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it?" Rewen also lowered his voice.

"What are you going to do in real life? It won't be easy for you to make a relationship last."

"I'll think about it in the future." For Rewen, thinking about a relationship would be the least of his concerns, especially with everything going on in his life.

Gill nodded.

"Rewen…" Another whisper came from his side. It was the magical girl Zelic.

Rewen looked at her with one eye. "What now?"

Zelic went closer to his ears. "D-did you really get r-raped?"

"Apparently," Rewen admitted with a neutral face.

"Why did you not tell us?"

"How would you know if I didn't tell you?"

"I mean, why did you not tell us before?"

"I wasn't in the best condition back then."

"I see…" Zelic seemed to have some things on her mind. She gave him a last glance before chatting with others.

"Come, let's tour the villa." Junar got up.

"Good idea." Evans and the others followed.

"Why don't you come, Rewen?" Denny asked when she saw him still sitting.

"I'm kind of tired," Rewen answered while looking at the fire.

"Okay."

His friends along with Sam who had integrated himself into the group left the fireplace.

A few minutes later.

Mrs. Klofar looked at Josh and opened her mouth. "Brother, I have some things to talk about with you and Veronica in private."

"Alright." Josh and his wife got up and also left the fireplace with Mrs. Klofar.

Master Kaf hadn't joined the fireplace. After the wedding, he immediately went back to his home.

The only people left were the Baron, Rewen, and Vinia.

"Haha!" The Baron laughed like usual while looking meaningfully at Rewen. "Don't leave for your home too early tomorrow. I need to have a chat with you regarding a matter. Ah, I'm probably being a bother. Haha! I'll leave the two of you to chat."

He too got up and left.

Vinia looked straight at Rewen. "What do you think of us as a couple? Do we fit?"

Rewen didn't evade her eyes and answered back with a light smile. "It's too early for me to answer."

Vinia chuckled. "Not exactly the best answer after getting married."

Rewen rubbed his nose and said nothing.

After a while, Vinia got up. "I'm going to the room… are you coming now?" Frankly speaking, she felt a bit anxious and embarrassed while saying that. With them being married, she understood that she couldn't be stubborn and had to progress their relationship somehow. The faster the progress is, the better it would be for her.

Rewen understood the meaning of her question and replied. "I'll come in a few minutes."

Vinia nodded and left the fireplace leaving behind only a single man.

Rewen blankly looked at the fire glowing intensely at a distance of two meters.

'If you want to shine bright like a sun, first burn like a sun - or so is one of the popular quotes in the pre-apocalyptic period.'

'It sounds interesting and motivating but doesn't make sense if one actually thought about it. The prerequisite of shining bright like a sun is to burn like a sun, that is, to achieve results you first have to suffer. However, that lies on the basic underlying premise that - everyone gets equal opportunity.'

'Everyone is not equal. Sometimes, getting equal opportunity in life is not enough. We have to give something 'extra' to those people but that, in turn, would be imbued inequality. Is there even any way to be completely fair?'

'Today, hundreds of nobles came from different parts of the kingdom just for my wedding. Am I worth it? Do I even deserve a pretty and elegant woman like Vinia? It's not that I have an inferiority complex but I just don't remember doing anything notable in my life to deserve this. In a way, even though I whine about my luck, it is the only thing going for me.'

'What about my predecessor's family and friends? Why am I the one who is getting goodwill? What crime did my predecessor commit to living such an unfruitful life? No, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to sound philosophical or something. I'm just wondering about obvious things like - life is unfair.'

'Commoners work their ass up every day just to keep life moving and here I am, leisurely sitting in front of a fireplace and having the luxury to think several things. If one works hard enough, he/she can become a noble. So is it because they or their previous generations were lazy that they couldn't break through the chains of a commoner?'