Hot Springs Brigade!

Itsuki was sitting alone at a table in the Guild Hall's tavern. He'd barely touched his plate of wild hog ham that was ordered an hour ago. 

Why, you may ask? 

Well… because dear Itsuki, self-proclaimed hero and beloved boyfriend to Deena, had just read her letter and the contents of said letter completely blanked out his brain.

The clang of a steel platter being dropped on the table snapped him to his senses. He looked up to see Maya with a dsiturbed expression on her face. "What the fuck is with you? I got two guild requests done and you're still down here like the world's about to end."

A spark of realization struck, and Itsuki came back to life in an instant. "You're a girl!"

"I'm outta here." She grabbed her platter and got up.

"Wait, I'm begging you. I need a girl's advice."

"Oh, gods. What is it?"

"Okay… uhm, my uh, ahem… girlfriend—"

Maya stabbed a knife into her platter of bear flank. "Spit it out before I cut it out."

"M-my girlfriend says she wants to get serious! And she was being very explicit, like… doujin author specific— now that I think about it, it almost sounds unlike her to write like this."

His elf friend raised an eyebrow, and as though she'd suddenly lost interest, sat back with her legs kicked up on the table and said, "And?"

"And… like the first minute after I read the letter, I was stoked. It sounded like she wants to take it to the next step, and for us the next step is… well… sex. So that got me real excited, but when the excitement died down it dawned on me."

Maya was cutting into the meat and chewing loudly into each bite. "It dawned on you…"

"I'm a virgin!"

"Pfft— AHAHAHAHA!" She spat the bear flank all over the table, and some of it got on Itsuki's plate.

"It's not funny!" He said, flicking away a stray piece of meat from his shirt.

"I don't think I've ever heard someone exclaim that so proudly! Hahaha! So… pfft… sorry… what girl advice do you need from me?"

"This is serious. I don't know how to approach her. You're a girl, how would you want a guy you like to approach you when it comes to this sort of thing?"

She pushed the platter away after stuffing her mouth. "I mean, if I wrote a letter like that— which I wouldn't— then clearly she wants you bad."

"Bad like, she's craving it?"

"I mean, yeah? It's that Deena chick, isn't it? The badass half-dragon staff at the Royal Cassun?"

"How'd you know? I don't think I ever told you guys yet."

"It's either her or Vic since I see you guys hanging out a lot. Even saw you guys leaving the eastern gate yesterday. But ain't no way Vic would settle for a small fry like you."

"Vic's like a mentor to me— hold on, small fry?! In case you forgot, I'm sapphire-ranked just like you!"

"Your rank was a fluke."

Itsuki bit back the urge to fight back. He needed to be on her good side so he can learn more about women. "Back to Deena… aside from watching porn, I don't know a thing about sex."

"What's there to know? Just stick that dick in."

"..." Itsuki could say nothing but express his befuddlement through a series of blinks. "Are you… have you had sex before?"

A barmaid set down a large stein of ale in front of Maya. She tipped a silver coin and went straight into chugging half of it before answering. "Yeah, I've had sex before."

"I had no idea."

"What? You think I'm like Butch screaming to the world 'I have orgies with my clan on a weekly basis!'" She wiped the foam from her mouth and grinned. A nostalgic memory must've crossed her mind when she was mimicking Butch. "Not exactly the first thing I say in my introductions."

"Maya." Shade approached their table and waved.

"Oh, shit. I almost forgot." Maya quickly got out of her sweat and slung her bags over her shoulders.

"What's the hurry?" Itsuki asked.

"Remember Harold? That grumpy tavernkeep over at the Swallowtail's got a rat infestation. Shade and I are gonna handle his request." As she was heading out, she turned around and called back to him. "Ask Eve. Betcha she's got a few pointers. Heh."

⚔ ⚔ ⚔

Itsuki took Maya's advice and went up to Eve's room. He heard a muffled voice talking, but it sounded one-sided. When he went to knock, Eve must have been startled because she yelped rather loudly.

"C-coming!"

The sorceress opened the door slightly, saw that it was him at the door, and threw it open. "Itsuki! Please, come in."

"Sorry for interrupting." He said, taking his shoes off as he entered. "Sounded like you were talking to someone, but I don't see anyone here?"

Her mouth fell open, but she shook her head and said, "I was just practicing my spells with dry incantations."

"Dry?"

"It means without mana. When we mages weave sigils and conjure spells, we invoke the mana inside our bodies and will that volatile energy into a certain form. Dry incantations, or dry casting, doesn't will our mana so…"

"I don't really get it, but the fight against Draxis really put into perspective how weak we are, huh?"

Eve sighed, "Seeing the staff of the Royal Cassun fight was like watching the pinnacle of what I can achieve. But it just felt so frustrating that we're the same age and yet… I'm so far behind. That dark elf, too— such incomprehensible power to move earth itself without a focusing element."

"That's not true! You saved me more times than I can count. The barriers you conjured were really something else."

"Haha. I did graduate from the Court of Magisters with exceptional affinity in abjuration and evocation magic." Her grip tightened around the staff. Her shoulders slumped as she looked at the fractured gems. The blue gem had nearly shattered against Draxis' breath. Upon closer inspection, it was missing a piece.

Eve cleared her throat and put her staff back on the rack. "Sorry! Did you need something from me?"

"Ahh… well, you see... " Itsuki recomposed himself. After he explained to Eve his situation, she became just as flustered as he was. Suffice to say, it was not the reaction he was expecting given what Maya said.

"Th-that's definitely something you do with someone you love!" She said, stuttering as she turned beat red.

"I feel like I got the wrong impression from you. We don't have to talk about it if it's making you uncomfortable!"

"Oh, no! It isn't! I'm here to listen and offer any advice I can."

"I don't know about this…"

She grabbed his hands, and declared with steeled resolve. "I can help!"

"Alright, just… you're too close…"

The two of them sat on the bed, and when Eve scooted closer Itsuki had a sharp deja vu.

"Don't laugh, but I'm a virgin. I don't know anything about sex, and I just want my first time with Deena to be a good experience for her, too."

"I would never laugh. I'm a virgin, too!" She exclaimed.

"You are? That's a relief, I feel like I can— wait, ah!"

Itsuki fell backwards onto the bed and felt a weight drop on his waist. He looked up to see Eve, her robes dropped down to her hips revealing the familiar sight of her chest.

This really is too familiar! He thought, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"Eve?? What are you doing??"

She laid down on top of him, squeezing her breasts between their bodies. From this close, he noticed her eyes were somewhat distant, different than her usual glittering demeanor. 

"We're both virgins, and you needed advice. Isn't practicing the best way…?" She started grinding her hips against his lower body. The sensation sent a shock up his spine that made him jerk up." Nnh~♡! See, you're excited, too!"

"What's wrong with you? Snap out of it— ahh… oh, god…"

The feeling of her breasts and the rhythmic gyrating was stirring every pleasure nerve in his body and brain. She wouldn't stop, it was like she was in a trance. Her movements were getting faster and more erotic, and her moaning was driving him crazy.

The moment she grabbed his face and moved in to kiss him, an image of Deena came to mind and he shoved her off. She backwards with a light thud on the bed.

"I'm so sorry! I can't do this. You're really hot and if I wasn't— err, that's not what I mean. I'm genuinely in love with Deena, and I don't want to betray her!" Having said this, he ran out of the room and shut the door behind him.

He kept running until he slammed into another door, and realized he was in the basement. More specifically, the alchemical laboratory.

Itsuki rubbed his stinging nose. There was a dampness on his pants around the crotch area. "What the heck happened? It feels like she gets like that only around me. Is that just the harem effect going on? No… right? This isn't like those isekai. Besides, I've sworn myself to Deena."

he slapped his cheeks, looked up, and saw a deeply scarred monster staring back at him. "IIIIIIYAAAAAAAHHHHH— mph!"

A partially-scaled hand silenced his scream. "What are you doing… screaming at my laboratory?"

"Emph sfory."

Sarrul pulled his hand away and rubbed his baggy eyes. His complexion has changed a lot since he'd last seen him. The half-dragon looked down the hall, and then back at Itsuki. "For now, why don't you come inside."

"Sorry… and thanks." Itsuki said, bowing his head as he entered. "Have you been getting any sleep?"

"I get only enough… to continue working."

"Working on what exactly?"

"Many things. Cures, weapons… a key."

Itsuki found a stool to sit down on. "Don't say that last part like that. You sound like one of those good guys who go full big baddie towards the climax of the story."

"I assure you my intentions are benevolent… they always have been." Sarrul chuckled, grabbed a beaker filled with dark liquid, and drank from it.

Itsuki filled with horror. "I really hope you are about to tell me that's coffee in there."

Sarrul looked at the glass, his eyes widened. "Uh, oh."

"SARRUL?!"

"I jest."

"Oh, my god. Don't do that."

The alchemist procured another glass, filled it with the same dark liquid from a larger flask, and offered it to Itsuki. "It's coffee."

"I hope so." He took a cautious sip and was mildly impressed with the flavor.

"What's troubling you, Itsuki?"

"A lot, but the main thing right now is my future with someone I like."

"Oh? I may not be much help, but I can… lend an ear."

He swirled the coffee in the beaker trying to find the right words to convey. "The someone in question is a half-dragon. We've grown close a lot faster than I'm used to. Well, I'm not used to it at all because it's my first time in a relationship. Now… we're trying to move forward with love and… sex… the future feels so uncertain."

Sarrul nodded slowly. "A half-dragon. Someone you grew close to in a short time. Am I to understand you are in love… with me?"

"I am— wait, what?! No. Nooooo."

"That was a joke."

"When the heck did you start cracking jokes?"

"Must be the coffee." Sarrul grinned. "Jokes aside, tell me… what is it that you wish to tell her?"

"I want to tell her that I love her."

"Does she mean a great deal to you?"

"She does. And I don't mean that like a lovestruck kid with his dick stuck in the honeymoon phase. I want to see her happy, and I feel like I'd be content with just that."

"I see. She must be lucky to have you."

"I'm the one who's lucky."

Sarrul left his seat to tinker with the alchemical apparatuses set up around the room. He ignited his hand to heat up one of the beakers until it started boiling. The steam rose up through the narrow glass channels, condensing and dripping into another container.

"Every ingredient is unique, complex in make and properties. As an alchemist, it is my duty to find the truth behind their origins. Then transform them into new compounds."

Itsuki walked over to watch him work. "And what do they have to do with me?"

"Unlike humans, half-dragons, any self-conscious beings really… find it difficult to be honest with each other. I love alchemy… for its honesty, for each truth laid bare with every new discovery."

Sarrul poured the coffee beaker into the solution, sapped away its heat, and added a strange viscous goo to the frozen compound.

"Simply start by being honest… with your beloved, and you will find… new and exciting revelations that will endear you to them."

"Just be honest? Even when it comes to sex?"

"Yes, my friend. Honest with your concerns, your hopes… even with a topic as banal... as that." Sarrul corked the flask and handed it to Itsuki. What had originally been a flowy watery substance was now gooey and slick.

"What is this?"

"A gift. Share it with your beloved. But only after you two… have promised each other to yourselves."

"I'm grateful, but how do I even use this? And you put coffee in it! Was it really coffee or something else?!"

"I'll let you figure it out… as I must return to work. Enjoy."

"Sarrul—"

The half-dragon snapped his finger and Itsuki fell forward to his feet in the Guild Hall tavern. Several guild members glanced over and shared his confusion.

"Goddamnit, Sarrul."