Nightlife, no matter where it may occur, is almost always a source of inspiration and fellowship for the young and the restless, as well as the elderly and reflective.

Underneath brightly colored lanterns and surrounded by a mutual excited chatter, the air was ripe with a shared joy.

A group of handsome young men looked to be winding down for the night after several hours of merriment.

They numbered around twenty-five, with all of them seeming as close as a den of thieves.

As men, they exuded an air of sophistication, wealth, and competence.

Since they were all young and handsome figures, they had attracted no small amount of attention from the women they passed by. Whether they had men on their arms or children at their sides didn’t seem to make a lick of difference.

"Oh boyss~!"

An entire building of brothel courtesans waved at the group from the street, enticing them to come inside and sample their extremely worthwhile services.

The group of young men paused in the street, looking amongst each other with helpless little smiles.

"We aren’t much fond of audiences."

"Close down for the night. Then we can get a bit better acquainted."

One of the courtesans pouted a bit. The voice that came out of her nude, glossy lips was forced to carry a babyish tone.

"Aww, we can’t do that... Some of our other customers might get very upset."

One of the young men sported a wilder look than all of the others. He cracked his knuckles while showing a brutal smile.

"So, you need help clearing the roaches out of the pantry, eh? Well, all you had to do was say so!"

The rough young man ran into the brothel, only for a line of older men to start yelling and rushing out of the establishment less than two minutes later.

Once the building was clear, nothing in the world could have stopped the line of young men from heading inside and enjoying the privileges of their youth and station.

Archon was taking up the rear of the group, alongside two other young men who he seemed rather close to.

But as soon as his foot touched the first step, young Archon spotted another familiar face further down the street. Though it took him a moment to realize who he was staring at due to the apparent changes.

"Is that you, Young Solomon? Why, color me surprised..."

Solomon turned from the busy stall that seemed to have captivated his attention.

"That’s... Archon, wasn’t it? From that Academy club thing."

"...Yes. Our little society."

Solomon nodded as if he hadn’t put the existence of their group in his mind at all. "Right, the... Ferocity fanatics, or something. I hadn’t taken any of you for brothel frequenters."

Archon started to speak when one of the young men beside him stepped into the conversation.

"We pride ourselves in honing our bodies into weapons for battle... or for pleasure. Neither undermines the other because, in our pursuit toward the apex, those who stand over others should know how best to get what they want out of them. Efficiency is key."

The other young man standing beside Archon chimed in with his own snide little smile. "Intimidation and coercion are fine, after all, but they lose their appeal after a while, and neither guarantees loyalty. Is it not more fun to seduce and double the benefit to ourselves?"

Solomon didn’t know if he’d ever heard a more egotistical reason for a man to get their dick wet.

"And you both are...?"

The first young man pointed at himself. He was the most handsome out of the bunch, with short, cropped silver hair and a lightly tanned complexion.

His crystal blue eyes were permanently arrogant. Solomon barely resisted the urge to pull them out of his head and feed them to Bansha.

"Sylas Corrvaine. I am the newly elected President of the Society of Fergal. You already know Archon, my second chair. This is Thurgood, my right hand. It’s nice to finally make your acquaintance, Solomon A’Kenai."

Solomon raised his brow.

Corrvaine.

It was the maiden name of the scythe queen. A name she cast aside when she left her family house and started her own martial clan.

But because most of high society knew this little secret about her identity, the Corrvaine family has enjoyed the benefits of their close association with the Scythe Queen.

Without exaggeration, they are in the top five richest families in all of Komen.

’No wonder your eyes look like that...’ Solomon almost wanted to laugh.

"This seems like a very fortuitous coincidence." Sylas held out his hand and gestured toward the brothel. "Why don’t you join us? I’ve been most desperate to have a moment to chat with you myself."

Solomon would never know it, but back at the castle, Yari and Jiaoying felt a wave of irritation that they could not explain.

As strange as it sounded, important people having ’meetings’ within pleasure houses was actually extremely common.

And since the establishment they had chosen was a rather upscale one, they did their very best to uphold a high standard.

Without even being asked, they brought the Society trays of sushi, cut fruit, and bottles of soju, along with some of the sweetest fruit wine money could buy.

To truly immerse himself in the group, Solomon partook of the wine, and he ate a bit of the food as well. But he denied any of the women who came near him.

During these types of settings, courtesans could be taken away to private rooms for relations, or, if you were bolder, you could take them right where you sat.

However, they mainly sat beside the men as they talked. Their job was to act as eye candy, rubbing their chests against the bicep of whoever they were sitting beside, giggling at their jokes, and filling their noses with the scent of their perfume until the man was ready to escalate.

Being a courtesan was a job just like anything else. All of the women in attendance were trying to make ends meet.

But that didn’t mean some of them didn’t enjoy their jobs more than others...

If a courtesan saw a man she truly liked, then they were usually a bit more forward in their approach.

Some let things as simple as a kiss slip by. Others nearly crawled into the laps of the men they were trying to seduce. Those who were bolder would blatantly grab the genitals of their prey.

Ordinarily, none of these things would have been relevant as they usually never caused any incident, but...

"If you try to touch me again, I am going to rip your arm from its socket."

The entire table went quiet. Solomon went back to drinking his wine.