Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 149: Shopping in the Royal Capital
Brother Cain also bought me two more books: an Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Monsters and an Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Magic Tools. Both were children’s books, but I was grateful for them.
It seemed Brother Cain had wanted to buy something specifically for me.
Maybe he felt that, as my older brother, he hadn’t done enough for his younger brother. That wasn’t true at all.
We returned to the carriage and headed for our next destination. I was astonished by how many books Brother Cain carried out of the shop.
“Do you really need that many books?”
“I do. I use them for research and references. The academy library has copies, but other people use them too, so they’re not always available when I need them. It’s more convenient to buy the books I need and keep them in my room.”
That was exactly how a wealthy aristocrat thought.
Brother Alex probably owned many of the same books, yet it apparently never occurred to them to share second-hand copies. What a waste. I’d always thought books were supposed to be valuable.
While we were talking, the carriage reached our next stop. Expensive-looking swords filled the shop’s display window.
“Here we are,” Brother Cain said cheerfully.
This time, instead of telling me to stay in the carriage, he brought me along without hesitation.
Was he planning to buy me a sword?
Come to think of it, I’d always trained with swords Lionel provided, so I’d never actually visited a weapon shop before.
The moment we stepped inside, the proprietor hurried over.
“Lord Cain, welcome.”
“I’d like to see some swords.”
“Of course. Please come this way.”
The proprietor led us towards the back of the store. Apparently this was one of Brother Cain’s favourite weapon shops. The man’s face had lit up the moment he saw him.
Did Brother Cain spend that much money here?
The rear room held far more swords than the ones displayed in the front window. I wasn’t some sword fanatic, but even I felt a little excited.
There were gaudily decorated swords that looked almost useless in a real fight, but there were also plenty of attractive, practical-looking weapons.
“This one looks good.”
Brother Cain picked up a sword with very little decoration. It was clearly designed for practical use.
He really did intend to serve seriously with the knight order one day. Otherwise, a noble in his position might’ve chosen something ornamental instead.
He drew the blade with a smooth metallic hiss. It was a straight, double-edged sword—the most common kind in this world. House Heine’s territorial knights all used swords of the same general shape.
Weren’t there any other types?
Curious, I began searching.
And then I found one.
Just one.
Brother Cain had asked the proprietor whether he could test his chosen sword and was about to head towards the back door when he noticed what I was staring at.
“Do you like that sword, Julius? It has an unusual shape.”
“Huh? Oh, no. I just thought it looked unusual. It’s not that I want it.”
Brother Cain gave me a doubtful look.
The proprietor, however, immediately offered the sword to me. He was a good merchant, all right.
“You have an excellent eye, my lord. That weapon is called a katana. It was brought here from the East.”
“The East…”
Was there a country somewhere in this world that resembled Japan?
My tutor mainly taught me about the nearby nations and cultures, so I still knew very little about distant countries. I’d been shown a world map once, but to me it had looked more like a rough map of the continents.
I had no idea what lay beyond the oceans.
“Since you’re here, why don’t you give it a try?”
“Ha… ha.”
Brother Cain really did love swords. He was in such a good mood that he urged me on.
I felt bad making him wait when he was obviously itching to test his own sword, so I accepted the weapon and followed him.
Although the proprietor had called it a katana, the weapon was actually closer to a wakizashi than a full-length sword. That made it short enough for someone my size to use.
Come to think of it, most of the swords the proprietor had shown us were on the shorter side. He must’ve prepared a selection for children.
Did that mean academy students came here to buy their first swords?
Beyond the back door was a test-cutting area with several straw targets set up in a row. No one else was there, so we could swing freely without worrying about other customers.
Brother Cain went first.
I remembered that he belonged to the academy’s swordsmanship club. As expected, he looked completely accustomed to handling a blade.
With an energetic slash, he cut through the target. The upper section dropped to the ground with a thud.
“It feels a little heavy, but the edge is good. I like it. I’ll take this one.”
“Thank you very much.”
The proprietor grinned happily. The sword was probably expensive.
While I was thinking about that, my turn arrived.
I didn’t particularly need to test the wakizashi, but… well, I’d already come this far.
I drew it carefully.
The rippling temper line along the blade was beautiful. It looked like a remarkably fine piece of work.
It almost felt wrong to use it for a test cut. If I chipped the edge, that would be awful. I’d have to be careful.
I quietly regulated my breathing, lined up the strike, and swung.
The blade passed through the target.
I felt almost no resistance at all.
The sharpness was genuine.
The target remained standing, its upper and lower halves only slightly misaligned.
“Th-this is…”
One of the knights muttered, then suddenly stepped forwards and pushed the upper half.
It fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Silence settled over the practice yard.
I could hear nothing but the faint sound of the wind.
Oh no.
Cold sweat was starting to break out all over me.