Later that evening.

The front door to Switch & Ecstasy burst open like a gust of air. 

A pegasus knight strode in, her blond hair streaking in the wind like a wild child untamed by the elements. Although the woman was wearing casual wear, the emblem on her plain tunic and the sword at her hip betrayed her affiliations. Her aura seemed to reverberate with dense magical power. One could almost imagine her shining armor glimmering in the sun, blinding the enemy as a formation of heavy winged cavalry charged from the heavens. They were the elite of the Empire, well-rounded and superior on every parameter. Children idolized them as knights of legend and heroes of teenage dreams.

Calypso had to cover the pages of her accounting notebook to keep the flimsy paper from being blown away.

"Yo—" The pegasus knight spoke as a whirlwind of dust continued to blow in through the front entrance.

She closed the front entrance, calming the storm, but an ominous sensation of static electricity seemed to remain in the air.

"Long time no see, Calypso."

"Lady Isileia. I didn't realize you were in town. Finally rotating out of the frontier patrol?"

"It's Sir Isileia now, mind you." The pegasus knight corrected the witch. "I was promoted. It's a shame you couldn't make the ceremony."

Calypso blinked a few times and then remembered that this isekai world used a different system of honorifics than on Earth. Specifically, aristocratic titles were not gendered, and "Kings" could be either male or female. Rulers were known as 'Kings', and the ruler's consort was known as a 'Queen', regardless of gender. This applied to virtually every rank, and many accomplished women took offense to being referred to with the lesser title when in fact they had earned the greater title through their own sweat and blood.

However, the fact that some women could occasionally hold traditional male titles did not necessarily make this universe particularly progressive. If anything, society was still very conservative and heavily patriarchal, in the sense that powerful women were expected to act exactly like men. Femininity was seen as a sign of weakness and treated as an insult among the higher castes of society. It was still extremely rare to have female knights or other women in positions of respect.

Incidentally, although there were a handful of rare female 'Kings' in world history, male 'Queens' were virtually unheard of in the textbooks. It this universe, it was conventional wisdom that any man would sooner die of shame than be coronated as a 'queen' in public. Masculinity was a heavily prized component of a pride and honor — a virtue that some people were willing to die for.

"I've been a little busy on my end," Calypso responded neutrally.

The pegasus knight shrugged. Although the two of them had been acquaintances for a long time, they were not particularly close with each other. Isileia was not the type of person to beat around the bush, and she had little patience to dance around with words. She got straight to the point:

"I'd like to buy two dozen 3-hour potions. A couple month's stock. Female-to-Male. Human. Packed to go."

The blond knight waited at the receptionist desk expectantly, as if she expected Calypso to go to the back room to pick up a crate full of potions as usual. However, the black-haired witch did not move. Calypso's eyes were expressionless as she stood behind the bar counter.

"You haven't heard the news then, have you?"

"What?"

"I can't sell them to you."

"Why the hell not?"

"It's illegal now. The state passed a new law four months ago. The genderbending potions are now classified as a Schedule IV substance, and you can't consume them outside of licensed parlors. I'm allowed to administer it to guests inside the brothel, but they're not allowed to leave the premises while it's in effect."

"Schedule IV... your potions are classified as an illicit drug? Like hallucinogenics?"

Calypso's eyes were blank, and she did not respond.

"Wait, fuck! So I can't even take it at home?!" The pegasus knight seemed horrified all of a sudden.

"You're the knight, Isileia. You're supposed to know the laws better than me. Protector of law and order and stuff, sound familiar?"

Sir Isileia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Then she started chewing on her fingernails as the gears in her brain spun wildly.

"Wait a minute... so I've been breaking the law without even knowing it these past four months?!"

"Dunno, you tell me." Calypso answered crassly. 

"Whose stupid idea was this, anyway?"

"You're welcome to write to your senator and complain."

There was a trace of sarcasm in Calypso's voice. Obviously, she didn't really expect anything to come out of that.

"That... There's no way this was a coincidence." The pegasus knight spoke slowly. "Somebody's targeting you?"

The black-haired witch sighed and pulled herself onto a bar stool behind the reception desk. She seemed tired as she folded over onto the rough wooden surface.

"Isn't that obvious? I'm probably the only potion brewer of this type on the entire continent. A bunch of powerful people probably didn't like how well this brothel was doing when we first opened, so they're trying to shut me down. I think they would have preferred to ban the potions entirely or revoke my witchcraft license if they could find an excuse for it, except I keep passing the safety reviews they keep conducting on my potions. It's already the six or seventh time they've subpoenaed me at the Bureau of Alchemic Health and Safety."

"...How are you doing?"

"Managing. But just barely. The store has been bleeding cash like smoke. It really hurts not being able to do potion sales."

"You should just sell on the black market. You'd definitely get customers who'd buy."

"...Aren't you a knight?"

"Shut up."

Calypso sighed and shook her head.

∎

ohko

For those of you who watched Ishuzoku Reviewers, this plot development is lifted straight from the anime. Specifically, there is a scene when Crim wants to leave the Genderswap Inn, but they're not allowed to leave while the potions are in effect. It is explained that one time there was somebody who walked out of the Genderswap Inn (while swapped), catfished someone who was unaware, and then the next morning there were all these people that were freaked out when the transformation ended. As a result, a new rule/law was added.

The anime treated that event comically, but I really wanted to do a deeper and more serious dive onto this subject (from an LGBT perspective) -- hence this particular story is the result. The subjects can be a bit uncomfortable, but it's also a way for me to process my thoughts and think about things.