17 – Dark Mark Auction – III
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Murmurs broke out across the auditorium, and even some of the people who were quiet earlier sat up, rapt with attention.

Seeing that, the white haired woman next to Vaan seemed to tense.

Glancing over, Vaan wondered.

Was it that? The woman had seemed so adamant to retrieve the sacred sword. And then from her reaction to the so-called second princess… Was she one as well? No, since she seemed older, was she the first princess?

From that Holy King’s ruthless words, Vaan guessed that the woman’s mission was to retrieve the sacred sword at any cost. Unfortunately, Vaan didn’t let that happen due to his endless pockets.

Still, she hadn’t seemed too upset over that, only vindictive.

But from her reaction now…

If Vaan was a good person, he should probably yield. It seemed to be a case of the concerned older sister desperately trying to protect her younger sister.

Unfortunately, Vaan wasn’t quite that good of a person… not to mention how heated things had become. Even if he didn’t participate, it seemed like it would be a tough fight.

More than one man were staring at the second princess with desire, emotions ranging from lust to ambition.

And it seemed like the woman seemed to realize it as well, her hands clenched even tighter at her sides and her mana swirling, emitting a frosty chill.

The auction master swept his hand out and said, “Without further ado, let’s begin the bidding! The starting price is 10000 gold! Any takers?”

The woman raised her sign to bid, but someone else beat her to it.

“11000!” A man’s voice called out. Glancing towards him, Vaan saw that it belonged to a fat man that barely fit in his seat and took up the room for two people. Even without seeing the man’s face, Vaan could tell the kinds of dirty thoughts going on in that head.

“12000!” A different man called out. Unlike the first, the man was in fairly good shape. However, the lustful tone in which he called out revealed his intentions.

Curious, Vaan turned to look at the woman beside him. That sharp cold breeze from her mana had faded. Instead of being furious, she seemed panicked. Her hands trembled and she quickly raised her sign and shouted, “15000!”

“Hah! Trying to settle it quickly?” The first man, that fat one, laughed and said, “This is a once in a lifetime chance, so I’ll go all out! 20000!”

“Dammit, fat bastard! Fight me if you dare! 21000!”

“22000!”

The white haired woman shook her head. “No… I can’t…” She clenched her hands and then raised her sign. “25000!”

The auction master raised his eyebrow. “Miss, you don’t have enough funds in-“

“I’ll use myself as collateral!”

Dead silence fell upon the crowd, and then laughter erupted from the auction master. “How amusing! Indeed, Miss. If you used yourself as collateral, we could raise your credit by 30000. But will that be enough, I wonder? After all, this is the sacred sword princess we’re talking about.”

The fat man laughed. “The auction master is right! And a raise of 30000 to your credit, hm? Well, how about 35000 then?”

The auction master turned towards Vaan’s balcony and said, “Well, Miss? The gauntlet has been tossed! Will you fight it out, or not?”

Vaan could see the woman struggle for a moment. However, she seemed to have resolved herself as she called out. “55000!”

“Kuh!” The fat man choked. “55000!? That’s enough to buy a large plot of land and a baron hood!”

The white-haired woman said, “Like you said, this is a once in a life-time opportunity, isn’t it?”

“You… aren’t you using yourself as collateral?! What’s the point of even bidding so high?!”

The white-haired woman didn’t respond. Instead, she turned to the auction master. “Well?”

The auction master laughed. “A formidable play, Miss! Indeed, if you are that resolved, it would be best to draw this to a close. If no one else places a bid-“

Vaan stood up and raised his sign. “100000.”

Dead silence. The number was enough to stun everyone present.

Even the auction master began to sweat. “S-Sir… no, Esteemed Guest. Are you certain?”

The white-haired woman rounded on Vaan. “You…!”

Vaan ignored her and said, “Of course. Like people have been saying, it’s a once in a lifetime chance, isn’t it?”

As he said that, he stared at the young woman standing on the stage.

By chance, she glanced up at him, staring at Vaan with blank violet eyes.

Again, that strange emotion. A mix between desire, indignation, and a wish to prevent injustice… At least, as far as he could tell.

“B-But Esteemed Guest,” the auction master said. “With that much gold, you can-“

“150000 then. Now will you hurry this up? You’re wasting my time.” Saying that, Vaan tapped on his chair.

The white-haired woman jumped out of her chair and dashed over to Vaan. Grabbing him by his cloak, she pulled him up and said, “You bastard! You’re lying! You can’t have that much gold!”

Vaan stared at her. She couldn’t see his expression, but her emotions were clear. Anger, panic, desperation. They rolled off her in waves.

The other bidders seemed to regain their spirit at the woman’s words and protested.

“T-That’s right!” The fat man said. “You can’t make false bids to shore up the price! I thought that the Dark Mark had better integrity than- grk!“

“Hmph.” A cold scoff cut through the ruckus, along with a surge of mana.

“Daring to question our integrity?” the auction master said. “You can forget about future membership, Mister Lu. Good luck making your way back to your home tonight.”

“Gihii!” The fat man, Mister Lu, squealed like a pig. “Y-You can’t-“

The auction master snapped his fingers and then the fat man, Mister Lu, vanished in a flash of emerald light. With that, silence reigned again. Seeing that everyone calmed down, the auction master turned to face Vaan. While that man’s face was hidden, Vaan could tell that a fierce gaze was being sent his way.

The woman flinched and took a few steps back, releasing Vaan.

He brushed off his cloak and sat back down, looking back at the stage.

The auction master stared back at him and said, “Are you certain, Esteemed Guest?”

Vaan nodded. “Just finalize it already. Unless someone else wants to fight it out?”

There was silence. Even if there might have been other people in the crowd with the capability, it seemed that no one wanted to waste so much money on a princess that had been foolish enough to get captured. Even if she had royal pedigree and a great appearance, with that much money you could buy hundreds of ordinary women just as beautiful and skilled.

Vaan was sure that was what the others were thinking. To them, he must have seemed a mad man, especially since the princess was only the second to last item and not the grand finale.

But there was a method to his madness… and what was gold in any case? He could always make something else to send Thomas’s way if he needed more funding.

“Very well.” The auction master nodded. “Then I will begin the countdown. 3!”

The woman turned to face Vaan and said in a hushed whisper, “I beg of you! The sword is fine, but her- Evelyn, she-“

“2!”

The woman shook her head and took off her mask. “I’m the first princess, Levitica! If you let her go, I’ll do anything for you! I’ll take her place, I’ll even become your slave! Whatever you wanted to do with her, I’ll do instead!”

“1!”

Vaan tilted his head. Admittedly, she was beautiful. That Levitica looked every bit as beautiful as the princess on the stage below, and some could argue even more so. If the princess below had a ‘pure’ beauty, Levitica was elegant. The picture of a haughty beauty with a frosty veneer. That beauty was begging with all her might to save her sister.

But-

“I refuse.”

“And our Esteemed Guest wins the bid again! Congratulations!” The auction master bowed to Vaan. “Like before, an associate will guide you to your winnings after the show. Don’t worry! We’ll ensure the best care is given to your belongings.”

Vaan nodded in response, ignoring Levitica, and then took a seat.

The young woman on the stage turned towards Vaan’s direction and bowed before the stage opened up again. The stone altar slowly descended, along with the form of that young woman, and then the auction master prepared to announce the next item.

Even so, Levitica didn’t seem to have given up. She replaced her mask on her face and took a seat directly next to Vaan. “I implore you! Anything! Just… just let my sister go! Your lover, your fighter… e-even your toy! If- if that will be enough, then I-“

“Shut up.”

Levitica froze.

Vaan slowly turned towards her, taking full advantage of his currently imposing appearance. “I have tolerated your actions up to this point, but you should know your place. Here, your royal title has no bearing. Not only that, but who would take a woman showing such an unsightly side of herself?”

“I… see.” Levitica turned away from Vaan and slumped into her seat. Defeated and despairing. That was her current appearance, a far cry from the arrogant woman that had dared to grab him.

-A headache. Seeing that emotion on the woman made Vaan want to change his mind. No, something inside of him was saying to let this go.

But at the same time, he didn’t want to.

Did that make Vaan a terrible person? Sure, but it wasn’t like he thought of himself a hero.

All that he wanted to do was stay alive. And an obedient princess who was supposedly the true wielder of that sacred sword obeying his every whim sounded like a perfect resource to utilize.

-Again. A dichotomy. That wasn’t quite what he intended…

Vaan narrowed his eyes.

Whatever. If something was wrong, if his actions were incongruous with what his past self had been and that was the nagging sensation he had, it didn’t matter.

‘Right. If this bothers you so much, maybe you shouldn’t have died?’

Again, a splitting headache. But Vaan let it be. He had to. Because right now, for better or for worse, he was the center of attention.

Fortunately-

“Now, for our grand finale!”

-That didn’t last very long.

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