Chapter 61: The Tessing Underground Auction (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 61: The Tessing Underground Auction (4)
‘He’s probably busy crunching the numbers right now,’ Jin thought. ‘Whether he truly believes I’m Veradin or not, he must be dying to know if the Zipple main house is aware of this.’
Jin would have done the same in his position. When cornered, a person’s first instinct is always survival.
‘But even if he becomes certain that I’m acting alone, he won’t dare to strike me.’
The real Veradin Zipple and the Jin Runcandel impersonating him were both hailed as once-in-a-century magic geniuses, but for now, they were still just fledglings.
This meant that if even a single group of Tessing’s unregistered mages swarmed them, they would be in grave danger. In fact, Alu alone could have handled them without even calling for his men.
However, Veradin wasn't the only person Alu had to worry about.
How strong are Veradin Zipple’s guards?
There was the young man with the perpetual sneer and the woman with the stoic expression. If he were to eliminate Veradin, those two were the greatest threats.
He couldn't get a read on their strength. Since he couldn't feel any Aura from them, they seemed like mages, but they could also be masters capable of completely concealing their power.
“And Jet, get over here. Stop groveling on the floor.”
“Yes, yes! My Lord.”
“Tsk, your face is a mess. I take it you got beaten like this for running your mouth about me?”
“Oh, My Lord, I’m fine. Don’t worry about a wretch like me… Please, tend to the family’s business.”
“Is that so? Fine. I’ll do that.”
Jet felt a momentary pang of disappointment, but Jin wasn't someone he could argue with.
“What are you doing, Alu? I told you to bring the ledgers and the registry.”
“Yes, Lord Veradin. Hey! Didn't you all hear Lord Veradin? Move it!”
The Tessing members standing at the edges scattered like ants. A moment later, they returned with over ten volumes of ledgers and registries, but they were all superficial records.
“For now, this is everything in the auction house, Lord Veradin. The truly important documents are kept in the magic safe at my private residence…”
Alu trailed off, cautiously gauging Jin’s reaction.
“May I go and fetch them myself? It will only take a moment.”
“Haha… What kind of cheap trick is this? Do you still not understand the situation?”
“Lord Veradin, it’s not like that.”
“Who do you think you’re fooling with such an obvious scheme? If I let you go alone to 'find the ledgers,' you’ll just destroy the important documents and use the chance to contact your lifelines. You'd want to check if I’m real and why I’m here, wouldn't you?”
He had hit the nail on the head.
Alu knew it was an obvious ploy, but he had no choice but to try. His ears turned red in an instant, and he lowered his head, staring only at Jin’s boots.
“Puhaha… Alu. I see you’re at least capable of feeling embarrassed. Fine, go ahead. Go by yourself. Do everything you can while you’re at it. Just keep in mind that no matter what you do, you’re still in the palm of Zipple’s hand.”
The moment he heard those words, Alu’s face turned ashen.
From Alu’s perspective, it was a statement ripe for misunderstanding.
I wasn't… alone. I was wrong. Zipple’s mages have already surrounded the perimeter…!
A knowing smile played on Jin’s lips. It was the smile of someone certain that Alu was misunderstanding the situation in exactly the way he intended.
“I—I misspoke. I will go with whomever you assign to me, Lord Veradin.”
“Go. I expect you to act more wisely from now on, Spider-Hand Alu. I’ll be inspecting the warehouse in the meantime.”
Alu wiped the look of despair from his face. If he could get on Veradin’s good side starting now, he might just survive.
“……It will take about two hours, Lord Veradin. You lot, guide Lord Veradin to the warehouse while I’m gone.”
Alu left the auction house with a grim expression. Now, only the Tessing members and Jin’s party remained in the hall.
A few quick-witted executives approached and immediately began guiding Jin to the warehouse.
“There are quite a few items at the boss’s residence and villa, but our Tessing Auction House has only one official warehouse. This way, please.”
The man was hilarious. The second his boss was on the verge of ruin, he had subtly reported his embezzlement by mentioning the ‘items at the boss’s residence and villa.’
How would they react if they knew he was a fake? Jin let out a hollow laugh.
This was Jin’s first time seeing the warehouse of the Tessing Underground Auction House. The warehouse began one floor below the auction hall and was a three-story structure.
The first floor held slaves, the second held magic tomes, and the third held artifacts. The scale was much larger and more systematically organized than expected, leaving Jin’s party inwardly surprised.
The slaves showed no particular reaction upon seeing the strangers. They weren't drugged yet, since they hadn't been put on the auction block, but they simply held no hope.
“I’ll be waiting outside, so call me if you need anything.”
As soon as the Tessing executive left, Jet began to make a fuss.
“I knew from the start you were an extraordinary person! To think you were a scion of the Zipple family. My Lord, please give me more chances to show my loyalty in the future. I will obey any command.”
“Good idea. Then, starting now, investigate the origins and real names of every slave on the first floor. Someone from the family will come later to take them.”
“Ah! Yes, I understand what you mean. I’ll get right on it.”
Publicly, Zipple strictly forbade the slave trade. Of course, in reality, plenty of people bought and sold humans like this, but the unofficial stance was that it was fine as long as they didn't get caught.
After all, even the lowliest subordinates needed to enjoy some crumbs.
“Kid, what’s the plan? From what I can see, that Alu guy is definitely going to come back after confirming you’re a fake,” Murakan said.
“Right, that’s probably what will happen.”
There were no Zipple mages outside as Alu imagined. Alu would spend the whole time looking for his observers, eventually realize it was all in his head, and then sneakily contact his acquaintances—acquaintances who would know Veradin Zipple’s appearance and his current whereabouts. It was only a matter of time before Jin’s identity was exposed.
“If you know that, why did you have Jet do a census on the slaves? We can just run away, but that guy is a dead man walking.”
“No, the list of the slaves’ origins and names will save Jet. If we send it to the Zipple main house and leak it to the Imperial newsletters, Tessing will be finished. Even if we’re fakes.”
Once public opinion shifted, even Zipple could no longer turn a blind eye to this place.
They would have to send their own elite mages to rescue the slaves, wipe Tessing off the map, and begin to fix the rotten state of Akin. It was the natural outcome, as they had to prioritize the shining image of the Zipple name over the bribes lining the pockets of their low-ranking kin.
‘Hypocrisy will move them.’
Jin intended to write Jet’s name as the whistleblower. That way, Zipple would provide witness protection.
Of course, Jet would be hounded by Imperial investigators and Zipple’s inquiry during that process, but as a man with a strong survival instinct, he would likely only offer testimony favorable to himself.
For instance: ‘There was no Veradin impersonator in Akin; I simply sent the tip because I was disgusted by Tessing’s slave trade.’
Jin wasn't looking out for Jet because he liked him. It was a consideration for his young son, who was only two years old.
Once witness protection began, Jet would naturally leave the back-alley life behind and spend the rest of his days with his son in some nameless, quiet land.
It wasn't a bad future for the father and son. In fact, even thinking back to his life before the regression, there was no better future than this. Not for Jet, but for the child.
Because that boy, who had been so gentle and kind, had eventually followed in his father’s footsteps.
“Well, fine. Let’s say things go according to your assumptions. What’s next?” Murakan asked.
“What else? We go on a shopping spree until Alu returns, then we bolt. Zipple can handle the aftermath. You pick out some useful magic tomes on the second floor. Gilly and I will sort through the artifacts on the third.”
“My goodness, Young Master. Are we always going to be this reckless? This nanny’s heart can barely keep up.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, Gilly. Let’s get started.”
In the Lutero Magic Federation, artifacts were generally treated as more precious than magic tomes.
Therefore, while one might occasionally get lucky and find a great ancient magic tome in an auction house like this, it was rare to find high-grade artifacts.
To Jin’s eyes, the third-floor artifact warehouse was no different from a junkyard. He was amazed that a single masterpiece was hidden among crude artifacts he wouldn't take even for free.
Finding the ring artifact, the ‘Demon King's Helmet,’ didn't take long. He simply picked out and opened the smallest boxes among the old stock in the corner of the warehouse.
‘This is it!’
It looked like a low-quality silver ring set with a small ruby.
Suppressing a cheer, he slipped it onto his left index finger and felt the ring’s mana dance along his skin.
Unlike ordinary mana, this mana was formless. It felt as if dozens of tiny thread-snakes were coiling around his finger. The slowly moving mana eventually wrapped around Jin’s head and permeated it completely.
‘Ordinary mages would only think this is a minuscule boost to mana. That’s why it’s been treated as a worthless item until now.’
Now, whenever Jin wished, the mana that had seeped into his head would form a pitch-black helmet.
It was a power that couldn't be noticed at a glance unless one had used an artifact of this caliber or possessed mana sensitivity on par with Jin’s.
‘Helmet, release.’
Whoosh!
When he activated it as a test, black mana began to unfurl instantly. The mana created lines and surfaces on its own, adhering to his face.
It took less than a second for the helmet to complete. The finished helmet completely hid his face, revealing only his eyes and openings for him to breathe. The structure extended down to his neck.
It was shaped with sharp, thin, sleek horns sprouting from just above his ears.
Before Gilly could see it and be startled, Jin deactivated the helmet and broke into a satisfied smile.
‘I was half-doubting it, but to think I’d get this right from the start.’
Since he had found the ring, there was no need to waste any more time on the third floor.
“Gilly, it seems there’s nothing but trash here. Let’s go find Murakan.”
“Hmm, even to me, who knows nothing of magic, nothing particularly stands out. Still, just in case, I’ll grab a few jewelry artifacts that look easy to liquidate.”
The situation was similar at the magic tome warehouse. They searched thoroughly for any legacy of Oh Henserck, but nothing useful turned up by the time Jet had finished gathering the origins and real names of all the slaves.
“Kid, we already got Chenmi’s magic tome, so there’s no need to be greedy. Let’s get going,” Murakan urged.
It had been an hour since Alu left. When they returned to the auction hall, the organization’s members greeted Jin’s party with extreme politeness.
“Jet, you can go now.”
“Yes, yes, My Lord. I’ll be waiting at the inn. Hehe, please don’t forget this Jet’s contribution.”
“What contribution? You’re the one who tried to sell us out.”
“Oh, please forget the past. Thanks to meeting Lord Veradin, this Jet has been reborn as a completely new man!”
Jin let out a dry laugh.
“Right… let’s forget the past, Jet, the big shot of Akin. Lean in for a second.”
“Yes.”
As Jet pressed his ear close, Jin whispered softly.
‘I’m not Veradin Zipple. So, take your son and run as fast as you can. Go to the Viment Empire if possible. I guarantee you’ll survive if you do.’
For Jet, the words were a revelation, like a bolt from the blue.