The Top Prize (1)
The Top Prize (1)
"Ah! You've come!!"
When I reached the underground parking, Na Yeon-ju, who had come out early to wait, bowed at a perfect right angle.
Clack!
Then she opened the passenger door of the car parked in front.
"From now on, just wait quietly inside the car."
"Ah, y-yes..."
The slightly flustered girl quickly closed the door, went around to the back, and got into the driver's seat.
Glance.
Na Yeon-ju watched my mood as she placed her hands on the steering wheel.
Since I'd given her the destination beforehand, she checked the pre-set navigation and slowly started the car.
"..."
"..."
The car, with no music or radio on, was profoundly silent—a very satisfactory environment. However.
"Na Yeon-ju."
"Y-yes?!"
Her constantly checking my mood with her glances was distracting.
"I'm not particularly angry, so don't mind what happened in the underground parking."
"Ah... Th-that's not it... He, hehe..."
For a follower of the God of Amusement, she was the type whose emotions and thoughts were plainly written on her face.
"And whatever the others say, let it go in one ear and out the other."
"Uh... I'm not sure I understand what you mean...?"
"I mean ignore what those like Idni say. Wasn't that stunt you pulled in the underground parking something she told you to do?"
"Ah!! How did you know—eep!!"
Na Yeon-ju clamped her mouth shut, startled like someone who'd just let slip a secret she shouldn't have. It was rather amusing to see her make such a fuss over something that wasn't even really a secret.
"If you understand, then just focus on driving from now on."
"...Yes."
Silence returned.
"...If you want to listen to music, you may."
"Ah, thank you!!"
As if she'd been waiting for it, Na Yeon-ju pulled out her smartphone and played music through the car's speakers.
"Hmm-hmm~"
"..."
I expected that, but music was still nothing more than noise to me—neither more nor less.
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"Professor. We've arrived."
The car stopped in front of a massive skyscraper.
The auction itself is held in secret, but because it isn't an illegal underground auction, it's held annually in the city center like this—in the headquarters building of the company running it.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A few people in suits standing at the building's entrance approached and tapped on the driver's side window.
I took the black envelope embossed with a seal of a crowned crow from within my coat and held it out to Na Yeon-ju.
"Show them this."
"Ah, yes."
Whirr.
The window rolled down, and Na Yeon-ju presented the envelope in her hand.
"I'll guide you."
The man returned the envelope and stepped back.
"H-heart's pounding...!!"
Na Yeon-ju respectfully returned the envelope to me, then followed the man standing ahead, who waved us forward. We drove after him, descending into the building's underground parking.
"Let's get out."
"Ah, I-I'm going too...?"
"Won't it be boring if you're alone?"
"Th-that's, I'm, I'm fine... I can keep myself busy alone..."
"Enough. Get out."
"...Yes."
I got out first, and Na Yeon-ju hurriedly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the driver's seat.
"Don't stand behind me; stay by my side."
"B-but, I'm just an attendant...?"
"I'd rather not have to say it twice."
Scurry!
Only then did she noisily move to stand beside me.
'Bringing her along is the right call.'
I told her it was because she'd be bored, but actually, it was a precaution against an attack from the Black Heaven.
Given that this is Raven's headquarters, there are some reasonably capable Awakened guarding the surroundings, but by my standards, aside from Claire, anyone else is no different from a stone rolling on the ground. In other words, they're all the same.
"Whoa..."
Following me inside, she gaped at the walls and floor made of refined crystal, openly admiring them.
Ding-
"...!!"
Her face had been full of curiosity as she glanced around, but when she heard the elevator chime, she quickly hardened her expression and adopted what she considered an attendant-like posture, acting as if nothing had happened.
"There's no need to meet anyone, so be at ease."
"Ah, i-is that so...? Hehe..."
Seeing the completely empty elevator, Na Yeon-ju scratched her head.
"There's no button?!"
"...Right."
While she was finding it fascinating, the elevator doors closed. Then it began to rise. The elevator was designed to respond to the seal on the envelope in my coat and move to the appropriate floor.
Ding-
"Whoa..."
Na Yeon-ju, who had been standing beside me looking somewhat nervous, opened her eyes wide and gaped like a bit of a fool the moment the elevator doors opened.
"Let's get out."
"Ah... Y-yes..."
Floors and ceilings made of ivory marble.
In the center sat a massive sofa, a wide table, and various liquors and refreshments arranged upon it.
"Sit."
"...Yes."
Na Yeon-ju leaned back into the sofa along with me.
"If there's something you want to eat, feel free. Don't be shy. You can sleep if you're bored."
"Ah, understood..."
Nodding, she immediately reached out, took a few slices of cake neatly displayed in an oval display case, and started eating them with a fork.
How much time had passed?
"Ah, something's starting!!"
The girl, who had been crunching on breadsticks, came up beside me, her eyes sparkling, when the auction house appeared on the screen.
- I offer my thanks to all the distinguished guests in attendance.
A host wearing a crow mask walked onto the podium and bowed his head.
- I trust everyone is familiar with the rules, so I will begin immediately.
When the crow mask stepped aside, other people in crow masks brought a small wooden box up onto the podium.
- The Heavenly Thunder Pill, discovered in the Thunderbolt Hills Rift—an 11th Stage Rift that occurred in China. The starting bid will be 1 million dollars.
"O-o-one, m-million...!!"
Na Yeon-ju pointed a finger at the screen, her lips trembling.
"Pr-professor! That, that thing like a marble, they said it's o-one million dollars..."
"I heard. Let go."
"...? Ah?!"
She realized she'd grabbed my sleeve, started, and scrambled away.
"I'm sor—"
"It's fine. Just sit still."
"...Yes."
The girl returned to her spot and sat down.
- 20 million dollars has been bid. Are there no further bids?
"T-twenty... urgh!!"
"..."
I pushed the fainted girl aside and kept my attention on the auction.
- Sold for 35 million dollars.
"They're getting it for a steal."
The Heavenly Thunder Pill.
It is an elixir that not only raises lightning attribute resistance but also converts mana to the lightning attribute, enabling the user to handle thunder energy.
In the world of the Awakened, where one's birth effectively determines their ability, an elixir that grants command over the powerful and rare lightning attribute is so valuable that you can basically name your price.
Of course, that's assuming one knows the effects of the Heavenly Thunder Pill in the first place.
Raven distributes no catalog, nor does it inform anyone about the efficacy or value of the items up for auction. The only thing Raven guarantees is the fact that the item on the podium is genuine.
Even the starting bid is set by the original owner offering the item, so a high starting bid doesn't necessarily mean high value.
In short, this place is both an auction house and a venue where wealthy magnates test their discernment against each other.
- The second item is an unnamed painting discovered in a 12th Stage Rift in Texas. The starting price is 3 million dollars.
And the Forgetting Spring Water I'm trying to obtain also has no special designation, just like the painting just placed on the podium.
That's precisely why I'm here in person.
- 12 million dollars has been...
As I watched the auction proceed swiftly, I had a thought.
I hoped it wouldn't drag on past the fourth day.
**
After the awards ceremony concluded.
"Good work, everyone. You know there's a party this evening, so please gather in the lobby without being late. Dismissed."
Clap! Jaden lightly clapped his hands. The students who'd been put through the wringer by Kang Han-na for days fled toward the elevators as if escaping.
"Hah, we seriously could've taken first place if the younger kids had just performed a little better."
"Everyone worked hard, so don't be too hard on them."
"Tch..."
Inside the elevator ascending to the guest rooms.
When Na Ju-hee grumbled, Yoon I-seul gently smiled and held her back.
"I think it's better to be grateful we held onto the title of the best in Asia."
"That's a given, so of course... But aren't you guys bothered at all?"
At Na Ju-hee's question, Nam Seo-hee didn't even glance her way, while Baek Ha-na, who'd seemed somewhat dazed, flinched and her lips parted slightly.
"Uh, i-is... that so? I don't care about the rankings, so I'm not really sure..."
"...Hard to say anything when you put it that way, Ha-na."
Since they would've effectively been eliminated in the round of 32 if not for Baek Ha-na, Na Ju-hee stopped grumbling.
Ding-
Once they reached their floor, Baek Ha-na's group quickly headed into their guest room.
"Ha-na. We still have some time before we're meeting up. Shall we go to the restaurant?"
"N-no. I have something to prepare..."
Patter!!
"...?" "...?"
Once Baek Ha-na fled into her room, the three left in the living room stared blankly at the closed door for a moment.
"Hmm~ Preparations for the party... Meaning a party outfit?"
Yoon I-seul murmured with a face full of curiosity.
The outfit for the opening ceremony party had been provocative enough, but now she said she needed separate prep time, so naturally, expectations rose.
Click.
After Baek Ha-na disappeared into her room, Nam Seo-hee also went straight into her own room.
"Did I bring clothes that would suit Ha-na's tastes..."
Yoon I-seul also left the living room, murmuring something cryptic.
"Do I have to become weird like that too to get stronger...?"
Na Ju-hee frowned and moved to her room.
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"H-how is it...?"
"..." "..."
The three who had come out to the living room as the meeting time neared couldn't immediately answer Baek Ha-na when she opened her door and asked.
It was an unconventional dark crimson dress that not only exposed her shoulders but also clung to her body, outlining its curves entirely, and went so far as to boldly reveal her left thigh completely.
"Does it look... weird...?"
Twirling her long, loose hair around her index finger, Baek Ha-na kept trying to cover her thigh by holding the slit in her skirt closed.
Drip. Drop.
Nam Seo-hee answered by plugging her bleeding nose and sticking up her thumb.