“What are you going to do about this? Some kind of juice got all over my food—it’s soaked!”
“My girl wouldn’t even pour me a drink! You’re in charge of the shop, aren’t you, lady? How are you going to fix this?”
“You know what ‘good faith’ means, right? You need to apologize to us properly like a prostitute should, right here.”
“Umm, excuse me. I have to go. To make amends I’ll send out new food and another girl right a—”
“How about getting naked and dancing for us? You’re good at that, right?”
“Ha-ha! Good idea.”
“C’mon, strip. Let’s go.”
They cornered me, sneering, so close I could practically feel their breath on me. The fear and fatigue of the past few days made my knees weak.
“I said to strip!”
I tried to smile. But apparently I couldn’t make it work.
One of the men said, “What kinda face is that?” and raised his fist. Another man grabbed my dress.
Someone stomped loudly on the floor and the shop went silent.
I opened the eyelids I had closed thinking I would be hit.
There was a girl on the stage. Everyone’s eyes were on her. I nearly screamed.
Haru!
But it wasn’t Haru. Blond hair, blue eyes.
In a flashy dress with a blue flower in her teeth, Kizuha surveyed the room from the stage.
Then she let the flower go and displayed it between her breasts. The man with his hands on my dress gulped.
“It seems I haven’t met many of you. My name is Kizuha. I’m a prostitute here at Blue Cat Nocturne. Unlike these gorgeous ladies, I’m an indecent woman kept up on the second floor. It just sounded so lively and fun down here that I was tempted to come down. Forgive me for burdening your eyes with my unsightly presence.”
She performed a completely elegant, sophisticated curtsy. The flower swayed in her open cleavage. Her long, pale legs peeked out of a dress with deep slits up the thighs.
The commotion had already stilled. The men’s eyes were all riveted to her.
“Allow me to apologize for interrupting your party. I’m a prostitute who lives to serve. I hope my indecency will entertain both your eyes and ears.” With that, Kizuha stomped the floor again. A glance to signal the band. Music began to play.
It was a song of passion. An abandoned woman sang like a scream of her love, regret, and pity regarding the man who left her. But the only one who could sing this song was gone, so only an intense performance rang out.
Kizuha didn’t sing. But she danced—something none of us knew until that moment. She lifted her skirt in her hands, sometimes stomping the floor, showing nearly the entire length of her bare legs.
She was beautiful. Her footwork, her expressions—even the tips of her fingers were soft and supple, captivating everyone who watched. The band put some energy into the music and crescendoed. The men forgot their fighting and watched Kizuha, mesmerized.
I had never seen that dance before. It was obscene, yet attractive. Her long limbs and straight back seemed made especially to dance on the stage. She was so cool, and yet so alluring. It was thrilling. You felt like you were seeing something you shouldn’t be.
“Masters, if you’d like to see more of me, please call my name. A single order is all it takes to make me dance madly for you all night.”
The men shouted her name as if they had gone mad.
That night was the first time I ever saw Kizuha come down from the second floor. And I learned something.
All of us had been devalued.
The ones who will be in trouble if she doesn’t stay upstairs are us. She is Blue Cat Nocturne. She danced that sad love song like she was grinding it under her heel. And she smiled. All as she drove the men wild.
My tears were unstoppable again. I was so frustrated. How could I call her worthless? I was a half-baked prostitute and could never be like Madam. I was the only worthless one here.
The son of the guildmaster came in with a bunch of tough-looking guys. He surveyed the tables, gave instructions to his people, and kicked the problem customers out.
Kizuha looked at me sobbing in the middle of the shop and seemed happy. She took the blue flower from her cleavage and held it up toward the customers.
“This flower is me. Whoever gets this flower will be my master tonight. Please put your hands all over me.”
Then she threw it. In the men’s scramble, the flower was torn to shreds. Kizuha laughed aloud and continued her dance.
I wanted to plug my ears and run away from there. I felt like I was going to be sick. But it was work. There were things I had to do.
“...Thank you for coming even though it’s out of your way.” I bowed my head to the guildmaster’s son. Come to think of it, the guildmaster was out in the country with Madam. I asked the son how much our fees would be this month.
“Don’t worry about it.” I didn’t understand what he meant, but before I could ask him, he took a huge gulp of his drink. “I suddenly thought of Shequraso’s singing, so I just happened to come drinking with friends—that’s all.”
He set down his empty cup and stood. His guys had finished their job, so they gathered around him.
“I’ll be taking over my dad’s job soon. You do your best and make some money, too.”
I buried my face in my hands and just stood there. Kizuha’s laugh reverberated. The customers were still going nuts.
I went to my room, took my feelings out on my bed, and, at some point, fell asleep.
Oh...my face looks awful.
I can smile all I want, but I’ll still look scary. I wonder if makeup can fix this.
Right, I’ll eat cake. If I’m going over there, I might as well buy some for everyone. That’ll cheer us all up a bit.
That’s what I was thinking as I headed to Sumo’s. When I got there, I froze.
“Oh, Lupe! I’m back!”
From the middle of the terrace, Haru raised a hand and smiled.
“I was gonna go straight to the shop, but Kiyori said she was going to perish if she didn’t get some sugar in her, so we decided to come get cake first. And now I get to reunite with you in this miraculous way! Okay, c’mon, sit down, sit down—next to me. There’s so much I want to tell you!”
Across from Haru, Kiyori was slumped over the table like a dead person.
Sumo came out happily with a big cake platter. I grabbed one of them bare-handed.
Even I don’t quite know why I did it. Just on impulse, I guess.
Haru was cheerfully waving me over when the cake I hurled reunited in a miraculous way with her face.
“Why...?”
With her face now coated in white, she froze mid-motion. I took a few breaths, almost like I was hyperventilating, and then finally spoke.
“Haru, you idioooooooooot!”
I shouted louder than I meant to. All the men sitting around us turned to look. But I couldn’t stop. The minute I saw her, everything came pouring out.
“Wh-What do you mean, ‘I’m back’? Do you have any idea how badly I wanted to see you? To have you rescue me? You weren’t there then, so why now?”
I started to cry again. My eyes will be red again tomorrow. But I don’t care anymore. There was so much I wanted to say.
“I hate that about you! You’re so selfish and carefree. You’ve probably never considered anyone else’s feelings. You think I’ll let anything go, but I’m not like that!”
People started to cluster. They jeered. It made me even more frustrated. This is between me and Haru!
The man with the bad leg and the beard grinned and said, “Hoo boy, girlie. You can fight even though you’re a woman? Well, do what you have to do. If you lose, I’ll comfort you—if you know what I mean.”
I was so embarrassed, I blushed. But really I was furious.
Haru banged the table and stood up. The people around us got more excited. “Do it, do it!” they teased. I could hear the laughter of the men surrounding us, and feel their breath. It reminded me of the previous night, and I got a little scared.
“Sumo!” Haru shouted.
Still holding the tray of cakes in one hand, he got between Haru and the customers, and raised one leg. It went straight up, practically to the heavens.
He shook the ground with a stomp when he brought it down. Then he did the same with his other leg. When he lowered his body and glared at the customers, he shut them right up.
He didn’t seem like his usual self. He looked really strong. I wondered what sort of martial art that was. Teach me, Sumo.
“Thanks, Sumo... Also, sorry, but do you mind selling us all of those cakes? We’ll pay and clean up after, so please forgive us for what we’re about to do.”
Sumo nodded. Haru took one of the cakes he’d been carrying. Then she held it up.
“Eat this!”
I shut my eyes instinctively, but the splat I heard came from next to me.
The bearded adventurer who had been teasing me had a face full of white.