Chapter 77
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Chapter 77
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Mage Tower's Mage (7)
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The clerk bolted out of the VIP room, his face drained pale as a sheet.
Not long after, I spotted him downstairs on the stage, whispering urgently into the ear of the host who was in the thick of auctioning other items.
The host, who had first worn an irritated scowl, suddenly bulged his eyes wide upon hearing the clerk out.
"E-everyone, hold on! An urgent matter has arisen, so we'll pause the auction for a moment. We'll resume right away, so please bear with us just a bit!"
The host scampered down from the stage, shoving the clerk ahead of him in a fluster.
And not even a full minute later, panting for breath, he knocked on the door of the VIP room where Department Head Raymond and I sat.
"Huff... huff... E-excuse the intrusion!"
Gasping raggedly, the host blurted out in haste.
"I-is it true you're submitting a magic book detailing the application of natural mana for this auction?!"
"Yeah, sure..."
"I-if it's not too rude, could I just quickly check the contents..."
"Ahem! Hey now!"
Department Head Raymond cut the host off, raising his voice.
"Are you planning to brazenly pilfer a mage's signature spell—the only one of its kind in the entire magic world?!"
"S-sorry, Elder Raymond! But this is such a monumental issue... We have to at least verify its authenticity..."
The host pulled a miserable face while stealing glances at me.
"Department Head, let him."
Not in the mood for a tussle, I shrugged casually.
"It's getting sold anyway."
"But Lunaris!"
"The first page is fine. That ought to suffice, right?"
Well, even peeking at the front wouldn't let anyone copy it anyway.
No, even reading it cover to cover would be... pretty tough.
Since I hadn't written it with any consideration for the reader.
With my go-ahead, the host swallowed hard, fished a monocle appraisal lens from his pocket, and slipped it on.
Then, with shaking hands, he activated the viewboard.
"...!"
Formulas and spells woven from mana materialized in midair.
While the host's eyes darted wildly along the text...
-Crack!
A faint popping noise rang out as the lens cracked.
The appraisal tool couldn't handle the mana density packed into the viewboard's theory.
"O-oh... Ooooh!!"
Blind to his own shattered monocle, the host cried out in rapture.
"Th-this is... the real deal... real!!"
"How long are you gonna gawk at one page?!"
Department Head Raymond demanded incredulously, but the host was beyond reason.
"So? Can it go up for auction?"
"Without question! This is the highlight of today's auction... no, the finest item handled in any auction house I've seen these past few months!"
The host bellowed, fumbling over the viewboard with quivering fingers.
"Could we slot it as the final special auction item today? As for the starting bid... I wouldn't dare set it myself."
"...The finale?"
I'd planned to snag the Book of Subspace and head straight back.
And while I was at it... catch a glimpse of that guy's mug.
I flicked my gaze through the glass window down to the stage below.
Bidder No. 145 was still planted in his seat.
As if he had zero qualms.
"...Do whatever."
Might as well watch like it was some trashy novel about what the jerk's up to.
"Thank you! We'll prep it right away!"
The host dumped the viewboard on the clerk and bowed furiously to me.
"You—transport that board with care. It's worth more than your life, so watch it like a hawk!"
"Y-yes, sir...!"
...It's not that mind-blowing to warrant all the hysterics.
*
The auction house was sweltering hot.
Fierce bidding wars had ignited right from the first lot, sending the vibe skyrocketing.
Whether from that momentum or not, the items that followed fetched way above the department head's estimated hammer prices—an outright phenomenon.
Even the Book of Subspace we'd set our sights on was no exception.
"Whew! That was a nail-biter."
Department Head Raymond let out a hefty sigh and shook his head.
"Who'd have thought it'd climb to 300 gold coins. Nearly couldn't cover it myself. Here, Lunaris—take it."
"Thanks, Department Head Raymond."
I clutched the battered tome he passed over to my chest.
With this, my cozy bedroom—no, my subspatial pocket—was locked in.
"It's all 'cause you fired up the auction house from the jump, Lunaris."
The department head tsked, side-eyeing the case with Nebula's egg on the table.
"What the heck's in that egg to make folks go so berserk over it?"
"Eh—who knows."
I rapped the case lightly and tossed out a half-joking quip.
"Bet it'd make a killer egg tart, huh?"
"...The priciest egg tart on the planet."
Department Head Raymond barked a laugh of sheer disbelief.
"Still, this fever pitch is playing right into your hands, Lunaris. No clue how much that viewboard you tossed in'll fetch."
"Psh, it's just a rough scribble of the absolute basics—an intro manual at best. Figure it'll top out around this book's price?"
I shrugged it off and cracked open the Book of Subspace I'd just scored. Time to eyeball those subspace magic formulas pronto.
I flipped through the contents without a second thought.
"...?"
And promptly furrowed my brow.
"What... the hell is this?"
"Hm? Issue?"
"The text looks like... worms slithering all over?"
Pages crammed with twisty metaphysical glyphs.
Readability was one thing, but I couldn't make heads or tails of what it said.
"What else? Ancient script, duh."
"No, but... how am I supposed to read this?"
"Ancient magic book means ancient script—obvious, right? You didn't seriously expect a translation?"
Oh, crap.
Totally unforeseen snag.
"Hear that?"
Seeing me gawking slack-jawed, the department head grinned slyly and piled on.
"Elterion Academy's got a liberal arts elective on ancient language translation! Hohoho!"
"...Hah."
A sigh slipped out unbidden.
Here I was scheming a subspace to ditch classes, only to need a class for the subspace. Depressing.
Next semester's elective: ancient languages it is.
"Everyone! We've kept you waiting!"
Right then, the host on stage cranked his voice to max.
"For our grand finale, today's special auction!"
In the somewhat chaotic buzz, the clerk who'd waited on us earlier shuffled out clutching the viewboard, face taut with nerves.
"It's not listed in the catalog we provided, but I guarantee every soul here will crave this item!"
The host pressed on with feigned gravity.
"Everyone knows that one mage from the Mage Tower making waves this year, right? History's youngest archmage promotion—bank on it! And the sole wielder of natural mana! Lunaris Evermoon!"
The crowd below stirred afresh the instant my name hit his lips.
He pounced on the opening and wove his pitch with pro finesse.
"Hordes of mages begged to learn from her! But alas, Lunaris graciously turned them down, claiming she's merely a student with plenty left to learn herself!"
"...?"
When did I say that?
And hold up—is the gal he's hyping... me?
"Kuh~ Fitting for the next-gen top mage—flawless character to boot!"
"Pfft!"
Department Head Raymond snorted at the host's flamboyant spiel(?).
Damn... that uncle's got pipes. Bet he moves merch like nobody's business.
"But! After endless begging from our auction house! At long last! We snagged it!!"
The host thrust his arm out dramatically, jabbing at the viewboard in the clerk's grip.
"Penned by Lunaris herself! A primer on harnessing natural mana!"
"...?!"
"????"
"?!??!"
A hush blanketed the stage in that instant.
Then, precisely three seconds later.
"Wh-what did you sayyy?!"
"That's insane!"
"N-na-natural mana... magic book...!"
Yells exploded from all corners.
The host's mug split into a ear-to-ear beam at the mages' stunned uproar.
"No need for windy exposition on this tome's worth—you all get it!"
He snatched the viewboard from the clerk, hoisted it overhead, and hollered.
"It's the empire's youngest-ever archmage's debut publication! Virgin work! Beyond research value, sky-high as a collector's piece~ I mean..."
"Hold up! How do you vouch it's legit?"
A voice thick with doubt piped up from somewhere.
"Great question!"
The host whipped out something from his pocket like he'd been waiting all day.
"Feast your eyes on this artifact! State-of-the-art appraisal gear that gauges an item's potential value from all sorts of data!"
He brandished the busted-lens monocle.
"No sooner did it scan the book than—as you see—the lens exploded!"
"...!"
"Exactly! Off the scales! Proof its value blows past the machine's limits!"
The frenzy reignited.
"Should anyone prove this book's a fake, I'll cough up 200% of the hammer price from my own wallet. Guarantee cert included!"
The host doused it in fuel proper.
Refund guarantee? Zero doubts left.
"Alright! Auction starts now! Opening bid..."
"F-five hundred gold!"
"Yes, five hundred gold! We'll kick off there!"
Some desperate soul's cry set the floor.
...That's more than Nebula's egg plus the Book of Subspace combined. Nuts.
"What a crook! Snatching it for a measly five hundred gold? Six hundred!"
The real kicker? This was just the opening salvo.
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