"We'll be taking only one cabin." Leticia hurriedly replied, slightly anxious. What a joke! Without Max and Belen, who had almost all the Mana stones their group had, they won't be able to bid with the meagre number of the Mana stone they had.
The supervisor nodded but still glanced at Max and the others for confirmation. Leticia frowned at this but didn't say anything since he was just doing his job.
"One cabin is enough," Max said. Belen and Rima also nodded.
"If that's the case, please follow me to cabin number two." The supervisor nodded and led them to the number two cabin.
As they entered the cabin, they found out that although it looked tiny from the outside, it was pretty spacious inside, almost two times bigger than their dorm rooms in the academy. Five wooden chairs were placed at the centre of the room, and in front of each chair was a small table.
However, the first thing they noticed was a transparent light barrier instead of the wall in front of them, and from that, they could see everything outside.
"Wah! We are quite high!" Little Arya exclaimed as she looked outside the light barrier.
The supervisor smiled and said, "Respected guests, as you might know, there are only ten cabins on the third floor where only respected guests like you or the high city's high official are allowed in."
Just as he finished speaking, a group of young female elves in auction house uniforms entered the cabin one after another. Some were holding trays in their hand.
"Greetings, supervisor. Greetings, respected guests." The girl bowed in greeting toward the supervisor and the group.
When they saw Max, their expressions brightened, and they couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, 'What a handsome man! I'm afraid there isn't anyone comparable to him in our city.'
The supervisor nodded to the girls and continued, "So, with this room, you will get these servant girls who will accompany you throughout the auction. If you have any requests, you can tell them."
After saying this, he hesitated for a bit and said in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry if you don't like this. However, I have to inform you since it's my duty. You are not allowed to do anything inappropriate to them, or we will be forced to evict you."
When they heard this, Max and the ladies' expressions stiffened slightly. Max wanted to shout at him and say, 'Can't you see the ladies accompanying me? Why would I do anything inappropriate to the servants?' However, he held back and only nodded.
When little Arya, who was glancing around the room with interest, heard this and noticed their expression, she grew angry and shouted in her cute voice, "Uncle, what do you mean inappropriate? Do my big brother and big sister look like bad people? Moreover, what inappropriate can we do to these big sisters?"
"This..." The supervisor was dumbfounded. The servant girls, Max and the group, smiled wryly when they heard her.
The supervisor looked at Max and the ladies hoping they would say something, but they just ignored his pleading gaze.
"What? Why aren't you speaking now?" Little Arya shouted again when the supervisor didn't respond.
The supervisor struggled for a moment before he bowed toward them and said, "Saint girl, please forgive me for saying something that I shouldn't have."
"Don't apologise to me. Apologise to my big brother and big sisters." Little Arya's expression softened a little when she saw him 'admitting' his mistake.
'Saint girl?' The servant girls' were baffled when they heard how their superior addressed the little girl and started whispering amongst themselves.
"Is she the saint girl?"
"She shouldn't be, right? Why would the saint girl be with these human guests?"
"I don't know why she is with them. However, I'm pretty sure she is the saint girl."
"Yeah, the current saint girl's description perfectly matches her. Moreover, the supervisor wouldn't have addressed her as the saint girl if she was someone else."
Unlike before, now their expressions were respectful when they glanced at little Arya.
Hearing Arya's words, the supervisor struggled. He was clearly unwilling to bow to them, but after a moment, he gave up.
However, just as he was about to bow and apologise, Rima glanced at Max, who nodded lightly toward her, and she hurriedly stopped him from bowing, "It's alright, supervisor. There is no harm done."
"Thank you, milady." The supervisor stood up and gratefully looked at Rima before cautiously glancing at little Arya.
"Humph!" Little Arya grunted in displeasure but didn't say anything, which caused him to sigh in relief.
However, maybe because he felt humiliated after he instructed the servant girls to take care of them and explain how to bid on the auction items to Max and the ladies, he left.
The servants glanced at each other before one of them stepped out to explain the things while others who were holding trays placed them on the tables. There were different types of dessert dishes, fruits cut into fine pieces and jars of juice and wine.
The servant girl who stepped out politely said, "Respected guests, the auction will start in an hour's time. Until then, please take your seats and make yourselves comfortable and enjoy these delicacies and fine wine. In the meantime, let me tell you how to bid on the auctioned items."
"Delicacies?" Little Arya's eyes brightened when she heard her, and she immediately jumped into her seat and urged the servant girls to remove the covers.
"You little girl, you aren't full yet." Leticia and the others laughed when they saw this and took their seats.
"Respected guests, if there is any item that you like to buy, you just need to shout your bid. However, please remember that this room is soundproof. So, before you bid, please remember to infuse your mana into your chair's right armrest. Once you do, the soundproofing formation covering the light barrier will deactivate, and your voice will resound in the auction hall below." The servant girl explained.
"Okay." Max and the ladies nodded in understanding.
"I heard there will be a spirit fruit in the auction today. Is that true?" Max asked.
The servant girl's face brightened when she heard Max speak, and she hurriedly replied, "Yes, my lord. The rumour is true. There will be three spirit fruits on the auction today."
"Three?" Max, Rima, Belen and Leticia became excited when they heard this. Initially, they had thought that there would be only one spirit fruit. So, even if they managed to acquire it, only one among them would be able to use it. However, if there were three spirit fruits, three of them would be able to use them and improve their cultivation level.
Max quickly calmed down and asked, "How long has it been since you started working here?"
The servant girl was surprised but didn't hesitate to reply, "It's been more than five years, my lord."
Max nodded in satisfaction and asked with a friendly smile, "Since you have been working here for such a long time, you must have an idea of how many Mana stones we need if we want to buy them, right?"
The servant girl was entranced when she saw him smile at her and forget to answer.
"Humph! What are you daydreaming about? Answer what he asked you." Leticia harrumphed in displeasure.
"Ah!" The servant girl came out of her trance upon hearing Leticia's voice and her face reddened in embarrassment as she hurriedly apologised, "I-I'm sorry, my lord. I... I just..."
"It's alright." Max smiled reassuringly at her, which put her at ease.
She glanced at Leticia with a slightly fearful gaze, but when she noticed she wasn't even looking, she calmed down, and after taking a breath, she spoke,
"My lord, as you may already know, the spirit fruits are also divided into grades, just like medicine or magical artefacts. Grade one spirit fruits are the least valuable since they can only help a one-star mage, while the grade nine spirit fruits are almost priceless; however, they are the stuff of legends.
The spirit fruits that will be auctioned today are grade-three spirit fruits, and because they can increase the cultivation base on everyone below the four-star realm without any side effects, the competition should be intense today. So, each fruit should go for 250,000 low-grade Mana stones minimum.
"250,000 for one fruit?" Rima, Leticia, and usually calm Belen's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this. They had thought that with the 100,000 Mana stones the city lord had rewarded them with, they were now rich. However, only now they realized how poor they were.
