CHAPTER 5.5: A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

***The City of Stadtsberg, present capital of the League of Valley Cities…***

Ever since the Prince Giuseppe Uhrian—riding on his popularity for siding with the Holy Coalition in the aftermath of the Imperial War and the Great Rising of the Undead—was elected to the Stadtholder’s office, the focus of economic and political developments in the area of the Valley Cities shifted to the city proper where the halfling prince ruled. As such, Stadtsberg was the first city to have its own train lines and stations, with the latter scattered throughout the districts that comprised the old and new parts of the region.

“…”

And because of that, Kuro was eager to try the public transport system of the city, as it was the first to implement the tram-to-train scheme that made the journeys around Stadtsberg faster and only within a couple of hours.

While he’s used to public transports in his world like the Light Rail Transit, the Duke of Maverny likes to experience the ones made in Chersea.

“…”

Aside from touring around Stadtsberg, which Kuro thought that it closely resembled an early 20th century Earth city, he had another reason to come back. A week ago, he received mail from the Prince, requesting to meet with him at the dwarf halfling’s castle. By then, the preparations for his expedition to Equality was in full-swing; he was just waiting for a ship to take him to the border crossing of Chersea-Equality. However, the prince was clear that it was an urgent request, so Kuro decided to hurry alone. After all, he could always protect himself by blending into the crowd, or by killing his would-be assassins through conventional weapons, or his god-powers.

“…”

There was also another underlying cause for the Duke of Maverny to come without his escorts and entourage. It’s been a while since he got to experience his old life as a commoner. Of course, Kuro appreciated his rise to Chersea’s nobility, but there were times he’d get tired mingling with the ‘big shots’, especially when each meeting required strict protocols and rigid movements so as not to be interpreted as a fool, contemptuous, or barbaric.

Wearing his casual clothes instead of his noble garments, the Duke immediately took a detour upon setting foot in Stadtsberg. He was expected at the Prince Uhrian’s castle later that afternoon, and since he arrived at the Main Station during the mid-morning, he decided to go around for a while. One of the places he wished to visit was the old tavern where he reunited with the mercenary leader Gryffith and the members of his ‘Band of the Oak’. That particular mercenary group became the core of the ‘peacekeeping force’ under the employ of the Human Saint, so it was only natural that the place would be nearly devoid of familiar people when he stood at its rustic façade.

However, while Kuro was walking to the tavern, he did notice a small marker by the doorway that greeted the guests with, ‘Here, the famous Band of the Oak under the mercenary leader Gryffith of New Elebor and the Commoner General, the Lord Kuro of Arles, joined forces to fight under Her Holiness’ banner’. The metal plague was signed by the Prince Uhrian himself, and though it was nearly obscured by dirt and rust to its edges, it still occupied a prominent spot in that place.

Drunk in nostalgia, Kuro did not hesitate in entering the tavern.

“…”

What greeted him immediately, however, was not an empty hall nor a tavern interior full of unfamiliar people. Once he set his foot at the entrance, a pair of beautiful ladies—each wore almost revealing clothes, and their bodies adorned with jewelry—appeared and were quick to lock their arms around him, never intending to let the duke go.

“Welcome, master!”

“We’ve been waiting for you!”

Kuro was shocked; he didn’t know what to do, or how to deal with these types of people. His nature of work in his old world never permitted him to frequent such places. Ironically, so was when he gained a bit of ‘freedom’ when he came to Chersea. His hands were full of traveling around the realms, running away from his enemies and dealing with problems, that he never got to experience going to brothels.

“…” Wait, this place got turned into a brothel?

As far as he could remember, this place wasn’t one. Or maybe, he just didn’t notice it was one, especially when he first came here, he was too focused with Gryffith and his mercenary company. The duke tried pulling away from the ladies that ‘captured’ him. However, it seemed that they were trained to ‘pull in’ their hapless customers—even the accidental ones, and never let go when the opportunity presented itself.

“Oh, dear master, where are you going?”

“Please relax and stay with us!”

“Sorry, I have somewhere else to go to,” Kuro, half-pleading, told them. However, he knew he couldn’t escape without getting violent with the ladies. As he was trying to keep his cover, he didn’t want to get into a fight, so he just allowed himself to be dragged into the brothel, having planned to scoot after just a few minutes.

----------

The hostesses brought the duke to one of the empty seats facing the barmaid’s counter. Once settled down, the barmaid took his order, while the two ladies remained at both his sides, ensuring the duke would find it difficult to just walk away.

“Sorry,” Kuro told them. “Uh, but can you please leave me alone?”

“No can do, mister,” one of the ladies replied, playfully tracing his cheek with her finger. “Now that you’re here, why don’t you relax and play with us?”

“I always relax alone,” he revealed.

“Oh, a shy one, huh?” the other lady chuckled. “I always love book lovers…and, you smell like one.” She whispered those to the duke’s in an attempt to get him ‘going’.

Nevertheless, Kuro remained unmoved, “Ladies, I appreciate your time trying to keep me company, but I seriously don’t need it.” Then, he reached for his pocket and handed them gold coins, along with a piece of paper. “If you’re being forced against your will, or you want another line of work, you can come to the city of Maverny in the Empire and show that to the militia. They’ll lead you to my master.”

“M-Master? You’re a noble’s servant?” the hostesses lost their character, and were surprised at the duke’s gesture. But they looked at the symbol on the paper anyway. One of them was quick to recognized the coat-of-arms printed on it…

“This…This is…?” one of them exclaimed, though she quickly lowered her voice when she noticed everyone’s attention focused on them.

“I’m a servant of the House of Maverny,” Kuro winked at them, also speaking in whispers. “If you don’t like what you’re doing here, I can help you find better jobs in the Duke of Maverny’s household, since he needed people.”

The gold coins, combined with the duke’s business-like smile, were enough to convince the brothel ladies of his cover. “Yes, but what job are we expecting there?” one of them asked.

“He needs servants and guards.”

“How about a bed companion?”

Kuro shook his head, “He’s got lots of lovers, already, so he won’t need one.” Not like he was lying there; he really did have a company of ladies to marry.

The first hostess then nudged at her friend, “We’re finally getting out of here, Lilian!” Excited at the prospect of moving up in life, the ladies then smiled, winked at him and excused themselves, just in time for Kuro’s order to arrive.

----------

The ‘tavern’ where Kuro reunited with the ‘Band of the Oak’ years before was almost the same as when he first came there. The rustic interiors and exteriors. Worn out, wooden stools and round tables with no tablecloths. Tankards filled with ale and cheap, lacquered bowls filled with food meant for commoners. Everything was exactly what he expected to return to, except for that wooden stage at the middle of the dining hall. It was new to him, though one look and anyone could tell it was an old elevated platform that hadn’t been moved for years. As it was still ‘midday’, the other hostesses entertained the rest of the customers, instead of dancing on that stage.

The duke couldn’t help but question his memories if it really was a brothel, or a tavern, as he originally remembered.

“…”

But in any case, now that his ‘trip down the memory lane’ was over, Kuro resolved to leave the place. It was getting awkward for him to stay there for long, anyway.

“…”

Just as he was about to head to the entrance, however, two big, burly men with clubs on their hands blocked his way. Kuro tried to go around them, assuming that he might be wrong for assuming that he was their target, but they clearly placed themselves on the entrance to keep him from leaving.

“Do you need anything from me, gentlemen?” the duke asked, his hand quickly reaching for his dagger inside his sling bag.

The men nodded at each other, before one of them answered, “Our mistress wants you.”

“No,” Kuro shook his head. “I don’t want another extra service. I’m already leaving.”

“Extra services?” they chuckled, flashing their clubs to his face. “No, mister. We’re not asking you to come with us; we’re merely informing you.”

The duke noticed that the other customers and hostesses were already going to safer places, leaving him and the thugs alone at the dining hall. As such, he reached for his gun in his bag and showed it to them. “You’re bringing clubs to a fight with someone with a gun?”

At that point, the thugs realized they were outgunned, and softened their tones. “Mister, we’re sorry for scaring you, but please, will you come with us? Our mistress will kill us if you don’t.”

“I see…” the duke lowered his weapon. “Well, it’s not that I’m stubborn to keep you guys hanging. Take me to her, then.”

----------

The thugs took Kuro to a backroom, hidden in some hallways deep into the brothel. As he had the upper hand, he asked them to lead him, instead of him walking before them. The duke found it amusing, though; these guys were just there to intimidate what looked to them as ‘weak pushovers’, and would crumble before people who would fight back. At the end of one of the dark corridors, one of his ‘escorts’ opened a door that led to a wide hall.

“…”

On the other side, facing the entrance, was their ‘mistress’ and the owner of that place, sitting on her cushioned recliner. However, contrary to any of Kuro’s expectations, her appearance was not the tall, dark-haired, mature-looking, bombshell of a ‘madam’ commonly found in Asian crime syndicate movies. If anything, the duke thought he was looking at a ‘miner’, for she wore a woolen apron that also served as her skirt, a leather bra, and a pair of eyeglasses. The dirt of her face and exposed limbs, as well as her petite yet well-built body, added to his impression that she was a thug than the ‘mistress’ of the brothel.

“So, you—”

“Yes,” the lady answered gruffly, swinging her big war hammer as if it was made of paper. “If you’re having doubts, then I’m certainly the owner of this place. And if you find my height weird, it’s because I’m a dwarf! But I can certainly kick your human ass.”

“Hello, then!”

“You are that Imperial noble’s servant, eh?” she looked at him from head to toe, to which, her subordinates followed with a mocking laugh. “Not too shabby. I think you might do for this brothel’s waiter, or maybe a carrier.”

“I think you’re making an assumption,” Kuro said to her. “I’m not here to work for you.”

“You’re also making an assumption, human,” the dwarf lady chuckled. “Are you thinking that, perhaps, if you try to leave this place quietly after giving weird ideas to my girls, we’d just leave you alone? Oh no! You’re mistaken.”

“I’m a servant of the House of Maverny.”

“And so? That noble can come here to claim you if he wishes, I don’t give a fuck. Debts must be paid.”

“When did I become indebted to you?” the duke replied.

“Since the time you gave ideas to my girls. They’re asking to leave my brothel to work for your master and pay off their debts to me.”

“Isn’t that normal? You and my master can negotiate.”

“I don’t like dealing with human nobles. You and your master are fucking pricks, dipping your nose into someone else’s business. What, are there no beautiful girls in your place that you resort to grabbing another’s employees?” the dwarf mocked. “You don’t know what I’m capable of, especially in this place!”

“Well, perhaps you also don’t know what the House of Maverny can do?”

“Do I look like I care?”

More than intimidated, Kuro was amused. Nevertheless, he wished not to aggravate the situation, so he just shook his head. “Maybe we just got off on a wrong footing,” he told her, lowering his voice. “The House of Maverny wishes no feud with you, err…”

“Lady Martelle,” the dwarf continued his sentence.

“Yes, Lady Martelle, the Ducal House of Maverny doesn’t want enemies,” the duke reiterated. “We can pay for those employees of yours who would come to us, and also their debts. Double if you wish!”

“The money is tempting, I must admit,” the dwarf revealed. “However, Iya and Henrietta are two of my most beautiful girls! And since you already revealed that you work for some rich snot-nosed human assholes, why don’t we make off money from you? After all, if your master truly values his servants, he’ll surely come to rescue you, right?”

“I won’t try it if I were you.”

“You really are confident of your aristocrat, huh?” she grinned. “Well, let me tell you, fucker, you’re in my territory. Even the prince of Stadtsberg and his soldiers fear venturing into these parts of the city. I make the laws here!” Then, the dwarf stood up from her recliner and swung her war hammer around, much to the fear of her subordinates. They quickly backed off as she stretched her limbs and moved her neck. “For starters, why don’t we show you why I’m the one who rules this place?”

At that point, Kuro knew that the negotiations finally broke down. And since he was also in a hurry, he wanted to finish the drama as soon as he could. He pulled his gun from his sling bag, and heated the iron-mithril needed.

“Oh! So, you’ll really use that on me, huh?” the dwarf lady smiled when she saw his revolver. “You humans are so cowardly that you always resort to using weapons of cowardice to gain unfair advantage on your enemies!”

“Lecture me on fairness once you let those ladies go,” the duke chuckled and trained his gun on her. As he never wanted to kill the dwarf unless she did something worse, Kuro deliberately missed his shot, and hit the ground near her instead.

However, the dwarf lady took that as a sign that he’s provoking her and attacked. “My stupid uncle would always stop me from swinging this hammer, human!” she told him. “Be happy that you’re the first to taste its wrath!”

Though he was inferior to the dwarf when it came to raw physical strength, Kuro made up for this through his nimble footwork, trained by Ursura, the Lady Henristone and Monfort. While his opponent made wide swings that missed, the duke just ‘danced’ his way out of her attacks, further exhausting her. While the dwarf couldn’t hit the human, she would end up crashing on walls or the pillars that held the ceiling of that hall.

When they saw their mistress being played upon by her enemy, her thugs pulled their weapons and was about to join the fray when she stopped them. “Fuck off!” she bellowed to them. “Let me bash the skull of this human!”

Nevertheless, Kuro was actually having fun making her look like a fool. The dwarf may have power, but she was an idiot when she fights, leaving her guard wide open and doing some unnecessary footwork. Finally, the duke had enough of the show, and he stopped from evading her attacks.

“Heh, you finally decided to step up!” the dwarf triumphantly declared, raising her war hammer as she summoned her strength to finish their fight. “I’ll make you regret that you came here!”

Just as her hammer fell on Kuro, however, the duke showed the distant difference in experience between them. While the dwarf jumped above him, he slipped away from her weapon and directly to under her. She also saw his movement, but she was too slow to change the course of her attack. Kuro then switched to the handle of his gun, and sent it crashing on her stomach.

Needless to say, disgusting puke filled the place, as the dwarf was sent flying away from the Duke of Maverny, unconscious.