As the group walked out of the planetary ship, the first thing Erin noticed was the extremely large building right in front of them!
It was the first several hundred story building Erin has ever seen since arriving on this planet. For something so tall, it's width was also extremely wide.
If Erin didn't read the words on the entrance that said, 'Clover Auction House', he would assume that this building was a palace meant for royalty.
The entrance to this building was on another level entirely. Erin thought the giant dimensional gate he saw earlier was huge, yet this entrance was actually even bigger!
He could clearly see a long and majestic hall that stretched into the depths of this building.
There were many people walking in and out of this building. There were also many guards stationed nearby as well. These guards were wearing golden armor with a green clover symbol engraved on every chest piece.
A lot of the people walking nearby were stunned by the sight of a planetary ship being parked here.
It was extremely unusual for a ship to openly park in front of one of the most heavily guarded and respected auction houses in the entire universe.
Although this Clover Auction House was still a branch of the main one, it was one of its most powerful branches! This was a given since it maintained business on the intergalactic commerce giant known as Charh.
As the group took in the sight, a squad of guards walked out of the auction house and headed towards the parked planetary ship. Many people watched this and thought that the people from the planetary ship were about to be heavily reprimanded and kicked out.
Contrary to public belief, when the squad got closer, the leader of these guards actually welcomed the group warmly.
"Greetings, Sir Ron, Young Miss Alice, and their three young yet honorable companions." The guard said respectfully.
"Master Pearson has already informed the auction house of your arrival. We have already prepared a VIP room inside." The guard gestured to the group to follow him.
Anticipating this, Alice smiled and moved forward first. Everyone else followed her lead.
As the group entered the Clover Auction House. An extremely tiny security camera casually zoomed in on them from an unnoticed part of the huge entryway.
Inside a deeply concealed meeting room deep within the Clover Auction House.
"I didn't expect Ron to actually visit our branch again after all these years." A hooded cloaked figure with an elderly male voice said.
His fingers gently tapped the table in front of him. The holographic image at the center of the table was tracking Ron and his group through the auction house's security system. There were three other concealed figures seated at the same table.
The lights in the room were very dim and it was difficult to see the faces under these hooded cloaks.
"Hmph. That sly man can never forget his roots." Another cloaked figure with an elderly female voice sounded out her opinion. "I'm surprised that he actually brought Darwin's children here though. Isn't he afraid that the kids will get kidnapped?"
"Haha. Kidnapped? On Planet Charh with Young Miss Alice actually standing next to them? That's the greatest joke I've heard in a long time." A somewhat middle-aged male voice spoke from the far end of the large table.
"Alice aside, with Ron there, we clearly can't use that method. What other opinions do you all have?" The original voice that started the conversation spoke again.
"Isn't there still that young man beside them?" A new middle-aged female voice joined the conversation. "Look up his background. Perhaps we can use him."
"Heh. I already did earlier when their group arrived on this planet." The original voice spoke again. "I found nothing."
"..."
The room was terrifyingly silent.
"Did you use your highest grade of authority?" The elderly female voice was a little shaky. Her question even sounded somewhat rhetorical.
"Of course. I only ever do." The original elderly male voice spoke with confidence.
All of the cloaked figures couldn't believe what they were hearing.
The authority controlled by the cloaked figure with the elderly male voice was no simple matter.
If he couldn't even find out who the young man was, it meant that the young man's identity was extremely high. It wasn't someone they could mess with easily lest they incur the wrath of a superior power.
"If that's the case, then maybe we can have Weasley test the young man?" The middle-aged female voice came up with a simple idea.
"Weasley is far too stupid. If the young man's identity really is that high, then Weasley might make a fool of our entire branch!" The elderly male voice sounded a little agitated and upset.
"Stupidity is fine as long as you can activate a shadow demon inside of him." The elderly female voice sounded very cold. It's like she didn't care about the life or death of Weasley. If things go awry, they can just blame the demon.
"Hmph. Your schemes are getting too blatantly obvious." The middle-aged male voice spoke out. "Even we, at our levels, have difficulty controlling a lesser shadow demon. Placing a normal one in Weasley is no different than begging for a disaster to happen."
"Heh. I never said to place one in him. What if Weasley already has a contracted shadow demon sleeping inside of him? We only need to activate it." The elderly female voice added.
"..."
This sentence sounded so confident that it shut down the conversation instantly.
"How do you know this?" The elderly male voice questioned the female elder's words.
"When Weasley was hunting dimensional beasts at the start of last year. My oldest grand-daughter was accompanying his group. She found out about it because Weasley was stupid enough to use the contracted demon in front of her. All because he wanted to show off his new 'power'. When she informed me about it later, I found it outright ridiculous."
"..You waited over a year to mention this?" The elderly male voice sounded annoyed.
"Are you playing me for a fool?" The elderly female voice's tone was dark. "How could he get a hold of such an item himself. It's obvious that you handed him a forbidden monster contract! After all, even though he's dumb and narcissistic, he's unfortunately your only grandson."
"..."
All the voices were silent.
As the conversation in this concealed room got deeper, Erin and his group finally arrived at the VIP room that the guard was escorting them too previously.
This VIP room was near the top of the auction house on the 270th floor. There were no windows in this room yet the lights in it made the space look as bright as day. All of the furniture was crafted to the finest detail. The comfort in this room was comparable to a high-class hotel suite.
"Then if you'll excuse me, one of the auction house masters will be here shortly." The guard politely mentioned before he exited the room.
There were two large couches at the center of the room which faced each other. Erin and Alice sat on one couch while Ron, Edward, and Olivia sat on the other. Ron intentionally sat on the side facing Erin while Alice intentionally sat on the side facing Darwin's children.
There was also a glass table in between the couches that had tea and refreshments. These were probably prepared right before the group arrived.
At one end of the glass table was a luxurious velvet seat intended for the auction master. It looked like the seat that the host would take at the end of a dining table.
Alice started to talk with Edward and Olivia to try and make up for earlier. It was by complete accident that she left such a poor first impression.
Ron glanced around the room and smirked. With a quiet snap of his fingers, all the surveillance devices in this room were temporarily knocked out.
"Erin, can you hear me?" Ron's voice suddenly echoed in Erin's head. "If you can, don't think back! Just nod once."
Stunned, Erin's eyes went wide open as he stared back at Ron who was sitting on the couch across from him. Though surprised, he still reacted well and nodded once.
"Great! Now listen carefully. These are all one-way transmissions. So regardless of whatever you are trying to say to me with your thoughts, I cannot hear any of them. When you tame a beast or monster with mental skills in the future, I can possibly teach you this technique. However, we'll have to save that for later."
"If you heard everything and understood, nod once more."
Erin, still wide-eyed, heard everything clearly and nodded again.
"I'm glad you're quick to adapt." Ron casually poured himself a cup of tea. He had long since checked all the refreshments on the glass table. Fortunately, none of them were spiked.
"There are two very simple yet incredibly important things you need to know. One, let me manage the children's currency exchange first. It'll help me probe the auction house's stance. Two, if you decide to exchange some of your Lafite as well, which I personally think you will, only display 10% of the total balance. Furthermore, keep your orb out and prepare to flash your identity display at any moment."
"If you understand, pick up a cup from the glass table and pour yourself some tea. The children started glancing at you because your wide eyes kept staring at me and nodding."
Ron had a bemused smirk on his face as he sipped his hot tea.
Erin broke out of his trance due to Ron's last message and casually picked up a tea cup. As Erin poured himself tea, Ron snapped his fingers once more and all the surveillance devices in the room were working again.
As the time passed, the group continued waiting in the room until finally, a young man abruptly opened the doors and casually walked in. Although he was dressed well, his facial expressions were comparable to a local street ruffian.
Alice frowned a little. The conversation she was having with Edward and Olivia was finally moving in the right direction. It was a pity that it got interrupted so suddenly.
"Greetings honored guests! I am Weasley Clover!" He emphasized his last name a lot. "I shall be the auction master in charge of coordinating any transactions you have today!"
Just as Weasley was about to sit down on the individual velvet seat, he noticed Alice sitting on one of the couches and widened his eyes in glee.
"Well this is a pleasant surprise! I didn't think Miss Alice would grace our humble auction house with her presence today!" Weasley completely ignored the velvet seat and casually sat down on the couch Alice was on.
Alice furrowed her eyebrows in displeasure and quickly made space by moving closer to Erin. The two of them were now literally right next to each other while Weasley had an entire side of the couch to itself.
The sight of this made Weasley frown for a moment before he resumed his nonchalant demeanor.
Olivia started pouting again. Edward glanced at Erin's face and was confused why Erin's checks were suddenly red again.
As all of this was happening, Ron scrutinized Weasley's appearance before he had an unusually bad prenomination. 'If I'm not mistaken, isn't this the wastrel grandson of the Branch leader here?'
'He doesn't even have an auction master's certificate!' Ron had a frown on his face.