The wider street Lira chose for the return was busier than the path they had taken earlier, lined with open stalls and steady foot traffic that made it harder for anyone to stop them without drawing attention.
Ray walked beside her in the new clothes, the better fabric sitting cleanly across his frame, the wrapped bundle of remaining garments carried under Lira's arm as they moved through the crowd at a steady pace.
A few people still glanced at the collar around his neck and the Black Orchid maid uniform, but none of them spoke, the earlier confrontation was already left behind in the narrower part of the market.
Lira remained quiet for most of the walk, only speaking once they turned onto the quieter road that led back toward the motel.
"Lady Seris values control over her stock and her staff," she said, eyes forward, "she will want every detail of what those women said and how you answered them."
Ray kept his pace even.
"I already told you to report it as it happened."
Lira gave a short nod and did not press further.
The private courtyard entrance came into view soon after, the same side door they had left through earlier in the day, two guards in dark uniforms opening it without question once they saw Lira's face.
Inside the Black Orchid the air was cooler and quieter than the market streets, the polished floors and soft lighting a clear return to the controlled world Seris maintained.
Lira led him straight up the staircase toward the upper floor, stopping only long enough to hand the wrapped clothes to a waiting attendant with a brief instruction to place them in Ray's room.
Then she continued to the heavy door marked with the small black orchid and knocked once.
Seris's voice came from inside, clear and measured.
"Enter."
Lira opened the door and stepped in first, Ray following a pace behind until they both stood in front of the wide desk.
Seris sat exactly as she had the night before, dark hair pinned, expression calm, a thin stack of papers set neatly to one side.
Her eyes moved over Ray's new clothes in a single assessing pass before settling on Lira.
"Report."
Lira spoke without hesitation, recounting the path to the market, the encounter with the group of well-dressed women, the insults directed at her uniform and position, and the exact words Ray had used in response.
She left nothing out, including the tall woman's threat about making trouble for the Black Orchid and the way the group had remained in the street afterward.
When she finished Seris leaned back in her chair, fingers resting lightly on the desk, and turned her attention fully to Ray.
"You spoke to them directly."
"Yes."
"You insulted them in public while wearing my collar."
"They were trying to bully her in the middle of the street," Ray answered, voice steady, "I told them to move on."
Seris studied him for a long moment.
"Most stock would have kept silent and let the maid handle it," she said, "some would have stepped back to avoid any risk of punishment, you chose to open your mouth and call them empty-headed in front of witnesses."
Ray did not look away.
"They were already drawing attention, staying quiet would not have made them leave faster."
A faint curve touched the edge of Seris's mouth, not quite a smile but close.
"Lira, you are dismissed, have the kitchen send a proper meal to his room, he will remain off the floor until I decide the next booking."
Lira gave a short bow and left the office, closing the door quietly behind her.
Seris rose from her chair and walked around the desk until she stood closer to Ray, close enough to adjust the collar at his neck with deliberate fingers the same way she had before.
"You are still learning the weight of that collar," she said, voice low, "the women you insulted today hold minor seats in the outer district trade circle, they cannot touch the Black Orchid directly, but they can make noise, and noise attracts eyes I prefer to keep at a distance."
Her hand dropped from the collar.
"At the same time, a male who will not allow my staff to be publicly diminished has a certain value, especially when that same male is already collecting high private marks."
She returned to her chair and picked up a pen.
"You will stay in your room for the rest of the day, eat, rest, and wait, the next client I assign you will be someone who expects more than the open floor ever demanded, do not disappoint the standard you have already set."
Ray gave a short nod.
"Understood."
Seris waved a hand toward the door without looking up again.
"Dismissed."
Ray left the office and walked the short corridor to his private room, the key turning smoothly in the lock, the new clothes still sitting cleanly on his frame as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
The system window opened at the edge of his vision without being called, the skill points and service record waiting in the quiet of the upper floor while the Black Orchid continued its usual rhythm beyond the walls.