Prostitution Has Saved Humanity

What am I doing here? Mamie never told me this ‘house visit’ would feature such an awkward tea party. I could only stare at my cup of jasmine tea on the table, floundering internally without a clue what I should do or say next, while two beautiful women and Mamie conversed next to me.

Gessho Chiaki, Mamie’s mother, flipped her glistening dark brown hair from time to time and always widened her jade eyes for no reason at all. Her presence had a gravitational pull that commanded my attention to lock onto her every subtle movement.

Nakaya Risa, the Vice President of the Japanese Sex Worker Union, looked no less pretty than Chiaki-san. Glasses framed her celestial blue eyes, and braids gave dimension to the darkness that was her hair. Her conduct seemed to harmonize with Chiaki-san, acting the supporting role and relinquishing the spotlight.

“I don’t think AI will replace escorts yet. It isn’t just about reading expressions and actions and understanding the nuance, but also acting out the best response.”

Then Nakaya-san would supplement with, “There’s also the physical aspect. The touch of the skin, the heat, the textures, and the fluids. Those aren’t so easy to replicate.”

What was their dynamic? Maybe it was like a subordinate sucking up to their boss, but wasn’t Nakaya-san technically Chiaki-san’s boss? But this wasn’t even the most perplexing mystery at this tea party.

Ever since Chiaki-san had brought Nakaya-san into the house, Mamie had that wide smile on her face that I thought was rare but turned out to be common when her mother was around. I had to rub my eyes each time I looked at her, and she must have noticed, because she gave me a covert glare when I did that, muddying the waters further and making me question if this upward angle of her lips’ edges was a mere trick of the light.

“Oh. Oh. I’ve heard that they had been basing AI models on famous escorts too,” Mamie rushed to interject when the slightest gap of silence popped up. Shouldn’t she be this eager during lectures? Instead, she would usually point out mistakes in my notes to pass the time.

And what did I end up doing, even though my insides were panicking as if I had woken up in the middle of the street naked? Smiling and nodding, of course.

Chiaki-san let the last few drops of tea drain from the teapot, jiggling it to ensure that no stray liquid remained, and handed the pot to Mamie. “Mamie, dear. Can you go ask Maeto-san for more tea?”

“Okay,” Mamie nodded to Nakaya-san and received the teapot as she would a royal decree. She took off without a glance at me.

Her absence put up a brief silence, so this might be a better time than any to broach the topic of my expulsion. I grabbed onto the handle of my half-full teacup. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, did you two also graduate from our college?”

The attention of the two women shifted to me. No, that wasn’t right. I had a hunch that their focus had been trained on me since the moment we met, and all they did now was make this fact obvious through their outward gazes.

It was inevitable that they stared, since I was so handsome. Professor Silva would agree with my assessment, but I wasn’t so convinced. Their eyes aimed at a spot beyond my face, ignoring my features and burrowing into my skin at the depth of my soul.

“Do you know that prostitution was once illegal?” Chiaki-san peeled away the cloak of silence with a single question that was irrelevant to what I had asked, and then she took a casual sip of her remaining tea, as if she were talking about the weather.

Why did she change the subject so abruptly? And why did neither of them answer my question? Did I say something wrong? I can’t afford another failure. This might be my final chance to stop my expulsion.

“Wow, that’s interesting.” As my lips parted to speak, their two ends kept their upward arcs. Despite stabilizing the degree of distortion on my face, everything below my neck was a tragic wreck. Sweat seeped from my clutched palm, building humidity like the spring air. My legs swayed on their own, a subtle tremble that I could barely feel. My airy breath made itself known between words. I cared about not messing up this conversation more than I thought I would.

“Those are dark times. Imagine if it were still banned today, people would rely on social media and porn instead of real human connections. And don’t forget about AI chatbots too. So… I’m not exaggerating when I say that prostitution has saved humanity.” A breeze swept her loose hair as she spouted her exaggerated conclusion as if she were campaigning for votes.

“I can’t even imagine.” I nodded. She didn’t seem mad. Maybe she just wanted to talk about this more than about her college years. My muscles loosened upon this comforting thought, and my body drooped slightly, hopefully not enough for the two to notice.

“It might even be one of the most important jobs of all. More so than doctors and politicians and police officers. Because there’s nothing more crucial to human survival than companionship.”

What about food and shelter? Of course, I didn’t let this rhetorical question escape the confines of my mind, and my voice sang a different tune. “Everyone should be allowed to get the companionship they need.”

This time, it was Nakaya-san who carried on the conversation. “Right? And not everyone has the social skills, time, and energy to deal with people. You’ve been served by the Ace Maiden before. You should understand that firsthand. How wonderful it is.” Chiaki-san rubbed her hands together, but I had a suspicion that she meant to start clapping.

“Yep, I had a really good time with Ace Maiden-san. She…” A hollowness crept up my spine and almost wiped the smile off my face, as if my inner organs had all vanished and left only an echo. The memory of my supposedly heavenly first time no longer brought joy. I swallowed a whimper that was about to announce itself; instead, my throat strained to continue the sentence with as natural a tone as possible, “… really show what a skillful escort can achieve.”

“Even though she called for your expulsion?” Chiaki-san said in a flat tone.

Unprepared for this sudden directness, my body trembled as if the ground was shaking from those simple words, and my mouth dried as if her words were absorbent as a sponge. Luckily, this wasn’t a difficult curveball to respond to; in fact, my facial expression still maintained that same polite smile.

“I’m sure she had her reasons.”

“Are her reasons stronger than yours? You even agreed with me on how great the industry is.”

Reasons to whore myself out? They might be as weak as glass in the face of a bullet, but I wouldn’t let my mask crack.

“I respect the Ace Maiden, even though I want to stay in the school.”

“Why? You don’t seem to be the type of person who would.”

The smile on my face, ignoring my wishes for it to stay, slipped away. “Type of person?”

“You read Silva Inc.’s books. Do I have to explain further?” Yes, actually. But I held my quiet demeanor so as not to let emotions overwhelm me, so the two of us merely directed our fakest expressions at each other. Only one thought persisted in my head: if only I were more versed in Professor Silva’s books, then I could talk about his ideas with her. I had to fight hard against the excitement of finally finding a fellow Professor Silva reader, lest I make a fool of myself with my incomplete knowledge.

Nakaya-san adjusted the frame of her glasses as she spoke up, reminding us of her presence. “I’m sure that Kuronuma-kun has a lot of respect for the college. He didn’t mean to offend you with his… out-of-school reading.” Offended? What? Is the Vice President of the Union actually a fraud?

Chiaki-san seemed to have briefly forgotten about Nakaya-san too, leaning back in her chair and raising her eyebrows as she gave an enquiring look at her friend. Under the newfound spotlight, Nakaya-san responded with a warmer grin before taking the lack of retort as a sign to continue. “Kuronuma-kun, how about this? We can talk to the Ace Maiden for you, but you would have to do something for us.”

I swallowed as softly as I could. Usually, these words would precede something absolutely unreasonable. “And what is that?” I managed to keep my voice steady.

Nakaya-san tapped her cheeks. Her previous passivity evaporated like the afternoon rain. “Didn’t Chiaki-chan complain about it earlier? Kuronuma-kun can help with that. Help Mamie-chan become the representative of the college.”

All the hostility that had been swirling within Chiaki-san seemed to have dissipated at once, and even the edges in her gaze had softened, but I couldn’t relax. Even though I had only understood half of the sentence, I could already sense that this condition was indeed, unreasonable.