MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

The question Yui suddenly threw at him, completely out of the blue, left him utterly speechless.

He had thought about many many possibilities, numerous works he might have to handle as she joined her gang again. Wondering if he would go back to fighting in the pit or even do something truly illegal this time around.

But this? Even in a thousand years, Adam wouldn't have been able to guess that she would offer him such a job.

Adam sighed. He had many questions running through his mind and so decided to go at it in a slow and calm manner in order to better understand the situation. Yui was not a frivolous woman and would never joke around when it came to business.

"I roughly understand what a Gigolo is and what their job entails. What I don't understand is, why this particular job?"

"Well, you see… Most of my businesses are in the dark, obscured from the sights of the authorities. Thing is, this way of doing business leaves too many weaknesses to be exploited by our competitors. So I decided to develop more, shall we say… Legal? Businesses."

"So your idea of legality is to open an establishment for male prostitutes? Are you for real?"

"Tsk tsk tsk. My dear Adam. How can you be so naive? Prostitution is illegal you know? What I am trying to establish is a completely different service than mere prostitution. We do not get paid to provide sexual services. My hosts are simply handsome boys spending time with women and the women may or may not happen to give them gifts or pay for more drinks in the bars."

Her smile stretched further as she shrugged her shoulders, mischievousness embodying her very aura, "If later they have any kind of relationship outside of my bars, it has nothing to do with prostitution. All we have are two consenting adults having some fun and one of them happens to want to support the other financially. It couldn't be any simpler if you thought about it."

Adam furrowed his brows, ruminating over what she explained, before understanding finally dawned on him.

America and many countries for that matter had these weird rules where prostitution just happened to be illegal but pornography for example was absolutely legal.

There was no such thing as a perfect law. There will always be certain loopholes in every laws that someone can make use of.

The same was the case here. Which Yui so graciously implemented to establish this new business of hers.

Legally speaking,

[Prostitution is the criminal act of providing, or offering to provide, sexual services in exchange for compensation.]

Meanwhile, in this case, there might or might not be sexual service and there might or might not be a compensation. Then it was not really prostitution.

"The ones who came up with this system are pretty devious, aren't they? Sheesh, talk about exploiting the law…"

"That is true. Do you know about a place called Kabuki-cho?"

"I may be partially Japanese but the most I know about Japan is the anime culture that was drilled into me by a friend. Nothing more…"

"Heh. Well. Let me give you a lesson then. Perk up your ears 'cause you need it."

Yui laughed slightly before starting her explanation.

In Japan; Tokyo, to be exact, there were different zones where members of the underworld and those related to it in one way or another congregated and operated. But, if you asked anyone which one was the greatest zone, they would all provide you with the same answer without a shred of hesitation.

Kabukicho…

In 1971, Takeshi Aida, a former mattress salesman, opened "Club Ai", the first host club in Kabukicho— at its peak, Aida's company reported 2.7 billion yen in annual revenue.

By 1999, the area had been named "Asia's largest adult entertainment district", and tabloids were regularly running candid photographs of drunken Kabukicho patrons fighting and subsequently being arrested by the police.

At present, the Kabukicho district has transformed from a residential area to a world-famous red-light district housing over three thousand bars, nightclubs, love hotels, massage parlors, hostess clubs, and the like.

Most clients didn't come to have sex on the area. In fact, such situations, where it ended with a night or time of passion and lust between the engaging duo, were few and far between. Generally, women tended to visit gigolos because they wanted to dream. To fulfill certain fantasy of theirs that had remained unfulfilled throughout their lives.

Be it because of work or family, the environment surrounding adult women in Japan was rather constricting. They had to play the virtuous women. They had to always be polite and lower themselves.

That's why deep down they wished to dream. To delude themselves into the illusions of a more extravagant life.

That's why deep down they wished to dream. They wished to have someone spoil them, someone, who would listen to their pain and their fears. Someone who would spoil them and treat them as they thought they should be treated, like the princess they wished they were.

That's what it meant to be a gigolo. Gigolos sold happiness, not their bodies as some might think. As fleeting and illusory it was.

"Sellers of a dream, huh… So basically a con man of sorts? Someone who specialized in the women spectrum?"

"Heh, you could say so. However, we're in LA, my dear Adam. The so called city of dreams. Don't you find it rather fitting? Seems like the perfect job to me."

Gigolos were weavers of dreams. They sold illusions to poor and pitiful women who wished to be loved and appreciated.

However, gigolos were nothing more than conmen at the end of the day. Actors who wore masks and showed the perfect man their target wished to see just for the conveniences of their customers. But, their customers were also aware of it more or less. Hence, it couldn't be said to be a complete con show too.

"My clients are powerful but sometimes they revert to their default selves. Lonely women who are in desperate need of companionship. Honestly, most of them aren't even interested in anything shady. Some want a son, some want a friend, or simply someone to listen to them."

Yui would have never delved into this domain if it was purely related to sex and booze. She had to do some deep research before getting this idea. Investing into the sex industry may bring her money but what she lacked the least currently was money.

Already the system of Hosts was spreading in America. She just needed to not get left behind by this new trend and clutch for herself to make the most out of this idea.

"Tomorrow is Halloween and the opening of my new business. I invited many women to a fancy private house. So it's up to you to entertain them. How much they pay is how much you will get. As for the sharing between the two of us, as always it will be 70 for you and 30 for me."

A smile of gratitude formed on Adam's face as he cast his head down. He knew very well that this rate was in no way what she would be offering normally.

"Heh~! Don't make such an expression. Hahaha~! You should understand that what I want to obtain surpasses money."

Being a gigolo wasn't just about targeting some old women. Yui wasn't just after money. More than anything, what she searched for was influence and networking.

Each and every one of Yui's clients were powerful women in their own right and the connections they would offer would potentially help Yui to build an even greater empire, greater than even what her family could ever fathom to create.

One created by her own hands and unrelated to the Feng clan or the Hanekawa family. Her goal was to surpass the bindings of her two families. Since she wasn't the heiress, then she would simply show them that she didn't need to be one. And create an entire empire for herself that would surpass them both.

Because of that, in order to obtain the greatest success, each of the boys working under her were expected to be more than some dick slave or smooth talkers.

High educational background, knowledge about the most important events, fit bodies, talents in music, art, and sports, just to name a few of the talents.

The money she put into raising them wasn't something anyone could do without a daring mind.

But she decided that it was worth it. Vulgar men would never be able to approach the kind of women she was targeting.

Furthermore, this didn't stop there.

After all the knowledge they accumulated and all the training they received, even if the boys working under her chose to leave the underworld, later on, they would still be outstanding members of society.

This was just another part of Yui's plans— fostering people who would help her at any given moment. From the gratitude and loyalty she would instill in them, they would be on her beck and call at any given moment.

Adam could only marvel at the patience of this woman. She was like a farmer, calmly and slowly sowing seeds in fertile ground.

Not all seeds would bloom into luscious produce. But as long as some of them did, it would be enough for her.

"Well well well, now go and change your clothes already. I prepared the materials you will need to wear tomorrow. I want to see how you will look in them and make some adjustments so that they are perfect. Tomorrow will be a test for you and if you succeed, I will provide you with a special client. I hope you will be up for the challenge."

"Very well. Where should I change?"

Adam did not bother asking what would happen should he fail. Yui was not running a charity. No matter how close they were, she wouldn't keep him in if his presence would hinder her business progress.

"There, behind the door. I already prepared everything. So go on, I still need to finish some work."

Adam could only chuckle as Yui chased him away.

Standing up, he went towards one of the doors present in the room. Once he opened it, he was surprised to see a sparsely decorated bedroom. Clearly, this place was both where she worked and slept.

'She is too much of a workaholic.'

He didn't bother reprimanding her. He knew that no matter what he said she would never accept the notion of working for less hours. Yui was a greedy woman and she satiated this greed with her hard work.

Entering the bedroom, he ignored the scattered clothes and underwear that decorated parts of her room.

There was no need to be embarrassed by such a sight, or even have thoughts about looking at underwear. In the first place, such a thought was disgusting.

The only thing worth noticing about her room anyway was probably how wrecked the room seemed to be.

He never understood that weird gap. When it came to her work she was focused to the point people would think she suffered from OCD. Everything had a special place and a special role and she would go crazy if someone dared to disturb the way she organized things.

But when it comes to her personal life, she was slovenly to the point of being worthy of a prize. The prize of the most messy person of the century.

Bathing tools and the likes were already prepared and were clearly new. This made him remember how he would bathe at her place and wash away the blood after a difficult fight during his previous days of working under her.

'She really prepared everything, huh?'

Adam thought with a chuckle as he prepared to ready himself for this important work.