Second Arc (His Art of War) – 42. The Auctions
The sky above Eternal Harmony City looked bright. No clouds were covering the sun that shone this morning. Today, the city looked more lively than usual, dozens of luxury carriages arrived at the Golden Light Castle courtyard. One by one the merchants got off their carriages. They were rich merchants who were invited by the castle. These merchants had been selected to ensure that they got their assets from legal business and had gotten good behaviour recommendations from the civilians. They entered the castle and their faces looked tense, getting an invitation to the castle was an almost impossible thing that would happen in their lives, more than that they got the opportunity to take an audience with the king. Moreover they would face two kings at once. This was truly a rare opportunity that might only come once in their lifetime.
They walked into the castle escorted by the guards after their luggage was checked before they entered the castle. They passed through the luxurious ivory corridor to the Golden Light Castle main hall. Their eyes swept around them as their feet moved, admiring the beauty of the castle. The guards opened the door to the main hall, they entered a luxurious hall with gold ornament details that adorned every corner. Tables and chairs were neatly arranged. Two kings sat side by side on their throne at the end of the room. They immediately recognized a middle-aged king with yellow golden hair in the Asterian white royal military uniform. King Gervis Eryes Reinheart, the ruler and protector of Asteria. At his age that was not young anymore, his strength was still visible, his strong hands held his armchair. The majesty aura of a king emanated from his serious face, but his aura was nothing compared to a young king in the Euphorion royal black military who had just conquered Asteria next to him. King Angelus Raizel Moonfall, the genius king who turned the kingdom of Euphorion which almost destroyed five years ago into the most prosperous kingdom on the Andromeda Continent. His face looked cold like an ice sculpture and his sharp eyes made them feel intimidated as if he could read their minds in just one glance. They bowed to salute the two kings who replied with a simple nod. Then they sat down in accordance with the guards delivering them.
After everyone sat in their place, a man in Asteria's official uniform walked into the middle of the room and bowed to greet them.
"Good afternoon, guests. Welcome to Golden Light Castle. My name is Barnes. On this rare occasion, the castle wants to give you a rare opportunity to contribute to the Kingdom. As written on the invitation we will give the title and the contract to the five highest bidders. Therefore we will determine this with an auction system. The two lowest bidders will get the title 'Minister of Coin' and a one-year contract. The third highest bidder will get the title 'Lord of Silver' and a two years contract. The second highest bidder will get the title 'Saint of Gold' and a three years contract. The highest bidder will get the title 'Savior of Nation' and a four years contract. "
As they heard it they whispered to each other in excitement. That title sounded extraordinarily prestigious, especially the highest bidder title. From the title's name, everyone could find out their merit that they had made for Asteria.
Meanwhile, even though King Gervis' face looked calm, actually he was very tense. Asteria's financial condition was determined today. Even though the merchants looked excited, it could be because they were invited to the castle by the king. The matter of them wanting to spend a lot of money to help Asteria was something else, after all, weren't all the merchants stingy?
King Gervis' mind continued to sink into his anxiety. If this event was unsuccessful, not only he would have to find another way to take care Asteria's financial problem but it would also embarrass his honour as a king.
In contrast to Angel who faced this event calmly. During his time rebuilding the Kingdom of Euphorion's economy, he learned so many things, especially about merchants. Small merchants paid attention to their profit, but big merchants paid more attention to information and network. Because they could get greater profit from there and nothing was better than establishing good relations with the ruler of the kingdom itself.
"The offer will opened from one million gold coins," said Barnes, opening the auction.
One by one the merchants raised their hands and shouted fantastic numbers that were getting higher and higher.
King Gervis looked both shocked and relieved to see their enthusiasm. He thought the first offer of one million gold coins was already very high, but apparently, the number they offered was much higher than that. A satisfied smile began to appear on his face as the number increased over time.
While Angel was also relieved because everything was going well, that way he could immediately return to Euphorion and head to his next target.
