The Auction Begins, and the World Doesn't Bend to My Will
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Eve suddenly burst into wild laughter in the middle of the arena. 'Don't tell me she's got the same tendencies as the Saintess?'
-That can't be it, Master. Yeah, if Jukchang-i was right, she'd be letting out some weird moans instead of that crazy laugh. It's probably just from the sparring, not from getting hit and enjoying it.
The moment that thought crossed my mind—
“Please focus on me.”
She was already standing right in front of me, breathing hard. And then—
-Whoosh!
Her sharp sword slashed at me so fast I could barely track it. I barely managed to deflect her strike and exhaled sharply.
“Hup!”
I copied her exact sword dance, breathing in rhythm with the movements. The result was immediate.
“?!”
Her eyes widened in shock. She clearly hadn't expected me to mirror her technique perfectly.
'I wasn't just running away the whole time, you know.'
She seemed to have grown quite a bit over the past year, but I'd been training nonstop too. If I hadn't, I might've ended up getting kidnapped again!
-Clang!
Unable to dodge in time, she blocked my strike and staggered backward. At the same moment—
“Hngh!”
A soft moan slipped from her lips.
'Looks like she's starting to get tired.'
No matter how strong she was, constantly taking indirect hits from Jukchang-i would wear anyone down. I needed to press the advantage before she could recover.
-Master, now's your chance!
Jukchang-i, thinking the same thing, urged me to attack. Without a moment's hesitation, I kicked off the ground. In an instant, I rained blows toward her head, shoulders, and knees.
“Kyahahahahaha!”
She blocked Jukchang-i with a look of pure joy on her face. The curses should have been hitting her hard—why the hell was sparring with me making her so happy? At this point, I was seriously starting to suspect Jukchang-i wasn't even using the curses properly.
'Jukchang-i, if you don't tell me the truth, no more licking for you. You're not using the curses right now, are you?'
-Master, no! That's so unfair! I've been working so hard!
She sounded genuinely upset. Since there wasn't a trace of deception in her voice, it seemed she really was giving it her all.
'Then why does she laugh more the more she gets hit?!'
-I-I don't know either, Master.
Even Jukchang-i sounded flustered. I shuddered internally and pressed my attack even harder. The next moment—
“Kyaaht!”
Her voice mixed laughter and moans. It must have had some effect, because her movements had grown noticeably sluggish. I swung Jukchang-i horizontally at her once more.
-Thwack!
She staggered after taking the hit. Despite looking exhausted, her eyes were even more steeped in madness than before.
'Fuck. Am I actually doing the right thing here? Right?'
-P-Probably, Master.
Jukchang-i didn't sound very confident. Still, I was successfully keeping her from getting the Invisibility Hat. And right now, I was the one driving her back. Yet—
-Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Kyaaahuuuht!”
She kept laughing, completely drenched in madness!
'This isn't working. I really didn't want to use this...'
Having made up my mind, I channeled mana into Jukchang-i this time. Immediately—
-Heuuung.
Jukchang-i let out a strange sound and trembled. It must have been a while since she'd tasted my mana, because she seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit.
'This girl really is out of her mind too.'
-Master, if you ever get a taste of this feeling, you'll be just like me.
I pretended not to hear Jukchang-i's words and brought the spear down toward her skull. At the same time—
“?!”
Her eyes bulged as she dodged to the side. The brief opening that created was all I needed.
“Don't die... just come to your senses!”
I changed the trajectory of my attack midway and slammed it into her with full force, like a batter swinging for a home run.
“Kyaaahuuuung!”
Her body shuddered violently. With a blissful smile on her face, she collapsed unconscious.
Eve had finally passed out after taking a hit from Jukchang-i. Normally, people would be shaking in terror after getting struck by it, but—
'This crazy bitch.'
-Master... I'm scared.
She was unconscious with the happiest smile I'd ever seen. No wonder Jukchang-i was terrified.
'First the Saintess, now her. Why do they all look so happy after getting hit by Jukchang-i?'
-It feels like I lost somehow, Master.
'Yeah, winning doesn't really feel like winning at all.'
As I nodded in agreement with Jukchang-i—
“Yes! The winner of this match is none other than Guest Number Three!”
Walker, the Shadow Guild's master, made the official declaration. And with that, my spar with Eve finally came to an end.
At the same time, other yandere women had secretly slipped into the auction house. One of them was none other than Sena.
'That person looks a lot like Professor-nim.'
Sena watched from the audience, disguised among the spectators. The real reason the future Saintess had come here was the same as the other women—to obtain the Subjugation Necklace.
Of course—
'Stopping the Demon King's army's terror attack is part of it too, but that's not really that important.'
That was just a secondary goal. Honestly, even if the terror attack wasn't stopped right away, it wouldn't matter much. Most of the people here were the kind who deserved to die anyway.
Anyway—
'But why is Professor-nim here?'
Other nobles being here made sense, but for someone as kind as him to show up in such a filthy underground place? As she pondered, one possibility flashed through her mind.
'Could it be... he's here to stop the Demon King's army's terror attack?'
It was entirely possible. During the previous class, hadn't he moved to catch the mastermind behind the terror plot? Even though his body had been weakened from regression.
'Then I'll finish my objective quickly and help Professor-nim.'
Having completely misunderstood the situation, Sena put on a determined expression. She had no idea that he was actually planning to use the terror attack as cover to steal items!
Everything was pitch black. Her instincts screamed at her not to open her eyes, but she had to wake up right now. Otherwise, the dance with him would never end. Having quickly organized her thoughts, she forced her eyes open.
Then—
“Ah...”
Instead of what she'd expected, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted her. It seemed she'd been knocked out by his final blow. She let out a small sigh and pushed herself up.
-Swish! Swish!
As expected, the criminals around her were all trembling. They must have been thoroughly beaten by Elric. Otherwise, there'd be no reason for them to be muttering like mental patients.
The moment Eve became certain of that—
“Are you awake, Guest Number One?”
Walker approached her. Eve nodded and answered.
“Yes, I am.”
“I see. What a shame, though. If it weren't for Guest Number Three, the championship would've been yours for the taking.”
Just as he said, if it hadn't been for Elric, her victory would've been guaranteed. No matter who the criminals or the nobles' proxies were, beating her in her current state was nearly impossible.
'It would take someone at the level of a family head or a knight commander to have a chance.'
Thinking that, Eve slowly opened her mouth.
“It doesn't matter. I was satisfied enough with the match.”
“Hmm. I see.”
“By the way, just out of curiosity—who won?”
“Well, obviously it was Guest Number Three.”
“I see...”
If Elric had obtained the Invisibility Hat, that was fine with her. She'd wanted it to secretly sto— ahem, watch over him. But—
'I also entered to prevent other nobles from getting their hands on it.'
The Invisibility Hat was the perfect tool for committing crimes. So she'd participated partly to keep it from falling into the hands of the nobles here.
'If Sir Elric took it, that's perfectly fine.'
He might act otherwise on the surface, but he had a surprisingly kind side. He wouldn't use it for evil purposes. As Eve smiled with satisfaction—
“Guest Number One, the auction is about to begin. Will you be participating?”
Walker asked politely. Eve's other goal was none other than the Subjugation Necklace. Therefore—
“Of course I'll participate.”
She would join the auction no matter what.
At the same time, I—the winner of the arena matches—was staring at the Invisibility Hat.
'Hmm. It looks more ordinary than I expected.'
I'd thought it would be white since it was called an invisibility hat, but it was just an ordinary black hat with some extra coloring.
While I was admiring the Invisibility Hat—
-It's uglier than me, Master!
Jukchang-i radiated pure jealousy. Seeing her jealous of an object, it really did confirm she was a weapon.
'You can change your appearance however you want, can't you?'
-That's exactly why it's uglier than me! I can turn into something cool and pretty! Hmph!
'Yeah, yeah, you're the best.'
-Thank you for the compliment, Master!
She thanked me without realizing I was being sarcastic. Sigh. When is this girl going to grow up?
-Anyway, Master, are you okay? You pushed yourself a bit at the end, didn't you?
Suddenly, Jukchang-i asked in a worried voice. Had she read my mind and actually matured? Maybe?
'Well, my mana and my whole body are exhausted, but thanks to you recovering me, I'm mostly fine now.'
-Hmph! Of course it's thanks to me!
'By the way, why are you suddenly worrying about me?'
-Because if Master dies, there won't be anyone left to lick me!
I was wrong to think she'd grown up. This little brat...
-Hmm? Master, I feel like you just insulted me.
'Must be your imagination. Anyway.'
Rather than that, I needed to think about the upcoming auction. It would begin soon, but the Demon King's army was going to cause a terrorist attack anyway. So the chances of the auction proceeding normally were practically zero.
'Then I'll just use the Invisibility Hat while the terror attack is happening.'
My original plan was to defeat the Demon King's forces while snatching items from the auction, but there was no need for that anymore. With the Invisibility Hat, I could secretly steal things amid all the chaos.
'It's all thanks to the Invisibility Hat!'
-Praising another item while ignoring me!
I easily ignored Jukchang-i's cry and waited for the auction to begin. About an hour later—
“Yes! The auction you've all been waiting for is about to start! Please take your assigned seats!”
The long-awaited auction finally began. And that day, I realized once again—
The world doesn't flow according to my plans!