Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 9: The Mystery Deepens
When Tauro returned to his room after shopping, Nei had him show her everything he had bought.
“Tauro, you’re still a child. Your clothes can be a little more colorful, you know.”
Nei seemed somewhat dissatisfied with their plainness.
“They’re much more comfortable than my old clothes.”
Tauro was comparing them with the sack-like outfit he had worn before.
Put that way, Nei could hardly argue.
She pulled herself together and examined the next item.
“Oh, this raincoat is excellent! [Appraisal] says it was discounted because the material is blemished, but there’s nothing wrong with its quality. You found a bargain!”
She spread it out as she checked it.
“[Appraisal]?”
Once again, Tauro had heard a term that seemed mandatory in any other-world story.
“Yes. It’s one of my skills. I don’t think I’ve told you about it, Tauro. I can use it on objects.”
“Can’t you appraise people?”
“Not yet. I’ve only unlocked part of the skill’s abilities. I’m trying all sorts of things to fulfill the other conditions.”
Nei looked disappointed.
“But even appraising objects is very useful! I can examine spoils adventurers bring back from quests, and merchants can’t deceive me. At the very beginning, the skill only showed me an object’s name, so it’s far more capable now than it was then.”
She proudly puffed out her chest.
“So you can gain new functions by fulfilling the conditions!”
“That’s generally how it works, but talent also plays a part. For example…”
If someone possessed S-rank talent for [Appraisal], fulfilling every condition and unlocking all its abilities would eventually allow them to appraise anything.
Someone with only G-rank talent for [Appraisal], however, wouldn’t acquire those higher abilities even if they worked hard and fulfilled the relevant conditions.
People couldn’t perceive their own talent ranks, so whether a talent ever blossomed depended on both natural aptitude and steady effort.
“I read that someone with S-rank [Appraisal] can even discern every talent another person possesses…”
“Then such a person might be able to identify my [Garbled Text] skill.”
“It’s possible.”
“There’s something else I’ve been wondering. I learned [Purification], but can people acquire abilities unrelated to their own skills as long as they fulfill the conditions?”
To Tauro, it was an innocent question. Nei’s reaction was anything but mild.
“What?! Tauro, you learned [Purification]?! That’s rare magic used by healers!”
“So I’ve been told…”
“Then perhaps your [Garbled Text] skill is actually the [Healer] skill.”
“Is that what it means?”
“You only have that one skill, and you’ve learned a rare spell like [Purification]. What else could it be but [Healer]?”
Nei spoke with growing excitement.
Then she stopped.
“Ah… Tauro, you learned [Clean] too, right?”
“No. I only have [Purification].”
“What?!”
Nei was stunned all over again.
“W-what’s wrong?”
“[Purification] is one of the highest-level spells healers can learn, but those spells must be acquired in order. A healer first learns the lower-level [Clean], then the intermediate [Cleansing], and only afterward becomes capable of learning the higher-level [Purification].”
“Then… what exactly does that mean?”
Tauro was growing confused. If Nei was correct, he had somehow skipped the entire sequence and learned [Purification] directly.
“At the very least, logic says your [Garbled Text] skill can’t be [Healer]. It must be some other skill that lets you learn [Purification] immediately… Hmm. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Nei gave up trying to solve it.
For a brief moment, Tauro had thought the mystery of [Garbled Text] was solved, but now he was back where he started.
Nei also appraised his knife and found that it was quite a good one. When Tauro told her Angus had given it to him for free, she stared in shock.
“What? Angus gave it to you for nothing?!”
So that dwarf’s name is Angus, Tauro thought before explaining what had happened.
“I see. That does sound like Angus,” Nei replied with a laugh.
“He’s a craftsman through and through, and his passion becomes overwhelming whenever smithing is involved. Once he learned I could use [Appraisal], he made me examine every single piece he had forged…”
Remembering the ordeal left Nei looking suddenly exhausted.
“You should probably visit him again sometime and thank him properly.”
“You’re right. I will.”
Tauro nodded.