(MC POV)
The woman that had been in charge of delivering the winning tokens to me was also in charge of escorting me to the VIP room after the auction was over. I would be receiving the items I won in the auction there.
They only allowed one person to accompany me there for security reasons so Eris ended up winning the draw to accompany me while the other two waited in the alcove.
I was brought to a rather opulent room where a man in clearly expensive robes was there waiting for me. In front of him was a couch which was also the only place to sit in this entire room.
He bowed his head upon my entry, "Well met, most respected Master Lin. I sincerely apologise for the misconduct of my staff and the inconvenience we have caused you this morning."
I nodded at him, "I assume you are the proprietor?"
"That is correct, Master Lin. I am Pai Mai, the owner of this establishment. Please, Master Lin," He introduced himself while gesturing to the couch in front of him.
I took the seat and Eris took position behind me, my swordswoman watching Pai Mai carefully. Even now she's still playing the bodyguard role faithfully, how diligent.
He took out a scroll from inside his sleeve and unfurled it with a deft flick of his wrist.
"If I may, Master Lin's winning bids are… Three bottles of Dragon Killer wine, nine hundred and twenty gold. The ancient Book of Secrets, five gold. The Celestial Maiden hair pin collection by master craftsman Ka Tie Er, fifty six gold. The total is a thousand and seventy nine gold including the ten percent auction fee."
I lifted my hand and the requested amount of gold appeared on the table in front of me.
Just to be clear, I did not create this gold, this is all legit, ok?
Then again, they would still be legitimate even if I were to use Origin to create them anyway but that's beside the point…
What I mean to say is that this came from my storage ring, I'm not so poor that I have to resort to using my powers to create money. I still have investments in Kiyomi's idol group and also in Elaria's businesses so I was doing completely fine in the monetary department.
Not to mention that literal gold mine at the lake near the foot of my mountain. If I just went and sold the incredibly rare herbs growing there, I wouldn't need to worry about money for several lifetimes.
Pai Mai made a show of simply moving the coins I took out aside, a clear indication of trust from him when he did not bother counting the money at all.
He then clapped his hands and several servants entered the room, pushing silver carts carrying the items I bidded for.
Pai Mai then put on a pair of gloves and motioned the first cart forward.
"Three bottles of Dragon Killer wine," He announced, lifting up each of the bottles carefully to let me see them.
He must want me to confirm that the goods were all in good mint condition and they were the correct items I bidded for.
I nodded and he waved the next one forward, "The ancient Book of Secrets."
Oh this one I was quite curious about since Tsuki was quite insistent I bought it. Since I already gave him the money, these items were already considered mine so I should be able to ask him to let me see them.
I gestured for the book and he presented the item to me carefully.
Flipping open the page, I frowned a little at the text that was written on the book.
The letters look all weird and scribbly, like the person who wrote this was in a rush or just wasn't really good at writing.
They also look really weird since it's not a language I've seen written around here so who could… Oh.
It's in Japanese… Erm… Let me see…
'Twenty fifth December, snow snow. Onii-tama played in fluffy snow with me! It was very fun fun! Onii-tama said good kids get presents from Santa. That means Onii-tama will get lots and lots and lots of presents from Santa! Onii-tama is cool!'
…
Every instance of 'onii-tama' had hearts drawn around it too…
I flipped the page.
'Twenty sixth December, snow snow. Onii-tama did not get presents. Santa bad. If I see Santa, I will break his legs and drop him in Tokyo bay and--'
I closed the book.
Sorry Tsuki… I'm guessing this is her diary from when she was still young.
But what the heck?! Why did she know things like breaking people's legs and dropping them in Tokyo bay?! I definitely don't remember seeing any of this back in the memory scenes!
Ugh… I'll just pretend I never saw this…
The other question is what is this doing here? Did the god that sent Tsuki over do this as well? I guess I'll have to pay him a visit.
I handed the book back to Pai Mai, making sure I kept my face neutral.
He accepted it and moved on to the next cart, "The Celestial Maiden hair pin collection."
Picking up the ornate box, he unlatched the clasp and opened the lid, revealing the set of ten hair pins resting on the red velvet inside. Each of them sported a different colour and were exquisitely crafted with various different gems inlaid in them.
There was even an iridescent one that would fit Cai Hong perfectly, as though this craftsman had created this entire set with my disciples in mind.
I couldn't help myself and asked omniscience about this.
…
Ah… Why am I not surprised…
This 'master craftsman Ka Tie Er' is actually Odriana using another name to sell jewellery. In this particular case, she actually did make this set with my disciples in mind…
Somehow I feel like I got scammed…
Alright, I'll make a mental note of asking Odriana about this on the way back home later.
I nodded and Pai Mai closed the lid and placed the chest back on the cart.
"Is Master Lin satisfied with the quality of the items?" He asked with a polite bow.
"Umu, I have no complaints. I'll be taking them with me now."
"We thank Master Lin for your patronage. If the future permits, we would be honoured to host Master Lin again."
I gave him a curt nod and stored the items into my storage ring before standing to leave the room with Eris.
At his cue, everyone in the room bowed and maintained the pose until I left the room.
I returned to the alcove where Diao Chan and Tsuki were waiting, my little sister rushing up to me the moment she saw me.
"Aniue! Umm… The… The book?"
I summoned it from my storage ring and handed it to her.
"Ah! Thank you, Aniue! Umm… Umm… You didn't look inside it right?"
I looked away, "Err… Only the first two pages…"
Her eyes widened and she flipped open the book to the mentioned pages.
What I didn't expect though, was for her to sigh in relief, "Oh… Just these two pages? Umm… It's a bit embarrassing but it's fine Aniue."
Err… Talking about breaking Santa's legs and dropping him in Tokyo bay was fine? I really don't want to know what was written in the rest of the book…
Tsuki furrowed her brows, "When I get my hands on that damned god… I'll definitely, definitely rip him a new butt hole…"
Right… I guess that god dropped this book here as a way to get back at her for beating him up? I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.
Now let's just leave here alright? I'm actually a little worried about how Iris is doing.
