The woman nods. John and Joe enter the room. "Oh hello, Vio, Angelita."
"John, Joe. What brings you here?" I ask.
"We are investigating my mother and the trails lead to this place," Joe answers, "we suspect she's still alive somehow."
"I see."
"So, what kind of info could you give us?" Lita asks.
"Well, what are you looking for? If you suspect a Dollmaker base here, I can't say I have seen anything relating to that, but again my position is not very high."
I sigh in dismay. What's the point then?
"But ... maybe some of the more experienced performers know something. I can arrange them to perform for you and from there, you take over," she offers. "I'll need some payment, though. The bosses are pretty careful when it comes to money."
I throw the pouch of gems onto a table. "Take what you need."
"Just a shard of advice from me," she says as she picks a few sapphires from the pouch, "it's better for you to split into pairs. Four people travelling together isn't exactly normal here."
I nod, agreeing. "We have different objectives, after all."
"Alright. Come back in five hours, you boys. Now go away. Violleta and Angelita, follow me."
She leads us into a secret door beneath a rug. Behind it is a wide corridor. Multiple doors are scattered across the corridor with a number above each door, as if this place were a prison.
After a short walk, we reach room number 83. The woman stops, giving us a ticket. "It's here."
"Thanks."
"Careful there."
I open the door, greeted by two scantily clad women. One of them is quite pale and thin with blue hair, tied into a ponytail. The other one has much darker skin and a more well-balanced body. Her black hair is cut short. Both of them have a number tattooed on their arms.
The room itself seems to be designed after a lavish bedroom: a queen sized bed at the centre, and then tables and chairs and lamps and everything else. We seat ourselves on the bed.
"Hello, Mistresses," the short haired one greets.
"Likewise," I reply.
"So, what services you desire from us, Mistresses?"
I swear I'll blast this whole room down if I hear the word "Mistresses" once more.
I draw breath, handing over the ticket to her. She reads it briefly, then signs her name. The blue haired girl does the same. They hand the ticket back to me.
"As ordered."
Only now do I pay attention to the ticket itself. A quarter of an hour of striptease, it would seem, and then two hours of "personal bed service"–I have a decent idea on what that entails.
"Do you think they might know?" I mutter to Lita as the two start their actions.
"Not sure," she replies. "They look awfully young–maybe not even older than I am."
Time passes quickly (I spend more of it looking at the food menu laying around the bed), and fifteen minutes are up. The girls crawl to the bed, starting to toss away what little clothing they have in the first place.
"Wear them back," I order.
"Hmm. You are peculiar, Mistress."
Lita nudges me slightly. Ah! Of course, this is a brothel, after all. It'll be strange if I refuse their services. But, on the other hand ....
"Massage our legs," Lita orders, extending hers. I follow suit.
"Let me handle this," Lita whispers. "What'd you like to eat?"
"Lasagna, I guess."
Lita calls a waiter with a bell. "Four lasagnas," she orders. The veiled waiter leaves.
That's clever! Forging a bond with the girls with a meal might persuade them! Whew, Lita's brilliance hasn't waned at all!
It takes a few minutes for the waiter to return. Lita pulls back her legs, I mirror. The two girls stare at her with confusion.
"Uhm, Mistress?"
"Here, have a meal," Lita offers.
The two girls exchange looks at each other. Somewhat cautiously, they sit on the bed, their metal spoons beginning to dig into their meals.
"So, I haven't heard your names yet," Lita says. "And drop that 'Mistress', will you? It itches my ears."
"I'm Maya Greivy, Miss, and this is my stepsister, Ashley Greivy," the black haired girl answers.
The Greivy family?
"You know Magnolia Greivy?" I ask.
"Ah, she's a cousin of ours," Maya answers. "Well, our branch of family actually broke up with the main family, so to say."
"I see," I reply.
"Hmm .... the Greivy family. How do you end up here then?" Lita asks.
"Well, about that," Maya mutters, scratching her head, "it's a bit humiliating, really." Ashley nudges her sister a bit.
"We were spoilt brats, so to say," Maya starts. "Our father had several solar mana producing plants, so we were quite well-off."
"One time, we went on a gambling frenzy. We had a massive debt and when we asked our father for money, he was furious. His factories had just been shut down because of bankruptcy. He would commit suicide a few weeks later."
Maya sighs. Ashley wipes a few forming tears in her eyes. "We had no skills. We had no specialties. We couldn't do anything while the debt collectors chased us."
"We started selling our bodies, of course, but even that wasn't enough. Then someone came to us. He offered to wipe out our debts in exchange of our eternal services here."
Spontaneously, Ashley bursts into tears. She coils around her sister tightly. "I'm sorry," Maya mumbles, "I was a fool, I shouldn't convince you to fall with me ...."
"You said there was a man," Lita says, "who is he?"
"I don't know," Maya replies, "His face was covered. But I saw him report to his boss–a very pale woman. Her tongue was a bit forked, too. She is often seen in the underground portion of the Oedipus Club."
Dita Luxor!
"Underground portion?" I ask.
"Yes. The entrance is inside the toilets just a few metres from here. Just go straight."
Lita glances at me. I nod. We rise up from bed. I throw a small emerald at Maya. "Here, treat yourselves to a nice meal."
"Huh?" Maya murmurs. "You're leaving, Miss?"
"Yes."
It has to be Dita Luxor. If she's here, there must be something important.