Chapter 24

"Even though this isn't my first time here..."

"There are so many 'nightclubs' I'm spoiled for choice. It really is a strange experience."

Night had only just fallen, but the shops in the Yoshiwara District were already overflowing with lively energy.

"Hmm..."

Haruto casually surveyed both sides of the street.

More people were going into the shops than coming out. Even the budget-friendly "hourly rooms," and the even cheaper "quick-dry houses," were at the height of the action... Even the old hands who had already finished would linger inside as long as possible. Otherwise, they'd be laughed at for coming out too early.

"Looks like finding a normal inn in Yoshiwara isn't very realistic."

"I'll just have to spend a little more..."

Night shifts came with overtime pay, after all, especially when the attendants had to work an extra half night or even the whole night.

Fortunately, he only needed to sleep here for one night, so he could afford the extra expense.

"If the opportunity happens to come up, it's not like I can't free up my hands a little."

Haruto instinctively rubbed his smooth chin, keeping his facial muscles under control so he wouldn't show an expression unbecoming of his age.

"I've been a student at Shin'ō Academy so long I've almost forgotten my old 'profession'... It's great to be young."

"..."

"No, no."

Haruto slapped his cheeks hard.

"Now's not the time to think about that. A Soul Reaper career can easily last hundreds of years, and it's hardly a peaceful life."

"How can I let outside influences affect my—"

Haruto was just about to drive the unnecessary thoughts from his mind when a soft, sweet voice came from not far down the street:

"Young man over there!"

It sounded very soft, yet carried remarkably well... The woman speaking definitely had quite a talent for hitting high notes at crucial moments.

"Would you like to come try our shop?"

"There's a discount for young first-time customers~"

"...A discount?"

Haruto definitely wasn't blinded by anything other than money.

"If you're 'new' enough, we might even give you a red envelope of our own~"

"..."

This wasn't just a Yoshiwara District tradition. Basically every pleasure-quarter establishment had a similar custom.

But no matter how you looked at it, unless they were born and raised in Yoshiwara, any man or woman who knew about this place was surely long past the stage of needing a red envelope. That was right, men and women... Although Haruto hadn't seen any nearby, the Yoshiwara District's host clubs were just as famous.

"Then I'll have to give it a try."

Without hesitation, Haruto headed for the shop that had called out to him.

"Plop."

Haruto sat down on a tatami mat backed with hemp.

"It's poking my butt."

He shifted his rear uncomfortably.

"It might look lavish from outside, but this is still the 45th District... The soft amenities can't be all that good."

In a place like the pleasure quarters, the most important hardware was naturally the quality of the girls. Everything else was dispensable software—

In Haruto's view, that thinking had surely been outdated for a long time, but on the outskirts of Soul Society, where things remained unchanged for thousands of years, it was actually the prevailing view.

"Good thing."

Haruto patted the bundle he had set in the corner.

"I've never been used to inn bedding anyway. Carrying my own bedroll is a hassle, but it has its benefits."

Haruto looked at the empty room with some resignation.

Forget tea; the room, less than three tsubo in size, didn't even have a table. It was only a place to receive customers temporarily, after all, and before deciding how much to spend, he couldn't complain too much. Haruto had taken a look at the shop when he came in, and it was one of the larger ones on the street.

Fortunately, the shop didn't keep Haruto waiting long.

"Knock, knock, knock."

After a measured knock—the shop's sliding doors were made of layers of coarse paper pasted together, so "knocking" basically meant tapping on the floor or doorframe—and a "come in," an enormous figure filled his entire view of the doorway:

A burly man with fearsome tattoos on his arms appeared outside the sliding door. He looked more like an enforcer than an attendant.

"..."

Haruto spent half a second examining him:

An ordinary person.

Although the man looked frightening, Haruto couldn't sense any Reiatsu from him. At most, he could use his size to bully ordinary people who were also Pluses.

As far as Haruto knew,

The Yoshiwara District was a fairly well-known part of Rukongai in Soul Society, and its public order was quite good compared with the area around East District 40. The pleasure-quarter establishments here had no need to raise male enforcers of their own; dedicated gang members patrolled the streets and kept order.

Most strong, sturdy men like the one before him were gang members who had been kept at the shop to work off debts they couldn't pay.

"Young sir."

Wearing an expression completely at odds with his build, the man rubbed his hands together and smiled ingratiatingly.

"I'm terribly sorry to have kept you waiting. We have rather a lot of customers tonight."

"May I ask..."

Though his tone was respectful, his rather sharp eyes made no attempt to hide the way they sized Haruto up.

"What service would you like?"

"What do you have?"

Haruto had already seen the standard of hospitality in the Yoshiwara District, so naturally he couldn't expect a "menu" that laid out the packages at a glance. As a "diner," he could spend a lifetime studying all the ins and outs involved.

"Hook for three, thigh for four, string for five; mouth for seven, full for eight, garden for nine."

"...?"

The man's little rhyme left Haruto at a loss for a moment.

It took him at least two seconds to recover and work out the first half. Teasing, thigh sex, fingering—the pleasure-quarter proprietor certainly seemed to be a cultured person, to describe the services so elegantly.

But those prices...

"Copper coins?"

Haruto asked tentatively.

"Silver dollars."

"..."

No wonder there were gang members working here because they couldn't pay. These prices really weren't cheap at all. The so-called "silver dollars" were silver coins, second only to gold koban in value within Soul Society's economy.

Haruto might have casually paid a small gold koban at Ōmae Kagura Ramen, but that had been near the noble district inside the Seireitei, and the price had included information. This was only the 45th District, yet it was already expensive enough to require payment in silver dollars...

Haruto remembered that around the 50th District, the going rate seemed to be less than ten copper coins.

The influencer economy really ripped people off.

"How much for the whole night?"

Haruto's question made the man take another couple of looks at him.

"...Ten for the night."

Clearly, that had been part of the package to begin with, but the man hadn't thought Haruto could afford it just now.

"I'll take that."

It really was expensive, but Haruto had come looking for somewhere to sleep. With any service short of the whole night, he'd be thrown out after staying up an extra hour or so.

Besides...

Although Haruto had brought his bedding, the conditions in this room were rather poor. The main problem was that the soundproofing was so bad it would affect his sleep.

"Right away! This way, sir!"

The man's attitude immediately did a complete 180.

"Just as I thought."

Haruto wasn't surprised.

Naturally, different prices brought different treatment. No matter how little attention they paid to soft amenities, they at least had to use the surroundings to separate customers into different ranks.

Haruto got to his feet as well.

"Allow me..."

Haruto picked up his luggage and declined the man's offer to carry it for him:

"I can manage. Just lead the way."

"...You're right to reprimand me, sir."

Someone who would indulge in the pleasure quarters without paying was hardly likely to keep his hands clean, so of course Haruto wouldn't let a guy like that help.

"Creak."

"Creak."

The wooden stairs leading to the second floor

Groaned under the strain with every step.

Unlike the brightly lit first-floor corridor, this area had only a few dim lights, barely enough to make out the silhouette of the person ahead. Only the corners were laid out with extra space. Though it was easy to imagine unpleasant things like murder and robbery, anyone with experience knew this area was actually provided for a few special activities.

He reached the top of the stairs.

As the man leading the way pulled aside the blue-violet curtain blocking the light, a somewhat dazzling glare instantly met his eyes.

And...

An overwhelmingly chaotic scene:

The paper sliding doors separating the rooms were thin and translucent, making it easy to see the intertwined shadows cast by candlelight on the walls.

Across from these private rooms was an especially spacious "playground," with no apparent intention of closing its doors at all. The customers in this large room were clearly playing quite openly, unconcerned about being watched.

Following the man, Haruto happened to glance inside.

"..."

White foundation was plastered all over their bodies, paired with distinctive little dot eyebrows and even teeth deliberately blackened—

Haruto really couldn't appreciate such refined pleasure-quarter art.

Instead, the figure in Soul Reaper robes playing with the half-clothed courtesans in the middle of the room piqued Haruto's curiosity more:

A Soul Reaper.

A shaved-pate hairstyle, a burly body, and a Zanpakuto that never left his side for even a moment, despite his bare upper body.

Plus the Seated Officer's badge casually tossed on the floor with his black hunting robe.

"Eighth seat of the 11th Division."

Haruto had sharp eyes. He immediately spotted the man's identity as a high-ranking Seated Officer of the combat division.

"I thought only the Tenth Division had a chance to visit this place..."

Haruto also glanced at the companions of this 11th Division Seated Officer, sitting behind the long tables around the room.

Flushed faces and youthful features—