‘They’re probably trying to comprehend the situation. Aside from identifying me as the real Beradin, they would be dying to know if the Zipfel Clan knew of this commotion.’
He would be thinking of that too. In extreme scenarios, humans tend to prioritize survival over anything else.
‘They can’t strike me anyway even if they confirm that I am acting without the clan’s knowledge.’
The real Beradin Zipfel and the impersonator Jin Runcandel. They could be identified as the brightest magicians of their era, but they were still in their teens. So fighting a group of Tesing’s unregistered magicians would still be dangerous. There was actually no need to even summon them; Alu could probably deal with Jin by himself.
But “Beradin” wasn’t the only person that Alu had to consider.
‘How good are Beradin Zipfel’s bodyguards?’
A young man with slanted eyes and an emotionless woman. In the process of getting rid of Beradin, the bodyguards were the greatest threat.
It wasn’t easy to consider. Seeing that neither of their auras were detectable, they could either be weak magicians or masters who concealed their true power.
“And Jet, come over here. Don’t just sit there like that.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Damn, your face is a mess. Did you get beat up after mentioning my name?”
“Oh, I’m okay, sir. Don’t worry about an insignificant guy like me… please remember your tasks.”
“Yeah? Alright, then.”
Although Jin felt sympathy for Jet, he was the least of his concerns.
“What are you doing, Alu? Bring me your transaction records and customer registry.”
“Yes, Sir Beradin. Hey! Didn’t you hear him? Hustle!”
The Tesing agents at the edge of the room scattered like ants. Despite there being over ten volumes of the records and registry, it was all still just the tip of the iceberg.
“This is everything that is in the auction house, Sir Beradin. More important documents are in my residence’s magic safe…”
As Alu’s voice drifted off, he became self-conscious.
“May I go there myself and retrieve it? You only need to wait a little bit.”
“Haha… ‘Wait a little bit’, my ass. Can’t you see the situation you’re in?
“Who are you trying to fool with that obvious trickery? If I send you alone to find the purchase history, do you plan on destroying all of the important documents and contacting your connections to find out whether I’m real and why I’m here?”
“No, Sir Beradin. That is not my true intention.”
Alu knew that his plan was obvious, but he had to take his chances. Alu’s ears flushed red, and he ducked his head only to see the edge of Jin’s foot.
“Hahaha… Alu. It seems you know how to be embarrassed. Very well, go ahead. Go by yourself. Do whatever you can for the time being, and you’d still be in the palm of the Zipfels.”
As soon as he heard that, Alu lost all hope.
From his perspective, those were words that sprouted a chain of misunderstandings.
‘He was… not alone. I thought wrong. There must be Zipfel magicians outside already…!’
Jin smirked knowing that Alu would dig his own grave by overthinking the whole situation.
“I… I have been mistaken. I will proceed with a supervisor of your choice, Sir Beradin.”
“Piss off. Starting now, I expect wise decisions from you, Spiderhand Alu. For the time being, I will be searching the storage.”
The hopelessness in Alu’s face dissolved. If he acted upon “Beradin’s” expectations, he could get out of this situation alive.
“…It will take around two hours, Sir Beradin. You guys escort Sir Beradin to the storage room while I am absent.”
With a serious look on his face, Alu moved to exit the auction house. The only ones left inside were the Tesing agents as well as Jin and his companions.
The quick-witted agents approached Jin and immediately escorted him to the storage.
“There are many items from the boss’s residence and summer house, but the Tesing auction house has only one official storage room. This way, please.”
A snitch. As soon as the boss was about to crumble, the agent commented about the ‘many items from the boss’s residence and summer house’ to expose the crimes of embezzlement.
If they all found out that he was bluffing, how would they react? Jin scoffed.
It was his first time seeing the Tesing underground auction house’s storage room. It started one more floor beneath the auction house, and its entire structure had three levels.
The first basement housed the slaves, below that was the second basement with shelves of magic tomes, and lastly, the third basement that was filled with artifacts. Jin and the others were surprised at seeing the storage being bigger and more organized than they had expected.
The slaves didn’t react to the sight of new people. Although they were not drugged yet to be presented on stage, they didn’t exactly foster any hope either.
“I will be outside. Please call me anytime if you need assistance.”
As soon as the Tesing guard left, Jet began to worry.
“I didn’t know you were such an important person! A successor of the Zipfel Clan. Sir, please offer me a chance to display my loyalty. I will do anything.”
“Good idea. Starting now, go find out about the birthplace and real name of each slave in the first basement. Afterwards, a clan member will come and take them away.”
“Oh! Yes, I understand. I will proceed immediately.”
The Zipfel Clan explicitly prohibited slave trading. In reality, there were still many who engaged in these illicit activities, but they just needed to avoid getting caught.
Also, underlings should have fun while working for their reward.
“So, kid. What are you gonna do? That Alu bastard will return after confirming that you’re an imposter.”
“Yeah, I know that.”
Outside the auction house, contrary to what Alu imagined, there were no Zipfel magicians. He was walking on eggshells thinking that they were watching, but he would soon realize that it was all a hoax and contact acquaintances to confirm Beradin’s identity.
He would ask someone who knew of the appearance and whereabouts of Beradin Zipfel. It was only a matter of time until Jin got busted.
“Why did you order Jet to survey the slaves when we are short on time? It’s easy for us to escape, but he’s dead meat anyway.”
“No, the paper with the birthplace and name will save Jet. As long as we drop off the slave registry at the Zipfel Clan’s residence and the Vermont Empire’s press, the Tesing Clan is doomed. Even if we’re impersonators.”
If the public caught on to this, not even the Zipfels could let this institution continue. The most elite magicians will be dispatched to save the slaves, wipe out the Tesings, and righteously rebuild the rotten Akin Kingdom.
This result was obvious because the clan’s lowest-ranked members needed to prioritize the Zipfels’ reputation over the Tesing Clan’s bribe.
‘The irony will force them to make a move.’
Jin planned on appointing Jet as the messenger. Then the Zipfel Clan would protect him as a witness.
Of course, in this scenario, Jet would be stuck with the Zipfels and the Empire’s Investigation Team. But since he had strong survival instincts, he would only spit evidence that would be advantageous for him.
For example, he would say something like “There definitely wasn’t an impersonator of Beradin in Akin, and I am only reporting this institution because I felt disillusioned from the slave trading done by the Tesings.”
Ultimately, Jin was not saving Jet because he was valuable; he was just being considerate of Jet’s two-year-old son.
Under witness protection, Jet can scrap his shady backstreet life and peacefully live the rest of his life with his son in vast unknown lands.
It wasn’t a bad future for the father and son. When considering all the other possibilities, there was no better future than this one—not for Jet, but for the child.
Because the pure and kind child would be following in his father’s footsteps.
“Well, okay. Let’s just say that part goes as planned. What next?”
“Well, what do you think? Until Alu comes back, we get to shop for free and then leave. The Zipfels will deal with our mess, so you go to the second basement to find useful magic tomes. Gilly and I will visit the third basement to find the artifact.”
“Young Master, will we be choosing to commit these reckless actions in the future? I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, Gilly. Let’s go.”
At the Lutero Magic Federation, artifacts are normally more valuable than standard magic tomes.
Additionally, in an auction house like this, it was common to find ancient magic tomes, but finding a high-tier artifact was pretty rare.
The third basement was no different from a trash dump. It was hard to believe that there was a hidden masterpiece between these useless artifacts that people wouldn’t take even if given for free.
The two didn’t need much time to find the Helm of the Demon King. Within the unruly mess in the corner of the room, they chose and opened the smallest chest.
‘This is it!’
A low-quality silver ring with a ruby stone.
As Jin suppressed his excitement and slipped on the ring, he could feel the energy flowing through his fingers.
The mana, unlike normal mana, was formless. It was as if a dozen snakes wrapped around his finger, and the mana slowly entered his head.
And Jin absorbed it all.
‘Normal magicians would only think of this effect as an enhancement in magic. That’s probably why this isn’t considered a masterpiece right now.’
Now, Jin could use the magic he absorbed to summon a shadow-black helm whenever he wanted.
If the user never utilized a powerful artifact or didn’t have a strong feel for magic like Jin did, then the power was not immediately noticeable.
‘Summon Helm.’
Fwoooosh!
Jin tested out his new artifact, and black mana spread through the air. It formed lines and discs that slowly approached Jin’s face.
It didn’t even take one second for the helm to form. The completed helm covered the entire face and neck; it had a hole for breathing and two others for the eyes. On each side of the helmet were two cool-looking sharp horns.
Rather than being surprised, Gilly smiled at the sight of Jin’s successful conjuring of the helm.
‘I actually doubted if this would work out, but thankfully, we found it quick.’
Since they found the artifact, there was no need to stay in the third basement.
“Gilly, I think this place is filled with garbage. Let’s just return to Murakan.”
“Mmm, even I, an expert in magical artifacts, do not see anything in particular that catches my eye. Still, just in case, I shall take some ornamental artifacts that would make us good money.”
The magic tome basement had the same situation. Even though Murakan meticulously searched for O’Hensirk’s works, he couldn’t find anything while Jet surveyed the slaves.
“Kiddo, since we already got Tzenmi’s tome, there is no need to greed for more. Let’s leave.”
It had been an hour since Alu left. When Jin, Murakan, and Gilly walked back upstairs into the auction house, the agents respectfully greeted them.
“Jet, you can go home now.”
“Yes, sir. I will be waiting for you at the inn. Hehe, please do not forget my service.”
“‘Service’, my ass. You were going to rat us out.”
“Oh, please forget the past. Since I met Sir Beradin, I have been reborn as a new person.”
Jin flashed a sarcastic smile.
“Yeah… Let’s just forget the past, shall we? Big shot of Akin Jet, lend me your ear for a moment.”
“Alright.”
As Jet offered his ear, Jin finally whispered.
“I am not Beradin Zipfel. So take your son and quickly escape this place. If you can, go to the Vermont Empire. I assure you, that is the only way for you to survive.”
To Jet, it had to be a jaw-dropping truth.
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