Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: The Auction House
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Morning.
As I was eating in the dining hall, a thought suddenly struck me, and I let out a short exclamation.
"Ah."
"What is it?"
Liche asked what was wrong.
Having joined us last night, she was already acting naturally around us. Still, after being a group of three for so long, suddenly becoming four felt a little strange.
"Should we go to the auction house?"
"The auction house?"
"Yeah."
A place where auctions are held, just as the name implies.
It was exactly the kind of auction house you'd often see in novels—the very one we were thinking of.
It wasn't that I'd forgotten about it, but the reason it came to mind so late was that we'd never had a reason to go.
As is typical for auction houses, they sell everything from cheap trinkets to valuable goods and items of unknown origin.
The key here was the "valuable goods" and "items of unknown origin." Usually, when such items appear at an auction house, they're almost always something good.
"Are you talking about the auction house hosted by the Imperial family?"
"No."
The Imperial auction house Liche mentioned was a place where artifacts and magical tools acquired by adventurers or nobles were auctioned off fairly under the Imperial family's supervision.
This legitimate auction house, overseen by the Imperial family to prevent all sorts of tricks and corruption, boasted the best in trust and security, but the variety of items up for auction was limited.
It was mainly used by people who needed quick cash or those who, without greed, just wanted to sell their items for their exact value.
"Is there another auction house in the Empire besides that one?"
"There is."
But I wasn't talking about the legitimate one; I was talking about the one in the shadows.
An underworld auction house known only to greedy, pot-bellied noblemen.
Liche tilted her head at my answer, looking completely bewildered.
"Isn't that illegal?"
"On the surface."
All auction houses other than the one run by the Empire are illegal.
Of course, only on the surface.
The Empire knows it too—that good artifacts and magical tools don't show up at their own auction house.
That's why they turn a blind eye, knowing full well that the underworld auction house exists.
"Because they need to use it themselves."
The Empire itself is desperate to bid on good artifacts, so they're aware of the need for an underworld auction house.
The Empire deliberately keeps it hidden from the common folk to acquire good artifacts, while the underworld auction house openly operates on Imperial land.
In reality, they have a mutually beneficial relationship.
"It means they want to keep the good stuff for themselves."
"I never even knew such a place existed..."
"It was hidden so you wouldn't know."
If the state is trying to hide something, it would be stranger if just anyone knew about it.
I guess this is a perfect example of the saying, "It's darkest under the lamp."
"Is there something you want to buy?"
"We'll have to see."
The underworld auction house is full of artifacts and magical tools that can increase one's mana.
Besides those, plenty of other generally good items show up, like weapons used by ancient heroes or materials from A-rank monsters.
It was a piece of information I'd tucked away in the back of my mind since we had no reason to go, but now that Liche is here, it wouldn't be a bad idea to check it out.
We can see if there's anything good while we're at it.
"Besides, I need to get materials for a new weapon anyway, and Luna, don't you need a new weapon too?"
"I suppose so."
All Luna had were the two iron daggers we bought for her right after we found her.
Since she could handle mana, she'd managed to use them well enough until now.
But now, her weapons couldn't keep up with her skill. If she infused a bit too much mana, they would probably shatter.
Besides, the era of iron being effective against the monsters we'd be hunting from now on was over.
Against A-rank monsters, you could strike them with iron all day and it wouldn't do a damn thing.
In the first place, materials from monsters are better than iron anyway.
That's why iron became dirt cheap while monster materials became ridiculously expensive.
"Let's go after we finish eating."
"Okay."
"Okay~"
"Got it."
***
After our meal, we headed straight for the back alleys, where all sorts of the Empire's ugliness gathered.
The reason was obvious: being a place of shadows, it wouldn't be located on a street where ordinary people walked.
So we came to the back alleys and wandered around for about thirty minutes.
"Sir Luke. Didn't you know the way?"
Luna, who had been following quietly, finally asked as if she couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer.
"Nope."
"..."
Isn't it obvious that I wouldn't know?
Even in the original story, the characters only stumbled upon the auction house by chance.
As such, its exact location was never described, so it was only natural that we'd get lost.
"Then shouldn't we be gathering information first, instead of just wandering around like this?"
"That's why we're wandering around like this—to gather information."
"In a place with no one around...?"
It'd be weirder if there *were* people in the back alleys.
"This is the right place to gather information. There's someone I'm looking for right now."
"Who is that?"
"A noble."
At the word "noble," Luna's and Yui's gazes naturally shifted to Liche.
I mean, even if she was abandoned by her family, Liche was still from a ducal house.
"I don't know anything..."
"If Liche knew, do you think I'd be wandering around here?"
"But do we have to find a noble here? There are plenty of them in the main square."
"That would take too much time."
If we were lucky, we might run into a noble who knows, but if not, it would be an even bigger waste of time than this.
Not all nobles know about it, and even if they did, how would we know if they kept it a secret?
"Why do you think I'm looking here?"
"Well...? We wouldn't know."
"Why would our elegant and pristine nobles come to a shady, filthy back alley like this?"
"...The auction house?"
Exactly.
They're obviously here to go to the auction house.
Why else would esteemed nobles, who wouldn't even be seen in the back alleys that commoners avoid, drag their precious selves here?
That's precisely why I'm looking for a noble here.
Unlike the nobles out in the open, any noble you see here falls into one of two categories: they're either plotting something sinister or they're heading to the auction house.
Besides, it's ridiculous to hear information from someone and then act on it.
You can just do it my way: grab some guy heading to the auction house, beat him up, and make him guide you.
"And besides, we have to find one here because of the admission ticket."
"There's an admission ticket, too...? I didn't know that."
"Again, it's normal not to know."
Unlike the legitimate auction house, you need an admission ticket to enter the one in the shadows.
But does anyone here have a ticket?
Of course not. That's why we have no choice but to find a noble in these back alleys.
Even if we happened to find a noble outside who knew about the auction house, they wouldn't be carrying a ticket unless they were planning to go today.
On the other hand, anyone we find here was planning to go, so they're guaranteed to have a ticket on them.
You could call it a 100% Admission Ticket drop event. Passing this up would be an insult to gamers everywhere.
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense."
"Ah, there's one passing by right now."
I pointed, and the three of them followed my finger with their eyes.
There, a man in shabby clothes was walking by.
"Isn't that just someone who lives here?"
"Nope, look closely."
His clothes and face were well-disguised to look like a beggar from the alleys, but his posture screamed "I'm a noble."
How could a back-alley beggar walk with such a straight back? The people here barely have the strength to walk from hunger; a stooped back or a forward-jutting neck is practically a basic passive skill for them.
If you're going to wear a disguise, do it properly. Just changing your appearance doesn't count.
"This is why I call nobles idiots."
I immediately approached the ramrod-straight noble.
"Hey."
"Hm? Who... I mean, who are you...?"
"The jig is up, you idiot."
*Crack!*
A fist to the face.
I turned the noble's face into a caved-in face. Untrained as he was, the noble collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
This is how dangerous the underworld auction house is. Dangerous enough that a powerless noble like this would have to enter the back alleys alone, without an escort.
You could bring an escort with just one ticket, but he probably didn't want to reveal the location to a mere guard.
In the end, he brought this upon himself.
"It feels strange for me, a noble, to say this, but is it really okay to go around beating up nobles like this...?"
"Get used to it. If you stick with me, you'll be seeing a lot of nobles getting beaten up."
I did it before, but now that Liche is with us, I can do it with the backing of the Winchester ducal house.
If any problems arise later, I'll think about them then.
"Looks like this guy plans to play dumb, so let's try some intimidation."
"Not negotiation...?"
Liche, you just joined, so you might not know, but we don't really do negotiations.
Can't you tell? As proof, Luna and Yui aren't saying a word, like they're used to this.
In the first place, negotiation is for the weak.
We're strong, so we don't negotiate.
"First, let's wake him up."
"How?"
"Maybe he'll wake up if we sear his face with fire?"
"...Don't people usually splash water on them?"
"We don't have any water on us right now."
And we should conserve water.
The country I used to live in was a water-scarce nation, you know?
It's too much of a waste to splash it on a guy like this.
"Hurry up and sear him."
"Alright."
Liche created a flame above her hand and brought it down to sear the unconscious man's face.
Just before the sizzling sound of burning flesh could be heard...
"Hyaaagh?!"
The man barely managed to regain consciousness.
"You awake?"
*Slap!*
"Ugh!"
I slapped him across the cheek to make sure he was fully conscious.
"Shouldn't you have done that *before* trying to burn him?"
"This is part of the process of checking if he's awake."
*Slap!*
"Gah!"
"Now, which hand did I hit you with? Tell me."
"Ughh..."
"See, Liche? He's still not all there."
*Slap!*
"Aargh! S-stop! Do you have any idea who I am?!"
"Nope."
"W-what?"
You came in disguise.
I would've hit you even if you'd come dressed up like a fancy noble, but who's supposed to know who you are when you're dressed like a commoner?
*Slap!*
"Gwek!"
"Just answer the question, you bastard. Which hand did I just hit you with?"
I had slapped the noble's cheek with my right hand.
"R-right hand! It was your right hand!"
"Nope. Wrong."
*Slap!*
"Wasn't it the right hand?"
"What are you talking about, Liche? If I hit him with my right hand, from his perspective, it's the left."
*Slap!*
"Guek!"
"Which one was it this time! Speak!"
For the record, this time I used my left hand.
"R-right hand!"
"Are you blind, you bastard?! How is this my right hand?!"
*Slap!*
"Guk!"
The man looked at me as if he'd been wronged.
What, you got a problem?
If you have a problem, you should've brought mind-reading skills.
The reason you're getting hit is because you can't read minds.