Demon World’s Brothel - Demon World's Brothel – Chapter 75

“What is the point of a soup kitchen?” Dire glanced at me with interest.

“Humans will be able to come to get a small meal for free, as well as clothing, and a shower… and um, amenities.”

“Clothes too?” He asked in surprise.

“This half is food, but if you go through that door.” I pointed to a door to our left, pressed against my building. “The door we just entered is the exit. All people who enter will have to go through these rooms first. They must strip down, bathe, and get fresh clothing if they want a bowl.”

“I understand providing food and clothing, but why make it mandatory?” Dire asked.

“Sal brings out a carriage, rounds up a hundred women on the promise of a meal, then beats and molests them, and he receives no comeuppance.”

Dire wore a strange look. “That’s no reason to emulate him.”

“My girls pointed something out that resonated with me. They said that once you give a woman something for free, she comes to expect it. I offered these women a chance to improve their lives, and they chose to riot for a meal instead. I realized that my mistake was my choice.

“Ch-choice, you say?”

“By forcing them to go through these doors, we can get a census of the women. Do you even know how many humans are in this city? What their ages are? What race?”

“That is… we’ve tried… but they scurry like… ahem… they avoid us,” Dire admitted.

“So, we register them here. They come. They exchange their identity and pride, and they get clean clothes and food.”

“Not everyone will come…”

“True, but how many do you think will be left in that crowd after they’ve had a meal? How about when their identity is known?”

“You’re ready to open this soup kitchen… now?” Dire asked uncertainly.

“That’s why I needed the money for the last bit of supplies.” I lied. “We’ll be able to open in a few hours.”

He nodded. “In that case, we’ll hold the front. When you’re ready, we’ll allow them in one at a time.”

“Good. Don’t give them a choice. Call it an involuntary inspection.”

“Ah… y-yeah…” He didn’t like the idea, but he agreed to it and that was all that mattered.

I waited until he left and then I went into the back room behind the counter. This room was a massive kitchen. I had pulled the parts from our kitchen into here. Elizabeth might panic at seeing her precious kitchen moved, but I couldn’t afford to have them work out of such a small space given my new goals. I had also split the plumbing from the other building, so both places were feeding off the same plumbing and boiler, this is one of the reasons the showers were on the left side of the new building.

I opened a door that crossed over to my main building. Specifically, the hallway that had been our residence. I pulled a chain and various bells rang across each room. As my establishment grew, I realized I didn’t want to have to run around yelling every time I needed to gather the girls, so I worked out a system similar to their emergency bell which would call on them.

Elizabeth would use it the most when she was calling us for dinner, but it was convenient now. Four doors opened, and five heads poked out.

“Come on, we’re going to work.”

The girls were all naturally curious about my plans. Even Daphne didn’t complain as she joined them through the door that hadn’t been there before. Elizabeth tensed as she saw her kitchen had disappeared. In its place was another bedroom. I brought them into Devon’s Soup Kitchen. Well, no one ever said I was good at naming things.

“This is… another extension?” Elizabeth asked as she noticed the larger kitchen.

“This is… a new business,” I explained. “We’ll also be moving.”

“We’re losing our bedrooms?” Daphne’s eyes flashed.

“Relax, you’re being given new rooms.” I pointed up. “I’ve renovated the upstairs to be our new living quarters. Since your roles in my business will no longer be purely physical, this will be your job.”

“What exactly are our new roles?” Alleya asked.

“This place will feed and dress women,” I explained, giving them a quick tour of the lower levels. “Elizabeth, I’ll need you in the kitchen cooking.”

“Y-yes!”

“Alleya, you’ll be changing room and showers. You’re going to be welcoming them in.”

“I suppose I can do that.”

“Diana, you’ll be taking census. I want their names, age, and general location. People may only be given one bowl of soup.”

“What do I get to do?” Daphne asked.

“You’ll have the register… ahem, you’ll be distributing food. Same to you, if someone tries to go through twice, kick them. If they try a third time, ban them.” I turned to Luna, who looked at me expectantly. “You’ll keep the common room clean, return bowls to the kitchen, and also wash dishes.”

“Luna will!”

“Wait, why do I have to distribute food?” Daphne asked.

“Frankly… because you’re a bitch.”

“Tell me how you feel…”

“You won’t let a crowd of women push you around. If they get pushy or try to cause trouble, I trust you to handle it. I also don’t want the experience to be too pleasant for them.”

“Is this because of what we discussed the other day?” Alleya asked helplessly.

I gave a short nod. “You opened my eyes. It’s clear to me that women would burn down their own houses because they feel cold. If they don’t want to survive, then I’ll just force them kicking and screaming.”

“That’s… not really what I meant.”

“Master, I can see a bit of your plan, but there is something I don’t understand. This doesn’t seem… profitable.” Diana said.

“Perhaps Master wants to do this out of the kindness of his… no, I couldn’t get that out with a straight face.” Alleya covered her face.

I frowned as all the girls looked my way with amusement. “This is an investment. Get ready… I’ll show you in a bit.”

It took a few hours for the girls to get the hang of things, but once Elizabeth had several giant pots of soup made and everyone else was in position, I told Lieutenant Dire to start letting them in one at a time. By this point, the smell of food had already permeated the block. The rumor that they were being fed also threw a wet blanket on their riot.

A young girl of about sixteen was allowed, she looked around nervously, almost stepping into the exit, although I hit a switch so it would no longer open that way. The door opened, and Alleya gestured her in.

“I-I was promised food?” She asked nervously now that she was no longer protected by the anonymity of the crowd.

“First, you must bathe.” Alleya said.

“Th-this…” She seemed cautious.

“Into the shower, or get lost!” Alleya glared.

The girl nervously removed her rags, stepping into one of six showers set up in a row. Alleya showed her how to turn on the water. The girl did so, crying out as water fell on her. However, she started to clean herself as soon as she realized how it worked. As she showered, Alleya threw her rags out, and then after looking both ways, opened up a door and slid in.

“How did I do?” She asked.

“Fine.” I nodded absently, looking at the naked girl bathing in the shower. “What do you think of her?”

“She’s pretty enough, but she seems a bit frail,” Alleya responded.

“So did you when I first got you.”

“I became your loyal minion. Do you plan to make every employee your minion?”

“No…” I admitted.

I didn’t know how many minion slots I’d get. I had to be careful about selecting them in the future.

“This feels like a massive violation of privacy.” Elizabeth said.

“What privacy?” I snorted. “If these girls want food, then they need to take my test. If they won’t audition for me willingly, I’ll just make them audition for me like this. Shouldn’t you be cooking?”

“I-I have more soup cooking now. Wouldn’t you rather I read their minds to make sure they are acceptable?”

“Well?

“She’s quite desperate. She has thoughts of seducing you and becoming your main woman,” Elizabeth responded unhappily.  

I thought about it for a few more seconds and then hit the wall next to the see-through glass twice. I heard one knock from Diana in response. The girl’s shower abruptly ended. She looked around in confusion as her curtain was suddenly flung open. Instead of the princess, it was a little girl standing there.

Diana smiled. “Congratulations, you’ve been selected as a special guest today. I’ll need your name and age. You can take this tag and head to our special dining area.”

“Wh-where are my clothes?” she asked, shivering.

“Oh… those won’t be needed.” Diana’s eyes twinkled.

From now on, I’d be recruiting aggressively.