Atem sets out to acquire domesticity, and instead acquires a common-law marriage, a three-day festival in the afterlife, a bridal division at KaibaCorp, and a bouquet from the press.
Nobody held a ceremony. Everybody is celebrating anyway.
Somewhere in the middle of it Seto makes two rings by hand, and somewhere near the end he discovers that a proposal, technically, was still outstanding.
This is a translation of an original work on Pixiv.
Original Title: 愛と理論 05 王、生活感を知る
Original Author: 葉人(@Hathor_yuki)
Personal site: https://prideshipping.sakura.ne.jp
At the breakfast table.
Atem said it with a serious face while stirring milk into his coffee.
"Who filled your head with it this time... By the dictionary, an atmosphere rooted in daily life."
"Which is to say, something we don't have."
"Don't state it so flatly."
"Do we have it?"
"At the least, we have daily life."
Seto set down his cup.
The sound of it was like a bell announcing the opening of some agenda.
"But I've never been told that I have domesticity, have I?"
"Naturally. Let a king or a company president give off domesticity and his standing drops."
"...Standing drops?"
"In my image strategy, at least."
Atem gave a small nod.
"I see. So domesticity is a risk that threatens position."
"You may understand it that way."
"But at the same time, if I obtain it, there's a possibility of drawing nearer to ordinary human relations."
"...What is it you're aiming at?"
"The quality of being ordinary lovers."
"............"
"What is it, Seto."
"Nothing... a king aiming at ordinary is an amusing spectacle in its own right."
Kaiba Corporation, early afternoon.
In the company cafeteria, the news that the president is eating lunch was flying around, unusually.
"Did you see it? That tray... surely not, homemade again?"
"Apparently the president himself called it the King's experiment..."
"The King, meaning that advisor...?"
"The King."
"Which means those two are..."
"It's been that way for ages now, surely."
While the employees traded rumours in a stir, Seto was calmly bringing salad to his mouth.
That bearing was perfect as always, and yet the position of his chopstick rest was subtly out of line.
"...Is this what domesticity means."
At Seto murmuring it under his breath, Atem smiled beside him.
"Mm... I don't think that's it. I have the feeling Joey would be well versed in this sort of thing. Shall we ask him?"
"Don't. Get him involved and it only becomes more abstruse."
And that night, Seto reported for duty in the afterlife.
Behind him, Atem stood holding a small cloth bag.
"What have you brought."
"Leftovers."
"Bringing that to the workplace isn't domesticity, it's an extension of the bento theory."
"I see. Which is to say I haven't acquired domesticity yet."
"At the least, at the point where every priest in the afterlife is holding his breath, it's far removed from daily life."
The priests around them were whispering.
"The King and Lord Seto are sharing leftovers...!"
"Sublime...!"
"Don't mix them. The mortal world and the afterlife."
"Seto, let's put out a conclusion."
"Impatient as ever. Can you produce one already."
"Domesticity is the sharing of the parts that aren't perfect."
"...Meaning?"
"A chopstick rest out of line, a jacket taken off and left lying on the sofa — it's permitting each other that sort of human margin."
Seto was silent for a few seconds, and then laughed lightly.
"In that case, you already have a considerable amount of domesticity."
"Since when?"
"Yesterday, your cup was left sitting on my desk."
"...That was intentional."
"I see. So we're still at the level of intentional domesticity."
The laughter of the two of them dissolved into the quiet room.
The ambiguous borderline between perfect reason and daily life.
And there, the living of the two of them was breathing.
"...Lord Seto, how would you like this handled."
On the tablet Isono held out was the screen of the company's internal social network.
At the top, the words: Congratulations to the President and the King on passing three months of living together!
"Who posted it."
"Unknown. A photograph of the president's office and the tea set in the living room are attached."
"............"
"It is, completely, a scene of daily life."
"...Which is to say, our domesticity has been leaked."
"And a great many employees are blessing it with delight... The comment section is buried under sublime."
Seto pressed at his temple.
"...Atem."
"What is it?"
"Do you recall having your photograph taken when you brewed tea?"
"I do. They said it was cultural documentation, so I permitted it."
"By whom?"
"The secretary who often came by."
"...Betrayal begins from the inside, doesn't it."
Meanwhile, in the afterlife, the priests were whispering in front of the altar.
"It seems the King and Lord Seto have formally acknowledged each other as consorts."
"Where's your information from?"
"The official public relations of the mortal world. It says a relationship in which they share their lives."
"Isn't that simply a mistranslation?"
"No — between them, cohabitation equals joint research, apparently. In afterlife terms it's little different from marriage."
"Which is to say, an established fact under afterlife law as well."
The High Priest held his head in his hands.
"...No one can stop the King any longer."
"Seto, is today an official announcement?"
"It isn't. I'm merely appearing at a new product launch."
"In that case, why is my name in the materials?"
"...No idea."
The two of them stood on the platform.
While the reporters showered them with flashes, the slide for some reason bore the words: Conceptions Born from the President × King Shared Life.
"Who made that slide."
"The design division, probably."
"Betrayal begins from the inside after all."
A question flew at them.
"What sort of influence has the shared life had?"
Atem answered immediately.
"I have gained a humanlike flexibility. In particular, I have learned the importance of domesticity."
"Splendid, Your Majesty!"
"...I am not a king. I am a joint researcher."
"But you share your lives with each other?"
"Theoretically, that follows."
"Which is to say, a common-law marriage?"
The hall erupted.
Seto let out a deep breath.
That night.
"Atem, you look satisfied."
"The inquiry into domesticity has succeeded socially as well."
"That isn't the issue."
"Isn't it? Everyone has given us official recognition. There's no longer any reason to hide in public."
"I had no intention of hiding either, though..."
Seto sipped his herbal tea and smiled.
"In the end, domesticity seems to be something others find on their own, doesn't it."
"That's certainly theoretical, but what they found wasn't domesticity."
"Difficult, isn't it."
The two of them set down their cups side by side.
Within a perfect silhouette, a temperature that seeps out just slightly.
"What do you intend to do next?"
"An optimisation of daily life premised on official recognition will be necessary."
"So another research project begins after all?"
"I simply have no intention of ending it."
Atem laughed lightly.
"I've no intention of ending it either."
One day.
"...Atem."
"What is it, Seto."
"That thick pink booklet. What is it."
"Z — xy."
"I know what it is. Why are you reading it."
"We've been officially recognised. In that case I thought the next stage would be matrimony."
Atem was turning the pages with a serious expression.
On the cover of the mortal world's bridal magazine of record: The Complete Guide to the Ideal Proposal.
"...Where did you get that..."
"Someone in the purchasing division held it out to me and said for your cultural research."
"Cultural research... you were played neatly."
"Seto, this is splendid. In the mortal world, do they devote this much labour to preparing for a marriage?"
"The thickness of the paper tells the story of the quantity of effort."
"It says here, give a ring."
"That's correct."
"But in the afterlife I have already been granted the proof of kingship. Isn't that a duplication?"
"Duplication aside, I have no recollection of being given anything by you."
"Then I'll give you one now."
"...Don't say that sort of thing so lightly."
Atem closed the pages and thought seriously.
"A ring is a symbol of a contract, isn't it?"
"Formally, yes."
"There, you see. We've already contracted. There's the joint research agreement."
"That differs from a marriage registration, though."
"But the effects are similar. It says valid unless one party desires its abrogation."
"That's what I'm saying is different."
"Then, which is to say, this is a legal extension of affection."
"...Don't rephrase it."
The engagement between Atem, who went so far as to obtain and pore over the back issues, and Seto, who kept correcting his understanding, continued.
At the same time, a stir was spreading in parts of the company.
"Hey, did you hear? The president, a bridal magazine..."
"No, it's the King who's reading it, apparently."
"Which means...?"
"Which means, a ceremony...? Hosted by Kaiba Corporation...?"
"Aren't we already halfway to being a registered religious organization?"
One of the employees went pale.
"P-President...!"
"Be quiet. From the moment we had an afterlife branch office we were long past that."
Living through such days, Atem arrived at one conclusion.
"I have a conclusion."
"Let's hear it."
"Matrimony is not a declaration, but a confirmation of continuation."
"Oh?"
"In that case, we are already at that stage."
"Meaning?"
"We are already married. Theoretically."
"I see. Your theory is highly finished as well."
Atem closed the pages and smiled softly.
"Seto, I don't need a ceremony or anything of the sort. Only let me say this much."
"What is it."
"Our living is the finest ceremony of all. Every day is a ceremony."
"...That, I can't help but grant."
Several weeks passed after they were pronounced common-law married.
A pink mood was drifting through the afterlife.
"...Seto, again."
"Where this time."
"One of the priests offered up an invocation of blessing."
"The reason."
"Because I heard the King had been wed, apparently."
"Heard — from whom did he hear it."
"I saw the announcement from Kaiba Corporation public relations, he says."
Seto put a hand to his forehead.
"That's the business of the official comment: officially recognised relationship, surely..."
"For them, official recognition appears to be synonymous with matrimony."
"A difference in cultural interpretation."
"Which is to say, a translation error."
"That they return it in the form of a blessing is the power of culture, near enough. No — as the king is, so are his subjects..."
And the mortal world, too, was no different in aspect from the afterlife.
"Congratulations, President!"
"On what."
"On your marriage...!"
"I haven't married."
"Eh — but yesterday, they say you said anniversary of the continuation of our shared life together with His Majesty the King."
"I said no such thing."
"The public relations department has released the recorded footage!"
"Delete it."
"The afterlife branch has already reposted it!"
Beside him, Atem sipped his herbal tea and smiled.
"The diffusion of culture is a swift thing, isn't it."
"You don't get to say that."
"Seto, we are already part of a structure that gets celebrated."
"Don't call it a structure."
The pink mood knew no stopping.
"The King has been wed!"
"A banquet!"
"Scatter flowers before the temple!"
"...And who is the partner?"
"Lord Kaiba of the mortal world, they say!"
"Lord!? Is he a noble!?"
"A noble of science! Lord Seto!"
"I see, understood!"
Every bit of it is a misunderstanding, and yet the festival has already gone on three days and three nights.
Seto's communication terminal rang.
...Emergency report from the afterlife. "The King's marriage celebration festival, currently in progress."
"Leave it alone."
"Is that all right?"
"...It's fine. It won't stop in any case."
"Understood. In that case, in the mortal world too, let's at least accept the bouquets."
Seto and Atem had decided to let the mortal world and the afterlife both do as they pleased.
"Seto, so this is a ceremony without a ceremony, isn't it..."
"Meaning?"
"A phenomenon in which the total quantity of blessing exceeds the intent."
"It's true that the degree of planning was zero."
"But the result is perfect."
"...You're enjoying this situation, aren't you?"
"There's no reason to refuse words of celebration."
Seto let out a sigh and laid a hand lightly on Atem's shoulder.
"Let me say it at least."
"What is it."
"...Congratulations, Atem."
"Congratulations, Seto."
Between the two of them flowed a quiet air with laughter mixed into it.
In the midst of such a pink mood.
"Atem. Let me confirm — this is a survey of the afterlife's foundational structure."
"I understand."
"It is not sightseeing."
"I understand."
"I am going for work."
"I'll accompany you."
"...It looks like nothing but a honeymoon after all."
"That's a problem on the side that's looking."
The day of departure. For some reason the press had swarmed in.
"President! Where are you headed!?"
"The afterlife."
"The afterlife!? How romantic!"
"It isn't."
"We heard it was together with His Majesty the King!"
"It isn't. I'm leaving him behind."
"Blessings on the setting out of the two of you!"
"I'm telling you it isn't."
Beside him, Atem laughed a little.
"It isn't doesn't get through anymore. Social recognition has been fixed in place."
"You're the cause."
"You're the one who issued the official recognition."
"...I'll take you, so be quiet. Leave you behind and you're liable to make unnecessary statements."
No sooner had they arrived in the afterlife than the priests scattered flowers.
"Your Majesty, congratulations on your marriage!"
"Are you still saying it."
"Because that's what it said in the Z — xy: Eternal Edition!"
"...Z — xy: Eternal?"
"A supplementary issue of the magazine you set in fashion."
Seto's brow furrowed.
"I merely showed it to them as part of a cultural exchange."
"The result is that it's treated as the sacred canon of matrimony in the afterlife."
"It had become a religion?"
A priest came closer.
"Blessings upon the two of you and your honeymoonograph!"
"You've welded honeymoon onto monograph."
"It has a good ring to it."
"...Is it beyond correction no matter what I say now."
Seto was gradually giving up on the various matters concerning Atem.
"Seto, what is a honeymoon to begin with?"
"A species of social ritual. A symbol of a joint stay undertaken after a marriage is established. You were saying it without knowing?"
After all that magazine-reading, Seto thought, exasperated.
"Which is to say, part of a public proof of the relationship."
"That's right."
"Then this act of ours, conducting a joint survey in the afterlife, is also..."
"Absolutely not."
"But the destination is another world, and it involves lodging."
"...It isn't."
"The people around us are celebrating."
"It isn't!"
"We research together."
"......It isn't (I want to believe)."
Atem handed down his conclusion quietly.
"Seto, society is a thing that comes into being the moment it is thought."
"Don't apply sociology as you please."
"We have already completed a conceptual honeymoon."
"I don't need a conclusion like a research paper. If you want to go on a honeymoon, I'll take you on one separately."
"That's a promise."
A ceremony without a ceremony, and yet he wants a honeymoon. Seto thought it, but did not say it.
On the desk at the survey base, the two of them's notebooks lay side by side.
In one corner of a page, written in Atem's hand:
Matrimony is a journey of understanding. The destination is always inside the other person.
Seto looked at the words and stopped his pen.
"...A journey after all, is it."
"That's right."
"There's no end to it."
"That's what's good about it."
The shadows of the two of them wavered in the lamplight.
Beyond the social concept of travel, only the definition of walking together was quietly there.
"Your Majesty, please accept the sign of marriage!"
"...Again?"
The priests of the afterlife were holding up boxes, one and all.
Inside: gold, silver, obsidian. Rings of every material imaginable, piled in a mountain.
"The artisans of the afterlife have poured their whole spirits into it for the King — !"
"I'm grateful, but I..."
Beside him, Seto folded his arms.
"Not wanted."
"Seto?"
"Those are ready-made goods, made by someone else."
"Ready-made?"
"A symbol of love by another person's hand looks incomplete to me."
The priests broke into a stir.
Within that gaze, Atem quietly looked down at his left hand.
"But symbols are interesting things. In antiquity there was a blood vessel called the vein of love."
"I know of it. It was believed to connect from the left ring finger to the heart."
"The ones who believed it were presumably those who could see the passage of love."
"...A romanticist turn of phrase."
"Which is to say, the line running from your hand to your heart exists inside me as well."
Seto caught his breath.
"...When we get back, I'll make them."
"Make what?"
"A pair of rings."
"Better than the artisans of the afterlife?"
"Naturally. It has no meaning unless it's by my hands."
Seto's workshop.
The design drawings overlapped like a double helix.
"The material is platinum. But I won't make the structure simple."
The hammer in his hand rang lightly on the metal.
"...Is that the theory of love?"
"Structural mechanics. But it comes out that way as a result."
Atem rested his chin on his hand beside him and watched quietly.
Each time the white light wrapped the ring of metal, his eyes wavered.
"Your hands look cold, and they're warm."
"I'm merely controlling the melting point."
"But that control resembles gentleness."
"Don't say it theoretically."
"Within your hands, matter comes to have form. It's almost a crystallization of emotion."
"You've become a poet."
In time, the final polishing ended.
Seto let out a small breath.
"Complete."
"Show me."
In the light, two small rings.
Simple, and with an edging that was somehow like a crown.
On the inner side, Resonance had been engraved.
Atem took his ring and slid it onto the ring finger of his left hand.
The instant the metal touched skin, a faint heat ran through.
"...It went through."
"What did?"
"The vein of love. It reached the heart, certainly."
"That isn't a blood vessel."
"Theoretically, that would be so."
Atem laughed.
"But sensorially, it's fact."
Seto turned his gaze aside as though embarrassed.
"You really do speak reasoning and poetry in the same breath."
"You take reasoning to its limit, and I solve poetry. That's why we resonate."
"...Don't put it that way."
Atem gently slid the ring onto Seto's finger as well.
"With this, a circuit of love has been built into your theory too."
"I don't need that function."
"But it's working."
The fingertips of the two of them touched, faintly.
As though the pulse running through the veins resonated inside the metal.
"...Your Majesty, that is, um...!"
"This?"
The instant Atem held up the ring, the priests caught their breath as one.
The light reflected, and for a moment the air of the afterlife cleared like a sanctuary.
"The King, a ring — !"
"Surely it must be a sacred implement forged by some god..."
"No, Seto made it."
With that one line, the afterlife came to a boil.
"Lord Seto did!?"
"A human being!?"
"And what's more, DIY!?"
Among the priests in their commotion, the craftsman-type priests' eyes lit up.
"Which is to say, you make it yourself. For the one you love, by your own hands — !"
"That's right. Not ready-made goods, but a fusion of theory and passion."
"Theory — !"
"Passion — !"
In no time at all, DIY marriage became a new craze in the afterlife.
Woodwork, metalwork, stonework — priests of every kind began saying
"Furniture to symbolize my love!"
"Tableware for my consort!"
and setting up workshops as they pleased.
"...Your Majesty, how will you take responsibility."
The administrator pressed at his temple.
"Responsibility or otherwise, isn't it a fine trend? Creation is an extension of love."
"There are limits even to extensions..."
At Kaiba Corporation.
"...Say, did you see the news this morning?"
"The president... apparently he was wearing a ring."
"Seriously!? With whom!?"
"No, I mean — apparently the president made it himself."
"DIY...!?"
The employee cafeteria in a stir.
"Which means the rumour that the president's DIY skills are professional grade was true after all."
"No, that isn't the issue. The issue is who he made it for!"
"That's obvious, isn't it — the King!"
The air of the cafeteria took on heat.
"At last, the president — a DIY marriage...!"
"Will it make a feature in the company newsletter?"
"Something like Kaiba Corporation: Toward an Age Where Love Can Be Designed?"
"Stop, the tagline is starting to sound official!"
Mokuba, passing by, let out a sigh.
"Every time Nii-sama makes something, the company goes into an uproar..."
"Well, he is the president."
"And when Atem-san gets involved, it mostly becomes culture."
"...It's apparently still in fashion."
"What is?"
"DIY marriage in the afterlife, and a My Craft Love feature in the mortal world. A cultural achievement."
"Achievement, is it. The employees were planning a ring-making course as a company event."
"The employees look like they're enjoying themselves. Nothing better than that."
"You're the cause."
Atem laughed under his breath.
"But the ring you made spread love and creation through two worlds, you know."
"...Don't put it in reasoning."
"Your reasoning moved the world."
"...I'll say nothing further."
Seto fell silent.
But in that silence, satisfaction and embarrassment were quietly melting together.
"Seto."
"What."
"Next, I'd like you to make the King's lunchbox."
"...Chapter two of the DIY marriage?"
"An expansion theory of love."
"Stop with that naming."
The laughter of the two of them rang softly in the space between the afterlife and the mortal world.
"...President, here is the project proposal."
On the large monitor in the conference room, a slide of a bouquet and a ring.
"Kaiba Bridal Technologies."
"State the conclusion first."
At the conclusion already visible, Seto's brow twitched.
"We'd like to create a wedding venue supervised by President Kaiba. Among the employees, DIY marriage has been well received... as an extension of that."
"A wedding venue, you say?"
"Yes. Of the Kaiba Corporation style. A ring-generating AI, a vow dome production, and so on..."
The employees in a stir.
"If the president designed love, wouldn't it be unbeatable?"
"I mean, we've already got the King (Atem-san) too."
"Brand value is going through the roof."
After a silence, Seto said quietly:
"...In business terms, it isn't bad."
Indeed, in business terms it wasn't bad.
"So we take that as approval?"
"...Approved."
That night.
"Seto, it seems the company has given birth to a new culture again."
"Do you understand this? You are the cause of this one as well."
The next morning, an email arrived from the bridal division's public relations.
President, Your Majesty — for the company magazine's DIY Marriage Special Issue interview, we would like to ask you about "the moment of the proposal"...
"Atem. Do you recall doing any such thing?"
"I have not. Then, from you?"
"I have not."
Silence.
A silence, for a while.
"This is bad... We are married, but it comes out that we're in a state of attempted proposal."
"Don't say attempted."
"But it's a fact."
"Unnecessary. Viewed logically, the relationship is already established."
"But as culture, it's insufficient."
Atem took out, from under the desk, the magazine with the pink cover.
"According to this magazine, a proposal is a ritual of putting love into language."
"That's what you do all the time."
"No — it says here, kneel."
"Be quiet."
That night.
"Seto."
"What."
"I want to integrate the OS of my life into your system."
Stillness.
"...Is that, by any chance, your proposal?"
"The magazine said, words that reach the other person's heart."
"It reached, but the meaning is unclear."
"Which is to say, a failure."
"Don't run an analysis."
Atem closed the magazine with a straight face.
"I see. So an expression of love must be romantic."
"When you say it, even romance sounds like a research paper."
"What would you do?"
Seto stood up quietly.
"I'll revise your theory."
"Revise?"
"Love is not construction. It's selection."
He took Atem's hand and let a kiss fall on his fingertips.
"I'll go on selecting you. The proposal is continuously active."
For an instant Atem started to say something, and then laughed.
"...You really are perfect. That's an answer an AI couldn't produce."
"Naturally. I'm human."
"Then shall I update myself as well."
"Don't. This has put an end to the attempt, hasn't it."
"Indeed."
The laughter of the two of them mixed together quietly.
The next morning.
President, the bridal division — reservations are flooding in!
In the afterlife, "love is continuously active" has become a catchphrase!
Following DIY marriage, the birth of the "Activation Marriage"!?
"Atem... you've given birth to a culture again."
"Heh. Our love has high productivity, doesn't it."
"Stop putting it that way."
No ceremony held, a honeymoon that was a business trip, a pair of rings made to fend off the priests, a proposal made to do something about an attempt.
And in spite of all that, in the mortal world and the afterlife both, they somehow went on being celebrated.
Interviews, congratulatory addresses, bouquets, cake, and a storm of Be happy!
Seto says, calmly:
"This is strange. We shouldn't have done anything."
Atem answers, looking delighted:
"A ceremony is an act of celebrating a beginning. Which is to say, our daily life is the essence of a ceremony."
In the afterlife, as a symbol of the vein of love, the citizens send up applause at the mere sight of the two of them holding hands.
In the mortal world, in the lobby of Kaiba Corporation, there exists a blessing booth the employees installed as they pleased.
Wherever they go, they are celebrated.
Whatever they do, they are celebrated.
And then, the two of them suddenly noticed.
That even the choice of not holding a ceremony had already become a ceremony deserving of blessing.
Night, on Seto's desk.
While stacking up the theory of love under the name of joint research, Seto murmurs, quietly:
"An endlessly continuing ceremony isn't bad either."
Atem smiles.
"That's right. Even without swearing to eternity, if there are days that go on eternally, that's enough."
The two of them, celebrated, going beyond the ceremony.
The world today, too, is watching the continuation of the ceremony without a wedding.
