The Throne of Light
I slowly delivered the conclusion I had reached.
"I haven't understood a single word you've been saying. If you're going to keep spouting nonsense, don't bother talking to me."
True or not, I could not afford to react.
I cut the Golden Rule line immediately after.
Prolonged conversation with someone who held the information advantage only ever exposed your own hand. And this was my first time speaking through a Golden Rule line, besides. Stepping back was the right call here.
When I severed the connection, Number One shrugged.
A dangerous one.
I couldn't read him at all. The one certainty was that nothing good would come of getting entangled with him.
So I simply stopped caring. Right now, the auction demanded my full attention.
"The next auction item is a Myth-grade article! The product personally submitted by our esteemed guest Number Three — the Celestial Jade Porcelain! This vase is so beautiful it could blind you just looking at it. Bidding starts at ten billion gold!"
Number Three, the young lady of House Dercyan, had put forward something special. The price, however, was absurd. Ten billion gold. Naturally, no one present could possibly bid.
And that was exactly what the Dercyan young lady was aiming for. Ostentation. Setting a price no one could match, simply to show off. Behold — House Dercyan possesses such a treasure!
"My word."
"Is that the famous Celestial Jade Porcelain?"
"To think the Dercyan family had it all this time."
"It is beautiful, just as the name suggests."
The Empire's nobles offered pure admiration. At the same time, the Dercyan young lady's nose rose so high it threatened to pierce the heavens. Of course, there were no bidders.
"With no bidders, we shall move on to the next item. Now then — the next piece is far more beautiful still! You may look forward to it!"
"More beautiful than the Celestial Jade Porcelain?"
"Does such a thing even exist?"
The Celestial Jade Porcelain was an object that revealed a thousand different beauties depending on the angle of light. Could anything more beautiful than the most beautiful porcelain in the world truly exist?
The auctioneer smiled as he continued.
"The next auction item is none other than a Unique-grade article! I can scarcely believe it even having seen it myself. Everyone, open your eyes wide! Registered by our esteemed guest Number Two for today's auction — the Throne of Light!! Starting bid: one hundred billion gold! Aah… I fear there is only one person in this world who could possibly purchase it."
"—?"
"!!!"
Every participant in the auction turned in shock. Moments later, a throne wrought entirely of light revealed its form.
"…Unique-grade?"
Number One was among those staring, of course.
This was the moment to focus on the auction. He would have to concentrate as well, after all.
The only funds usable for bidding were those verified in advance. No one had registered even ten billion gold, let alone a hundred billion — so of course no one could bid. No, setting that aside, nowhere outside the Imperial House itself would possess that kind of money. An item only an emperor could buy.
"That is…"
"Impossibly beautiful."
Everyone simply stared at the Throne of Light, lost. Setting that absurd price and registering the throne had been for precisely this purpose. To declare: I possess something even the Empire cannot own.
"W-we can't appraise it."
"Even skills can't confirm…"
At the same time, the appraisers wore troubled expressions. Unique-grade items could not have their details revealed by anyone but the owner.
"How can we be certain that throne is truly Unique-grade?"
"Honored guests need not worry. We only just managed to confirm it, but we will personally guarantee the grade, at the very least."
They had confirmed it. The grade alone. At the auctioneer's words, greed filled every eye. But that was all. No one could bid a hundred billion gold.
Instead, every gaze turned toward me and Hudson. Number Three, the Dercyan young lady, was staring with eyes wide open, her trembling pupils flicking back and forth between the item and us.
A brief silence.
"With no bidders, we shall proceed to the next item."
If an item went unsold without a bid, it returned to its owner. Re-registering it later at a new starting price was entirely the owner's prerogative. But with this, I had effectively issued a wide-area provocation — not merely across Darkan Territory, but throughout the entire Empire.
If I want to find Baal's Armor, this is the fastest way.
There was no better method for locating Baal's Armor somewhere in the Empire. With the possibility that the Four Calamities' Baal might cross over to Earth, I needed to find it as quickly as possible.
"A moment."
"…N-Number One?"
Just as the auction was about to move on, the man designated Number One raised his hand, and the auctioneer reacted as though seized by a fit. It was the first time Number One had expressed any will of his own since the auction began.
Baal's Armor. The auctioneer's reaction. The attitude of the Imperial nobles. They were behaving as though facing a difficult master — averting their eyes entirely, or lowering them to confirm their own place.
But this was Darkan Territory. A prestigious sword family of the Empire, one that led the order of countless nobles. For someone to act freely at a "Special" auction where even the lord of Darkan ranked himself second…
The Imperial House.
No matter how I turned it over, only the Imperial House fit. Yet if I assumed the Imperial House, the pieces still didn't match. A Player could never belong to the Imperial House of the Empire. Their pathological closedness made living among them while concealing one's identity impossible.
Number One. The man who had raised his hand with such ease spoke in a low voice.
"Auctioneer. Is it true that only amounts registered in advance may be used for bidding?"
"Yes, that is the rule of the auction, honored guest Number One."
Physical assets verified before the auction began. Only those assets could serve as the basis for bids. Number One stroked his chin thoughtfully. Of course he could not have verified a hundred billion gold in physical assets. And yet that composure of his was unsettling.
Someone in a position to move a hundred billion gold.
Even within the Imperial House, those who could freely dispose of such a sum would be few. As the auctioneer had said, it would not be easy unless one were the Emperor himself. An Imperial affiliate might force a change of the rules. Failing that — in the one-in-a-million chance — he might be intending to identify Hudson and me as Players and seize the item by force. Of course, that would mean making an enemy of the White King, but the Throne of Light was valuable enough to justify the risk. If he had discerned its true worth, he might well gamble on it.
"If those are the rules, then so be it. Rules must be respected."
…I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Even I had not expected some lunatic would try to bid when I had set the starting price at a hundred billion gold. A hundred billion gold could buy a kingdom. I had assumed that even the Emperor of the Empire would not casually put up such a sum.
I was complacent.
I would have to raise my estimation of the Empire. I had thought that an Empire which had not yet fully reclaimed the lands of the old Gu Empire would struggle with a hundred billion gold. Complacent. But such a mistake would not happen twice.
More importantly, Number One had said he valued the "rules." That had been directed at me, not the auctioneer. He could force the matter if he wished — but he would not.
…Just what kind of person was he?
An Imperial affiliate who had simultaneously identified himself as MintChocoIsDelicious. Two names that could never coexist, walking side by side. There was another reason I could not grasp his identity.
⚡ Level:??
His level was invisible. In all my time, a level had appeared as question marks only twice before.
The Supreme Dragon Laily, and the Four Calamities' Baal.
Only those two. Both had been colossal beasts whose levels were ambiguous to pin down. But this one was human. Or… was he human? I was no longer even certain of that. That his level exceeded ten was certain enough.
There must be a criterion for when levels appear as question marks.
I simply didn't know it yet. What did the three have in common? The Supreme Dragon Laily, the Four Calamities' Baal, and Number One. All three simply too powerful?
I shook my head inwardly.
I confirmed the White King's level as well. Strength is not the criterion.
Using the knowledge revealed by the Great Sage, even that monster at Level 15 — the White King — had been readable. Whatever the case with the Four Calamities, the Supreme Dragon Laily alone had not been stronger than the White King. After the Supreme Dragon and Sword Saint Ryleigh had merged, perhaps — but looking at the Supreme Dragon alone, that had clearly been the case.
Some other criterion, not strength. An effect that hid one's level even from the Hidden Trait Great Sage…
The only thing that can block a Hidden Trait is another Hidden Trait.
Of course, Hidden Traits were not invincible. Giant's Magic Resistance, for instance, could be pierced by a Magic Penetration effect. But no Hidden Trait could be completely nullified — one-hundred-percent penetration simply did not exist. Likewise, the only things that could partially obstruct the Great Sage's observation function were items or skills with Observation Interference or Observation Defense effects. And naturally, even those could not fully neutralize it. The only thing that could turn a reading into pure question marks was another Hidden Trait.
Most likely… the Heart of the Iron-Blooded Lord. Or the Great Sage.
The Supreme Dragon Laily and the Four Calamities' Baal had almost certainly possessed Hidden Traits as well. Laily had been a Sword Saint marked with countless talents, and with the Supreme Dragon's traits layered on top, he had possessed a stature beyond imagination. The Four Calamities' Baal? A monster that had elevated the "rank" of everything to such a degree that it sealed away that much proficiency experience. Thinking it had no Hidden Traits would be stranger still. It might not have held fourteen like me, but overlapping ones were possible. Most likely the Heart of the Iron-Blooded Lord or the Great Sage. The Iron-Blooded Lord had evolved into the Eternal Lord, but the Great Sage remained as it was.
By the same logic, Number One almost certainly possessed one of the two — or both. If he truly was MintChocoIsDelicious, it was entirely possible. The Imperial House would know of Hidden Traits' existence as well, so that was hard to dismiss either.
Who are you?
I had never encountered a human who sowed this much confusion. I had intended not to deal with him at all — but at this point, I was curious. About the face behind that mask. About his true identity.
"How did you find today's auction?"
In a spacious chamber — a special suite prepared separately within the lord's castle — the Lord of Darkan spoke. The man still wearing his mask, Number One, who had been sitting and gazing out the window, shrugged.
"It was entertaining."
Truly entertaining. After a long stretch of tedium, feeling this kind of interest was something he had not experienced in a very long time.
"The Throne of Light caught your eye, I take it?"
"Mm. Certainly a fine piece."
"…My apologies. Our observers threw everything they had at it, but beyond confirming the Unique grade, we could not grasp the Throne of Light's details."
"It's fine. Neither could I."
Number One nodded. Grasping every detail of a Unique-grade item was impossible for anyone but the owner. But with the abilities he possessed, he had managed to grasp the basic outline.
"However… it is said to be the throne upon which a god who once upheld the sun once sat. Naturally, I ought to take it for myself, no?"
Just one line. That single line was all he had managed to discern. But that much description was more than enough. The Lord of Darkan's eyes went wide.
"You managed to read that far. As expected…!"
"Shh."
Number One raised a finger to his lips. Be quiet. Looking at him, the Lord of Darkan trembled.
"Ah…"
"You are forbidden from mentioning anything about me. That is the Empire's rule."
"I-I apologize, Number One."
The Lord of Darkan bowed his head deeply in fluster. Number One was a presence so vast that even the Lord of Darkan could do nothing about him. If he set his mind to it, Darkan Territory would vanish without a single ant remaining. Watching the terrified lord, Number One smiled thinly.
"Rules exist to be kept. The same applies to the auction."
"Is an auction even necessary? You could simply deal with him directly."
"No. He came here for the auction. Naturally, it should be resolved through the auction, should it not?"
"But… if it is Hudson, he can be reasoned with. He may have come from the Labyrinth, but he is still human. The Throne of Light must have come from the Labyrinth as well."
Hudson, appearing as the Labyrinth's proxy. He already had a track record of selling treasures of the old Gu Empire in the Golden City of Arcana — all of them treasures from the Labyrinth. The Throne of Light had likely been discovered there as well. Given enough gold, a deal should be possible.
"Hudson? Ah, no. I am not speaking of him."
Not Hudson? Wasn't Hudson, the Labyrinth's proxy, the one running the auction?
"Then… the barbarian behind him?"
"Yes. He is the one who left me with a deep aftertaste and genuine amusement."
His smile grew denser still. The Throne of Light was excellent, but far more excellent was the man wearing the black goat's mask. Hudson was merely that man's puppet.
The Lord of Darkan was stunned by his words. For him to take this much interest in another person and speak of "aftertaste and amusement" was itself an extraordinary event. He was one who knew everything. And so, whenever he evaluated someone, he always offered only tedious, dull impressions.
I cannot see him. He possesses a Hidden Trait.
It was entertaining. Someone even his own Hidden Trait could not read. He must possess an Observation Interference Hidden Trait of the same kind. So he had tested him, assuming he was a Player. And yet — no reaction. He had mentioned Number Sixty-Eight, and even spoken a nickname that any Player would certainly know — and still the man had not shown so much as a flicker of response.