Chapter 64: Roots, Part Three

A couple of hours later, Xhez and Rin were walking out of the adventurer's old home, waving goodbye at Lyn as they emerged onto the street with Xhez in her disguise. They were heading to the Silver Rose because Rin wanted to greet her best friend and her ex-boss.

All the while, Xhez analyzed everything around her with elated eyes, but Rin stopped in her tracks.

"Hm?" Xhez noticed, stopping as well. "Is anything wrong?"

"..." Rin blinked as she had a sudden realization.

[Wait,] she thought. [I'm taking Xhez to a whorehouse.]

She hadn't quite thought this through until now. Here they were, halfway through to Rin's old workplace, and it had just dawned on her that she was throwing a lamb into a lion's den.

"Uh, Xhez," Rin said, awkwardly. "Come over here for a second."

"Huh? Sure."

Rin pulled the water sprite aside to a narrow, gloomy alley. Xhez appeared to be both confused and curious as Rin tried to think of how she was going to word this.

"Okay," she started, "so, listen, we're going to a place that's... kinda strange. You're gonna see a lot of weird stuff, but I'd say it's probably best not to interact with anyone on your own because, otherwise, well, they're going to try to involve you in weird stuff."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Stuff like... Hm," Rin looked away. She wondered how she should go about explaining this. Quickly, though, she got an idea. "Actually, it might be better to show you than tell you. Can that Spiritual Connection thing show you specific memories?"

"Yes," Xhez answered. "As long as you focus hard on them."

"Alright, then, yeah, do that, cause I suck at explaining things anyway."

"Right away," Xhez stated and the two of them hid behind a big dumpster, sitting in front of each other. Xhez leaned forward and their heads touched. Rin took a deep breath, as the sprite held onto her, and the spell began.

She chose a moment that had been a small ray of light amidst a sea of bad moments. It was one instance where a bored housewife had gotten away from her family for an evening and chose to spend it with one of the workers at the Silver Rose, who just so happened to end up being Rin herself. Rin could remember that particular time as being fairly decent compared to her usual sessions, so she let Xhez view that particular memory, out of all the ones she had to offer.

At the same time, however, as she was showing Xhez that memory, Rin saw herself in Xhez's body, sitting at the bottom of that pond in her regular size, bored and lonely as her mothers were away, somewhere else. It was a reminder of that isolation Xhez had grown up with, something she was glad to be alleviating now.

By the time they were done, when Rin opened her eyes, she found Xhez blushing intensely, though a smile was tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Well... There you go," Rin said after clearing her throat. "That's sex."

"Goodness," Xhez laughed. "My heart is racing, every part of me feels so warm!" She laughed. "What curious things that lady did with her tongue, it's so strange..."

"Uh, yeah," Rin nodded, brushing this aside, "anyway, the point is, the place we're heading to right now, remember what I said about jobs? How people have to do things for money? Well, in that place, people do the stuff that I just showed you to get paid. The ones who ask for those services are called 'customers', and if you're not careful, they'll confuse you for one of them."

"Ohhh, I see!" Xhez nodded.

"You understand? I'm just saying, try not to talk to anyone who, uh, looks particularly naked. Chances are they work there."

And, with that being said, the two continued on their walk. However, Xhez was strangely quiet now. Not in a sad way, rather, it was the opposite. She was wearing a wide smile on her face as her eyes remained fixed on the ground while she paced next to the adventurer. Rin raised a brow and tapped on her shoulder.

"Uh, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes," Xhez quickly answered. "I am just contemplating the memory you showed me. It was fascinating. Can you tell me something?"

"Sure."

"What is the point of that activity?" Xhez asked. "Is there some practical benefit?"

"... Sometimes," Rin replied. "Remember how I said that sprites and humans don't reproduce the same way? Well, yeah, that's how it's done when a guy and a girl do it. But, not always," Rin looked away then. "Some people do it just cause it feels nice. Some couples do it to express their love for each other. Some people do it cause they're bored and they have nothing better to do. Others do it cause it's a good distraction. If you have a rough day," she offered as an example, "you could always take a trip down to the Silver Rose and it was my job to do my best to cheer you up."

"It sounds complex," Xhez responded and Rin chuckled.

"Guess so," Rin replied with a sigh.

That smile didn't fade from Xhez's face to the point where Rin worried that she'd genuinely just corrupted a formerly pure-hearted individual. Still, it appeared that she'd understood everything she needed to in order for no accidents to happen during this trip to the Silver Rose.

Rin's own words circled in her mind a little. Before, while she had worked there, she hadn't thought much about these different reasons that people could have to go to the brothel. She was too busy hating most of her time there for that to matter. Now, however, that she'd distanced herself a little, she could see that she'd, hopefully, made a couple of people's days better, and that provided a tiny, minuscule amount of satisfaction in her heart.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the Silver Rose, and Rin took a deep breath.

[... This is so weird,] she thought. [Well, let's see how this goes.]

And, as Rin looked over at Xhez to make sure she was ready, the two of them walked inside. Immediately, music found its way to Rin's ears as she and Xhez went through the front door.

That music mixed with the sights that followed was something that Rin knew would be a moment of sensory overload for anyone who came in here for the first time.

Xhez gasped next to her and Rin could guess that was what she was going through right now, as the two had walked into what was probably the most colorful place in Dren.

Half-naked men and women strutting from one expensive couch to another, teasing customers who had come to pick one out to take to the nearby apartments. The assistant in the middle of the lounge was taking calls and organizing the sessions for each of the workers. Workers were recharging over at the bar, trying to fill themselves with a bit of alcoholic energy.

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This had been Rin's second home for three long years, and now, she was here as almost a different woman, with a new friend by her side.

"This is incredible!" Xhez said in a loud whisper to her.

"Uh, yeah, it's quite the sight, I can imagine," Rin answered. Her eyes scanned the room, until a couple of workers looked up and saw her.

"Divine, is that Rin!?" One of them asked, and when the people in the lobby heard that, it was like her arrival had been announced via a microphone, the way everyone's heads turned toward her.

"RIN!" One of the young sex workers yelled and suddenly, a crowd of half-naked people formed in front of her.

All while Xhez's eyes darted from one person to another with great interest.

"H-Hey," Rin greeted them awkwardly.

"We thought you'd died!" One of them, a cute, slightly airheaded, girl with bobbed pink hair and heavy eye shadow, stated.

"What?"

"Yeah, Felix told us about how you went up to Libera to become an adventurer or something. Did you quit?" She asked.

"N-No, I'm still doing it, I just came by to visit," Rin managed to squeeze out as she was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. When they heard that, a few of them grinned and one girl stood up on a nearby couch.

"Let's get some drinks going, Rin's back!" She yelled and the Silver Rose's workers cheered.

[Oh, please, don't make this a bigger deal than it is,] Rin thought as she sighed.

The same girl with the pink hair noticed Xhez, then, finally, and she blinked twice before asking:

"Huh? Rin, who's this?"

"Oh, uh," Rin pulled Xhez closer, "this is my little sister, Xhez."

"You have a sister?" That pink-haired girl asked.

"Yep," Rin answered as the crowd then ran away from Rin, to the bar, where they were going to stock up on drinks for the occasion. "Anyway, where's Felix? I wanted to say hi to him."

"Oh, he's out with a customer right now," she said. "He might be back soon."

"Hm... And Jay?"

"In her office!" The girl pointed at it helpfully and Rin nodded.

"Thanks," she said, and she pulled Xhez with her, to the back.

As the two got away from the workers, it was as though they'd already forgotten about her as they focused on the alcohol they were buying. Rin stood outside of Jay's office with Xhez next to her, feeling like she was already tired.

"I love this place," Xhez proclaimed next to her, and Rin raised a brow. "Its energy is so agreeable!"

"Uh... Awesome," Rin muttered before raising up her hand and knocking twice on Jay's door.

A short series of muffled footsteps later, and the door opened, and Rin's old boss stood in front of her, shocked.

"L-..." She had been about to say her mother's name when she focused a little closer. "Rin!?"

"... Hey, boss," Rin said, and a smile appeared naturally on her face. As annoying as this woman could be, she couldn't deny that Jay had taken good care of her throughout her time here.

"What the hell?" And then, her eyes went to Xhez. "And..." She went silent.

"Uh, can I explain inside?" Rin asked, gesturing at the door.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, come in," Jay stated, leaving the door open for the two of them, and Rin walked in with Xhez.

Once they were inside, Rin turned toward Jay and put her hands on her hips.

"So, how...?"

She was cut off, however, when Jay hugged her tightly.

"Fucking hell, Rin. I don't see you for a month and you don't even have the decency to hug me? Did they teach you nothing about manners up there?" Jay asked, and Rin could tell there was no actual bite behind her words.

So, with a smile of her own, she returned the hug and let out a deep breath.

"It's nice to see you again too, boss."

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