Under the City, Part 6
Not long after he won the bid for the bird statue, the auction came to an end.
"Dammit," Yohan muttered, looking down at his hands with a hint of regret in his voice.
He had thrown out a massive sum right off the bat to stop that brat from driving up the price with annoying counter-bids, but now he couldn't help but wonder if it would have been better to just play it cool and raise the bid gradually.
—Is it truly such a waste? I know not the value of thirty silver coins, so it is difficult for me to sympathize.
"First of all, it's definitely not a small amount. And hey, you..."
Yohan briefly wondered if the Goddess was just trying to get under his skin. But realizing she genuinely didn't know any better, he decided to let it slide. I was way too sensitive about this, he thought, smacking his lips in bitter disappointment.
"Sigh, whatever." As most of the attendees filed out of the hall, Yohan waited to claim his item with a half-dazed expression.
"Thank you for waiting. Please follow us to finalize the transaction." Soon, three auction house employees approached Yohan. Leading the way was a pleasant-looking woman, closely flanked by two exceptionally burly male staff members.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
Yohan and Falco finally stood up and followed the staff to another room. In the storage room used for handing over items, the bird statue sat waiting on a table.
"Let's see here." Before handing over the money, Yohan inspected the item's condition. No matter the story behind it, he was paying cold, hard cash for this thing, so he needed to make sure there weren't any glaring defects. Even when he touched the statue with his bare hands, the auction staff didn't try to stop him.
—Up close, its energy is even more distinct.
The Goddess's voice echoed in his mind. Yohan nodded, having already sensed the faint energy radiating from the statue. It definitely carried the trace of an immensely powerful being, similar to the Goddess.
However, unlike the Goddess's energy, the source of this power felt far from gentle. On the contrary, it felt as if a current of electricity was running across its surface, sending a strange tingle through his fingertips. He felt as though he might get cursed if he stared at it for too long.
"Here you go."
"Yes. One, two, three... One gold coin and five silver coins confirmed."
Yohan pulled one Imperial gold coin and five silver coins from his pocket and handed them over. The auction employee quickly snatched them up and checked for counterfeits.
—Is the exchange rate for high-value currency fixed?
The Goddess spoke again. She seemed curious about how Yohan had split the payment between gold and silver coins.
"Not all of them. Just the ones from the Holy Kingdom and the Empire."
Yohan replied in a barely audible whisper. In this world, currency minted by the Holy Kingdom and the Empire served as the reserve currencies. As such, their value was recognized consistently no matter where one went. This was only possible because the guarantors of that value were none other than the Holy Kingdom and the Empire themselves.
"Yes, everything is in order. Lastly, please write your name and sign here..."
"Yeah, yeah."
Yohan scribbled his signature half-heartedly. Now, this cursed statue belonged to him.
"Phew, now that we've got it, let's head back."
—You must destroy it immediately. If such an unholy object wanders the world for too long, nothing but misfortune will follow.
Yohan didn't think some catastrophic accident would happen just as the Goddess feared, but he did agree with her desire to smash the statue as soon as possible.
"Man, let's just go back. I'm completely drained and exhausted."
"Okay."
Their business was done. After retrieving their weapons and belongings from the reception desk, Yohan and Falco left the auction house.
—By the way, my Apostle.
"What now?"
—Why did those two hulking brutes, looking like Junk Town sheriffs, follow behind the employee earlier?
"Ah, those guys. Sometimes you get idiots who throw tantrums and refuse to pay, claiming they were tricked by a bluff."
—Hmm.
"It looked like you were thinking of doing the same thing earlier, Yohan."
Falco chimed in, a faint trace of amusement in her voice. Unlike the Goddess, her intention to tease him was glaringly obvious.
"Are you crazy? Why would I do that? Besides, getting blacklisted in a place like this would only bring trouble."
Yohan retorted, turning his head. Pedestrians bustled along the street, and in one of the many alleys branching off the main road...
"Wait, that kid—"
Yohan spotted something in the alley. He had locked eyes with the damn brat who had bluffed him on the bird statue back at the auction.
If they had just made eye contact, it wouldn't have mattered. It might have been annoying, but they could have simply gone their separate ways. However, this time, the situation was a bit different.
"Yohan."
—My Apostle.
Falco and the Goddess called out to him at the same time. Yohan nodded silently and strode toward the alley.
Generally, rival bidders who cross paths outside an auction house don't pay much attention to each other. Inside, they might be the absolute bastards who dared to outbid you, but everyone understood that was just how the system worked.
Of course, the bigger reason was that starting a fight over auction business within the Undercity gangs' territory would result in being severely punished through 'unorthodox procedures.'
But that didn't mean every visitor to the underworld abided by this unwritten rule. No matter how well the Undercity gangs maintained order, there were always limits...
"Let go! I said let go!"
And this was one of those times.
"Look at this little punk. We said we'd let you go if you just hand over what you've got, so why are you acting up?"
"Should we just gut him?"
The brat from earlier was being harassed by two thugs. Although they were doing this right off the busy main street, not a single passerby offered a helping hand.
Of course, no one could blame them. In this world, extending a warm hand of kindness to a stranger was a quick way to get a knife in your back. Yohan's outlook wasn't much different from the average pedestrian's. Except, right now, things were a bit different.
"Hey, hey. Freeze right there."
"Who the hell are you?"
Yohan interrupted the mugging. As he stepped forward, the two thugs harassing the kid snapped their gazes toward him.
"'Who the hell are you,' my ass. You dumb bastards."
How was it that everything from their actions to their words fit the stereotype of third-rate villains so perfectly? He clicked his tongue, glaring at the thugs who clearly lacked any shred of creativity.
—My Apostle. Stop posing and just finish them off already.
Unable to watch such a pathetic display any longer, the Goddess nagged him. Since Yohan had been planning to do exactly that anyway, he immediately reached out toward the thugs.
"Usually in these situations, if you beat the crap out of one guy, the other runs away on his own, right?"
Whoosh— The moment he finished speaking, Yohan's fist cut through the air and slammed directly into one thug's face.
Crack! Hit in the blink of an eye, the thug flew backward, cracked the back of his head against the alley wall, and slumped to the ground, completely unconscious.
"Y-You son of a—"
Seeing his partner taken down in an instant, the remaining thug bared his teeth in hostility. But Yohan had no intention of letting him do anything.
Thud—
"Gah—!"
Yohan laid both thugs out in seconds. He had fought hordes of undead in dungeons; dealing with street punks who shook down kids was child's play.
"Eeeek!" Somehow, the second guy managed to stay conscious. Drool spilling from his mouth, he crawled along the ground, trying to escape back to the main street.
Crunch! But at that moment, Falco's booted foot flew in and stomped hard on his mouth. At this display of sheer brutality, both Yohan and the watching kid squeezed their eyes shut.
—That's it!
On the other hand, the Goddess cheered in an excited voice. Falco wiped the blood off her boot by rubbing it against the unconscious thug's pants.
"There's no need to show mercy. It's always better to just crush them all from the start. Right?"
"Uh, yeah..."
She asked Yohan in a soft voice. Her attitude practically demanded praise, leaving Yohan to do nothing but blink in response.
"Um, thank you... thank you for helping me."
In any case, the commotion was over. The kid thanked Yohan and Falco with a terrified expression. Yohan clicked his tongue in annoyance, while Falco gave a silent nod.
"To be honest, I thought you'd just walk past. Since, well..."
Since he had driven up the price on an item he had no intention of buying just to bluff them. Although the kid trailed off, all three of them knew exactly what he meant.
"Even so, seeing grown-ass men shaking down a kid is just pathetic."
"What were they trying to steal from you?"
Falco asked just as Yohan finished speaking. The kid glanced around warily before pulling a coin pouch from his chest pocket to show them.
"They were after this."
Figures. Yohan spat toward the unconscious thugs.
"You went into the auction house, so you obviously had money. Plus, you look like an easy target—a little girl."
Falco nodded in agreement with Yohan's assessment.
"Ah, I am a kid, but I'm not a girl."
The wealthy kid—no, boy—was named Charles. It was a name that perfectly suited an appearance so delicate that it was easily mistaken for a girl's. The reason they hadn't realized he was male from his voice was likely because it hadn't cracked yet.
"So, how did you end up in a rough neighborhood like this all by yourself?"
"Judging by your name, you don't seem to be from around here either."
Falco and Yohan questioned him at the same time. For some reason, Charles hesitated, unable to give a straight answer.
Yohan didn't press the frightened Charles for an answer. Instead, he observed the boy closely. The name Charles made it clear he wasn't a local. Furthermore, his slightly unusual accent suggested he had traveled from quite far away.
While everyone in this town had a story, the kid standing before them clearly had an especially complicated one.
"It's a bit complicated to explain, but... I was kicked out of my house."
"What?"
Yohan tilted his head at Charles's response. Even if he had been kicked out, it was no ordinary feat for a kid like him to make it all the way to Balifield alone. Yohan crossed his arms and thought it over.
"Ah... wait a second."
He had a pretty good guess. The name Charles, and that distinct accent.
"You're from the Corporate State, aren't you?"
When Yohan asked, Charles's eyes went wide. He slowly nodded.
"H-How did you know?"
"Your name and accent make it pretty obvious."
—Where is this Corporate State?
"It's a nation in the southern part of the continent. Its official name is Burgund, but it's more famous by its nickname, the Corporate State."
—The Corporate State. A peculiar nickname.
"Well, anyway. If you're from there, it makes sense why a kid like you is carrying around so much cash."
Burgund, also known as the Corporate State, was one of the wealthiest economic powers on the continent despite being far from its center. As the nickname suggested, Burgund was ruled not by a monarch, but by corporations. Some modern person probably got isekai'd here in the past and built the place, Yohan speculated.
"So, let's hear it. How did you get kicked out?"
"I have an older brother who is much older than me."
Charles openly explained how someone from the Corporate State ended up all the way in Balifield, a city on the fringes of a neighboring country.
"Earlier this year, my father's health suddenly deteriorated, so my brother took over the family merchant group. Right after that, he kicked me out under the pretext of traveling to neighboring countries to broaden my horizons."