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

"..."

"..."

They both stopped eating at the same time and looked up simultaneously: "A ring? When?"

"It was during a dinner party... After all, I've received a lot of care from her and caused her a lot of trouble, so I thought I'd use this as a thank you gift... But she didn't seem to like it much, and just stared blankly."

I told her this ring was very valuable and could fetch a high price from a merchant, but she got angry at me instead. Sigh, I've never really understood women. What did I do to upset her?

Yosuke looked confused, while Keifumi and Fujimiya looked as if they had swallowed a huge lump of wasabi, with extremely complicated expressions, as if they had a sneeze blocked.

Unaware of what was happening, Yosuke continued, "It was because of my ring that Miss Farrell missed out on a good match. I feel so sorry for her now."

Iori and Ms. Saito also said that I did something that could not be undone…

"What kind of good match?"

Who is Ms. Saito?

The two bombarded him with questions, causing Yosuke to scratch his head in confusion: "Didn't we say that before? But let's eat first—"

"No, explain yourself right now!"

"Beef or whatever, it doesn't matter. I'll bring king crab next time. Please make sure to use magic to unleash what you just said!"

"Huh? You really want to see this? It's so subtle... Okay."

"subtle?"

Jingwen keenly caught the key words and immediately put down his chopsticks. "Uncle, you haven't done something shocking again, have you?"

"What do you mean 'again'! I've been behaving myself the whole time!"

The uncle sighed, and a stream of light overflowed from his palm, weaving into a semi-transparent light curtain in the air.

……

"Saito?! Could he be Japanese?!"

In a village near the Imperial Capital, Iori and Saito encountered Yosuke Shimazaki, who was on a bounty mission. After introducing themselves, Yosuke was immediately overjoyed.

He couldn't find much of a sense of belonging in this other world. Although Iori was from a parallel world Japan, he could still be considered a fellow countryman and one of the few people he could open his heart to. Now that he had met another one, how could he not be overjoyed?

"Iori, there's something strange about your friend."

Saito subconsciously took a step back, his brows furrowing slightly.

She didn't have any particular opinion about Yosuke's appearance, but she noticed that his eyes were somewhat vacant and he seemed to be surrounded by something like death... Yet, she could also sense a kind of tenacious and positive spirit, which was really strange.

"Ahem! Sorry, my apologies."

Yosuke quickly regained his composure, bowed respectfully, and displayed a traditional skill.

"Because Japanese people are rare in this other world, therefore..."

"It doesn't matter."

Saito, always generous and open-minded, said, “I trust Iori’s judgment. Since he considers you a friend, you must have some extraordinary qualities… Where’s the tavern? I want to try the taste of this otherworldly wine.”

Immortality quickly lost interest in Yosuke. She came to this other world for tourism, not to make friends with an older man—she couldn't tell that Yosuke was under twenty years old.

"Oh, what a coincidence!"

A familiar voice rang out, and Farrell emerged from the other side of the street, a look of surprise on her face: "I didn't expect to see you here... It's been a long time, you two. And this gentleman... who are you?"

"Oh, it's been a long time, Miss Farrell."

"Let me introduce you..."

The four became acquainted after only a few words. Farrell was quite surprised that Saito and Yosuke were from the same hometown, but the observant girl quickly realized that Saito and Iori were a couple, which made her feel much more relaxed.

It's no wonder she was nervous. Despite Yosuke's appearance, he had quite a few encounters during his years in the other world (although most of them ended without a trace because of his looks). Among them, there were quite a few who had a crush on Yosuke, such as the intelligent slime girl, the ghost lady living in the ruins, and the runaway noble lady.

Farrell has been using divination to keep a close watch on him, and lately she's been showing more and more of the traits of a stalker.

However, she still had a certain amount of confidence; she was certain she wouldn't lose to anyone, which could be seen from the celestial stone ring she always wore on her hand.

Regardless of what Yosuke thinks, a ceremony is a ceremony, and a ring is a ring. She is now a woman who has received a token of their love!

……

"Um, say it again...who is whose stalker?"

"Aizen-san, that's so mean! I'm not a stalker!"

Yosuke, who has a very low alcohol tolerance, went to bed early. The three of them chatted for a while in the lobby of the hotel, and naturally the conversation turned to love.

Facing Saito's questioning gaze, Farrell coughed twice, and two blushes appeared on her face.

"I just think about him all the time, occasionally use my crystal ball to see what he's doing, and help him avoid those traps when I see bad women around—she's an innocent girl, how could she be a stalker?"

"...Are all people from other worlds like this?"

Saito pointed at Farrell, while Iori looked helpless.

He also wanted to know where the serious and proper appraiser had gone, and where this increasingly unscrupulous and obsessed woman had come from.

"By the way, has Mr. Aizen seen Miss Elf recently?"

Farrell asked, "I've gathered some information related to ancient relics. Could you please pass it on to me?"

"Uh... no problem."

Iori glanced at Saito subconsciously, and sure enough, the girl with purple twin tails was looking at him with a half-smile.

"cough!"

Was I too talkative?

Farrell noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you... I'm not as oblivious as Yosuke; I know what topics are most damaging in this kind of situation."

Instead of worrying about other people's relationship problems, I advise you to focus your energy on yourself, miss.

"Well!"

Upon hearing Iori's words, the appraiser's spirits immediately collapsed, and she lost all interest in inquiring about the relationship between Iori and Saito.

"You're right... but he's just so slow-witted, what can I do?"

It's unbelievable that such a beautiful girl could be pursuing a "half-orc" so relentlessly without success—Saito shook his head.

However, as a woman, especially one who has also suffered from unrequited love, Saito can really understand Farrell. Although they have only known each other for a short time, she already feels the same way and can't help but want to help her.

"In fact, both men and women have one thing in common, and once you master it, you will be invincible."

—Iori glanced at Saito, who was talking eloquently.

These are clearly words he wrote in his book...

People tend not to cherish what they already have, but they strive to obtain what they cannot obtain.

If you try your best to be nice to someone but they ignore you, it's very likely they don't realize your importance. You need to make them aware of this, or rather, give them a sense of crisis about losing you.

Saito spoke like a love guru, and Farrell listened intently: "Men are just shameless, and they're born with a competitive gene. If someone else pursues you, it's easy for them to change their minds."

"Amazing! I've never heard of this theory before, but it seems to make a lot of sense... Is this the wisdom of Japan in another world?!"

"Hmph, good to know, but let me make this clear first, you won't be able to borrow my Iori."

"No problem! Finding a few acquaintances to put on a show is easy! Thank you, Master Saito! You're much better than Miss Elf!"

The celestial stone ring gleamed in the candlelight, while the appraiser blushed, already fantasizing about how she would handle Yosuke.

……

A few days later, Iori arranged to meet Yosuke at a high-end restaurant in the capital. The two were chatting as usual when Yosuke suddenly noticed that Farrell was standing by the wall of the flower shop across the street, seemingly waiting for someone.

"Iori, look, it's Miss Farrell... Wait, who's that?"

Yosuke saw a well-dressed, handsome, aristocratic blond young man walk up to Farrell. The appraiser acted shy and cute, and the two greeted each other happily.

Suddenly, Yosuke gave up the idea of ​​greeting them, feeling as if the street had become an abyss, so far away.

"I don't know her. Maybe she's a friend of Farrell's... or a suitor."

Iori calmly said while sipping her coffee.

"Suitors..."

Yosuke's voice sounded somewhat detached from reality.

"Yes, after all, Miss Farrell is so outstanding and unmarried, it's normal for her to be pursued by eight or ten men."

"...That's it."

Yosuke withdrew his gaze and stared blankly at his desk, lost in thought.

Seeing this, Iori narrowed her eyes and pressed her advantage: "In another world, this age is indeed the right time to get married. She'll probably find her Mr. Right in a few days."

"Hmm...is this a good thing...?"

"How do you feel?"

“Miss Farrell is our friend, so of course we should be happy about that, but… we must carefully vet the kind of person she is… right?”

"Yes."

Iori looked at him with a smile, "Now, what do you plan to do? What if Farrell takes a liking to that man?"

Snapped!

Yosuke slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his eyes becoming incredibly determined. Without saying a word, he pushed open the door and walked out of the restaurant, crossing the street without any attempt to conceal himself.

The appraiser also saw him, seemingly surprised, but her tone couldn't hide her upward curve: "Yo-suke? What are you doing here?"

"follow me."

His voice was deep and powerful, leaving no room for argument; Yosuke Shimazaki rarely showed such a domineering side.

He didn't even look at the man's expression, but directly grabbed Farrell's wrist and forcibly led her away.

No—um.

Farrell wanted to resist, but her body went limp and she couldn't muster any strength. She could only nod silently and let Yosuke lead her into a small alley.

"Fariel... I'm sorry."

Yosuke pinned her against the wall with one hand, his body getting lower and lower—Farael's heart pounded wildly!

Iori and Saito, who were secretly observing the development of the events, were also tense and excited:

Should we do it? Yosuke, are you here? Now?!

Ah, Yosuke, let's do something big! Let's do something big! Don't hesitate any longer!

Farrell closed her eyes, raised her small face, and said, "Now it's up to you to do what you want with it."

With a flash of brilliance, the ring was removed from Farrell's finger.

"Ok?"

"Phew! Luckily I made it in time, so they probably didn't notice."

Yosuke wiped the sweat from his forehead: "It's all because you refused to sell it. If someone sees it, they'll think it's a gift from your lover and they'll definitely misunderstand!"

If I miss out on a good match like this, I will be guilty of a terrible sin.

"Thank goodness... Let's pawn the ring; we can save the money for our wedding."

Farrell: "!!!!!!!!!"

"babble!"

……

Clang!

"No! Don't use Bankai!"

"He's my brother, after all. Just for my sake... I'll only let you use your Shikai at most."

……

Why?!

"Why am I suddenly so sensible now?!"