If BRO sports was a heaven for sports equipment, then THE Lodge was a paradise for sports enthusiasts.
The first room they entered from BRO sports was a wall climb room.
Many people stood around the large room. Some of them climbed an artificially constructed wall with manufactured grips placed in a way that imitated real bouldering paths in the world. Soft mattresses were installed below to soften the fall.
Not only that but there was also a tall wall with a safety rope. Someone was climbing it at a fast speed, like a spider. And on the smaller wall on its side, a young man a little bit younger than Max tried to climb slowly, making his way up.
On the other side of the room was an obstacle area. Thin ledge, cliffhanger, salmon ladder, unstable ladder... There was also a bouncing spider, a rope swing, and a warped wall. Any obstacles someone wanted to find, the area had everything they had to offer.
"Buddy..." Max muttered in a low voice as he kept looking around, "I want to live in this place."
"Sorry to break it to you. While the name of this place is the lodge, it has no lodge." Flexy answered with a grin, "But well, you will be able to visit anytime while you're in this city, no?"
— The name is a pun
— I thought it was a lodge at first, but I found out it isn't a lodge! I was bamboozled.
— Whoever named this place is a genius. Many people want to find a lodge, but they find a sports center and are happy with it. He got many customers thanks to this
— Why don't they open a franchise and name it THE Inn?
— Fool! That won't spell BROTHEL but BROTHEI. It doesn't live up to the name!
The chat conversed among themselves as Max nodded at Flexy.
"Ignoring your pun, you're correct. Still, can we use them for free?"
"Usually, no." Flexy shook his head, "But since we bought something from BRO sports, we will be able to use this place to try the new equipment we have for free. Of course, it only applies until we leave. The bill serves as our ticket."
"Ah, that's why the person near that door asked to see our bill."
"Exactly." The orange-haired streamer snapped his fingers and pointed at him. "So, we will use this opportunity to have fun. What do you think of racing using the obstacles in that corner? In VR, you might be unbeatable. But I am confident with my strength in real life."
"Oh? You're challenging me?" Max raised his eyebrows as he looked at Flexy.
Through his self-reflection, he learned not to be arrogant. But that only applied when he faced strangers or people he didn't know pretty well, like Puppeteer. Facing them, he would be humble and calculating, pretending to be normal while actually a predator.
As for Flexy... The story would be different.
She peeked a little bit and saw what happened. Max was still arguing with Flexy about who would go first and began to play rock-paper-scissors to decide it.
Just looking at them a little was enough. She quickly pulled her head back and put her hand on her chest.
'Calm down. He doesn't know that it's you. There is no way he knows. I am totally different from when we met.' She calmed herself down, breathing deeply.
The girl shook her head and nodded to herself. With herself looking different from when she met with him, there was no way he would realize it.
'Yes, there is no way he realizes I am Princess Peach. Waah, that was embarrassing. I got flustered because I thought he called out to me because he recognized me. I want to bury myself on the ground so bad! Stupid Fio! I am so stupid!'
Princess Peach, known as Fio Stark in real life, crouched and berated herself.
Meanwhile, near the course of the day, Max groaned because he had just lost the rock-paper-scissors and had to let Flexy go first.
"Hahaha! Too bad. It seems that in terms of RNG, the Goddess of Luck still smiles at me more. You need to go to a shrine or a church to cleanse yourself, buddy."
"Grr... As much as I want to deny it, I know that the Goddess of RNG doesn't smile at me often." Max responded, "Is her type someone who is loud and annoying? I should be louder if that's the case."
"Hehehe, it just means I am more charming to her." Flexy laughed loudly, "But still, that girl from earlier was cute. She also seems to recognize you. Maybe she's your fan?" He smirked.
"Nah, I don't think so." Max looked at the place where the pink-haired girl disappeared and shrugged his shoulders.
"I thought it was someone I recognized at first, but I was wrong. They have similar pink hair, but the girl I know is arrogant, while the girl from earlier gets flustered easily. They are different people."
— Do you mean Princess Peach? Yeah, they are too different
— Even if they have the same pink hair, their personalities are so different!
— Guys, do you understand the term roleplay?
— There is no way they are the same person
"Is that so?" Flexy asked as he read the chat and found out the identity of the person Max talked about. "Well, teasing you isn't that fun anymore with you having someone you have fallen with." His grin widened as he teased his friend.
"Shut up and go. I am ready to time you." Max growled and opened a screen with a stopwatch. "I hope you have 5 grand ready to transfer to me."
"Tsk, no fun." Flexy clicked his tongue and stood on the starting line of the course. "I am ready."
"Alright, after 3." Max said as he hovered his finger in front of the stopwatch. "Ready? 1... 2... 3!"