The streets of Dren were fairly quiet. In a small town like this, nothing ever really sparked up much of a commotion. At least, not when foreigners were not involved. As of right now though, everyone was packed up into their small shabby houses whose bricks were old and discolored. One narrow street wound and twisted down cobblestone until it eventually met one of the only buildings in this town made of actual concrete.

A brothel called the Silver Rose.

Just beside this establishment were the buildings in which clients would take the sex workers to receive their services. In one of those rooms, high up on the seventh floor, one woman was trying her hardest not to cry.

“Oh FUCK!” A man yelled between laughs as he pumped into his dance partner, a young white-haired woman who was using her wrist to shield her eyes. If the man noticed that she was not at all enjoying this, it could mean a lower tip and an uncomfortable client, two things she had to avoid if she wanted to keep her reputation as golden as it was.

Rin Asahiro gritted her teeth and faked a few moans to keep the man enthralled. Should be just a few minutes now. She thought. By now, she had gotten somewhat skilled at determining the stamina of the men she serviced. This one, sadly, was a mercenary. Trained, athletic, and experienced, so Rin had to hold out for longer than usual.

Before long though, the man filled up the company-provided condom he was given and flopped onto his back as if he’d just had a stroke.

“Fuck, that was good.” He noted. Rin took a deep breath and felt her heartbeat grow steady.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Rin said with a smile.

“Here you go.” The man sat up and reached for a coin pouch on the nightstand next to the bed. “Oh, shit, I needed that.” Without another word, he put on a shirt and walked out of the room.

“Sir!” Rin called out after him though.

“Yeah?” Annoyed, the man asked.

“You forgot your backpack,” Rin said with what she hoped looked like a shy smile.

“OH! Thanks.” He grabbed it and with a nod, left once again.

“… Dumbass.”

Rin quickly turned and carefully appraised the bronze bracelet she’d stolen from the backpack before she had called to him. How much is this worth? A few varols? Four, five? She did not know when exactly the habit had started, but one day, maybe a year or two ago, she had noticed that some clients were so eager to leave the premises as soon as they climaxed that they tended to forget things.

Guess I’ll check later. Rin thought and tossed the bracelet into her own pack, which had in it a spare change of clothes, two necklaces, an engagement ring, and a see-through bottle holding a sparkling blue liquid. Rin grabbed that bottle and jogged over to the bathroom. Flicking the lights on, she looked at herself in the mirror.

In the reflection, she saw long white hair coupled with the sultry, amber-colored eyes and large breasts that had helped her become one of the most popular sex workers at the brothel, along with the tattoo all workers like her were required by law to have:

A crescent moon on her forehead that marked her, for all society to know, as a prostitute. Mechanically, in a motion she had done a million times before, she uncapped the bottle and held it over her head. Then, slowly, she let its blueish contents fall over her.

Her white hair turned black, its natural color, and the tattoo disappeared. This was a measure that the men and women who worked at the Silver Rose had come up with themselves. Although the law required them to show that they were prostitutes and escorts whenever they were working, the law did not prohibit them from masking their identity. So, a potion was created that altered the user’s hair color and activated the tattoo painted onto their faces with invisible ink. This was one of a few things that a sex worker could call their best friend. Along with another potion that prevented pregnancies and one more that temporarily increased a woman's bust size or the length of one's manhood.

The landline rang. Rin quickly ran over to the phone.

“Hello?”

“Rin, are you done?” It was her boss, as she could tell by the rough and impatient tone.

“Yeah,” Rin replied.

“Good, your mother is here. She’s about to leave, but figured I’d let you know.”

Sigh “Alright, thanks.”

Her boss hung up the call before she could. Rin clicked her tongue and put on her sandals, adjusted her rose-tinted robe, and hurried out the door. The elevator carried her down to the lobby of the building, where everyone ignored her as she made her way onto the streets.

The full moon was out and its light draped itself over Rin, who walked over to the brothel. From the outside, the brothel was fairly unassuming, with only the words “Silver Rose” displayed on big neon letters planted in an unimpressive building. However, as soon as Rin opened the door that led inside, the bombastic nature of her workplace made itself known.

Music, naked men, and women casually walking from one place to another, potential clients looking at them with heart-eyes. It was something out of a dream. Well, to anyone who didn’t come here almost every day.

“Hey, Rin!” A boy called out to her.

“Felix? Hey, what’s up?” She asked the topless charming man who walked over to her. Felix was one of the male workers and one of the few reasons Rin was able to stay sane throughout the three years she’d been working here.

He flashed a cheesy smile and wrapped an arm behind her back.

“You need to chill.”

“What?”

“I could tell as soon as I saw you. Mopey eyes, brooding ‘don’t-talk-to-me’ face. You are in desperate need of some relaxation.”

“And what exactly do you propose?” Rin asked with a raised brow. Felix put his hands on his hips and said:

“Come drink with me. Some of the others and I are heading to the Anvil tonight.”

The Anvil, by the way, was a bar. Why did they call it the Anvil? Because people went there to get hammered.

“Nah, not really feeling like it tonight,” Rin answered.

“Come ooooon~” Felix smirked. “Tell you what, you come with me tonight and I’ll hook you up with you-know-who.”

“Felix! For the last time, I don’t have a crush on her!” Rin started walking towards the lounge, where she was sure her mother was, receiving a few nods from some of the other workers.

“Yeah right, like you don’t blush any time Jess so much as glances at you. Stop lying.”

“It doesn’t," sigh "it doesn’t matter, alright? My mom is here.”

“Ouch.” Felix’s smile faded. “Anything serious?”

"Don't know. Hope not.”

“Okay, well, I’ll come with you. Haven’t said ‘hi’ to Mrs. Asahiro in a while.”

“Fine.” Felix threw a gesture at the people he was heading to the bar with. They seemed to receive the message. Rin paced through a small crowd and finally ended up at the desk where Jay and her mother were.

“Oh, Rin,” her boss said, looking over at her. Rin glanced at her mother, who was standing there so calmly that one might think the whorehouse wasn't in the middle of its busiest hours. “Your mother wanted to ask me something is all.”

The Silver Rose was known for a few different things. It stood out, even among other brothels. Part of that was because of the fact that they also hired male workers, where other brothels only offered women. Another part of that though was because of the brothel’s owner.

Aside from the fact that this was the only brothel in town owned by a woman, she happened to be tall and highly intimidating. People knew her last name, but she always told everyone to just call her either “Jay” or “mistress”. Jay had short black hair with blonde highlights and usually wore sleeveless shirts and black leather pants.

“Hey, sweetie.” Her mom said. Hm. She looks paler than normal. Rin noted.

“Uh, mom? What’s up?”

“Nothing, everything’s alright. Just had a question for Ms. Jay”

“Just ‘Jay’ is fine.” The tall woman said and Rin’s mother laughed.

“Not a chance.”

“Okay. So… What are you going to do?” Rin asked.

“I’ll be heading back home now.” Her mother saw Felix, doing his best to give a kind smile, and waved at him while saying, “Don’t stay out too late.”

“Sure.” Rin raised a brow and her mother walked away. Nobody else probably noticed the way her feet dragged, how short her breaths were, but Rin did. Is she sick again?

“Anyway, Rin, it’s time for your monthly pay.”

Right. Forgot about that. Rin nodded and neared the door behind her that lead to Jay’s room but hovered the door handle for a moment. She couldn’t get the image of her mother’s pale skin out of her head. It’s probably nothing. She reassured herself and walked in.

Jay walked in behind her.

“How’d the merc job go?” Jay asked.

“Fine.”

“Huh. Those asshats never seem to get that the people they’re fucking aren’t dolls. No decency. Any of them give you any trouble, let me know.”

“How do you know?” Rin asked.

“You forget that I used to work here before I owned it.”

To be fair, it was easy to forget that when Rin looked at her. Dressed the way she was, with the demeanor she had, it was hard to see her being submissive to paying customers.

“Oh, right.”

“Here you go.” Jay grabbed a large black bag full of coins and threw it onto the desk. All just to reach in and take one coin out.

She reached in, took a single platinum coin out and dropped it into Rin's palms.

“Is the bank still open?” Rin asked.

“Didn’t your mother literally just ask you not to stay out late?”

“I’m sorry, is she my mom or are you?” Rin asked and Jay smirked.

“Nah, I'm not as pretty as she is. And, yes, they are open.”

“Alright, thanks. See you tomorrow.” Rin said, turning to walk out.

“Have a nice night, kid.”

“I hope I never get to the point where I call twenty-year-old people kids.”

“You should hope you get out of here before I smack you,” Jay replied and Rin did just that, hiding a chuckle as she walked away.

Rin found Felix standing ahead next to some friends of his.

“Done getting paid?” Felix asked and Rin nodded. “Alright, come on!”

“Nah, gotta go get it exchanged.”

“Aw, come on, listen, if you come with us I’ll pay your drinks off. Last chance!” He put his hands together, pleading. Jess, unfortunately, was also there and she winked at Rin saying:

“Yeah, last chance, Rin.”

Rin coughed.

"Uh, sorry, not tonight."

“Ah, screw it, she’s a lost cause.” Felix shrugged. “See you later then, Rin.”

“Yeah, see you guys later.”

Everyone waved goodbye at her as she exited the brothel and emerged back on the cold street. She took a deep breath, adjusting her backpack, and looking up at the moon. Just a night like any other, huh?

She got to the bank and just as quickly left with that platinum varol exchanged into ten gold ones.

Trying not to spend any more time outside, Rin began walking back home. She passed by the capital building, a few bus stops, and a bathhouse. None of them caught her eye, save for one place.

Clang, clank, she could hear some kind of commotion coming from the nearby Central Theatre. The doors were open and even at this time, other curious souls were walking in to see what was happening. Hm… I guess it couldn’t hurt to take a look. Rin went in behind them.

The dark halls led to where the stage was. It was an arena type theatre, where the seats surrounded the stage at the middle. It wasn’t a fully packed house, but there were quite a few people here. Then, Rin saw the source of those sounds.

Two very foreign-looking people were doing battle in the center. Their hits were so powerful, the clashes of their blades so strong that Rin could feel vibrations on the ground she walked on. Wow… It doesn’t look like they’re faking it. Are they using Essence?

One of them was older and had a large grey beard. He wore armor that looked quite heavy, with exposed arms and a shield at his back that he wasn’t using. The other one was a tall woman with short grey hair. She was covered from the neck down in steel armor that shone brilliantly in the bright lights covering the whole theatre, and yet Rin could still sense her prominent musculature. This one was using a sword so large, Rin was certain she wouldn’t be able to carry it if asked to.

Apparently, she’d managed to arrive at the end of the fight though. The tall woman pushed the older man back with a kick, and he put a hand up.

“Alright, alright," he laughed. "I'm done."

“You’re getting tired fast these days.” The woman stated with no humor in her voice.

“That’s what happens when you’re almost seventy.”

“Are we going again?”

“Nah, that’s it for tonight.”

Rin had expected some kind of applause for the performance they put up, but no one reacted like that. Some of them left the room immediately. Others stayed stoically, looking down at themselves in thought. One of them, the person closest to her, was writing in a notebook. Rin raised an eyebrow and asked:

“What are you doing?”

The boy glanced at her and almost instantly went right back to his writing.

“Taking notes.”

“Of what?”

“Of how Rank A adventurers fight."

When Rin heard that, she looked back at them in disbelief. Those were Rank A adventurers? In that moment, memories flooded her mind. She recalled the way her brother would come home, dressed in expensive sets of armor, carrying heavy weaponry and with a wide grin on his face. He was stronger than most people would ever train to be, and he was Rank B. Rin had never seen a Rank A adventurer in person like this.

“You have to,” the boy continued in a mumble, “if you ever want to be one of them.”

Rin understood that. Admittedly, it had been a stupid dream that she should have grown out of by now, but sometimes at night, Rin pictured herself not as a common whore, but as someone others could look up to. She would imagine herself dressed in golden armor, some giant sword at her back as she moved through these very streets, looking back at everyone who had ever scorned her with disdain. She wouldn't need to sell her body or steal from her customers, she'd just be a hero and make a living that way.

It was a fantasy, but a nice one. Still, just a fantasy though. She wasn't her brother. She didn't have the talent and the connections he had. So, chuckling to herself, Rin decided she'd had enough.

She found herself back home soon after that. Her mother was already fast asleep, and the couch where her father would sit to listen to the radio at the center of the living room was empty. The kitchen where her brother, who had a passion for cooking and was one of the most sociable human beings Rin had ever met, was equally devoid of any human presence. Wordlessly, Rin walked up the stairs and over to her room.

Here, she put her backpack down next to her bed, slipped her shoes off, and didn’t even bother throwing her sheet over her body. As tired as she was, the moment her eyes closed, she was dreaming.

...

Rin found herself in a very familiar room. The one she worked in. There were strange sounds in the air coming from two individuals. The first set, Rin understood as being sounds coming from herself. The second, though, belonged to a stranger.

Her clothes were hurriedly thrown over the drawer and someone had taken off a set of beginner-level iron armor and carelessly threw it on the ground. Rin followed the voices until her eyes fell on the bed that she had so intimately acquainted herself with. And, she found her own body, pinned down beneath someone. A woman. She couldn’t see her face, only her strong frame, and the flaming orange-blonde hair that cascaded down her back.

The two of them were locked in a fiery kiss and Rin, her consciousness, walked to the bed to see the face of this woman. But, before she could, her eyes opened.

It was still nighttime. Rin blinked. Again? She thought, as she shifted onto her side and eyed her backpack, full of the things she’d steal from those she slept with. Most of them, just like the customers she stole them from, were things she’d forgotten about. All but one.

A golden necklace that she had stolen two years ago but just couldn't sell. It belonged to one of the few female clients she’d ever had the actual, true, pleasure of working for. It was one of the few nights she'd had while working this job that she remembered fondly.

I can’t forget her, but I can’t remember her either. Isn’t that some shit? Rin laughed before closing her eyes once again.

This time, it would be morning before she opened her eyes again, and her life went on normally.