Chapter 2: Beginning of a Show Introduction part 2

William awoke to find that the ceiling above him had changed. To be perfectly accurate, there was just no ceiling at all. He was lying on a bed outside.

Honestly, you'd have thought he'd been the victim of a joke if he hadn't been in a hospital the day before.

"Did I die?" he asked aloud, as if that were the only logical explanation for the situation.

"What a crazy idea! But no, you're not dead," he heard from a place where, at another moment, he could have sworn no one was there.

"Nezoko?" said William recognizing the person in front of him as a good manga connoisseur.

_"Nezoko? Ah yes, you're talking about my appearance. I tried to take an appearance that would be appreciable for the audience and that would stay in the theme of this season." _Said the young woman.

_"Who are you?" _asked William, who realized that the answer to this question would be more complicated than it seemed.

"I suppose you could call me Nezoko, that would make things simpler. As for who I am? I'm the one who's going to make the most unspeakable desires a reality, while offering quality entertainment to an extra-dimensional audience" said the newly-appointed Nezoko.

"You haven't explained a thing," said William.

"You should know, given your profession. The treasure of knowledge is only valuable if acquired with effort" replied the young woman.

William could hardly contradict the young woman on this point, even if he retained the horrible feeling of being manipulated.

"Could you at least tell me what you expect from me?" asked William, hoping to get a workable answer this time.

_"I expect little or nothing from you. Whatever your choices, I'll adapt," _said Nezoko.

_"If you don't expect anything from me. Why am I here?" _said William, not hiding the exasperation in his voice.

"I'm telling you, I'm here to make your most unspeakable dream come true," repeated the hostess.

"That doesn't mean anything at all..."

"No, no, no, no tantrums before the season even starts, otherwise I'd be late for the schedule." said Nezoko.

"A season? A season of what, anyway?" asked William, who seemed to understand less and less as the conversation progressed.

"A Harem Hotel season. A season in which you, William Hamon, were chosen to be the Master," said Nezoko.

"Harem Hôtel? What on earth is that?" asked William, who was afraid to understand what was going on.

"I'll explain it all at once, if you don't mind. Instead, let's welcome the members of your harem. Leto Nicole, Oria Anna, Buch Charlotte, Pum Karine, Sensi Elisa, Roka Marion, Brown Iris and Brunet Hélène," said Nezoko before making a grand theatrical gesture that might have seemed ridiculous if eight women hadn't suddenly appeared right in front of him.

The first person he looked at was Anna Oria. His friend. His best friend.

She was easy enough to recognize with her magistrate's outfit and blonde hair. His gaze was then drawn to the person on his right, whom he recognized as the policewoman who had interrogated him. Also on his right was the doctor/intern/medical student who had greeted him when he woke up. He'd really have to ask her rank. She looked completely panicked.

William went completely to the left to recognize Elisa's familiar face.

She was surprisingly calm and smiled when she saw him. She must have been worried after what had happened. To his left stood the businesswoman who'd ruined his meal yesterday.

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/59/20/l4N7we3s\_t.jpg)

She looked around as if searching for someone to blame. Not wanting to meet his gaze. William noticed the young journalist frantically writing on a notepad. Then he noticed his favorite student staring intently at him. Not wanting to get into stories just yet, William looked at the last person he hadn't yet paid attention to.

He hadn't recognized her immediately, but her short-shaven hair had led him to the inevitable conclusion. This was the person who had shot him.

"Welcome, welcome! I'm delighted to see you're going to have so much energy to spare. I'm going to allow you to speak one after the other for 2 minutes to avoid cacophony. If you'd like to take this opportunity to introduce yourselves to the audience, who are partly discovering you. If you want to use your time to yell, cry or threaten, I encourage you to reconsider your decisions. Let's start with the oldest person here, Elisa," said Nezeko before pointing to the restaurant owner.

Elisa wasted a few seconds before speaking up.

"I don't know what's going on and I don't know why I couldn't speak before. That is, unless I really need to introduce myself. My name is Elisa Sensi. Then you don't ask a lady's age and you've already said that I'm the oldest person here so I don't see the point in specifying any further. I'm the owner of a restaurant that I inherited from my father. I have a 20-year-old daughter who is on the other side of the country for her studies. I'm a widow. My husband died 10 years ago. Does this suit you as a presentation?" said Elisa, her tone almost aggressive at the end.

William didn't even know how to react. He'd known her for years, but he wasn't even aware she was a widow. He'd never even asked. He felt frankly ashamed that he hadn't asked before.

"That'll do for now, although I'd have appreciated it if you'd gone into a little more detail about your sex life and your relationship with the Master here, but it'll do," replied Nezoko.

Elisa tried to reply, and from the look of outrage on her face she didn't appreciate being asked about her sex life, but no sound came out of her mouth and her feet didn't leave the floor. William tried to think of an explanation for what was happening, but he couldn't come up with a plausible one. Hypnosis could stop people moving or talking, but it couldn't make people appear out of thin air. Well, some illusionists are capable of making people appear, but given the conditions and the lack of visible material, that would be quite a feat. However, on the other hand, this ubiquitous scenario was far more desirable than the simplistic answer provided by the word magic.

"We'll continue with the second oldest person in the harem. Marion, it's your turn," said Nezoko.

"I'M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE! NOW YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY WE CAN'T ATTACK THE ROKA FAMILY! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU. YOU HEAR ME!" screamed Marion. Although it was longer and much cruder, because of the audiovisual policy aimed at preserving the youngest, the rest of Marion's speech was not broadcast.

_"It was really what I feared when I brought you here. Some of you are completely lacking in manners. I really hope that the next few of you will avoid stooping to the level of threats, as you can see they have very little interest here. Likewise, don't beg me to appeal to my humanity, I don't have any. Anna, it's your turn," _said Nezoko, sounding almost bored.

"I see. Threats and pleas will have no effect and you haven't given enough information to deduce what you really want from us. You mentioned that we were members of a Master's harem. Assuming you're talking about William right there. I can say that I've known him since grade school and he's my best friend. My sex life is my own business and I don't intend to talk about it here. But then about what I do for a living, I'm a judge and if I can convict you and your associates know that I'll do it with great pleasure," Anna concluded.

Now that was Anna all spit, a touch of threat and cooperation at the same time. You never really knew whether she was with you or against you.

"Thank you Anna, I'd expect nothing less from you. Let's move on to our chief inspector. Charlotte it's your turn." says Nezoko continuing theatrically.

_"I hope you're aware that you're breaking at least a dozen laws by your actions. I'm with Madame Justice on this one. I have nothing more to add," _says the inspector.

"As you wish. You'll have time to change your mind. You never come out of Harem Hôtel unchanged. Karine, it's your turn," said Nezoko.

The young woman seemed **** to speak, but decided to speak up after a few seconds.

"I don't understand what's going on. I've never met this man before in my life, and I want to get out of here", she said.

William immediately noticed that she said she'd never met him. Was she lying, thinking she hadn't been recognized, or had she paid so little attention to the person she'd shot that she wasn't able to recognize him?

_"A short answer that's what surprises me about you. Iris is you," _said the hostess.

William didn't even have time to think when Iris started peppering Nezoko with questions.

_"How did you get us here? What exactly are your objectives? How did you keep me from asking questions beforehand? Why did you choose the people for this show? What is this show anyway? Don't you think the idea of a harem is sexist in the 21st century? Are you really Nezoko? If not, why do you look the way you do? Where are we? How long is this show supposed to last? Who's watching? And above all, can you give me an interview?" _asked Iris before Nezoko could stop her.

"Frankly, I don't know why I even expected you to respect the rules. Don't worry, you'll get your answers soon, just like everyone else. Nicole, it's your turn," said the hostess.

Nicole looked exhausted, and her response was consistent with this fact.

"This is really the strangest dream I've ever had. So I don't see why I shouldn't answer your question. I'm a medical student and I met the master who's one of the patients I was in charge of yesterday. As for my sexual experience, I haven't found the right girl yet, but I must admit that some of the girls here are very pretty," said Nicole, surprising the whole assembly. At the same time, denial was a reasonable response.

"I can assure you it's not a dream, but you'll have time to find out.So we'll end this presentation with the youngest of the group. Hélène to you," says Nezoko, putting on his style.

Hélène seemed to hesitate, and her gaze turned away from William for the first time.

"My name is Hélène Brunet. I'm one of Mister Hamon's students. I'm 22, and as far as sexual experience goes, I'm still a virgin," said Hélène, murmuring the end of the sentence. She blushed so much that William couldn't help worrying.

"Thank you at last one of you who responds appropriately to instructions. Now I can get on with the rules and answer some of the questions you've asked," said Nezoko, glancing at Iris, who seemed ready to write as soon as the hostess began her explanations.