Arthur remembered the name of the Inn Marina recommended, the Sword and Sorcery Inn, and asked the maid that showed him out of the castle where he could find it. She gave him very easy instructions to follow, thankfully. All he had to do was walk down the main street, enter the wall-circled east square and just look around.

It really is as easy to find as Marina said. Arthur goes in and he can tell at first glance that the wooden, two-story building is a place that’s used to attending to people like him. As in travelers and adventurers who are only looking to stay here for a night or a few days at most.

The first floor works as a tavern. It’s full of tables all around and the waitresses are running back and forth carrying food and drinks to the lively tables. Many of the people around look like mercenaries, since they’re carrying their weapons and wearing their armor, but there’s all sorts of travelers around.

Arthur approaches the long counter with a hesitant step and sees a tough looking old man pouring a customer a flask of ale. Both his short hair and beard have started graying out. The old man notices his nerves and smiles cheerfully.

“I can smell the country dung on you from a mile away kid! Hahaha!” He laughs loudly. “You’re new here, aren’t you? Come here! I can’t sell you anything if you don’t tell me what you want!”

Arthur flinches, but steps up to the counter.

“What do you need, kid? We have food and drink here and plenty of rooms upstairs.”

“I need both. I’ll be staying for at least five days. This place was recommended to me by a woman named Marina.” Arthur tells the man, a little more relaxed.

“Oh! Well, our cheapest single room is one silver a night and our most expensive is one gold.” The old man says as he eyes Arthur up and down. “I’m guessing you’ll want the cheap one?”

“…Yes, please.” Arthur sighs. He can tell he has little money just from a glance?

“Tell you what, kid. Since you’re coming at Marina’s recommendation, I’ll make it 8 silver for you and add two meals a day for the whole week. What do you say?”

‘8 Silver pieces? Mmm… I don’t really know if that’s cheap or not, but I just got paid from the guard job. I have my savings plus 15 gold pieces to spare.’

“I’ll take it. Money up front?”

“Until you’re a customer I can fully trust, yes.” The old man nods.

Arthur pays for his stay and one of the waitresses leads him up to his room. It’s a very simple, if also very clean room. Just a single bed, a nightstand and a small closet. There’s a window with a view to the square where the statue of the man with the sword stands proudly.

He leaves his bag inside the closet, but makes sure to take his sword and his pouch of money with him. He goes back down to the tavern and walks up to the counter again.

“Hungry already?”

“Yes…” Arthur admits sheepishly.

“Sit down, kid.”

As Arthur waits for the food, he takes various deep breaths as he starts to mentally prepare. There’s something important he needs to ask. The secondary objective of his trip to the capital. He picked up a rumor years ago in Yellowseed from a traveling merchant, and if anyone knows if the place he spoke of truly exists, it has to be a man like this, right?

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“Excuse me… mister…”

“Anthony.” The old man answers. “What’s bugging you, kid?”

“I have a question. Uh… I’ve heard that… there’s a place in this city where… you can…” He swallows and his cheeks and ears start getting hot.

‘Ask the damn question! It’s what you came to the city for! Well, not just that, but it’s what you saved all that money for!’

“Where is the place where you can… pay for… w-w-women to…”

“Oooooh. You’re looking for the brothel, aren’t you?” The old man laughs loudly again, making Arthur’s face completely red. “Well, that place is a little far from here. Right now, you’re in the Sword District. You’ll need to go to the southwest side of town, the Arrow District. Here, I’ll draw you a map, you horny brat!”

Although he laughs, Mr. Anthony is happy to help.

‘It could be worse, I guess…’

“Just so you know, kid, the place you’re looking for is called The Magic Palace, and it’s the only legal brothel in the kingdom. Don’t get scammed, alright? But… do you have the money? That place is expensive.”

“I don’t know.” Arthur sighs, almost defeated. “I guess I’ll find out.”

Arthur finishes his meal, he leaves the inn and follows the map Mr. Anthony drew for him.

“From the castle, walk west and past the square with the archer lady… then south in another wide street. It’s a building close to the Merchant’s Guild…” He mutters to himself.

It’s a solid 40 minutes before Arthur finally manages to find his target. It’s a building much like the ones around it with a wooden frame and smooth plaster walls, but it’s much longer and there’s a wooden sign outside it that reads “The Magic Palace.”

‘You’d think it would be… flashier. Are they trying to keep a low profile? But this one is legitimate, right?’

Arthur takes a step forward, but he hesitates and retreats. His heart is pounding like mad, his face is burning but he chastises himself for it.

‘Come on! Man up, you brat! This is what you saved your money for three whole years, right!? The point of money is not to have it, but to use it! Why are you chickening out!? Just because you’re going to ask a woman to… to… to…’

He swallows hard and curses under his breath. It’s hard to tell if this desire comes from simply growing up or if it’s the pang of his soul asking for it. If the latter, then it really fucking sucks that such demands don’t come with the personality and confidence to simply ask a woman out.

But the men back at Yellowseed used to say that things would be a lot better if there were more legal brothels allowed outside the capital. The ones that had come to this place before spoke highly of it. Maybe if Arthur simply pays a woman to have sex with him…

As he’s lost in his thoughts, he barely notices someone approaching from behind.

“Excuse me, are you lost?” The charming voice of a mature woman calls, and Arthur hurriedly turns around. “Or perhaps… you were thinking of entering.” The woman suggests, giggling softly with a knowing smile.

“I… I… I was…” Arthur’s mouth opens and closes several times. His eyes are glued to the woman in front of him. Her looks leave him stunned.

Where would he even start to describe her? The most striking thing about this woman is without a doubt her uncommon hair color. Her long strawberry blonde, practically pink hair is arranged into a braid bun with long bangs slightly covering the left side of her face. He’s seen people with red hair, but such a pink shade is unheard of.

But going beyond that, the woman is striking in every way. She has long legs and she’s half a head taller than him. Her lips are painted with a subtle red lipstick. Her wine colored, open shoulder satin dress hugs her hourglass figure perfectly while her loose sleeves cover her arms. She has a VERY generous chest that Arthur has to try extremely hard not to stare at for longer than half a second. He focuses on her clear, chestnut colored eyes, but that makes him notice the woman is also eyeing him up and that makes him even more nervous.

“Fufufu. I see what this is about.” The woman chuckles, holding the back of her hand in front of her mouth. “Let me introduce myself, mister. My name is Ariana, and I am the owner of the fine establishment before us. Please, feel free to speak. Am I right in assuming you’re here as a customer?”

“Y-Y-Yes.” Arthur nods with a stiff neck. Well… every part of his body is stiff right now.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Miss Ariana smiles brightly. “Please, come inside and we’ll talk business.”