Volume 1: Chapter 4 – The Case of Lady Lunamaria

Lunamaria.

One of the Top Three at our brothel, Papilio Somnium.

By the time I became the manager here, the Top Three were already on the roster, but I’ve heard that Lunamaria is the most senior among them. It makes sense—both Lady Laura and Lady Listia generally listen to what she has to say. There are several girls older than her, but excluding the Owner, she’s arguably more of a central figure to this shop than I am.

Her silky blonde hair is so lustrous you’d mistake it for a source of light itself. Matching that radiance is her left eye of gold, paired with a right eye of “Suo” crimson—a violet-tinged red distinct from the Glen Royal line. She is a possessor of heterochromia.

She has the petite frame of a child, contrasted by breasts that seem disproportionately large.

Because she usually wears a defiant expression, people tend to judge her face as harsh, but her features are hauntingly well-proportioned. I personally prefer expressions that house a lively will, but on the rare occasions she goes expressionless—or when she falls asleep in my chair despite me telling her to stop a thousand times—her sleeping face is terrifyingly beautiful.

Even a boorish guy like me finds himself struck by such a cliché thought. It’s no wonder there are enough horny bastards who’ve had their souls drained by her to fill a stadium.

—And rumors say her “technique” is just as incredible.

“Ah, Princess Silveria. Deepest apologies, but could we save this talk for another time? I’d appreciate it if you could take the twitching Princess Karin with you.”

“…Y-yes. However, regarding what I said earlier—I am serious. To me, the Manager is…”

The rest of her sentence dissolved into an unintelligible mumble.

I don’t know what kind of madness drove her to propose such bizarre conditions. Surely she realizes that forcing me to be her Prince Consort won’t suddenly bring about the world she desires. She must be overthinking things.

As for Princess Karin, I’m not even sure what she came for. She couldn’t even finish her first sentence before becoming Lunamaria’s prey. I hope to god she hasn’t developed a taste for it and isn’t coming here just to be bullied.

With the elder sister being a dreaming princess and the younger sister being a masochistic ditz, the Mercenary King is probably going to go bald from stress.

“Is that princess here again? She never tires of it,” Lunamaria muttered, watching Princess Silveria dejectedly leave the room.

“Forget that; what about you, Lunamaria? Why are you in my office at this hour? What happened to your guest for today?”

“He’s sleeping in the VIP suite. He won’t be waking up until morning.”

Lunamaria also never takes guests in her own room.

Come to think of it, none of the Top Three do. Given their earnings, they could easily afford grand estates within the Royal Capital, so it’s a bit strange that they continue to live in-house at Papilio Somnium, even if their rooms are top-tier. Then again, from a security standpoint, the rooms here—outfitted by the Owner—are the safest places in the city.

If the private addresses of Laura, Listia, or Lunamaria ever leaked, there’s no telling what kind of crazy stunts some obsessed idiots might pull. In that sense, I’m grateful they stay in-house. It means I get to have a drink with them every now and then.

—Wait, that’s not the point.

“Even if he’s asleep, you were bought for the night…”

As a professional, she should be thorough. Even if the guest falls asleep, she’s supposed to stay by their side during the time purchased and attend to them the moment they wake up. Guests who pay for the “all-night” rate are paying a premium for that. Whether it’s an erotic business or not, as long as they follow the rules and pay the money, we have to follow the rules too. If you discard that, the business of selling charms falls apart.

Lunamaria should know that better than anyone.

“I got permission. He said if he fell asleep, that was it for today and I could return to my room.”

“And today’s guest was…”

I could think of a few regulars who might issue that kind of “challenge.” Looking at today’s reservation log, Lunamaria’s guest was…

“Lord Gaius, the King’s brother.”

—That explains it.

The hero of the “Great Tsunami Campaign” two years ago, where an abnormal surge of monsters was repelled by the Allied Forces. He’s a monster in his own right, having single-handedly defended the pass at Asgard Canyon for three days and three nights. Not only is his stamina insane, but his opponents were all of the Dragon-kin, and he even managed to take down “The Ice Emperor Dragon, De Glacies”—though it was the lowest-ranked of the Eight Dragon Kings.

—That man isn’t human.

“Don’t take down the hero of the nation before the night has even properly begun.”

I’m saying she shouldn’t so casually put a man whose physical endurance exceeds human limits into a state where he won’t wake up until morning. Even if alcohol was involved, it’s ridiculous. It’s less of a “technique” and more like magic at this point.

“The battlefield and the bed are similar yet different. If I get serious, this is the result.”

Don’t puff out that chest. Don’t make it jiggle for no reason.

I can’t help it given the trade, but your outfits are eye-poison. They’re high-quality, but appropriately vulgar and strangely alluring. Being a man, a certain amount of attraction is unavoidable, but having a reaction to you girls after such a long association makes things incredibly awkward. Women are terrifying; they always notice when you react.

—See? She’s wearing that smug look right now.

Lunamaria has been drinking; a faint scent of alcohol wafts from her. Looking closely, her eyes are a bit glassy.

That’s rare.

“Well, I suppose. But taking down a man who can stand on the brink of death for three days and nights with a smile in less than an hour… you’re the real monster here, Lunamaria.”

“Would you like to find out for yourself? I’m quite the darling on the bed, you know.”

If you just stood there and stayed quiet, you’d be plenty “darling.”

She really is unusually drunk. Which means someone must have said something bothersome to her again.

“I’ll pass. I don’t want to die of exhaustion, and the idea of you draining my soul gives me the creeps.”

“Coward.”

Shut up. I said that while casting my usual suite of Unique Magic on her.

“Ah, I was finally feeling a pleasant buzz… how tactless.”

While convenient, my Unique Magic is designed to return the body to its normal state, so it doesn’t play well with alcohol or drugs. If I cast it on a couple in the middle of a heated session in a room filled with aphrodisiac incense, it would be a total mood killer.

I feel a bit bad for Lunamaria, who looks regretful about losing her buzz, but I can’t exactly skip the magic for a girl who’s finished a shift.

That said, I understand that having your high ruined and being forced back to sobriety is boring. Since she has free time now, I wouldn’t mind joining her for another round. Once it’s past midnight, work calms down, and Lady Laura will likely be finishing up around then too. Lady Listia is free tonight as well.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the four of us to drink together for a change.

Normally, drinking with our Top Three as companions would cost a staggering amount of money, but I’ll take it as a manager’s perk.

“So? What would have happened if Lord Gaius had won?”

I could guess, but I asked anyway.

“The same as always. He told me to quit Papilio Somnium and become his wife.”

“The Lord never gives up. You’re really loved, Lunamaria. How many times has it been now, that ‘contest’ of yours?”

It’s not just Lord Gaius; there are many guests like that. In Lunamaria’s case, she’s undefeated in her contests. When Listia makes a troubled face, the guest usually gets flustered and backs off. Laura just laughs it off, and if they’re persistent, she gives them a dead-serious look.

None have succeeded in winning them over yet, but a few are serious to a level that goes beyond a joke. I suppose if these three ever came to me and said, “I’ve decided to be with this person,” I’d actually be pretty lonely.

It doesn’t feel like me, but that’s likely how it would be.

“I haven’t been counting. Besides, isn’t it the same for you, Manager? How many times has Princess Silveria come here under the guise of ‘negotiation’? Tonight, she finally threw away the pretense and said something that sounded awfully like a marriage proposal.”

She pointed out the earlier conversation.

“Ah, that… I don’t know what she’s thinking.”

Papilio Somnium is the number one brothel, sure, but a brothel isn’t a place where royalty should be casually visiting. Our high-quality girls attract high-quality guests, but royalty is taking it too far. And while Lord Gaius is one thing, Princess Silveria and her tag-along sister Karin are women and minors to boot.

Wait, in this country, Princess Silveria is technically an adult. Not that it changes the core of the problem.

“A Prince who wants to take a prostitute as his legal wife, and a Princess who wants a brothel manager as her Prince Consort… is the royalty of this country going to be okay?”

“—You can say that again.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Lunamaria’s question, which she let out with a sigh. Well, maybe that’s why this country is such an easy place for people like us to live.

“Hey, Manager.”

“What is it, so formal all of a sudden?”

She looked me straight in the eye with her usual clear gaze, the alcohol now gone.

Her eyes are truly huge. It feels like I’m being sucked in, but seeing my own face reflected in those gold and crimson jewels always makes me chuckle. This time was no exception.

“T-to look at someone’s face and laugh is cruel, Manager! Especially laughing after looking so closely.”

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it…”

For people like Lunamaria, where most men would naturally be staring in awe, being laughed at during a close-up must be an insult. Lunamaria, usually so composed, protested with a rare blush. It was so cute I couldn’t stop laughing.

“F-fine. The Manager is always like this. —I don’t mind being laughed at.”

“No, really, I’m sorry. Okay, I’m listening. What is it?”

I can’t believe she’s a battle-hardened prostitute. Looking at her now, she’s no different from any other young girl pouting and acting huffy. Except, you know, for the fact that she’s an incredible beauty.

“It’s been quite a while since the Manager came to work here. We’re grateful for it, but I wondered how the Manager felt. Spending your days taking care of us… have you grown tired of it?”

“What’s with that? It’s not like you. I’m the manager because I want to be. Don’t worry about weird things. Spending noisy nights with you all isn’t half bad.”

So she was actually thinking about something that rare. Sure, I get fed up sometimes, but I’m doing this because I enjoy it. That’s the truth.

“Really? You don’t still have a lingering longing to be an adventurer, like when you first arrived?”

“Don’t bring that up. I was young back then. I don’t feel that way anymore. Knowing that my useless, weird magic is actually helpful to you all makes me happy. I’m not lying.”

Don’t just dig up my “dark history” like that.

It’s true that right after I arrived here, I longed for that life, and there was a time I hated my own Unique Magic for being completely useless in those areas. It didn’t help that the Owner was the exact image of the “Mage” I admired…

But really, I was just a kid back then.

“Truly? I’ll believe you, then.”

“Yeah, feel free. Honestly, what’s with you tonight? You’re acting like a little girl.”

Don’t make an anxious face like a kid who’s afraid their parents hate them. It doesn’t suit you. Seriously, what is up with tonight?

“E-even I have nights where I get sentimental. Thinking about the future and all…”

“I guess so.”

Time passes, and everyone gets older. Even if they are currently in the “Spring or Summer” phase of being adored by many men, Autumn will eventually come, leading into Winter. Even if they’ve refused, getting marriage proposals probably makes them think about all sorts of things.

That’s the nature of this job. Love and affection are all converted into money—they have to be. I know that’s not all there is to it, but if you surrender yourself to only that, you usually end up destroying yourself.

When a normal couple grows old together, they build something else between them to replace their lost youth. But for a guest, a prostitute’s value only decreases as she ages. It’s a harsh truth, but a reality nonetheless.

In a way, it’s a mystery to me that they haven’t taken one of these “Cinderella” opportunities yet. Not that I plan to stick my nose into that choice.

“I know! Manager, why don’t you make me your wife? I’ve earned more than enough, and I wouldn’t mind being the Manager’s wife.”

“Whoa, that’s quite the high-and-mighty proposal. But let’s see… from my position as manager, I can’t exactly take the shop’s top earner as my wife. At the very least, I’d have to quit being the manager for that to be proper.”

There she goes, saying something strange again. I wonder if she was influenced by Princess Silveria earlier. Besides, I can’t even imagine what kind of face the Owner would make if I told them I was marrying Lunamaria at the peak of her popularity.

“Nnh, I would certainly like to avoid making every girl in the shop my enemy.”

Yeah, if I suddenly said, “I’m quitting to become Lunamaria’s husband,” Lunamaria would be resented by all the girls who rely on my Unique Magic. I know Lunamaria herself cherishes the girls in this shop, so there’s no way she’d actually choose that.

—This was just a bit of wordplay in the flow of conversation.

“Well, don’t worry. When you can’t earn anymore and you want to live a quiet life, if you don’t have anyone else, I’ll take you as my wife if you’ll have me. Though I can’t promise you’ll be the only one.”

If her mental state requires reassurance, then providing that care is also the manager’s job. And it’s not just “work”; I truly think that wouldn’t be such a bad future.

“Treating me as just one member of a harem, are we? The Manager’s proposal is quite high-and-mighty itself.”

“Even if you call it a harem, we’d all be old by then. Besides, it’s not a proposal; I’m more like… insurance.”

We both laughed while talking nonsense.

Probably—no, definitely—that future won’t come. I’ll likely be the manager here until I’m an old man, and Lunamaria will eventually marry into some exceptional family at some point. The same goes for Lady Listia and Lady Laura.

If I can watch a “Cinderella story” of a prostitute marrying into the nobility from the sidelines, that’s not a bad view at all. I can’t be the lead, but I have the best seat in the house.

“Umu, that might not be bad. …I have your word, Manager. I won’t let you say you don’t know me once I’ve grown old, understood?”

Too much lip service, Lunamaria. But I don’t mind this kind of atmosphere.

“A man’s word is his bond. Bring it on. Anyway, you’re free now, right? Lady Laura will be closing up around midnight, and Lady Listia is free tonight. Why don’t we drink for the first time in a while? I’ll bring out my private reserve.”

I’m in the mood for a drink tonight. I’d be grateful for the company.

“How rare, for the Manager to invite us. It’s irritating that you didn’t invite me alone, but if that’s the case, we’ll drink until morning. Is my room fine for the location?”

It’s not just Lunamaria; Lady Listia and Lady Laura also let me into their rooms without a second thought. I wonder if “Manager” even counts as a “man” to them.

“If you’re okay with it. Wait until midnight. I’ll head over to the room then, so just relax until then.”

“Understood. I shall prepare some snacks and wait.”

She wore an exceptionally delighted face, a look I rarely see.

I don’t think an invitation to drink from me is worth such a reaction. There are plenty of regulars who would pay any amount of money to see that face. Moments like this make me almost understand the sentiment that the things money can’t buy are the most valuable.

She’d be angry if I said it was “out of character,” but Lunamaria’s cooking is first-class. If I’m bringing out good liquor, I’m grateful she’ll be preparing delicious snacks to go with it.

“I’m counting on you.”

Now, the girls selling their time by the hour are finishing their first round. It’s almost my turn to get to work.

End of 5