Proofread by Thomas F. 2nd June, 2025.
[Souteneur Merchant Level 8]
[Skill Gained: Price Is Right]
I was riding from the guild toward the establishment when a text appeared before me.
I had leveled up in my base class and even gained the skill. It couldn't help but surprise me, but soon that surprise morphed into a smile.
I have finally got it: Price Is Right. It is a staple skill of merchants.
Every merchant above level 10 has this skill; more than 50% of people gained it when they gained the mercantile class.
With this advancement comes an attribute point.
Class:
Souteneur Merchant Lv. 8
Lawyer Lv. 5
Warrior Lv. 2
Charisma: 10
Intelligence: 10
Vitality: 6
Strength: 5
Skills:
1. Trusty Presence
2. Worthy Goods
3. Contract
4. Shop Open
5. Quick Steps
6. Consecutive Strikes
7. Fast Reading
8. Price Is Right
Attribute Points: 01
Earlier, I wanted to spend the attribute point on vitality, but after some deep thinking, I have decided to use it on strength and did not waste any time doing that.
Class:
Souteneur Merchant Lv. 8
Lawyer Lv. 5
Warrior Lv. 2
Charisma: 10
Intelligence: 10
Vitality: 6
Strength: 6
Skills:
1. Trusty Presence
2. Worthy Goods
3. Contract
4. Shop Open
5. Quick Steps
6. Consecutive Strikes
7. Fast Reading
8. Price Is Right
Attribute Points: 0
The moment I did, I felt the change. I felt the power coursing through my veins. I knew I had gotten a little stronger.
Strength has increased, as have nearly all physical attributes; strength and vitality increase one's constitution, agility, and defence.
People allot points in combination to focus on any of these things; old Remus had focused on agility built, but I find balance more suitable for me.
So, I need my vitality and strength to be nearly identical.
Soon, I reached the establishment and got out of the carriage; when I reached the door, Carla was there.
"Everything is ready," she said, and I nodded in thanks.
A minute later, I walked into room 11, which was filled with girls, one of them I recognized from the last time.
She looked away as I glanced at her.
My office is not big enough to accommodate all the girls, and since I did not want to talk to them in batches, I put a small table in room eleven to finish it all at once.
"Hello. I hope you all had a pleasant journey to Greltheaven?" I asked, and they smiled nervously.
"I will come straight to the point then," I said, and looked at two piles of contracts: one was the old ones, and the others were the new ones they would have to sign.
"Today, you will sign the contracts and become an employee of the Velvet Garden."
"I am sure Carla explained every point in the contract to you and told you that you still have a choice if you want to leave with severance," I added, and looked at them.
In return, I got looks like I was mad for asking these questions.
"This is the last chance; anyone want to leave?" I asked directly to be sure, but no one had opened their mouth.
"Since all of you agree, we will begin signing the contracts," I said, and turned to look at Carla, who nodded and took the first contract.
"Della Sharp," she said, and a woman in her late fifties walked forward.
She was a little nervous, but after her name was called out, she quickly came forward and began to sign the contract.
She likely feared I might not accept her, and her fear is valid, as most brothels did not use women over fifty, and some high-class ones did not use those over forty, but I have no qualms.
I wanted women of her age; certain people like them, and since I want to please every taste, I will use her.
Two more women than her looked over fifty; one seemed to be in the early fifties, while the other was in her late forties.
"Esther Reese," Carla called as Della finished signing the contract. The second woman came and began to sign the contract; as she finished, the third woman was called, and then forth.
One by one, they began to come to the table as their names were called and began to sign the contract, and soon, fifty-one women had signed the contract.
"From today, you are the employees of the Velvet Garden; you will follow the rules in the contract and will receive all the benefits according to it."
"I hope we will have a pleasant working relationship," I said. To that, they smiled nervously and began to walk out of the room until only Lola and I remained.
She looks at me with nervous eyes. I have never seen anyone as nervous as her. She is so nervous that she is shaking; I fear that if I touch her, she might fall down.
"Miss Lola, you have put me in quite a dilemma," I said as I looked at her.
"It was not my intention, Mister Silver," she replied. Her words were clear, despite all the nervousness.
"I have told you before that I will not take back those who leave, but now I have bought your contract; it has put me in quite a dilemma. You understand it, right?" I asked as I looked at her.
"I will accept your decision," she replied, and I continued looking for a couple of seconds before finally sighing.
"Fine, I will give you one more chance, but I truly hope you will not disappoint me," I said, pushing the contract forward.
I could see joy lighting up in her eyes, and at the same time, tears started to stream from them.
"You will not regret giving me a second chance, Mister Silver," she said as she wiped her tears.
"I hope not, I am not," I replied with a small smile, and I genuinely hope I do not.
Carla was one reason I accepted her; she had asked me that personally yesterday, and while I could have easily said no, I decided to agree to her request.
I clarified to Carla that any mistake Lola made would be her responsibility, and she accepted.
She quickly signed the contract, and I felt it click. The headache increased slightly, but it was minor, unlike last time, when it was quite bad.
The levels in my class and the mental attributes have helped me a lot; without them, signing so many contracts at once would have been impossible.
[Lawyer Level 6]
I had just gotten up from my seat when the text appeared before me, and immediately, I felt the headache lessen.
Seeing the level up, a smile couldn't help but appear on my face. I have leveled twice today, once in my base class and now in my Lawyer class.
This day just keeps getting better.
Though the smile would have been brighter if I had received the skill, I am still happy with the level; it will help me greatly in Namdar.
Things will be difficult there, as it is not a tiny city like Greltheaven but one of the Empire's most prosperous cities.
A place in which those monsters of the S class reside.
….
"Anty Della, big sisters, you all need to be quiet when we enter the manor," Gloria said as she led their five-person group toward the building.
There is huge construction going on around the mansion, and while Carla had informed her of it, she was still surprised.
Nearly a hundred workers are working on different things; she had even spotted mages laying the enchantments into the ground.
Carla said they were building around the mansion, making it bigger. When the construction is finished, the mansion will be big enough for a hundred girls to do business easily.
She even said there would be a big underground residential area for them all, for which she feels very grateful.
Currently, their living arrangement is tents, which, by the way, is the most comfortable arrangement she has ever lived in, with the softest bed she has ever slept in.
It even has a temperature disc to adjust the temperature according to their needs.
Still, she would like to live within the solid walls; whether they are underground or above ground will not matter.
Soon, Gloria led their group of five through the small entrance, and they made the steps as silently as possible.
It had been an hour since the establishment had opened; she wanted to watch from the start, but Carla declined as Mister Silver started his rounds in the first hour.
Since every girl was excited to see how the establishment worked, Carla had divided them into groups, and each group would get a tour of the establishment and see how it worked.
They only have half an hour, but that would be more than enough time to see how the establishment works.
They reached the tiny room with a small window and a chair.
Seeing the window, every girl ran toward it, ignoring Gloria, who was asking them to take turns looking through it.
Soon, all five of them squeezed themselves and looked through the window, and what they saw shocked them to their core.
She looked over the huge hall, which was mostly empty a few hours ago. Now, it is lit with the most beautiful lights and filled with tables.
Where the girls were sitting wearing beautiful dresses, which now looked more enchanting on the girls' bodies than on the racks they had seen them on earlier
She is not shocked by the clothes they are wearing, but by how they are behaving and how the clients, or patrons, as they call them, are behaving with them.
They do not look like whores, but women from wealthy families, the way they are talking, the way they are moving.
Every movement of theirs is graceful; every word coming from their mouth would be captivating, and the men in rich clothes would talk to them with smiles and praise them with flowery words.
She could see the lust in the eyes of men, but it was not desperate or forceful. There is restraint in them, which she had seen very few times.
Every table was filled, and every girl was occupied with patrons; she even saw a few men sitting alone, drinking at the bar as no girl was available to accompany them.
It is so different from the brothels she had been in, where she needed to use everything she had to attract clients, but they would come to the girls here.
It had been ten minutes since she had been looking, and since then, only one pair had gone to the pleasure rooms.
"It is so different," Lola whispered, and she couldn't help but nod.
"If I had not seen with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed what Carla had said," she said softly, and the girls nodded.
They watched for another five minutes before Gloria took them to the makeup room, and it was a sight to behold, just like the hall.
Two beauticians, one woman in her mid-thirties and the most beautiful man she had ever seen, were working on Lenore together.
She is standing naked as two brushes slide across her skin while the woman works on her face.
She was so engrossed in watching that she did not notice the man's lack of hands. She did not react to it and looked at the two girls staring at his stumped hands.
"Dress from the thirteenth hanger, lingerie from the 24th hanger, shoe…" he gave the order, and two young girls brought them quickly.
They began to float as they had brought them, just like the brushes.
Lenore seemed to know what to do as she raised her hands forward, and the blue bra slid through them; at the same time, she lifted one leg, and another, and the panties slid through them.
In a few seconds, she is in blue lingerie before the indigo dress comes floating toward her and slides across her skin. A second later, the bright red shoes come floating and fix themselves on her feet.
They watched with gaping mouths as Lauren got readied in a few seconds in what was supposed to have taken her minutes.
She smiled, looking at their wide-open mouths, and gave them a nod before walking out of the room.
"Madams," said the man, and within a minute, they found out how easy he was to talk to.
It is quite regrettable that they needed to leave soon, as their half-hour was coming to an end.
She did not remain sad for long when she remembered she would be working here. She would experience everything these girls were experiencing, and for the first time in decades, she felt excited.