Hey.

It's Tim again.

We are now entering the House of Pendragon Arc proper, which begins with the Empyrean Auction and ends with David's departure for Iris.

I'm not currently sure how many chapters it will span, but by the time your read this Azu will have decided how much detail he wants me to go into and I will have a number in mind.

In all honesty, the boss isn't exactly sure what happens in this arc yet.

He just knows what major outcomes he wants the arc to have achieved.

I don't want to spoil anything so I'm not going to say much else.

Goodbye for now.

Enjoy the chapter.

***

June 21st 20776 Second Human Era (To be abbreviated to HE II going forward)

Two weeks passed in a flash.

David spent most of the time either tussling in the bed with the girls at various times of the day, in various positions, with various numbers of participants, playing various games, cultivating his Divinity, putting some finishing touches on various weapons, artifacts, and building schematics, or studying potion recipes and spells.

When dawn came on the day of the auction David arose and disentangled himself from the mass of naked bodies consisting of all of the girls.

After he got off the bed and pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms, he gazed at the bed and heaved a sigh.

It had been a wild night, and he was glad that his bed happened to be both particularly large and sturdy.

He had been having a go at both Dhara and Green Feather when Aurelia burst into his room with the others in tow.

The situation had quickly devolved into something entirely out of hand then, that almost left him at his wits end with one girl jumping his bones after another in a seemingly endless cycle.

Luckily, he was quite literally built different.

He then shook his head free of the memories of last night and made his way to the bathroom where he showered and brushed his teeth.

He didn't use deodorant as it took away from his natural pheromones' and odor which he quite liked.

(Narrator: As did all the girls apparently.)

After that, he got dressed and woke the girls, and sent them back to their rooms to shower and get dressed, and so he could have the room to himself.

With them gone, he first checked his stats and took note of his advancement to Level 91 of Tier 9.

With every passing day, he was getting closer and closer to advancing to Tier 10 and being able to fight against some Tier 12 Beings without relying on some of his more overpowered and truly insane Inherent Abilities.

As he had advanced in Tiers his ability to fight above his level had slowly shrunk, going from the initial 3 to 4 rank jump to the barely 2 Rank jump he could make now.

he expect that by the time he reached the middle Levels of Tier 11, he would only be able to fight against Peak Tier 12 beings and would stand little to no chance against Tier 13 existences.

He felt that he would only stand a chance against even the weakest Tier 13 existence when he reached the middle of Tier 12.

(Narrator: That's not something to be sulking over in my opinion. But fuck me I guess.)

(Author: Says the guy who once fought ten people at Tier 12 at once to a standstill. Assclown. Hey readers let me know if I should doc his pay.)

This being the case even as he gained more Abilities and Affinities, whilst simultaneously refining and developing the ones he already had.

As this was a common tactic amongst beings of higher Tier, not to mention the items beings of such a high level could get their hands on, in order to further enhance their powers to a nigh incomprehensible level.

He sat in a chair for a little while with the tv on in the background as he thought over his plans for the auction.

He originally had three main goals in making this trip to Kent, with several other small goals that didn't really matter.

One as previously mentioned was the selling of some items which would make the already tense political landscape of Cornith even more so, or maybe even cause it to boil over entirely so he could take advantage.

The second was to observe the attitudes of the various major characters who would attend the auction so he could get a better feel for the state of things as well as gauge their respective power levels, and which powers he should prioritize eliminating or potentially befriend in the future.

And the third and final goal was to develop a business relationship with the Pendragon Trading Firm.

It was the biggest commercial firm in West Cornith, with even the most Powerful Merchant Guil, The Golden Sparrow Guild, falling short.

Forming a partnership with them which would allow him to sell his products through them would ensure him both a certain degree of protection and anonymity from the more powerful organizations which might covet said products.

The first of his original main goals had already been accomplished with his cosigning of the items to Astrid two weeks ago.

And the second would be accomplished today.

The third, if luck was on his side and his cosigning of his items worked as he hoped, would also be accomplished today.

His small goals included a more thorough understanding of the environment around Kent and how they may react to his actions in Kent, as well as some other things such as getting an idea of the situation regarding The Quiet Islands or getting a better grasp of the current market dynamics.

And finally was the goal he had recently developed after he received the letter from Noah two weeks ago.

He had long since tasked Noah with finding other potential Knight leaders as he was the individual most suited to the task given his social standing, as well as the extent of his social, organizational, and political network.

Noah had identified several potential candidates but none of them had been up to David's standards or passed all of his sniff tests.

(Narrator: In some cases, there were literal sniff tests. You all should remember how he found Erena.)

(Author: Just in case you don't remember, I will remind you that he literally put his nose to the air and parsed through the various smells it carried until he found one and flew in its direction after he parted ways with Akatsuki and Akane.)

Anyway, this candidate looked much more promising than any of the others Noah brought to his attention.

And he had the feeling that it could very well pay off, as the candidate was none other than Morgana's twin brother Arthur Pendragon.

(Narrator: As a note Artorian legend is based very loosely on these two not the other way around. A clairvoyant bard lived on earth in medieval times and told everyone many stories about the things he dreamt. The stories evolved over time, as with most other Myths, except those of Norse and Christian Origin.)

(Author: If you want more details regarding Norse Mythology I suggest you read the synopsis of Rebirth in Times of Chaos. Though the story is on hiatus until I get this one really rolling and have the energy to devote to it.)

It was soon ten o'clock in the morning and everyone was gathered in the living room before they left the Inn and headed for the Auction House.

***

When Astrid told Morgana about the items David had cosigned for the Empyrean Auction, the latter's reaction appeared rather muted.

She simply took a moment to think before telling her youngest daughter to keep tabs on the man and if possible to try and foster a business relationship with him

Seeing that he could produce products of such a high level he could prove to be a source of products that would both broaden their market share and help further empower their forces.

This was a conclusion Astrid had come to herself so she took note of her mother's recommended course of action.

As such Astrid was made aware when David's group departed from their Inn and was waiting for them in the reception area of the Auction House when they arrived.

"Good morning David. As you put up some very valuable options up for auction we have apportioned you a Private Room on the upper level of the Aiction Hand. If you don't mind I will show you to it." She spoke as she extended her hand.

"Good morning to you as well Astrid. And I don't mind at all, lead the way whenever you're ready. " He grasped her hand in his own.

Astrid nodded in understanding and then turned to the rest of his entourage in turn before leading them to their destination, making small talk along the way, the parties getting to know each other on a surface level and leaving a positive impression as they did so.

Astrid led them to the open door of their assigned room and stood aside.

Everyone else entered the room ahead of David leaving him alone in the hallway with Astrid.

As Favid was about to say his goodbyes Astrid spoke first, "Would I be correct in assuming you are capable of making more items of similar grade to the ones you put up for auction?"

"You would be correct." He said with a carefree smile.

"Would you be willing to sell them to us?"

The term "Us" here referred to the Pendragon Trading Firm of course.

"I would." David nodded in affirmation.

"Good. Come here tomorrow and we can discuss this further?" 

"Certainly."

They then shook on it and turned in opposite directions before walking away.

David into the private room, closing the door behind him.

And Astrid to her office to take care of other matters relating to the auction which was supposed to commence within the hour.