#1140 A Courtesan Leaving the Capital

I, Rita-Shiera, a courtesan, let out a disappointed laugh at the orders I’d more or less been expecting all along.

“So this is finally the part where they toss me aside.”

I’m well aware that I’m past my prime as a working courtesan.

They’re sending me off to some far-flung frontier, so remote it’s barely habitable.
Anyone could tell at a glance this is what they call a demotion.

From the brothel’s perspective, they want to minimize their losses.
They certainly wouldn’t want to let go of a star courtesan who rakes in obscene amounts of money every night.

So naturally, they’ll ship the unpopular, ‘low-value’ courtesans to some desolate frontier.

And I got lumped in with them.
Despite being the top-requested, high-class courtesan at the moment.

Sure, it’s humiliating.
But deep down, part of me can’t deny it makes sense.

I’ve said it before: as a courtesan, I’ve already passed my peak value.
I’m almost thirty.
Even the customers who shower me with attention now will gradually drift away as the years go by.

When I think about that, maybe bowing out sooner rather than later is the sensible way to cut my losses.

Come to think of it, the mistress in front of me retired around my age, too…
She was at the height of her popularity, and her high-rolling patrons were in mourning. Some tried to snag her attention while they had the chance.

Even now, she’s got enough die-hard fans that they still pester her to take them on.

“I may be getting older, but I’ve got plenty of life left in me.”

Sensing my thoughts, the mistress speaks around her long pipe, tapping its ashes into the tray with a clink.

“Which is why I’m not giving up my seat as the madam any time soon. I can’t hand you this job, nor can I build a new establishment. We’re short on staff, remember?”
“So you’re packing me off to the back of beyond.”
“You can interpret it however you like. I’m not about to dress it up with pretty words; that’s not how this business works.”

She had the look of someone ready to take any punch I threw…but also clearly determined not to change her mind, no matter what.

“…I understand.”

All I could do was sigh.

“Better to have a clean exit than cling on pitifully. Nothing looks worse than a courtesan who doesn’t know when to quit.”
“You’ve always followed my teachings to a T. To be honest, out of all the girls I’ve mentored, you were the most impressive.”

A bit late to say that now, isn’t it…

“Maybe you’ll find opportunities you never imagined in a place you’ve never seen. I’ll admit, when I first retired, I thought my life was over. I had to change how I lived—I kept wondering how I’d make ends meet.”
“Sis, you made it look so easy when you took over as the madam.”
“Oh, that was all just bluff and hot air. So hold your head high and march on out of here. You’ve always known how to flirt when needed, but never lost your dignity in doing so.”

She’s been telling me that since the days I trailed behind her like a little sister.

I know, I know.
I’ve never once regretted following your advice.

Well then, Sis, I’m off.
Watch me from the bright lights of the capital as I figure out how to survive out in the wasteland.

***

A few days passed...

And we arrived at our destination.

“So this is the development site…”

Getting here wasn’t as hard as I’d imagined.
In fact, it took only an instant.

I was ready for a long journey by carriage, or worse, on foot, but the method of travel turned out to be so beyond my imagination that we made it here in no time flat.

We’d all gathered at the designated spot in the Human Kingdom when suddenly, a demoness showed up...

“Alrighty, looks like everyone’s here. Let’s get moving, shall we?”

And before I even knew what happened, the scenery changed completely in a flash.
It really was instantaneous.
What on earth just happened?

“It’s teleportation magic! The kind demons use!”

One of the other courtesans traveling with us shouts in excitement.

“They can just pop anywhere they like in a blink; at least, that’s what one demon customer told me once!!!”
“We can’t go just anywhere. Only to places with the right coordinates set,” the demon girl who’d brought us here clarifies.

Still, the fact that demons can wield magic like that is pretty terrifying.
When I saw there wasn’t a single carriage waiting for us, I thought they might make us walk all the way, but here we are.

It’s a relief, but now the real trouble begins.
Because we’ve finally arrived in this problematic frontier land.

The development site...
As expected, it’s just a sea of greenery—trees and grass everywhere.

For someone who’s spent her life in the bustling city, it’s a refreshing change of scenery.

…It does remind me a little of my birthplace, though.

“So I guess life in hell begins now…”

The woman trembling at my side is another courtesan assigned to the development site, just like me.

She’s ordinary in every sense: plain, with few repeat customers.

“What are we gonna do now? I knew I’d retire eventually, but never thought they’d kick me out of the city entirely.”

As I guessed, most of the women sent here are those with low popularity.
Of course, many had already been thinking about retirement.

This feels a lot like being dumped on some giant trash heap for the unwanted.

“Let’s just hope they still treat us like people…”

Honestly, that’s the fear I came here with.

In the city, we had legal protection. Lately the government’s been cracking down on abusive treatment, so we were relatively safe.
Out here, though, I can’t imagine the law having much sway.

It’s true there are always folks who lump courtesans together with slaves.

We could be shoved into a rickety shack and treated like livestock, for all we know.
If that happens, I guess I’ll fight back with whatever shred of pride I have left as a courtesan.

“Okay, okay, everyone, welcome! Welcome!”

As we stand there, dumbfounded, a man jogs up to us.
He is thin, of average height, and honestly doesn’t leave much of an impression.

Is he an errand boy or some sort?

“First, let me show you to your lodgings! Please relax after your long trip!”

We traveled in a single blink, so I’m not really tired.

But sure, we’ll follow if he’s offering to guide us.

Seeing the building they’ve prepared will tell us what kind of treatment we can expect.

But there are almost fifty of us. I doubt one house could possibly fit us all.
They must have multiple structures, however many they’ve built will show us just how committed they are to our comfort…

“It’s just one building! We really went all out with it!”

?!
They’re cramming all of us into one place?!
Are we really just livestock to them?!

Looks like my worst fears might already be coming true…!

“All right, here we are. This is the dorm where you’ll all be staying.”

Whaaaaaat?!

It’s huge!

What scale... This is way bigger than the brothel we had in the royal capital!
How many floors does this place have?!
A building that size…you’d only find something comparable in the royal castle back home!

“For security reasons, we figured it’d be best to keep everyone in one massive place. If anything happens, you can barricade yourselves inside.”

Barricade ourselves?!
What exactly do they think is going to happen out here?

“Just because it’s big doesn’t mean we skimped on the interior, either! We made plenty of rooms so everyone can be comfy. Each of you gets your own private space!!!”

One room per person?!
I was expecting a roommate at best!

“Of course, they’re soundproofed for privacy! The only downside is we couldn’t install an elevator. We just kept adding floors until it ended up eight stories tall! Walking up all those stairs is rough, so we wanted some sort of lift, but we’re still figuring out the power source. It’s something we might add later, so please bear with us for now!”

I don’t totally follow, but clearly they’ve got the technology to build something even bigger than what we have in the capital…all the way out here in the development site.

They made sure to show me that firsthand...!

Sis, maybe you were right—this land just might be hiding all sorts of wonders we’ve never seen before.