The old lady nodded, "That's true. However, a few years before she died, she sent me a message and informed me that she was in the Green leaf kingdom."
"That's why we didn't stop anywhere on our way here." Gene nodded in understanding. Previously she was confused as to why her grandmother did not stop to recuperate anywhere and took her to this rural kingdom. As it turned out, she wanted to find their heirloom sword as soon as possible.
After a thought, she said, "Grandma, although this kingdom isn't as big as the empires in the central plains, it is still quite big. On top of that, we don't know where exactly she was staying in this kingdom. I'm afraid it won't be easy to find it."
The old lady nodded, "You are right. Therefore, we will take our time searching around." She then patted her head and smiled, "You focus on your cultivation and training. With your talent, maybe you won't even need that sword to avenge our family in future.
"Yes, grandma." Gene also smiled. She knew her grandma meant they might not find that sword and would need to rely on themselves.
"Okay, let's try to buy a spirit fruit for you now." The old lady smiled lightly and turned her attention to the ongoing auction.
...
"Woah! Are they going to stop or not?"
"250,000 Mana stones! As far as I remember, it was the final bid for some of the spirit fruits in the past, right?"
"Yeah! I can't believe an egg with almost no possibility of ever hatching can go for such a high price."
"I think it'll go for even higher."
The crowd started discussing heatedly among themselves after Jack made the bid for 250,000 Mana stones.
On the stage, apart from Siana, who had the same expression since the start, the other four old elves were smiling brightly.
One among them said, "It seems miss Siana is our lucky star. We had thought this egg would go unsold. Who knew we would be able to earn so much from this."
"Hey, old man, don't forget this egg was miss Siana's property. All the money received from selling it should go to her."
"Cough! I know that."
...
"Big brother, he raised the price to 250,000. Hurry up, or aunt Siana will give the egg to him." In room 2, little Arya hurriedly said when she saw Max silent for a moment.
"Don't worry. Your big brother will win it." Rima chuckled when she saw her become anxious.
'It seems I need to raise the stakes some more.' Max thought before shouting his next bid, "280,000 Mana stones!"
As his voice fell, the crowd went silent for a moment before breaking into a commotion.
"Amazing! He raised it directly by 30,000."
"Will that other guy raise it again?"
"I hope he will. It's fun watching them wasting their money."
"I really want to see who will be the eventual victor."
Jack's expression darkened when he heard the bid. But because he had already resolved to use his Mana stones, it didn't take long before he also raised the bid. "300,000!"
Janice Arasia, sitting beside him, asked, "Sir Jack, are you sure you want to spend so much on it? I'm sure the Dalton family gave you a limited amount for private usage, right?"
Jack felt a pang in his heart when he heard this because what she said was right. He was allowed to use only 250,000 Mana stones from the funds the family gave him to buy the spirit fruits, and this was because his mother was one of the Elders that held the authority in the family. If it were someone other instead of him, they wouldn't have been allowed so much.
He forced a smile and said, "It's alright, miss Janice. I can spend this without any problem. Moreover, I believe the guest from the third floor is also here for spirit fruits and wouldn't want to spend any more on the egg."
Although he said this, he was sweating inwardly. Apart from the 250,000 Mana stones he was allowed to use from the family's fund, his total savings amounted to only around 100,000 Mana stones.
So, in total, he only had around 350,000 Mana stones, and the bid had already reached 300,000. If it increased by another 50,000, he wouldn't be able to bid anymore. So, he was praying that Max would stop increasing the bid now and let him have the egg.
However, a moment later, his smile froze, and his worries became real when Max's voice rang out once again.
"350,000!"
"This..." He was dumbstruck and didn't know how to respond to this.
He glanced at Janice stiffly and opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.
Janice almost couldn't control her laughter when she saw his constipated expression and thought, 'Who told you to show off with this little wealth?'
However, she still put on a smile and said, "Sir Jack, it's okay. You don't have to bid anymore. I don't think it's worth so much."
At the same time, she glanced at the egg in Siana's hand and shook her head, 'It's very unfortunate the chances of it hatching are too low and spending so much for that minute possibility is simply a waste.'
Meanwhile, the crowd was waiting for Jack to raise the bid again and give them a good show.
"Hey, do you think that guest on the second floor would raise the bid again?"
"I hope he does."
"I don't think he would do that if he his brain is functioning properly."
"Oh? Why would you think so?"
"It's simple. He should know by now that the guest on the third floor seems hell-bent on buying this egg. So, even if he is more wealthy than the guest on the third floor and succeeds in buying it, I'm sure the guest on the third floor wouldn't let him leave Ninam city alive."
"What you said makes sense. After all, the people who are able to stay on the third floor aren't to be taken lightly."
As if proving the crowd's speculation true, Jack's voice sounded, "Since the friend on the third floor wants this precious egg this much, I won't compete with you any longer. You can have it."
Hearing this, Leticia became angry, "How shameless! After raising the price this much, he is acting as if he is doing us a favour."
Max didn't bother replying to him and waited for Siana to announce the winner.
Bonus chapter (6/15)
