Chapter 7: The Mindset for Working at an Inn

About a month later, I was allowed to change where a few things were stored.

I rearranged them into places that were easier to reach and easier to put away, based on the flow of the work.

Just that alone shortened the work a little and improved efficiency.

Only a little, though.

But the fact that nobody opposed my desire to “improve things through effort” gave me hope for the future and eased my mind.

I discussed it during the employees’ lunch break and got the old man’s approval first, but… one of the senior workers complained, saying, “Quit trying to act like a good kid.”

Yeah, people said the same thing back in the village too.

“Don’t create extra trouble.”

“What’s wrong with how things already are?”

But wouldn’t it be better if things became even a little easier?

The old man warned me firmly never to sleep with guests, even if they invited me.

Part of it was because employees shouldn’t lay hands on customers, but he also said that people who casually invite strangers are the type who invite anyone.

“You never know what kind of disease you’ll catch,” was how he put it.

Then he added that if word spread that this was “an inn with a cute young boy,” customers would start staying here specifically for that reason.

“If you don’t want to end up a male prostitute, don’t do it.”

When he said “male prostitute,” I didn’t even understand what he meant at first.

I was shocked to learn that kind of job existed.

The city really is something else.

Still, I wondered if things like that really happened…

Part of me expected it a little.

Well, more like I was half skeptical.

Then it actually happened.

A female adventurer deliberately showed me her naked body!

She called me into the bath area or her room… and she wasn’t wearing any clothes.

That had to be intentional.

I could tell she was teasing herself by watching me panic and struggle to figure out where to look.

Keeping my eyes lowered, I handed over soap or changed the sheets, then fled the room as if escaping.

I heard laughter behind me.

It was embarrassing and frustrating…

I couldn’t think of this as lucky or enjoyable at all.

They know exactly how I’ll react and enjoy watching me squirm.

What a bunch of mean, bored old women!

When I reported it to the old man, he said, “That one’s a repeat offender. Don’t ever fall into her clutches.”

A repeat offender… seriously?

Things like that happened several times after that.

Not just with one woman, but with several.

As more women flirted with me while I was working, I gradually stopped feeling nervous and instead started getting irritated.

Eventually, I just started thinking, ‘What a pain.’

Honestly, I’m constantly organizing work procedures in my head while moving around, so I don’t have time for that stuff.

Well, even so, I still become aware of it sometimes.

And when I try not to look, my movements become awkward, which slows my work down and tires me out more…

There’s nothing good about it at all.

To put it plainly, it’s a nuisance.

Thinking this way… maybe I’m already washed up as a man.

But it feels like they’re mocking the idea that men are simple creatures.

I once overheard them drinking and talking about who would “take my first time,” and it honestly sent a chill down my spine.

From what I overheard—

Apparently, adventurers sometimes get worked up from danger during jobs or become emotionally overstimulated, and then they want physical contact with someone, anyone, just to calm down.

But hearing “anyone is fine”…

Honestly, being treated as that “anyone” sounds unpleasant.

About three months after arriving in the city, a letter addressed to the old man arrived from the village chief’s son.

It said he had business in the city and asked if it would be alright for him to visit.

If possible, he also wanted to hold a dinner gathering that night with everyone from the same hometown.

The old man admired that, saying, “That village really does take good care of its people,” and agreed to it.