Arc#3 Chapter 57: Elsa's Business Ventures (Patreon)

From the young woman’s earlier words, Reivan had expected the private rooms to contain beds. However, that was not the case.

If he wanted to describe it as fast as possible, the private rooms were basically luxurious versions of the “karaoke rooms” he’d seen in anime.

The opulent adornments were a given, but the most noticeable part of the room was a large couch on the other side of the entrance. A low table was in front of it, adorned with an arrangement of appetizers and wine bottles, similar to the ones below.

And just like the couches on the first floor, the plush seat was accompanied by a beautiful woman.

“Good evening, my master.” Elsamina stood up and bowed low. Today, she was wearing a modest black lace dress that showed very little of her skin, but clung tightly to her body, showing off her explosive curves.

Reivan had already gotten somewhat used to her charm in the past year, so her good health and brighter complexion stood out to him much more.

“Yes, it’s been a while.” Reivan nodded. Noting that there was only one couch — which was the one she was sitting on — he couldn’t help but comment. “I was under the impression these rooms could be used by numerous people should the need arise.”

Seemingly seeing through his thoughts, Elsamina sat down and poured some wine for both of them. “There are usually more, but the room felt too stuffy. So I had this particular room’s amenities modified.”

“You didn’t have to go to such trouble.”

“I only wish for my master to have the best experiences.” Elsamina patted the spot right next to her. “On that note, please, sit.”

Reivan ignored her and procured an armchair from his storage ring. Placing it down so that the table stood between them.

“How unfortunate.” Elsamina giggled and pushed a glass of wine toward him.

“You tempt me too much,” Reivan grumbled, collapsing on the soft seating while ignoring the wine he shouldn’t drink yet. "You should know better by now."

“It’s just because I wish to grow closer to you. And on that note, you needn’t have brought a guard…”

‘I’m glad I did, actually.’

Reivan cleared his throat and got down to business. “Where did you get the money for all of this?”

Elsamina smiled, her enchanting green eyes staring right into his own. “You will not be happy to hear it.”

“I still need to hear it. So speak.”

“As you wish.” Elsamina tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and covered her lower face with a black fan. “Loans.”

“Loans…?”

“Yes, my master. I took out some loans to pay for everything.”

“That’s…” Reivan’s eyes widened as he worked it out in his head. “You took out a loan to start a business here…?”

“Yes. And I know you fundamentally don’t like going into debt, but don’t worry. Since all of it has already been paid off a few days ago.”

Reivan’s jaw slackened, surprise coloring his face. “Really…?”

“I assure you that we don’t owe a single cent to anyone.” Elsamina giggled, her eyes glinting with pride. “And now, we have a very profitable business in one of Aizen’s largest and most prosperous cities that will continue to bring in revenue for the foreseeable future.”

“This is…” Reivan sat there, stunned.

‘Amazing.’

Elsamina bent forward and gracefully plucked a grape from one of the bowls, then let it pass through her soft pink lips. “I know I didn’t follow the plans we worked on. But is this not why you gave me so much independence? I saw a business opportunity and I took it faster than anyone else. And now we profit. So please don’t be too angry with me.”

Reivan shook his head, picking up the wine and taking a sip despite himself. “I’m not angry.”

“That’s wonderful news. I have a copy of our ledgers for you to peruse at your leisure. Naturally, I had to subtract the debt we repaid, so the profits may not look too promising at the moment. But I’m sure you’re aware that it can only go up from here.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.” Reivan took the offered papers in a daze, only for his eyes to almost pop out at the unrealistic figures. “How did you do all of this…”

“It’s a long story. Is that okay?”

“Summarize it.”

“Very well.” Elsamina dipped her head and embarked on a long explanation that did not, in any way, seem summarized at all.

Basically, while she was doing market research after having “infiltrated” Aizen through one of the visas he provided her, Elsamina discovered something very strange about the kingdom’s society.

Basically, there were little to no red-light districts.

She eventually came to understand that this was because there was simply no need for women to do such a "demeaning" job. Food was cheap, public safety and welfare were immaculate, healthcare was supreme with the Sun God’s church nearby, and there were quite a lot of opportunities for women to climb up the ranks, be it in the military or politics.

That was why there was never a need for women to go into that line of business.

But even if that was the case, it wasn’t as if men stopped being men. Naturally, if there was an opportunity to interact with incredibly attractive young women for a reasonable price, they would take it.

This was why the whorehouses in Worgon were popular with some Aizenians. There was a general consensus that these establishments were “unholy” or “wrong” though, so for the most part, these brothels still had immigrants as their most frequent customers.

Elsamina saw through this and immediately decided to capitalize on this gaping hole in the market by offering something in between — an establishment that wasn't a whorehouse but would still provide opportunities to meet attractive women with no strings attached.

Of course, the problem was the girls who would serve in such establishments. As mentioned, jobs such as these were generally unfavored by the women of Aizen. Elsamina hoped that with time, that would change when those women came to know that work as a hostess wasn't too bad.

This meant that the only candidates were her sisters from the brothel she grew up in.

Although Elsamina planned to limit the extent of the services offered, she naturally had no intentions of forcing her sisters into such a job. They had finally been freed from their shackles, so why would she willingly push them into that role once again?

Surprisingly, however, the girls were all too willing.

There were various reasons: finding an Aizenian man to take them in so they could become naturalized Aizenian citizens; gaining a better idea of the preferences of Aizenian men in order to one day catch one; and even something as simple as wanting to aid the organization that took them in.

In any case, most of the girls agreed. The few that didn't, had other tasks that demanded their attention, but would have done so if they were free.

Elsamina initially wanted to do a small-scale trial run, but then she caught wind of a very well-developed property in Starwater City. It was put up for sale after the owner’s death. And since the sons who’d inherited it had no business acumen, they’d all collectively decided to sell the property and split the profits amongst themselves.

And those sons had been all too happy to sell it to a drop-dead gorgeous bombshell like Elsamina. On credit alone, and with no interest at that!

She then took out another loan from someone else — of course, with no interest again — to pay for the renovations and amenities required to match the level of opulence that Starwater City demanded.

While the renovations were ongoing, Elsamina went around to build connections with the local business owners while advertising her business at every opportunity to make things smoother come opening time.

Her efforts bore enormous fruit. Even though customers weren’t allowed to go all the way — or even half of the way — the establishment was still very popular.

It didn’t seem as if the customers expected much in the first place. Merely being fawned over by an attractive young woman in a skimpy dress would get any man’s blood boiling. And this was further exacerbated when they eventually realized they could do more depending on how much they got the girls to like them.

And the establishment provided a very easy way for them to do this — by buying more of the overpriced drinks the establishment offered. Seeing as the girls got a commission from every sale, it was the perfect way to give the girls "gifts" and support them.

“Even I didn’t expect it to do so well!” Elsamina exclaimed, fanning her slightly blushing cheeks. “I’ve never handled so much money in my life. And they were all in lumens! Not in Republican coin, lumens!”

Reivan listened in horror, realizing that Elsamina was basically running a Simp-Draining business. It was one thing to exploit women, but this time, they were basically exploiting these men — who weren’t used to having women fawn over them.

Seemingly seeing through his thoughts again, Elsamina quickly explained. “Of course, we don’t go too far, mind you. This is partially why we only really target the rich and the really rich. They have more money than they know what to do with! We also make sure that the customers know how the place works, and have the girls stop them if they seem too inebriated or are spending above their station.”

‘That doesn’t make it any better…but I suppose we are an underground organization to a certain extent. Shady practices are par for the course.’

“Master…” Elsamina looked at him, pouting pitifully. “Did I do well?”

Reivan gazed at her for a few moments before nodding with a sigh. “Yes. You did very well. But don’t forget to pay taxes.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t dare to actually break the law. Not here. The ledgers are all in order and we are paying our dues to the Aizenian crown properly. Everything is crystal clear and above the table.”

“Good.” Reivan’s fingers tapped his chair’s armrest as he thought of something. “Also, have some of our men been making nuisances of themselves lately? I heard a few of them got taken in for questioning.”

Elsamina covered her mouth with her fan and chuckled wryly. “Yes, but there was no harm done. As expected of Aizen's impartial law enforcement. Even though they were all immigrants, our men were let go because they did nothing wrong.”

“And what exactly were you having them do?”

“It was another business venture I was trying. There was not much success though. A skill issue, most likely.”

Reivan tapped the armrest again. “Explain.”

“I was trying to explore new ways of selling things. This time, owing to the fact that people generally felt safer, I had some of our men sell things to citizens directly to their homes."

"Directly...?"

"Yes. Generally speaking, it's ill-advised to open your doors to a stranger. But people in Aizen don't seem to care too much about it because public safety's so great."

'Huh. I guess that's true...'

Elsamina sighed and shook her head in regret. "It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, likely due to their lack of experience in hawking wares. And I suppose their appearances worked against them as well, though I tried to select the better-looking ones. Even though Ouroboros has improved rapidly as an organization over the past year, gang members are still gang members. They're hardly presentable.”

“Right…”

‘Isn’t that basically door-to-door sales…?’

Reivan’s jaw felt slack when he realized that Elsamina had pretty much tried a sales tactic from modern Earth.

“I know. It was a waste of time. But in business, it is better to try and fail than never to try at all. Especially when the risks aren’t even that high. I will not be continuing with the venture though, as there are better ways to sell things now.”

“Like how…?” Reivan had a bad feeling, but he still asked.

Elsamina giggled, and Reivan could swear she sounded downright evil. “We just have to get the girls downstairs to mention the products in passing. A lot of the customers are actually merchants, y’know? Rather than selling the products to Aizenians with our amateurish skills and knowledge of how native minds operate, it would be better to supply it to people who specialize in selling to Aizenians.”

“That is…” Reivan wore a crooked smile as he nodded. “a very good idea, actually.”

“Right?” She laughed, seemingly pleased by his agreement. Her tinkling laughter filled the small room. “Anyway, because of everything, I feel like it is best if I stay here for a while. To oversee everything and whatnot.”

Her words shocked Reivan for a moment but then his expression became more severe. “Elsa. I remember enlisting your aid precisely because I wished for you to manage matters regarding Ouroboros’ Arkhnian branches in my stead.”

Elsamina’s frivolous atmosphere also dissipated, and she grew more solemn. “Yes, Master. I know.”

“I have never forbidden you from visiting Aizen, correct?"

"Never, Master."

"Right. And even now, I've overlooked the fact that you used most of the upper-grade visas I provided to transfer your sisters over here. But going away for months on end is a bit much considering what I originally expected of you, correct?”

“You are correct, Master.”

“Then what do you have planned for that? If you wish to stay here for an extended period of time, then what will happen to our matters in the Republic? You pitched this idea to me, even as you pretended it was a casual matter, so surely you must have an answer, hm?”

“Of course.” Elsamina nodded, a bit guiltily.

“Let me hear it, then.”

“You may not be aware, Master. But things in Arkhan have been taking a turn for the worse.”

“In what way?”

Elsamina took a sip from her drink and sighed. “The republic has been cracking down on illegal activity in the past three months.”

“I am aware.” Reivan nodded, obviously privy to such basic information. “Xanthus said as much. What of it? Corruption still runs rampant. And we’ve been avoiding scrutiny by bribing the right people… or so I’ve heard.”

‘And anyway, I’ve been steadily expanding toward the legal sector, so Ourobos barely has any illegal activity aside from what Greyviel does, some drug trafficking, and some slave trade… though, when I list it off like that, I guess it does seem like a lot.’

Luckily, it didn’t appear as if that was the problem. But unfortunately, the problem turned out to be bigger than he thought.

Elsamina took a deep breath, her expression solemn.

“The Sage King's Spirit Tower has gotten involved.”