Any spoilers, for the current chapters must be behind spoilers or detail curtains. When we get further in you don’t need to hide details that were revealed in previous chapters.
Always mention where you are in the book when discussing, ideally by chapter so people reading different versions have a clear point of reference.
Feel free to read ahead if it’s exciting! But please refrain from spoiling ahead of the appropriate week
If you have a question about grammar, vocab, cultural things, etc - ask! That can be part of the discussion too and I’m sure some folks would be happy to help.
Even if you don’t read the chapter(s) in time, you are still encouraged to post in the thread for that reading once you have finished it. I advise not reading ahead in the threads as you may see spoilers.
I got kind of carried away and finished the book… But will stick to the spoiler guidelines and only talk about the chapter at hand.
Chapter 2: Some more world-building (the parts about the mirage gates), and also we get to meet the other main character. Of course it doesn’t go well… Loved this set-up!
Nooooo I posted in the wrong thread by accident and now (despite deleting) Discourse is complaining that the body of the message is too similar to something I just posted… (Alright, adding the explanation worked )
Well, it just got mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, so, at the very least, it isn’t a spoiler anymore
I just finished this chapter. Using audio only was a bit rougher than I’d like, still a lot of progress to make in this area. I’m glad I remember stuff from reading the book, otherwise I would have gotten confused by the description of the boat and ティラナ・エクセディリカ. Her full name and its translation also went over my head, but whatever. I guess I would not have understood the way she mispronounced ケイ’s name either.
I know that I haven’t put much efforts into listening, but I’ve been learning Japanese (and living in Japan) for so long that it’s still kinda frustrating
Anyway, I didn’t remember the scene where she falls face first on his crotch… and I’m going to proceed to forget about that again, just like them.
I can finally say that she is not! Officially 27, which makes her actually ~20 in Earth years, looks 14 but let’s not think about that either
That scene felt really weird. Like, what was the point? What audience was that written for? The audience of young preteen girls into oyaji? “Finally an author who understands my dream of faceplanting into a crotch.”
I’ll also say I wasn’t much impressed by this section. “This girl is 27 in her years and 20 in ours, but is best described as a shockingly gorgeous 14-year-old.” Is the implication that the author’s マトバ’s into preteens bad at distinguishing the ages of young people? Even the girl on the book’s cover doesn’t look that young.
I was hoping I wouldn’t have anything to grouch about on any of these topics, but I’m proven wrong… Granted, I had no problem with the cousin incest in a certain mystery club book, so maybe I can’t say anything…
Hopefully not the audience of oyajiis into young girls. That being said, I thought that Kei reacted in the most non-creepy way possible, considering the situation.
Well, he mentioned as well that they tend to look younger. So someone in their 40s would look like they are in their 30s. Compounded by the difference in year length, some in their 40s (in the other side’s years) would probably look like they are in their 20s on our side. Since she is in her late 20s, looking in her mid 10s is internally consistent, at least.
Semi-unrelated, but I do really like their back and forth otherwise. “Don’t tell me that I can’t touch things. - Oh ok. [she tries to touch something]. Don’t touch that”.
Anyway, I didn’t remember the scene where she falls face first on his crotch…
Oh, I forgot about this part too… and tried to forget the one where she looks 14. I just imagined someone at a youthful 20 instead. It helps that this is all text.
Echoing what you said though, I love their other interactions, looks like a classic “enemies to friends” cop buddy drama setup.
Some of the decisions the author made are just… why did you make a young woman in her twenties look like a teenager? Not to mention the unnecessary crotch scene. I’m also just going to intentionally forget about that. It’s still fun to read though. I enjoy the small moments like the (中略) in the middle of her name. It really is a ridiculous name. I wouldn’t want to introduce myself like that.
That’s what I mean with highschool adjacent. I grew up with manga that gave 30 year olds the appearance of young school children. It’s a fetish and I am not a fan. But with novels, I can ignore what they look like if they at least act like an adult. However, talking about her shapely lips (形のいい唇) and her small breasts (小さな胸をそらしてみせた), is already icky. Why talk about it, if it adds nothing to the story. I don’t remember the men being described like this, but feel free to proof me wrong. I am for sure biased here.
I am just at the point where the 2 meet and quick question: Is the ship description important? I got the gist of it, but some of the details were definitely lost on me.
Edit: And then he goes on for a paragraph how beautiful she is after telling us she looks like 14.
Edit2: Hello fetish, my old friend. You’ve come to torture me again.
It’s kinda funny how just a paragraph (or 2) beforehand, the author is like “she looks young, but she clearly is not a child” like “dear reader, this girl-like creature is an adult, so the crotch planting is fine. Rember: Not a child!”
while I am not into incest, as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult I can let it go. My issue with that was his age, rather than the incest.
In that specific instance, I think the point was to establish that she is exceptionally pretty, in an otherworldly way. I don’t remember where, but it’s mentioned that she looks just as much like a fairy than the actual fairy they are looking for. It didn’t strike me as sexual.
Things are described from the point of view of Kei so far, so probably not? (That being said, Kei is hot is my mind; I have no ground for it, but I have a very vivid mental image of his abs and manly arms) Anyway, things are bad™ on this side, so everything (including people) would be probably described as garbage. In contrast, she truly is of noble origin.
I don’t think so. It’s just there to remind us that everything works differently on the other side.
“Finally an author who understands my dream of faceplanting into a crotch.”
I don’t remember the 
Hello fetish, my old friend. You’ve come to torture me again.
