The Wedding Scammer, Part 1
1647 Words
It was supposed to be their big day.
3 post meridiem.
A couple are about to get married, and they even hired a carriage decorated with flowers to tell the people they're tying the knot for real.
But once they get to one of the many temples consecrated to the Most High, they see an eerie sight.
While the doors of the temple are open and people are flocking to simply pray, they spot no red carpets and exquisite decorations such as white ribbons.
But still, they want to push on with the wedding.
They eventually make their “I do”s and kiss passionately like every other newlywed couple should.
After the bare-bones ceremony, they proceed to the venue of their reception, a restaurant by the name of The Acceptable Ad.
Once they set foot at the restaurant, which is just a stone's throw away from the temple, they see a more eerie sight.
The place has a few customers dining al fresco, owing to the fact that it just opened for business, at 4 post meridiem.
After questioning the restaurant's maître d', they find out that the reception isn't booked, and there are no tables and trays displaying delicious food prepared for them and their guests.
Needless to say, their big day was ruined. Real hard.
And they have only one person to blame for this mess.
***
Days pass into weeks, and weeks pass into months.
Laika, Yulissa, and I are still going strong on our first year at the military school, learning everything from battle stances to the art of negotiation.
We also dedicate some time for small talk with Hershey, Ivanka, Joey Ramon, and Bienvenide, as well as other cadets – not just to pass the time, but also to better adapt ourselves to the culture here at the capital and to uphold camaraderie.
And also, Laika and I celebrate our birthdays in a rather austere note. The same thing applies to Winterfest, which is held every 25th of Oraclemonth.
Eventually, we're now almost at the tail-end of our freshman year here at Lebenswasserheim Royal Academy Military School.
The 12th of Lifemonth, 1017 CE. Moonday.
“Brother, wake up! We're gonna be late for class, and Laika's already dressed up!”
“Oh... oh yeah, I know.”
My first sight once I open my honestly still-sleepy eyes is my own sister sitting on top of me, and she's also dressed up for the day.
“Oh... OH YEAH, I KNOW! How could I have such a good night's sleep that I'm almost unaware of the time?! OK, I'm getting ready!”
I hurriedly get out of my bed and hastily do my usual morning rituals.
Phew. We three almost make it to the first class for today.
Well, not quite the first class, since we're now at the office of the superintendent, Lt. Gen. Russel Alphonse Caralde.
The reason is this: While ordinary Royal Academy students have their written final exams, we cadets have our own final exams... by accepting assigned missions and completing them.
Missions in general are like quests for adventurers, only that we don't get to choose them. The missions choose us instead.
“Freshman cadets, the time has come for your final examination. You are to complete the mission using the provided dossier and accompanying documents and even a sphaeramnis clip.”
He hands us three the dossier set, and we are allowed to open it to know the exact details, which are stated below.
MISSION DETAILS
Mission ID: CDT-0722
Mission Type: Escort, Target Capture
Involved Cadets: Cadet First Class Floribunda K, Cadet First Class Santiaguel L, Cadet First Class Floribunda Y
Expected Time to Clear the Mission: One (1) week
Client: Tiburcio Villamor Nithercott and Marla Febland
Mission Brief:
You are to safeguard an adventurer couple, Tiburcio Villamor Nithercott and Marla Febland, who were scammed by a wedding coordinator, the notorious Kabuzu Quattuorze, right on the day they would get married (the 9th of Lifemonth, 1017 CE, to be exact). The couple's hard-earned money has to be returned somehow, and capturing the target is the surefire way to get that money back. Furthermore, the target has a long-standing warrant of arrest for stealing money collected from another couple during their wedding reception. We have also coordinated with the Lebenswasserheim Adventurers Association and the Royal Constabulary on pertinent matters. Once you complete this mission, expect something good from the clients, but it's a well-kept secret.
We then read the profile of the target.
Kabuzu Quattuorze
Born: 14th of Godmonth, 983 CE
Place of Birth: Hoobibowm, Mielong Prefecture
Occupation: Wedding coordinator
The owner and proprietor of The Blooming Rafflesia, a business helping aspiring couples prepare their dream wedding from start to finish. In reality, the target's business is a mere front for his swindling activities; as he deceives those couples and gets away with the money they have paid for, leaving them with substandard arrangements that more often than not ruin the couples' special day forever. He currently has a standing warrant of arrest for another case filed by another couple; but for some reason, he always escapes the long arm of the law. The couple who filed the case, Filio Assou and Gwen Anne Tuazon-Assou, stated that Quattuorze stole the money they collected from their money dance during their wedding reception in 1015 CE, as well as the p*****t for their roasted whole pig that was also served during the reception.
Afterwards, we watch the sphaeramnis clip, which depicts the bride, still in her wedding dress, bawling her eyes out while sitting on the sidewalk near the temple.
“What did we do to deserve this?! That scammer, Kabuzu Quattuorze, must pay! We coughed up 65,000 guintos to him for the entire wedding package. All those flowers, ribbons, reception arrangements, and even handmade souvenirs – they are all nothing but air!
“Let me tell you what went wrong. When we first consulted him, things were pretty peachy. This morning, he even visited our house to check up on us and then left before noon for lunch. We waited for him to come back and do the finishing touches because our wedding was scheduled at 3 post meridiem at the temple. But then, he ghosted us, so we just decided to hold the wedding without him.
“And look at what he did! No decorations at the church, no food being served at the reception! Kabuzu Quattuorze's business is all a sham! I created this sphaeramnis clip to warn fellow couples who want to tie the knot... to never trust him ever! And to the law enforcers, please do everything you can to bring this scammer to justice!”
The clip ends with the bride finally drowning herself in tears, with her groom consoling her.
Different words pretty much express our basically similar reactions to this case.
“I'd rather step on a thousand piles of dried-up dog poop rather than have a sham wedding like this!”
“If ever we get married, Keenan, I would never ever trust this guy. Cross my heart and hope to die.”
“That no-good scammer! He must be real crafty to do this.”
The superintendent takes our reactions to the clip in stride, as he most likely knows that we haven't heard of this case before. He continues.
“Should you ever fail the mission, actual soldiers will take over, and you will be faced with repeating the entire freshman year and a demotion to just mere cadets. Do you understand?”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
“Very well. Your final examination... your mission... starts right now! Dismissed!”
We all salute him before returning to our room.
Yes, one week may be a bit overkill for this mission, but we need to see this through the end as early as possible and put a stop to the couple's suffering.
We all spend the rest of the morning arranging our things to bring, because we will be riding a carriage towards the target site: Hoobibowm, Mielong Prefecture, which is north of the capital.
Once we all arrive at the town, which is known for its lavishly-colored houses, we first eat lunch before heading towards the home of the couple, which we're able to track down thanks to the cooperation of the townspeople who are most likely sympathetic to what the couple went through.
“Good afternoon. We are the cadets being dispatched by the Lebenswasserheim Royal Academy Military School to help you solve your case. Our job also serves as our freshman year final exams, by the way.”
We then promptly introduce ourselves.
“Ah, nice to meet three brave youths. My name's Tiburcio Villamor Nithercott. You can call me Tibbie.”
“I'm Marla Febland. Just Marla is fine. Make yourselves at home.”
They then let us sit in their living room alongside them.
“We're just an adventurer couple depending on completing quests in order to accumulate money for our wedding that unluckily went awry.”
Laika asks, “How long have you two been adventuring, by the way?”
Marla answers, “A little over a year now.”
I then ask them how they've met the scammer.
“It was simple. Even though we live just north of the capital, we'd imagine how much we would spend for a lavish wedding there; so we decided on a more affordable alternative, hence his entrance into the picture. We've trusted him just because his business has consistently good reviews.”
If that's so, then that scammer has most likely resorted to astroturfing, or paying people to make a fishy business look and smell good to gullible clients by churning out fake positive reviews.
“Imagine that... 65,000 guintos we've toiled for months... it all went down the drain that day.”
- Writer
