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Chapter 231

The southwestern region of Bern village was a commercial district lined with countless stores of all sizes. These stores were built by merchants who had traveled here in anticipation of continued development in the future.

A number of stores could be found between the south gate and the central square in the middle of the village, though these were mostly street stalls and food stands. In fact, proper shops were relatively few.

A proposal to establish the southwestern village grounds as lodging land for merchants had once been raised as it was safer than the south. The reasoning was that the southwest was closer to Galois, and Christina had since recognized the logic of the idea. With this knowledge in mind, she then developed the southwest of the village into a commercial center.

The stores ranged from those that sold special products only traded in Bern, to shops that sold goods that had entered Bern for the very first time. There were also a number of stores that sold weapons, armor, and medical supplies to the rapidly increasing number of adventurers and mercenaries in the village.

In this commercial district, new stores popped up endlessly. Even the first brothel in Bern village was about to open in a secluded area considered unsuitable for business. No matter how strict the regulations were, such a raunchy facility was likely to be set up illegally as the village expanded. Hence, this very brothel was publicly owned and operated by the barony to maintain public safety alongside profit.

The vast site was enclosed by a huge wall to prevent lawless hooligans from trespassing. A five-story main building was built, together with an annex for prostitutes of all genders to reside in. Most of the workers at the brothel were either newcomers who had relocated here in the past year, or job applicants who had responded to the open recruitment held by Christina in various areas as the baroness.

Some of these individuals had already been working as prostitutes for a living, while others had no other means of earning money. The latter simply endured the humiliation of selling their bodies and came knocking at the brothel.

Since the brothel was publicly owned, the highest authority in the place was naturally Christina, the baroness of the region.

Christina had once worked as a housemaid in a brothel after she lost her mother and became an orphan. However, she was clueless about the mannerisms and bedroom techniques of a prostitute.

There was no suitable leader in Bern village to manage the brothel, and Christina could only enlist the help of the Dragon-Succubi she was well acquainted with to ensure the safety of the workers in the brothel. Even though these dragons were the best-qualified folks for the job, they were far too perfect for it. It was no wonder that Dran and Christina even warned customers not to become addicted and reliant on these services.

Despite these warnings from both lord and employer, these Dragon-Succubi felt blessed with the opportunity to be of service to Dran. Hence, Lilyeltiel, goddess of the Dragon-Succubi, led the rest of her fellow dragons to instruct all the other workers at the brothel. They enthusiastically guided amateur prostitutes and seasoned prostitutes alike about the rules of the public brothel and tricks to employ in the bed chamber.

Not all prostitutes engaged in sexual intercourse in the brothel. Some simply accompanied customers and served food and drinks, while others only performed acts that did not involve sexual intercourse. Naturally, the services which these prostitutes were willing to provide depended on the amount of money they received.

There were also a number of chores to be done in the brothel, from cooking in the kitchen to washing dishes, cleaning the rooms after they had been used, and washing clothes. Those who were hesitant to start working as prostitutes or unable to do so could be paid for handling such chores.

The public brothel was protected from venereal diseases and unwanted pregnancies with the blessings of Lilyeltiel and the other Dragon-Succubi. Moreover, market research had been done, and the wages of the prostitutes at this brothel were higher than average rates.

Among those who came to work at the brothel included those whose backgrounds were suspiciously clean, as well as mistresses of rich merchants or nobles and prostitutes tied to other brothels. Such folks were simply trying to obtain information about the barony of Bern through the public brothel.

There were others who volunteered to work as merchants or soldiers of the barony, while others applied for employment as servants or cooks in Christina’s residence. Evidently, there were probably other spies infiltrating the village through alternate means.

Among these folks was a secret agent dispatched by the Marquis of Almadia. Out of concern for Christina, the Marquis of Almadia had sent someone to guard her in secret. This particular individual only served to complicate matters within Christina’s household, but both Christina and Dran were well aware of their presence.

The practice of deploying secret agents as spies or agents to carry out other tasks was common in the past, and there were no signs of changing such a practice in the developing barony at the moment. In fact, Christina and Dran had seriously proposed winning the loyalty of this agent or paying money for insider information on the lands. Each time, Dramina would only offer a troubled smile. As a former queen of a great kingdom, she did feel that Christina and Dran were demonstrating an unusual amount of graciousness.

Thus, with the completion of this facility indispensable to the satisfaction of human desires, a new hotbed for the espionage of secret agents was formed in Bern village.

The attendees of the previous religious meeting were naturally alerted by the existence of the public brothel in Bern, where Dragon-Succubi were actively involved in its operations. Since many of these attendees were not in a position to take advantage of this new establishment, they were faced with the dilemma of being unable to gather information about it.

However, unprecedented events constantly occurred in the barony of Bern. As time passed, Bern village was slowly becoming an outrageous box of surprises for the clergy of the various orders, old and new residents, merchants who had come after picking up the scent of money, and adventurers in search of wealth and fame.