Wolf believed he needed a relaxing boy’s night out. Like most people going out to party for the first time, he had unrealistic expectations.

Those expectations toned down after two and a half hours of riding a carriage. But as soon as he felt the lurch from breaking, Wolf smiled excitedly once more.

“We’re here,” Wayde said, opening the door.

The young man stepped outside, and Wolf watched him with envy. Wayde was already one meter eighty centimeters tall, and Wolf barely reached past his rib line.

“Why are you sitting frozen in there like a startled rabbit?” Wayde asked with a broad grin. “Follow me.”

Wolf smiled awkwardly, then hopped out of the wagon.

I have to hop around like a frog, while he just steps down, he thought with a grumble, but still followed Wayde into a very inconspicuous establishment.

The plainness of the facade disappeared as soon as the door opened. A Walter, no different from other majordomos, stood in a moderately large hallway. Light Stones decorated with glass and gems hung from the ceiling.

“Good evening, Young Master and friend. Do you want me to take your cloak?” the prim man said.

Wayde handed over his cloak, while Wolf felt awkward. He didn’t have one.

Should I wear a cloak when going to brothels, he wondered, making note to ask Wayde about it later.

After the small foyer, done in fine dark-red marble, came a large chamber filled with sounds of people. The room was full of noise. Cheerful and inviting feminine laughs mixed with deep voices of men chatting as they drank and enjoyed themselves.

“Good evening, Young Master. I see you brought a friend,” a scantily dressed woman said right at the door before Wolf could check the chamber behind her. “I’ll have your private room ready.”

When the young man laid his eyes on her he blushed. He tried to fight it, but seeing a naked woman in front of him was… strange.

The hostess wasn’t really naked. She wore nearly translucent, layered garbs, which hid nothing, only blurred her body a little. While this should’ve made the woman look decent, her curves and the smudged darker patches somehow made her more attractive.

Who would’ve thought that not revealing everything would make a woman look better than when she’s naked? Wolf wondered, forgetting to check the doorframe for a sound blocking Spell Formation, which he’d originally intended.

“Thank you, Lola,” Wayde said with a smooth smile, while Wolf awkwardly gawked. “Have four girls wait for us with ten bottles of Dorrian’s Red and a bottle of Miner’s Whiskey. Only the best. This is my friend’s first time.”

The hostess’s smile twitched and faltered for an instant, but Wolf was there to help this reaction go unnoticed.

“Wayde,” Wolf exclaimed, angered and embarrassed by those words.

“What? Wayde asked with a playful grin. “I’ve never seen you drink, so this is definitely your first time. Did I lie about something?”

Wolf’s face burned, while the hostess giggled at the joke. She pretended Young Master hadn’t just spent a month of the establishment’s earnings on a dozen bottles of liquor. But it might not be as bad as it seemed.

If this boy never drank spirits before, he’ll just pass out after a sip of that dwarven poison, the woman thought, finding solace.

“Of course, Young Master,” Lola said, showing her pearly teeth as she flashed a smile. “We are renowned for hospitality and taking good care of our guests, especially those visiting for the first time.”

Wolf felt nervous, like a butt end of a joke. Luckily, he noticed that the hostess’s smiling face was an act. An excellent act, but an act nonetheless.

The smile barely touched her eyes, which seemed to calculate how big of a loss the establishment would suffer tonight because of Young Master’s extravagance.

“Mina, come over here for a moment,” Lola called.

“Please escort Young Master and his guest to a private room,” she said when the younger woman arrived.

Mina acted in a respectful, yet coquettish manner as she brought Wayde and Wolf to their private lounge. The chamber was tastefully furnished with eight comfortable couches and four coffee tables. There was enough space to entertain four groups of six to eight, and Wolf felt odd, alone with Wayde in such a vast den.

Wayde moved relaxedly and sat down in the same half-lying position he often took back at the dorm.

“Your company and refreshments will be here soon,” Mina said then winked at Wolf who immediately blushed.

The woman giggled much more sincerely than Lola, then left the room.

Wolf awkwardly looked around. The couches and tables stood in four identical arrangements, and the young man stared at them with confusion.

Should I go over to the couch across Wayde’s, or should I go to a different one, away from his? He silently wondered while fidgeting. And are we supposed to just do it here, or do we get to go to separate rooms?

“What are you standing there for?” Wayde asked, about to solve one of Wolf’s conundrums.

“Come and sit down. The girls and the drinks will be here soon enough,” he said, pointing at the couch facing his. “If you’d told me in advance, then there wouldn’t have been any waiting. Next time, let me know a couple of hours before you feel like going out. That way I can send a message.”

Wolf chuckled weakly, then moved over to sit across from Wayde, making for a comical sight. While Wayde lounged, Wolf shrank as much as he could, sitting the normal way at the center of his couch.

The pair looked like a carefree emperor and a peasant sentenced to execution, hoping to make his appeal.

A minute later, four young ladies came in, carrying bottles, glasses and wine cups on silver platters.

Wolf unwittingly sighed with relief. These women wore considerably humbler clothing than the two hostesses. Their makeup, however, was heavier, and the looks in their eyes were considerably less cheerful.

“Moly, Rona, you two may serve Wolf’s drinks tonight,” Wayde said when he saw the girls.

Two women whose names he’d called out went over to Wolf, disappointment visible in their eyes, while the other two suddenly perked up. Their professional smiles grew more sincere as they rushed towards their Young Master.

This did not offend Wolf too much. The girls probably loved Wayde, not just because of the height and masculine air. He was their boss’s son, so he probably spent some time with them and they knew each other.

While Wolf consoled himself in a roundabout manner, Moly and Rona sat next to him. And poured him a drink.

Wayde had picked the shorter girls for Wolf, but even Rona, who was the shortest of the four, was a good half a head taller than his diminutive roommate.

Unaware of Wayde’s kind intention, Wolf instead stared at the bottle of the amber colored liquid in front of him. It had a black label depicting a dwarf wearing a miner’s helmet. The dwarf’s face was sooty, and he grinned a smile which was a tooth short. He had a pick slung across his shoulder and showed a thumb up at Wolf.

After half a dozen seconds, Wolf focused on the glass. A very faint green miasma was coming out of it, but that was normal.

Alcohol is a mild poison and people drink it in small quantities, Wolf thought, then smiled. Big brother drinks it by the barrel, but he’s Big brother.

Wolf drank it under Wayde’s and the four women’s expectant gazes, which after a moment turned shocked.

As soon as the fiery filth entered his mouth, Wolf wanted to spit it out. It tasted like a failed Alchemical experiment, while mildly tingling Wolf’s mouth. It was evaporating so fast Wolf felt it sting his nose from the inside. He quickly swallowed.

“Ahhh,” he said, his lips curling downward. “This is damn awful.”

Wayde and the girls looked at him silently for a moment.

“And that’s all you have to say?” Wayde asked with a hint of unease in his voice. “Is the room spinning? How many of us do you see?”

“It’s disgusting. Why would anyone drink this?” Wolf said. “Why would the room spin? Do you have some Spell Formation for that? And I see all five of you.”

“Wolf, you said you barely drank anything before?” Wayde asked to confirm, and his roommate nodded.

“I only had a handful of drinks. Why?”

“Because you’re supposed to sip on that glass the entire evening, and quench it with wine.” Even then you’d pass out, wasted, but Wayde left out that part.

“Why would I sip on this crap? But, it’s a good idea to wash it down with a bit of wine. Rona, can you pass me the wine?” Wolf mistakenly asked Moly.

The confused woman didn’t correct him. She filled a goblet with wine before handing it to Wolf.

The youth downed the wine and smiled. This is so much better. That ugly miner’s whiskey reminded me of Magma Marrow a bit.

After the initial shock, Wayde quickly recovered. He played the part of an excellent host and a good friend masterfully. Meaning, he tried to get Wolf utterly smashed, ordering various liquors for Wolf to taste.

It was a good plan, even better effort, but in the end completely futile. Thanks to his unusual constitution, there was no way Wolf could get drunk as easily as Wayde. So, the plan backfired.

“Hey, Wolf. I, think, I’ll go get a room, with this pretty little thing,” Wayde reached out for Bunny’s wrist and missed it completely, nearly toppling over.

“Young Master, let me help you,” Bunny said, smiling triumphantly as she helped Wayde up.

The two of them tottered off towards a bedroom. Wolf blushed, but Wayde knew that, given how intoxicated he was, he could only retch, then sleep while Bunny took care and cleaned up after him.

Wolf suddenly found himself surrounded by three attractive young women. They didn’t drink, but as time passed, and the room grew hotter, the girls loosened up, discarding a couple of items from their persons.

The girls were modest, but that didn’t stop Wolf’s face from getting redder and redder.

What am I supposed to do now? he wondered while fidgeting with his fingers. Should I keep drinking? But they didn’t drink a drop. They just kept pouring for me. If I drink alone, they might think I’m stingy. Should I ask them to drink with me? Should I take one of them to a bedroom? But which one? Will the others get angry I didn’t pick them?

While Wolf was nervous, the girls weren’t doing any better. This Wolf, their Young Master’s friend, had drunk five bottles of Dorrian’s Red and a glass of most other quality spirits they had in the house.

Even a horse would topple over after so much alcohol, yet this man, who looked like a thirty kilo ten-year-old boy, didn’t even show a sign of being tipsy. The only sign of intoxication on Wolf’s face was a red flush, but even that was from embarrassment and not from the alcohol.

After drinking one more bottle of wine, and giving the women enough time to wonder where exactly all that liquid went, Wolf finally gathered his courage.

“Moly,” he said decisively while looking at Rona. Then his newfound courage melted away.

“Um, where do we go now?” Wolf asked.

“Um…” both women said, not really certain whom exactly Wolf was asking to follow him.

“I’m Moly,” Moly said behind Wolf’s back, clearing up the mixup.