Maybe it was too soon to say... but business was booming.
Stephen stood in the middle of the floor by the receptionist's desk, watching patrons walk up and down the stairs, getting drunk without a care, booking their next sessions, and raving about how good the service was.
He'd never ever thought about being a brothel owner, neither about owning a business, but as he stood here. He understood just why so many businessmen got excited whenever their stores did well.
"Good job, Fiona," Tello muttered as one of the girls stepped out of a room, heading back toward the prep rooms.
"All in a day's work," she replied, brushing past him. Then, with a playful glance, she added, "Maybe before the night's over... you'll come visit me."
"I don't know," Tello said, turning slightly. "I'm kind of busy you know, with everything."
"I get that..." She stopped and leaned in closer. "But I insist—"
But her words froze the instant her gaze flicked upward, to the railing above, where Gila stood watching. Even behind the mask, her stare burned through Fiona like fire.
The girl instantly stepped back. "Yeah, you're busy. Never mind me!" And with that, she hurried off toward the rooms.
"That was weird," Tello murmured.
"Is that so," Stephen's voice cut in as he walked up. "How's everything looking?"
"...Yeah," Tello coughed, then gestured toward the long, dark hallway where moans echoed out. "Everything's going well. The clients are happy, and the girls aren't complaining."
"Yeah... bringing in extra hands really paid off," Cass said, but her attention shifted as a figure approached the desk. Quickly, she straightened. "Would you like to book a room?"
"Yeah. I'd like five women for me, and three for my friends upstairs. They'll be down soon," came a familiar voice.
"Alright... that'll be 1,500 gold for the lot—"
"Oh, I'm not paying."
"Of course you're not," Stephen said, stepping up to Traver with a scowl.
"I own the place, don't I?" George answered smoothly. "Besides, the nobles I've brought with me are eager to invest heavily in the business... next year, at least."
"Of course," Stephen muttered, then tilted his head. "How do you even get away with this? Doesn't the palace care when nobles involve themselves in illicit activities?"
"What we do at night, or in our spare time, is of no concern to the king," George replied. "And even if it was. Alcohol wipes the slate clean. Nobody remembers anything come morning."
"Alcohol you won't be paying for, I'm guessing."
"Bingo." He snapped his fingers, then turned to Cass. "When will the whores be ready?"
"We're already drowning in customers," Cass said, glancing toward the crowded hall. "Some clients are even having to share. I'll let you know when there's room."
"You better," George muttered, then glanced to the upper deck. "Still, quite the joint you've got running. Everyone's happy."
"I wasn't expecting this kind of turnout either," Stephen admitted. "Guess it shows just how much the people have been deprived of a new thing."
"That's the real seller, isn't it? The itinerary, no one's ever seen anything like it," George laughed. "Some of the guys even left just to bring their buddies in, so they could get a look too."
"Yeah, I saw."
"Still, I wonder." George said, narrowing his eyes. "How do you even come up with such a list... well, I suppose being a sex god has its perks."
"I'm not a sex god—" Stephen started, but George was already next to him, patting his shoulder.
"There's no need to hide it. I know you want to bed a half-orc, half-dragon."
"Don't project your fantasies onto me," Stephen shot back, then added. "I'm more of a cat girl guy."
"Ahhhh! Good taste, I'll give you that!" George roared with a laugh, the stink of ale thick in his breath as he staggered up the stairs.
Stephen sighed, leaning against the counter. "How much have we made so far?"
"Seventy-four thousand gold," Cass replied, scanning her ledger. "You gave Gila twenty, so we're left with fifty-four."
"Four thousand of that from beer and wine, right?" Stephen asked, and she nodded. "This is shaping up nicely."
"At this rate," Tello joined, "before the year's over we might hit the one-fifty we estimated."
"Yeah. Let's keep up the momentum—"
"You can keep up the momentum by helping me up here!" Gila's muffled scream came from above, her mask blunting the sound of her voice.
"Coming!" Tello bolted for the stairs.
Stephen followed after.
The upper deck stretched nearly as wide as the lower floor, scattered with chairs and tables where patrons drank and chatted while waiting for rooms to open up.
"Lady! Four beers over here!" a man shouted from his table. "What's the holdup, for Dawn's sake!?"
"Please, calm down," Stephen said, appearing beside him with a tray of drinks.
The man blinked, then lit up. "Oh, Sex god. I didn't know you were here. My apologies." He grabbed the beers.
"Sex god?" Stephen muttered back.
"I got a room with two girls and the both of them transformed into half goblins, like from down, and mannnn~ they sucked me more dry than the sun could squeeze water from a set of hung clothes—"
"And... how exactly does this correlate with me being called a sex god?" Stephen interrupted.
"Oh, you know. It's a new thing, like no other place has offered this before," the man said. "Also... how does that therapy service work? I need someone to talk to."
"About what?"
"My father was killed by goblins, you see..." he began, "That's why I wanted to have sex with them. To reclaim my power over them. To beat my fears, I had to first fu—"
"CASS!" Stephen screamed from the railing. "I'll be sending someone your way!"
"Wait, you don't want to hear the rest of my story?"
"Absolutely not," Stephen said flatly. "I'm already traumatized by the parts you have told me. Now, go downstairs and have a chat with the receptionist when you're ready."
"Alright."
Stephen turned away, muttering to himself as more patrons flowed in, some climbing to the upper deck, while others left for the infinity rooms below. Down by the receptionist's desk, Cass looked pale and dazed, barely able to process the steady stream of bodies filing past.
"We've hit four hundred customers now," Tello reported. "Though some have already left."
"We're raking in the funds," Stephen grinned. If things stayed like this until the handover to George, he'd have no problem hijacking Claris's wedding.
At least, if it hadn't already happened.
"Hopefully it hasn't," he muttered. In truth, it probably didn't matter in the long run, he could always try to win her over regardless. But sabotaging the marriage would have made things far easier.
His train of thought was cut short, by a loud voice.
"Why aren't you one of the whores?" a slurred voice rang from a nearby table. The man's hand reached out and smacked Gila across the rear. "A bit smaller than the average bitch, but hey. I don't mind!"
She stiffened, slowly turning, eyes staring at him through the mask.
"Do not do that again," she said. "If you touch me once more, I'll have you escorted—"
But the drunk was already on his feet, swaying with booze on his breath. He lurched forward, pinning both her wrists to the railing before she could react.
"The list said we can do it anywhere, right?" he sneered, fumbling with his belt. "Well, don't mind if I do!"
Stephen sighed. Of course. There were always some who drank past their limits and turned into problems, this was exactly why he didn't like alcohol.
"I'll have to escort you out, sir—" He stepped forward.
But before he could intervene, Tello barreled past him, a bottle flashing in his grip.
And with a large swing, glass exploded against the man's skull.
The crowd on the upper deck froze, gasps spreading like ripples through the room. All eyes turned from Tello, who still held the jagged bottleneck, to the drunk, who barely flinched.
The man touched the back of his head, checking for blood. Then his voice came. "Hitting someone with a bottle while he isn't looking," he laughed, "What a pussy!"
And then he spun, driving a brutal backhand across Tello's face, sending him crashing across the room and into a stack of empty boxes by the side.
"Ooooooohhhhhh," the crowd groaned in perfect unison.
The man cracked his knuckles. "Now... where were we?" He turned back to Gila, ignoring her glare that had shifted past him, to where Tello lay crumpled.
But before he could move again, he was slammed across the room, body embedding deep into the wall with a crunch.
Stephen stood in his place, mana emanating from his palm.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Gila gave a quick nod before rushing to Tello's side.
Stephen turned, sweeping his gaze across gawking faces, some pale, some wide eyed in awe, and some barely even registering what had happened due to how intoxicated they were.
"That," he said, hand still raised, "will be the fate of anyone who disrespects an employee of my brothel. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sex god!" the crowd roared back in chorus.
Stephen exhaled heavily, rubbing his temple. "I really wish you'd stop calling me that," he muttered, and walked away.
The rest of the night went swimmingly. They capped at about eight hundred customers, with only a quarter of that still in the building. The girls shuffled in and out of the infinity rooms, heading to the prep room to freshen up and relax before heading out again.
"I made a fool out of myself," Tello muttered, pressing a bag of ice to his eye.
"That's not true," Stephen said. "You were brave, and I'm sure Gila can appreciate that."
"Well, I was brave up until the moment I got slammed across the room like a rag doll."
"Don't sweat it," Stephen said. "Hey, maybe this was the bad feeling you had."
"Getting my ass handed to me?" Tello laughed. "I doubt it. But hey, hopefully it was."
"Well, the night's almost done." Stephen looked outside, to an empty street, with no one at the doors or beyond. "We got through it, either way."
"Yeah," Tello said. "We sure did—"
But just as the words left his mouth, three knocks echoed against the door.
"Hm?" Stephen turned toward it. "Isn't it open?" He glanced at Cass.
"It is." Cass started to rise. "Should I go?"
"You're in the middle of something, right?" Stephen waved her down. "I'll get it."
He walked to the door, dragging his mask further down just as he reached it. His hand rested on the knob, and with a pull, the door creaked open, revealing a dark haired man standing just outside.
"I believe the door was open," Stephen said.
"Was it?" The man tilted his head, brushing his long hair back. "My apologies. I didn't realize."
"Well, you could've if you checked," Stephen muttered, stepping aside and motioning him in.
Cass turned from her therapy session, her eyes instantly drawn to the man. To his piercing blue eyes. To the way his hair framed his face. Her heart skipped, he was the man of her dreams materialized. Without thinking, she smoothed her dress and brightened.
"Hi!" she blurted, a little too loud. "Welcome to the Pleasure Infinity! Would you like to book a room?"
"When did you become so upbeat?" Stephen muttered under his breath.
The man smiled politely. "I'm afraid I'm not here for any of your activities."
"Hm? Then why are you here?" Stephen asked.
The man's smile widened. "To completely ruin you."
What did he mean by that? That was all they could think about as they stared at him, the silence stretching long. Then, like a spark catching in the dark, Tello's memory flared, and his throat went dry in an instant.
He remembered where he'd seen this man before...
"Hara Appleton..." The name slipped out before he could stop it.
Hara turned to him, smile widening even more.
"Found you."