Chapter 106
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Method Acting (2)
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A hall that was both gorgeous and decadent.
The floor was covered in a thick, blood-red carpet like spilled blood, the ceiling held a massive chandelier, and the air was thick with the peculiar heat of expensive cigar smoke mingled with dense perfume.
The countless people who had arrived at the auction house all had their faces hidden behind intricate masks as they tilted their cocktail glasses.
"Just keep going straight ahead. Only those wearing masks can see other mask-wearers. Anonymity is practically life itself in the underground auction house, so don't worry about that part."
Lazlo guided us familiarly to the hall's entrance, the reception desk. I handed the black ticket he'd given me to the guide standing there politely. The guide took the ticket, but his eyes never left Rena, who was standing next to me with her arm linked in mine.
"Sir, the invitation is one per person as a rule. We'll need a ticket for the lady who came with you as well."
"Haha, this guy's mistaken."
Lazlo stepped forward with a smooth laugh.
"This one's not a person. This is Mr. Kang Ihyeon's latest 'creation'—a very special doll. You aren't planning to charge a ticket price for merchandise, are you?"
"Even if you call her a doll, that's no good... By regulation, we need a thorough check."
The guide's voice was firm. It was only natural for him to be suspicious—no guest had ever shown up with a famous person's face and claimed it was a doll.
If it had been a real clone, I could've just dispelled the summon right there to prove it. But this woman...
At that moment, with all eyes on us, Rena turned to me and grinned wickedly.
A mischievous, provocative glint in her eyes, as if to say, 'Handle it yourself.'
Something the real Miyazaki Rena would never do in public.
It was her silent permission to go ahead.
'...And after this, she won't beat the crap out of me later, right?'
But there was no other option in this situation.
I swallowed dryly and steeled myself.
Then, slowly, I slipped my hand inside Rena's leather jacket.
My fingers unabashedly traced the curve of her soft, plump breast beneath the skin-tight swimsuit, then lightly pulled it out.
A cute pink nipple.
And the perfectly supple feel of her breast...
"Eut... Hey, easy there..."
Rena's whispered words snapped me back to reality.
"So, what do you think?"
I asked the guide calmly, as if nothing had happened.
"Sure, she looks real and acts real enough to fool anyone, but she's undeniably a doll that obeys my commands. You don't seriously think this famous lady—an S-rank hunter, no less—would just stand there and take teasing from some random guy, do you?"
"Hmm... But there's also the possibility you two are lovers..."
As the guide said that, I felt Rena's hand, resting on my chest, tense up.
Whether he didn't sense her killing intent or was ignoring it on purpose, he stubbornly stuck to his principles.
"No matter your relationship, rules are rules. Unless you show clear proof that she's a doll, entry is impossible."
"Master, can I just rip this guy's head off?"
"W-Wait a sec...!"
Just as Rena's anger was about to boil over—
"That's enough."
A voice cut through the noisy hall like a shard of ice—cold yet clear, feminine.
All eyes turned toward the source.
There stood a black-haired woman in a ponytail, wearing a monocle. Dressed in a form-fitting black tailcoat, she approached us with elegant strides, ignoring every gaze.
At her appearance, the guide—who had been so rigid moments ago—went pale.
"M-Madam Manager! Sorry! These guests are violating the rules—"
"Enough."
The woman lightly raised her hand, cutting him off.
"I know about this man's skill, so pass the ticket check. I'll vouch for him."
"Y-Yes, Madam Manager!"
The guide bowed at a perfect ninety degrees without hesitation and handed over two masks.
Only then did the woman turn to us with a faint smile.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Cecilia, the overseer of this underground auction house."
She extended her hand to me by way of introduction.
"You're Kang Ihyeon, right? Your reputation precedes you."
"Ah, yeah... Not sure I have much of one."
As I shook her hand in a daze, Lazlo chimed in from beside me with an awestruck voice.
"Ooh, Madam Cecilia! It's been too long! This is a very important guest I've brought."
"I see, Lazlo. For you to make such a fuss, he must be no ordinary visitor."
Cecilia brushed off Lazlo lightly and turned back to me.
"So, what brings such a distinguished guest to our auction house today?"
"Ah, Madam Cecilia! We've come to see the deepest, most secretive flower of your auction—the 'slave market.'"
"Hmm..."
Cecilia stepped closer and stomped on Lazlo's foot with her heel.
"I asked him, Lazlo. You don't need to open your mouth."
"Haaah, yes ma'am...!"
If she knew Lazlo, she probably knew the Witch too—and that meant she knew about my skills. Nocturne Town was a smaller, stickier den than I'd thought. I nonchalantly agreed with Lazlo as if it were nothing.
"Yes. I accepted Mr. Lazlo's invitation to tour the slave market."
"I see."
Cecilia nodded in satisfaction. Her gaze lingered briefly on Rena beside me.
"I hope you enjoy your time at our auction house. If something catches your eye or you're short on funds... remember, we'd be happy to take that 'doll' of yours off your hands for a generous price. Think it over."
With those meaningful words, she turned and vanished into the depths of the hall without a backward glance. The moment she was gone, Lazlo murmured in rapture.
"Grr... What a woman. Perfect every time."
"What's your relationship?"
"Nothing much. Just someone I meet often when selling the Witch's potions. She always stomps my foot like that—so lovingly."
Lazlo shuddered as if reliving the sensation. This guy really was an irredeemable pervert.
Right then, the hitherto silent Rena grabbed my collar in panic.
"Hey! Hold on. Slave market? I thought we were just touring an auction house!"
"Uh... The slave market's attached inside the auction house."
"I-I didn't know anything about this!"
She clearly had no idea I'd come here to actually buy slaves. Now that she understood, her face went sheet-white. Seeing this, Lazlo cackled and teased her.
"Ha! As expected of a shorty—you're still so young. Scared of the slave market?"
"N-Not scared!"
Rena shouted defiantly, but her voice trembled faintly at the end.
I spoke in a sigh-tinged voice.
"Don't worry too much. I can make their dolls. That means once I perfectly replicate their skills, I can humanely free them from slave status anytime. How's that? In this hellish market, who could be a more humane master than me?"
"Hah."
Rena snorted in disbelief.
"You talk a good game. But conversely, that means you could kill them once they're useless, right?"
At her point, I fell silent for a moment.
'If the slave original dies, my clone vanishes too—so why would I kill them?'
But I didn't voice that.
It was one of my skill's weaknesses, after all.
Perhaps taking my silence as affirmation, she said nothing more. She just clung tightly to my collar, following us with anxious eyes.
Lazlo led us to another door, the deepest part of the auction hall.
Several others were already there, waiting silently for the slave auction to begin, each wearing a different mask.
A mountain of a man in a solid gold wolf mask.
A sinister gray-robed figure in a white porcelain mask.
An elderly man in antique tails with a crow-beak mask.
And a woman in a flamboyant peacock-feather mask.
I felt Rena's grip on my collar tighten even more.
Honestly, I didn't quite get her reaction.
'If you're coming to an underground auction, shouldn't you be mentally prepared?'
Did she have some trauma with slaves?
Unlike before, Rena wasn't even attempting her doll act—she was just trying to hide her face.
Especially since she hadn't gotten a mask, being treated as a doll. Sure enough, the masked gazes stuck to her persistently.
"Isn't that Miyazaki Rena?"
"Then why no mask? Is she some slave who looks like her?"
"No, the auction hasn't even started."
As the murmurs grew, an auction staffer hurried over to me.
He shoved a cheap name pen and a small dog collar with a bell into my hands.
"P-Please, sir... The other guests are getting worked up. Kindly put this collar on your doll and write 'Doll' directly on her body with the pen."
"Uh, okay..."
What were these hastily prepared, half-assed props?
Not that they'd ever dealt with a doll issue before.
I nodded and moved to collar her neck.
"W-Wait. That's a bit...!"
"No choice. Just go with it. You're supposed to be playing a doll anyway."
"E-Even so, here...?"
"Getting your identity exposed right now would be worse. Imagine if it leaked: S-rank hunter Miyazaki Rena infiltrated a slave market. What do you think would happen?"
"Ugh... Fine. Got it..."
Rena finally hung her head in resignation.
I took off her leather jacket and wrote boldly across her swimsuit-covered chest with the cold pen.
Dedicated Flesh Toilet Doll
The click of the collar locking around her slender neck echoed unusually loudly.
Of course, scribbling 'Doll' on her chest wouldn't convince anyone outright.
The suspicious murmurs didn't die down easily.
In the end, that same staffer stepped up again to officially explain, and only then did the commotion settle.
"Attention, everyone! This guest is verified by our auction house, and his skill has been confirmed. The one beside him is a very special 'creation' born from that skill. Please refrain from further disturbance!"
In a case like this, mask or no mask, my identity might leak anyway...
But Lazlo was sharp.
"Don't worry, Mr. Kang Ihyeon. If it becomes an issue, I'll spread a rumor that I bought this doll right here. Who'd dare question something bought by the Witch's agent?"
I nodded quietly.
Once the fuss fully died down, the central stage lights blazed to life, and the auction finally began.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for waiting! Let the secretive night festival begin—one to fulfill your deepest desires!"
A slick-tongued auctioneer mounted the stage, and the first 'item' was dragged out in an iron cage.
He was male, but not human.
Long, pointed ears, glowing golden beast-like eyes, limbs covered in coarse fur. A so-called 'beastkin'—a 'non-human' mixed with monster and human blood.
"Behold, our first item! As you see, a wolf beastkin with B-rank hunter-level physical prowess and A-rank scent-tracking skills! Tame his loyalty right, and he'll be the perfect hunting dog and stalwart guard!"
Non-humans.
Mixed breeds of monsters and humans, or survivors from other collapsed rifts.
In Dominant Evil, they were all lumped together as non-humans.
'As you can see, not your common case.'
Even in game stories with elf or dwarf rifts, these non-human individuals were exceedingly rare.
After all, a rift meant a destroyed world—intelligent beings were less common than those turned fully monstrous.
As the auctioneer's explanation ended, the masked bidders raised their small placards in unison. Numbers scribbled with mana stones glowed in the air.
Their bids.
'Not that I need one at all.'
I didn't even think of lifting mine.
What I needed was practical manpower I could command as an Arbiter Guild member.
These oddities were just eye candy or collectibles for peculiar tastes.
For now, I'd observe a few rounds to gauge the market's flow.