Auction House (2): Right Before the Terror
Right before the terror struck at the auction house. Sena and Eve were hesitating at the price I had called out. For reference, Jane—who had been working as my personal maid—had already passed out long before. Yes! Let's keep it going just like this! The moment I harbored that hope in my heart—
-Kwaaaaaang!! An explosive roar slammed into my ears as if determined to shatter my hopes to pieces. The fact that it echoed so violently could only mean it had gone off somewhere nearby. And sure enough...
“Guild Master!” An employee came sprinting toward Walker with a thoroughly flustered expression. It looked like the Demon King's forces had launched their terror attack.
No. Why the hell are they pulling this right now of all times!
Wasn't this what the owner wanted? Just as Jukchang-i said, I had originally hoped the Demon King's army would cause chaos. That way I could steal the goods while they ran wild. But that plan only applied before the Subjugation Necklace appeared! The elixir was secondary—at this moment, the Subjugation Necklace was something I absolutely had to secure right now.
“Dear guests, we apologize for the inconvenience. We will be pausing the auction here and prioritizing the evacuation of all guests first.”
They were obviously going to return every item that had been brought out back to storage. Which meant the necklace wouldn't be coming into my hands anytime soon.
Which means I can just steal it while they're busy with the terror attack!
Aha! Jukchang-i finally seemed to understand my words. Anyway, this was no time to stand around. I needed to slip away while the whole place was in chaos.
Steal first, think later! With that thought, I secretly made my escape using the Invisibility Hat and headed straight for the warehouse.
At the same time. Windy, the one responsible for the terror at this auction, briefly surveyed her surroundings. Hmm. Looks like everything's going smoothly. Shadow Guild members were scrambling in every direction. It was obvious they were locked in combat with her subordinate demons.
The imperial elite soldiers probably won't show up to help. Weren't they busy holding the Demon King's main forces at bay on the front lines? As long as nothing unexpected happened, the odds of mission failure were practically zero.
After organizing her thoughts, Windy linked arms with the noble who had accompanied her and cooed sweetly.
“Darling~”
The man, completely unaware she was a succubus, grinned like an idiot.
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Can you come with me to that spot over there for a moment?”
The place she pointed to was an empty room. Normally he would have agreed instantly, but—
“Hmm. It seems pretty dangerous right now.”
Perhaps because of the terror attack, he was showing hesitation unlike his usual self. However, seducing a single ordinary man was easier than drinking cold porridge for a succubus. She pressed her ample chest firmly against him and whispered.
“It's because I want to do it with you right now♥ The staff will handle everything anyway, won't they?”
“Ugh...”
Under normal circumstances he should have refused no matter how persistently she clung, but the unique charm of a succubus made it nearly impossible to shake her off. And just as expected—
“Alright.”
The noble accepted her proposal. The two quietly slipped into an empty room. A short while later, Windy emerged with supple, glowing skin and a radiant expression.
“Haa...”
She murmured with an ecstatic face, “It feels like I'm truly alive again after taking in some vitality after so long.”
With those words, she headed for the warehouse to carry out the Demon King's orders.
Meanwhile, three other people were also making their way toward the warehouse—just like Windy and me. They were none other than...
We need to move immediately.
Where is the professor?
If we don't hurry, the terror attack will be stopped soon.
The yandere trio: Eve, Sena, and Jane. The three of them were quietly evacuating alongside the nobles under Walker's guidance. While they were pondering how to break away—
“Guild Master!” Another employee came running in a panic. The minor wounds and cold sweat suggested the resistance was stronger than anticipated. Seeing this, Sena spoke up.
“Sir Walker.”
“Hmm? Yes, Guest Number 42.”
Walker tilted his head at her call. Sena got straight to the point.
“It looks like you're having quite a difficult time holding them back. Would it be acceptable if I assisted?”
“......”
Walker fell into thought at Sena's proposal. Under normal circumstances he should refuse outright—the Shadow Guild placed the highest priority on their guests' trust and safety. However...
No choice. The problem was that the terrorists were stronger than expected and couldn't be subdued. This was the moment to clutch at any straw available. Having decided instantly, Walker nodded.
“Yes. If it's Guest Number 42, your help would be greatly appreciated. We would be truly grateful.”
“I'll help too!”
“Me as well.”
Eve and Jane immediately offered their assistance as well. Since Walker knew the true identities of every guest, he was deeply moved. Having lived his life in the shadows, he had rarely—if ever—encountered such pure goodwill.
“Thank you.”
He bowed his head to the three in gratitude. All while completely unaware that the trio was actually trying to steal the items!
As I secretly slipped out and moved through the corridors—
“There's a human here!”
A demon suddenly appeared right in front of me. As much as I wanted to keep the Invisibility Hat on, I needed to save it for the escape. I brought down the righteous Jukchang on the rude bastard who pointed his finger at me.
“Haven't you seen a human before, you son of a bitch!”
“Kweeeek!”
The demon let out a bizarre noise and collapsed unconscious. It seemed a single blow was more than enough for a low-ranking demon. Just as I tried to move forward carefully again—
“Over here!”
“That son of a bitch!”
They must have heard the fallen demon's voice, because more of them began swarming like ants. I had no desire to waste stamina here, so I had no choice.
Jukchang-i. Time to put you to work after so long.
At my command, Jukchang-i began to tremble. The next instant—
-Hwaaaaak!
Jukchang-i emitted a brilliant light, and then—
“This body makes her grand entrance!”
A proper little girl with blue hair appeared. She looked adorably cute no matter who saw her. Anyone except me would probably find Jukchang-i cute and approach without thinking. And just as expected—
“What? This kid is super cute?”
One demon approached with a lecherous grin, completely unaware of her true identity. Jukchang-i thrust her tiny fist at the approaching demon.
“Jukchang Punch!”
The demon tried to block the little fist with his hand as if it were adorable. At the same moment—
“Hgyagyagyagyagyak!!”
He convulsed as if electrocuted, eyes rolling back before he fainted. The other demons' shoulders all flinched at once. They must have realized Jukchang-i was no ordinary child.
“Jukchang-i, clear a path.”
“Yep! Owner! Just trust me!”
Saying that, Jukchang-i slowly advanced. Soon one of the demons cast a spell. In the narrow corridor there was no room to dodge. However—
“Yah!”
Magic didn't affect Jukchang-i in the slightest. Not only that—
“Haaauung!”
It was actually a counterattack. The female demon who had cast the spell collapsed with a lewd moan, face flushed bright red.
“I won't go easy just because you're small!”
Another demon swung a massive sword down at Jukchang-i. To any onlooker, the sight of a hulking demon's greatsword descending on a child would make the child seem more endangered, but—
-Kwachang!
“Huh?”
In reality, the demon was the one in danger. The burly demon stared stupidly at his shattered greatsword. At the same time—
“Kwaaaaaak!”
He writhed in agony from Jukchang-i's curse. She approached the suffering demon and declared,
“I'm older than you!”
In an instant she began spinning her arms and unleashing a barrage of punches.
-Pow pow pow pow!
It looked incredibly sloppy, but in a way it was the most efficient attack for her. She could land dozens of hits in a single second, after all!
I can't believe that kind of childish attack is her strongest move. It was exactly the kind of thing kids did when they fought during their elementary school days. While I was thinking that, the demon—who had been thoroughly beaten at some point—begged,
“Kuuuugh... Just kill me already...”
We ignored the fallen demon and stepped over him. The remaining demons, now terrified, began fleeing in panic.
“T-that thing is human?”
“That's a demon!”
“Run away!”
They had finally realized how terrifying Jukchang-i was.
“Ehem! This body is this scary, see!”
Jukchang-i puffed out her chest with hands on her hips. Exaggeration aside, there wasn't a single trace of dignity to be found.
“Let's just hurry up and go. Your duration isn't that long anyway.”
“Yeah! That's right! Let's go quick, Owner!”
With those words, we continued toward the warehouse.
Not long after, we arrived at our destination.
“How is it? Is this the place?”
“Yep! Owner!”
Thanks to Jukchang-i using her senses to scan the area, we had located the warehouse surprisingly quickly.
“Now turn back.”
“Okay! Owner!”
Jukchang-i nodded and transformed back into a magic staff. As much as I wanted her to guard the door in human form, maintaining that state consumed a considerable amount of mana. Sustaining it for long would be nearly impossible.
At most five minutes even if we're lucky. And that's only if she keeps drinking potions. Feeling a twinge of regret, I opened the warehouse door.
There's an incredible amount of stuff piled up.
Splendid items filled my vision. They were clearly the goods meant for this auction along with unappraised articles.
I'm just recording your daily life, you know?
Right. We had reached the warehouse, but we couldn't afford to let our guard down. You never knew what might happen in this world.
I have no idea what kind of development that author bastard will pull next.
Jukchang-i. Quickly find those two items.
I'm already looking for them, Owner! Whether that was true or not, it wasn't long before—
The elixir the owner was looking for is over there!
Jukchang-i had located the elixir instantly. I approached the spot she indicated. Soon the fruit-like elixir I had seen earlier at the auction came into view.
I'll eat it later. For now, let's secure it. After making the quick decision, I stored the elixir in my subspace pouch. At that moment—
Owner! I found the Subjugation Necklace too!
She had found the most crucial item right away. Without the slightest hesitation I ran to where the necklace was. Just as I was about to store it in my subspace pouch—
-Creak!
The door suddenly burst open. I turned my head without thinking. And then...
Fuck.
In my vision were three yanderes staring at the Subjugation Necklace with eyes brimming with madness! It seemed the world itself was out to screw me over. Screwing me over! Stop!