Auction (2)

According to Freya, who'd come to fetch us, we were supposed to stand guard at the auction.

When I asked why we had to pull security on top of everything else just to run the thing, Freya answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"It's a Dragon Jade of that caliber, you know? The Grand Duke may have only sent invitations to people he trusts, but there's no guarantee the information hasn't leaked somewhere along the way."

"Okay… so?"

"So? With a Dragon Jade like that, there are bound to be groups willing to risk everything to steal it. It's fine for now because Erinn is holding onto it, but once the auction starts, it'll be temporarily handed over to the principality, right?"

"And that handoff is the dangerous part?"

"Exactly. Honestly, the moment it leaves our hands, the danger never really stops."

In other words, the entire duration of the auction could be a risk window.

An auction-hall terrorist attack… yeah, in a world like this, that's more than plausible.

Because an event like this — acquiring a Dragon Jade — had never existed in Dungeon in Evil, I had zero advance intel on any of it. Situations like this were always so much easier when you already knew the script.

"If we want to claim our proper share, we have to make sure the Dragon Jade doesn't get spirited away. That's what she's saying."

"Got it."

Caesius, who'd been listening in, cut in with a remark of her own.

"Humans truly are greedy creatures. To covet even what belongs to others…"

…Was that really something a dragon who piled other people's treasures high in her lair got to say? This was a species that routinely took whatever other monsters had gathered by force.

I wasn't the only one thinking it. Freya looked at her like she couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

"Is that really something a dragon should be saying?"

"…What do you mean by that?"

"Dragons are the ones who plunder other people's treasures and hoard them in their nests, aren't they?"

"Those are spoils of war. We didn't steal them — they were rewards for winning in battle."

"Against opponents far weaker than yourselves."

"…Sophistry. How many races out there are stronger than we great dragons, anyway?!"

Yeah, well, you still took them.

"Anyway… I get why we have to stand guard. So how are we dividing the watch?"

"Erinn will stay closest to the Dragon Jade, and the rest of us will split up and cover our assigned zones."

"Zones? Who's going where?"

"I'll explain once we get there. It'll be faster if I show you on the auction hall floor plan."

I nodded. The thought crossed my mind that I might get a zone of my own this time. Alone, there was no chance of that — but now I had Caesius to order around.

"By the way, it really has been a while since I had Allen's cooking. It tasted even better than I remembered."

So they all actually liked my cooking. They must have eaten it a lot before I possessed this body.

I guess a porter's true value really did show itself at mealtime…

…Ah.

Come to think of it, I still hadn't checked my stats. After chugging that foul-tasting elixir, I was really hoping for a solid jump.

Half excitement, half anticipation, I pulled up my status.

"…?"

What the hell.

My Strength, Agility, and Vitality had each gone up by a measly six. For something made from a rare elixir, that was a pathetic gain. How was this possible?

When I fed this to a character while playing on Extreme difficulty, I distinctly remember…

Every single stat had jumped by at least twenty.

The one silver lining was that my Magic Power had shot up by a full thirty. I had no idea why the difference was so extreme, and my head tilted on its own.

Come to think of it… after about six ladlefuls, the elixir had run dry. Both thirty and six were divisible by six.

…So one ladle raised every other stat by one, and Magic Power by five.

Dragon Tonic. Made from dragon materials that were naturally magic-attuned — so of course Magic Power got the best conversion rate. This world already had differences from Dungeon in Evil, but I hadn't expected a gap like this.

Still, the important thing was that the stat I needed most — Magic Power — had gone up by thirty.

Right. I was going to be a mage. What did Strength matter? Agility and Vitality were a little disappointing, but maybe running around a lot would fix that somehow.

I should just be grateful the Magic Power went up. Look on the bright side.

"…Allen. You look happy."

"Hm? Oh…"

Clara must have caught the change in my expression.

"Just, you know…"

"Allen, do you like it that much?"

"What are you talking about?"

What was she on about now?

Freya's completely random comment made both Clara and me tilt our heads. Freya, for her part, looked genuinely puzzled.

"Weren't you happy because you were looking at my pretty, smooth back?"

"……No."

Crazy exhibitionist freak…

"…Allen likes backs?"

"I said no…"

And now Clara was joining ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in. A few lines of conversation and my head was already spinning.

More importantly, with my Magic Power up, I should go see Letisia later and learn more magic. Thirty extra points meant a lot more I could do.

About a month and ten days left, give or take.

The deadline was closing in.

By then, I had to be self-sufficient. No exceptions.

When we followed Freya back, Erinn and Letisia were already waiting. The moment they saw us, they spoke up.

"You're late, Allen."

"Ah, sorry."

"So, did you give Aria everything she was supposed to get?"

"Received it loud and clear!"

Ser-Aria said, holding up a pouch stuffed with twenty dragon scales. Caesius's eyes narrowed at the sight, but that was none of my business.

"Everyone gather close~ We need to talk quietly. There might be some scrub eavesdropping on us~♡"

"When have I ever eavesdropped…?"

Unbelievable.

Anyway, we all huddled up just like Erinn said.

"I'll stay by the Dragon Jade the whole time. So you all need to keep a good eye on your assigned zones~."

Having Erinn — the strongest fighter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the party — parked next to the Dragon Jade was a solid call. Most people wouldn't even dare approach.

"The auction hall is a three-floor structure. The first floor has the auction block and bidder seating. The second floor is all bidder seating, and the third floor is the VIP rooms."

"What's different about the VIP rooms? Layout-wise, I mean."

Erinn answered my question.

"Look at you, asking a constructive question for once, scrub~?"

"…Just tell me if they're different."

"They are~ Unlike the first and second ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠floors, where the seats fan out in a semicircle, the VIP floor is an oval corridor with rooms only along one side."

"Harder to keep under watch, isn't it?"

And easier to sneak into.

"That's exactly why it needs the most attention. The first and second floors are basically wide open, so if thieves are going to infiltrate, this is the most likely spot~?"

"Yeah, that tracks."

"You can only enter from the corridor through the doors, but one wall of each room is a big window so guests can watch the auction — which means someone could hide inside and burst into the hall whenever they want."

Letisia added the extra detail, underscoring just how critical the third floor was.

So who takes that? Versatile Letisia? But a closed corridor was an awkward space for commanding spirits, and her Sixth Sense trait level was on the lower side among the party.

Freya, then? Same problem — her Sixth Sense was also low.

Clara… maybe one room, but covering multiple rooms wasn't a great fit for a thief class.

Obviously not me. So that left…

"Aria, then, right…"

"Scrub, that means you're taking it~♡"

"……What?"

"You've got a dragon now, don't you~? Dragon magic is more than enough to cover the entire third floor."

"…That's true, but wouldn't Aria be better?"

Ser-Aria's Sixth Sense was higher than Letisia's or Freya's, and she had traits like Divine Steps and Tailwind that were purpose-built for surveillance and tracking.

For detecting and chasing down infiltrators, she might even be co-MVP with Clara. And as an archer, she could cover a wider range than Clara could.

Erinn smirked at my argument.

"Aria's been drinking, so no~ She'd miss the thieves mid-swig~?"

"Ah…"

Right.

"Puhaha! Sorry about that!"

If you're sorry, stop drinking, you idiot.

"So Aria will watch the narrow choke points. Even if she's drinking, she can still see everything that enters her field of view, right~?"

"Mmm, leave it to me!"

Or just don't drink and take the third floor yourself.

And so the assignments were set.

Ser-Aria would cover the main entrance and its approach. Clara would watch the rear entrance and its approach. Letisia took the second floor. Freya took the first. And I got the third.

Was it really okay to hand the most important post to a porter like me?

"But I won't even know if enemies have broken in… is that fine?"

"Just leave that to the dragon, won't you~? One order and it's done. Are you asking a stupid question like that just in case~?"

"Her?"

I looked at Caesius with mild skepticism. She sounded faintly offended.

"Do you think I cannot read the movements of mere insects?"

"There she goes with 'insects' again."

"……A slip of the tongue."

Saying "a slip of the tongue" doesn't fix everything, you know. When we get back, I was making her do head-slams again.

"So the job is simply to keep petty thieves from getting in, is it not?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Then there is no problem."

Erinn gave a small nod.

"The dragon seems confident enough. Then control her well, scrub~♡"

"…Yeah."

"Alright, everyone to your posts~."

With that, Erinn picked up the massive Dragon Jade herself. She clearly meant to carry it in person and cut down on as many variables as possible.

Though once the auction started, it would temporarily pass to the principality…

That moment will be the real test.

We had to protect it. The Dragon Jade was the treasure that would bankroll our standard of living going forward.

Which meant tonight's security detail was, in effect…

"I'm counting on all of you~?"

"You got it!"

"Understood."

"Leave it to me."

"…Yeah."

No different from protecting the life we were about to build.

I'd better give ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it everything I've got.

I made that resolution — and silently decided that if we failed, Caesius was getting no food for a week.

Things, however, did not go as smoothly as I'd hoped. If they had, we wouldn't have needed security in the first place.

"Find the culprit, now!!"

"Everyone, remain in your seats!"

"Anyone attempting to leave at this moment may be treated as a suspect."

How on earth did it come to this…?