Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Princess on the Block
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
As the auction progressed, I started to worry about Ash's teeth.
The elf, who had been sitting silently with her hood pulled low, was letting out a nonstop grinding sound from the corner of her mouth.
No, on closer inspection, it wasn't just Ash—all the elves were gnashing their teeth.
"...Her Highness the Princess is receiving such treatment...!"
Starting with the lycanthrope that had appeared first, the Kosax Auction House was proving its reputation was no exaggeration by putting up a wide array of items for bid.
From the sirens known as the folk of the sea to dwarves, and even priests captured in a local skirmish with the Holy Empire.
It was astonishing how they had managed to enslave such a diverse range of races, but they all shared one common trait.
And that was why the elves wore expressions like they were about to explode at any moment.
Every item in the auction house was bound with mana-restraining iron chains wrapped tightly around their necks and limbs.
Blood was dripping in spots from where the chains had chafed their wrists and ankles, but no one paid it any mind.
They were treated as nothing more than livestock.
No better, no worse. Because of that, the elves could only assume their own princess was enduring the same.
I had no choice but to desperately hold back those elves.
"Don't act rashly. As I said before, the best way is to win the bid for your princess and be done with it."
"You expect us to just watch while Her Highness might be suffering like that?!"
Ah, this one really. Making me repeat myself over and over.
"Fine, then go ahead and flip the whole place upside down as you please. Put an arrow right through that auctioneer's skull right now. If I were the boss here, I'd hide your princess first thing—she's the prize item. She'd be thrilled to find out later."
At my low whisper, Ash's hand, which had been reaching for her bow, froze once more.
"...I hate treating Her Highness like merchandise. But if that's truly the safest way to rescue her...!!"
Ash and the elves suppressed their rage with superhuman endurance yet again.
Perhaps sensing their boiling frustration, the auctioneer Norman announced the end of the first part—maybe to let everyone cool off.
"Alright! The auction house is heating up more and more! With that, we'll wrap up the first part here, take a 30-minute break, and then move on to the second part!"
I patted Ash's shoulder beside me and soothed the elves.
"You heard that, right? It's almost over. We've held out this long—let's hang in just a bit more."
"...Understood."
Whew. I'm not babysitting kids here—what a hassle.
"Damn it all!"
Crash!
Norman, the auctioneer at Kosax Auction House, kicked viciously at the stacked boxes in the back.
From lycanthropes to sirens and dwarves.
He had lined up far flashier items than usual, expecting the grandest success yet.
But as the saying goes, even the best party falls flat without good food.
The bidders hadn't opened their wallets as expected—no, they'd been downright stingy.
"Goddamn cheapskates. I prepared way better goods than usual—why the hell are they holding back like this?"
How much groundwork had he laid to host this auction?
His cut was 2% of the total sales as the emcee.
Considering what he'd paid Kosax's owner to secure this gig, at this rate, he wouldn't even recover half his investment.
"No way. If this keeps up... my career's toast."
Failing to draw a crowd at a major auction like this—especially at Kosax—left no room for him in Mercado.
'No, the auction isn't even the problem. If I show this much incompetence, that person might not let me off easy.'
Norman unconsciously rubbed his nape.
Kosax's owner.
That man could make someone like him vanish without a trace anytime.
He had no choice.
As if resolving himself, Norman slowly headed toward where the 'items' were kept.
"Alright! Thank you for waiting! Let's begin the second part of the auction!"
After 30 minutes, the auction resumed.
Unlike the first part, every item in the second was an elf.
"500 gold!"
"600 gold!"
The bidding units and the atmosphere had changed completely.
Bam!
"Yes! Sold for 600 gold!"
Unlike the gloomy mood of the first part, Norman held back his bursting grin and poured his energy into emceeing.
'As expected! This was the right call.'
Most of today's visitors had come on rumors. Naturally, they wanted to pour all their funds into elves.
That explained the first part's lack of interest.
Their minds were elsewhere—nothing else caught their eye.
So Norman had switched strategies, filling the second part entirely with elves.
Elves were all inherently beautiful. Without seeing her in person, no one could tell which was the princess based on looks alone.
Exploiting that, he'd borrowed elves from other merchants and put them up for auction.
He kept their introductions vague on purpose, so no one could pinpoint the princess.
As a result, bidders started calling out higher prices than usual, fueled by the hope that the elf they won might be the princess.
'This more than covers the first part's losses. Heh, I'm a genius.'
But Norman didn't realize that his scheme to make money had put a target on his back from someone in the auction house.
"Is that her?"
"...No, it's not. That one's just... ordinary too."
Unlike the exhilarated Norman running the auction, Ash's eyes—watching it all—were bloodshot to the point of bursting.
"...Our kin... so many of them... treated this cruelly..."
Ash looked ready to charge out at the pathetic sight of her fellows, but she held back.
Their princess hadn't appeared yet.
"...Human, can I ask one favor?"
"...Sure, what is it?"
Ash's gaze was fixed on the auctioneer Norman.
"Anything but him... make that bastard pay."
"...Got it."
While other bidders, unaware of who the princess was, kept spending their budgets, our group never bid once.
We knew those weren't her.
We waited solely for that one bid.
Yes.
The simplest way was to settle it with money.
And I had my ace.
Out of the 20,000 gold from Julius, the 10,000 gold share Father had promised me.
It was a hefty sum I'd set aside for plans ahead, but calculations showed I could spare up to 4,000 gold.
From watching the auction so far, the average elf went for under 1,000 gold.
Even with a princess premium, no lunatic would bid over 4,000 for one elf.
Once we secured her, we could raise hell for all we cared.
I was confident we could escape just fine.
Ash's favor was probably adding an arrow to that auctioneer's head in the chaos.
How long did we wait?
After what felt like an eternity in the second part, Norman finally started building suspense to liven things up.
"Thank you for your patience, everyone! The second part, our 'Elf Special,' is nearing its end! Now, let's kick off the main event to cap off today's auction in style!"
"Wooooah!"
"Booo!"
The auction house, silent since the start, erupted in massive cheers and jeers.
Cheers from those who hadn't won any elves yet.
Jeers from those who'd bought ones Norman had ambiguously pitched as possible princesses.
'The ones who couldn't bid anyway don't have that kind of cash—won't matter.'
Cheers or jeers, they were all scum chasing the same vile goal.
"Here she is! The sleeping giant ruling the Beast Forest, the elves! The cherished daughter of their queen! Name withheld, but vouched for directly by slave hunters who stake their reputation—this is the elves' princess, Millia Minerva!"
The only elf among the 'items' Norman had introduced by name. It meant Kosax had put in real effort to verify and present her.
As Norman's introduction ended.
Clink.
Like all the elves sold before, a small, frail chain rattled through the auction house.
And then, the elf appeared.
"......"
"......"
Silence blanketed the hall.
Even without Norman's guarantee, everyone there could tell.
That elf was the princess.
Unlike the ordinary(?) ones before whose status was uncertain, Millia's beauty on stage was on another level entirely.
Savoring the eerie heat rising in the silence for a moment, Norman declared:
"Alright! The premium of being the elves' princess! A privilege for one alone! Considering its worth, bidding starts at 2,000 gold!"
"......!!"
"......!!"
The strange fervor cooled instantly.
At 2,000 gold, bidders froze with their bid cards halfway up before the auction even began.
Well, can't blame them. It matched a full year's budget for the Shield Family.
No one would raise it lightly.
Moreover, that auctioneer Norman, drunk on the hype, had made a fatal slip.
'Should've kept her identity hidden.'
If he'd sold her like the other elves of similar age without naming her princess.
No matter her transcendent beauty, it would've stayed mere speculation.
The queen couldn't have easily pursued it then.
But now was different.
Publicly declaring her the elf princess in front of this crowd meant even tight security couldn't stop rumors from the buyer.
In noble society, where everyone knew someone who knew someone, discovery was inevitable.
It wasn't just about money anymore.
'Perfect. This makes the plan even smoother. Alright...'
I slowly raised my bid card to claim Millia.
We didn't care anyway.
Our goal was to win her and get her back to the Beast Forest.
Just as I thought Norman's greed had made it easier.
Someone else's hand beat mine.
And that someone, raising their card first, shouted with utter conviction.
"20,000 gold!!"
What?
How much?