Igni: Its rare that youre inviting me to go shopping with you, Miss Miko.

Miko: YYeah, well.you were the only person I could ask

Igni: What are you shopping for? Miko: The day after tomorrows my younger brothers birthday.

Igni: Got it! So youre looking to buy a present for him.

Miko: Hes going to be adult-age soon. I didnt know what to buy him in that case

Igni: If its like that, you can leave it to me!

Miko: I knew I could count on you!

Igni: Yes! Then lets get going!

Miko: Yeah!

Igni and Miko both exit the school and head to the Market. They call it a Market, but its not just stands lined up like a flea market. This is the business district where you can find a lot of stores lined up side by side.

By the way, the adult age in the Kingdom is 15.

So that would make Miss Mikos younger brother one year younger than Igni.

Igni: Has your younger brother decided on a career?

Miko: An Adventurer. Hes been wanting to become one for a while.

Igni: Then we should get him something that will be useful for it.

Miko: You think so? Igni: Of course!

But even so, Igni has never been an Adventurer himself, so he wouldnt know whats important.

But his grandfather, Lucas, is different!

From amongst the Nobles, Lucas ran off to become an Adventurer, and became an unstoppable shooting star as a solo Adventurer.

He is now known as one of the [Strongest] Heroes.

Igni was taught the ways of an Adventurer with direct experience, so from there, Igni was able to derive an answer.

Yes. That was during the summer in the [Demon Kings Realm] when they were in the middle of a sweltering heat..

<<<<>>>>

[Oye, Igni. Look closely. This tree is called the Valbulb Tree, and if you cut this tree down and make a bowl-shaped hole in the stump, come back the next day, and it will be filled with water.

[Can you drink it?]

[No, not without boiling it first. You have your {Fireball} so you wont have any trouble with making a fire.]

And it was during one of Grandpas lessons teaching Igni, who couldnt use [Water] Type Magic, how to survive in nature

[Grandpa, teach me more Adventurer tricks!]

[Hmph, well, dont be in such a hurry.]

But Lucas had a wide grin stretched across his face.

This habit of Ignis is actually genetic.

[What equipment should you always carry around?!]

[Equipment, eh]

[Yeah! Well, to be honest, I already know the answer! You need a weapon to butcher materials off the carcasses. You need a pouch to carry all those goods. And you need a variety of different kinds of healing potions! Finally, food supplies for your journey! See! Isnt that perfect!]

[Yes...thats true. But if you are adventuring with other Adventurers, there is something even more crucial you have to carry around.]

[Whwhat?]

[An adult magazine.]

[What..?]

Igni could not comprehend what Lucas just said and doubly emphasized his confusion.

[Whats with that reaction, Igni.]

[Stop kidding around and teach me properly!!]

[Look here, Igni. Im not joking at all. The 3 biggest desires of human beings are eating, sleeping, and reproduction. And Igni. The closer you are to death, the stronger those sexual urges get.]

[BBut...an adult magazine on a journey is..]

[What are you talking about? Because of pent up urges, the relationships between your Party becomes unbearably tense, and many Parties have disbanded because of that.]

[AAdventurer Parties..?]

[Hmph, I see now. Igni, you have been raised with many stories about Heroes, but listen well, Igni. A Heroic Tale will only capture the good parts and will never mention the dirty parts.]

[A dirty part?]

[Well, simply like using the restroom.]

[ThThats true]

For those who grew up on the Heroes Tales, some would undoubtedly claim that true Heroes never use the restrooms.

[Igni, humans are in the end, human beings. They will have good characteristics as well as bad characteristics. You will have to learn to accept both sides. And Igni! This will lead to your Popularity!]

[Huh?! The adult magazines will?!]

<SLAAAP!!>

[OF COURSE NOT!]

[WWait, but from the flow of the conversation.]

[WOMEN ARE HUMAN BEINGS TOO! They will have beautiful parts and of course, dirty parts as well! But do you think a man who rejects the dirty parts can become Popular?! A man who only accepts the beautiful parts of a woman?!]

[HHe cant!!]

[Thats right! Thats why, Igni! Listen well!! The Ultimate Secret to Popularity No. 8!! Those who accept a woman will become Popular!! In other words, its all about having high tolerance!!]

[TTolerance..!!]

[The ability to take in the good and the bad with an open mind and heart, keep that in mind as you make plans!!]

[GGrandpa, youre amazing. Youre like a real Adventurer!]

[I am a real Adventurer]

<<<<>>>>

Miko: So Igni. What do you think an Adventurer needs?

Igni: Lets see

Even Igni knew that he couldnt shout, AN ADULT MAGAZINE! at this juncture.

If it was a male upperclassman, he could joke about that, but right now, hes with Miss Miko.

That would be obvious sexual harassment and saying goodbye to his Popularity.

Igni: Why not a pouch?

So Igni answered seriously.

Miko: A pouch? Igni: An Adventurer will need to carry around many small tools and equipment, and so you need a pouch to place it in. As a starting Adventurer, you will pour most of your money into weapons and armor, and there are many cases where they dont have any money left to buy a proper pouch.

Miko: Oh! Is that right?!

Igni: Thats why I would recommend a pouch.

Miko: Im glad I brought you along, Igni!

Igni: Then lets go take a look around!

Miko: Yeah! I have a good store in mind. Lets go there.

And with that, Miss Miko walked boldly forward into the Market. This is a location that Igni has come to regularly to scope out some dating spots. So he knows the roads pretty well too.

Welcome oh, its just you, Miko.

Miko: Hey! Today, I came here to buy a pouch!

Then take a good look around...oh, did you bring your boyfriend here too?

Miko: WH No! Hes not my boyfriend!!

Her face brightened red all the way to the tip of her head.

She can usually be pretty manly and gruff, but sometimes shows these sides of her.

Igni: (Shes so adorable.)

Oh, hes not? What a shame.

Miko: Hes just an underclassman in the Student Council!

Igni: It is a pleasure making your acquaintance.

And Igni bows politely.

Oh, what a nice young man. Arent you lucky, Miko. He has a cute face too.

Miko: YYoure embarrassing him! Could you cut it out?!

Though Miss Miko is saying that, I think its apparent whos being more troubled by the womans taunting. But shes being super cute, so thats okay.

Miko: Today, I here to buy a pouch for Yuma!!

For Yuma? Is he already 15? Time flies so quickly

Miko: Yeah, that shrimp wanted to become an Adventurer, so Im getting him something for that for his birthday.

So thats why youre out here shopping with your boyfriend.

Miko: I told you, hes not my boyfriend!!

Igni: (I wonder if she realizes that denying something with a super red face only makes it look more true.)

And Igni casually observed the scene from the sidelines. But he started feeling a little sorry for Miss Miko and decided to lend a helping hand.

Igni: Miss Miko. Lets start looking for pouches.

Miko: YYeah, lets look and see what they have.

Take your time.

And with that, the store lady went to the back of the store.

Igni: Youre very close to that person.

Miko: .........yeah. Shes been looking out for us since we were brats.

Youre still a brat to me.

The lady sticks her head out from the back.

Miko: AGH!! You scared me! Just stay back there!

Okay, okay

And laughing cheerfully, the lady disappeared to the back of the store again.

Theyre almost like mother and daughter.

Miko: Theres a lot of different kinds of pouches. Look at this one, Igni. This ones cute.

And Miss Miko picks up a small, pink colored pouch in her hands.

As usual, Miss Miko is displaying high womanly characteristics.

Igni: It really is a cute pouch.

Miko: Then should we choose this one?

Igni: Huh?!

Miko: Hm? Is that bad?

Igni: .......does your younger brother like these kinds of styles?

Miko: Oh no. Its just something I thought was cute.

Igni: DDoes your younger brother like accessorizing with these colors?

Miko: No, he usually chooses the more manly stuff.

Igni: ThThen what about this one? Igni carefully takes out a navy blue pouch. Its a pretty good size, and its focused on being able to store potions and the knife for collecting materials . Its practical and pragmatic in every way..

But Miss Miko seems to choose items based on their design, so she might reject such a blandly designed pouch. But as a man, Igni was trying his best to avoid having Miss Miko gift her brother, Yuma, a pink pouch.

But he also didnt want to do away with Miss Mikos choice either.

And as Igni went back and forth in his mind

Miko: Oh! This looks great! Lets do this one then!

And Miss Miko took the pouch with a bright smile.

Miko: Hey! We decided to go with this one!

Sure thing.

Igni was proud that he just saved the dignity of Miss Mikos little brother who he had not met.