“I don’t know what you mean.”

Silence. Thomas steepled his hands together on his desk, staring at Vaan. And then he sighed. “Very well.” He leaned back and pulled out a notepad as well as a quill. “You wish to participate in the auction, yes? In that case, what name should I list this esteemed guest as?”

Thomas’s voice dripped with sarcasm as he called Vaan an esteemed guest.

But Vaan didn’t react. Instead, he paused to think about it and said, “V is enough.”

“V.” Thomas blinked and then sighed, muttering under his breath. “What did I do to warrant such a dreadful being entering my territory?”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Thomas scribbled something on the notepad and then tossed a card at Vaan. “Here.”

He caught it, turning it around to look at the writing.

It was similar to the status card. But where that was a pure silver, this one was obsidian, etched with emerald letters.

“Now.” Thomas leaned back and said, “How much are you planning to put up? What do you plan to sell?”

While he didn’t say it, Thomas’s face also seemed to imply the question of ‘How much longer do I have to deal with you?’

Vaan lowered the card and then said, “What will you take?”

“As long as it isn’t some cursed item that would draw that King out from his throne, we can handle it.”

So in that case, they wouldn’t probe too much unless it was overtly destructive. In that case…

Vaan remembered something from the guidebook. Monsters dropped mana stones, crystillized mana that formed in their body to serve as a focus for their abilities. Said mana stones were also fairly valuable among adventurers since they could be used to enhance weapons, items, or even status with certain methods.

In that case…

Vaan held out his right hand and focused.

“Hm?” Thomas narrowed his eyes. “What are you-“

A mana surge. No, a vacuum.

If mana stones were just crystallized mana, then he, who could use mana as a direct material, and his power which allowed him to create something provided the necessary components and knowledge…

The already dark room, barely lit with torches, dimmed even further.

Thomas’s eyes widened and he reached for something at his side. But before the crime lord could pull it out, the phenomenon stopped.

There, in Vaan’s outstretched hand, was an orb of pure light, shining with iridescent colors.

Without much more fanfare, he tossed the orb over to Thomas and said, “This will do, will it not?”

Thomas quickly caught it and stood up. “Are you crazy!? Throwing something like this so casually-“

“Is it enough?”

Thomas stared at Vaan and then let out a long suffering sigh. “Is it enough, he says?” He gingerly held the orb and stared at it. “A divine crystal of the highest caliber… Something like this.” He narrowed his eyes and stared at Vaan. “You aren’t some descended ancient god or something, are you?”

Vaan shrugged. “Would it matter?”

“…No. I suppose not.” Thomas pulled open a drawer and then gently placed the orb inside of it. Afterwards, he said, “Loathe as I am to admit it, since you brought something like this, you are a proper esteemed guest of our auction house. Mm… I’ll have to change the feature item of this exhibit. Then if this is your entry item…” Thomas mumbled and started writing things out on the notepad.

Vaan waited.

Then, after a few moments, Thomas nodded and said, “Alright. I’ll extend your line of credit to a million gold. That should be enough to buy anything you want in this auction.”

Vaan raised an eyebrow. “Will that not inconvenience you?”

“Of course. But I’d rather not get on the bad side of an individual borrowing a mortal’s body and capable of taking out a divine crystal at a moment’s notice.”

Again, Vaan felt that there was a misunderstanding there. But he let it slide.

Thomas pulled out a pocket watch from his shirt and glanced at the time. “Hm… There are still a few hours until the exhibit begins.” He glanced at Vaan and said, “…And it will be troublesome if you walk into the VIP section dressed like that.”

“Hm?”

Thomas blinked and then sighed. “Honestly, why are the powerful ones so lacking in common sense… Here.” He tossed over a porcelain mask on the table. “Wear that when we go. For now though, I’ll run through the procedure.” He narrowed his eyes. “Demon God or not, ancient immortal or whatever you are. Even if that is the case, I will not tolerate going against procedure. Understand?”

A tremendous killing intent. But not malevolent. Instead, it was ‘certainty.’ An inevitability. And also something that operated beyond ‘mana.’

Vaan frowned but slowly nodded. “I understand.”

“Good. Now.” Thomas put his notepad away and said, “The rules are simple. After you’re lead to the booth, you’ll be handed a sign board. Raise it when you want to bid and call out your price. If you don’t say anything, the price will be incremented by a fraction according to the auction master.”

Vaan nodded. “Alright.”

Thomas continued. “Don’t bid more than you possess the funds to pay… though that’s a non-issue in your case. We only accept advance payment and collateral. Failing that will cancel your bid… Not to mention earning the ire of everyone there. And believe me when I say that even a terrifying being like yourself will have trouble dealing with some of the other patrons frequenting the auction house tonight.”

Vaan didn’t doubt that. If the auction master himself was that deadly, he didn’t need to imagine what the others would be like.

“Any questions?”

Vaan paused, thinking about it. Then he said, “I presume no fighting will be allowed in the auction house proper?”

Thomas smiled. “Indeed. But outside of it-“

“Is fair game.”

Thomas nodded. “It isn’t uncommon to have a few conflicts occur afterwards… However, in that case it is beyond our jurisdiction. Whatever trouble you get into will be your own.”

Vaan resisted the urge to frown and nodded.

“Well.” Thomas stood up. “Shall I show you to your booth, esteemed guest? Or do you wish to return at a later time?”

“…I might as well go now.”

There were only a few hours left, so there wasn’t much of a point in returning and then coming back. Not to mention that he had the feeling it would be harder to return.

“Very well- Ah. You might wish to change your attire.” Thomas scanned Vaan and said, “While there are indeed others as finely dressed as you are, it would become a distinguishing feature… and as I said earlier-“

“Trouble would come afterwards.” Vaan nodded and then picked up the porcelain mask on the table. Placing it on his face, he also focused.

A means of obscurity… but also one that would ensure he wasn’t taken lightly.

A faint memory came to mind. An image he had seen once before… Or did he see it?

Either way, he focused.

Mana swirled once more and his faint spark activated. No, at this point it was more of an ember. With it-

“…Are you truly not a descended evil god, Mister V?”

-Swirling darkness wreathed Vaan, leaving only the gleaming white skull mask with crimson eyes glowing in the dark.