Show us your pass.

Lura: Yes, here you are.

It is now evening.

This is the border gateway town to the Principality - Luluterra.

Igni and his group were stopped at the gates of the town.

Can we inspect inside the carriage?

Lura: Unfortunately, no. Hold on.

Lura digs inside her luggage and found one document.

Lura: Found it. Here you go. Take a look at this.

................I see.

On the sheet, there was one of the Principalitys Governing Nobles signature.

On it, it probably says something along the lines of letting the carriage pass without inspection.

Igni uncharacteristically noted these things as they happened.

Lura: We have a cooperator of the Elves in this town. Tonight, well be able to stay in an inn!

Iris: An inn?! YES! We dont have to do night guard duties tonight!

Edward: Well be able to get some good rest now, Igni.

Edward and Iris are ecstatic.

But..

Lilly: ......oh, we dont have....guard duties tonight.

Lura: Whats wrong, Lilly? You look a little sad?

Lilly: IIm not! Im actually happy!!

There was a tinge of remorse in Lillys voice just now.

Lura: Oh, youre so cute. You say that, but you must be sad that you lost your time with Igni tonight.

Lilly: What?! Youre wrong! Captain Lura, you idiot!!

Igni: (Oh.am I finally becoming popular??)

Igni's thoughts always swing in this direction.

Okay, you can enter the town.

With the guards voice, the gates open.

Lura: Lilly, dont forget to put on your hood.

Lilly: I know, I know.

Lilly, Lura, and the driver of the carriage wear their hoods over their heads.

Elves rarely appear where people are.

And if word gets out that Elves were spotted in a provincial town like this, it would draw unnecessary attention.

Hence, the hoods.

Lura: Ill take the carriage to our cooperators location. Lilly, could you find us an inn?

Lilly: ........yes.

With some reluctance in her expression, Lilly nods her head.

Lura: Dont be so upset. Tomorrow, well be back camping, and youll get your time back with Igni.

Lilly: Its not like that, really!!

Lura: Hahaha. Alright, I will meet up with you guys later.

And with that, Lura and the carriage disappeared into town.

Iris: Then lets look for an inn, shall we?

Edward: Yeah.

Igni: (................an inn..!!)

A place where a man and woman will spend a night under the same roof..!!

There...there might be a *playful, giddy time awaiting him..!!!

What?

Havent we just spent many days outside camping together.?

Its DIFFERENT!! YES, THATS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT..!!

Friendships and ties are born from campouts!!

A trust that develops from protecting each other - trusting each other with their lives!!

But...an inn is different..!

You are in a safer place....!!

Then..just there..!!

Youll find the bonds of a man and women!!

There must be!!

Iris: I want to be in the same room as Sir Igni.

Lilly: Of course not! Men and women are separate!

Iris: Awww....why..

Iris suggestion was immediately shot down by Lilly.

And without anyone noticing, Igni fell to his hands and knees inside.

<<<<>>>>

Lura: Wow, you guys secured a really good inn.

At the tavern, they were eating their dinner as Lura looked around.

Lilly: Yes! I selected an inn where we wont be bothered by any suspicious characters!

With pride, Lilly smiles broadly at Lura. Shes cute.

Lura: Good. You did well, Lilly.

Lura smiles and nodes as she sips her beer.

Igni: (Shes such a grown-up. Shes so cool.)

And Igni sips his fruit wine as he watches Lura.

Iris: But how old are you two by the way?

Lura: Whathow could you ask that Iris

Lilly: NoIm not gonna tell you

Lura is a bit drunk but in good spirits.

On the other end, Lilly seems to be in a more disgruntled mood. Shes cute.

Lura: Im only 140. Still young.

Iris: A hun.!

Lura quietly mentions this to Iris so the people around cant hear.

Igni: (100? Wow, they dont look it at all)

Lura: Lillys only 20. Shes closer to your age.

Lilly: CCaptain! Why would you tell them?!

Lura: Its okay Youre so cute when youre mad

Lilly: You can be so mean, Captain!

And Lilly chugs down her drink.

Iris: Why is it embarrassing to be 20, Miss Lura?

Lura: Mmmm.well, theres nothing wrong with it, but for us Elves, our age correlates directly with our status and respectability. You guys have something similar too, right? Like respecting elders or seniority.

Iris: I see

Lura: Elves have a hard time having children, so our age becomes even more important. Lilly is the youngest in our valley.

Lilly: CAPTAIN!! Youre talking way too much!!

Lura: Hahaha. Shes so cute

And Lura wraps her arms around Lilly and messes with her hair.

Looking at them, you would think they were sisters.

Iris: You two are like siblings.

Iris says out loud what Igni was thinking.

Lura: Hahaha. Yeah, were like family. Were really close!

Lilly: Captain

And being completely drunk now, Lura wraps her arms around Lilly tightly.

Igni: (Whats going on here?)

After that, the group disbanded after Lilly could no longer move from drinking too much.

Igni: Fwew.that was fun

Igni only drank enough where the alcohol didnt affect him, and in a good mood, sat on his bed. Edward is sitting a little apart from him.

Edward: ...........Igni.

Igni: What is it, Edward?

Edward: .......its just us two here.

Igni: Uh...umm...yeah, thats true

Igni: (What is it all of a sudden?)

Edward: Theres no one keeping an eye on us. Do you see, Igni? No one else is here right now.

Igni: Uh huh..

Edward: .......lets go.

Igni: Whwhere.?!

Edward: To that [place].

Igni: Yyou mean?!

Ignis brain starts spinning into high gear.

Although the alcohol made him a little dense, Edwards words were like a splash of cold water that instantly woke him up.

Edward: Yes..! THAT kind of store...the *brothel!!

Igni: Bbrothel..!!

THE BROTHEL!!!

It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the oldest profession in human history..!

As long as the supply and demand are present, that profession will always exist..!!

And the profession to fulfill one of lifes *3 greatest desires would always exist..!!

And thus!!

The brothel!!

Edward: Igni. This is our chance. We can finally climb the ladder to become adults!!

Igni: ...........!!!!!!

But before Igni could nod his head up and down, a sharp pain shoots through his cheek and stops him.

Igni: (..................?!?!)

Igni: (Ththis pain.?!)

<<<<>>>>

It occurred when they were out to the city to buy new clothes.

[Ggrandpa! That store.!!

[Hm? Oh, the brothel]

[Whwhat kind of store is that.?]

[Its a store where you get to do that]

[.........!! I want to go!!]

<SLAP!!!!>

[OW!!!!]

[*KATSU!!!!!!!]

[My ears!!!]

[Igni! That store is only for <SKILLED VETERANS>!!!!]

[SSkilled veterans?! WHY?! You just have to pay money, right?!?!]

<SLAP!!!!!!!>

[NAIVE! SO NAIVE YOU MAKE ME SICK.!! YOU HAVENT THOUGHT THIS THROUGH AT ALL..!!]

[..................?!]

[Think about it, Igni. How many men thought the exact same thought as you! How many do you think stepped into that store..!]

Igni thought for a moment, and as the calculated number grew exponentially, he began to tremble.

[Llots.!]

[YES!! Meaning the women of that store are used to men..! Do you think a beginner can charm a woman with that much experience?! You think you can be popular there?!?!

[YYou dont know if you dont try..!]

<SLAP!!!>

[RECKLESSNESS IS NOT THE SAME AS COURAGE!! THIS IS THE SAME AS YOU CHALLENGING THE HELL SPIDER AT YOUR CURRENT LEVEL!!]

[............................?! Grandpa.will I die?!?!

[.................you will]

[............!!!!!!!!!!]

Terror sank deep into Ignis bones as he trembled and shook in fear.

[Igni, you must first gain experience, confidence, and skill before you can go there.]

[II understand..! I understand, Grandpa!!]

<<<<>>>>

Igni: (...........no, not yet.)

Igni: (Im still.Im still not ready.!!)

Im too weak.!! Im too feeble..!!

I cant..avoid defeat.!!!

To go in knowing youll lose is..reckless!!

It's not courage..!!

Igni: ...........Edward.

Edward: Whats wrong, Igni?

Igni: I..I cant go there yet.

Edward: Wwait, really?

Igni: Yeah...I cant die just yet.

Realizing something in the weight of Ignis words, Edward understands.

Edward: OOh.I see...You must be going through a lot, Igni.

Igni: Thank you for inviting me. Im sorry to decline.

Edward: Dont worry about it. I wont go in that case, either.

Igni smiles at Edward as a small chuckle comes out.

Edward: Haha...

The night at the inn.

Though there was no bonding between a man and a woman, the friendship and comradery of two men solidified and deepened.

<<<<>>>>

CHONKY Notes LiT (Lost in Translation)

*playful, giddy time - Author wrote kya-kya-ufufu () time. Simply put, kya-kya () is the high-pitch, giddy laugh from girls. Ufufu () are indulgent times or moments previously explained in another CHONKY LiT note. Please note that this is a made up adjective using Japanese onomatopoeia. Although, you might get the point across if you say this outloud (with some cringe reactions), its actual usage would be limited to written, literary context such as in a novel.

*brothel - Here, the author does use more innocent terms - Ecchina Omise (). Ecchi is a term thrown around a lot of 18+ sites, but its actually a more innocent term. The direct translation is perverted in English, but youll hear Japanese kids use the term without any repercussions. Sex in the English language is a more sensitive subject so its difficult to translate a store to meet and do fun things with girls as a sex shop, sex store, girl shop. The term omise is literally a store or business which doesnt translate well in English either. Hence, brothel has a harsher, less innocent feel, but its what theyre referring to. TL;DR - Interestingly, though Japanese culture does not hesitate to term things as sexual or perverted, they will directly avoid the word sex. This is similar to the U.S. culture by replacing the word with nani () which is the word for that or it (i.e. doing it so in Japanese, it would be doing THAT).

*3 greatest needs (sandai-yokkyu) () - a popular Japanese term to signify the 3 greatest desires of living beings - eat, sleep, and sex.

*katsu! (!) - Not to be mistaken with fried pork steak. A common shout of Buddhist monks to scare the desires out of you. Buddhism is all about detachment from this world, and if you are distracted by anything, they will usually shout this, and if youre training, youll get a bamboo stick to your back.