Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 28: Searching for Something (2)
The girl glanced at the book in my hands.
“What book is that?”
“A cookbook.”
“Hmm. It’s an old one, isn’t it? Do you cook?”
“I have to. I can’t live without cooking for myself.”
“Hmm? Is that so? Lupinus takes care of cooking for us, you see.”
Lupinus… That must be the beautiful elf in her party.
Oh, she cooks? That’s unexpected. She looks too refined for me to imagine her in the kitchen.
“This isn’t what I was looking for, though.”
“Hmm? Then what are you looking for?”
“A dictionary or an illustrated guide about medicinal herbs and healing potions.”
“That’s certainly an unusual choice.”
“Is it really that rare?”
“Most books are either stories or poetry.”
“Ah, that’s true… but those books are very practical.”
Knowing about medicinal herbs and healing potions isn’t just helpful—it should be common knowledge for explorers.
“They do sound useful, but their application is quite limited.”
“So, they’re not very common, are they?”
“That, and it comes down to skill, demand, effort, and budget.”
In other words, they don’t sell well.
Printing books is costly, and with the current literacy rate, it’s hard to recoup those costs.
The faded cookbook in my hands is proof enough—it clearly hasn’t sold in years.
“Do you think I could find one in town?”
“That’s a tough question.”
She gave a slight, apologetic smile. Her reaction made me wonder if I should just give up.
But no—I’ll keep trying. It’s too soon to quit.
“…Do you know of any other places where books are sold?”
“Hmm. There are a few. I’ve been to most of them.”
“Please, tell me. I’ll pay you for the information.”
“It’s fine. No need for payment.”
“Really?”
“I’m not so desperate for money that I’d charge for something like this.”
She was probably doing well financially, being a Grade III explorer.
“Then, let’s go.”
“Huh?”
It seemed like she intended to accompany me.
She smiled.
“Some places are easy to explain verbally, but others are not.”
“I see. Oh, I’m Wof, by the way.”
“Pakila.”
And so, I ended up teaming up with Pakila.
I did purchase the cookbook.
The next location was another general store. There was a quiet bookshelf tucked away in the corner of the shop.
We were the only ones who approached it.
“This shelf is also mostly stories and poetry,”
“Indeed,”
Pakila agreed.
“Ugh…”
There were no travel journals or cookbooks here either.
“Are you not interested in stories or poetry?”
“I am, a little.”
“Oh? So not completely disinterested, then.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I suppose you’re into adventure tales or heroic epics?”
“Yes, pretty much.”
I do enjoy heroic epics, knightly romances, adventure stories, and collections of folklore. I even own a few.
But compared to the light novels I remember from my previous life… well, how should I put it?
They lack proper grammar, so the writing is all over the place.
The lack of editing makes them extremely difficult to read. They remind me of Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’, which I once read long ago.
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Also, the expressions feel outdated, and the plots lack dramatic tension.
Many of them end abruptly, like they were canceled partway through.
The heavy religious overtones are tough to deal with as well. I guess some are meant as propaganda.
Religion must have a higher literacy rate. In any case, I’ve read a few of these books and then stopped.
As for poetry, I have no interest. I just don’t understand it.
And of course, there’s no manga.
Without picture books, there isn’t even a precursor to manga.
It seems like they don’t have the concept of storytelling through illustrations.
Still, there are murals. Why hasn’t the idea of drawing on scrolls or paper caught on from there?
Maybe it’s because I’ve mostly read manga in the past…
“……”
Come to think of it, there seems to be a trend lately.
A lot of the stories and poems now focus on romance.
In this bookshelf alone, about 20 books are love stories or romantic poems.
That must mean they sell well.
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I’ve never picked up any romance books.
I don’t really get them. Not now, and probably not in the past either.
“It’s not here, as expected.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem to be.”
“Well then, on to the next place.”
“Got it.”
The next stop was an antique shop—not Arifa’s store, though.
That shop doesn’t carry books.
Here too, the bookshelf was tucked away in the back.
“There are cookbooks and travel journals here.”
“Dictionaries…?”
A weapons encyclopedia?
I didn’t expect to find something like this.
It was a thick book, so I picked it up and flipped through it.
“Oh, it’s got a variety of weapons listed.”
Pakila leaned in, her face close to the pages.
Her cat ears twitched adorably.
“This seems like an OOPArt,”
“Huh, fascinating. Quite an interesting find.”
It was unusual, for sure, but it wasn’t the book I was looking for.
I closed it and placed it back on the shelf.
“You’re not buying it?”
“I don’t have that much money. How about you, Pakila?”
“It’s intriguing, but it’s not really my thing. Though…”
“What is it?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Never mind.”
Pakila scanned the shelves again.
“Hmm, look at this: *Morning Views of Ipomoea Nil*.”
“Huh?”
“A poetry collection. By the poet Ipomoea Nil. Have you heard of her?”
“Not really. I’m not very familiar with that kind of stuff.”
“She’s an elf poet from 200 years ago. Still alive, of course. Elves live long. Most of her fame comes from her poems about nightscapes.”
“Oh, interesting… Are you going to buy it?”
“Nah, I only dabble in poetry.”
“What kind of books do you usually buy?”
“Mostly stories.”
“Like heroic tales or adventure stories?”
“Pretty much.”
Her responses were curt, as usual.
Ah, now that I think about it—the book I helped her grab earlier was… a romance.
I see. A typical girl, after all.
“Shall we move on to the next place?”
“Yes, but before that…”
Pakila picked up the weapons encyclopedia.
“Are you going to buy that?”
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“Yes.”
“But I thought it wasn’t your thing?”
“It might come in handy someday.”
“Handy?”
Pakila ended up purchasing the weapons encyclopedia.