Calypso led the fidgeting catboy inside as she carried her empty sack. The atmosphere was exceedingly awkward and the store was completely empty. The witch tried her best to say the ordinary pleasantries, but talking to the boy was a little bit like trying to speak to a deer caught in headlights. His reactions were delayed and he was extraordinarily jumpy. 

He bumped into a chair and flinched as if scalded by a kettle of hot water, "I'm so sorry!"

Calypso blinked a few times, but decided it was better not to say anything.

That said, it was only just an ordinary chair...

"I'm Calypso," she spoke up. "Just Calypso. I brew potions. Some people might call me a witch."

She spoke aimlessly as they walked through the corridors.

"Hi... Thanks for having me."

And then there was another awkward silence. Calypso half-expected the catboy to reciprocate with his own introduction, but it didn't exactly surprise her that he seemed to blank out. Many patrons and escorts in her brothel used pseudonyms or aliases, and it wasn't unusual for clients to conceal personal information or remain entirely anonymous.

Of course, there were always tracing spells and other means to investigate individuals without any identifying information, but privacy was deeply respected in Port Kyrza's red light district. No brothel could stay in business for long if their employees had loose lips. If information was not offered, then it was not appropriate to ask.

They stopped in front of the "manager's office".

Incidentally, it was also Calypso's bedroom, but she rarely slept in it anyway, so it functioned more like a closet.

She turned around and faced the catboy, dangling two small vials in her hand that she had fetched from a cupboard.

"Alright, so here are two potions. The purple one is a 10-minute male-to-female potion brewed specifically for catkin. The green one is an antidote if you don't like the effects and want to reverse it before the transformation is done."

The catboy blinked with his emerald eyes, almost entranced by a spell, as he listened.

"Drink it all at once, and you should feel a faint burning feeling rising from inside, but it shouldn't hurt. Female cats are generally a little shorter than male cats, so you probably don't need to worry about tearing any clothes. However, if you're wearing anything tight, it might be good to take it off in advance."

Calypso gently placed the vials in the catboy's palms.

"Finally, I'll be doing chores around the building, so give a shout if you need anything. Also, that's my bed in the room, so please don't do anything funny on it. There's a mirror in the bathroom and a clothes rack for guests that you're welcome to help yourself to. If you try anything on, put it in the laundry basket when you're done. Lastly..."

She paused with a soft smile.

"Come see me if you want a 50% discount coupon if you decide to come back."

+ + +

The black-haired witch hummed to herself as she hung up laundry to dry on the rooftop of the brothel.

The midday sun was warm and hot.

Although Port Kyrza was the largest city in the region, a majority of buildings did not exceed two or three stories tall. Switch & Ecstasy was an ordinary brick-faced structure, and it was approximately the same size as an average inn. Calypso had rented the place after the previous owner went out of business, and she had left most of the guest rooms unaltered aside from a master bedroom suite that she combined from several individual rooms. The main difference was that the kitchen was converted into her alchemy workshop, a third of the dining area was renovated into a cozy waiting room, and the other two-thirds was adapted into staff-only quarters that functioned as an employee lounge and dressing room. The bar was refitted into a reception desk, and Calypso often stocked various other miscellaneous potions and remedies on the shelves that she sold directly to customers.

Calypso wiped her brow as she heaved another basket of laundry up the stairs to the roof.

"You still haven't hired anyone to do the cleaning?" A familiar mellow male voice floated over from the neighboring building. The pitch was very deep and reverberated like an electric bass, which tingled a little bit like standing in front of a thumping subwoofer at a nightclub.

The black-haired witch looked over, and sure it enough it was her neighbor Varnes on the rooftop of the adjacent building.

Varnes was an intimidating-looking half-troll, and he was easily over eight feet tall. Ugly scars covered his grayish face, and Calypso heard that he used to be an adventurer before he retired. Currently, he owned a butcher shop that sold deli meats, which was a quaint little store next door. Incidentally, the sandwiches from his deli were excellent. As you might expect from a half-troll, the portions were troll-sized, which meant that a single sandwich could last her two or three days.

"Ah, hello Mr. Varnes," Calypso responded comfortably. "I still haven't found the budget for that, although in theory I have a part-timer who's supposed to come in every other day."

"Are you really going to be okay? When was the last time you actually slept in a bed?"

"Aha... ha..." The witch laughed a little awkwardly as she averted the question and continued to hang up her laundry.

"Seriously..." The troll's deep voice had a tinge of concern.

The eight foot tall beastman was holding a watering can and patiently sprinkling his dainty little rooftop vegetable garden. He actually had to bend over and squat in order to water his plants properly. He was wearing a clean white apron, which at first glance might appear somewhat domestic and cute, but actually it was a butcher's apron, and Calypso knew that if she went to visit him a few hours later it'd surely be stained with blood and entrails.

The gap moe was quite something.

Aside from his massive frame and scary face, he was actually a really nice guy. The vegetable garden was especially odd because trolls were strict carnivores, and consuming too many vegetables gave them indigestion. Varnes couldn't even eat the little vegetables that he grew, yet he still gave his rooftop garden so much diligent care and attention.

Presumably, the vegetables went into the deli sandwiches that he sold.

"You're not planning to skip lunch again?" His gruff voice was in stark contrast with his softie personality.

"I'm just a bit busy today, but I'll make sure to eat. Don't worry!"

"Having breakfast cereal for lunch doesn't count."

"Gugh—"

"I'll have Mina bring over a sandwich. You're not allowed to refuse. I don't want to send my neighbor to the hospital if she collapses from exhaustion. That would be troublesome and I hate troublesome things."

"...Yes Mr. Varnes, I know..."

∎