"I'm heading out! Rest well, Madam Calypso!"

The bell on the door jingled as one of the employees dashed out of the shop with disheveled hair and makeup. The black-haired receptionist wiped her eyes groggily and lifted her hand in acknowledgment, and then she struggled out of her chair to go lock the cash register.

It was already morning, and the sun's rays were dazzling as they filtered in through the window shades.

Like many establishments in the red light district, Switch & Ecstasy operated during the nocturnal hours. Ordinarily, their shop opened at 6PM and closed at 10AM. In order to save costs, Calypso did not employ many full-time workers, and she was the only receptionist. A majority of the escorts were part-time contractors who floated from brothel to brothel, and none of them were under exclusive contracts. Although this meant that her business could not capitalize on a lineup of acclaimed in-house prostitutes, this was not primary appeal of her brothel. Of course, the sex-changing potions that she brewed were the main attraction.

Continuously working 16-hour nights obviously had its toll, but Calypso had always been a workaholic, even in her previous life. If anything, grinding away at her job was one of her coping mechanisms. She always found ways to stay productive and keep her hands moving.

"Get some sleep, Miss Calypso." A bunny-eared escort smiled softly and chimed in as she quickly grabbed her cloak from the employee's closet.

"Thanks Elyse. Were those adventurers okay? They weren't too hard on you?"

The bunny paused a moment, and then pulled her cloak over her body, as if hiding something she didn't want to reveal.

"Nothing too out of the ordinary. Just the typical rough customer. You don't need to worry."

Elyse's voice was cryptic, and Calypso's expression was doubtful. Both of them were perfectly aware of the hazards of the sex industry, but there was little either of them could do to change the prevailing culture. Running a brothel was a competitive business, and it was difficult to set different expectations for patrons when there were plenty of whorehouses that were laissez-faire on the subject. Numerous brothels went bankrupt every year, and even Switch & Ecstasy teetered on the red line.

"Thanks for your hard work. I'll put in a bonus to your paycheck at the end of the week."

"I appreciate it but..." The bunny-eared girl hesitated. "...are you sure that's okay? Don't you have rent payments due?"

"I wouldn't offer it if the store couldn't afford it, Elyse."

"I see... It would be a problem for me if your shop went out of business. Besides, I like it here."

Calypso shrugged and grabbed a mop from the closet. She started to wipe up the mud that the guests had tracked in through the front door.

"I'll figure out how to make it work," she said. "We'll manage just fine."

The part-time escort had a conflicted smile on her face.

+ + +

Calypso hauled a large bag of trash out the front door. There were a series of steps that led up to the main entrance, and she had to lift the sack cautiously out of fear of poking a hole in the flimsy bag. Like many residents in Port Kyrza, most people dumped their waste in the narrow alleys in between the buildings. In the low-income districts, some homeowners dumped it straight out of the window. The sewage system was primitive and often clogged, so the stench was quite powerful unless a wealthier district could afford to employ wizards who regularly applied wards to neutralize the smell. The city government cleared the trash on the streets twice a year.

She still a long list of errands to run. 

Before her brothel opened again in the evening, she needed to clean the guest rooms, change the sheets, and do laundry. There was no automatic plumbing in this universe, so she needed to fetch water from the well and prepare the regular amenities that her brothel offered for guests. Some of the clients ordered food and wine, so she had to swing by the grocer to restock on alcohol and other snacks. Finally, there was her all-important stock of potions, but fortunately her inventory was still good, so it was probably unnecessary to do any brewing today.

It was just an ordinary day of work.

Just as she was about to empty her sack of trash in the alley, Calypso bumped into a skittish person right outside of the entrance of her store.

"Ah! Sorry! My bad!" A masculine voice almost squeaked, and Calypso peered around to see a fidgeting catboy who looked like his heart was about to thump out of his chest. "I thought this place was closed."

He was standing right beside a signboard in the alley. It was very discretely placed outdoors, and Calypso had tacked a number of flyers for Switch & Ecstasy on the cork board. Some of her employees had thought she was crazy for putting promotional materials in such a random place with poor visibility, but people kept taking the papers so Calypso continued to replace them.

Incidentally, the catboy was holding a sheet of paper in his hands. It had crinkled up slightly, and he had likely crumbled it subconsciously when Calypso suddenly appeared out of the blue. There was a deep crimson blush on his face, and he immediately tried to hide the advertisement behind his back.

"I... I was just passing by!" He stammered nervously, trying yet failing to act cool. "I'm... not interested in this kind of thing! Really!"

Calypso gave him a vacant look, and then she shrugged indifferently.

"The streets are public property. There's nothing wrong with loitering here."

Secretly, there was a gentle smile inside her heart, even though she pretended to be oblivious. From a single glance, she could immediately tell what "type" this catboy was. His feelings were as transparent as a jellyfish, and Calypso couldn't help but feel sympathetic. Those reactions were particularly nostalgic to her, and it elicited a tingling feeling in her heart.

She heaved the bag of trash and walked past the catboy, preparing to dump it in the back of the alley.

Calypso opened the sack and poured out the contents. Then, she tossed an odor-suppressant packet of herbs atop the pile of waste, which she had concocted herself. Her actions were fluid and automatic, like she had performed these same movements hundreds of times over daily.

The catboy stared at her in a total loss, somehow paralyzed on the spot. He didn't know what to say, and it felt awkward to suddenly leave now that he had been caught lurking around the premises after hours. He knew that the witch before him was the proprietor of Switch & Ecstasy, but he was also reluctant to admit that he had researched this particular brothel in such embarrassing detail.

The black-haired receptionist suddenly spoke up out of the blue.

"We have free samples, if you want to give it try."

∎

ohko

I've mostly been writing these chapters in one sitting without editing. Please forgive me if there are mistakes and the chapters are short!