"Yeah." Max nodded without thinking. But the next moment, his expression froze when he felt three piercing gazes on him. He smiled wryly and said, "You guys aren't any less beaut-"
Hehe~
As he started speaking, Rima giggled, "I was just kidding."
"Oh?" Max was stunned for a moment before he turned to Belen and Leticia, who also had smiles on their faces which he found strange. It was understandable if only Belen and Rima seemed unaffected, but Leticia seemed fine too.
From what he knew, Leticia was the most jealous among the ladies. The latest example would be when the servant girl tried to flirt with him, and she was instantly provoked.
When Leticia saw him looking at her with a confused look, she felt bitter. It was true she didn't want any more women to be close to him because it would lessen her precious time with him.
'However, what could I do when I am neither beautiful like this host nor strong enough so you would be with me more.' She felt helpless.
This was also one of her biggest reasons why she was now determined to become strong because even though it was not apparent, she could feel that Max seemed to favour the one with the strongest cultivation base among them for some reason.
When he saw this, Max looked at them with a loving gaze and thought, 'No matter if I have other women in future or not; I'll definitely take care of you guys.'
"Big brother, big sisters, that's aunt Siana." Little Arya became excited when she saw the host and hurriedly introduced her to them.
"She is your aunt?" Rima asked.
"Yes." Little Arya nodded vigorously, "She is my mother's best friend and would often come to visit us."
Hearing this, Max trained his eyes on Siana, the auction's host, 'So, she is Elena's best friend. No wonder both of them are so stunning.' As the saying goes, birds of the same feather flocks together.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Siana, your host for the auction." Siana looked at everyone sitting in the auditorium below and then at guests on the second and third floors and greeted them with a slight smile on her fairy-like face.
Right after she spoke, there was a commotion in the auditorium below as everyone, young and old, greeted her back very enthusiastically. Of course, most of them were males.
"Thank you, everyone, for the warm welcome." Siana nodded before she continued to say, "I'm sure everyone here knows about the rules of the auction house; the highest bidder will win the items up for auction. So, without wasting any time, let's start the monthly auction."
Swoosh!
Just as she finished her sentence, she waved her slightly, and a long silver spear appeared and hovered above her.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first item of the day. This is a high tier grade-three weapon capable of boosting your attacks by 20%. It means your normal attacks will be comparable to some of the weaker low-tier spells. The bid will start at 20,000 low-grade Mana stones. Each bid must be at least one thousand Mana stones."
Immediately after she stopped speaking, a commotion broke out in the crowd, and exclamations of surprise could be heard.
"A grade-three weapon capable of boosting attack by 20%?"
"As expected of the Greenwave auction house. Although it's not an elemental weapon, it's still a grade three weapon."
"They really deserve their reputation."
"..."
"Uncle, should we try bidding for it since its price is quite low for a grade three weapon?" A young lady sitting in one of the rooms on the second floor asked a middle-aged man beside her.
The man shook his head, "The bidding price is always low, but the final price after the bidding is always a lot higher. Let's just wait and watch. We aren't here for the weapons anyway."
Just then, a robust voice rang out in the air, "21,000 Mana stones."
Following that, more voices started to ring out one after another.
"22,000"
"23,000"
"24,000"
...
The girl who previously asked her uncle to bid had a stunned expression. She then looked at the middle-aged man reverently and said, "You were right, uncle. Look how much the price has risen in just a few moments."
By now, the price has risen to 29,000 Mana stones, and the people weren't as enthusiastic as before.
Siana had a satisfied expression when the price rose this much. She looked at the people below with a businessperson's gaze and spoke temptingly, "This madam has bid 29,000 Mana stones. Is there anyone who would like to raise the bid and win this weapon? Let me remind you, although it's not an elemental weapon, it's still a good grade-three weapon."
However, no one bid, even after a few seconds had passed. Siana glanced at the crowd and feigned a slightly disappointed expression, "Since no one is willing-"
Just then, a burst of laughter rang out in the air from a room on the second floor, "Hahaha, miss Siana. Although I don't care about a mere grade-three weapon, I can't bear to watch a beauty like you with such an expression. So, I'll bid 40,000 stones for your smile."
"40,000... for a mere grade three weapon. Such extravagance!"
"It seems he is one of miss Siana's admirers."
"No wonder he has so much money to spend. It turns out he is a guest on the second floor."
"..."
Many people gasped when they heard the bid and started discussing it amongst themselves. Unlike the third floor, where only guests like Max and others were allowed to sit, the second floor was open to everyone and had many rooms.
They just had to pay five thousand Mana stones for a room. Needless to say, only wealthy people were willing to spend so many Mana stones for a room. Others would choose ordinary seats in the auditorium that cost only 100 Mana stones.
Siana's eyes glinted coldly as she glanced toward one of the rooms on the second floor, but she still maintained her smile and asked, "That sir bid 40,000 Mana stones, would anyone want to raise it?"
Bonus chapter (4/15)
