Ryu tagged Ferris's clothes. "That girl . . ." He pointed at the girl with blonde hair and twin curly pigtails. It was the same girl they saw in the smithy shop a while ago.
"What is she doing?" Ryu asked.
"She's betting." Ferris flexed the numbered placard in her hand. "If you want to bet, just raised your card."
"Ha . . ." Ryu wondered what the numbered placard was. He raised his number, and the auctioneer immediately announced his number.
"Four gold bars from number seven!"
Ryu's head snapped at Ferris. "What does it mean?"
Ferris suppressed a laugh. "It means that you had to pay four gold bars at the end of the auction if you win and you'll get the item."
Ryu's forehead creased. "I don't have money."
Ferris snickered behind her fatty hand. "Then you're in big trouble."
Ryu wanted to smack Ferris with the pointy corner of his number card when the girl with golden pigtails raised her number.
"Five gold bars from number twenty-two!"
Ferris slumped on her chair. "Welp. That was disappointing. That girl has just saved you."
Ryu sighed in relief, and he glared at Ferris. Sometimes, she was kind and giving. Sometimes, cruel and nasty. But often, she was mischievous and a prankster.
Ryu even wondered if Ferris have split personalities.
But he thought that if he wanted to traverse in the mortal realm and be with Cecily, he needed money.
"How do I acquire money?" Ryu asked in all seriousness.
Ferris opened one eye while shutting the other. "The legal or illegal way?" she then flashed an evil grin. "The illegal way has more money. Faster too.
Ryu thought for a moment and said, "Both."
Ferris wanted to roll her eyes. But she somehow expected his answer. "The legal way is through hunting beast and monsters. Their mana core, furs, hide, and flesh is sought after. Or you could go hunting criminals for their bounty. Or scavenging for rare items."
"Or . . ." Ferris licked her lips, but in her chubby old bald man form, she only looked perverted and disgusting. "You could away rob some rich nobles."
And become a criminal? Ryu thought that the legal way was much safer, and he bet Cecily would approve that too.
"Ten gold bars!" The girl with pigtail raised her number once more.
"She must really want it," Ryu mumbled when he saw how the girl was fighting for the item with the others.
Her face was flushing red with protruding lips and a ferocious fighting spirit as she jumped from her chair just to raised her number. She must have thought that her height was lacking when she sat and was afraid that the auctioneer wouldn't see her.
"Well, she must belong to some noble family that would go scavenging in the next few days." Ferris arranged herself in her seat. Damn her little fatty legs for not reaching the floor.
The hammer gone once and twice until the Water Resistant Ring was sold to the girl with golden pigtails.
Ryu looked down at the girl with golden pigtails who was sitting a few rows below them. Then he caught a glare from the beastman beside her. The Rank-A beastman that was her servant.
Ryu didn't back away from their contest of glares. Now that he had a good look on the beastman's face. His hair and skin were dark, but his slit eyes were silver.
Did it notice that he was the same guy in the smithy shop? But Ferris said that the shapeshifting talisman could change their appearance and smell. Even their prints.
"Stop challenging him. You'll give away your cover," Ferris hissed, and Ryu made a silent grumble before he took his eyes off from the beastman.
"Though this is rare," Ferris said and held her fatty cheek on her palm, elbow resting on the armrest. "That girl seemed to value that beastman on a personal level from the way she brought him wherever she went. She even talked to him with a smile on her face."
Ryu thought that too. He never sensed hostility between the girl with the golden pigtails and the beastman. It was . . . a nice feeling for once.
"Now for our next item!"
"I hope it's something rare. I'm getting sleepy from all these boring items," grumbled Ferris.
Ryu wasn't sleepy the slightest. He watched with eager eyes as the auctioneer presented a leather bag with multiple pockets.
"Ladies and gentlemen. This is an adventurer's bag made from the high-quality hide of an Horned OX! Its heat and water-resistant. It's the best bag for traveling! Not only that, this bag contains all the essentials you need on your travels."
The beautiful girl in maid costume removed the items in the bag one at a time as the auctioneer introduced the items.
"You'll receive five Antitoxins, five oil flask, five holy water, two bombs, two beast repellants, one bedrock, and one blanket! Starting price is at one Gold bar!"
"Why do you need a bag . . . when you have traveler's ring?" Ryu asked.
"It's not really about the bag but the items. Welp, that should have come in handy when we ventured into the mountain of the dead." Ferris yawned.
Ryu didn't comment. He wanted to forget what happened in the mountain because all he remembered was Valij shredded body, Dorian's betrayal and his dreams that would never come true.
Ryu took a peek at Ferris. Her demon form was terrifying, and she said that she couldn't fully control it once unleashed.
However, he understood. He was also having a hard time controlling his inner beast sometimes.
The auction continued for an hour and a half straight until the auctioneer said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are down to our last item for today!"
On the big screen, a potion appeared with a cork seal. Its transparent crystal glass shone with the lights, and its contents sparkled the purest green.
"I present to you, the Greater Potion! While many of you assume this to be common, you're greatly mistaken! Most health potions in the market are Alchemist knockoffs that heal scarped and bruises but won't do anything to broken bones and severed limbs!"
"This Greater Potion is a masterpiece made by a renowned alchemist, Forge. It's one of his newest creations! It had enough elixir to bring any idiot back from the brink at least five times! Whether broken bones, severed limbs, or from the deadliest poison!"
The hall rumbled with murmurs and uproars. Every eye turned green with greed. It was a rare item indeed!
"Starting price starts at five gold bars!"
"Six!"
"Seven!"
"Eight!"
The price skyrocketed in just under fifteen seconds, and it slowed at the staggering cost of fifteen gold bars.
For most nobles in the Kingdom, fifteen gold bars were already enough to buy a fief that they could govern.
But since the scavenging season would start, fifteen gold bar was within their tolerable price range. When the scavenger season ends, they'd have enough gold bars to spend like a King in the next scavenger season.
But more importantly, they must have enough items to traverse the seas safely for ninety days.
A Greater Potion was an excellent addition to any team!