He was wondering whether he should move closer for a better look when a voice suddenly came from beside him.
"Hey, kid."
Jiraiya turned and found a middle-aged man leaning against the wall, a sake flask in hand, watching him with an amused smile.
"What are you looking at?"
Jiraiya pointed at the building and answered righteously, "Research."
The man paused, then burst out laughing. "Research? You?"
"Yeah."
Jiraiya kept a straight face.
"I'm going to write books someday.
To write books, I need research. How else am I supposed to make them feel real if I don't see things for myself?"
The man looked him over, amusement deepening in his eyes.
"You from Konoha?"
"You could tell?"
"You little outsider shinobi stick out the moment you stand on this street. Just look where your eyes keep wandering."
The man took a swig from his flask.
"But you're interesting. You're not peeking—you're just standing here looking."
Jiraiya shrugged.
"Peeking is pathetic.
Someday, I'm going in there openly to do research—once I'm old enough."
"Pfft—"
The man nearly sprayed out his sake. "All right, you've got ambition."
Leaning back against the wall, he casually pointed toward Drunken Fragrance House.
"So what exactly are you researching?
Tell me. I've been around here for twenty years. I've seen everything."
Jiraiya's eyes lit up. "Really?"
He stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"What's it actually like inside?
All that stuff in the novels—harmonious music, beauties adding fragrance to the room—is any of it real?"
The man swayed his flask and drawled, "The qin is real. The se, I don't know.
The beauties are real. As for adding fragrance... does the smell of wine count?"
Jiraiya rolled his eyes.
"Uncle, that's no fun."
"Whether it's fun or not, you can find out for yourself someday."