The Girl Holding Paddle Number Four (2)
Some thirty minutes before the girl with paddle four swept up every listing in Dusk Block.
Sunlight poured into the annex hall of Kaipol City Hall, where the auction was underway, and the place was packed to the walls. Eyes bright with expectation and hunger flicked restlessly about, each one busy taking the measure of the others.
Of all those gazes, the thickest cluster fell on Blow and on Yulia, eldest daughter of House Edfolk—the pair whose names the recent upheaval had burned into everyone's memory.
"Blow Deblique's here as well."
"Only natural, if you think about it. He's the one who cleaned up Rich, Grown, and even Jackson."
"I thought so last time I saw him, but he really is young. To think a green boy like that has Dusk Block completely in his grip."
"They say he's tied not only to Lady Yulia, but to Lady Rachel, and to the Saintess too. What on earth did he do?"
"Go have a meal at Hills sometime. It's better than you'd expect."
"Whatever the case, if that man ever sets his mind the wrong way, Caipol is going to be in an uproar."
It was neither what Blow had wanted nor what he had aimed for, yet rumor had spun his name higher with every passing day. Most people only watched him from a distance, none of them daring to approach.
"Young master, you're number twenty-two? I'm twenty-three!"
"Yes, that's right. As expected, a great many people come looking for you, senior."
"When you've been in business a while, familiar faces start to accumulate. An auction house like this is a meeting ground as much as anything else. Only people who've been vetted are allowed through the door."
Yulia smiled with her usual ease, and Skadi slipped neatly into the conversation.
"I'm twenty-four!"
"Skadi, this is your first auction too, isn't it?"
"I've watched a few! They held them in the East now and then."
"Well, the East is a turbulent place in more ways than one. I imagine the chances came around often enough."
"Yes, senior! Even so, this is the first time I've actually taken part for real!"
"Good. Then, before I explain the basics, shall we compare notes on which lots interest us? Better that than bidding against one another and driving the prices up."
"Sounds good!"
The two answered as one and turned their eyes to the catalog. Every page was packed tight with notes on what each building was used for, and what peculiarities came with it.
"I'm thinking of bidding on this building across from Hills. The fifth lot."
"That sounds like a fine idea. Right across from Hills—the location would be excellent."
"Yes. Once I've bought it, I expect I'll find plenty of uses for it."
"As for me, I'm going to try to purchase Rich's mansion today."
"You mean that grand mansion inside Dusk Block?"
"Yes. I went and looked at it with Herbena this time, and it wasn't half bad."
Well, of course it wasn't. She went and swept the place clean herself.
He had heard in detail how she and Herbena had carried out the purification. The memory sent a chill down Blow's spine. He swallowed dryly and lifted the corner of his mouth, matching the bright smile Yulia turned on him.
"The location isn't as deep inside as I expected, either. Truthfully, I don't intend to bid on anything else. If we're to develop Roten, I ought to keep some capital in reserve."
"A wise choice, I should think. Skadi, and you?"
"I'm going to look around and think about it!"
"Don't just buy everything in sight, all right?"
"I've got plans of my own, you know!"
Skadi answered curtly, and Blow shrugged at her.
"I only said it because I was worried."
"Don't treat me like a child! Anyway, if senior buys the mansion on top of everything else, you're really going to be the ruler of Caipol, aren't you?"
"The mansion would be senior's. Why does the story end up like that?"
"Oh my. If you put it that way, young master, I might feel a little hurt. I am your business partner, you know."
Blow's eyes caught the faint swell of Yulia's cheeks. A chill ran through him at once, and he flicked her a look.
"Ruler of the back alleys, then."
"Haha, I'm only joking. Still, thanks to Lady Skadi, today's meal wrapped up very nicely, and I think the rest is up to me."
"Oh, come on! What did I even do? The Saintess is just that kind and good a person."
"Skadi, don't you think you're a little too free of prejudice? The idea that the Saintess's heart might not be good—I mean, really..."
Marchen and Yulia were clearly of the same mind, fighting hard to hold in their laughter. Skadi looked at them, pushed her lips out in a pout, folded her arms, and muttered just loud enough to be heard.
"I am an open-minded person, Blow Deblique."
"That much is true."
"Anyway, I'm going to the washroom for a minute!"
When Skadi returned a little later, Yulia—who had been speaking with Marchen—began explaining to the two of them the single most important principle of an auction.
"Above all else, before you enter an auction, you must set a proper ceiling and a proper floor."
"Honestly, I don't have all that much money I can spend, so I'll be fine."
"Even so. Get swept up in the atmosphere, and you can end up spending far more than you meant to. Keeping your composure is what matters."
"I'll bear that in mind."
"And that is precisely why it also matters to lead the atmosphere. During an auction, the bidders wage a fierce war of nerves. Take control of the mood, and you can influence not just a single lot, but the auction as a whole."
"Once I'm someone who can buy a few buildings without blinking, I'll give it a try."
"Of course. For today, you may think of it as gaining experience. Simply watch at your ease. Understood, Lady Skadi?"
"Yes! Senior!!"
Yulia looked at the two of them, then shifted her gaze toward Marchen. For a long while after that, Skadi stole glances at Blow as he studied the catalog, let out a breath, and turned her eyes to the seats at the very front.
"Eight hundred forty gold! The winning bidder, once again, is the lady with number four!"
So that's what it means to command a room.
Even after she took the building across from Hills that Blow had coveted, the girl with number four kept scooping up properties the way someone drops fruit into a basket. After five wins in a row, of course, she no longer showed quite that ferocious momentum, nor did she bid on every lot. Even so, whenever a new property came up, the crowd's eyes fixed on the hand of the little girl with paddle four.
The same was true of Yulia, seated beside him with her eyes narrowed.
"She's an unusual one. Though I think I can see the pattern..."
"A pattern?"
"Yes. Watch this lot and the next, and you'll probably see it."
She answered with a small smile, and at last the introduction of the property she had been waiting for began.
"The next lot is one of the largest on offer—the mansion in Dusk Block! As befits the property, the opening price is set at three thousand gold. As for this lot—"
The auctioneer's detailed explanation ran on from there.
Cheaper than I expected. Is it because the previous owner died in the mansion like that?
While Blow rubbed his chin and turned the thought over, the hall was heating up more fiercely than at any point so far.
"Bids will rise by one hundred gold. As I said, we open at three thousand!"
The moment the words ended, paddles shot up in a thicket. Yulia drew a steadying breath and let her eyes travel the room.
"Three thousand one hundred!"
"Three thousand two hundred!"
"Three thousand three, four, five hundred!"
"Three thousand six hundred! Yes—three thousand seven hundred!"
The sums climbed in a flash beneath the auctioneer's shouts. The rising figures made Blow dizzy, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Yulia, who had been watching, finally gave Marchen a nod.
"Five thousand gold."
At that enormous sum, the hall went solemn in an instant. Those who had been bidding let out sighs laced with lament—likely because their opponent was Yulia, eldest daughter of House Edfolk, who until now had not made a single move. The girl with number four, who had been devouring lots as if starved, fell silent as well.
The auctioneer called out in a bright voice, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Five thousand gold! Any more? Five thousand gold! Five thousand gold! Five thousand gold...!! Sold! The winning bidder is number twenty-three, Lady Yulia Edfolk!"
Admiration burst out with the declaration. Yulia breathed a sigh of relief, then turned toward Blow and smiled.
"There we are, young master."
"So that was why you stayed still all this time."
"I wanted to give the impression that I was focused on this one lot alone. The Rich mansion I've just acquired—I'm thinking of adapting it and dressing it as a hotel."
"You already own a hotel in Caipol. You're thinking of building another?"
"Yes, we'll need a second location! Dusk Block is a fair distance from city hall anyway, so I was planning to put up at least one more. And for that, young master, I'll need you to put in a little effort."
"Me?"
"Of course! You are now the ruler of Dusk Block, in name and in fact. Please see to it that plenty of people come looking for the place."
Yulia beamed at him as she said it. The weight of it pressed on him, but it was also proof that she trusted him completely, and that pleased him. Blow gave her a look that said he understood, then steered the talk elsewhere.
"Then I'd like to hear the rest of what you were saying. About that girl with number four..."
"Ah, shall we? First of all, number four is going to bid on this next lot no matter what."
"No matter what?"
"Yes."
The auctioneer's explanation, already well underway, came to an end, and the bidding on the next lot began. Just as she had said, paddle number four flashed up.
"Five hundred!"
Don't tell me she arranged this with that girl in advance.
Blow looked at Yulia with the guess written on his face, and she seemed to read the thought. She shook her head.
"For the record, I, Yulia Edfolk, have nothing to do with number four."
"...Ah. You sounded so certain, I wondered for a moment."
"Haha, not at all. First, shall we look at this catalog? There's a map at the back. If you mark the lots number four has bid on..."
Yulia began drawing circles around lot after lot. Watching her, Blow couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
"Well, young master? Do you sense anything?"
"This... it's all near Hills."
It certainly was.
Of the lots that had come up today, anything around Hills was circled in red without exception. Even cheaper properties, even ones in good locations—if they stood far from Hills, the girl with number four had not bid a single time. To a degree that felt strange.
"What in the world is this?"
"See? She isn't joining the bidding again right now, is she? Number four."
Just as Yulia said, the girl came into view, watching the auction through a bored yawn. Blow's head tilted at a sight he couldn't make sense of, and Yulia went on.
"I see it as one of two things."
"Which?"
"That number four over there either dislikes you very much, or likes you very much."
"...What?"
"Look at these circles. Doesn't it seem as if she's trying to wrap her arms around Hills?"
As she spoke, Yulia cast her gaze toward Skadi, who had been watching the auction at her leisure all along—and Skadi was wearing a meaningful smile that didn't suit her in the least.
"Senior, is there something on my face?"
"No. I was only thinking Lady Skadi seems somehow even lovelier today."
"Haha. I've always been lovely, though."
Blow caught something subtle in Skadi's tone and turned his eyes her way. Ordinarily she would have met his gaze, but she quietly turned her head forward instead. He was staring at her faint smile, half in disbelief, when the crack of the gavel rang through the hall again and the auctioneer's voice rose with it.
"With that, we conclude the auction for the Dusk Block district. We'll take a short break, and afterward proceed with the lots around city hall."
The hall grew noisy at once with the declaration. People rose from their seats and began chatting with their neighbors. The girl with number four, who had been at the very front, shot to her feet, stretched, and spun around.
Pale platinum hair, and clothes too plain and light for a young lady of a noble house. Despite the winter, she had the sleeves of her thin-looking shirt rolled halfway up. She trudged over to where they sat, then struck a salute Blow had never seen before—every finger curled except the index and the middle.
"Lady Skadi! Mission successfully completed!!"
"Nanna, you handled that rather well."
"This Nanna Ankel could hardly make a poor showing when none other than Lady Skadi was watching from behind!"
Skadi, already on her feet, had an arm slung over the girl's shoulder and was smiling at Blow's dumbfounded face. Yulia bit her lower lip and swallowed a sigh, with the distinct feeling of having taken a clean hit.