Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: The Abyss Auction
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Of course, that's precisely why the Abyss Auction was illegal. Slavery had long been abolished in the Empire.
Sure, it was abolished in name only—slave trading still happened frequently in the shadows.
Sorry for harping on the South so much, but that was exactly the kind of place it was.
They were mercenaries in name, but the client held the power of life and death over them with no time limit. What difference did that make from slaves?
Of course, like most illegal activities, it was a play on words, but one that was ambiguous to punish in practice.
Especially when the perpetrator backed it with immense power.
I let out a sigh.
"You look like you have something to say."
"......"
The Iron-Blooded Duke eyed me as he asked. The old man had an uncanny knack for reading people.
Since there was no hiding much from the Blessing of Truth anyway, I just spoke my honest feelings.
"It's just unexpected."
"What is?"
"I thought the Bednicker family held no grudges, but it seems that's not entirely the case."
"......"
Maxim and his two disciples fell silent, sensing something off...
While the Iron-Blooded Duke appeared to mull over my words.
I asked again.
"Does the Family Head's blade point only at the cult?"
He overlooked other crimes and illegal acts?
If so, I'd be disappointed in the Iron-Blooded Duke and the Bednickers.
That feeling itself was unexpected.
You can't be disappointed without expectations in the first place.
Apparently, I still held some hope for the Bednickers.
Whether it stemmed from emotions carried over from the past or new sentiments from this life, I couldn't tell.
"Hold on... Sorry to interrupt."
At that moment, Maxim's expression shifted as he looked at me.
"This kid—is he your son by any chance?"
"What a dull question."
"What?"
The Iron-Blooded Duke's gaze turned to me...
I nodded, masking my awkward feelings.
The mysterious middle name was gone anyway.
Maxim and his disciples wouldn't pose much risk even if I revealed myself.
Click.
I removed the mask.
It hadn't felt stuffy while wearing it, but taking it off brought a definite sense of relief.
With my breathing now much easier, I said,
"I'm Ruan Bednicker."
Maxim looked at me with wide-eyed surprise.
"Well, I'll be. Quite the..."
"Yes. Quite the magic tool—"
"...hobby."
"......"
The Iron-Blooded Duke awkwardly steered away from the uncomfortable topic.
"Show some respect."
"Of course. My lips are sealed, so rest easy. It's an honor to meet the famed youngest of the Bednickers. As a member of Heros—and above all, an Imperial subject—may I express my gratitude?"
"...Of course."
I shook Maxim's thick hand.
It felt like grasping the front paw of a bear.
To his two disciples, who wore shocked expressions, I gave a slight wink.
"......!"
In the meantime, the Iron-Blooded Duke spoke up.
"My blade can't be everywhere in the Empire. But I've never let a sinner in my sights go unpunished."
"So that means..."
"I'm not here for the auction itself. I have business with the organizer."
"The organizer?"
"Raizen."
"......!"
I was caught off guard.
The name, popping up out of nowhere, rang a faint bell.
Raizen.
Full name: Raizen Bednicker.
The Iron-Blooded Duke's third son.
* * *
Iron-Blooded Duke Delac C. Bednicker.
A die-hard blood purist.
As such, all of Delac's children shone brilliantly in their respective fields.
At present—and likely far into the future—the ones with the greatest presence were undoubtedly his eldest son Hiiro, second son Hector, and second daughter Nero.
His eldest daughter Aquata had made her mark as a mage, while his fourth son Ats showed talent in commerce from a young age.
There were cases like Ludwig, who faked his death to infiltrate the cult and ended up rivaling Hiiro and Hector in achievements.
Not all of the man's children had distinguished themselves, however.
For instance, there was the failure that was the old Ruan Bednicker... and other children who hadn't made names for themselves.
Of course, they might have been quite famous in politics, business, or the underworld, even if they lacked martial renown.
Rumors in those circles didn't spread widely, and I hadn't paid them much attention anyway.
The reason Raizen's name startled me...
Was that he was one of the Iron-Blooded Duke's three children who had died before reaching adulthood.
'Ludwig's death among them was a ruse...'
Was Raizen's the same?
No idea.
Nor why the Iron-Blooded Duke was meeting Bednicker's third son now.
I racked my brain for Raizen Bednicker's past actions, but nothing useful came up.
Oh.
Come to think of it, he'd been attending Cartel Academy, right?
"Raizen is the organizer of the Abyss Auction."
"...Pardon?"
I blinked.
I'd assumed he was just a participant at most. What?
"Isn't he too young for that?"
The Abyss Auction was among the Empire's top secret auctions in scale.
Word was it moved tens of thousands of gold in a single night, sometimes nearing hundreds of thousands...
That was nearly equivalent to a major territory's annual budget.
Even for me, who'd joined the ranks of the wealthy with 5,000 gold from the Sapphire Snake corpse...
Hundreds of thousands of gold still felt somewhat abstract.
But the Iron-Blooded Duke replied in his usual deadpan tone.
"Someone slew a High Priest at just fifteen, so it's not so strange."
"Hmm..."
Hard to argue with that.
"Use this."
The Iron-Blooded Duke handed me something.
A pendant.
The peculiar thing was the black gem embedded in the center.
"It's a membership token. That'll prove your identity. Show it, and they'll allow up to two companions."
"Two?"
"Yes. You three will play the decoys."
The Iron-Blooded Duke's gaze swept over me, Zial, and Haro.
"Act like immature brats and buy up auction items indiscriminately. The organizers will react soon enough."
"And you, Family Head?"
"I'll search for decisive evidence with Maxim."
I nodded.
So, he was proposing a pincer maneuver.
'Still...'
I'd barely recovered from my sickbed, and here I was, plunged right into this. Was this the price for my leisurely previous life?
Seemed I wasn't destined for a life of idleness either.
* * *
After parting with the Iron-Blooded Duke and Maxim, we headed straight for the Abyss Auction venue.
"Y-You...!"
As soon as we left the restaurant, Haro pointed accusingly at me.
"Y-You're a B-B-Bednicker!"
"Correct."
"You're supposed to be an academy student!"
"Transfer students count as students too, don't they?"
Haro's face twisted as if I'd landed a solid hit, but he yelled again.
"Y-You let me badmouth Bednickers right in front of you!"
"You did the badmouthing. I just agreed. Basic conversation."
"Uh..."
Haro looked dumbfounded.
He seemed almost as simpleminded as Mirr in that moment.
"Y-You insulted your own family just to deceive me! So sneaky, just like a Bednicker!"
"Thanks for the compliment."
"You're shameless, calling yourself a nice guy!"
"I am a nice guy."
"A pervert who does drag isn't nice at all!"
"You insolent punk?"
Badmouthing the family was one thing, but insulting me? Unforgivable.
Zial held back Haro, whose face had turned beet red like an octopus.
"Haro, enough. Naru... no, Ruan didn't lie. He just hid a few truths."
"That's bullshit."
"...I'm Zial."
I continued, eyeing Zial as he sighed.
"Anyway, everything I said was true. I'll introduce you to Brother Hector tomorrow. Then you two can fight or compete or whatever—I don't care."
"Ha! Forgot what you said already? The one we want to fight most is you, Ruan Bednicker!"
I coughed weakly, my face paling.
"Sorry, but I'm still not in good shape. I'm barely standing as it is."
"What?"
"Surely Heros's hero won't challenge a sick man to a duel?"
"That's..."
Haro floundered.
Zial, meanwhile, regarded me calmly before slowly speaking.
"...You do seem unwell."
"Yeah?"
"But beating us in that state wouldn't be hard for you, would it?"
"......"
This guy's got skill and sharp instincts.
Instead of responding, I pulled a map from my pocket and said,
"If I bother you that much, we can split up. The Family Head ordered me specifically, so you two can just go home and rest."
Zial shook his head at my words.
"Can't do that. Master seems to have expectations for us too."
"Fine then. No more complaints. Shut up and follow."
Haro bristled at my changed tone, but Zial shot him a silencing glance, and he clammed up.
From this, it seemed Haro didn't hold full reins—Zial made the real decisions for important matters.
Anyway, it had been ages since I left the academy, and I headed to the location the Iron-Blooded Duke mentioned.
I'd sensed it when I got the map, but it was a somewhat unexpected spot.
"Who'd have thought the auction would be in the Owl's Magic Tower."
"No kidding."
The Abyss Auction was held on the top floor of the Owl's Magic Tower.
Not underground, but in the heavens above—perhaps one reason it evaded detection.
A minor but effective deception.
'Using the magic tower means ties to the tower lord, huh.'
Not surprising.
Mages were generally pragmatists, and personal research or advancing realms required enormous funds.
A hefty gold offer would be hard to refuse.
Anyway, this was my first time visiting a magic tower.
"Know anything about the Owl's Magic Tower?"
Haro ignored me, so Zial answered.
"Not much... I hear they handle navy magic among the seven colors."
"Navy—summoning magic, then."
Summoning magic grew especially difficult at higher levels due to its ties to spacetime.
'Spacetime magic, huh...'
Even if the Abyss Auction got exposed, the organizers could erase traces and vanish in an instant.
There had to be a reason for holding an illicit auction right in the capital.
'The Empire's really humming along nicely...'
No wonder Glenn was disillusioned with it.
The Empire looked intact at a glance, but it teetered on the brink of collapse.
Anyway, as instructed, we went to the tower's back entrance.
'Mages in black robes, right?'
Most wore navy robes turned inside out, making them easy to spot.
Showing the pendant to one, his expressionless face gave a slight nod.
"Welcome."
Like addressing a customer.
A normal magic tower mage wouldn't bother saying "welcome" to visitors.
We followed the mage to a room.
Spacious, with a luxurious carpet, but it felt empty relative to its size. Just a table and chairs inside.
Seemed like a waiting room.
We plopped down somewhere and scanned the area.
A dozen or so people waited, all dressed like auction participants.
Surprisingly, none hid their faces.
'Arrogant? Or trusting the security?'
Or maybe some reason I didn't know.
That's when it happened.
"The Abyss Auction isn't what it used to be."
I'd felt eyes on me since entering...
Not one to avoid stares, I met them head-on.
A pudgy pig-like man smirked, puffing.
"Handing membership to kids like this."
His fine clothes suggested wealth.
But his massive bulk made the luxurious garb and jewelry seem garish.
"That bastard..."
"Quiet."
Zial calmed the fuming Haro.
Meanwhile, I sized up the pig and nodded to myself.
Unlike his condescending attitude, the value of his clothes and accessories was genuine.
He knew quality, fashion sense aside.
'Useful.'
Truth be told, I lacked the eye to appraise items.
I could gauge weapons or armor roughly, but antiques required specialized knowledge.
Memorizing ancient kingdoms, cities, tribes—their names, traits, cultures...
I didn't have that.
Sure, I had the Martial God, whose discerning eye outstripped any appraiser...
But without the Seven Sins Sword, I couldn't commune with him now.
So, once the auction started, I could use this pig.
Bid higher than him on everything he went for.
'The classic 'bully one guy' strategy.'
Whatever.
With the Iron-Blooded Duke involved, the auction house was doomed to be smashed anyway.