A rather heavy atmosphere permeated around a remote stall on the fiftieth floor.
Varian looked at the shopkeeper and said curtly. "I came first. I'm taking it."
"No!" The girl clenched her fists in front of her chest and yelled. "I was here first. I have the right to buy."
"This is very important to me," Varian said to the girl in a cold voice.
Even though he didn't release any killing intent, the air seemed to have stilled from his mere stare.
What's more, after so many life-challenging situations, the atmosphere around Varian by itself was frightening.
Even though he didn't realize it yet, he could be scary sometimes.
The girl's face paled as she felt like she was stared at by a scary beast. Her legs trembled in fear, but she gritted her teeth and held back the tears in her eyes.
"B-Bully! I have to buy this at any cost!"
Varian shook his head and turned to the stall owner. "I will pay 1,000,000 CP."
"O-One million?" The stall owner opened her mouth in shock.
She glanced at the white box again and wondered if it was some sort of secret treasure.
Snow Melody-Purple Sky Edition.
As far as she knew, it was only a special edition of a musical item. The item itself wasn't even a century old. The company stopped production 70 years ago after the loss from abyssal wars.
She could pat her chest and say that no one in this generation even knows Snow Melody.
Then why…
"I will pay two million. On. The. Spot." The young lady, two years younger than Varian, said with a forceful aura.
She showed a certain elegance even in the forceful situation.
Elegance that was only found in elite houses…
The shopkeeper's eyebrows suddenly jumped. If this was a very important elite house, just gifting the item to the girl would earn her a favor.
A favor from such a noble house was far more important than 2 million CP.
On the other hand, Varian…
'He's not a young master.' The stall owner's keen eyes concluded.
Even though he had money, he seemed more like a military person. A warrior. A sharp blade.
But most evident of all—
"Young Man, it's better not to go further. The young Lady is very kind. But me, not so much." A middle-aged woman in a maid uniform stepped forward and said to Varian who was about to bid a higher price.
"Huh?" Varian turned to the maid.
The shopkeeper sighed inside.
Yes.
Which powerful houses didn't wouldn't provide their young master with a maid or butler?
But he…he only had two girls with him and they were obviously companions than servants.
So, even if he's very rich, the young man would back off—
"You're not kind?" Varian raised a brow.
The maid nodded lightly with a very dark smile. "Back off now and you can still have a good vacation on Eos. Or as I said, I'll have to show you why I'm not kind."
A heavy pressure emanated from the maid. She was a level 7. For a maid to be level 7, the house of the young lady was surely very powerful.
"W-Wait! Don't use your aura!" The young lady grabbed the maid's dress and shook her head. "I just want to buy what I want fairly."
Varian opened his mouth in surprise. The girl didn't seem to be lying.
"Miss, I'm not coercing, merely asking." The maid said and turned to Varian. "Right, young man? You understand the situation and willing to back off, right?"
'Or do you want to be targetted by a house that can send level 7 maids?' That was what she was implying.
"I totally understand my situation." Varian nodded with a bright smile.
The maid smiled in satisfaction. This guy was smart. He gave in. If he didn't, then he'd have been badly beaten—
"But you don't understand your situation. Fuck off before I get angry." He spat and turned to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper opened her mouth wide, and so did the maid and the young lady.
They never thought he'd bid again.
Either he was really powerful or completely crazy.
"Ten million."
The shopkeeper's mouth opened wider.
'Brother, it's three million after two million, no? Why are you jumping like that? Do you want my poor heart to burst from pounding too much?'
"T-Ten million?" The young lady flinched and gazed at Varian in shock.
That kind of money for a musical item?
"On the spot. Don't doubt it." Varian crossed his arms and turned to the young lady. "Oh, if you don't want to continue, you can leave. Like you said, I also want to buy it fairly."
"I…I…" The young lady bit her lip as she clenched her dress tightly.
Seeing her plight, Varian felt a bit bad feeling that he was bullying a younger girl. But thinking of the item, his guilt completely vanished.
Instead, a heavy expression dawned on his face.
'It's dad's favorite. Whenever he returned for a vacation, we used to listen to it together.
The purple sky edition…he bought it from a friend. It's filled with songs from the purple sky planetoid.
He was very happy about it and even showed it off a lot.'
Varian lowered his head and sighed. Since he was too young, he forgot it, but using his mind powers, he was able to remember it now.
The last time he talked with his dad.
'Var, after I return from the mission, let's do something fun.'
'Un.'
'Then let's listen to my latest collection in Snow Melody~ Purple Sky edition. Do you hear? Purple Sky! The rare piece I got from my friend!'
'Dad, I also want purple sky!'
'What do I do? I don't have one more.'
'Woo~ then I can't have it?'
'Of course, you can, little bud. I'll gift it to you on your ninth birthday. How about it? Your dad is giving you his favorite stuff! Don't you want to thank Dad?'
'Yes!'
'Then be good and take care of mom, okay? Study well too. Then as a reward for how good your are, I'll gift you the Purple sky.'
'P…Promise?'
'Promise!'
'Dad, you shouldn't break the promise or I'll be sad.'
'Haha! I won't.!'
Saying so, he boarded the spaceship and left.
'I won't break the promise.'
He did.
He broke the promise.
He never returned from the battlefield.
It was a bit too much for the eight-year-old.
When it was his ninth birthday, Varian stayed up all night waiting for his father.
He didn't want the gift anymore. He just wanted his father to return.
He never did.
"-an?"
"Young Man!"
"Huh? Yeah?" Varian snapped out of his thoughts after hearing the stall owner's voice.
The stall owner pointed to the young lady who was now glancing at him with a bitter look.
"You're still here?" Varian was surprised.
"F-Fifteen million." The young lady said.
It seemed that she was richer than he thought. But Varian had no intention of backing down.
He wasn't even sure if he could get the Purple Sky anywhere else.
So, he said without hesitation. "Fifty million."
"F-Fifty?" The shopkeeper clutched her heart and held the counter for support.
The onlookers gathered around the bidding war but after glancing at the maid and feeling her scary aura, they backed off and maintained some distance.
"Yep. Fifty. Girl, I don't know why you're doing this, maybe for the same reason as me, but I really need it. I'm not going to back down." Varian turned to the girl gawking at him.
Apparently, she couldn't fathom him spending fifty million on it.
It wasn't just her. Even her maid, a level 7, looked at him like she was losing her mind.
"H-How much are my assets?" The young lady whispered to the maid, but Varian was able to hear it clearly.
'Wait, what?'
She's going too far now.
The maid bit her lip. "Seventy-five…but that man, you can't outbid him."
The young lady lowered her head and her shoulders shook. "B-But I…I just…"
The maid clenched her fists and regardless of the consequences, walked to Varian.
The pressure of a level 7 descended on Varian like a mountain and she said coldly. "We'll pay you fifty. Give up now or you'll regret it."
The crowd paled as they felt the remnants of the pressure she emanated. Even though it was only a small part of what Varian was experiencing, it nearly caused their bodies to freeze.
On the other hand, Varian, the subject of the high-level 7 coercion didn't even seem to notice it.
He swiped his comm, paid the fifty million to the stupefied boss, and grabbed the purple sky.
Then, he calmly began to walk away.
Right then, the guards also began approaching the maid.
"Wait!" The maid suddenly called out.
Varian didn't even slow down.
"Do you really want to provoke a level 7 awakener?" She asked in a raging voice.
Hearing her words, the crowd shivered and they finally understood why the pressure was so terrifying.
Level 7.
A high awakener!
With a swipe of their hand, they could level mountains.
Provoking such a monster was…
"I already did though? And I'm fine." Varian chuckled and walked off.
Only then did the maid and the crowd realize what he meant.
Even under that pressure…
…Under that terrifying pressure, the young man didn't even flinch. His facial expression didn't change from the beginning to the end.
He acted as if the pressure was non-existent.
But it existed! Everyone was certain of it.
Then what did it mean?
The young man could ignore even the pressure of a level 7.
How strong was he?
The maid collapsed on her butt as she felt a shiver run down her spine.
"I…I hope we never meet him again."
She didn't know.
They were going to meet soon.
