51
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 51
Miles looked at Caesar heading towards the reception room.
"...He's certainly an impressive one."
"He's definitely not an ordinary person."
Miles looked in the direction of the voice.
It was Gregory.
"He instantly changed the uncomfortable gaze surrounding Viscount Bellum and Miss Gloria into a favorable one. He even managed to put Viscount Bellum in great debt. Thanks to that, we were able to create an opening to persuade Viscount Bellum, who was the biggest headache for this customs bill."
"Did he calculate all of this?"
"Only Lord Caesar would know that. But I don't think he acted without any thought."
Miles put a cigar in his mouth.
"I think I roughly understand why he's remained a knight without a lord until now. He's so exceptional that it must be difficult to find a lord who satisfies him."
"Then he has no choice but to become the leader himself."
Gregory also put a cigar in his mouth.
"By the way, is it the Redfield Viscount family?"
"...What do you mean?"
"To recruit Lord Caesar, it would have to be at least that level. It probably isn't the imperial family."
"Don't try to fish for information needlessly."
Gregory chuckled.
Miles frowned as he looked at Gregory.
A monster lives next to Miles as well.
***
The highlight of this party.
The curtain rose on the auction house.
Caesar entered the VIP room, guided by Harrison.
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes. There were no peculiarities other than those individuals."
Caesar looked at Harrison, who was pretending to be calm but was clearly very angry.
It was obvious that he was angry at his own ridiculous mistake.
"As you know, sometimes absurd things happen in life. What's important is how well you clean up afterward."
Caesar put a cigar in his mouth.
"So, how do you plan to clean up this incident?"
"I plan to give gifts using part of the profits earned from this party."
"Do you have any gifts in mind?"
"The size of the gifts will depend on how much funds we allocate."
Caesar looked down at the people gathered in the auction house.
"Give big ones to the nobles and people we'll see for a long time, and small ones to those we'll only see briefly. From my perspective, I think we should give up on the idea of making money from this party. Instead, we should at least secure relationships."
"Yes, I understand. I'll pay more attention to Viscount Bellum's side."
"Good. Now you're doing well without me having to tell you."
Caesar yawned widely.
"By the way, apart from the items I'm selling, is there anything worth buying for me?"
"There are some elixirs."
"Elixirs? What kind?"
"First, 10 roots of yellow magic grass."
"That's normal."
"A basilisk's venom sac."
"That's a bit rare. But it doesn't really appeal to me."
"Lastly, a white tiger's heart."
Caesar's eyes widened at the mention of the white tiger.
"White tiger? From where?"
"They say it's from the snow fields."
"Wow. Something amazing has come in."
A white tiger's heart is an elixir that belongs to the upper tier among elixirs.
It increases basic physical strength and aura, and if you're lucky, it can even increase cold resistance and magical resistance.
And if it's from the snow fields, it's the real deal.
Of course, it's true that it's inferior to the black lion's heart that Barre ate, but if it's well refined into a potion, it might be made almost comparable.
"I wonder how much that will cost?"
"It will probably cost at least 2 million del."
"That's quite expensive."
"Considering the break-even point of this party, it would be difficult if you spend more than 3 million del."
"Money comes and goes. Let's try to buy it anyway."
Caesar rubbed his hands together.
"I hope it starts soon."
***
Gloria was lying in the lounge with her corset completely undone.
She was mentally exhausted and wanted to fall asleep like this, but whether she closed her eyes or opened them, she could only see one person.
Caesar.
"...He's so damn cool."
This heart flutters.
Was it romantic love as a woman?
Or was it admiration as an aspiring knight?
She wasn't sure what it was, but Gloria was certainly smitten with Caesar.
Gloria suddenly sat up.
"This won't do."
She made a decision.
From now on, she would follow Lord Caesar.
Then she might figure out whether this was love or admiration.
Knock knock.
Just then, there was a knock on the lounge door.
-Gloria, it's me.
Gloria didn't want to talk to her father right now.
But if it was something she had to face eventually, it was better to do it now.
Gloria opened the door herself.
There stood Viscount Bellum alone, holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Seeing him looking particularly small and lonely today, Gloria almost burst into inexplicable tears.
"Would you like to have a chat with Dad?"
***
Bang bang bang!
"Sold!"
Caesar clenched his fist.
"Everything's been sold."
The 12 jewels and 5 accessories that Caesar had put up for auction all sold within the expected range.
Harrison nodded with a satisfied expression.
"This seems not bad."
"How much do we get?"
"In total, we made about 15 million del in profits, and we agreed to give 5% to Derbies, so it's roughly 14.75 million del."
"Oh, really? Then..."
"There's still more. We agreed to pay 15% income tax, and we also agreed to make a donation to the Apsin Church, so even if we only donate 5%... it looks like we'll end up with about 12 million del."
"...Is there anything else to deduct?"
"If we add up employee wages, building rental fees, various food and drink costs... we'll be left with about 7-8 million del."
"Can't we cover those costs with sponsorship money?"
"Even if we get a lot of sponsorship money, it won't exceed 1 million del."
"..."
I'm starting to understand a little why rich people try to hide money and gold at home.
If they take 15% in taxes, what am I supposed to live on?
I still have loans to repay and potions to make.
Am I... am I really rich?
It doesn't seem like it.
"Then how much can I spend?"
"You can spend about 3 million del. Didn't you say you'd use about 5 million del for promising companies and potion-making costs?"
"...I wonder if I can buy the white tiger's heart with that."
Well, if not, I'll just have to eat the elixir made from the 'Big Horn Bee Honey' I left with Smir and look for a decent elixir to eat.
Just then, the white tiger's heart came up for auction.
The auctioneer pointed to the white tiger's heart preserved in a glass container and said.
"Next is the white tiger's heart! It was caught in the snow fields just 2 months ago. It's an age-old elixir that's said to rejuvenate you when made into a potion!"
"The starting price is 500,000 del, with increments of 50,000 del, and the immediate purchase price is 5 million del! Please raise your paddle if you wish to purchase!"
Caesar raised his paddle first.
"500,000 del! 550,000 del! 600,000 del! 650,000 del! 800,000 del! We're raising the increment to 100,000 del! 900,000 del, 1 million del!"
As expected, it easily goes over 1 million del.
By the way, why are these non-knights trying to buy this?
Caesar continued to raise his paddle for now.
"1.7 million del! 1.8 million del! Now only two people remain! From now on, we're raising the increment to 200,000 del!"
People's attention turned to those holding up their paddles.
It was Caesar and Viscount Farnham.
"Why is that guy trying to buy it?"
"Viscount Farnham's son is an aura user. I heard he's planning to take the knight qualification exam next year."
"It's meaningless to feed it to someone who's just become an aura user..."
The price skyrocketed.
"2 million del! 2.2 million del! 2.4 million del!"
Harrison's breathing becomes rougher than mine.
I wonder if he's going to pass out at this rate.
"3 million del!"
Caesar decided to give it a try.
When the first digit changes, people's minds change.
But was it impossible to overcome a father's love for his son?
Despite the sweat dripping from his hands, Viscount Farnham was still holding up his paddle.
"3.2 million del!"
"Tch, I give up."
Caesar lowered his paddle.
Viscount Farnham's expression subtly brightened, and Harrison's rough breathing calmed down.
At that moment, a man sitting in a corner of the auction house raised his paddle.
"5 million del."
What? He's buying that for 5 million del?
Caesar leaned forward to see who this nouveau riche was.
It was Viscount Bellum.
"When did he arrive?"
Seeing Gloria next to him, it seems they've reconciled well.
But why did he buy that?
Ah, Viscount Bellum must be planning to feed it to Gloria.
Bang bang bang!
"The immediate purchase price has been called! Congratulations to customer number 41!"
After that, Viscount Bellum left, probably having no more business there.
Well, after spending 5 million del, what else would there be to buy?
"Then should I buy the yellow magic grass at least."
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Harrison opened the door, and an employee handed over a note.
After reading the note, Harrison spoke.
"Lord Caesar. Viscount Bellum wants to see you for a moment now."
"Now?"
"Yes. I'll purchase the yellow magic grass on your behalf."
"Buy the Basilisk's venom sac too if you can. Professor Smir might be able to make it into a potion."
"Yes, understood."
Caesar went outside.
At the end of the corridor, Viscount Bellum and Gloria were waiting.
Caesar approached Viscount Bellum and Gloria.
"Thank you for making time, Lord Caesar."
"It's fine. What's the matter?"
"Let's talk inside for a moment."
Judging by his expression, it seems he has something very important to say.
Caesar nodded and headed towards the reception room.
***
Caesar sat on the sofa and looked at the father and daughter.
"By the way, you both seem to be alright."
Gloria smiled awkwardly and said.
"It's all thanks to you, Lord Caesar."
"What did I do?"
"No, if you hadn't helped me, I would have been in a lot of trouble. I'm truly grateful."
"On the contrary, I was thinking I had caused trouble by revealing Miss Gloria's hidden dream with my own mouth."
"It was a secret that had to be revealed anyway. Don't worry about it."
The pleasantries were over, now what exactly did they want?
Viscount Bellum spoke up.
"Actually, I came to seek your advice on that matter."
"My advice?"
"We've been a family that has followed Lord Arch Duke for generations, so we don't have a knightly order of our own. Of course, we have bodyguard knights, but they're too busy to teach Gloria swordsmanship."
"If you want to learn swordsmanship, wouldn't it be better to attend a Knight Academy? It won't be possible this year, but it wouldn't be bad to enter a Knight Academy run by the Redfield family or the Goldmile Imperial Family early next year."
"Even to enter that Knight Academy, don't you need to have a certain level of skill? But unfortunately, Gloria has never learned swordsmanship or aura manipulation."
I think I roughly know what Viscount Bellum wants.
"So, are you asking me to teach her just enough to be able to enter a Knight Academy?"
"That's right. I think I could entrust her to you with peace of mind."
Looking at Gloria's expression, it seems the conversation has already been concluded.
"But I've honed axe skills, not swordsmanship. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can teach swordsmanship."
In fact, more than that, I didn't want to get involved any further with the future saint.
When the current saint dies and Gloria is chosen as the next saint, if she's active as Caesar's disciple, many troublesome things will happen.
To begin with, to have enough power to save Gloria from the Royder Order, you'd need to be at least as powerful as the Redfield or Goldmile Imperial Family, or the Dre Order.
Caesar wasn't the type of person to embrace someone he couldn't protect.
"Still, you could show me the path of how I should grow, right? I've heard there are various types of knights. It would be good if you could at least pave the way for which direction I should grow in."
"I didn't graduate from a Knight Academy, and I hardly received any official sword training. I'm not qualified enough to teach the current Miss Gloria."
"No. Don't underestimate yourself too much. I believe that if it's Lord Caesar, you'll surely guide me on the right path."
What am I, a religion?
What right path?
I've never really taught anyone, and I don't want to get deeply involved with you!
"No. I'm not qualified."
"Please do it."
"I said I can't."
"Please do it!"
"I said no!"
"Please!"
This... this persistent girl.
Why are you making things difficult for me?
If I get involved with you, my life could go downhill too!
"If you accept my daughter, I'll pay the white tiger's heart as tuition. How about that?"
"The white tiger's heart?"
"That's right. I'll handle all the tax issues on my side and deliver it to you."
Ah, geez...
Seeing him go this far, it seems he has no intention of backing down easily.
Caesar used psychometry.
-This should make it difficult to refuse.
-To be honest, I don't really care whether my daughter becomes a knight or not.
-As long as Gloria is happy, that's all that matters.
-Gloria said she really wants to learn from Lord Caesar, so I'll definitely make it happen.
I wondered why Viscount Bellum bought the white tiger's heart, but it seems he bought it to persuade me.
By the way... what heartbreaking paternal love.
This must be why he tried to prevent it with all his power and money when Gloria was about to be taken away as a saint.
"Hmm..."
To be honest, I'm a bit tempted by the white tiger's heart.
At Caesar's current level, it's extremely difficult to find elixirs that work well with his body.
I can't even imagine how much growth I could achieve if I make that into a potion and consume it.
But when I think about the checks that will pour in from all directions when Gloria becomes a saint, it's a headache...
Caesar sighed and looked at the father and daughter.
No matter how I look at it, they don't seem to have any intention of backing down.
Well, in front of someone who's burned 5 million del, would it even register if I say I can't teach her for days on end?
Caesar used psychometry on Gloria.
-If he really refuses, I'm going to lie down in front of Lord Caesar's house as a protester and ask him to accept me.
-It has to be Lord Caesar, no one else.
-I need to know what this fluttering heart means!
Oh boy.
What's fluttering?
Right now, my heart is pounding.
Caesar made a decision.
"Alright. But give me full authority. If I'm going to teach, I need to do it properly."
Their expressions brightened.
"Thank you so much, Lord Caesar. Thank you for accepting my unreasonable request."
They're not the type of father and daughter who will back off even if pushed away.
If that's the case, I'll have to accept it for now and think about it.
"It's nothing. Then, from tomorrow, I understand that Gloria will be living at my house."
"Wh-what?! What do you mean by that?"
At this point, it's all or nothing.