I found another quiet back alley in a different direction and sent myself there. From that location, I walked back to the market until I stood in front of the despairing merchant. He already had sel covering his ears, maybe because there were a lot of foreigners visiting this bustling city.
"Hello, sir. I managed to retrieve your stolen goods."
I handed him the pouch and he looked at me, unbelieving.
"What? Really? Yes, that's my pouch!"
"Please check that nothing is missing."
He took it from me and hurriedly checked its content. He then let out a long sigh of relief.
"My sel! Nothing is missing! Sir, you're my savior! This was a whole day's worth of sales!"
His expression transformed from startle to delight. He came out from his stall and strongly patted me on the back.
"I don't know how you did it but you're amazing. Those dirty thieves are so quick on their feet! You're incredible!"
"I was just lucky. He collided with me."
"Even so! You retrieved my pouch and didn't run away with it. I can tell, you're a good person."
"Haha, you're overpraising me."
"Not at all! You're a foreigner, right? Your species is… I'm not sure about that."
"I'm a monkey mutant. My name is Tila."
"Oh yes, I can see that now. I'm Giya, a small merchant in Geola."
"What about your species?"
He seemed surprised for a moment but smiled widely and opened his arms wide.
"I'm a goat. You must be coming from far away. Oh, I know! Let me close my stall and introduce you to a nice place. It's a good opportunity now that you're in Geola, the never-sleeping city. My treat!"
"That sounds great. I just arrived this evening and I don't know anything yet. I'm looking forward to it."
"Leave it to me. You won't regret it."
We continued to chat while the now joyful goat tidied his stall. Most of the other traders in the market were doing the same but I noticed that some new merchants came to replace them, even though fewer in number. Maybe that was what Giya meant by never sleeping. It was an interesting concept to have a market stay open during the night.
For some reason, we clicked well together, especially after I told him I was aspiring to become a merchant too. He was a very friendly and sociable person and gladly answered any questions I had. I managed to learn a few things about how the city and the market operated, which would be useful in the future.
Eventually, he was done cleaning his stand and asked me to follow him. We made a stop at his house, a one-story small home made from stone and one of the more normal houses in the city from my point of view. He deposited his goods there and we headed back to whatever destination he wanted to introduce me to, maybe some kind of bar or something.
A few minutes later, we stopped in front of a door that had a sign with some species engraved on it. He opened the door and I was met with a slightly different sight than expected.
There were a lot of people roaming the place, from many different species. Yet, there were two visibly different groups of folks. One of them was similar to me and Giya, normal-looking people staring around the place with a lot of interest. The other was composed of a lot of males and females from various species going around in very… light and revealing outfits.
"Is this place… the kind I think about?"
"Right! This is one of the most popular brothels in the city. Don't worry about anything, friend. It's my treat today. I can't afford to get us any of the best services, though, hahaha!"
My newly-made goat friend acted as if coming to this place was the most normal thing in the world. My eyes were going all around the place, halting anytime they noticed some revealed skin or round curves. For some reason, even though none of the people here were humans, I still felt myself getting excited. A lot of them looked similar to humans in one way or another but even if they didn't, there was still something oddly arousing about their forms. There was some sort of animal tension in the air, and I couldn't help swallowing my saliva in expectation.
It was my first time coming to such a place since my training never allowed me such freedom. I found anything I saw to be marvelous. It probably helped that I never had been with a woman before too. Right at this moment, the many females going around half-nude appeared particularly sexy to me.
A woman with a large bosom, a long neck, lots of feathers, and a friendly smile noticed us standing at the entrance and came to greet us.
"Welcome to Geola's delight, Giya and sir. What kind of service can we offer you tonight?"
"I'm paying for my friend here this time. What can we get for five silvers?"
This was something I just learned during our discussion. The currency here was in copper, silver, and gold. I found it very interesting how they were still using such a method, just like in the history books I read in my world.
The woman shook her head with an amused expression.
"You know you can only get the very basic service here with that sort of money. Why are you coming here every day instead of saving up and getting something better?"
"No way, I need to take a break here every day or I feel restless at work."
"Well, it's your money. For five silvers and two people, you can only get a ten-minute fellatio, without choosing your partner."
"Fine."
He gave me an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry, friend. That's all I can afford without going bankrupt."
"It's completely fine. I'm thankful to you for treating me and introducing me to this place."
That was the truth. To think I would experience something like right after reaching the city. I could already feel myself getting hard with anticipation.