[DeepL Translation - needs review] Introduction to Volume 1: Masayoshi rescues Mr. Richard, a handsome foreigner who is being tangled with by a drunken man. When Masayoshi learns that Mr. Richard is a talented jeweler with clients in Japan and abroad, he asks him to appraise a pink sapphire that has an unexplained secret that no one can tell. When Mr. Richard unravels the sad "mystery" of the gemstone, which his grandmother guarded until her death, what comes back to Masayoshi's mind is .......
As a note, I listened to the audiobook and I did not read the text. I feel like the L34 it's currently sitting at as of April 2025 is too high and would personally place it lower, around ~30-32 perhaps? But since I only listened to the audiobook take that with a grain of salt.
If I had to guess, difficulty ratings from other users probably came from the decent amount of keigo used, as the writing wasn't particularly flowery nor was the vocab (assuming you are a native English speaker) hard. I specify native English speaker as a lot of the gem stone specific vocabulary was katakana English.
I listened to this somewhat by mistake. I glanced at the cover and saw 謎 and assumed it would be some sort of Sherlock and Watson situation. It was not. This is in the BL Bait genre I'd say, with a touch of comedy, human drama, and heart warming story telling. I admit - not really my jam. But if those sound delightful to you this may be your book! I think generally anyone who enjoys things like 猫とメガネ 蔦屋敷の不可解な遺言 will probably likewise enjoy this book.