“Frey, why are you breaking out in a cold sweat…”
“…From now on, don’t call me by my first name.”
“…..Why?”
Having hastily cut off Isolet’s words, I could feel a cold sweat rolling down my body as I fell in deep thought.
‘…I thought all three of them wouldn’t make a rash move at this point? Do they resent me that much?’
The item I’m trying to secure now is the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭, one of the artifacts the Demon King will use in the future.
The artifact, which has the characteristic of suppressing and controlling the target’s will, will be treated as a ‘cheap ornament’ at the auction house that will begin shortly and will only cost 10 gold.
So my plan was to buy the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭ along with a few useful items at a reasonable price… Meanwhile, I would escape leisurely after entrusting Isolet to deal with the Demon King’s force who will storm the auction house.
However, all the Main Heroines have gathered at this auction house.
Perhaps they thought they could control me with that stone of domination… but as long as I have ⟦Blessing of the Stars⟧, any sort of mind control ability won’t affect me. In other words, the Main Heroines are totally wasting their time.
‘…By the way, do they even have the money to buy that artifact at this point in time?’
Kania has no money.
Although she is a butler of a Ducal family, she spends most of her money on her younger sister, so she usually carries only a few silver coins as an emergency fund.
And if you think about it, it’s the same for Saintess Ferloche and Princess Clana.
Although Ferloche is nominally in a position where even the Pope can’t treat her lightly, the leaders took advantage of her because of her naïve personality.
For that reason, of course, she doesn’t have any personal assets.
Most of her fortune went into the hands of the bishops and the Pope, since she has donated whenever she could because of her pure character
Of course, there is a possibility that she might have asked the church to give her money, but even if she has experienced the previous timeline, it’s highly unlikely that the Saintess, who has the same personality is going to get the money from the bishops or the Pope.
And Princess Clana has no money either.
One might say that the notion of the Imperial Princess having no money is utter nonsense, but it’s not the case at all for someone who is at the rock bottom in the line of succession.
Her siblings are jealous of her natural looks and wit. However, at the same time, they fear she will climb up the order of succession.
Thanks to this, as many as five of her siblings have kept her in check, and as a result, despite being a princess, she has lived an impoverished life.
Anyway, in conclusion, these women are currently short of funds.
‘Besides, how are they even here right now?’
Today is the day Kania takes a leave to visit her sister once a month.
I was a little relieved, since on this day, no matter what happened, she would always go to visit her sister, but now she stabbed me in the back.
And today, the Saintess is required to perform the sacred ritual at the Church. Since it is an essential ceremony that is held only once a year, the church must have been in turmoil by now.
In the case of the Princess, today there is a major event to decide on her fiancé. From the standpoint of someone who needs to grow her power, it’s an enormous risk to be absent from such an event without permission.
In other words, despite not having a single penny, the three Main Heroines gave up attending the places they must go, all in hopes of gaining control over my will.
If it was on other occasion, I would have been so grateful to the point of being moved to tears.
‘…However, I’m glad Irina didn’t show up.’
Irina would have wanted to come as well, but she probably wasn’t able to get the pass because of her status. At this point, she is just a student from a commoner background at the academy.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen! You’ve been waiting for a long time! We will now begin the auction!”
After being immersed in thought for such a long time, the host’s loud voice brought me back to my senses.
Although the one item I must purchase here today is the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭, I also had plans to buy some useful items for the future.
However, the intrusion of the Main Heroines made the plan obscure. I don’t think I should buy anything besides the most useful and cheapest ones.
“Well then, the first thing! An ornamental box with a pure white color and precise carvings! Let’s start with 1 gold!”
I decided to not spend as much, but as soon as I spotted the first item, I started writing the price on the panel in front of me, ready to place my bid.
Of course, I’m not a spendthrift. That box is actually a hidden feature of the game.
According to the prophetic book, when you are on the false evil route, an auction house event may occur where an ornamental box containing kits which will aid in false evil deeds will be auctioned off.
In the words of my ancestor, it’s called the ‘Easter Egg’ of the ‘Developer’, an existence similar to the Creator God of this world… I still don’t know what it means, but since we are talking about my ancestor, it must be worth buying.
It’s not an essential item, but my ancestor advised me to buy it because if I have it, it will help me in many ways to act as a false evil.
“…Yes! We have received a bid of 5 gold here! Is there anyone who wants to offer a higher price?”
When I offered 5 gold, a few people who were about to lift the panel glanced at me, then quietly lowered their panels.
They probably would’ve offered 2 to 3 golds, but as soon as I presented a bid of 5 golds, they immediately gave up since they didn’t want to lose a bidding round this early.
“3…2…1…Successful bid! Sold! Ornamental box, sold for 5 gold!”
Eventually, the host announced the winning bid, and the staff carefully wrapped the box in a cloth and handed it to me.
“…Are you supposed to receive the item right away after the bidding is over?”
“…Still, what’s illegal is illegal. It’s quite different from a legitimate auction that safely delivers to your home.”
“…There doesn’t seem to be anything that dangerous, though.”
Isolet muttered with a sullen expression while looking at the ruby necklace that came out as the next item of the auction. But that’s because she doesn’t know what she is talking about.
Right now, even this ornamental box has a setting that it was initially stolen from the artisan Rosinante.
And now, the ruby necklace Isolet is staring at with a sullen expression has a curse which drives people crazy after three days of wearing it.
This auction house is a place where items acquired through illegal channels or subjected to curse are traded.
“Well, it’s illegal, based on the fact that it’s in the back alley.”
Of course, if I tell her the truth, there is a good chance that Isolet with her righteous sense of justice would cause a mess even before the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭ appeared, so I indirectly told her an appropriate reason. However, suddenly the host raised his voice.
“Among the items that have appeared up to now, this is the most valuable one! If it wasn’t for the trump card that would mark the end of today’s auction, it might have emerged as the last item!”
“Why on earth is he seasoning it like that?”
“Perhaps it’s not really a big deal? From the auction house’s point of view, the commission increases when the price is raised as much as possible, so sugarcoating is essential…”
“That’s right, it’s the secret book that contains the lost sword art of the Bywalker family!”
“……!!!”
I stopped speaking as my mind went blank when I heard the shocking words that came out of the host’s mouth.
“…Did I just hear wrong?”
“…uh, yes… maybe you did…”
“This secret book which has the noble sword art written in it is said to have been lost 450 years ago during the clash between the Bywalker and Moonlight families… However, recently we were able to reclaim it in its complete form!”
“…You should quietly make your way to the exit. There will be a bit of a commotion.”
“Wait, wait! Wait a minute!”
I quickly grabbed Isolet, who quietly put her hand on her sword and was about to get up from her seat as she glared at the excited host.
“Are you really going to cause a ruckus? Don’t you know we have all the Empire’s most important people here?”
“…Let go.”
“Even if you can’t catch the terrorists and find out who’s behind them?”
“……..”
“And since I’m the one who brought the professor, if she causes a problem, I’ll be blacklisted from the auction house. You realize that, right? So…”
“…Give me the panel.”
“…..Huh?”
As I was trying to stop her, while dripping in cold sweat, Isolet opened her mouth, pointing to my panel.
“…First, I’ll secure the secret book, then stop the terrorism, and finally destroy this auction house.”
“No, that means the important figures of the Empire…”
“…Give me the panel.”
“……..”
Hearing her threatening tone, I had no choice but to hand her the panel. She focused her gaze and started writing letters on the panel.
“The starting price is 1000 gold!”
However, immediately after hearing the presenter’s words, she had a dumbfounded look on her face with her mouth wide open.
“…What happened? You said you’ll secure the secret book first?”
“Th-Th-Thousand gold… isn’t the price too high…?”
“…Is that even enough?”
As I responded to Isolet with a smirk, she tilted her head and gave me a confused look, then started speaking while breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Th-Thousand gold… even if I save my professor’s salary for several years…”
“…Yes! We received a bid of five thousand gold! It’s a strong start!”
“Hiik!”
As she gazed wistfully at her family’s secret book, whose price soared to the ceiling, she soon glanced towards me.
“…What?”
“He, He… Help…”
“…Huh? What? You know I can’t hear you, right?”
“E-Eungh…”
When I made a vague expression on my face, Isolet hesitated for a moment with her face flushed red, then soon spat out the words with difficulty.
“…Help me…”
“Yes! Sold for 25000 gold! Today’s highest price!”
“…Ah.”
However, at the same time, the secret book was sold at an exorbitant price right in front of her. As she watched the scene in a daze, she momentarily lamented with her head down.
“………”
“…Oh, doesn’t it look like it found its rightful owner?”
“…Shut up.”
Soon after, she raised her head at the sound of my disgusting taunt as she murderously glared at the person receiving the secret book.
‘…I wasn’t lying when I said it went to its rightful owner.’
Of course, I said this after I used my ⟦Inspect⟧ skill and realized the fact that the person who bought the secret book was the head of the Bywalker family, but it must have sounded like a taunt to Isolet.
[Acquired False Evil Points: 1pt! (Unintentional False Evil)]
After confirming that I earned a false evil point in return for unintentionally teasing Isolet, I started watching the auction proceed while trying to soothe the enraged Isolet.
“The item this time is a ‘Superhuman’s Potion’! Let’s start the bid at 500 gold!”
“If you drink the brewed tea in this ‘Moon Teacup,’ which is one of the heirlooms of the Moonlight family, your sagging skin…”
“Don’t be surprised! It’s the ‘Flame Sword’ that burns through everything! It’s the beloved sword used by the former Sword Saint!”
A lot of pretty useful items passed by, and the last item of the auction appeared before I knew it while I was trying to save money for ⟬Stone of Domination⟭ which the Main Heroines are also aiming for.
“So without further ado, let me reveal the highlight of today’s auction and the grand finale!”
Hearing the host’s voice, I raised my head and stared at the item placed on the podium.
“…Here it is, the Hero’s Armor!”
At those words, a commotion erupted around me.
“It is the legendary armor that is said to have been worn by the Star Hero ‘Han-Byeol Raon Starlight,’ who defeated the Demon King who almost destroyed the world 1000 years ago! It is an honor to present this to you!”
“……..!”
After the host finished the explanation in an excited tone, Isolet looked at me with a perplexed expression on her face.
“I-Is that real…”
“…It’s none of my business. Don’t ask me about it.”
“Still…”
“Well, I don’t know, all right?”
When I replied in an irritated tone, she fell silent and started staring at the glistening Hero’s Armament with anxious eyes.
‘…It’s quite plausible for it to be a replica.’
However, as I was well aware of the fact that Hero’s Armor was carefully kept sealed in a secret room in the basement of the Duke’s mansion, I just indifferently started assessing the perfection of the imitation.
‘…It doesn’t shine until it awakens. The pattern on the decorative part of the wrist is completely different, and there isn’t a single scratch on it. What, is that the limit of imitation?’
While I was playing around scrutinizing for flaws, the host chuckled and shouted.
“50,000 gold! We received a bid of 50,000 gold! Those who would like to offer a higher price… Oh, 55,000 gold! 55,000 gold… Oh my gosh! We got 75,000 gold!”
People, who were dazzled by the words “Hero’s Armor,” started rushing in. My inclination was to tell them it was a fake, but I decided to let it go since the majority of them were corrupt people and won’t believe me unless I reveal my identity.
“…150,000! We got 150,000 gold! Although the auction house hasn’t been established for long, we already received our all-time high price!”
The madness that continued for such a long time only subsided after the all-time high price came out.
“3…2…1…Successful bid! Sold! The Hero’s Armor is sold for 150,000 gold!!”
Soon after, the Hero’s armor was sold for 150,000 gold, it was wrapped in silk and handed over to the buyer who received envious gaze from the surrounding people.
‘…Tsk, Tsk, pushover of a bastard.’
Of course, I glanced at the man with a pitiful gaze and waited for the upcoming event.
“…Yes! Well then, that concludes the auction for today…Um?”
Meanwhile, the host, who was about to end the auction with a bright smile on his face, probably due to the fact that he had made the highest profit of all time, frowned when suddenly a staff member approached him and started whispering something in his ear.
“Hmm, everyone! I apologize! I’m afraid there was an item missing from the items put up for auction! We’re truly sorry for this disruption to the auction proceedings!”
“”………””
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the ‘Unknown Stone’! It’s a mysterious one whose results of appraisal shows it has unknown power within it!”
The host exclaimed with an enthusiastic expression, but in the end, the previously sold item was the Hero’s Armor, which broke the record of highest price ever, so the people who lost their earlier excitement did not even glance at that hideous stone.
“Uh… um… Well, let’s start with 10 gold!”
The host, who had been assessing people’s reaction for a while, offered the ‘Unknown Stone’ at a cheap price without a hint of regret, probably because he had already made a huge profit.
‘…Great, it’s starting now.’
That ‘Unknown Stone’, which people didn’t even pay attention to, is the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭, is an item I must have. I need to get my hands on that one by all means.
“Yes, we received a bid of 15 gold!”
As I carefully lifted the panel, glancing at the faces of the Main Heroines, the host looked at me with surprise and exclaimed.
“…Of course, no one would offer more than that, right? Then, let’s count! 3…2…”
Eventually, as the host started counting, I gulped and prayed in my heart that the Main Heroines were dozing off, tired of this long-running auction…
“1-100 gold! 100 gold!”
As soon as the Princess intervened in the bid while holding the panel, I sighed with my head down.
“Will there by any other offer more than a hundred gold? Then… the count, wait a minute! H-Here comes a thousand gold!”
Eventually, even the Saintess started bidding while holding the panel. In the meantime, I silently wrote a thousand and one hundred gold on the panel with my head down and began the bidding war.
.
.
.
.
.
“Hey, 10,000 gold!! Received a bid of 10,000 gold!!”
The nerve war that went on for a long time was coming to its end when I started getting anxious and raised the price all the way up.
“10,500 gold! Ah, 10,511 gold! 10,512 gold!”
I lifted the panel once more with a smile of satisfaction as the Saintess and the Princess were sweating profusely while writing down the amount of money to be raised.
‘…Never ignore a Duke’s financial power.’
“Ah! a bid of 15,000 gold!”
“”……..!””
Both the Princess and the Saintess flinched at those words. They momentarily glared at me, then started writing the prices on the panel with their trembling hands…
“…From now on, the price will be incremented at a rate of 100 gold!”
Hearing the verdict of the host, they dropped the panel helplessly and lowered their heads.
“Is there anyone who would like to offer more? If not, I’ll start counting! 3…2…”
‘…By the way, do they actually have the money they wrote down? If yes, where did they even get it?’
I had a hunch that I won, and started brainstorming where those girls got their money from, but…
“30,000!! Bid of 30,000 gold!!!”
“……!”
Soon after, suddenly someone offered a price twice than me. I stared at that person in astonishment.
“…..Hmm.”
‘…Isn’t he the eccentric collector who earlier bought the Hero’s Armor for 150,000 gold?’
I closed my eyes and lifted the panel in a cold sweat.
“40,000 gold! 40,000 gold bid!!”
“……..”
I used my winning hand since I didn’t have much gold left for bidding anymore. Fortunately, it worked, as I put my panel down and pondered.
‘…That guy spent 150,000 gold in the fierce bid war earlier, so he’s definitely strapped on money. If here he bids less than 50,000 gold… I’ve got a good chance.’
“Yes! 45,000 gold!”
‘…Good.’
I sneaked a peek at the eccentric collector before raising the price again. I found him silently staring at me, we momentarily locked eyes as I soon lifted the panel.
“…46,000 gold! Oh, 47,000 gold! 48,000 thousand gold!”
After many close calls, both of us eventually reached the end of our long war.
“49,949 gold! Judging from the figure written down to the unit’s digit, it seems they have bid all the money they possessed!”
Having presented all the money I had in my hand, I grinned and looked at the eccentric collector.
“………”
He quietly stooped his head with his arms crossed.
“All right, it was close, but… I won.”
“I’m counting! 3…2…1…”
I finally breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in the chair…
“…Hmph.”
“…..!!!”
However, I was soon astounded when he snorted and lifted the panel at the last moment
“50,050 gold! Bid of 50,050 gold! In the end, it crossed the 50,000 mark!!”
“…Newbie.”
He looked at me and threw a sarcastic remark in a deep voice, as I started regretting what had happened earlier.
‘…Damn, if I had known it would turn out like this, I would have chosen 150 gold as a reward.’
If only I had the 150 gold, which appeared as the second item on the reward list for clearing the sudden quest, I could have put an end to this bidding war. At this rate, the eccentric collector will take the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭.
“I’m counting! 3…2…1…”
‘This will put a damper on my plans…’
I was supposed to get out of the auction house as soon as I got on my hands on the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭. However, I felt frustrated by this unexpected situation and grabbed my head.
“50,150 gold! Bid of 50,150 gold! Ridiculous! I never expected it would be this popular.”
Suddenly, Isolet, who was quietly watching our competition besides me, wrote 50,150 gold on the panel and lifted it up, as I gave her a dumbfounded look.
“…What are you doing?”
“150 gold. I’ll lend it to you.”
“…Why?”
When I inquired while panicking, she replied, coldly glaring at her father, who was holding the secret book with utmost care.
“…It’s the cost of cleaning up afterwards.”
“No, wait a minute. That person…”
“Let’s begin the countdown! 3…2…1…”
I was trying to stop Isolet from committing patricide, but as soon as the host began the countdown, I carefully turned my gaze to the eccentric collector.
“……”
The eccentric collector was silently glaring at us with his fists clenched.
“…Newbie.”
“……!”
The moment I returned his words in a similar fashion, the host exclaimed.
“Successful bid! Successful bid! ‘Unknown Stone’ sold for 50,150 gold!!”
Hearing this, Isolet grabbed my arm, rose from her seat, started descending from the platform as she headed towards the unknown stone.
“…What’s the matter?”
“Take that and leave immediately. I have business to attend to.”
“No… So…”
“…I’ll reclaim the secret book at the same time as I stop terrorism, and you, with your Ducal family’s influence, will take care of the aftermath.”
“You must be out of your mind. Do you think I’m some kind of mastermind reigning the underworld? I’m just the first son of a Ducal family who lives his life in a pompous fashion… huh?”
As I was trying to convince Isolet, who thought I was some sort of mastermind who orders his henchmen to solve almost everything with a flick of his finger, suddenly someone stood up.
‘…Kania?’
Kania stood up from her seat, glaring at the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭, and started emitting dark mana from her right hand.
Seeing her, I realized one possibility and dashed towards the place where the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭ was located.
‘…Come to think of it, Kania didn’t take part in the bidding war itself, did she? Therefore, no doubt, from the very beginning, she was planning to steal the stone of domination…!’
– Clatter!
‘…Fuck.’
As I rushed to the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭, I muttered emphatically when I saw the dark mana emitted from Kania’s body, covering the whole auction house with a snap of her finger.
“That’s not why I gave her so much life force…”
As the dark mana created by Kania’s black magic engulfed the whole auction house, the panic-stricken people began collapsing one after another.
Amidst all this, I witnessed the Imperial Princess, who protected herself with solar mana, the Saintess, who swathed herself in holy power, and Kania, who momentarily staggered with blood in her mouth, all dash towards the ⟬Stone of Domination⟭.
“Ancestor… I wonder what the hell kind of battle you risked your life for…”
Soon after, with an apathetic expression, I opened the ornamental box I had in my arms and started rummaging inside.
.
.
.
“…This seems fun.”
Meanwhile, the eccentric collector, who was observing the spectacle with interest,
“Isn’t that right? Your Majesty, Demon King?”
quietly captured the scene and sent a signal somewhere.
