Groomsmen.

(I have been to three real-life weddings but still don't know much about them. So if you see any mistakes/ have suggestions let me know.)

Since Tempest citizens were the ones who were doing most of the organizing for the wedding I was simply given a list of things I should prepare. And among that list was to gather groomsmen and a best man. And to be honest that wasn't too hard of a list to make.

"Yo, Diablo." I said into the empty air. And even though I could feel that he was inside the labyrinth he appeared in front of me a second later.

"Lord Rimuru. How can I be of assistance?" Diablo asked as he bowed down.

"Would you like to be one of my groomsmen? There really isn't much to do. But I would appreciate it if you were." I asked the black primordial.

"Lord Rimuru, it would be my honor! Do you want me to turn into a bear again?" Diablo asked as his face began to radiate absolute joy.

"No, no. That's alright." I answered while chuckling "I was asking for you to be there in person. It would be kinda crappy of me to make my friend run around like a bear all day." I told him as I patted his back a couple of times.

"Friend?" Diablo asked in shock before putting on his signature smile. "Lord Rimuru, I promise to become the best groomsmen to have ever lived in the entire multiverse. What are my duties?" He asked as he got ready to run all over the place making sure things went perfectly.

"You just have to be there. That's about it."

"Lord Rimuru… I will return in a moment." Diablo said before disappearing.

And the very next second he returned while holding 20 different books.

"Lord Rimuru, I have just read every book about weddings in Lai's Library. And after reviewing the current plans for the wedding I have realized something. There are many things I can do to-" Diablo began to open up a book to a specific page before I stopped him.

"Relax Diablo, you don't need to stress yourself out. We can just continue as we are until the wedding."

"Lord Rimuru, forgive my insolence for continuing after you said not to, but I do have a plan for something we can do. It is right here on page 324 of "The Ultimate Guide for Weddings." It talks about Bachelor parties. I know you have been working hard on the Multiversal project. So how about we all go to one of those worlds to celebrate?" Diablo asked while pointing to the page in the book.

"That….. Actually sounds interesting…" I said as some ideas began to appear in my mind.

"But wait, no, no. If we do that we are going to get carried away and make a mess. How about we postpone that until some time after the wedding? The Multiverse of Madness project is not fully complete yet. And I want to make sure that everything works perfectly before we use it.

I know you have been busy "Babysitting" the other Primordials. But do you want to help me out?"

"It would be my honor."

— — —

Benimaru was currently inside his home with his wife when he heard a knock on the door. And as he opened it he was greeted with two people with shit-eating grins.

One of them was the black primordial, whose smile seemed to pass off the message 'I got asked before you. Actually, I was the first person he asked.'

And the other was me. And I suddenly had a very good idea.

"Why hello there, Benimaru." I said trying to control myself from laughing.

"Rimuru?" he asked in absolute confusion. If our strange facial expressions had thrown him off my strange greeting had doubled the confusion he already felt.

"Benimaru, I have a very important question. Would you be one of my groomsmen?" I asked, keeping my grinning expression to the max.

"Yes?" He answered in confusion before fixing his posture and saying. "I mean, yes. But…" he asked as the feeling that something was wrong began to grow in him.

"What are you planning?" He asked in a whisper.

"For now I only have one thing in mind. I was thinking maybe we could all hang out like before. And maybe play some card games…"

That's when the realization hit in for Benimaru. He was being given an invitation to play the cursed card game. The game he swore never to play again. The one and the only thing he feared in his life. Uno.

"I promised to never touch the cards again." Benimaru said with a shaky voice.

At that, I finally burst out laughing.

"Don't worry about that, I was just messing with you." I said as I saw Benimaru visibly relax.

"The invitation is real though. Diablo planned out some things for today. And we are planning on using the multiversal gate once it is ready. I will let you know when." I told him as I prepared to leave.

Benimaru however still had cold sweat running along his back.

Once Diablo and I left Momiji approached her husband.

"What was that about?"

"There is a cursed game that only brings misfortune." He said with seriousness.

"What is it called?" Momiji asked in concern, having never seen her husband so worried before.

"Uno." Benimaru answered as if he was muttering a forbidden name.

"Wait, don't they sell that at the store?"Momiji asked in disbelief.

— — —

The insectar planet had suddenly begun to thrive. As the new king, Zion, stepped into the throne it felt as if everything had just started going perfectly. And the insectars began to feel as if Zion was the perfect king.

Everything was going too well, but what they didn't see was the one leading in the background, Zegion.

"I thought you didn't want to be king?" I asked him as I appeared in front of him.

"I don't" Zegion answered plainly.

I gave him an "are you sure?" look before saying.

"Well, in that case, you must be the best advisor to ever exist. The first time I took a look at Zion I knew he wasn't fit to lead. I only accepted him since you asked me to. But now he is starting to actually look like a king to me."

"It wasn't easy. But soon my brother is going to be fine even when I return home." he said with a small hint of a proud tone.

"I also wanted to congratulate you. I was getting ready to go back home for the wedding." he added.

And as he said that a smile appeared on my face.

"That's partly why I came here. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to be my groomsman. But more importantly…. What's that about the butterfly insectar I hear you are spending so much time with? What was her name again? Carrie? Cassie?" I asked him as I began to tease him slightly.

He was always very private about his life, but he had told me not long ago that he had met someone. And of course, it was my duty to tease him.

"Callista," he answered.

"Callista! How could I forget? Do you know what the name means? If I remember right you were the one who named her, weren't you?" I said as I began to nudge him.

And though it would be hard for most people to recognize any expressions in Zegion's exoskeleton face I could tell he was smiling.

"I remember when you were this tall" I said while putting my fingers close together to show how small he used to be in my memories. "And now look at you all grown up."

"You do remember I was about the size of a dog when we met? That was the exact comparison you used. 'Dog-sized beetle'" Zegion answered as he remembered our first meeting.

And so Zegion and I began to chat about stupid things for a while, losing track of time. Eventually, we had to pause the conversation since I had to leave back to Tempest. And we would continue it once he came to the labyrinth in a few hours.

— — —

"Yo" Veldora said as I walked into the room he was in.

"Best man?" I asked him directly.

"Best dragon actually." He answered with a thumbs up.

"Says the one who is spending most of his time in a human form."

"Bro, don't test me. I will turn into a dragon right now and destroy this room if I have to." Veldora said as he began to turn his arm into its dragon form.

"................." I had to hold back from disagreeing with him because otherwise, Veldora wouldn't hesitate. And the room was too small for him to fit in his dragon form.

"Diablo, Zegion, and Benimaru are coming over. Do you know what that means?" I asked him

"Wait…. Benimaru is coming over?" Veldora asked as a grin appeared on his face.

"Should I pull out the cards?" He asked as he began to search among one of his piles of things.

"I told him we weren't going to use them…"

"So is that a yes?" He asked as he lifted up a small card container.

~A/N~

The next chap should be the wedding chap.