synergetic | Prince of Fire Emblem: Three-Ring Circus

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prince of fire emblem

Prince of Fire Emblem: Three-Ring Circus

So, not how she expected to spend her day.

"We have to get this done by mid-afternoon if we're going to have time to eat afterward, and for me to still have tea with Maribelle..."

She's walking, but she stops short at the remembrance of her friend.

"Ooh, someone's gonna have to tell her, huh? She should hear it from me."

She glances back at Bunta, expecting him to be following her as she navigates the castle town. Several people recognize their princess and raise their hands or hats, which she acknowledges with cheerful return waves or personal calls as she goes, but plenty of others see no significance in the presence of a girl in a plain cleric's habit, walking down the street.

"Wait, what should she hear from me?" She gives him an almost pleading look. "Should I... be honest with Maribelle? Or not?"

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Lissa is too pure to pull off her brother's staredown quite the same way, but it's a cute effort.

"Don't worry; that was a side request. You want to pick your own ring, right? That's fine. Try and take a look at the rest of the cases. There's plenty here you haven't seen yet."

Is there, though?

She supposes so, and turns around in a huff to go peeking through the cases, up one side of the room and down the other, a few stray exclamations over engravings or stone cuttings left in her wake.

Still, it's a little half-hearted, since she's dying to know what his 'side request' could be. And it's not like any hearts are really being touched in this scheme, anyway.

She keeps following Bunta with her eyes, too.

"Kind of a shame nobody else came along..." Seiichi should at least know what he was spending before he got the bill, but that was his choice at every step!

While Lissa is browsing, Ishimitsu opens the central case of featured items and removes the daisy ring with the fire opal stone that Bunta saw earlier, closing it inside a ring box before taking it to the transaction desk and starting to fill out some paperwork for the custom order. Once the details of the instruction are recorded, he hands off completion to the desk clerk and rejoins Lissa to show her through the remaining selection and answer any questions she has about them.

Bunta stays with her, casually browsing the rings in cases and occasionally commenting on them up through her remark about their company.

"Huh? How come? Are you missing someone?"

"I just think shopping's more fun in a group, that's all," she said. "Then again, I don't think they'd have any really good opinions... Genichiro-kun would just keep telling you to find something better."

Which makes her giggle.

"You're the only one I'd thought would have any opinions on this kind of thing... well, besides Hiroshi-kun, but whether or not it's sufficient to my station in life isn't really the kind of opinion I care about. So I'm kinda disappointed you wouldn't say anything about what you're wearing!"

The little dig at Sanada makes him smile, only because it's true. Sanada's standards were second possibly only to Yukimura's. He shined brightest pushing everyone and everything to be the very best that they could, and their entire nation was stronger for his pushing. And like the rest of them, he had a soft spot for Lissa. She was right. There wouldn't be a ring in all of Rikkai that could seem worthy enough for her in his eyes.

"Mmh... I see. Unfortunately, whether it's a ring I'd choose for myself isn't the kind of opinion I care about. The perfect engagement ring for me is the one that my partner chooses for me to have. So thank you for helping me get the best one!" He winks.

Edited 2023-08-31 03:19 (UTC)

"W-well, maybe we still have time to change it..." She bit her lip, suddenly picturing people making fun of Bunta over the ring.

Bunta tips his head and blows a bubble.

"Huh? But I like it..."

"...Why are you so weird?" she asked, after a long stare and a short contemplation on the merits of popping his bubble (none, she decides, especially if it gets in his hair).

"Just bein' me," he says shamelessly, and then gestures towards the case of featured items that now sports an empty slit where the daisy ring had rested. "Look, there are some more rings over here. The one you want might be in this one."

She looks at him a little suspiciously. She has no idea what to do be suspicious of; she's just alerted to be wary now that he's directing her specifically.

Her eyes roam over the jewelry, but she isn't really seeing any of it, because she's thinking.

She doesn't glare, per se, but she looks rather intensely at him.

"What makes you say that?"

Marui is as guileless as ever as he looks back at her. "Because you haven't looked here yet." Is this a trick question?

"And you have?"

Of course, she can't really help what attracts her eyes. She points at something with an iridescent stone in silver setting.

"What kind of stone is that, do you think?"

Bunta shrugs. He did look earlier, but that isn't relevant, is it? Lissa wants to choose her own ring to wear for the arrangement, and she deserves to be able to. And if Bunta happened to see a ring that made him think of her, and he just happened to act on the feeling that he really wanted to get it for her, that's a separate matter.

Mostly.

"I dunno. Ishimitsu?"

"Ah, that's an opal! Beautiful, isn't it? Would you like to try it on?"

Edited 2023-08-31 05:35 (UTC)

"I, um." Suddenly, she's a little unsure.

"I guess that's a good idea. I guess if you have any more opals, I'd want to try them..."

"Certainly! Let's just take this one out first..." Ishimitsu says as he retrieves the opal ring Lissa asked about and offers it to her to try on.

"Do you like the iridescence? There are many different kinds of opal that have similar effect. There are also certain crystals with that quality."

Bunta stands a bit off to the side, lifting his eyebrows when Lissa shows interest in the opals but saying nothing.

"It's a bit more interesting than just plain sparkling," she answered by way of explanation, admiring the the way the gemstone caught the light.

"I guess a diamond would be more ladylike, though. Rainbow colors might be a little childish for the king's sister."

Ishimitsu hesitates for just one moment before he replies.

"Well, you certainly can't go wrong with a diamond for an engagement ring. They are the classic choice. However, I would suggest that opals are not at all a childish option. It's a very popular stone among matriarchs, and it is associated with love, passion, fidelity, and protection. When you consider its symbolism, it's very interesting to me that the diamond is the standard stone for an engagement. Opal would seem a most fitting choice for the occasion."

"If diamonds weren't more expensive, I'd think you were just trying for a sale," she admitted, honest to a fault.

She held the ring up for Marui's approval.

"Can you picture me as a matriarch? Of anything? I wouldn't know how to act without Seiichi's guidance!"

Ishimitsu is thankfully used to all kinds of personality types and laughs politely.

Bunta looks the ring over and smiles at her.

"Sure. You can be the grand matriarch of banana splits."

She stuck her tongue out at him purely on reflex.

"I wish you were paying for this now..." she mumbled.

It passes, though, as another sunbeam gleams across the surface of the opal.

"I'm pretty much settled on wanting an opal," she decided. "Maybe Sei-niichan will spring for matching earrings for my birthday. I'll say one is a gift for him, too!"

"He might," Bunta grants. There wasn't much Yukimura wouldn't do for Lissa, and the exceptions all fell into the category of squarely-against-Lissa's-best-interest. A pair of pretty opal earrings shouldn't be a problem.

"What do you think? Do you want that one?"

"I think so," she said, taking another look at the band. Pretty color, but plain... yet she didn't want to drag this chore on any further, even if it was fun to go shopping with Bunta.

"Everyone's going to be so..." she trails off. Surprised? She remembered that some of the others said, about chaos and people's reactions.

"It would be kinda tacky to be showing this off, huh?"

"Not at all-- jewelry is supposed to be noticed!" Ishimitsu assured her. "And that goes double for an engagement ring. It has an important job to do in communicating availability."

"That's true," Bunta said. "Wear it with joy, after the announcement."

That's her out, if she isn't comfortable wearing it yet, or simply doesn't want to deal with the swarm of attention and questions it's going to generate now. It's okay to wait: let the ring be the confirmation, not the breaking news alert.

She can't go into the complicated emotions this gives her in front of a veritable stranger, but she still gives Bunta a bit of a weird face.

It only lasts a minute, though. It is a pretty ring, and if nothing else, maybe this will give them a story to tell. She takes some comfort from the evidence that Sei-niichan won't send her away as the physical embodiment of some trade agreement. That and excuses to hang out with Bunta-- those are things to be joyful about.

"How are these things usually announced?" she asked the commoners. "I'm not important enough for like, a speech, am I?"

Sorry, Lissa. He knows that's a bit of a loaded suggestion, but there are appearances to keep up with current company. At least it's a pretty ring?

"Who knows," Bunta shrugs. "Yagyuu and Yanagi will help you prepare it, if your brother wants one."

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