I worked with them until early afternoon and teleported away when I saw everything was going well. The shop itself would soon be ready, so I needed to fill the storage room with products to sell.
The food was no problem since I could just get it from the village as usual, and the raw materials were the same goods I was selling in Makji, which meant I acquired them from the same place too. There was only one thing left: security.
That, too, wasn’t much of a big deal. When I went to fetch the children after their lesson, I also asked for three mercenaries to protect and guard the store when it opens. Considering the place, I went with three rank 5 fighters, one for each floor. That would cost a lot of money, but I expected to earn a lot more from selling the selnic items. Plus, rank 5 was enough to deter most people in this region of the world. It wasn’t like there were many rank 6 around, and even fewer who felt inclined to create trouble for no reason. That would also give peace of mind to my employees, who could focus on selling more goods without being afraid of anything.
After handling all my other daily tasks, I had finally taken care of my most urgent business. The store now needed to wait until the factory started producing, and the house still had a few weeks before it was completed. Minsto was taking care of most everything in the inner world, including recruiting someone to sell the future selnic items.
I felt my shoulders getting lighter for the first time in days. The many tasks had been a burden on my mind, and I wanted nothing more than to relax a little. A place immediately came to mind. The brothel, which I hadn’t visited for a long time, was exactly what I needed to forget the constant struggle and recent treason.
I laughed inwardly. Who was I kidding? There was no need to find excuses for myself. I wanted to spice up my sex life a little, especially after refusing Liv’s attractive offer. I had no lack of sex, but I constantly saw exotic species going around on Geola’s streets, and always wondered how it would feel to do something with them.
Well, now was the time. After telling Suuru and Minsto I would come home later than usual, and that they should sleep first, I made my way to Geola’s Delight in the evening, opening the entrance door. The inside was the same as before, an atmosphere charged with energy and lust. Somehow, I felt some nostalgia, looking around with a smile, before moving forward again. I didn’t want to get mistaken for a first-time customer.
Even though I hadn’t come in a long time, I went there a couple of times after Geola reopened, not as a customer, but to get news. The first time, the place was still in mourning, and the mood was heavy. The second time, the business had mostly resumed, and I learned that Linon, the bongo I had my first sexual interaction with, had now become a full-blown employee. She had sold her first time at a high price and had started to rent a small apartment close to the brothel with that money. She was still grade 0 but would probably become grade 1 soon. Once her initial timidity was solved, she became a lot more confident and felt like a fish in the ocean in this workplace.
I was happy for her, considering she was someone who was doing this job because she liked it. Of course, it was a bit of a shame I couldn’t buy her the first time, but it wasn’t like it was the end of the world. Plus, it was very expensive, and I had no reason to obsess over it. With all the investments I made, there were better uses of my money.
Today, I wanted to get a slightly different experience from my last few times. Instead of going for the book with the list of available workers, I walked toward the room that had people dancing to some rhythmic music and chatting. It was different from the room with a bar. In this one, clients would sit at a table in front of the podium, consume food and drinks, and get the company of an employee. At the same time, it was possible to enjoy whatever show was happening on the scene at the moment, with a great view. If the mood came, it was possible to choose one of the employees present in the room for a more intimate and classical experience.
As I entered, I noticed a few men and women dancing on the scene, with some musicians giving them the tune on the side. Most were wearing very little on their bodies, and their dancing moves aimed to arouse the clients in front of them. There were a few free tables, so I sat at one that was close to the dancers to get a good view of their skills.
Almost instantly, a woman sat next to me at very close proximity. Funnily enough, she was a monkey, a species that sort of looked like me, and sort of didn’t. Fortunately, saying that one was a mutant solved almost all problems in the outer world, considering the incredible number of possible combinations between species.
“Hello, handsome. I’m Dusli. Can I keep you company?”
“Hello, Dusli. Of course you can. My name is Tila.”
“Great. What do you want to drink, Tila?”
“Anything without alcohol, please.”
She was taken aback.
“That’s unusual. Not many people come here to drink something normal.”
“Haha, well, I want to last for a long time tonight and not get drunk helplessly.”
“Fair enough. Wait a moment.”
She stood up and went toward one of the corners, similar to a closed bar, with a large variety of drinks available. Truthfully, I didn’t plan to drink any alcohol ever in my life. I had been warned about it so many times during my training that I developed an instinctive repulsion to drinking. I probably couldn’t do it even if I wanted to. Even though I felt a bit sad about it, that was fine. I had learned how dangerous this world was, and there was no need to muddle my mind with alcohol on top of it. If anything, I wanted others to drink instead and give me an advantage.