Today is the day where the auction is going to happen. My father already put the Jurogumo thread on the auction list. Of course, we ask the auction manager not to tell anybody about our identity, but I know that our identity will be leaked out to the big family. At least they know that the one killing the Jurogumo is our family and not Ryobe-kun. I don't want him involved in the political war between noble families in Japan.
"Welcome to the Lunar Auction House!"
Lunar Auction house. One of the ten biggest Auction houses in Asia. While they don't have more power than a royal family of some country, they still held enough power to destroy a noble family.
Their power is not located in their military but their economic power. They are the ones that hold the main trade in the Asia continent. The Auction house is a place to do an auction and where a new merchant comes and joins their banner.
Basically, an Auction house is like a guild of merchants asking for protection, trade connection, and partnerships.
The merchant under the Lunar Auction House's protection can sell their goods in peace because no thief wants to steal from the merchant protected by the Lunar Auction House. If someone dares to steal from the said merchant, their name and face will be posted in every bounty hunter house and immediately killed.
Only a few well-known thieves dare to steal from the merchant under the ten biggest Auction houses' banner.
"The first item of today's auction is this!"
I snap from my thoughts when I see the item that showed on the stage. The item is a short sword. The sword is around Ninety centimeter long. It has a silver blade and a blue hilt. The end of the sword guard is decorated with ruby stones that shine from time to time. The sword is a double-edged straight sword.
"This sword was created by the descendants of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. This sword is effective against any demon you encounter. Not only that, but this sword also can be bound to you by giving the sword a little bit of your blood. You can make this sword as your heirloom as this sword will only accept the one that has the same blood as you as its master."
Good weapon, but not great. The sword's quality is excellent, but the said weapon's lack of effect makes this sword not so appealing to the big noble house.
However, this weapon is good for the low ranking noble house as this weapon can kill a demon and increase their house prestige.
"The starting price is ten million yen!"
Ten million yen for this sword is rather low, but I know that the price will be increased in the blink of an eye.
True to my word, the price has already spiked up to twenty million yen.
"Twenty-two million… One! Two! Three! Congratulations to participant number fifty-seven! You can take your item in the back room right now, but if you want to stay and see other items, please press the button on your chair as it will alert our staff in the backroom to hold your item!"
I look at the man on chair number fifty-seven, get up from his chair and walk to the back room. It looks like he already accomplished his mission here.
"Now! Into the next item!"
~An Hour Later~
It has been an hour since the Auction began. There are many items already sold, from a weapon to a potion. However, even after an hour, the Jurogumo thread we put in the auction does not yet show up.
"Now! There are only two items left in this auction! Now let's bring the last two items in!"
I look at the servant bringing the last two items on the stage. The one on the left is tall, while the one on the right is wide. I'm guessing that the one on the right is the Thread, while the one on the left is either a magic weapon or magic armor.
"Now, I will open up the first item!"
The man then opened up the one on the right, and true to my prediction, it was the thread that we put on the auction.
"This is a thread coming from a high-level demon, Jorogumo! The thread's quality is high class, as the one that is harvesting the thread knows what they are doing. Not only that! There is no mana fluctuation in the thread, making this thread suitable to create an artifact class armor!"
Hearing the man's explanation, the audience became excited. The reason is that a high-quality Jorogumo thread is a rare item, but when there is no fluctuation in them? The quality becomes even higher.
The fluctuation happens when the people hunting the demon are taking too long to kill the said demon. Usually, a high ranking demon will release their demonic power to the air when they fight. The reason why demons use this tactic is because they want to inflict fear on their enemies. However, if the fight takes too long, the demonic energy will affect anything it touches, making it corrupted. The stone wall will melt, any weapon will be broken down, and even magic will be hard to control.
While the thread is not affected physically, the Mana inside the thread will become chaotic and need to be drained. Not only is it dangerous as it can explode if a tailor makes an armor using the tainted thread, but it will also poison the wearer instead of protecting them.
"Don't worry! We already check if there is a taint in this thread, and the result is clean! This thread is the most high-quality material we got for a long time! Our experts predict that the demon is killed in a span of two to three hours!"
Errrr… The demon is dead within a few seconds. We fight it for fifteen minutes, but if Ryobe-kun fights the Jurogumo, it will only take ten seconds tops.
"This thread weighs a hundred and forty kilograms! The starting price for this thread is two billion yen!"
Eh? A hundred and forty kilograms? I look at my father and say,
"Father, did you take some of the thread?"
"Yes, I take sixty kilos of the thread."
"Why?"
"Because we need it. Don't worry. We will give all the money from this auction to Homura Ryobe instead of taking thirty percent of the money."
"That… is very considerate of you…"
Thirty percent of two billion yen is sixty hundred million yen. That is still a huge amount of money. You can buy a dozen magic weapons with that kind of money. However, the current bid for the thread keeps increasing….
"Two billion nine hundred million!"
"Three billion!"
The price of the thread has already reached three billion yen. Only a few individuals continue to participate in the bid race.
~Fifteen minutes later~
"Congratulations to the VIP member number six! Four billion seven hundred million for the thread!"
More than four billion yen. That is double up my predicted price for the thread.
"Now! The last item for today's auction!"
When the man takes away the cover, I can see a Tachi sword inside the glass.
"This sword name is Kogarasu Maru. That is right! This is the legendary Kogarasu Maru that was created by the Legendary blacksmith Amakuni Yasutsuna! Not only is this sword crafted from the highest quality magical ore, but it also has been enchanted by the royal family Onmyouji! This sword will never be dull, never lose its beauty, and never lose its blessing! This sword also has been enchanted to be able to slice almost anything! Not only that, this sword can burn a demon when its blade touches the skin of the said demon! Lastly! This sword can create a small barrier that protects its user from being detected by Low to Mid-tier demons!"
That is an excellent weapon. That last ability alone can make the weapon reach a one billion price at the minimum and including the rest of the ability? It will be a priceless artifact.
Common -> Uncommon -> Rare -> Unique -> Artifact -> Legendary -> Myth
That is how we measure a piece of equipment that we have. A Unique item can be considered a powerful weapon that can be used against a human or a demon. A Unique weapon can only be considered a Unique weapon if they have three or four effects and how much it can absorb the wielder mana.
The mana the sword absorbs, the more power it will become, as the mana that is transferred by the wielder will enchant the sword effect even further.
"Father, do you want to buy that sword?"
"No… Our family did not need another sword just yet. We already have our clan sword, and we don't need another sword that can be considered an heirloom sword… For now."
I nod at my father's explanation. I know the status of the Akagawa family currently. Our family already has a Unique grade weapon that we can use in case of emergency. So buying this sword is not preferable for now.
"The starting price is Ten Billions Yen!"
I thought so. The price alone can make even a big family consider buying it. However, I know a few families that will try their hardest to buy this weapon.
Murakami and Mochikata family.
The Murakami and Mochikata family is one of the five great families of Japan. They are the family that served the emperor from the Heian Period, and they continue to serve the emperor to this day.
That is why the past emperor gave that five families the title of Five Principal Clan. Each family is allowed to have a holy beast as their family banner. The Murakami family has an Azure Dragon as their symbol, while the Mochikata family has a White Tiger as their symbol.
"Come on, Yuka. We don't have any more business in here."
"Yes, Father!"
Four billion seven hundred million yen…I want to see Ryobe-kun reaction when he knows that he is a billionaire now.