Chapter 152: Wavel (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 152: Wavel (4)
As night deepened, I rode in a carriage from the Elmar Merchant Guild toward the noble district where the auction house was located.
Since I was attending with an invitation issued in the guild's name, the guild master had suggested it would be less suspicious to arrive in one of their carriages.
To think he's happy about living a little longer.
As if I'd be crazy enough to spare the bastard who tried to kidnap Iris.
The guild master was still alive only because he was useful.
When I told him he was lucky, it was just sarcasm about him getting to keep his life a little longer—nothing more, nothing less.
Of course, if he were to abandon everything he's built in this city and flee to some deserted place, he might survive.
I didn't have the luxury of wasting time hunting down a guy like that.
But I doubted he'd do that, so the guild master's future was as good as sealed.
As the carriage raced through the less crowded streets of the night and neared the noble district, it came to a sudden stop.
-Halt.
A quiet voice came from outside, likely a guard.
It wasn't anything worth my attention, so I quickly tuned it out.
The noble district was fundamentally a place only for nobles, but non-nobles could pass through if they'd been granted a permit by the lord.
The slave auction house was managed and operated directly by the lord, and an invitation to it could substitute for a permit.
I'd given the invitation to the coachman, so there shouldn't be any trouble getting through.
Just as I expected, the carriage started moving again shortly after.
I parted the curtain slightly to take in the noble district. Unsurprisingly, it was mostly mansions and high-end buildings. The streets were cleaner than downtown Seoul, and it seemed they had more staff maintaining them than in the common districts.
Perhaps because it was late, there was no one walking around. Instead, there were many carriages heading in the same direction as me.
They're probably heading to the slave auction.
-We've arrived.
Knock, knock. At the sound of the coachman's voice as he gently knocked on the door, I put on my mask and straightened my clothes.
Formal wear really is stuffy.
*
At the entrance to the auction house, I handed my invitation to a man who looked like a guard.
“...Yes, it's confirmed.”
Since anonymity was the rule here, there was no identity verification process.
I took the invitation back and casually stuffed it into my pocket.
After a short wait, a woman in a maid outfit emerged from inside the building. She was a beauty with a brown bob that suited her well.
“Thank you very much for visiting our auction house today. My name is Laura, and I will be the maid assisting you.”
I followed her into the auction house.
The interior was the most luxurious and modern I had seen since coming to this world.
I could also see other guests who had come to participate in the auction. Every one of them was wearing a mask, just like me.
Occasionally, I saw quite a few people without masks, but they seemed to be employees, like the maid guiding me.
I suddenly wondered if it was possible to be a regular employee at a slave auction house.
“Are you an employee here?”
“Pardon?”
The maid, who had been walking ahead, turned to look at me with a slightly surprised expression.
“...My apologies. You're the first guest to ever ask me that. I am a slave.”
“A slave?”
“Yes. About ten years ago, a war broke out between the Veilhaven Republic and my homeland. My country lost, and I was captured as a slave while living with my family in a small village.”
“Ten years ago? You haven't been sold all this time?”
“No, the one who purchased me was the lord, the owner of this auction house. I usually help manage the place, and on auction days like today, I'm tasked with guiding the guests.”
My eyes were unconsciously drawn to her short maid outfit, which left her thighs clearly visible.
I forced myself to look away and surveyed my surroundings. There were quite a few people, but not many who looked like bodyguards.
Perhaps they considered bringing bodyguards to a place personally managed by the lord to be disrespectful.
“Of course, if you wish, you may purchase me as well.”
“You?”
“Yes, that is also part of my role as a guide. For your reference, I am a virgin, so you need not worry. All the guests I've attended to so far have been women.”
“Hmm...”
It would be a lie to say I wasn't interested as a man, but I felt a sense of repulsion at the act of buying a woman who wasn't even a prostitute.
When I fell silent, the maid said nothing more. I guess they don't pressure their upper-class clientele.
Before long, we arrived at a place that looked like a reception room. It wasn't very spacious, but one of the walls felt out of place.
“When the auction begins, that wall will become transparent. If you wish to place a bid, please let me know.”
“Is it magic?”
“I believe it's magic engineering.”
Her words piqued my interest, and I observed the wall closely. It looked like an ordinary wall, but a faint trace of magic power was flowing through it.
I didn't know much about magic engineering, but I could grasp the basic principle.
It seemed to be a system that broadcasted a view of another location, like a video feed.
I never expected magic engineering to be this advanced in this world.
“When does the auction start?”
“It will begin in about thirty minutes.”
Longer than I thought.
The overall plan was already set, and nothing had changed, so the problem was how to pass the next thirty minutes.
“What do the other participants do while they wait?”
“Generally speaking, they spend time with the slaves they brought with them, or they purchase a maid like me to entertain themselves.”
“Just as I thought. Not surprising at all.”
“Is that so? I believe it's quite normal.”
I took a gold coin from my pocket and offered it to her.
“...I'm sorry, sir, but this amount is a little insufficient for my price.”
“I have some decency. You think I'd try to buy you with such a paltry sum?”
“Pardon?”
I picked up a teacup from the table. It had a rather pleasant aroma.
“I'd like to hear your story for the next thirty minutes.”
“...I don't believe it will be a very interesting story, but would that be all right?”
“I'm not looking for an interesting story, so don't worry.”
After a moment's hesitation, Laura began to tell me her story.
She spoke as if reminiscing about her life in the village where she lived before becoming a slave, the scenery there, and the days she spent with her family. Especially when she spoke of her younger sister, she recounted her memories in detail, as if she were boasting.
“My younger sister was a kind and bright child. She even learned to read on her own, without anyone teaching her.”
“That's impressive.”
“Yes.”
Laura smiled. It wasn't the fabricated smile of a maid, but a pure one that came from the heart.
“My sister used to tell everyone she was going to be a mage someday. The adults dismissed it as a common childhood dream and laughed it off, but I never doubted for a moment that she could become one. She was a genius, too brilliant for our small, shabby country village.”
But after her country's defeat, her family was torn apart by the Veilhaven Republic's army, which occupied their village.
“Now, I have no way of knowing if my father, my mother, or even my sister is alive or dead. We weren't the only ones enslaved back then. There must have been tens of thousands of slaves, and trying to find my family among them would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Laura gave a bitter smile. Her eyes were those of someone who had given up on many things long ago.
“Don't you want to see your sister?”
“...I am content with my current life.”
“Is that your answer as a slave? Or as Laura, the person?”
“...”
Laura didn't answer. She quietly avoided my gaze and poured the tea.
In the heavy silence that settled between us, I didn't press her any further.
A short while later, the auction began.
One of the walls in the waiting room shimmered like a movie screen, and the scenery of a completely different place appeared on it.
-A warm welcome to the ladies and gentlemen joining us on this special night.
A well-dressed gentleman stood in the middle of what looked like a very spacious hall.
-Tonight's auction is a special occasion, prepared for those of you who seek something even more valuable than beautiful jewels. I sincerely hope that everyone gathered here tonight will find a gem of their own. Now, let us begin the auction.
The auction proceeded quickly.
The very first item was a rather burly man. His body was covered in scars, big and small.
-Allow me to introduce him. This is Luke, former captain of the Luke Mercenary Corps! He is a seasoned warrior who single-handedly cut down dozens of kingdom soldiers on the southern front. His level is none other than a peak-level Aura User!
A peak-level Aura User. That was about C-rank on Earth, or the pinnacle of the first-rate realm in Cheon Yeo-hwa's world.
One step beyond that, and you reached the level of an Aura Expert, able to wield Aura freely, but nine out of ten never reached that stage.
-We will start the bidding at fifty gold coins!
Ding! Ding!
He must have been an attractive item, as the price shot up steeply.
After a fierce bidding war, the mercenary was finally sold for 180 gold coins.
One gold coin was roughly ten million won, so he sold for about 1.8 billion won.
Of course, that wasn't an exact conversion. Unlike on Earth, where values were relatively fixed, the currency here fluctuated periodically with the value of gold and silver.
After the mercenary was sold, the auction caught fire.
There were conventionally handsome or pretty sex slaves, of course, but also combat slaves with great martial strength, and slaves with specialized skills like blacksmiths or doctors. There was even a mage slave.
Though, even for a mage, he was only around the 1st Circle.
“Are there no slaves to your liking?”
“Not really.”
I hadn't come here to buy slaves in the first place.
The only reason I was watching the auction so intently was to pinpoint the exact location of the auction hall.
The security was surprisingly tight, so it took me a while to find it.
...It's underground.
Now that I'd identified the location where the auction was taking place, there was no reason to watch this farce any longer.
I shot up from my seat.
“Sir...?”
“I lost my parents in a war when I was five. I had no siblings, not even any relatives, so I was left at an orphanage and had to grow up there until I became an adult.”
Tossing aside the cumbersome necktie, I drew Gilenium from my inventory.
“But you? Their fate may be unknown, but at least you didn't have to see your parents' cold, dead bodies with your own eyes, did you?”
“...”
Maybe it was pity, or maybe I was just being nosy.
“The tea was good.”
Leaving Laura staring blankly after me, I walked out of the reception room. Armed guards were standing in the hallway.
“Sir? Is there a problem?”
The guards who spotted me approached, but their expressions changed when they saw the sword at my hip.
“...Apologies, but disarmament is mandatory within the auction house.”
Pretending to be polite, the guards slowly began to surround me.
Each of them seemed to be a mid- to peak-level Aura User.
“If you would please surrender your weapon to us...”
“From now on.”
Shing. The blade of Gilenium slid from its sheath, emitting a bluish Sword Qi.
“Anyone who stands in my way dies.”