"Young Master Masaya, have a drink!"
"Yes, yes! This is the Entertainment District's finest brew!"
"A Pot of Maiden's Spring is made by fresh young girls-hey!"
Before he could finish, the men at the brothel banquet burst into knowing laughter.
Haruto paused with his cup raised, holding it beneath the overhead light to take a good look at the liquor inside.
After being educated by such delicacies as "Lip Tea" and "Chewed Sake," he kept a respectful distance from any wondrous products bearing words like "maiden" or "pure."
"Hahahaha! Young Master Masaya is blushing!"
Some merchant eager to kiss the Shibamoto family's feet pointed at Haruto's hesitation and roared with laughter, only to receive a slap to the back of the head from the man beside him.
"You idiot! Young Master Masaya is from Kyoto! The Shimabara Entertainment District in Kyoto has every kind of beauty imaginable!"
"Exactly! A handsome young man like Young Master Masaya must have oiran practically throwing themselves into his arms!"
Haruto quietly sighed to himself. He was used to the straightforward relationships in the Demon Slayer Corps, where members could even headbutt their superiors. Put him at a banquet full of flattery and fawning like this, and he really couldn't take it.
Miyamaru Rei was a subordinate who knew how to read the room; otherwise, he would never have become a trusted member of the Shibamoto family's staff. A brief glance was all he needed to notice Haruto's distraction.
He lifted the sake flask to refill Haruto's cup and said, "Still, Yoshiwara in Tokyo has its own unique charm. There must be hundreds of brothels, large and small. I wonder how many truly famous oiran there are?"
The men at the banquet brightened up. Now this was their area of expertise.
Ask these men who