After booking a room at the hotel, Laine threw a handful of Silver Coins at the three prostitutes standing on the street: "Ladies, I don't want to do anything, I just want to chat with you. If you're willing, this money is yours, if not..."
The three prostitutes looked a bit disappointed, exchanging glances with each other, but ultimately agreed promptly because of the money: "Of course! Mr. Rhodes, you can certainly pay us just to chat."
"Very good!" Laine motioned for the three women to sit down. He poured himself a glass of wine and sat on the other side of the room: "How's business? Ladies? I don't see many customers around."
"How many customers can we get this time of year? There aren't many generous gentlemen like Mr. Rhodes who only want to chat~" One prostitute gave a coquettish smile; Laine felt a wave of disgust but suppressed his discomfort, saying, "You're lucky today; I just don't want to do anything."
"Sir, is your reed stick no longer working? Do you want to try it out on me?" The prostitute was still persistent, but Laine showed no reaction, too bothered to refute such a typical insult for a man. Read full story at nοvelfire.net
Anyway, he knew well enough about his own limitations.
"There will be a chance, ladies, but not now, unless you don't want the money?" Laine said indifferently.
"Alright, what does Mr. Rhodes want to talk about? We're at your service."
After switching topics several times, the atmosphere gradually heated up, and Laine knew the opportunity had come.
"Could you tell me anything about the Aesthetic Society? You know, I just met Lady Agneda, so I'm quite curious about her."
"Aesthetic Society?" Prostitute Sarah's immediate reaction to Aesthetic Society was one of disgust, or rather all three prostitutes reacted with disdain upon hearing about it: "Mr. Rhodes, we're not speaking nonsense, the Aesthetic Society is indeed despicable, extremely despicable."
"Extremely despicable? Could you elaborate?"
"The Aesthetic Society started with a group of scholars, um... that is, a bunch of poets and artists who understand painting and art. They have art, businessmen have money, businessmen need art, artists need money, thus the Aesthetic Society came to be." Sarah shrugged, speaking in a sarcastic tone: "These so-called artists are no different from normal people. They also need prostitutes; they have all sorts of needs. On the contrary, artists despise marriage. Their demand for people like us is even greater, am I wrong, Mr. Rhodes?"
"You're not wrong at all, then?" Laine remained unmoved. Everyone has needs; that's normal.
"As time passed, the Aesthetic Society grew larger, hosting salons and parties in the Temple University District all day long. Anyway, us lower-class folks haven't participated; we don't know what it's like inside. But any artist and businessman who attended the Aesthetic Society gatherings wouldn't be interested in us lowly prostitutes anymore."
"Artists who love attending Aesthetic Society events would gradually become fond of wearing makeup, following trends. Every time they go out, many servants surround them, ensuring no mud splashes on their master's expensive and exquisite clothing or dirty rascals spoil their master's sight." Sarah concluded, "I heard the Aesthetic Society has been asking the City Council to renovate the Canal District's structures, demolish houses, and replan the streets, but after several discussions, nothing came of it—feels like it's blown over."
"Oh~ I just attended a City Council banquet last night; it felt alright. Um... How much do you know about Chairwoman Agneda?" Laine seemed to ask casually.
"Things changed for the worse because of this woman," one prostitute chirped in and prattled on: "Who knows when Agneda appeared and became the leader of the Aesthetic Society. Her wealth is boundless; she single-handedly supported many cities' artistic communities and even built several orphanages. Although we disapprove of her, what she does is still commendable—it's just that the mortality rate of orphans in those orphanages seems high, not many reach adulthood..."
"I see, I understand." Given such circumstances, a high infant mortality rate is normal, Laine said no more. After chatting about some irrelevant topics, Laine suddenly raised his hand.
A dazzling white ball of light illuminated the entire room in the center of the man's palm: "Ladies! Come look, come closer~ I have a surprise for you~"
All three prostitutes' eyes were attracted to the white light, then the ball in Laine's hand flashed brightly, nearly penetrating the closed windows. The entire room fell into a silent stillness.
Thirty minutes later, Amber Avenue 53.
Laine returned to the guest room next to the master room; he sat on the luxurious wooden chair inside, the room unlit except for the cold moonlight bathing it in its glow. Laine pinched his chin, contemplating the intelligence gathered that night. He felt the Lake Fairy concealed nearby, so he softly called out, "Lady?"
The room was filled with the fragrance of flowers and clear springs. The Lake Fairy, with a crown of flowers and dazzling golden hair, appeared before Laine. Unlike usual, she did not use mist to hide her unparalleled beauty from him. Her long golden hair reaching her ankles was adorned with colorful flowers. She wore a porcelain fringed floral butterfly long dress, held a golden Holy Grail, and her bare slender feet hovered in the air. Considering the light shed by the Lake Fairy was too bright, Laine swiftly drew the curtains in the bedroom, his guilty conscience amused the Lake Fairy, revealing traces of laughter in her eyes, but she did nothing to stop him.