● Character Introductions
Frau: Beezel’s daughter.
Malbit: Leader of the Angel Race. Kierbit’s mother.
Bell: Representative of the Village Four Mercury Race.
Yor: A member of the Village Four Mercury Race in charge of armaments. Currently stationed at the hot spring area.
Bulga: An Ancient Devil currently serving as a caregiver for Rusty’s children.
Stifano: An Ancient Devil currently serving as a caregiver for Rusty’s children.
Lananon: Rusty’s daughter.
Kukulkan: Rusty’s son.
It was noon on the final day of the auction in the Royal Capital.
I was there in the city myself.
Since I used the teleportation gate managed by Gratz, the journey was easy—remarkably so.
It was also a relief to check in on Torain and see how he was faring in the capital.
Soon after arriving, I met up with Team "Auction Winning Squad."
The team was led by Prada, with Frau, Malbit, Bell, and Yor as members.
Additionally, Bulga and Stifano had been assigned to act as Prada’s "brakes."
This squad had been participating since the first day and had successfully secured almost every item they set their sights on.
Yes, almost everything.
This particular auction employed two different formats: the bid format and the auction format.
The bid format involved individuals writing down their price and submitting it; at the deadline, the highest bidder won.
The auction format was the traditional live bidding process most people imagine, where participants compete in real-time until the final, highest price is reached.
The squad had apparently missed a few items in the written bids, but they claimed they hadn't lost a single live auction they actually wanted.
They had truly gone on a rampage.
I wondered exactly how much money they had spent.
...Wait.
It wasn't nearly as much as I’d expected.
I mean, they spent a fair amount, but it wasn't astronomical.
Let’s see... First, the armament-related items.
Twenty-two successful bids.
The prices had been kept surprisingly low.
"To the uninitiated, they look like nothing more than strange ornaments. Since there was no competition, we were able to get them for essentially the base price," Frau explained.
Yor, however, looked quite indignant.
"How could they not see the value in those weapons?! They have no eye for quality!"
Well, wouldn't it have been a problem if someone had driven the price up? We should be happy.
By the way, are these actually functional?
"They will be once they're maintained!"
So they’re currently useless without work.
"I can handle the maintenance myself, so don't worry. Leave it to me," Yor said, puffing out her chest.
Apparently, they had also bid on the necessary tools and supplies for the repairs, so it seemed there were no issues there.
That covered the armaments. Next, what about the Kingdom Warrior Jupiter artificial lifeform components?
"As for these, it’s a bit daunting to activate them without further investigation," Bell said, handing me a stack of documents.
There were six successful bids related to the Kingdom Warrior.
These had been considerably more expensive than the weapons.
"Several of them were in the written bid format, so I put in high amounts to ensure we secured them," Bell added.
I see.
"The rest are the items from the list we submitted to the Demon King."
That made sense.
This auction served, in part, as a way for the Demon King to provide financial aid to the nobility.
Because of that, certain items were intended to be traded at prices well above their market value. To ensure we weren't caught up in that mess, we had provided the Demon King with a list of our desired items beforehand.
Consequently, Team "Auction Winning Squad" only bid on items the Demon King wasn't involved with.
Speaking of which, was the Demon King’s side of the bidding going well?
Essentially, the Demon King’s people were supposed to place minimum bids and let free competition handle the rest, but the items on our list had to be secured by them so they could be sold to us at a fair price later.
If people knew the Demon King was determined to win those specific items, wouldn't they try to bid them up?
"It’s fine. Everything was adjusted beforehand," Malbit said, pointing to a plate for an item in the bid format.
It was a standard plate with the item’s name on it. What about it?
Malbit silently pointed to a small, inconspicuous mark on the edge of the plate.
If you knew it was there, you could find it, but an uninformed person would easily overlook it.
"That’s the mark indicating the Demon King’s involvement. No matter what amount someone else puts in, the Demon King is guaranteed to buy it at the highest price."
Isn't that a bit underhanded?
"It certainly is. But if that highest price ends up being too far removed from the market rate, the transaction is simply canceled."
Ah, so that’s how they prevent price-gouging.
"Exactly. So, I expect we'll receive almost everything on the list."
I wasn't particularly worried about that part. I just worried I might be making them go to unreasonable lengths.
Let’s see... The other winning bids included bulk lots of books, ancient documents, magic tools, and artworks, totaling about a hundred and sixty items.
That was quite a haul.
Now, Bulga, Stifano.
Was Prada well-behaved?
"Do you really think she was?"
"If you truly believe that, I’d love to hear the logic behind your reasoning."
Bulga and Stifano were smiling, but I could feel the simmering frustration behind their words.
...My apologies.
Today is the final day. I’ll make sure to tell Kukulkan how hard you both worked.
"You had better."
"I want you to tell Lady Lananon as well."
I will, I will.
Meanwhile, Prada was practically skipping. She seemed to be in an excellent mood.
Today was the last day, and I had intended to leave the rest of the auction entirely to Prada and the rest of the squad.
However, Prada had specifically called for me.
I’d come along because I was interested in seeing the event, but... why did she need me?
"A secret product is coming up," Prada explained.
But hadn't we already seen the secret products beforehand through the Goroun and Dalfon Companies?
"Apparently, there was a noble who forced their way in to submit items after the deadline."
I see. So items we haven't vetted are appearing.
"Yes. They were brought in around midnight last night. The auction organizers were scrambling because it's the final day, so we didn't have a chance to check them."
That was incredibly sudden. The staff must be exhausted.
"It seems they’d expressed a desire to submit items earlier, but didn't follow through until now. I suspect they saw the massive amounts of money changing hands and hurriedly scoured their stores for something to add. I’m not expecting much, but I had a strange hunch."
And that was why she called me.
If Prada had a hunch, should I be excited? Or worried?
Well, since she just wanted my judgment on whether to bid, it wasn't like any trouble had started yet.
I decided to just enjoy the atmosphere.
Night fell.
To skip straight to the conclusion: things got chaotic at the very end.
Just as the auctions were winding down, a raid occurred involving over thirty people.
Their target was the auction merchandise.
However, the venue was packed with security guards, and the attendees were accompanied by their own formidable escorts, so the goods weren't going to be taken easily.
Fighting broke out all across the hall.
I was kept safe by my escorts—Galf, Daga, and Reginleiv—who whisked me away to a secure location.
Frau, Malbit, Bell, and Yor were safe with me as well.
Prada, however, flew into a rage at the idea of artwork being damaged and charged out to intercept the attackers.
She was gone before anyone could stop her.
Bulga and Stifano looked to me for instructions, so I asked them to go support her.
I didn't want them doing anything too reckless, but I knew their strength from the martial arts tournament. They would be fine.
In the end, thirty-three attackers were captured.
Of those, Prada personally took down twenty-seven, while Bulga and Stifano handled the binding.
The auction organizers—the Goroun and Dalfon Companies—were incredibly grateful, praising us for protecting all the items. Still...
I had to wonder what the actual security force was doing if they only managed to capture six people.
Wait, it was actually only three?
The other three had been caught by the other guests' escorts.
Was the security force understaffed? Or did Prada just get in their way?
Neither? Prada was just that much stronger than everyone else?
I see.
Prada herself seemed annoyed, grumbling that she’d let a few of them escape.
But our won items were safe, so we should be happy.
Now, the captured raiders wouldn't be executed on the spot. They would be detained and investigated for a while.
Since that was the Demon Kingdom's responsibility, we wouldn't interfere.
I thought the matter was settled, but...
It wasn't.
As we were leaving the venue to return to the Academy grounds, a man stood in our path.
He was middle-aged—likely late thirties or early forties. A bit plump.
He didn't look like an adventurer; he looked more like a merchant, though he lacked the air of someone successful.
To put it bluntly, he had the kind of face that suggested he always drew the short straw in life.
When Prada identified him as one of the raiders who had escaped, Galf and Daga gripped their hilts.
However, the man showed no intention of fighting.
He kept his hands away from the sword at his waist and raised them to shoulder height in a gesture of surrender.
That said, he didn't seem ready to be caught yet either.
He maintained a calculated distance—especially from Prada.
"I want to talk."
...What could he possibly have to say?
Unfortunately, we had nothing to discuss with him.
The smart move was to either catch him or drive him off.
Maybe we should just duck back onto the Academy grounds?
"Please, just for a moment, hear me out."
Well, if I’m seen chatting amicably with someone who just raided an auction, people might think I was his accomplice.
"If I get caught, I'll tell them we aren't working together."
I appreciated the sentiment, but how much could I trust a stranger?
Catching him or driving him off was still the best option.
"W-Wait! I have something to say to the ladies there!"
The man pointed toward Bell and Yor.
Were they acquaintances?
Bell and Yor both shook their heads.
But the man insisted he knew them.
"You’re Forgmas, aren't you? Of the Royal Guardian Mercury Race. I am Kissinlee."
The moment the man spoke that name, the air around Bell and Yor shifted instantly.
"Kissinlee, is it? I see. Are you ready to die, then?"
"You're in luck," Yor added. "I just acquired some weapons capable of killing your kind. Since I need to test them after maintenance, you’ll make a perfect target."
"Wait, wait, wait! I have no intention of fighting! I know I can't beat you lot anyway! Just listen! This is a profitable deal for you too!"
Bell and Yor looked at me.
That was a lot of pressure to put on me.
...Fine.
We'll hear him out.
However, I couldn't bring a suspicious person onto the Academy premises, so we decided to borrow Beezel’s mansion nearby.
Sorry, Beezel. I didn't mean to drag you into this, but it was Frau’s idea.
Frau: "If we use the mansion, there are security guards and a separate building we can use."
Beezel: "Technically true, but..."
Count Pugyal (who had left just moments before): "My stomach hurts! I'm going home!"
Academy Director: "Ten points to the Village Head for not bringing him onto school grounds!"