The Third Customer (1)
"A means of... drawing people to the guild?"
I hadn't quite grasped what Guild Master Aisia meant, so I asked her to clarify. She proceeded to explain exactly how my massage could meet the demand among adventurers.
"After watching you massage Elin and Coco these past few days, I've determined that your massage has more than enough profit potential. Looking at those two alone, I don't think anyone could deny that your hands feel good."
"...Well, both of them did look pretty pleased, yeah."
"And you must remember how other adventurers flocked to you asking for massages after Coco's session ended yesterday. That alone proves there's solid demand for what you do. If we ran it officially, people would line up for days just to get one."
...Would it really go that far? Sure, I was getting a fair amount of attention now, but once we actually started operating, I figured the interest would die down within a few days.
And a single gold coin for a massage would be a serious burden for ordinary adventurers. That was the kind of sum only a Gold-rank adventurer like Coco could hand over without hesitation. Silver-rank and below would need several times longer just to scrape together one gold coin for a massage.
Still, I'd already set the price at one gold coin with Coco, so I couldn't very well discount it for anyone else. That would be betraying the expectations of the first person who'd taken an interest in me.
"It might just be temporary curiosity. There'll be demand at first, sure, but I don't think people would wait in line for days on end."
"Even if it is temporary, that doesn't matter. What matters is that there are adventurers who want your massage right now. If even one more person comes to the guild for your massage, and even one of them sells materials here, the guild profits. That's all there is to it."
"Besides, when you're not running the massage business, you'll be back at the guild counter doing your regular work. So even if demand dries up, there's no real loss to speak of."
"Ah, now that you mention it, that makes sense."
Right — offering massages officially didn't mean quitting my job as a guild receptionist.
I'd keep working as an Adventurer Guild receptionist, and whenever someone wanted one, I'd give them an upper-body massage — or a tail massage for beastfolk — and pocket gold coins on the side as a side hustle.
In other words, Guild Master Aisia's proposal boiled down to using me as both a guild receptionist and a massage service provider.
"So you're planning to use me as a promotional attraction for the guild, Guild Master Aisia?"
"...I can't deny it."
In a world where men were rare, the mere fact that the guild's receptionist was male would be enough to draw adventurers through the door. Add to that a massage service where that male receptionist put his hands directly on their bodies, and from Guild Master Aisia's perspective, it was a genuinely tempting offering.
"As I said earlier, if you find this burdensome or unpleasant, you're free to refuse. I have no intention of pressuring you with something like this — and if you quit the receptionist job over it, that would be an even greater loss for us."
"No, I'm fine with it. It's not burdensome or unpleasant at all. If anything, I think it's a great proposal for boosting the guild's business."
"I'm glad you see it that way. Makes the offer worthwhile."
With that, it was all but settled that I'd be providing massage services to female adventurers at the Adventurer Guild. And if I played this situation right, I could naturally bring up the other proposal that had been floating around in my head.
"By the way, Guild Master Aisia — before I start offering massages as a guild service, isn't there something you've overlooked?"
"...Ahem. Well, given that we'd be offering a rare resource as a service, the guild would of course need to compensate you. I wasn't deliberately pretending not to know. I simply wanted to assess the profitability of your massage service a bit further before—"
"Huh? I wasn't talking about a lack of financial support."
"......"
"...Um, Guild Master?"
"......Beor. I'm truly sorry to ask this, but could you pretend you didn't hear what I just said?"
"I don't mind."
Guild Master Aisia seemed a touch sensitive when it came to the guild's finances, so I simply nodded at her careful request.
"Anyway, what I was trying to say wasn't about money. It was that I think you may have jumped to a conclusion a little too quickly, Guild Master Aisia."
"Hm."
"It's true that Senior Elin and Coco felt great after my massages, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll make other adventurers feel the same way, right? Maybe those two just happen to be especially... receptive to massage."
"...Hmm. True. That's a possibility."
"So how about you try one of my massages yourself, Guild Master Aisia? You can decide whether to run it officially after you've experienced it firsthand."
"...Oh?"
Hearing my suggestion, Guild Master Aisia nodded as if it made perfect sense. The thought of getting my hands on that body of hers — which had always seemed so thoroughly guarded in more ways than one — set my heart racing in a peculiar way.
"You're right, Beor. I was a bit hasty on that point."
"Then would you like to try one right now? We're already in your office, and it's just the two of us."
"...Very well. I believe I heard the price was one gold coin before. Has that changed?"
"Oh, you don't need to pay. Feels a little weird taking money from a fellow guild member."
Guild Master Aisia's eyes widened slightly at my insistence that she didn't need to pay. I'd half expected her to force the money on me the way Coco had, but when it came to money, she was the type to draw a clear line.
"I've never met anyone who turned down money in my life. ...Still, I won't refuse a kindness."
"Then please sit in this chair without a backrest. It's more comfortable for receiving a massage that way."
"All right."
With that, she settled onto the round-bottomed stool and quietly presented her back to me. The stiff suit jacket that largely defined her cold, composed impression filled my view.
Entering Vitality Massage Mode.
The moment I prepared to begin the massage in earnest, a translucent window floated up before my face, and dozens of acupoints came into view. Compared to Senior Elin or Coco when they'd first received a massage, her muscles weren't badly knotted — but the tension that did exist was concentrated mostly in her shoulders and lower back.
Press.
"...Nnh."
I brought my hands over experimentally and pressed an acupoint, and Guild Master Aisia gave a slight tremble. Of all the clients who'd received my massage so far, she was showing the relatively "most well-behaved" reaction — but even so, focusing on a single acupoint began to chip away at the composure of that cool, collected Guild Master Aisia.
Press.
"......Hnh, hahh..."
"How does it feel, Guild Master?"
Press, press.
"...Yes, th-that area feels a bit knotted. Continue."
"Yes, Guild Master."
Preeess!
"......Nnh!"
I'd grown so used to her cool image that seeing Guild Master Aisia react like this was genuinely refreshing. Was this what they called reverse charm?
I was only working her shoulders from behind, so I couldn't see her expression — but I could roughly imagine what she was feeling.
Preeeeess!
"Nnhh, hahk...?!"
And then, just like the others, the moment an acupoint released, Guild Master Aisia trembled with a cute little sound. Even a Guild Master who looked like she'd never make a fuss in her life was reacting this way — that pretty much settled it.
This was the moment I became certain: any woman who received a massage in Vitality Massage Mode and had her acupoints released took in a rather hard-to-resist pleasure through her body, regardless of appearance or personality.
Though her clothes are so thick that I'm having to put more force into my fingers than usual.
Unlike Senior Elin in her thin blouse or Coco in her skimpy martial arts uniform, Guild Master Aisia was fully armored in a stiff suit from top to bottom. Naturally, that put extra strain on the hands working her shoulders, and I decided it would be difficult to continue like this. I carefully made a suggestion.
"This won't work, Guild Master."
"...W-what do you mean, Beor? If you're questioning the quality of your massage, I for one think you should continue—"
"That's not it. Your clothes are just too thick. I don't think this will work as is."
"......Ah."
"Since it's an upper-body massage, I think it would be better if you at least took off your top. What do you think, Guild Master Aisia?"
"......"
I'd already released one acupoint and proven my skill, so she wasn't likely to back out now. There was a slim chance that, having been loosened up so thoroughly, she might say something like, I've verified the efficacy of your massage, so there's no need to continue — but even for a Guild Master with as cool an impression as Aisia, would that really be possible?
I waited for her answer with that thought in mind, and Guild Master Aisia carefully nodded, bringing her hands to the front of her jacket.
"...I was indeed lacking in consideration. I'd momentarily forgotten that one shouldn't wear thick clothes when receiving a massage."
Pop. Pop. Pop.
With that, she undid the buttons of her suit jacket and shed the garment without hesitation. That was the moment I became certain: she, too, had become a customer of my Vitality Massage.
(A version of the above illustration without glasses.)