A Dragon's Curiosity

Enjoy ~

Velvet pulled the elven girl next to her to the dresser in front of the mirror, although both of them still comfortably sat on her bed.

On top of the piece of furniture, a set of items composed from bottles, brushes, trays filled with powder and creams incited the dragon’s curiosity.

She had seen similar items before in some places, such as general stores and some higher end establishments dealing with luxury articles.

Before Nisha had the time to ask about the unknown articles, Velvet began to explain their use.

“As a hostess in charge of receiving guests and entertaining their requests, one of the requirements for the job is presenting myself well.

Do you think that I’m pretty?”

Velvet presented herself in the mirror to the elf, tracing her index finger of her slightly parted lips, along her fair neck and down the ravine revealed by her tiny dress, transforming her reflection in the mirror into the incarnation of a siren.

The intended effect certainly showed, as the elf blankly nodded along and voiced her assent.

“Yes, very pretty. So pretty …”

In front of obvious temptation, Nisha failed to make a coherent response and wondered what the hostess wanted to express.

Luckily, the woman in question did not intend to guide a young girl down the wrong path and transformed back into the genial older sister type that took care of a fellow female right away.

“You would be surprised how different I can look on my days off, quite a lot of my colleagues have met customers during the day while shopping and have not been recognized at all.

Part of the job as a hostess includes dressing and acting the part, investing time and effort into our appearance and ability to keep different customers company.

Not everyone is into small talk, or likes gentle types.

Reinventing yourself and dressing the part for the job is one of the more subtle aspects of the job, and make up is an integral part to cover the missing spots in those transformations.

Currently, I have applied some powder, lipstick and eyeshadow to enhance my appearance, without them you would probably have trouble recognizing me.”

As she spoke, Velvet fetched an already prepared wet cloth and carefully removed her cosmetics one by one.

Nisha recovered her presence of mind and watched with interest, quite surprised how much the hostess changed each time a new cloth removed a part of the makeup on her face.

After each component mentioned by Velvet left her face, the hostess still appeared quite pretty to the elf, but no longer as sultry and mature as before.

With a cheerful and young countenance, Nisha might have confused her with an aspiring acolyte from the [Seven Stars Temple].

“It’s not only useful to make yourself more beautiful either, a strong grasp on handling different cosmetics can come in quite handy when you need to cover up smaller injuries or skin irritations in visible places.

One of the seniors in this place who taught me most I know about makeup even managed to disguise herself as a man whenever she went on errands, avoiding a lot of hassles with some more sensitive customers.

It’s a handy skill.”

Teaching the young girl about makeup and its uses was something of an idea that Velvet had on the spot, looking for an activity that could keep them occupied.

Observing the elfs rather nice skin and good foundation, the hostess found it a shame to let her good looks remain unearthed, even though she was still on the young end to start using cosmetics.

Nonetheless, Velvet had the confidence to pass down some useful knowledge to the girl, albeit it might only be of use a few turns later.

Secretly, the prospect of having her own dress up doll might have played a small part, too.

Nisha had no adverse reaction to learning a new and useful skill, especially after seeing the transformation her host went through.

She had not spotted any signs of the makeup influencing the hostesses’ looks when looking at her earlier, either with the naked eye or her [Spirit Sight].

Mundane materials without much aura managed to largely camouflage Velvet’s appearance, giving the dragon an appreciation for the technique involved.

“Let’s start with applying some foundation. I will give you a recommendation later on what a basic kit should include when you want to purchase your own set, but a good quality foundation goes a long way when applying further makeup.

Here, let me do it for you this time, just pay close attention to how I handle the brush.”

Velvet pulled the elf on her lap and brought her arms around her to pick up the trays with powder and a soft brush.

Nisha accepted the close physical proximity with a small bias towards giving more leniency to a beautiful person, yet she still paid close attention to the makeup lesson.

It seemed like a useful skill, after all.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The night already progressed quite close to midnight when Sera Carmen, the feared [Golden Heel] received her guest together with a guide, a hostess under her employ.

Right away, the powerful woman raised a brow at the appearance of the two.

In her red evening gown, the director of the [Red Night Palace] fully brought out the allure of her ruby colored lips.

Despite showing first signs of aging, small wrinkles around the eyes and the corners of her mouth, Sera Carmen was the picture of a classy noble lady.

“Excuse me for not greeting you earlier, Lady Nisha. I hope you have found our amenities to your pleasure, I had not expected your visit this early.

I gather that Velvet entertained you during my absence?”

For an unknown reason, the hostess felt her soul shiver at that moment and spoke up despite the question not being directed at her.

“Don’t worry, boss, I used the highest standards to welcome this esteemed guest.

We drank some of your personal wine and then moved on for a tour of the floors, and then retreated to my room for some casual entertainment.

Miss Nisha, was there anything you were not satisfied with?”

As the boss of an establishment in the redlight district and a Seat for the [Thieves Guild], Sera Carmen had to have the necessary strictness and resourcefulness to keep her underlings in line.

For a guest of highest importance, only the elf’s word would save her from being made an example in case anything went wrong with the dealings between the guest and her boss.

“Mhm, Velvet has has shown me plenty of the attractions the [Red Night Palace] and explained some of the intricacies about your invitation, so even if there was something out of place, it is my fault for arriving early.”

Nisha had no particular bad feeling about her guide and covered for any possible misgivings the [Golden Heel] might have.

Seeing the two in sync with each other, Sera Carmen observed them shortly and then waved her hand in dismissal.

“Alright, Velvet, you can consider the matter of stealing my wine collection as forgiven. You can claim your pay for the night according to the gold standard, please leave now.”

The hostess yelped at being seen through right away and accepted the pardon, secretly elated that her pay reached the gold standard, too.

Once the two important decision makers were the only ones left in the room, Sera Carmen spoke up again.

“Miss Dharnas, you look especially beautiful on this evening. If you have any grievances towards your hostess, you can let me know.”

Glancing at the makeup on her face and the subdued smile from the elf, both of them knew it was only the boss of the place going through the motions to ensure that the etiquette was kept.

Nisha replied in kind to wrap up the opening niceties.

“You are too polite, Velvet has shown me many sights from your place and did her role well as a host.

If you would be kind enough to explain what the gold standard means in the [Red Night Palace], I would be more than happy to cover the expenses myself, as a proper customer.”

This time, Sera Carmen had to look at her guest with a strange notion, employing a hostess from a brothel for her services did not quite fit with the image of a young female noble.

Thanks to her vast experience, gathered by interacting with all kinds of customers, the [Golden Heel] figured out that the elf did not really understand what their business actually entailed for the most part.

“Gold standard is a unit of measurement for the prices paid by the customers. It starts with the single silver standard, meaning a customer has to pay a single silver for the service of his choice.

Different actions are priced at different standards, most notably going from one silver, then five, ten, fifty, ninety and finally a full gold, the highest payment required for regular services and a single night.

It also helps to rank my employees, only when they qualify for a higher standard does their value increase accordingly, there are silver level hostesses, half silver ones and full silver meaning the ninety silver standard.

Few make it to the gold standard, with Velvet being one of the younger hostesses under my employment to make it so far.

As for payment, I will gift you the expense as a complimentary service and as thanks for reacting early to my summons.

It’s more convenient for me to speak to you sooner rather than later, a few gold mean nothing compared to the deal between you and the Guild.”

Hearing these sums, even the wealthy dragon raised an eyebrow. A silver was enough to buy a solid sword that can be used up to the third aura rank, while the maximum sum of a gold sufficed for an enchanted middle tier weapon, although it might not reach the higher sixth rank.

Still, a single night carried the same price as the highest tier of gear circulating on the market, making Nisha feel quite the surprise.

Of course, she had no problem paying several gold for the tour and the company from Velvet, but Sera Carmen offered to gift her the expense, hence she quietly accepted and waited for the matter the [Golden Heel] looked for her.

“I will cut to the case, since haste is required on both sides.

You have already seen the infected party, the [Blackroot Plague] has shown up on several more foreigners in the area of influence of our Guild.

Currently, the kingdom should also have received intelligence about the infestation, yet information is controlled to prevent the capital from falling into chaos.

This is a time window we can use, between the actual outbreak and the current measures to control the plague.”

Nisha nodded to show her understanding.

She had not dealt with a plague before, not personally at least. There were recordings of such cases in the books she read in the library, detailing how some great cities and even kingdoms of the past fell into chaos and eventually vanished after a grand disaster like a plague.

“The [Thieves Guild] faces some restrictions and is not free to act as we like.

As much as the sphere of influence from our combined efforts has grown over the years, the Seats essentially do not want to clash with the Leandar kingdom openly.

You have to understand, in a certain way the country is approving the existence of the [Thieves Guild] and grants us some leeway, but restricts us at the same time.

As long as there is no proof to certain crimes, the city guards will not forcefully tear down shady businesses or go after the private properties of ringleaders under our employ.

If they do get caught, then that’s just bad luck for us.

At least the regulations made by our guild provide some protection for the citizens, and the parley between the guards and the different industries under the seats is tacitly tolerated by the important decision makers.”