In a Worehouse

The port of Tuban had slowly started to recover since the attack led by the Majapahit army under Ranggalawe. Some shipping activities were beginning to resume. Dock workers were busy loading goods for trade transport.

"Brother Jagat, where do we start?"

The voice of a woman suddenly emerged from his left side. She asked while scanning the surroundings of the port. The silhouette of her face cast a beautiful reflection against the reddish-yellow evening sky, resembling the beauty of a sunset.

"You shouldn't be here, Gendis. What should I tell Ki Wardiman later?"

"The important thing is that Grandfather thinks I'm at home."

Jagat Wengi sighed upon hearing Gendis' response. It all began when Gendis secretly followed him to Tuban as she was heading back home. Ki Wardiman was waiting at the training hut.

Gendis reminded him of her request to teach her silat, her facial expression impossible to refuse.

Previously, Jagat Wengi didn't know what else to say to Ki Wardiman. Kidnapping a Mongol translator as part of his training seemed very strange to him. And with Gendis joining, everything became even stranger. It seemed that Ki Wardiman was unaware that Arya Mandana had actually hidden him from the pursuit of Sawung Bumi's disciples.

He wasn't very familiar with Tuban, but he knew of one place that could be visited: Lady Nanta's brothel. There, all kinds of people gathered, and various occupations were represented. Perhaps a translator could be found there.

Gendis going to a brothel? It was unimaginable to him.

"You wait here. I'm going there."

Jagat Wengi pointed towards a building that looked different from the others at the port because it had a gate with a door in the middle of its wall.

Two armed guards stood in front of it. Jagat Wengi couldn't recall the last time he had been here, as far as he could remember, this place was not as tightly guarded before.

However, before he had taken two steps, Gendis was already by his side again. Jagat Wengi looked at her cynically. The woman could only lower her gaze and dared not look back as she spoke softly.

"I'm afraid to be alone there."

"Do you know what place this is?" Jagat asked firmly.

Gendis shook her head vigorously. Her face was already prepared to be surprised.

"This is a brothel."

Casually, Jagat Wengi left Gendis behind and walked towards the gate but was soon stopped by the two guards.

"What's your business here?" one of the guards asked, glancing towards the back.

"What do you think I want?" Jagat Wengi replied, returning the question.

The question was answered with another question, and the guards immediately understood Jagat Wengi's intention.

"If you want to bring a woman, come with me."

Bring a woman? Who is this guard referring to? Gendis?

Jagat Wengi turned around, and it turned out that Gendis was still standing in place, frozen with her hands intertwined in front of her.

"Hey. What's going on? Why is the woman still outside? Bring her in."

Jagat Wengi couldn't answer yet, but one of the guards gestured to Gendis to come closer.

"Just a moment! I'm not here to sell a woman. I just want to have a drink."

"If you just want to drink, you can find it at the taverns over there. This drinking place is for customers only. Are you a customer or a seller?" the guard asked, slightly reprimanding.

"A seller?"

Damn it!

Jagat Wengi immediately pulled Gendis' hand, which was just a few steps away from the entrance gate.

"Let's find somewhere else."

"What's going on?"

Jagat Wengi didn't answer. If only Gendis hadn't followed him, he could have entered. Those two guards must have seen him with Gendis, so they thought he was a woman seller.

However, he had briefly seen the inside when the guard partially opened the gate. Thanks to his newfound ability, which Ki Wardiman attributed to the reaction of the poison in his body by the medicine he took, he quickly noticed five people at the door looking at him simultaneously.

And he could tell that their gazes were unfriendly. That's why he took Gendis far away from that place.

"Where are we going?"

"It's better if I take you to an inn first. Let me search for it myself, Gendis."

Gendis couldn't refuse. But which inn in this port didn't have brothel services inside? Each had different services depending on the social class of the people.

Merchants, ship captains, and dock workers each had their preferred inns. Including the inn Jagat Wengi entered now.

There were twenty available tables with ten scattered individuals sitting. Jagat Wengi was able to count the number of guests in the inn in the blink of an eye.

A waiter wearing a headband came to greet them. His clothes were buttoned with multiple layers of stitching on the fabric holes. Jagat Wengi was momentarily fascinated by how he could count so quickly.

Jagat Wengi immediately ordered a room from the waiter. He reluctantly used the supplies provided by Ki Wardiman to give Gendis a relatively safe and classy inn.

Twenty silver coins exchanged hands with the waiter, who promptly escorted the two of them upstairs, climbing twenty flights of stairs.

"Sir..."

"Yes..." Jagat Wengi was startled, amazed by his eyes that saw the straight line of stairs ascending.

"Your room is in the corridor on the right."

"Alright, stay in the room, and don't go anywhere until I come to get you."

Jagat Wengi casually left Gendis behind, but once again, the waiter came calling.

"What's the matter?"

"Is that your lover?"

"Eh... What do you mean?"

"Tuban is undergoing changes. Many women are dying and being taken to their homeland."

"Women?"

The waiter nodded softly. He went on to explain that the demand for women in this port had greatly increased. Lady Nanta herself, as the largest brothel owner, had to search for women outside the island and hire mercenaries to find these women.

Moreover, the situation had become more uncertain since Ranggalawe's rebellion. The capital city had not yet sent a replacement regent to govern Tuban. There was no law here.

Jagat Wengi nodded in understanding, but in his mind, he was only thinking about Ki Wardiman's task.

"Do you know the translator in Tuban?"

"What kind of translator?"

"Mongolian."

The waiter replied that the mentioned translator had been working with Lady Nanta to facilitate her brothel operations. The person was not only able to translate Mongolian but also Chinese.

Jagat Wengi was thrilled to hear this. It meant he could practice two languages at once. Ki Wardiman would also be pleased to hear about it.

Without further ado, Jagat Wengi immediately rushed back to Lady Nanta's brothel.

"Sir... Wait, sir."

"What now?" Jagat Wengi was slightly annoyed by the waiter's next call.

"Regarding the woman earlier."

"What about the woman?"

"It would be best to bring the woman who was with you. We cannot take responsibility for her safety."

"Are you serious about this issue?"

"Yes, sir."

Women could indeed be troublesome. The only way was to send Gendis back home. He could return later because he had already obtained the location he was after.

"Alright. In that case, we'll cancel the room. Thank you."

Jagat Wengi didn't want to take the risk of leaving Gendis alone in the room. He would accompany her back home and return to Tuban.

Gendis herself was puzzled by Jagat Wengi's cancellation, but after he explained, the girl understood and followed his suggestion.

It was only right for her to be at home because she felt that this place was very dangerous and unfriendly.

"I apologize for inconveniencing you, Brother."

"Don't worry about it. Now we have to hurry back."

Their two horses immediately galloped fast, unaware that three other horses were following from behind.

After passing through the port gate, the three horses increased their speed to match Jagat Wengi and Gendis' pace.

As their horses lined up side by side, Jagat Wengi realized that he had been surrounded. However, their intention was not to harm but simply to stop him, as one of them extended their hand as a signal to halt.

"What is this?"

"Hand over your woman to us."

Jagat Wengi was taken aback by their brazen demand. To them, women were merely commodities. He remembered that these three individuals were the ones he saw in Lady Nanta's brothel earlier.

They carried concealed weapons, small knives that protruded from their ankles, hidden beneath loose black pants.

"Hey! Are you mute? Get off your horse!"

Jagat Wengi kept thinking of ways to confront these three individuals, who might be beyond his capabilities. He had to rely on his sharp mind to buy time until an opportunity to escape presented itself.

As a young woman, Gendis remained surprisingly calm in the face of such a situation.

"I need to prepare this woman before taking her to Lady Nanta. Don't you know that?" Jagat asked, his voice filled with conviction.

His response had some effect. Two of them exchanged glances, while the other continued to stare at Gendis. Jagat Wengi continued with his lie, drawing from his memory of Lady Nanta's activities as a brothel owner.

"This woman is from Sunda. She needs some adjustment before meeting our boss."

"Where are you taking her?" asked one of them, wearing a gold necklace.

"She's an acquaintance from a neighboring village. It'll only take a moment. You can come with me if you want. Or do you want to try her first?"

Their faces showed increasing doubt. Not doubt about Jagat's lie, but doubt if they had made a mistake in their target.

"Oh, of course Lady Nanta doesn't want used goods, right? So, what do you say? Will you come along?" This question was incredibly audacious. Jagat was challenging the three individuals to believe him and trust that he wasn't lying.

"Alright, but one of us will come with you. Lady Nanta needs an additional woman. Ships have started arriving, guests are increasing. Which group do you belong to?"

"I work alone, friend."

The person wearing the gold necklace nodded and asked one of his companions to accompany Jagat and Gendis.

"But besides escorting this woman, I actually want to meet Lady Nanta's translator. Has he arrived?" Jagat Wengi had to be cautious with this question.

"Didn't you want to go to the neighboring village?"

"Yes."

"He lives there. Why?" the person with the gold necklace asked.

"It's nothing. I plan to find a Chinese woman for Lady Nanta."

"Don't boast with your words if you can't provide proof. Now go and come back quickly."

Jagat Wengi smiled and nodded his head. It was a victorious smile because he had acquired his target. The only thing left was to get rid of the enemy who had joined them.