Not particularly. [Dominant route]

“I have to be honest, that does change my answer.” I said.

Ivy seemed to slump a little. “What about the job repels you? Is it personal? Is it moral? Something else?”

I really thought about that question before answering. “I suppose it’s to do with my sexuality. I’m attracted to women.”

“Ah, then your hesitation is warranted. You aren’t interested in one of the sexes that may be your clients. If you didn’t already know, demons have an innate sense of whether or not you are attracted to them, and it actually factors into whether or not they will be attracted to you. You would be unfortunately limiting your potential clientele quite a bit. I only hire individuals that have no preference for the sex of the clients, so this position is out of the question.”

I nodded. “I suppose I’ll have to find work elsewhere then?” I asked.

Ivy didn’t answer immediately, she simply tapped her chin in thought. “This may be a difficult question to answer, given your lack of memory, though it is clear you are able to access such information about yourself in some way so I will ask anyway. Do you feel as though you are a more dominant or submissive person?”

I thought about this question, I wasn’t entirely sure what she meant, but something told me she meant the question in a sort of leadership way. In other words, I assumed what she was asking is if I was comfortable being in charge or more comfortable being ordered around. I tried to imagine both scenarios in several contexts and had come to a decision before long.

“I want to be in control of my own destiny. And I prefer that others around me help me to control it, rather than taking control themselves.” I replied honestly and hoped that was the sort of answer she wanted.

Ivy nodded. “Can you read Abyssal?”

“Is Abyssal the language your sign is in?”

“Yes.”

“Then I believe I can, though I’m not sure how I do it. The characters are alien to me, I just know what they mean.”

“Good.” Ivy said, a look of promise beginning to crawl onto her features. “Can you do simple arithmetic? What is eleven plus twenty-four?”

I thought for a moment. “Thirty-five.”

“Four-hundred and sixty-seven minus eighteen?”

This one took a bit longer, if only for the fact that I had to visualize the number in my head first. “Four-hundred and forty-nine.”

“And that minus one-hundred and sixty?”

“Two-hundred and eighty-nine?” I was a bit less sure of that one, the numbers had gotten a little jumbled in my head.

“Correct.” She said. So evidently, I could do basic arithmetic. That actually did provide some clue on my past, only those who went to institutions of learning knew arithmetic in the human world, that much I did know. It was quite rare to find someone who could do it. Clearly, I was someone who went to such an institution, or at the very least was family with someone who did. Though I was glad for this revelation, I wasn’t entirely sure what the point of it was. Ivy’s line of questioning was odd now.

“Last question, are you comfortable performing sexual acts in a casual way? I know that humans have complicated rituals and thoughts concerning the subject of sex, and seldom take part with people they do not consider lovers.”

My mind briefly flashed to the woman in my dreams, and there was a moment of hesitation. Something in my gut told me she wouldn’t have minded, and in fact, hadn’t she basically told me to trust my instincts? I supposed that was a dream and not for sure something that actually happened, but I felt safe either way.

“I believe I am.” I said.

Ivy stroked her chin, deep in thought, and paced back and forth in the room for a moment. Finally, she turned to address me. “I have a problem.” She said and then pointed to the collar around her neck.

“I had been meaning to ask about that, I don’t know what it means.” I replied.

“Demons, and in particular Dystopian demons, ordinarily treat sexual matters as casual and friendly acts of recreation, sometimes simply to alleviate boredom. It is generally accepted in our culture that anyone who doesn’t actively tell you ‘no’ in response to sexual advances is available for carnal release. In other words, consent is assumed to be automatic unless otherwise indicated.

“However, there is an exception to this rule, and it is these collars. If a demon has a collar around their neck it means they belong to a specific individual. In these cases, the demon is off-limits to anyone who does not get express permission from their owner.”

This was all very fascinating, but I was failing to see what the problem was so far, so I continued listening intently and taking mental notes.

“The owner of the collared individual is free to give their own rules regarding sexual conduct, and if there are any that might concern the general populace it will often be included on a plaque like this one.” Ivy pointed to the metal plate attached to the choker.

“What does yours mean?” I asked.

“Quite simply, ‘top half free use’ means that anyone is welcome to use anything on the top half of my body for sexual purposes. My breasts, my hands, my mouth, my armpits, anything at all. However, my master has exclusive privilege to my lower half, anything from my hips down.”

For a moment, I still struggled to see the problem. Then it hit me, she was the madam of a brothel. “So basically, your collar allows anyone to use the top half of your body for sexual release, and for free. Which undermines your ability to make money in a place where money is exchanged for sexual service.”

She nodded and smiled slightly, apparently happy that I managed to figure it out once I had all the pieces. “Exactly.”

“Is there nothing you can do about the message? Maybe working with your master to adjust it?”

She shook her head slightly. “You must understand something. It is those who wish to wear the collars that approach their masters and offer themselves to them. Doing so is to accept any demand my master gives me without question. Of course, I could simply remove the collar and no longer answer to him, but I have willingly given myself to him as property to manage how he pleases. If he had any such interest in doing so, he could take command of this brothel. Anything I own belongs to him by proxy. He has no interest in doing so, which is one of the many reasons I approached him in the first place, but my concerns are not his. He does not care that his ownership of me has a negative impact on this place, it is not his business to care, it is mine.”

It was strange, but it did make a sort of sense. “So, what you’re saying is he has no obligation to help you because you knew the risks when you offered to collar yourself in his name?”

“In essence, yes.” She said. “Some masters might still offer to help, but it would have to be exactly that, an offer from them. It defeats the purpose of wearing the collar if I use it as leverage to get what I want. The whole point is that I wear it to give him what he wants.”

“Then you certainly do have a problem. You have to decide between being owned and managing this place.”

She nodded, grimly.

“So, where do I fit in?” I asked.

“You might be an opportunity. You see, I have already made a decision regarding the ultimatum I am presented with. I wish to retire from the work of being a madam anyway, though the decision has little to do with my master.” Oddly, I sensed the slightest bit of disappointment in her voice when she referenced her master. “It is not uncommon for demons to move from profession to profession at various times. We live indefinitely, after all. The problem is, I don’t have anyone to take up the position after I leave.”

“Until now.” I said. It was beginning to make sense. I would need to read and do arithmetic for bookkeeping and management. I had to have a dominant personality because I needed to be in charge and comfortable giving orders and commands. “You want me to become the madam of this brothel.”

“Eventually.” She said. “For now, you’ll be my apprentice and I will teach you what you need to know. At such time when I feel comfortable leaving the reins in your hands, I shall, and I will move on to another profession.”

She looked at me dead in the eyes. I was getting better at judging what she was looking at. Though it was subtle, I could tell the parts of her eyes she saw out of were a slightly lighter shade than the rest of her silvery eye. “But first I need to know if this is a position you are interested in having. The pay is very good, you’ll have free access to all of the whores, free access I might add, free room and board as this room will eventually be yours, free food, free drink, and unlike the whores you can even accept clients on your own terms if you wish to. All you would be obligated to do is manage the floor while we are open to accept clients twelve hours a day, manage our accounting, and review our room ledgers each day. And of course, I will show you the basics of all of those things.” Ivy crossed her arms under her bust again, making her breasts bounce pleasantly, a dark purple areola escaping from the top of her corset.

I considered the offer carefully. This did seem like a good opportunity. I was immediately being made the owner of the place without any need to move up the ranks. I didn’t even need to spend any time being a prostitute. I doubted that I would get a much better offer anywhere else in Dystopia.

I shrugged. “Seems like the best option for me, actually. It’s an excellent opportunity. I do have to wonder if being a human will complicate things at all, however.”

“In fact, it may be a boon.” Ivy said. “Exotic is always a good aesthetic for this business. There is inherent risk, but most demons will likely just assume you are disguised. Even if they get curious enough to ask, you are generally safe being honest. The King’s Guard comes through Dystopia sparsely, and they are the only ones who would care. Nobody on this layer has any loyalty to the King or his laws, and aren’t likely to give you away.”

“Couldn’t someone **** me into giving them free services?” I asked.

“They could try, but I doubt anyone here has a direct line of communication to the King’s Guard. We have no duke or duchess here to enforce the King’s laws, someone trying to **** you would have no authorities to reach unless the Guard was here in this layer. And even then, you’d know if they were ahead of time. You’ll hear things at this job. These women under my employment would make damned good spies.”

I pondered this.

“In any case, your humanity will be an inherent risk, but it will come with some perks too. I wouldn’t worry. You certainly chose the best possible layer of Abyssia to be in.”

Perhaps that was why I was in this layer at all. I could only guess, but it did seem like a smart move to be here if I was going to be anywhere in Abyssia. That of course still brought up the question of why I was in Abyssia at all in the first place, though.

I shrugged. “All right then. I’ll do it.” I nodded.

A hint of a smile twitched at Ivy’s lips. “Excellent. We will get started right away. Firstly, we need to get you washed and dressed and take you on a tour. We will actually be opening the brothel in a few hours.”