Lanterns were lit from all sides of the city, and in the wealthier districts, low streetlamps joined them, Providing light for anyone that trod the night.
And they trod en masse.
The night belonged to vice: to gamblers hunched over dice, to drinkers swaying with mugs in hand, and to those chasing pleasures of a more carnal kind. Passersby slowed as they reached the new brothel, their eyes lingering on its structure.
The building stood at a respectable height, matching some of the tallest structures nearby, yet its width far outclassed them. Its sheer presence was so commanding it wouldn't have been a stretch to mistake it for a cathedral rather than a brothel.
And as the night raged on, the sound of hooves slamming against the ground echoed through the dark. Stopping just by the doors of the Pleasure, Infinity.
George Traver stepped down, a tobacco stick nestled between his lips. He bent toward his driver, letting him relight it before making way for the entrance.
Though he technically owned the establishment, he had never once set foot inside. Even when royal guards arrived at his estate to question the validity of his ownership, he still didn't see a need to come.
But tonight, the chance to bring other nobles into his circle, and secure future patrons was too good to pass on.
He crossed the path lined with red and purple lights, their glow strobbing against the ground.
The doors swung open at his push, revealing the interior. While George wasn't one for brothels, even he could admit that this was one of the most stunning pieces of architecture he'd seen in years.
To his left stood a grand receptionist's desk, blocking a smaller hallway that sloped downward. The woman behind it called out to him, but he ignored her, drawn instead to the view ahead.
A long hallway stretched forward, shadows thickening the farther it went, until it seemed to vanish into forever.
"An infinite hallway," he murmured, then his eyes lifted to the sweeping twin staircases curling to an upper deck.
Just like his own estate.
"And here I was thinking you wouldn't make it," Stephen said, appearing at his side in a fresh set of plain clothes.
"Your architect has good taste," George replied, gaze still fixed on the stairs. "When I take full ownership, I'll see this place kept in fine shape."
"Can't wait," Stephen said dryly, turning away.
Just behind George, Tello and Gila crossed the floor toward the upper deck, each carrying a box.
"What's in those?" George asked.
"Sex toys, condoms, some pills..." Tello muttered, breath pausing as he nearly dropped his load. "And beer."
"There's no time to waste, Tello," Gila called, already halfway up the stairs.
"I'm right behind you." He scrambled after her.
"Wait... you're still not open?" George said, eyebrow raised.
"What does it look like, Einstein?" Stephen murmured, obviously still a bit annoyed the Brothel would leave his grasp after a year. "...But no, we're not ready. A few employees are lagging behind."
"Cass!" Gila's voice cut through the room from the railing above. "Where are the others?"
Cass, who stood behind the counter, jolted upward like she'd been struck. "I called them earlier... they said they were on their way..." Her voice wavered, almost like she was about to cry.
"Tch." Gila clicked her tongue, disappearing back into the deck.
"So that's the problem," Stephen said. "We have three employees right now, and we need at least two more for drinks and front-end service."
George shook his head. "If I'd known you were this disorganized, I'd have cancelled the meeting."
"What are you talking about?" Stephen glanced at him.
"I already called some other nobles, high profile individuals rich enough to buy this entire place on a whim." His gaze slid past the receptionist, toward the prep room's slightly open door. "And in preparation for this grand opening, I told them to their privates to themselves. So I'd assume they're restless currently."
"I don't even want to imagine how that conversation went." Stephen sighed. "But you'll have to call it off, I guess. We can't attend to anyone right now."
"HEY!" A knock came from the door, followed by the slamming of even more hooves. "Ya'll not open or what?!"
Stephen darted to the small window overseeing the entrance and peered out. A wall of men crowded the street, backed by carriages that stood even further down.
"Seems they're already here." George walked toward the door, "so what are you saying? Business looms outside, will you let them wait until they leave for your competitors? Or will you steadfast and let them in."
Stephen glanced at the window, his feet already idly tapping against the ground as he struggled to think.
What should he have done here? Opening the doors was good, it meant business would start, and they had everything except the hands needed to attend to them... that could've been the move, maybe the three employees could handle it for the time being.
"No... it'll be too much for them. They'd get disorganized and the entire thing would be a mess." Stephen muttered to himself.
How should he have handled this?
"What do we do?" Tello said, walking up next to Stephen. "Do we open the doors?"
"Wait..."
"There's no more time to waste boy." George muttered, "the longer they wait... the happier the Love Supreme gets!"
A vein popped up on Stephen's face, if he didn't need to keep his professional persona up around him. He would've no doubt thrown a mana charged punch into his abdomen.
"We can't know what noble's those are till they get in here, if someone recognizes us we're toast." Stephen said.
"We should go hide then, right?" Tello suggested.
"Then, who'd attend to the guests." Stephen said, making a headcount of the people outside. They were well over a hundred. "We'll need to fill in for the missing employees while not getting caught at the same time."
"That's not possible..." Tello said, and Stephen glanced back. His gaze stopping on Gila who pulled up two objects, one a dog leash and the second a full face mask.
"Wait... what's the mask for?" Stephen asked.
"I think she said it's for people who want anonymity," Tello replied. "Married men, mostly."
Stephen looked outside at the restless crowd, then back to the mask, and at the same time, an idea formed. One that could let them stand in for the employees while keeping their identities hidden.
"Take every mask she's got," Stephen ordered.
Tello nodded, ran upstairs, and returned moments later with a bundle of masks. They put them on, passing the rest to the staff until every face was covered.
"Well... it works," Tello said, glancing around.
"It's all we need for now, at least until the real employees arrive, or the night's over." Stephen inhaled, then looked toward the door, where impatient feet were already tapping. "Alright."
Tello stepped forward, hand on the knob.
"Open it," Stephen said.
The hinges groaned as the door swung wide. The sound pulled the crowd's attention, but only a few entered at first, about forty or so, their cautious eyes scanning the brothel's interior.
"Looks good at least," one man muttered.
"Where are the whores?!" another barked.
Stephen appeared behind them without warning, making a few jump. "Gentlemen, welcome to the Pleasure, Infinity. A place where we can fulfill your wildest dreams, and desires you never even knew you had!"
The men exchanged skeptical glances.
"I only came because I'm tired of the Love Supreme girls." One said. "If these ones are no different, I'm out—"
However, just before his sentence was over. A door creaked open behind the receptionist desk, footsteps echoing across the entire room.
Then with a burst of sweetness, twenty women walked out, all dressed in lingerie. Lip stick as thick as their curves.
Perfume hung in the air as the girls drifted out from the back, each one locking eyes with the men, some crooking a finger in slow, deliberate invitation.
"They're gorgeous..." someone whispered.
"How much?!" another barked, already storming toward the receptionist with one hand cupped protectively over his crotch.
He scanned the list, and instantly his mood soured.
"Five hundred gold? What kind of scam is this, this is why I hate new places. You always think you can take advantage of us, who do you believe is dumb enough to pay such a ridiculous amount?!"
Cass froze, glancing at Stephen. "Please, sir... calm down—"
Stephen stepped forward, hands outstretched. "Gentlemen... I understand your hesitation. But I ask you... look again at the itinerary."
The man frowned, then glanced toward the table. To the list that sat above it. "...It says I can do anything on this list for the rest of the night?"
Stephen nodded.
"...They can transform? Into anything?"
Stephen's gaze slid toward Gila, who gave him a thumbs up from the stairs.
"Yes. Anything you want."
The man wavered. "Even so, that's... my whole weekly salary. I can go to the Love Supreme and—"
"—And do what?!" Stephen snapped. "Have the same safe, sterile, vanilla night you've had a hundred times?!" His voice rose, shaking the walls. "Gentlemen, the Love Supreme will feed you the lie of satisfaction, wrapped in lace and wine. They will give you three women, and they will pat you on the head for being such a daring little customer."
Stephen stepped forward, fists clenched. "But here... here you can lay with a half-orc sea-witch! Here, you can bed an angel whose wings you will pluck one by one! Here you can face pleasures that will break you in half and remake you as something greater!"
The men stood frozen, as if he'd declared war.
"You came here tonight as husbands, workers, debtors... but you will leave as LEGENDS!" His voice thundered. "When your grandchildren ask where their grandfathers were this night... you will tell them—"
"WE WERE AT PLEASURE, INFINITY!" the men roared.
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! WHERE WERE YOU!"
"AT THE PLEASURE, INFINITY!" They screamed again.
"NOT LOUD ENOUGH!" Stephen screamed, "WHERE WERE YOU?!"
However, this time. There was no response.
"Hm?" Stephen opened his eye and glanced around, only to see Cass who stood behind the table.
"Sir," Cass said softly, "they're already gone."
Stephen turned. The crowd had indeed vanished, with only Tello now walking toward him.
"Yeah," Tello said, "they bolted to the rooms. I'll try to pull them back, since there aren't enough girls."
"Oh... yeah, go do that." Stephen said, then he turned to Cass. "That mean's... they paid the 500 gold already?"
"Yes, sir..." Cass said, a nervous smile on her face as she pulled up a satchel filled to the brim. "We've already made twenty thousand gold..."
Stephen could only laugh before the men began to screech from inside the rooms, some getting dragged back by Tello and the other employees, and some getting dragged further in by the girls.
And the noise was a beacon, a beacon that made the ones outside rush forward, knocking on the door violently.
It might've been cliche to say, but his plan had worked. He'd hit gold... literally.
"I'm not sure we have enough girls for them..." Gila said, staring out the window.
"Can you hire some more?" He asked.
"This night?" Gila said, in thought. "It's going to be a bit harder to, plus with the sheer amount of them, we'd also need to give the ones we have hired raises before they—"
Stephen grabbed the satchel from Cass and pushed it toward Gila, and she grabbed it quickly, a few coins falling to her feet.
"Is this enough?" Stephen asked.
"...I'll be back with twenty more in an hour." Gila walked away, looking into the bag. "Tops."
"Good," Stephen smiled as he dashed toward the door, grabbing the handles and pulling it open just in time for a barrage of men to flood in, stumbling over one another in their eagerness to see what could possibly make this place so great.
"COME ONE COME ALL!" Stephen screamed at the top of his lungs. "TO THE ONE PLACE WITH A LIST YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE! WITH GIRL'S YOU'VE NEVER HAD!"
Men dashed in, almost tripping over themselves.
"WELCOME, TO PLEASURE, INFINITY!"