“Divine mysteries, demonic temptations… any and all could be on display tonight! And we have it on good authority that a tremendous miracle will emerge at the end of the night! Ooh, the thought of it has me shivering in suspense!”
Lights from above turned on, focusing on the man standing on the stage. He spun around to look at each booth and said, “The rules are the usual! Raise your sign and state your bid! If you raise your sign without a bid tonight, I’ll increase it by ten percent. That’s fair, right?”
It was interesting. Despite lacking a mic, the man on the stage, the auction master, had his words echo clearly even though he was far below. It seemed that there was an enchantment on that mask of his, letting the words carry despite the distance.
“Now, without further ado, let’s bring out the first item of the night!” The auction master swept his arm behind him. With that act, the wooden stage split open, causing a marble altar to ascend. On top of that altar, laid across a crimson cushion, was a rack of glass bottles, each glittering with different colored liquids. “An alchemist has provided us with a set of strengthening tonics! But these aren’t ordinary tonics, but ones that can elevate a person’s basic parameters an entire rank, an effect that holds up until the B rank! Stuck at that final wall? This is your solution!”
Mumbling echoed from throughout the room. It seemed that the potions caused quite a stir. Was it that useful though? If Vaan wanted to improve his basic parameters, he could probably do so by just gathering some powerful monsters and using their bodies to reinforce his own.
“Bidding for this set starts at 100 gold coins! Do we have any takers?”
“110!”
“120!”
Bids started echoing from all around.
Vaan leaned back to watch. If things went like how auctions usually did, the best items would be saved for last. While he might have money to burn, it didn’t sit well with him to waste it on something like this.
A few other items came and went, and people in other booths made their bids. It was lively, and pretty much everyone made a bid. After a while, however, everyone except for that white haired woman with the fox mask had bid. Seeing that, Vaan was curious as to what exactly she was holding out for.
As for him, there were interesting items, but most of them were just potions, tonics, or the like. Nothing he couldn’t make or obtain for himself.
“And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! We’ve reached the final three items of the night, our grand finale! The first of these is something special, a one of a kind item that you won’t find anywhere else!”
Hm?
Vaan straightened in his seat, curious as to what it could be. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed that woman with white hair lean forward too. She must have noticed him as well, as she turned slightly to look at Vaan before turning her face forward.
The auction master swept his arm and said, “Behold, a sacred sword!”
The stage split open and the stone altar reemerged. However, instead of a cushion, a splendid sword was pierced inside of it, like the sword of selection. A blade waiting its true user. Its hilt was wrapped with regal crimson cloth, its guard was made of a strange red-tinted gold, and its blade was double edged, glowing with a soft gray light.
“WHAT?!”
An uproar broke out in the auditorium, completely in contrast to the relative calm before.
“Now, now,” the auction master said. “Don’t get too excited everyone. While it’s a sacred sword, we’re sad to say that its power has been sealed. A powerful restrictive spell has been placed upon it, sealing most of its power. Even so, its use as a magical weapon is still top grade and a skilled owner might even find a way to release it.”
“Hoh?” Vaan smiled.
A sacred sword that had been sealed. Ordinarily that would be worthless, but for him… if the sword now wasn’t capable, all he’d have to do is restore it to its former state.
And even then, if he couldn’t restore it, he could use it to make something else.
“Now since this is such a rare and valuable item,” the auction master said, “And due to the risk involved in its acquisition, the starting price will be at 1000 gold. In addition, each incremental bid must be 100 gold each. Now, is there anyone-“
“5000 gold.” A cold female voice cut the auction master off. It was the woman on the left.
While the auction master’s expression was hidden behind the mask, the sudden silence was telling.
“…It seems that the miss in booth one is quite hasty. However, she’s raised quite the bar. Do we have any takers?”
It was silent. Did the woman have some backing? There seemed to be an unspoken rule to not interfere since nobody spoke up. Throwing out such a high price showed the woman’s determination as well, a challenge to any takers. No, a warning.
But…
Vaan raised his sign and called out, “6000 gold.”
Gasps echoed throughout the area. At the same time, the woman turned to stare at Vaan, her blue eyes set in a frosty glare.
He met her eyes and smiled.
Did his amusement get carried across? He could hear the woman audibly grinding her teeth before turning to the front and raising her sign again. “8000 gold.”
“10000 gold.”
The woman turned towards Vaan again. “You-!”
“Well, well! It seems that a brave soul has emerged to challenge the Miss for the sacred sword! Ten grand! Will the Miss respond?”
The woman grit her teeth and raised her sign again. “11000 gold!”
“15000 gold.”
The woman jumped to her feet. “You bastard! You can’t have that much gold!”
“Hoh?” Vaan stood up as well. “It seems that you didn’t memorize the rules of this auction very well, young lady. Otherwise I’m sure you’d be well aware of whether or not I did have enough gold. Isn’t that right, auction master?”
The auction master laughed. “Indeed, good sir! And for your information, Miss, our brave soul does indeed have enough funding to make that bid. The question is… will you respond? Or yield?”
The woman stared at Vaan for a few moments and then raised her sign and said, “16000.”
“17000.”
“…17500.”
“18000.
“You bastard!” The woman cursed and stoop up, reaching towards her side as if to draw a blade. However, it seemed that reason caught up with her and she stopped.
“What?” Vaan said. “Not enough money?”
The white haired woman grit her teeth and said, “18500.”
“20000.”
Silence. No one spoke a word, and it was quiet for more than a few seconds.
“How exciting!” The auction master said. “It seems that our brave soul has won the bidding competition! Now, if there are no other comers, I’ll begin the count down! 3!”
The white haired woman was silent.
“2!”
Vaan smiled.
“1!”
“You will regret this,” the woman said.
Vaan shrugged.
“Aaand we have a winner! The gentleman with the skull mask in booth one is the new owner of this sacred sword! We’ll hold your new item for you until after the auction and an agent will lead you to it later.”
The stone altar descended into the stage and the wood paneling closed up.
The woman sat back down and Vaan shifted his attention back to the stage.
Even so, he could feel that the woman was boiling with fury, her mana barely restrained.
Maybe the sword belonged to her? Something she had to get back at all costs?
Unfortunately for her, Vaan didn’t care. He needed all the help he could get, and a sacred sword that rivaled top tier artifacts in its sealed state was exactly that. Even if restoration somehow didn’t manage to unseal it, he could probably use it as a base to make another sword on par with it.
“Now that we’ve passed that tense battle for the first item, I can only imagine the heat from this next item!”
The woman leaned forward again. Was she anticipating something else?
“Frequent clients will know that our products are only the highest of qualities. This holds true for slaves as well, and this next item is exactly that!”
The auction master waved his arm the the stage floor opened up against. However, the opening that time was larger. Like before, a stone altar emerged. However, instead of potions, books, or a sword, there was a person standing there. A young woman.
Silver hair framed her face, with messy bangs hanging just above her eyes and the rest hanging loose to her shoulders. As for her eyes themselves, they were an enchanting shade of violet. However, they didn’t seem to carry any light; unfocused and unaware.
A beautiful black dress hugged the young woman’s body, revealing a lithe form with a modest chest. A deep ‘V’ revealed a seductive window of her chests and short sleeves showed her bare arms. Black stockings covered her legs, leaving just a tiny gap of pale skin between her thighs and hem of her dress.
It was a combination of purity and seductiveness that could steal one’s breath away. Not only that, but the way that she was standing with her head slightly bowed and her arms crossed beneath her chest to emphasize it…
A beautiful young woman that would draw anyone’s eye and rouse a sense of possessiveness. However, where he saw the beautiful young woman as just that, an outcry poured out from the peanut gallery.
“It’s the second princess!”
“What is she doing there?!”
“I heard that she went missing… so this is where she ended up!?”
The auction master laughed and waved his hands for silence. Eventually, the talking died down. “It seems that you are all well aware of the value of our product, so I won’t explain too much. Know that this transaction has been approved by the Holy King, however. To quote, ‘My daughter met such an end due to her poor judgment, so let her fate be determined by the gods for her foolishness.’ In short! Whether you want to violate her, use her as a combat slave, or as a seedbed, anything goes! Ah, but since she was so stubborn in resisting the slave crest our trainers had to break her mind. However, we can guarantee that her skills are intact, along with her maidenhood. In addition, she’s also gained plenty of skills to please her new owner at night, whether male or female!”
Another uproar filled the auditorium.
Vaan saw countless people jump to their seats, eager to raise their signs. However, the price hadn’t been stated yet, so those people restrained themselves.
At the same time, he saw the white haired woman clench her hands.
As for him…
Ba-dump.
…Was it fury? Love? Desire? A sense of justice?
He couldn’t tell. But either way, the result was the same.
Vaan narrowed his eyes, quietly resolving himself to win the auction.
