Kays Translations

Just another Isekai Lover~

Chapter 252: A Present

"Brother Julius, I want that one!"

"Kyu."

"Uh, I think that one's still a little too much for Rosalia."

Rosalia pointed at a ring set with a large, chunky jewel. Judging from the colour, was it an emerald? It was quite big. It didn't look as though it would fit Rosalia's little finger at all. If anything, she might scratch herself with the ring and get hurt.

"Rosalia, don't get in Julius's way."

"I'm not getting in his way. I'm helping him."

"Kyu!"

The salon had become much livelier after Rosalia arrived. Mira had come with her, which only added to the noise. While Mother tried to calm Rosalia down, I searched for a present for Lady Fabienne.

A hair clip seemed like the best choice, but there were so many kinds that I had absolutely no idea which one would be good. If I used Appraisal, I could at least tell the quality, but that didn't help me judge taste.

"Sister-in-law Daniela, what do you think of this one?"

"Isn't it a little plain? I've never met Lady Fabienne, so I can't say for certain, but I think it would give rather a dark impression."

"I see."

I didn't know whether it was because I was a man or because I simply had no sense for this kind of thing, but I kept gravitating towards dark blues and greens. When I tried choosing a safe-looking diamond instead, I was told, "Isn't that a little too ordinary?" What was I supposed to do?

"This is difficult, Father."

"It is. If only you had your future wife standing beside you the way I have mine."

Father whispered so only I could hear him. Right beside him, Mother leaned forward over the jewels with her eyes sparkling.

"Max, I like this one. It'll go perfectly with the new dress I bought."

"Mm. It suits you very well, Amelia. Let's buy that one. I'm looking forward to seeing the new dress too."

"Of course you are."

Mother happily continued choosing jewellery. If only Lady Fabienne were standing beside me too. Grrr. And when I looked around, both Brother Alex and Brother Cain were choosing things together with their fiancées. Grrrrr!

"I want to go home. I want to shut myself in my room."

"Lord Julius, you have to fight… reality."

With Nero somehow encouraging me, I continued searching for a present. I thought of Lady Fabienne as a refined young lady, so something refreshing in pale blue or white seemed as though it would suit her.

"Then there's a chance she already owns something in a similar colour."

"You're right. Nero may have a point."

Just as I was about to writhe in despair, a black crystal entered my field of view.

Magic crystal: A stone capable of storing mana. Its colour changes depending on the nature of the mana infused into it.

A magic crystal! I never imagined something like this existed in this world. Mana-restoration potions were consumables, but this thing could be reused over and over as long as you replenished the mana inside it. Better yet, unlike drinking potions, it wouldn't leave your stomach sloshing around.

Without thinking, I picked up the hair clip. Even if I didn't give it away as a present, I wanted this for myself.

"Oh my, you've chosen another awfully plain one."

"Ah, did you choose it to match Julius's eye colour? That's nice too."

Sister-in-law Meeka giggled. Brother Cain stood beside her holding a tray loaded with rings and necklaces. Apparently, he'd managed to choose his presents without trouble. He looked a bit like an errand boy, though.

"Hea—"

Mother covered Brother Cain's mouth before he could finish whatever he was about to say. How rude. It wasn't heavy. The colour was going to change in a moment. It wasn't as though I was trying to dye Lady Fabienne in my own colour!

"I'll buy this one."

"Julius, are you really going with that? I don't think it's bad, but…"

Sister-in-law Daniela said it rather hesitantly. She probably thought, This is a terrible choice. To be fair, I would have thought the same thing if it were going to stay like this.

"It's fine. This is the one."

"This is a black crystal," the jeweller said, desperately trying to sell it. "It's a jewel one rarely has the chance to see. I believe it would be a fine choice for someone special."

For something he called special, it wasn't particularly expensive. I should buy it before the price got driven up. Mother looked a little troubled, but she didn't tell me not to, so I put the purchased hair clip onto the tray Nero was holding.

"Julius, don't you think you should choose something else as well?"

Brother Alex lowered his eyebrows. That was the expression he made when he was worried. Apparently, he was concerned about me. But there was no need.

"It's all right, Brother Alex. This jewel is strange: if you put mana into it, its colour changes."

"Its colour changes?"

Mother's voice jumped up an octave as she suddenly closed the distance between us. Fast. And close. Her ample chest swayed right in front of me.

"Y-yes. That's why I thought I'd put my mana into it and then give it to Lady Fabienne…"

"Does the colour have some kind of meaning?"

"It shows the colour of the attribute you're best at. Fire would be red, water would be blue, that sort of thing."

While Brother Alex and I talked, everyone gathered around us. Naturally, Father did too. He was staring at me with a stern look. Rosalia and Mira both tilted their heads. They probably didn't understand what was happening.

"Then go ahead and try it, Julius."

"What? Here?"

"Yes."

Why did I have nothing but a bad feeling about this? I shouldn't do it. This was dangerous. Very dangerous. This was a trap. Brother Alex's trap. I darted my eyes around, searching for some way to escape, but nobody came to help me. If anything, they were all watching me with great interest.

"V-very well."

In the end, I couldn't refuse, so I poured mana into the magic crystal. It would only change to the colour of my best attribute. At most, everyone would be a little surprised.

…Wait. What was my best attribute again? If I remembered correctly, I'd raised the magic skills for every single attribute to the maximum in the game—

This was bad. This felt extremely bad!

"What… is this…?"

Mother was speechless!

"It's so beautiful!"

Sister-in-law Meeka rejoiced!

"It's changing through seven different colours. How beautiful."

Sister-in-law Daniela gazed at it dreamily!

"…Julius, which attribute does that colour belong to?"

Brother Alex's smile was terrifying. You know already, don't you? You're asking even though you know, aren't you, Brother? What kind of demon corners his adorable little brother like this?!

"Um… all of them? Ha ha…"

Julius tried to laugh it off with a dry laugh. But Father and Mother grabbed him by the shoulders!

"Julius, why don't we have a little talk?"

"Yes, that sounds good. I was just starting to get tired."