Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 171

 The large gates set up at the 4 corners of the city. The ten-block-long main street that continues from there is known as the prime location for shops.

 It's only natural. The main street is the face of the city that people from all over the country see first when they visit. The row of luxurious shops, decorated with extravagance, has many employees and customers who are mostly from the upper-middle class.

 And among them, Nanban Tea house, a tea shop under the umbrella of the Tachibana Trading Company, which handles imported tea and sweets, has already gained a certain reputation among the young and fashionable people in the city, despite being a newcomer to the street.

 Young nobles, students from the countryside, artists, and high-class courtesans, all with different backgrounds, would visit the shop, hold Nanban tea and sweets, and chat with each other... Some elderly people might frown at the disturbance of public order, but the shop was thriving, especially among the young, with its high popularity.

 "Isn't it convenient for us, too?"

 Keika, a beautiful young woman who worked at the North City main store of Nanban Tea house, one of the several Nanban tea shops in the city, was brewing tea in the back while chatting. With her bright, colorful kimono, which incorporated Nanban designs, and her made-up face, she was a beauty, and it wasn't just her ―― all the employees of Nanban Tea house, including those from the countryside, were known for their high-quality appearance.

 It's been said since old times that the signboard girls are the face of the shop, and Nanban Tea house, under the Tachibana Trading Company, was particularly famous for the high quality of its employees' appearance. They were carefully selected from the hiring stage, and the shop even provided them with clothes and makeup allowances. It was clearly a business strategy to attract customers.

 The shop girls didn't mind being treated like commodities. Rather, they welcomed it. While selling spring was forbidden, the shop encouraged its employees to emulate Nanban's customs and rewarded them with extra pocket money. And surprisingly, many customers followed suit. Was it something like "tips"?

 No matter what, popular girls like this didn't become stupids. And to aim for this secondary income, the shop girls would dress up even more, and depending on the situation, they would even be "trained" by some wealthy patrons who would teach them how to behave and buy them accessories as a amusement. Some would even have their portraits drawn by ukiyo-e artists or have songs composed for them by musicians.

 There were those who would compete with multiple wealthy patrons, become the top shop girl, and even end up as the mistress of a wealthy merchant who had no relation to them whatsoever. Of course, moralists would criticize this as a corruption of public morals and report it to the authorities, and there were cases where the police would come to the shop, but the shop girls and customers would chase them away with insults and thrown objects.

 "That was the most hilarious thing, wasn't it?"

 "Yeah, yeah. They said they'd reform, but when the young masters from the noble families came out, they got scared and ran away!!"

 As if remembering something, a coworker, a girl with pseudonym named Azusa , would giggle and respond. The sight of those who usually wielded power running away with their tails between their legs was a masterpiece.

 "What's wrong with being immoral and shameless? Are you going to become a night hawk or something? Or maybe a pr**titute?"

 Even in the exorcists' household, there were limited job opportunities for women. If one was a good girl, they could just sit around like a doll in a good household. But they were different. They didn't have parents to rely on, and they could lose their jobs or become disabled at any moment. That's just how the world was.