episode_0028

*****

The guild that came after a few days was still the same, in a good or bad way. The time was too short for the rumors to subside, so the adventurers were still whispering about me.

Nevertheless, the reason I came here was because my money was slowly reaching a dangerous level. When I removed the pouch and a few silver coins fell out, I seriously wondered if there had been a thief. Of course, it is simply an escape from reality.

Fortunately, the inn owner who heard about the situation gave us a discount on dinner, so we are able to hold on somehow, but even that has its limits. Now is the time to secure an income by doing anything.

“TS, please come in.”

Turkan’s guild is not just about arranging quests, but also takes on numerous roles, such as storing valuables and notarizing contracts. Thanks to this, no one thought it suspicious even if I, a block ranker, came to see the receptionist.

The receptionist lady also greeted me with a smile at first. But when I heard what I was here for, my smile hardened slightly into embarrassment.

“Excuse me, but let me check the business one more time. So, is it true that you wanted to see non-ranked quests?”

“Yes. I heard that you can take on that role even at block rank. Is that correct?”

“That’s right, yes. That’s certainly true… .”

As far as high-rank adventurers are concerned, their responsibilities are limited to a certain degree, so most of my work is handled by this lady.

Of course, you probably know that the 30 gold I was storing was taken away some time ago. What on earth happened? Could it be that the child was caught by a bad man? The look of restlessness and worry spread even to me.

“… All right. I will retrieve the list right away, so please wait a moment.”

However, it is taboo to ask about the background of receiving a request. As if she was distinguishing between public and private life, the receptionist calmed down her expression and immediately brought a list of requests.

“This is all the non-rank requests currently available. If you have any questions, please ask anything.”

“Let me take a look first. … Wow… .”

As soon as I looked through the list I received from the receptionist, I immediately burst out in exclamation. Of course, in a bad way. How did they collect these requests?

Things like cleaning sewers, serving at bars, and recruiting dancers for Changgwan are all good things. It was a total mess, with subjects being tested for drugs whose purpose was unknown, swordsmanship sparring with suspiciously high pay, and even requests openly asking for organ sales.

“Hmm. What is this sword sparring request?”

“… I’m not supposed to say this in the first place. Never, ever accept that request. So far, no one has returned after receiving that request.”

Likewise, drug experiments also seem to have produced many dead people. When I asked if it would be okay to not submit the request at all, the receptionist gave me a very complicated expression.

… It’s a bit like a ghost story, this one. Anyway, I understand that these are requests that should not be touched.

“If there’s anything that’s good, it’s sewer cleaning here. The smell is terrible and the pay is low, but adventurers with special circumstances rarely receive this service. Monsters rarely appear, but if you are TS, you will be fine.”

“What kind of things come out?”

“Most are pearl slimes, but sometimes tentacles are also reported. Of course, colonies are very rare and there are only a few groups wandering around.”

Ah, this is a request you shouldn’t receive.

Now, if I try to fight, I can’t help but be affected by the parasitic tentacles. Since the status abnormality has an irregular monster debuff, if you are not careful, you may end up becoming the seed of a sewer monster. I don’t like the smell either.

“How about a request to serve at this bar?”

“… If sewage really doesn’t work, that’s the next best thing. However, what is written there is not something like a bar next to here, but something like that in the entertainment district… .”

The receptionist was sweating profusely and trying hard to talk back. You could just say it’s a bar that does dirty things.

However, if my interpretation of what was said round and round is correct, it seems that it is not a place where actual activities take place since it is not registered as a brothel. Roughly the original world’s room salon? Is it the same? I’ve never been there though.

What caught my attention more than anything was the item about hiding the personal information of workers. It looks like they are giving you a mask or light disguise. I wonder if this will work out somehow.

If your job in the first place is serving, there will be limits even if you try to do strange things.

“Then I will take this serving request.”

“Okay. … Well, if you’re not used to it, try not to drink too much. And ignore all the sugar-coating from men. You don’t really owe me anything, so if you don’t like it, you should properly refuse──”

Where did Gong and Sa go? The receptionist gave me advice several times as if she were looking at a child who had no idea about the world.

I was very grateful for that in itself, but it didn’t really mean much. There’s no way I could fall for a man’s sugarcoat without going crazy.

Nodding my head appropriately, I signed my acceptance on the contract in front of me.

***

Is it a morphine that kills you instantly or a part-time job in a red-light district? If asked to choose between the two, almost everyone will choose the latter. Likewise, if asked to choose between being a striptease dancer or a hall server, most people would choose the latter.

The fact that I ended up serving as a hall server in a red-light district was the result of that irresistible choice.

However, there were other reasons. The biggest secondary reason is that I have experience. Of course, not dirty work, but serving work.

“For this table, please give us one mead wine, three plum wines, and a large bottle of Lore beer, one per table.”

“Yes~! We’ll get it to you right away!”

A smile is standard equipment. Completely memorize complex orders and even orders that change mid-way. Strength… , is a little lower, but if you move around that much, there is no problem.

Thanks to the part-time work experience I originally had around the world, I am now truly an ‘experienced newcomer’. Even the women who frowned when they heard that a new person had come in welcomed me with open arms when they saw me working.

This is because the store was larger than expected in a red-light district, and the simple serving task was not that easy.

“Lana, here! Just take it to table 3.”

“Yes. … But can I really take off this headdress? I almost fell into a beer glass while saying hello.”

“No. Because that’s the point of that outfit.”

Of course, since the store is a store, all the women, including me, are wearing flashy clothes. In my case, it’s a fake bunny girl. When I told them that I couldn’t take off the leotard, it was decided that I would wear this as my attire.

Thanks to this, a bare-bones bunny girl was created with no bunny tail or exposed upper breasts, but women say, ‘If you have a good face and body, you can do anything.’

In fact, this outfit is so unhealthy that the man’s disgusted gaze is focused on various parts of the body throughout the entire process. Should I be discouraged by the fact that I can’t get used to it no matter how much I go through it, or should I consider it fortunate?

Also, I was a little scared that if I got this much attention, people would recognize me. First, I let down my hair, put on an eye mask, and bleached my hair a bit with magic. Since my height and body shape remain the same, I feel anxious for no reason.

“Snacks are here~!”

“Uh huh, there you are. thing… , how about you too, young lady? Huh?”

Okay. As soon as I put the food down on the table, the man next to me reaches for my butt. If I could, I would hit my head with the plate I was holding, but unfortunately, this is a store where such things are allowed. Instead, he shifted his center of gravity slightly, avoiding only his lower body to the side.

The man was just staring at my breasts, but when he realized that he couldn’t feel anything in his hand, he looked like he was possessed by a ghost. Taking advantage of that opportunity, he quickly finished his greeting and left the table.

I’m repeating the same thing dozens of times just today, but I’m still somehow managing to avoid it. Perhaps one of the reasons is that it is quite busy. It’s not easy to ask someone who is moving around frantically to pour a drink.

“Huh~? The glass is empty. Would you like me to follow you?”

“Huh? Uh, uh-huh. I like it.”

Still, the biggest reason is probably because there are supplementary personnel. When I take my order and leave, another woman quietly approaches and fills the empty seat, so there is no reason to call me out.

Of course, those women are not moving for me. That kind of entertainment automatically comes with a decent tip. Most of the women here are in debt, so they don’t shy away from the opportunity to earn that kind of income.

On the other hand, it’s enough for me to just get paid a reasonable hourly rate for serving. … Actually, it’s not enough. Still, I don’t want to die for someone to fawn over a man like that for money.

At first, the women who kept me in check because they thought I was a competitor began to help me with various things when they realized that I had no interest in anything other than serving. In some sense, this could also be said to be mutual aid.

“Hey, you there.”

“Yes, would you like to order? !?”

But maybe it was because I thought things were going smoothly and let my guard down. When I saw a familiar face, my tongue twisted involuntarily. It was Schweitzer, a man with whom we had argued several times since coming to Turkan.

Let’s calm down. A guy like Schweitzer would definitely come to a place like this. Moreover, Schweitzer is not even looking at me properly right now. As long as you take your order quickly and leave, you won’t be caught in disguise.

“From here to here, everything. And bring some women too.”

“Ah, yes! We’ll prepare it right away!”

They order very ignorantly because they don’t want anyone to be a fool. I felt like the judging would be messed up if I continued to use polite language to this guy, so I immediately left the room.

Now, let’s just bring snacks and drinks and don’t go near that area. With that in mind, I was waiting for the food to come out. For some reason, the manager, who had become meditative, was running towards me, panting.

“T… , No, Miss Lana! Since your order is done, please go to the table you just left. Nominations have been received.”

“Yes? Now, wait a minute. I’ve never heard of a place name.”

“Then let’s assume we just made it. What are you doing, why don’t you go!”

From what I heard, Schweitzer seemed to have a fairly close relationship with the owner. If you are asked to bring a woman who has just received an order from a VIP like that, you will definitely not be able to refuse.

… Honestly, I want to run out of the store right now. There are so many other women, so why did you call me? The more I think about its meaning, the more I feel cold sweat running down my back.

The escape plan, which was on the verge of being implemented, was blocked by the manager who threatened to claim all the resulting damages if he did not go. It’s painful that I can’t pretend not to know because I’m passing through a guild.

In the end, I was dragged to Schweitzer’s table like a cow to the slaughter.

“Are you here? Now, sit here. No, not there, here.”

“ㄴ, yes… .”

Were the other women already here? Next to the men who appeared to be Schweitzer’s group were two or three women.

However, no one was actually sitting next to Schweitzer. In addition, they even blocked me from sitting slightly apart, which further increased my anxiety.

“Well, why me… .”

“Are you a new employee? We start talking after we have a drink. Now, cheers.”

“… Cheers~.”

Tung. The glasses clinked together with a loud sound. Schweitzer took one shot of it all at once, and I also drank it all out of fear of being criticized.

“So, why did I call you? Well, I called you because I like it, is there anything special?”

“I see. Ahaha~.”

Have you really not noticed or are you just looking around? Either way, it was difficult to understand in just one word. There’s no way I can escape anyway, so if possible, I want to find out if I’ve been caught.

I was wondering what would happen if I tried to do something strange along the way. Surprisingly, Schweitzer didn’t try to touch me. In addition, the conversation itself was not about sexual harassment or sex talk, but a topic that could be laughed and talked about normally.

When I came to my senses, I found myself drinking several glasses of alcohol and chatting happily with Schweitzer.

Of course, if you didn’t get caught, it wouldn’t be that bad. If possible, I would like to continue talking like this before returning. … Unfortunately, I was the only one who thought that way.

“ang♡”

“──!! Cough, Cough!”

“Hey, your voice is too loud.”

“What do you think? I could tell you a little bit.”

The moment we clink our glasses again and take a sip of alcohol. Suddenly, a nasally voice erupted from the seat diagonally across from me. Thanks to this, I almost spewed out the alcohol I was drinking.

It looks like the man was massaging the woman’s breasts, and the woman responded appropriately. If it were just this, I could have just passed it over.

However, he didn’t just moan, and before he knew it, the whole surroundings had become that kind of atmosphere. On the other side, they were also massaging their breasts to their heart’s content, and on the seat next to them, they were even kissing, sticking their tongues into each other.

The manager, who was a little away, saw it but did not make any comments. The promise not to do a live show was lighter than a piece of toilet paper here.

“Hey.”

“!? ㄴ, four!?”

“Why are you staring at the other side like that? Why are you interested?”

Sigh. As he said that, Schweitzer placed his hand on my shoulder. Everyone seemed to be trying to push through the changed atmosphere, and my instincts were beeping like crazy.

If things continue like this, you will miss the right time to really refuse. Now I have to force myself to get out of here. In the face of a sudden crisis, my thinking circuit did everything in its power to come up with an excuse.

At the same time, it also meant that the other side, which was originally on guard, had become negligent.

“Well, that’s not it. I suddenly needed to go to the bathroom… . I’ll call someone else, so please talk to him in the meantime.”

“Hmm, it seems like an excuse. TS, don’t you know where the bathroom is?”

“Of course──”

oh.

For a moment, I felt like my blood was draining. I never thought I would get caught in such a simple fishing.

In fact, there was still a way to fix it up to this point. After finishing what he wanted to say, he insisted that he had mistaken it for his name and not TS.

However, when I was already so embarrassed, the fact that I made a mistake was nothing short of poison. What should I do? What should I do? My head was filled with just those thoughts and I froze for a moment.

Geek. When I looked to the side, moving like a broken robot, there was Schweitzer looking down at me with a winning smile.

*****