As Good As It Gets

"Handsome young Banning, I've prepared a sumptuous meal at my home for lunch, and as the great benefactor of Ira Village, you must come and enjoy♂yourself♀~"

"Haha, you're too kind, sister Mary."

The person who set off Silly Nissen's bad woman radar was none other than Mary, and even without his identification ability, Tyler wouldn't have mistaken her. However, Tyler didn't dislike Mary; without her, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to dismantle the Crimson Cloud Bandits from within.

Nevertheless, not disliking someone doesn't equate to liking them. Tyler had no interest in Mary whatsoever, even when she occasionally rubbed her shapely body against him or teasingly stroked his back with a certain soft body part. His opinion of her remained unchanged.

(Silly Nissen: Wow, Tyler, are you impotent-o or something? How can you have no reaction to this?)

(Tyler: If you don't need a brain, you can donate it to someone in need.)

Although Tyler remained unmoved, being pestered in such a manner for an extended period was quite annoying. Just as he was about to make an excuse to leave, he spotted Avril standing in the back of the crowd, looking hesitantly in his direction as if unsure whether to push through.

"Avril~! Could you help me mend my clothes? They've got quite a few holes in them from fighting the bandits yesterday!"

Tyler suddenly shouted and waved in Avril's direction, drawing the attention of the villagers to her, leaving her with nowhere to hide.

"Eh?"

Caught off guard, Avril froze as the focus of everyone's attention, only managing to answer Tyler's question after a few seconds.

"Uh... um, sure... I can do that."

Under these circumstances, Avril, who often helped others mend their clothes, had no reason to refuse. Tyler took this opportunity to break free from Mary's clutches and swiftly made his way to Avril's side.

"Hmm? What did you say? Oh, you need to go home and get your needle and thread? Let's go, then!"

Without waiting for Avril's response, Tyler loudly carried on a one-sided conversation, then grabbed Avril's hand and started to jog. The two of them continued like this until they were out of the villagers' sight, and only then did Tyler gradually slow down.

"Thank you, Avril. I didn't know how to escape from the crowd, and I'm glad you happened to pass by."

"It's... it's fine... it's just... a small thing..."

After running, Tyler's breathing was steady, but the exercise-deprived Avril was gasping heavily with her hands on her knees, her speech broken and interrupted.

After catching her breath, Avril belatedly realized that Banning had been holding her hand for quite some time. Although he was only gripping her wrist, the skin-to-skin contact made her face instantly turn red.

"Um, about the hand..."

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to."

As soon as Avril finished speaking, Banning let go of her hand as if he'd been shocked. His sudden release left Avril feeling an unexpected sense of loss.

"It's... it's okay, no need to apologize... or anything."

Avril looked down at the ground, realizing that when she was with Banning, she spent nine out of ten minutes staring at the ground.

"Avril, I acted impulsively just now without considering your feelings. I hope you can forgive me."

"Mmm... it's not that exaggerated, no need for forgiveness."

After Banning apologized, silence fell between them once more.

Though Avril continued to look at the ground, her mind was racing. She had spent a sleepless night planning to apologize to Banning for last night's incident and to properly introduce herself, but now that they finally had a chance to be alone, she had completely forgotten what she wanted to say.

Avril felt immense regret for not writing down her thoughts on a small piece of paper to carry with her.

"Anyway, thank you, Avril. I won't take up any more of your time. If there's anything I can help you with, feel free to come find me."

Hearing Banning's farewell, Avril panicked and quickly tried to keep him from leaving.

"Wait, wait a moment. You... you... your... that's right! Your clothes... don't they need to be mended?"

In her haste, Avril cleverly remembered what Banning had said when he called her over. Wasn't this a perfect excuse for them to continue spending time alone?

Banning looked down at his tattered clothes and realized they did need mending.

"Haha, yes, they do. Do you have time to help me with that?"

Banning smiled, and the awkward atmosphere between them seemed to melt away like ice and snow in the warmth of early spring.

"Mmm, yes... I have time. Can you wait for me to go home and get my needle and thread?"

Avril was secretly happy about the extension of their time together, but an unexpected comment from Banning made her heartbeat suddenly speed up.

"Let me go with you. It'll save you the trouble of running back and forth."

"Eh?"

Avril was quite startled by Banning's proposal to go to her house. She was the only one living there! Wh-wh-wh-what if SOMETHING happened between them while they were alone?! Sh-she-she-she had no experience in these situations...!!

"What's wrong, Avril?"

Banning's voice pulled Avril's thoughts back from outer space. Her mind in chaos, she decided to throw caution to the wind.

"No... nothing. Let's... let's go to my place together."

As Avril turned around abruptly, she almost spun her head off. In order not to let Banning see her flushed face, she hurriedly walked ahead, taking small, quick steps. Banning followed her leisurely from behind.

(Stupid Nissen: Whoa, Tyler, isn't that-o a bit too aggressive?)

(Tyler: Do you think dating is like being a polite hostess entertaining a distinguished guest?)

(Stupid Nissen: Um, I'm sorry?)

(Tyler: You can't always be polite and civilized; you need to create situations that make the other person's heart race to get them caught in the whirlpool of love.)

(Stupid Nissen: Ah, Master Tyler, I see! This is a creative application of the "suspension bridge effect-o"!)

For once, Stupid Nissen had managed to display some learning progress.

Tyler was now following one of his core concepts in his love theory: mutual respect is for after marriage, dating is all about making the heart race!

In a short while, Banning followed Avril to her small, chic house. The exterior was adorned with some decorations, reflecting a girl's taste.

"Please... come in."

"I haven't tidied up recently, so it might be a bit messy..."

Avril, somewhat embarrassed, opened the door and let Banning in.

Usually, the response to this situation would be something like, "No, it's very clean and tidy," or "I'm the one who should be embarrassed for intruding on your home without notice." However, these responses would commit the mistake of being "too polite" that Tyler had just mentioned.

Banning stood at the doorway and took a glance inside. The room was actually quite neat and not as messy as Avril had described. However, his response to Avril was...

"Haha, it is indeed a bit messy."