121. Office Workers Have No Summer Vacation (5)
121. Office Workers Have No Summer Vacation (5)
...First, I had to calm down.
I pinched the back of my hand and desperately tried to cool my blazing excitement.
Head cool, heart hot, head cool, heart hot, head hot, heart cool... ah, no, that wasn't right.
I put my now-cooled head to work.
Lava Crystal.
A gem formed from hardened, mana-infused lava that occasionally appeared near the crater of the volcanic zone you entered in the mid-to-late game. Among fire-attribute materials, it was an ingredient used to craft near-endgame tier equipment.
On its own it could serve as an enchantment material, but that fact probably wasn't widely known yet at this point. The recipe came as a dungeon reward.
So people who knew the stone's true value would be rare.
Compared to the earlier items, the competition would be noticeably thinner.
But precisely because of that, I needed to devise my strategy even more carefully.
What would happen if I raised my hand without a plan?
What if I threw down a fortune?
If I were lucky, people might merely dismiss me as a shill. If I was not, I could lose my entire fortune or fail to win the item at all. If I missed it now, I would not be able to obtain another until the second semester of my second year at the earliest. I had to devise my strategy with extreme care if I wanted a satisfactory deal.
I restrained the urge to raise my hand and let my gaze roam.
The auction hadn't started yet. Robron, who was acting as auctioneer, was deliberately drawing out the moment, probably to gauge the mood of the guests.
There was still plenty of time.
First, I had to determine who my competitors were.
I quietly scanned the people who might become my rivals. The overall atmosphere leaned toward disinterest in this particular item, but even so, there were people who showed interest in the Lava Crystal.
"A Lava Crystal... I don't know what it's used for, but perhaps I should buy it. Heh heh heh..."
The pig-masked man, who had just spent a terrifying amount on the magic sword.
"An interesting-looking material. The bidding competition shouldn't be too fierce, so why not give it a try."
The figure in the wolf mask, who appeared to be a former adventurer.
There were two obvious competitors.
The main competitor would be the pig-mask. I recalled the amount of gold coins I had brought.
500 gold coins.
Considering the materials I'd originally planned to buy, what I could actually spend was about 300 gold. By no means a small sum, but hard to call a large one either. Given the Lava Crystal's value in the game, even this was insanely cheap, but since the people here didn't know the stone's worth, they wouldn't throw much money at it.
The odds were high that my competitors' capital exceeded mine.
The pig-masked man who had casually spent 2,000 gold went without saying, and even the wolf-masked bidder had offered up to 1,000 gold during the magic sword auction. I was overwhelmingly outmatched in funds. Winning through a straightforward contest of money was effectively impossible.
All right, let's think again.
What was my weapon?
"...Rue. Could you brainwash that man, by any chance?"
[Impossible. There's some kind of barrier interfering with magic. With enough mana, it could be forced, but... it's impossible with my Contractor's tiny amount of mana.]
So the easiest method wouldn't work. I'd expected that to some degree.
Brainwashing a competitor and forcing them out was no longer an option. My next plan had to be... making them wonder, 'Is that item really worth spending so much money on?'
How would I pull that off?
"Now, the auction for the 'Lava Crystal' will begin! The rules are the same as before! When raising the bid, your increase must be at least as large as the previous increase!"
Once the auction began and everyone's attention focused on Robron, I quietly addressed Millia and the others.
"Millia."
"Eek?!"
Don't make strange noises. People were looking at us. I casually surveyed the area, confirmed that everyone who had shown interest in us had looked away, and then addressed the three girls in turn.
"There's something I need you to do..."
---------------------------
'There really were few participants.'
The owner of the auction house, Kaliba Robron, swept his gaze across the room with sharp eyes, a smile on his lips.
The Lava Crystal.
It was the most ambiguous lot in the auction. Rather than an item Robron genuinely wanted to sell, it was merely something intended to give the guests a brief rest before the main course arrived.
'It was an item I had seized in lieu of a debt, but I had no idea what it could actually be used for.'
Even an appraiser had been able to tell him nothing beyond that it was 'a stone imbued with fire-attribute mana.' He might have fetched a decent price by selling it to a Wizard, but beside the Crimson Flame Stone, another material imbued with fire-attribute mana, it looked far too shabby. Robron had abandoned the idea early on.
Since today's main auction item was the 'Grimoire of Noam,' there was no need to fuss over such a worthless little rock. Therefore, Robron expected this auction to end at a paltry price that wouldn't amount to even a handful of gold.
"Now then, those wishing to purchase this gem, please raise your hands! We'll start the bidding at 5 gold!"
"10 gold."
'The head of House Lawrence, a tycoon famous across the continent... A bigger fish had entered than I'd expected.'
He was a VIP who frequented this auction house, so even with a mask on, Robron had no trouble recognizing him. The man insisted on the pig mask, after all. Having grasped the situation, Robron gestured toward the pig-mask with an open palm and shouted.
"10 gold! We have 10 gold! Anyone else? Is there no brave soul who will snatch this item away from that gentleman?"
"That person..."
"I was thinking of giving it a try, but I'll have to give up."
"The next Grimoire auction is coming up anyway, so there's no need to spend money here."
Sighs and declarations of surrender spread through the room. Robron cursed inwardly at the dull progress. With a major bidder entering immediately, no one dared challenge him lightly. Robron wanted to squeeze out as much profit as possible, so the situation was unwelcome, but with the next item in mind, there was little he could do.
Robron concealed his disappointment and called out.
"Is there no one who will raise the bid? In that case, the Lava Crystal goes to this gentleman..."
"20."
'This might not be completely dull after all.'
There it was.
A competitor.
The wolf-masked bidder called out an amount in a low voice and folded their arms, acting as though either outcome would suit them. The pig-masked man immediately raised his hand and declared a higher bid.
"30 gold."
"Hm. 40."
"50 gold."
As the auction he'd thought would be a dull affair became quite interesting, the people who'd gone to the restroom or were chatting began refocusing on the bidding. For Robron, this was a good thing.
It allowed him to warm up the crowd before the next auction began.
Though it was a shame that the winner was practically decided.
'It was a pity it was a foregone conclusion that Lord Lawrence would win.'
It might have been more entertaining if several evenly matched competitors had fought over it, but the Lava Crystal had fulfilled its purpose merely by drawing Lawrence into the bidding. Selling it for 50 gold wouldn't have been a loss.
Robron was about to close the bidding, which had drawn no further offers, wearing a reasonably satisfied expression.
Then, from a corner of the audience, a small hand rose with a new bid.
"100 gold!"
"My lady?"
At the sudden three-digit bid and a man's bewildered voice, every gaze turned toward the new competitor.
'What's this, a child?'
'She was spending 100 gold on that rock?'
A large man wearing a cow mascot head immediately began trying to dissuade the young lady in a flustered voice.
"One hundred gold is far too much for a stone like that, my lady. Shouldn't we save as much as possible if we're going to bid on the Grimoire next?"
"Y-yeah. Mi-, I mean, f-friend, I-I think this is a waste..."
"That's right, that's right. You came to see the Grimoire, didn't you? We should save what we can and put it into the Grimoire bidding."
Their voices were low but still loud enough for the people nearby to hear. The red-haired young lady's two female companions and the man who appeared to be her Escort Knight tried hard to stop her, but she protested stubbornly.
"But it's pretty! If we have it processed and put it on display, it'll definitely look beautiful!"
The spectators' expressions cooled as the girl shouted back at the man like a spoiled child.
'Whoever she was, she was clearly an immature young noblewoman.'
'Just when things were becoming interesting, she'd poured cold water over them.'
'A young lady with neither discernment nor dignity... I wondered which house she'd come from.'
Robron quickly noticed the strange turn in the auction's atmosphere after the red-haired girl joined the bidding, and his brow furrowed slightly. A jump into three digits was welcome, but at this rate, the excitement would die instantly.
The auction still had to continue, so Robron clapped forcefully enough for the entire hall to hear and shouted.
"Now! 100 gold! We have a full 100 gold! Is there anyone else who will bid?"
"150."
The ruthless wolf-masked bidder raised a hand and declared.
'Was it over?'
"Grr! 200!"
"My lady. At this rate, the master will scold you."
"B-but I want it... We can buy the Grimoire next time, right...?"
'Hah. What a spoiled child.'
'A tedious opponent.'
Sneers appeared on the faces of the pig-masked man and the wolf-masked bidder as they watched the childish display. Thinking along similar lines, both lowered the hands they'd been about to raise onto their armrests.
There would be no further bids.
Driving up the price on a trivial item through competition would only make them look like they were bullying a child.
Neither of them had sufficient motivation to obtain the Lava Crystal at the cost of putting on such an unsightly display.
In the end, the two cleanly gave up on the Lava Crystal.
'It was over.'
After nearly a minute passed without another raised hand, Robron sensed that the auction was over and announced the result.
"200 gold! The Lava Crystal has sold for 200 gold! The lady in the rabbit mask may collect the item after the auction concludes!"
'I'd won with less money than expected.'
The sole victor of this battle smiled with deep satisfaction.