Translator: Rihn
Editor: Zioming
ED Note: Sorry for the long hiatus. I’m pretty bad at summers…
I’d like to finish Part 6 by the end of the year, but that would require a chapter every 10 days or so, so maybe by the end of January would be more realistic. I had a look at chapter 73 and I’ll just redo it at some point. It was one of the first chapters by NomAsh, so I didn’t want to mess with it too much at the time, plus, it’s not like I was much better at it back then (I didn’t even spot the deepl placeholders in it). And I already re-edited his other chapters, so yeah.
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Chapter 92: Katana Enthusiast and Endo Castle
Author’s Note: Make no mistake, I am not the kind of author who puts all their energy into planning things around events like the April Fool’s Day. I mean, whenever I think something up, I do put my all into realising it, but I only did it this time because I thought of it at random and it seemed like a fun idea. I realise I might have gone a bit overboard though…
Translator’s Note: Since this chapter has ‘Katana Enthusiast’ in the title, I decided to translate 刀 as ‘katana’ every time, instead of the more generic ‘sword’ that I would normally use, the only exception being the times where it just didn’t make sense. I will return to just calling things ‘swords’, except when appropriate, from the next chapter, but for now, enjoy this one with an extra serving of katanas on top of it.
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
“Come again, Onii-san!”
After we finished eating, we left the ninja-ran udon restaurant with Atri seeing us off. In the end, she didn’t seem to have tried anything while we were there. What the heck was she after anyway?
A: Hannah and the store owner had a conversation in secret using lip reading. According to it, they investigate all foreigners who enter the capital, and if it seems like they will be a problem, they eliminate them before that happens.
Yep. Just as I thought, ninjas are super dangerous. Or rather, when you think about it that way, certain things suddenly begin to make much more sense. Basically, Atri, or rather Hannah, and the other ninjas are responsible for defending the Capital. Whenever a spy or some other dangerous individual enters the city, their purpose is to kill them right away, before they can reach the centre. So that’s why they’re running an udon shop in a place like this.
Wait, does that mean we’ve been deemed as ‘not dangerous’? Even if you ask me, I think we’re plenty suspicious.
A: Negative. According to their conversation, it seems Master ‘requires further observation’.
…I see. So that’s why Hannah has been tailing us since a while ago. She’s great at covert actions and all, but unfortunately for her, we have the Map. Having it really is such a cheat…
“Jin-sama, shall I eliminate her?”
Maria said something dangerous, as usual. I mean, I might have called ninjas ‘super dangerous’, but there’s a girl in our group who’s just as dangerous, if not more.
“No need. If she really is guarding the entrance to the Capital, then she’s most likely working for the country. And if we randomly stir up trouble like that, we may find ourselves wanted criminals, so, it may be unpleasant, but try to put up with it, at least until after we’re done sightseeing.”
“Yes, I understand.”
We finally came to a Japanese-esqe country. It would be a shame to end our sightseeing so soon. Besides, Hannah is just observing us and doesn’t seem to have any intention of interfering with our actions (her marker on the mini-map is still green), so it would be best to just leave her be for now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With our lunch over, it was now time to take care of our other business.
“Then, shall we go shopping for some new clothes next? We can’t help but stand out the way we’re dressed right now.”
“Oh! Oh! Mio-chan will pick Japanese clothes for everyone~!”
With the enthusiastic Mio in the lead, we headed to a nearby Japanese clothing store. This time, rather than looking at the map, I decided to ask the locals… or rather, Hannah, for her recommendations instead. After a quick check, it turned out that the clothing store she pointed us towards was in fact not run by a ninja. The name of the store was ‘Kimono Fabric Wholesaler, Tamaya’. No puns this time.
After a five-minute walk down the main street, we arrived at Tamaya, which was one or two times larger than the surrounding stores. I had told Hannah that money is not an issue when I asked her for recommendations, so It’s probably the most high-end store around here.
“For Master, it’s got to be these black, samurai-looking clothes, right? For Sakura-sama, this peach-coloured cherry blossoms-patterned kimono. For Dora-chan, how about this white one with a blue hortensia pattern? For Maria-chan… Eh? You want samurai clothes to match with Master’s? Sure… Then, for Sera-chan, let’s go with this schoolgirl uniform from the Taishou period. …Isn’t that historically inaccurate though? Also, what gives with the prices in this place? …And last but not least, for this Mio-chan, it’s this floral-patterned child-sized kimono. It’s kinda sad that it fits me so well, but at least I had some fun with the last piece.”
In less than ten minutes since we entered Tamaya, Mio had picked Japanese-style clothes for everyone (though some of her choices were questionable at best). After paying the bill, everyone gathered with their new clothes on. I mean, they all look good, but there seems to be a lot of joke material included. Especially with the slave group…
“Umm, what the heck am I wearing?”
Aisha, who was the main butt of the joke this time, asked while wearing a blue happi.
“A happi! It’s a traditional festival garb!”
“Eh? Why am I wearing festival clothes?”
“It’s a joke!”
“A joke, huh…?”
Aisha, who seemed to have gotten used to our pace by now, mumbled as if she had given up. As for Mio, she can’t make jokes at my or Sakura’s expense, so I guess she went all out on Sera and the slave group instead to make up for it. (TL: While it’s true it’s only really worn for festivals in modern day, it seems it also used to be a uniform for those that would wear the crest of whom they served on their back, such as servants and firemen. I assume she has Aisha wear it because she’s effectively a servant driving their carriage)
I mean, it’s nice that she picked clothes for us and all, but didn’t she totally forget why we went to buy them in the first place? Like, the main reason we decided to wear Japanese clothes was because we stood out too much to begin with, and there’s just no way a group of people wearing such diverse clothes wouldn’t stand out in the centre of a town, right?
A: It will not be a problem. Similarly to the school uniform, very few clothes are worn here for the same purposes as they would be in Japan. If you look around, Master, you will see many people wearing clothes similar to the ones Mio had picked.
…Ah, I see. Just because these clothes were popularised by Japanese people, doesn’t mean their traditional uses were also spread alongside them. So then, are happi and school uniforms considered regular clothes here? Now that I look around, quite a few people do seem to be wearing them.
…Oh well, as long as they won’t make us attract any unwanted attention, I guess I’ll just do my best to play along. I took out ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’ out of ‘Inventory’ and attached it to my belt. This should make me look more like a proper samurai.
Incidentally, there was a sign inside the store that read “Weapons may be carried, but not drawn”.
“Aah, you’re right… Jin-kun’s main weapon is a katana, so it does go perfectly with these clothes…”
“Right~? That’s exactly what I was going for, which is why I had Master dress up like a samurai! Master, these suit you even better than I thought they would.”
Sakura nodded in agreement with Mio who was examining my outfit with a serious face.
“Nevertheless, Master’s katana does have a tremendous presence, does it not? Even with it sheathed on Master’s belt, I cannot help but pay attention to it.”
“Dora can feel strong power from it too~”
Just as Sera said, even sheathed, ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’ continued to emit an intimidating aura, as one might expect of a godly-tier item. Even the passing customers couldn’t help but glance at it.
By the way, on that topic: I originally acquired ‘Soul Blade – Incomplete’ from the former S-rank adventurer, Saladin, and when he took it out from ‘Storage’ back then, it was already unsheathed. However, later, when Saladin died, the contents of his ‘Storage’ were scattered around him, which also included the scabbard for it.
Plus, it seems like the katana and the scabbard are treated as a set for some reason… Well, it might be easier to understand if I just show you.
Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’s Scabbard
Class: Sheath
Rarity: Godly [Mythical]
Notes: Indestructible. Sword drawing technique correction (extreme). Haki suppression. Fixed owner.
Simply put, the scabbard also became a godly-tier item. I kept it stored all this time, so I was surprised when I noticed this had happened.
And so, basically, it’s a godly-tier katana in a godly-tier scabbard. It’s only natural for it to have a strong presence. And that’s with ‘Haki suppression’ already applied… Well, at least it’s better than having it drawn all the time. According to Alta, its usual effect is so strong, your average person would faint just from being near it.
“I suppose I don’t have to wear ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’ specifically, just to look like a samurai. Since we’ve come to Izumo, should I just buy a regular katana for wearing on my belt? As it is, it makes us stand out even more, so maybe I’ll have to.”
We mainly bought Japanese clothes in order not to stand out, so it would be putting the cart before the horse if I were to wear a katana that would draw everyone’s attention, just to compliment them.
“The idea that you would buy a real katana just to dress up as a samurai is also pretty out there, don’t you think, Master?”
“I guess so. But you don’t mind, right?”
“Of course not!”
When I asked Mio, who was smiling wryly, she naturally shook her head. If you’re going to play along, you should at least put your all into it.
“Then, shall we go to the weapon store next? I’m curious about what kind of items they will have. Maybe we’ll even find something good by chance.”
“That’s right, though I doubt they will have anything better than our current legendary-grade equipment.”
“My weapons aren’t legendary-grade, you know… I’d like to buy a dagger and a whip if I can find some good ones.”
I wonder what the odds are of stumbling onto an above legendary-grade item in a random city store? By the way, as she said, Aisha’s weapons of choice are a dagger and a whip, though she didn’t have either ‘Sword Mastery’ or ‘Whip Mastery’ before she became my slave.
“Even if they had equipment that’s better than what I have right now, I would never replace the weapons I’ve been given by Jin-sama.”
“Hmm…? Then what would you do if Jin-kun gave you some new ones…?”
“I would replace them, obviously.”
No comment on the exchange between Maria (at her usual pace) and Sakura.
Since no one seemed to mind, we chose the weapon store as our next destination. Just to be safe, I think I’ll put away the highly-eye-catching ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’ for now…
A: Master, there is someone approaching you at a rapid pace.
“Hawawawahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!”
As soon as Alta’s alert was raised, something like a shout could be heard.
I turned toward the source of the voice and saw a boy who looked like a noble (in the Japanese sense of the word) running towards me at full speed. He looked to be from the Oni race, and had chestnut-coloured hair and a single horn on his forehead. I guess that explains why he was approaching us at a speed unimaginable for a human child. The mini-map displayed his marker as green (neutral), not red (hostile), but no matter how you look at it, he didn’t seem to be indifferent to us. Well, at least he doesn’t seem to be trying to attack us…
“Jin-sama, shall I eliminate him?”
“No, it’s just a normal kid. I don’t think it’s necessary to go that far just yet.”
In an instant, Maria and I finished exchanging messages via telepathy.
“Hawawahhhhhh!!!!!!!”
The kid yelled loudly as he jumped at me while running. Naturally, I sidestepped to avoid him.
-*crash*!!!-
A speeding car can’t stop on the spot. Following the law of inertia, the kid’s momentum carried him into the shop display behind me.
“Young Master!”
“Are you unharmed?”
Chasing after the boy were five muscular men dressed as samurai warriors. They called the kid ‘Young Master’ and combined with their appearance, they were totally SPs (Japanese style). The SPs rushed towards the boy, who had turned upside down and had his fundoshi completely showing, and started taking care of him. The kid seemed to be slightly dizzy. (ED: Short for ‘Security Police’, a division responsible for protecting domestic and foreign dignitaries; basically: undercover bodyguards; Fundoshi – a traditional Japanese undergarment tied from a loincloth, kinda like a chest wrap, but worn on the crotch; unisex)
“You bastard! How dare you do that to Young Master!”
One of the SPs approached us with a devilish look on his face. It was totally a false accusation, you know. I looked at the man and saw that he was holding the hilt of his katana as if to draw it.
I see. I guess it’s a pretty obvious outcome, isn’t it? A noble-looking child; a guard who doesn’t seem interested in listening to what I have to say; and me, who doesn’t like troubles related to nobles. Now then, a question: What do you think will happen next?
“H-hold it! Do not touch that person!”
As I was giving up on sightseeing in this country and reached for my own blade, Young Master (temporary), who got up wobbling with a bloody nose, stopped the SP with that remark. However, his eyes were not fixed on me, but rather on ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’.
“The katana on his belt is an unthinkably powerful item! If he is wearing such an item as if it were only natural, there is no way you can win against him, even if you were to attack all at once!”
It seems that he couldn’t tell how strong I was, but rather, he’d made an educated guess based on the weapon I was carrying. …Then why did he make such a ridiculous lunge? If it had gone poorly, he could very well have ended up being cut down by me…
“B-but, he injured Young Master!”
“It was my own fault for forgetting myself after seeing that wonderful katana and jumping straight at it. Do you want to turn me into a tyrant?”
“N-no, of course not. I apologise for my outburst.”
Young Master’s (temporary) explanation might have sounded rational, but it was still based on an absurd claim like ‘Because I forgot myself’. Well, I guess the most important part to take out from all this was that he was a serious katana fanatic.
The SP sent me another glare before returning to his master’s side. At that, the boy wiped off the blood from under his nose, straightened his kimono, and walked toward us.
“I am sorry for jumping at you so suddenly earlier.”
The SPs’ faces were shaken when they saw their master bow to us in apology.
“Y-young Master, to bow to an unknown person from who knows where…”
“When you make a mistake, you apologise. It’s what a normal person would do in this situation.”
Young Master (temporary) cut off the SP’s complaint. I think there’s a strong possibility that he might be a rare case of an ‘honest noble’… How unusual.
“I am late in greeting you. My name is Tooru, the prince of Izumo. What are your names?”
That’s right, this ‘Young Master’ (temporary) was the prince of Izumo. He certainly fits the title of a ‘Young Master’. And he is definitely not in a position where one would easily bow to some random strangers.
“My name is Jin; from the right, these are: Maria, Sakura, Dora, Mio, Sera and Aisha.”
“You bastard! How dare you speak to Young Master that way!” (ED: Because he used informal speech)
When I finished introducing everyone (honestly, with their real names), one of the SPs’ faces became devilish again.
“It’s fine. I am incognito right now, after all. Hmm, some of you have Izumo-style names, but you are not from this country, are you, meaning you must be travellers, am I right?”
“…Oh? Good catch.”
There was no way for him to actually know where we came from, but if he had made such a guess, he must have had some reason for it.
“It’s simple, you see. I know almost everyone in this country who owns a rare katana, and so, how could I not know of someone possessing such a masterpiece? If there really were such a person, they could only be a traveller!”
“I see… Judging from what you’ve said and done so far, you must be one dedicated katana enthusiast.”
As I had already guessed, he seemed to be a pretty serious case of a katana fanboy.
“That’s right! I love katanas so much, I can’t help it! And so, I would like you to let me examine that katana of yours in detail! The presence that you can feel, even from a distance! The overwhelming sense of intimidation that I have never experienced before! I want you to let me see it, touch it, and lick it!”
Once he started talking on the subject, he kept getting more and more flustered. Still, I’d like to retort to that last part, at least. Please don’t lick them…
“If possible, I would like you to give it to me-”
“Out of the question.”
I cut off Tooru who was looking at ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’ with clear desire in his eyes. One of the SPs tried to step in between us with a devilish look on his face. Oi, you’re in the way!
“Haah, I expected this to be the case… But still, I really want you to let me take a closer look at it and touch it with my own hands. I promise to properly compensate you for it! Ah, that’s right! Since it’s a good chance, why don’t you come to the castle? Then, I could let you see my collection as a reward!”
Now that’s a tough one. If we were to agree to Tooru’s offer, our chances of encountering noble-related troubles would no doubt increase, however, I wouldn’t say that he himself is an unpleasant person to deal with, at least for the moment. The SPs are a bit annoying, but if he really is the prince of this country, it’s not unreasonable for them to overreact a bit. Worst case scenario, if things become unpleasant, we can always just cut the whole thing off and head back home immediately.
Generally, I am of the stance that I’m willing to allow random events as long as they’re not a bother, so I think I’ll accept Tooru’s invitation, given how it’s a good opportunity to tour the castle and all. I’ve checked with everyone, and there didn’t seem to be any objections.
“Well, if it’s just that, then I suppose it’s fine…”
“Really!? Then I want you to come over as soon as possible!”
“Yeah, I don’t mind. But is it fine if I continue talking like this? Honestly, it would be a pain to have to start acting all polite at this point.”
“Yes, it’s perfectly fine. You are my guests after all, so I will give you my special permission.”
My declaration of “I won’t use polite speech” made the SPs behind him look devilish again, but I ignored it. To be honest, I don’t have enough respect for the royals of this world to use honorifics. Or, to be more specific, I discarded all that on the very day I transferred to this world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The name of the large castle in the very centre of Endo, the capital city of Izumo, was ‘Endo Castle’. According to Tooru, it was the largest and had the oldest history among all the castles in this country. Well, it’s usually the case that you would build the most spectacular castle in your capital, right?
Currently, we had parted ways with Tooru and went back for our carriage, which we then took to the castle. At first, Tooru invited us to get in the carriage he was riding in as he came by the clothing store, but seeing as it wouldn’t be able to fit our whole group, we decided to grab our own instead.
Plus, we could reach Endo Castle just by going straight down the main street, so there was no problem with Tooru not accompanying us. Instead, he said he would talk to the gatekeepers, so all we really had to do was head for the main gate.
Riding in the carriage, we had some time to enjoy the views down the main street. At a first glance, the culture of this country was straight out of the Edo period Japan, but in some places, you could see various bits and pieces unique to this world, the most obvious example being the presence of an Adventurers’ Guild. Of course, the guild building here was built in Japanese style, and the adventurers were wearing Japanese clothes. …I’m a little curious, so I might drop by later, if there’s time.
It took us about ten minutes to get to our destination. The main street was packed with people, but as we proceeded, their number decreased sharply, and by the time we reached the castle, there was barely anyone around any more.
When we arrived at the castle gate, we tried to call out to a soldier who seemed to be the gatekeeper, but before we could, we heard a familiar voice.
“Ah, I have been waiting for you! Now come! Let us hurry inside!”
When I looked over, I saw Tooru coming out of the soldiers’ station next to the castle gate. Of course, the SPs were following him. Why would a prince come to a place like this?
A: Because he was looking forward to seeing Master’s katana so much that he decided it would be faster to come and greet Master personally.
What are you, a child!? Ah, I guess he is a child.
“Young Master, don’t be selfish! As I am always telling you, there are a lot of necessary procedures before they can enter the castle!”
“It’s fine, I’ll allow it!”
“Haah, Young Master seems to lose all reason when katanas are involved…”
The gatekeeper sighed, but seemed to have given up on trying to persuade him any further. Apparently, thanks to Tooru, we can skip all the formalities usually required to enter a royal castle. Also, judging from his exchange with the gatekeeper, it doesn’t seem to be the first time this has happened.
“What about the guests’ carriage? If possible, I’d like the driver to follow me.”
“Ah, then I’ll go with you. Masters can go ahead.”
“Got it. I’ll leave it to you.”
“Then, let us hurry up and go!”
Leaving the carriage in Aisha’s care, we walked through the gate and entered the castle with Tooru leading the way. Not betraying our expectations from when we saw it from the outside, the inside of the castle was also a magnificent, purely Japanese-style structure. The three of us: Sakura, Mio, and I; were particularly enamoured with it.
“Let us all head to my collection room right away!”
“That’s fine, but didn’t you say you wanted to see my katana first?”
Tooru’s purpose wasn’t supposed to be him showing off his collection to us, but rather him getting to see my ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’ from up close.
“Of course. That’s why we’re going there. My collection room has the perfect environment for viewing and storing katanas, so if I’m going to see it, there’s simply no better place for it.”
“I see. Very well.”
I don’t know much on the topic, but I have heard that there are many precautions one must take when storing Japanese swords. And if you call yourself a ‘katana enthusiast’, it is only right that you would want the best environment possible. Plus, most enthusiasts tend to go all out when it comes to their hobbies.
Tooru guided us through Endo Castle to what he called his ‘collection room’. On the way, we sometimes passed by castle workers, but they made no comments about our presence and just greeted Tooru as we went by.
“Ara, Tooru-oniisama, you’ve returned?” (ED: Polite version of ‘big brother’)
Just as we were about to reach the collection room, a girl walking from the opposite direction spoke to Tooru. Behind her was a group of female SPs, and she addressed Tooru as ‘Oniisama’, so she must be his younger sister.
“Oh, it’s you, Kaoru? Yeah, I’m back.”
Just like Tooru, she had chestnut-coloured hair that reached her shoulders, and was a beautiful girl with Japanese features dressed in a gorgeous kimono decorated with colourful flowers. Apart from their clothes and hairstyle (Tooru’s hair was tied back), their height and facial features were very similar, so they were probably monozygotic twins, or identical twins as they are commonly called.
A: Correct.
As expected, the ‘twin’ part doesn’t show up in their status. Well, since she looks exactly like a Japanese princess, let’s call her ‘Princess Kaoru’ from now on.
“These people are?”
“Mm, the usual.”
Princess Kaoru looked at us and asked, but Tooru finished his explanation with just that. It really is work as usual for them, huh.
“I see, so you found another unusual katana… Hawa…”
Princess Kaoru staggered when she peeked at ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’ that was attached to my belt. As expected, the female SPs immediately raced to support her.
“…Sorry about that. It seems that the stimulation was a bit too strong for Kaoru.”
Tooru scratched his cheek as he said so. If you knew this was going to happen, shouldn’t you have said something in advance?
“I’ll leave Kaoru to you.”
“““Ha!””” (ED: ‘Yes sir!’)
“Now, let us make haste to the collection room!”
“Tooru-oniisama!”
Princess Kaoru stopped him as he was about to leave her in the hands of the female SPs and run off.
“I know.”
“If so, then it’s fine…”
Tooru turned around and responded shortly, which was somehow enough to convince her. Now, what could be the meaning of that exchange?
After parting ways with Princess Kaoru, it was just a little further down the hallway to our destination.
“And so, this is my prized collection room!”
Tooru said confidently in front of the door.
“Inside this room, there are special-made magic tools installed, that create the perfect environment for storing katanas. As one might expect, the maintenance costs are nothing to sneeze at!”
“Then, aren’t you going to stop?”
“I will never stop!”
Tooru answered my question immediately. It seems that he was not the kind of half-hearted enthusiast who would stop just because the maintenance costs kept piling up. Well, the more die-hard enthusiasts out there would often prioritise their hobbies over more trifling matters like their standard of living dropping and such. I guess it showed just how dedicated he really was, that he would go as far as to have magic tools specially made just for this.
“And now, the grand reveal!”
Tooru opened the sliding door, letting us see inside the room.
The first thing that caught my eye were the neat rows of swords surrounding it. Most walls were lined with shelves with katanas expertly displayed on them. There must have easily been over a hundred of them here. The size of the room was about three times that of a standard room at an inn. It was a little too large to be used for a hobby, but considering that it was a royal’s hobby, it was probably more on the restrained side, all things considered. Most of the katanas displayed in the room were of rare grade, with some of them being artefact-grade. Surprisingly, there was only one legendary-grade. Also, in case you were wondering, there was not a single common-grade around. If Tooru himself had chosen these, he must be quite the connoisseur.
“This is quite a spectacular sight.”
“Wow, enthusiasts really are bonkers…”
I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly at Mio’s muttering beside me. Sakura, Sera, and Maria were also looking around with interest. By the way, Dora didn’t seem to be interested one bit.
“It took a lot of work to collect all these…”
Tooru nodded his head with a nostalgic look on his face. Good. If he had gathered them by forcing others with his power as a noble, my evaluation would have changed drastically.
“Now then, I would like you to finally show me your katana.”
Tooru’s ability to quickly change gears was impressive to say the least. Before I knew it, he was wearing gloves and a mask to prevent his hands from leaving marks on the katana and spit from flying off. Woah, talk about ‘serious’. Even I have never gone that far… No, once you get to legendary-grade and above, swords don’t deteriorate, even if you don’t maintain them that well, but back when I was using ‘Goblin Swords’ and such, I guess I did take quite a good care of them. I totally did, you know!
“Right. Here you go.”
“Mm, I’ll be borrowing it.”
I removed ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’, scabbard included, from my belt and handed it to Tooru, who accepted it reverently. Him being a child, it must have been difficult for him to draw it by himself, which is why an SP, who also wore gloves and a mask, held the scabbard, letting Tooru pull the blade out.
“Hawawawaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!”
At that moment, what escaped from Tooru’s mouth was a tremendous scream. His body kept convulsing to the point where it could easily be seen by everyone present, his eyes went bloodshot, and his knees kept shaking. Isn’t his reaction way too violent though? Look, everyone but me (that I care about, so SPs excluded) looks shocked. In addition, he seemed to have leaked quite vigorously seeing as his crotch area was profusely wet. It’s been a while since I’ve last seen a royal in such an uncouth state. Must be four days by now.
Tooru kept screaming for a while before finally collapsing to his knees as if he had run out of strength. However, even in that state, he still kept holding the katana up properly to not let it touch the ground.
“Haa, haa, haa, haa, haa… I’ll leave it to you…”
“Ha!”
Totally out of breath, he handed the blade to the SP who put it back into its scabbard before handing it back to me.
“I showed you something unsightly. I’m going to change my clothes, so please wait in this room for a while.”
He staggered up with the help of the SP and walked out of the room with the rest of them in tow. Still, there were two more SPs left in the room to stand guard. Oh, so their number increased to eight at some point…? Not that I care, since they don’t pose much threat to us either way.
After ten or so minutes we spent in the collection room looking at katanas:
“I made you wait!”
Kaoru entered the room having changed into more boyish clothes at some point. She was staring at ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’ at my belt with an excited look on her face.
“I’m sorry, but I would like you to show me that katana one more time!”
“Aah, I don’t mind. I didn’t say I’d only show it to you once.”
“Thank you very much! Worry not, I’ll make sure you’re properly compensated for this!”
Once more I handed over ‘Heroic Soul Blade – Incomplete’, and watched it being drawn in the same manner.
“Hawawawaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!”
At that moment, what escaped from Kaoru’s mouth was a tremendous scream. Her body kept convulsing to the point where it could easily be seen by everyone present, her eyes went bloodshot, and her knees kept shaking. Of course, since her crotch was wet, there was no doubt she was leaking as well.
“Haa, haa, haa, haa, haa… This is… more than I had thought…”
Kaoru muttered as she collapsed to her knees and gasped for air. Then she looked at the blade again and…
“Hawawawaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!”
As above.
Though this time, her body kept convulsing and shaking even after she finished screaming. Her eyes went blank and there seemed to be drool dripping from behind her mask. Curiously, she seemed to be drowning in ecstasy.
“I can’t take it any more! I want to see the katana again too!”
While I was watching Kaoru with interest, Tooru slammed the door open and rushed in while shouting so. He had changed from his boyish clothes at some point, and was now wearing the same gorgeous kimono that Kaoru had worn before. The female SPs chased after him from behind.
“Too-Kaoru! Your way of speaking!”
“Ah… I messed up…”
Kaoru rushed to correct him, but it was already too late. (ED: It got lost in translation. Tooru used a masculine word ending, while Kaoru used a feminine one when we first met them. But when Kaoru entered the collection room after Tooru left, pretending to be him, she switched to masculine, however when Tooru entered after her, he forgot to switch to feminine)
Now then, is it finally time to end this farce?
Name: Tooru Izumo
Level: 7
Gender: Female
Age: 14
Race: Oni
Skills: <Sword Mastery LV2> <Etiquette LV1> <Appraisal LV3>
Titles: Princess of Izumo
Name: Kaoru Izumo
Level: 7
Gender: Female
Age: 14
Race: Oni
Skills: <Sword Mastery LV1> <Etiquette LV2> <Appraisal LV3>
Titles: Princess of Izumo
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Author’s Note: Basically, identical twins are only ever born of the same sex. Oni twins? Didn’t I hear that somewhere before? It’s just a coincidence, I tell you. …Well, we already did the colour variation with Karen and Sora, so this time it’s the ‘trading places’ trope.
Previous <Table of Contents> Next