The Seventh Lord
In a darkened room, a man sat at a desk with one leg crossed over the other, rocking his chair in a slow, idle tilt.
He was a giant of a man, a full head taller than most, his entire body packed with muscle that looked ready to burst from his skin. The air he gave off, however, was the opposite of that bulk — gloomy, and keen as a blade.
The subordinate standing before him, having just finished his report, swallowed hard and waited for the man to open his mouth.
"So…"
"Yes."
"Some unidentified young noble punk bought a vampire for a fortune in Cubex, and that's all you've found out?"
"That's correct."
"And you have no idea whether that has anything to do with my brother's death, either…"
The man's words trailed off, thinning into the air. The subordinate wanted nothing more than to squeeze his eyes shut. He knew that trailing off was the man's habit when his mood was foul.
Jack, leader of Valkylov — that was who the man was.
With the organization's most important event — the auction — about to begin, Jack was in a thoroughly foul mood. His younger brother John had been attacked and killed while escorting the slaves, the auction goods, to Domihawk City. What made his blood run even hotter was that he had no idea who those sons of bitches were.
It had been too late to track them. He'd sent men to Cubex after the fact to piece together what had happened, but all they'd turned up was the report he'd just heard — next to nothing.
Jack let out a long, heavy breath.
It had been a long time since rage had been this hard to swallow. John had been a pain in the ass in plenty of ways — skimming funds here and there, putting his hands on the slaves whenever he felt like it — but he was still the only blood Jack had in this world. The brother who'd been with him since they were rolling in the gutters, who'd helped him found Valkylov and raise it into the foremost dark syndicate in the 3rd Lord's Territory.
Forcing down the fury and the hollow ache that kept surging up his throat, he closed his eyes for a moment. The auction was about to begin. A more thorough investigation would have to wait until that was done.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
An elderly elf opened the door with care and stepped inside. He was an executive in charge of admitting the auction's attendees. Jack cracked his eyes open and asked,
"What."
"Ah — well, you see, there's a guest in attendance for whom we have no information."
They wore masks, but that was only so the attendees couldn't identify each other. As the hosts, Valkylov naturally had a general grasp of who was who. They were the ones who issued the invitations, and for the most part, the same people always came.
Of course, an unknown attendee cropped up now and then, and when that happened they simply paid a little extra attention. On any other day, Jack would have waved the report off with a grunt. This time, he turned his gaze on the subordinate who'd given the earlier report.
"John. You said he handed an invitation to the one who bought the vampire."
"Yes, that's right."
"A young human man, and the knight escorting him was a woman. What did they look like?"
"The man had black hair. The escort had white hair."
Jack looked back at the old elf. Meeting his gaze, the elf nodded.
"Yes, that's correct. A black-haired human male and a white-haired human woman."
"It's them."
The ones who'd bought the vampire bound for the auction in Cubex. Jack sank into thought for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet.
Whether they had anything to do with his brother's death, he couldn't say. But for now, it was the only lead worth hoping for.
The view that opened up as we descended underground was rather impressive.
Seats, a stage — it looked more or less like the auction house I'd pictured. The space itself, though, was larger than I'd expected. Dim luminescent stones set into the walls throughout the hall cast a murky glow, and a fair number of people were already seated. At the very back, seats lined a second-floor gallery. Those looked like VIP boxes at a glance.
Following the usher at the entrance, I picked a seat and sat down with Ashel. A reasonably middle row.
What's this?
A numbered paddle of sorts was attached to the armrest, so I picked it up and looked it over. Apparently it was for bidding. I set it down and turned my gaze back to the stage.
That's where the slaves come out, then.
And the auctioneer would prattle on introducing them, and the attendees would gawk like they were looking at beasts in a cage, and if they liked what they saw, they'd bid. I'd never set foot in a place like this, but the scene was already painting itself in my head.
I clicked my tongue softly and glanced at Ashel. She didn't seem any more comfortable in her seat than I was. Even through the mask, I could tell she was in a foul mood.
Anyway, when is this thing going to start?
People kept filing in, and before long more than half the seats were full. Some sat quietly like me, waiting for the auction to begin. Others chattered with their companions. Super Senses picked up every word of their conversations with perfect clarity.
"Looks like there are a lot of high-grade pieces among the beastkin slaves this time. They were awfully confident about it — told me to look forward to it."
"That so? I hope there's one that really catches my fancy. I even had a special collar commissioned just to put on them…"
It was a conversation too nauseating to keep listening to, so I tuned it out.
A moment later, the curtain on the stage was drawn back, and a man in a suit and a mask appeared under the lights.
"Welcome, one and all — ladies and gentlemen attending today's auction!"
The auction was about to begin. After greeting them in a cheerful voice and rattling off a stretch of unnecessary preamble, the auctioneer moved right along.
"Without further ado, let us begin the auction! The bidding method is simple: raise the paddle prepared at your seat and call out your bid. And now — our first item!"
From beside the stage, a half-naked elf woman walked out, her body bound. There was not a spark of life in her eyes.
"Our first item is a female elf! What more needs to be said? An elf of this beauty, with hair of this vivid red, is not something you come across every day. Since we're just getting started, we'll open the bidding at a modest twenty gold!"
Someone in the seats immediately raised a paddle, and the auction began in earnest. Thirty gold, forty gold, seventy gold — with barely a stir, it climbed to a hundred gold, and then no further bids came.
"One hundred gold! Is there anyone else? I don't say this lightly — an elf slave of this quality is truly difficult to obtain anywhere!"
The auctioneer kept pressing for more bids, then cut the final count and called out with a note of regret.
"Congratulations! Gentleman number fifty-six has won the bid at one hundred gold!"
The auction continued smoothly after that. Slaves of truly every race were brought out. Humans, beastkin, elves, and other rare species besides. For some of them, the auctioneer put extra effort into explaining the circumstances of their capture. That, too, played a significant part in driving up a slave's price.
When a fallen noble young lady from Seintea was brought out, the bidding soared through the roof, climbing all the way to five hundred gold.
The filthy, clinging heat of the auction house seemed to stick to my skin. I watched the proceedings in silence, holding onto my patience.
It wasn't until well over ten people had been through that the reason I'd come to this auction finally appeared.
"Our next item is none other than a vampire!"
I opened my eyes a little wider and looked at the figure being dragged onto the stage. Unlike the other slaves, it wasn't just her hands that were bound — a gag had been forced into her mouth as well. A black-haired, red-eyed girl. A face that, at a glance, looked just like Rudika's.
"Vampires — the accursed race, as they're called — but let me assure you, there's no need to be wary! A young vampire, unlike an adult, cannot use their kind's unique blood-manipulation abilities! And given how wild they are by nature, the pleasure of breaking them in is…"
She glared at the seated attendees as if she meant to kill them, her eyes full of hostility. For a brief moment, her gaze met mine.
The auctioneer's explanation continued, and I was just getting ready to raise my paddle when someone approached the seat beside me and dropped into it.
"Good evening, my lord."
"Have you been enjoying the auction?"
I turned my head. A man whose entire body was packed with muscle so thick it looked ready to burst filled my vision.
The number hanging over his head was especially striking. A fighter approaching level seventy. The man who'd spoken to me out of nowhere immediately revealed who he was.
"I am Jack, leader of Valkylov."
"…"
"I apologize for interrupting just as things were getting interesting, but there's something I'd like to ask you, my lord."
When I just stared at him, he grinned and went on.
"You purchased a young vampire in Cubex, I believe. And you received an invitation as well."
"I did."
"The one who handed you that invitation was my younger brother. But on his way here to Domihawk, escorting the slaves, he was attacked by some unknown assailants and killed."
"Is that so? My condolences."
"…Yes. Most regrettable. Which brings me to my question."
His eyes flashed like a beast's.
"The timing is rather convenient, you see, so I thought I'd ask — do you happen to know anything about it?"
I shook my head.
"Sorry, but I don't."
He stared at me steadily, then let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair.
"If I twisted your limbs off one by one, would I get the same answer?"
"…"
"The only thing I've honed doing this line of work is my intuition. You killed my brother, didn't you?"
…Caught.
Had they tracked me from the place I'd killed him? Or had I simply stood out because it was my first time at the auction? It didn't really matter. He already seemed certain I'd killed his brother.
Come to think of it, that bastard had said something about his older brother being the leader before he died. I hadn't expected him to come ask me in person, though.
I was hoping to just take care of business quietly.
That was out the window now. I clicked my tongue and spoke.
"I killed him."
"Why?"
"Who knows? Why did I?"
He let out another long breath, as if swallowing his rage, then spoke.
"Still in the mood for games, I see. Do you have any idea what I'm about to do to you?"
"…"
"First I'll drag you to the torture chamber. Our organization has some truly gifted torture specialists. I guarantee you'll feel, in every scrap of flesh and bone in your body, that pain like this exists in the world. You won't last a few minutes before you're begging us to just kill you. You, and that escort bitch sitting next to you right now."
He growled the words.
"I'm asking while I'm still offering you a chance at an easy death. Answer me in good faith. Who are you, and why did you kill my brother?"
"Think you can handle it?"
He burst out laughing at that.
"Handle? Drop the cheap bluff, brat. There's nothing in this 3rd Lord's Territory I can't handle. What, are you the Lord's hidden bastard? Or—"
His voice cut off cold. He looked like he hadn't understood the words that had just reached his ears.
"…What?"
"Do I need to say it twice?"
I propped my chin on the armrest and turned my gaze back to the stage ahead. Watching the auction that had already begun and the climbing bids with indifference, I said it again, without a care.