Chapter 3: A Proposal fantasy that begins with a Misunderstanding
Part I
Ryoji and Carena were on their way home, discussing their conversation at the Mage’s Guild.
“I’m glad we were able to conclude the contract successfully.”
“Yeah. That was more than I expected. I think you need a bonus for Carena-san.”
“Bo~nus? What is that? I’ve never heard of it, can you tell me more about it?”
(I see. There’s no such thing as a bonus in this world. Would it be easier to say “reward” again? But let’s spread that word bonus around here from now. on)
When Ryoji began to explain about the bonus, Carena nodded with a satisfied expression.
“The master gives special rewards to those who achieve more than expected, right? Like a special reward in the Adventurer’s Guild, I suppose?”
“Correct! In this case, I was just going to borrow a name from the Magician’s Guild for the exchange of quintuple potions, but they even decided to test it, right? And the first time around, the guild leader himself will do the inspection. Such a great endorsement is a good start, don’t you think so? That’s why I’m going to give Carena-san a bonus!”
“Thank you. Well, I’ll do my best to get more bo-nus in the future.”
“Yeah. Oh, come on. Let’s go shopping, ASAP! Maybe a ring or something will do?”
“EH?”
Smiling at Carena, who was forming a clenched fist and getting fired up, Ryoji pulled her hand and walked towards the jewelry store.
The jewelry store was located in the area of Drugul’s city known as the nobleman’s district, and there were guards posted in front of the store. The guard watched smilingly as Ryoji, the person well known at this time, came in holding hand with Carena and opened the door for them.
The store was more spacious than he had expected, with showcases lined up in a U-shape and lavishly decorated with jewelry. Ryoji’s group was not the only one who visited the store, but there were others who looked like customers, and they were exchanging jewelry with the female clerk.
“Welcome. What can I do for you today?”
“I’ve come to buy her a bonu …… err some jewellery as a special reward. What do you have that suits her best?”
While Ryoji and Carena were looking at the jewelry, someone who looked like a store manager approached them. At first, Carena simply looked at them and followed, but when she saw Ryoji begin to consult with someone who looked like the store’s owner, she looked a little pale and tugged at her sleeve.
” Though not this expensive, you can buy a necklace from the stall if you’d like to……”
(This is the first time I’ve been in a jewelry store since my reincarnation, and I’m wondering if all the top stores feel the same. I can’t let Carena-san watch me be uncool! ”Ryoji-sama, you are wonderful. Please marry me! ” I want her to say that.)
Ryoji, who was new to the high-class store, put his mind to it and spoke to her with a kind expression on his face.
“It’s okay. There is no problem with the money I have because I have the reward I got from the Cave of Trials last time and the amount I sold the demon materials I defeated. Besides, since you will continue to take care of me in the future, will you allow me to give you this much?”
“It’s true. Lady. Jewelry is a gift that men give to women because they want to ‘make women more beautiful for themselves’. Denying them that would be a waste of a man’s wishes. Would you mind taking a look at it for this gentleman who have been waiting near the showcase to show you?”
After being persuaded by Ryoji and someone who looked like the store manager, Carena nodded with a troubled face and looked at the recommended gems taken out of the showcase. Ryoji was soothed by Carena’s smile gradually returning to her profile, when he noticed the clerk who had been handling the matter in a different way coming towards him.
“Store manager. May I have a word with you?”
“How can I help you? I apologize. I’ll have to leave the table for a moment. Instead, just let her know and she’ll bring out what you want to see.”
A woman in the store spoke to Ryoji, who was nodding with a satisfied look on his face as he found out it was the store manager as well.
“You have been looking at a variety of things, but did you have a favorite?”
“How’s that? Carena-san. Did you see anything you liked?”
When Ryoji and the female manager turned to look at him, Carena’s expression changed from a good mood to one of agitation.
”Eh? I’m happy just looking at it, so I wasn’t thinking about buying it. I’ve never been in a store where a nobleman would come in, so I didn’t think about buying it.”
“Ehh? Really? I thought you were used to going to jewelry stores.”
“Those are more affordable places! There’s no way I can get into a fancy establishment on my earnings!”
Seeing the teary-eyed Carena, Ryoji panicked lightly.
“Hey, why are you getting teary-eyed? I don’t know what to do, clerk! Tell me about it, please!”
“How about we get her something?”
Just as Ryoji’s panic was about to be spurred on by only a safe answer from the female clerk who asked for help, he heard the manager’s whispered voice from behind him
“How about a ring or something? For adventurers, magic-granted rings are very popular.”
“I see! Manager. She’s an adventurer, do you have a ring that’s been granted magical powers?”
Turning a look of gratitude on the manager’s advice when he returned after the correspondence was over, I asked him to specify the ring and bring out the item.
“How about this one, for example? The basic performance is a ring that increases the speed of chanting. In addition, various effects can be added by attaching gems and magical stones.”
“There doesn’t seem to be any room for gems or magic stones?”
When Ryoji asks a question while looking at the ring, the manager replies with a smile as if to say “thank you for asking”.
“This ring is a magic tool, and the magic stone is stored inside the ring. The price will be a little bit higher, but what do you want to do?”
“How much?”
“That makes 500 gold pieces.”
“Sold!”
He doesn’t notice Carena’s astonished expression when she hears the amount and announces the purchase with great vigor to the manager who elegantly tells him the amount. Carena, who came to herself at the sound of Ryoji’s voice, hurriedly shouts out.
”Hey Ryoji-sama! It’s too expensive! That’s more than the cost of repairing the magic measuring device!”
“It’s okay. I’ve got it on hand.”
Looking at Carena’s expression with amusement, Ryoji takes out two gems (inside) from the storage and hands them to the manager. Receiving the jewels reverently, the manager looks at the jewels (inside) shining in her hand and exhales in admiration.
“This is a wonderful jewel, isn’t it? Are you sure you want to use it for payment?”
“Is it not enough?”
“Rather than coming up short, one will be enough. Then I’ll take it as payment for the ring and the magic stone.”
The manager took one of the jewels (inside) and returned the rest to Ryoji. Carena froze with a look of surprise on her face, and the female clerk looked at the jewels (inside) that the manager was holding with an envious look on her face.
”Ryoji-sama. Is it correct that the magic stone you are wearing is the one with the wind attribute? Lady Carena is famous for her use of the wind, so I assume it suits her?
“So, then. Carena-san is it okay if we go with that?”
“What? Ha, yes. I’m famous for my use of wind magic.”
Ryoji looks at Carena, who only gives a strange answer, but when the manager hands him a ring containing a magic stone with the attribute of wind, he turns to Carena and speaks to her,
“Carena-san. I’m looking forward to working with you in the future. You will accept this ring, won’t you?”
With the ring he received from the manager, he took Carena’s right hand, which remained rigid, and fitted it to her ring finger. With a bright red expression, Carena looked at the ring finger of her right hand and Ryoji alternately, holding his hand and checking the feel of the ring, but when she looked at Ryoji with a sparkling smile and moist eyes, she told him loud and clear
“Yes! Of course! We’ll be happy to oblige. I look forward to working with you for many years to come!”
(Hmm? Happy to oblige? Permanently? Why are you thanking me for being so red-faced? Maybe it’s my imagination, but the customers around me are also looking at me and I can hear them saying things like, ‘As expected of the hero of Drugul, the things he does are very bold’ or ‘It’s a situation I want to be told once. I can hear people saying things like, “It’s a situation that you want to be told once,” or “It’s just as expected of you to ask for marriage in front of such a public place. Hmm? Keh, did she say marriage!)
As Ryoji was puzzled by the reaction of Carena and the people around him, the manager spoke to him, clapping with an impressed look on his face.
“I am trembling with excitement. To think that you could make the marriage proposal in my shop! Please let us know when you get married. We will be delighted to prepare a wonderful gift for you. We have nothing for you at the moment. So may I send you a round of applause? If you would all like to join me, please do so!”
As the manager began to applaud, the staff and customers in the store clapped in unison to congratulate him.
“Congratulations!”
“I’m impressed!”
“I can’t believe I was there to witness a hero’s marriage proposal!”
“Yes! We’ll get married too!”
Blessed by all of them, Carena whispered in a small voice to Ryoji as she received the blessing with a bright red face and a happy smile.
“Bona fide, it was a marriage proposal, wasn’t it? I thought it was a special reward for my work. I’ll never forget this special day for the rest of my life!”
(Carena-san. Don’t get me wrong, the bonus is a special reward for work.)
Ryouji was unable to tell the truth to the happy Carena.
When Marco visited Ryoji, he saw the druggle hero moaning with his head on the desk.
“What’s wrong? Ryoji-san?”
Hearing Marco’s casual voice, Ryoji raised his head slightly, but as soon as he put his head on the desk again, he let out a deep sigh and began to squeeze out.
“Hey. I seem to have been an insensitive protagonist.”
“What? ”Insensitive protagonist”? I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Cause! I went to the jewelry store to give Carena-san a bonus for her hard work, and she almost cried, so I bought a ring on the manager’s recommendation, put it on her right ring finger, and we were going to be married! What do you do with this without calling this the handy work of an insensitive protagonist!”
Without much of a surprise at Ryoji’s grunting confession, Marco gave Ryoji his blessing.
“Putting a ring on the ring finger of your right hand means ‘please marry me’. Is it different in your country? What? Is it the ring finger of your left hand? I see, it’s time to send your right hand to your girlfriend. Be more careful next time.”
“There’s no next time!”
As he responds to Marco’s advice with a shout, Marco speaks happily.
“By the way, the story of your proposal of marriage to Carena has already become the most talked about topic in the city of Drugul.”
“What! Why? Where did that story leak from …… ah. There were other customers who came to the jewelry store to shop.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure they did. I’m sure the informant got a whiff of the story and handed it out all over town as an extra issue.”
Ryouji straightened his back, looking up as if to change his mind, despite his tired face. Marco, who had heard about the wedding at the jewelry store but hadn’t seen the actual thing, asked Ryoji lightly.
“By the way, how much of a ring did you give her? You would have what, like 50 gold pieces? If you’re an honorary knight, they say it’s about a month’s worth.”
“500 gold pieces for just a ring.”
“What? Five hundred gold pieces? What are you talking about? Where did you get 500 gold coins, a lot of money?”
“I had it on hand.”
“You said you had it on hand ……. Come to think of it, you also used the jewels to pay for the repair of the magic power measuring device. But still, how much money did you leave home with? Even a high-level nobleman couldn’t come up with 500 gold coins at once.”
Marco looked at Ryoji, who was mumbling as he plopped down again, as if he was dumbfounded.
“Nyufufufu.”
Carena was doing her usual reception duties for the guild, but unlike usual, she had a regular reminiscent laugh and seemed to have a field of flowers blooming above her head by the dozen or so.
“Carena? You’ve been acting strangely ever since you and Ryoji-sama went to the Mages’ Guild. What’s going on?”
“Nyufufufu. It was there, Melta. I could live on this memory alone for a week without drinking or eating! Nyufufufufu.”
Melta looked at Carena with a curious look on her face as she replied with a big smile, but when she saw Carena’s right hand glancing at her appealingly, she gulped heavily. Then, as her mouth snaps up, she asks a question to squeeze out her voice.
“Wa-Wait? Carena-san? What’s that ring on your right ring finger?”
“What? Did you see it? Actually. I GOT A RING.”
“Well, it’s not like Ryoji-sama gave you, is it?”
Melta’s voice and body quivered as she asked the question, and the high-strung answer she least wanted to hear arrived in her ears.
“Yes! Ryoki-sama took me to a jewelry store. He bought me a ring! And he said, ‘Keep up the good work. Please take care of me,’ and then he put it on my right ring finger!”
While Melta was stunned, Carena was happily explaining and showing her the ring, the guild’s door opened vigorously and Bartolo came up to them.
“Carena! Is it true you’re going to marry Ryorge!”
“Where did you get that from?”
“The whole town is talking about it! In a jeweler’s shop, Ryoji asked Carena’s for her hand in marriage. A ring that cost him 300 gold pieces! Money! He has money. ……”
“Bartolo!”
Calenarien interrupted Bartolo midway as he spoke excitedly.
“It’s true what you said about accepting the marriage proposal. And you’re wrong about one thing. Master Ryoji asked me to marry him, and I was happy to accept. His character is kind, strong, young, and we can go on adventures together. Ryoji-sama is not yet an adult, so he’s my fiancé for a while.”
Bartolo’s shoulders slumped as he moved into the tavern space as Carena explained to him while turning bright red with a happy face. The adventurers around Bartolo, who had begun to drink vigorously, began to comfort him by tapping him on the shoulder.
“Give it up. Bartolo.”
“You can’t win against that Ryoji.”
“He’s Drurgul’s hero and he has gold. It’s rumored that the ring he gave her was not 300 gold pieces, but 1000 gold pieces.”
“What? Really? Do you think I should go for it too?”
“Don’t do it. ……. Carena and Melta-san are looking at each other with a hell of a look on their faces.”
At first, the adventurer was comforting Bartolo, but as the drink progressed, he started the feast, using the story of Ryoji and Carena’s engagement as a snack.
—–Part I end—
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