Kei had fainted an hour after the auction started. His head was currently lying on Shino's lap. As per Kei's instruction, they were to bid for items that might prove useful to them.
Dio was a good host and several items were sold at a high price. While there were no other items that were able to beat the final bid for the [Compass of Daedalus] the competition didn't lose its intensity.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the next item for auction is actually not an item," Dio said with a smirk. "It's actually a very special spirit beast."
He made a gesture and a small cage was pushed to the stage by a beautiful lady. A faint murmur started to spread from the crowd. Spirit beasts were not uncommon. In fact, they were very common. Every rich household has one and some of them were very rare creatures.
Some of the collectors in the audience glanced at the cage with interest. With a gesture from Dio, the beautiful lady took away the mantle covering it. Inside the cage was a small bed and lying on top of it was a beautiful gray cat.
"A cat?" a skinny man from the audience asked in disbelief.
Dio gave him a brief bow, "Sir, you are correct. It is indeed a cat, but not a simple one. This spirit beast is called a Bakeneko.
"Bakeneko?"
"First time I've heard of the name."
"What can this cat do?"
Various questions were raised by the audience. Dio raised a hand to signal everyone to stop talking. He gave the cage a slight shake using the hammer in his hand.
"Ayuyu, wake up," Dio said. "It's time for you to introduce yourself to everyone."
The Bakeneko, named Ayuyu, playfully raised its tail. Her fur has a glossy hue and there were black stripes in some part of her body. She opened her emerald green eyes and looked at Dio in annoyance.
"U WOT?" Ayuyu asked.
The audience started to murmur. A talking spirit beast means that its intelligence was very high. Majority of those who own spirit beasts narrowed their eyes as they pondered whether Ayuyu would be a good addition to their collection.
Dio sighed, "It's your time to be auctioned. One of them would be your future master, so wouldn't it be nice to make a good impression?"
Ayuyu licked her paw before narrowing her eyes at him. "Shut the fuck up."
With a shake of his head Dio gave the audience an apologetic look.
"As you can see, Ayuyu has a bit of an attitude." Dio said. "However, make no mistake that she is a very special spirit beast. Her kind lives near 'Tir na Nog,' one of the forbidden areas in the Eastern Federation."
"Tir na Nog? Are you referring to the Forbidden Area called as the Promised Land?" a man from one of the VIP rooms asked in confirmation.
Dio nodded his head. "Yes. Before you reach Tir na Nog, there is an enchanted forest that acts as the door. The Bakeneko's live in the enchanted forest and one of the explorers was lucky enough to capture her.
"Say Wut? That fucker didn't capture me," Ayuyu said with a snort. "I came with him to see the world. Since I am nice, I asked him to bring me to this auction so we can split the earnings late-- *cough* so he can live a good life."
Ayuyu turned her gaze at the crowd and narrowed her eyes, "If any of you dumb twats are expecting me to call you 'Master' or 'Onii-chan' then you might as well just suck an egg. Fucking creeps!"
Some of the bidders weren't able to stop themselves from glaring at her. Some just laughed it off while some lost interest because of her rowdy attitude.
"You heard her! Is there anyone who is brave enough to bring this Bakeneko home with you?" Dio asked in a taunting tone. "Make no mistake, the auction won't give any refunds. So you better think thrice before you bid for her!"
Ayuyu scoffed "Dumb shits."
"The starting bid is 5,000 gold!" Dio raised his hand. "Let the bidding begin!"
After Dio announced the start of the bidding, an eerie silence descended the Auction House. None of the bidders were willing to bid for the Bakeneko. Dio became anxious and started to use his sweet talking skills.
"The Bakeneko is a very special beast with unique abilities. I am not entitled to say what those abilities are because it is included in the contract that we signed with the one who auctioned her," Dio said. "But, I can assure you that she is a very capable spirit beast."
"Hmp! Bunch of pussies!" Ayuyu said in disdain. "Fucking creeps!"
The crowd was unmoved by his speech, and Ayuyu's swearing didn't help one bit. No one seemed interested to bid for her except one…
"Five thousand gold!" an adorable voice came from one of the VIP rooms.
The audience laughed at the bid because it was the initial bid for the Bakeneko. Some of them were interested at first, but Ayuyu was too foul-mouthed for them to tolerate. They decided to just ignore her existence and wait for the next items to be auctioned.
"Are there no other bids?" Dio asked. Deep inside he was cursing Ayuyu for not being supportive of her auction making her price go down.
"Going once! Going twice!" Dio said while holding back a sigh. "Sold to the lady in VIP room number 13!"
"Hmp! Adios Motherfuckers!" Ayuyu mocked everyone before disappearing from the stage.
"Good Riddance!"
"Stupid Cat!"
"Hurry up with the next item for auction!"
The crowd cheered the moment Ayuyu disappeared from the stage. They had enough of her arrogance and looked forward to the next item for auction.
"Everyone, the auction will take a short break." Dio announced with a smile. "For those of you who would like to order some refreshments a menu shall be appearing in front of you in a few moments."
Dio bowed his head, "The auction will resume after half an hour. Until then, please remain seated and enjoy the services we offer."
Everyone nodded their head in agreement. The auction has been going on for almost two hours and a short break was just what they needed. A projection appeared in front of them and they happily ordered the things that caught their fancy.
------------------
Meanwhile in VIP Room Number 13…
"Two stupid giants, two useless Vanari, two dungeon pets, a legal loli, and a goblin lolicon." Ayuyu said in a teasing voice. "You have enough members for an orgy."
Luke and Lily glared at her while the others looked at her with interest. This was the first time they saw a Bakeneko and they were curious on what she could do.
Little John approached the cage and gave Ayuyu an appraising look. "They say you have special abilities. What exactly are those special abilities?"
"Oh you want to see one of my abilities?"
"Yes."
Ayuyu raised one of her paw facing Little John's direction. She sneered and the nail in her middle finger extended. "Je M'en Fous Mother Fucker!"
[A/N: I Don't Give a Shit Mother Fucker!]
Little John was taken aback and glared at her. Shino giggled from the side and clapped her hands. "Nice to meet you Ayuyu, my name is Shino."
Ayuyu gave her a sidelong glance "Alright. Since you were the one who bought me I'll be nice and call you Shino. As for the others…" her feline lips curled into a smirk. "That will depend on my mood."