You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

"..." Jingwen remained silent.

Yang Jie was not disappointed; his nephew's reaction was within his expectations: "It must have been nothing special."

"..."

"Don't worry about me. I realized I was insignificant back in elementary school. But I never had the desire to show off, so this is just right for me."

Then in junior high and high school... I was always just an ordinary person in my class. I preferred playing video games alone in my room rather than going to karaoke with my classmates.

My appearance is the kind that you wouldn't notice in a crowd, but this other world... as you can see, is overflowing with handsome men and beautiful women; the overall level of attractiveness is very high. Even if someone like me isn't considered a beastman, I'd still score very low.

The uncle changed the subject abruptly, saying eagerly, "But Iori is completely different! You agree with that, right?"

"Yes……"

Jingwen nodded slowly and commented seriously, "Even by the standards of another world, he is a rare handsome man. He has a beautiful appearance and an aggressive masculine spirit."

Honestly, with that face, even with a terrible personality, he could win over a whole bunch of girls who are obsessed with looks... not to mention that Mr. Iori has absolutely no flaws.

She's warm-hearted and kind, and besides that, she has good manners, knowledge, financial resources... even her voice is very pleasant.

Jingwen actually dislikes the "normie" group, and by extension, he also has a prejudice against men who seem popular. But Iori is an exception. Despite exuding a strong aura of being a "normie," Jingwen surprisingly can't bring himself to dislike her; on the contrary, he has a good impression of her.

Perhaps some people's charm transcends gender and prejudice.

"A near-perfect dating partner, isn't he?" Yosuke spread his hands, looking completely matter-of-fact. "Women often appear around such a handsome man; what else could it be but a sign of attraction?"

"This logic isn't entirely wrong..." If he hadn't known the truth, Jingwen would almost have been convinced.

Yosuke added a few more sentences: "And Miss Farrell has clearly fallen for Iori. Although she tries to avoid me, I occasionally see the two of them alone together, and then the next day Farrell will bring me a homemade bento or some kind of snack."

"Oh, isn't this—"

"They must have found out from Iori what flavors Japanese people like to eat, and wanted me to try them to see if they're suitable as gifts."

Yosuke nodded as he spoke, "From those dishes where the chef's skills are constantly improving, I can fully feel that the appraiser's love for Iori is growing day by day, and I can't help but want to cheer them on~"

"...Am I acting strangely? Or is there a bug in this world? Why am I even thinking in this direction?!"

Jingwen suddenly remembered something and nervously grabbed his uncle's shoulders: "I remember you have 'memory erasure magic,' and you would actively erase your memories whenever you encountered something you couldn't accept, right?"

"Yes, after all, it's another world, with too many painful memories. If I couldn't seal away those tragic memories, I would have collapsed mentally long ago."

"So... how many times have you used it on yourself in these thirteen years?"

"Jingwen, you're too naive~"

Yosuke gave a deep, enigmatic smile: "Can you remember how many slices of bread you've eaten?"

"Well--"

Jingwen took a step back and slumped into the chair.

"I understand... I finally understand... Uncle?"

"Well, what happened?"

"Go to the hospital when you have time."

"Oh? Oh, speaking of which, the doctor told me to go for regular check-ups. I almost forgot. Thanks for reminding me."

"Yes, you should go to the hospital for more checkups... and while you're at it, see a neurologist."

"Ugh?"

"uncle!"

Jingwen changed the subject, his expression troubled, his voice strained: "I understand why you judged it that way, Uncle... but didn't you... didn't you notice anything amiss in your daily interactions with Miss Farrell?"

"I don't quite understand what you mean. Everything is normal. Besides, apart from Iori, I usually keep to myself and don't have much contact with others."

The uncle tapped on the memory screen and waved his finger twice: "My relationship with Miss Farrell is just that of a close acquaintance."

"Look, this is the first time we met. She was kidnapped by a group of thieves who wanted to use her appraisal abilities for illegal purposes. I noticed something was wrong and rushed over to rescue her... We didn't exchange more than a few words then."

"Why? It was clearly a life-saving favor."

“She was beaten so badly that she couldn’t speak because she resisted. I’m not good at treating patients, so I could only carry her to the church.” Yosuke said calmly. “Because I couldn’t find her relatives at the time, I had to stay in the church until the next day, and only went back after she recovered.”

"..."

"Apart from that, there's nothing much. It's just that I danced with her when she was teased by her companions for being alone at the festival. And I also cast two spells for her on the spot because I accidentally missed the bonfire performance... Thinking about it, there's not much to say. They're all just small things."

"..."

"Jingwen?"

"Excuse me, Uncle, I have something to take care of. Could you please cast a silencing spell on my room?"

"Mute? That's possible, but why?"

"Because it will cause trouble for the neighbors, and if we keep getting complaints, the landlord will kick us out."

"That's really something!" Yosuke quickly cast a silence spell on the room.

Jingwen calmly stood up, walked back to his room, smiled slightly at his uncle, and then closed the door.

—A disturbing silence.

There wasn't a sound coming from Jingwen's room, but for some reason, Yangjie noticed that the thin sliding door was trembling slightly...

After a long while, Jingwen, who seemed to have just finished exercising and had a light sheen of sweat on his face, came out. Upon seeing this, Yangjie immediately dispelled the spell.

"Do you want to continue watching?"

"I feel like this will add a lot of unnecessary mental stress... but I really want to know what happens next, so please continue!"

"With this tenacious attitude, I feel you have the potential to become a hardcore gamer, Jingwen!"

"Did you two set off directly afterward, Uncle?"

"Not so fast."

Deng!

"After that, I basically focused on collecting special materials from this place. After all, it would be troublesome if I changed maps and found that a certain quest item needed to be collected in the previous town."

There's not much to say; you'll probably find it boring, so just fast forward.

The screen of memory began to turn again, and vivid scenes flashed by.

"Adventurer, this is the final payment for the last mission."

"Oh, thank you, but can't we just go to the guild for this kind of thing? Besides, it's not the appraiser's responsibility, is it?"

"I happen to be quite free, um... if I have some free time—"

"Ah, Iori! I was just about to look for you. The water fairy told me about a very useful spell; we can take hot baths in the wild now. I'll demonstrate it for you when we get back."

"Mr. Wolf, I heard you're looking to buy a magic stone with these properties? I know a jeweler with extensive connections—"

"Iori, come quick! I'm not good at interacting with strangers. Come with me to negotiate the price!"

"..."

"Hey Wolf, I heard the lisianthus on the mountain are blooming. I took half a day off this afternoon, I wonder—"

"Do you want to ask Iori out?"

"..."

"Mr. Wolf—"

"Iori, let's play games together!"

"Wolf—"

"I wonder when Iori will be back."

"Iori?"

"Iori!"

【“Iori~”】

-

"..."

Jingwen swallowed hard, feeling his lips and tongue inexplicably dry. He subconsciously picked up the cold coffee on the table and took a sip, but almost spat it out when he looked at the light screen again.

"Staring! Staring right in this direction! That Miss Farrell... um!"

After being ignored by Yosuke for who knows how many times, the appraiser hid around the corner, staring wide-eyed and expressionless at Yosuke, who was talking to Iori. She remained silent for a long time, as if she had turned into a statue.

The scene shifts to Yosuke's first-person perspective. Even the usually refined and amiable handsome man, Aizen Iori, wears an expression that practically screams "disdain" on his face. His eyes are filled with deep doubt, as if he's wondering if the guy opposite him is mentally unstable…

I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! My uncle has caused you trouble!

Jingwen slammed his forehead on the table, sending a belated apology to Iori in his memory across time and space.

"Jingwen, are you tired?"

"fine!"

Jingwen rubbed his throbbing temples: "That's it? Is this all there is before we set off?"

"Yes... But if I had to say, there was actually a little hiccup. Before we set off, Iori decided to postpone it by a day, saying that it would rain heavily and make the trip difficult."

Yosuke still finds it incredible when he thinks about it: "And it really did rain! The weather had been pretty good the whole time, and it just so happened to be a torrential downpour that lasted for a whole day and night. Isn't that amazing?"

"Huh? Could this be... no, it's nothing."

Jingwen blinked, suppressing his guesses, and continued to focus on the light screen.

Yosuke continued, "That night I originally planned to invite Iori to a 'Sega Carnival Night,' but he had to go to the Adventurers' Guild, so I ended up playing games alone in my room."

Jingwen was somewhat disappointed: "So, it means there's still no development..."

"The only unexpected thing was that Farrell came to knock on my door, but there's nothing special about it, so let's skip that part."

"This is it! This is it!" Jingwen exclaimed excitedly. "Uncle, how can we skip this!"

"Huh? But it's really nothing, I just can't do anything with you~"

"Wait!" Jingwen asked seriously, "Can I really watch what's coming next? Uncle, is there anything inconvenient about it?"

"Huh? What did you say?"

"It's about... what did you two do in the room?"

"Of course, we should help her take off her wet clothes—"

"Oh, oh, oh!"

"—Then we played games all night."

Why?!

Side Story: A Love Song for a Certain Adventurer

There wasn't time to cast a silencing spell this time, so Jingwen excitedly shouted out and then immediately covered his face.

"Never mind... I shouldn't have had any expectations of you, Uncle. But this ending is too tragic for Miss Farrell. She must be very sad."

No, why would you think that?

Yosuke tilted his head: "Instead of saying she's happy, I'd say she's actually quite pleased."

"Happy?" Jingwen looked at the light screen in surprise.

The light curtain shifted and settled on the dimly lit corridor. A small section of the corridor was illuminated by the light coming from the room. Farrell, her wet robes clinging to her body and her long hair looking particularly heavy, stood outside the door.

[Wow! What happened to you? It's raining so hard outside, did you just walk here like that? Wait, Iori went to the guild, didn't you see him?]

I... I'm not here to see Mr. Iori, but to see you, Wolf Gombrad!

I have something to tell you, it has nothing to do with anyone else, it's just you and me!

【Me? That's strange... But come on in, you're soaking wet. I'll warm you up with magic.】

The next moment, in the fleeting image, the appraiser had taken off her heavy, wet coat and was sitting with Yosuke in a figure-hugging shirt. The two of them were actually playing a game...

Of course, Farrell had no prior knowledge in this area, and Yosuke taught her almost from scratch how to use the controller and what symbols such as "MP" and "HP" meant.

The long-haired appraiser was initially a little confused, but she listened patiently and gradually became interested as time went on, and her eyes would always unconsciously focus on Yosuke's profile.