The next day, I went to the auction house alone.
I told Talia to remain in the room, though she protested a lot. However, as the master I had the final say.
This time I was confident in myself. After all I held riches incomparable to most men.
"Good morning sir" The Secretary greeted me.
She looked shy, did she just start working here?
I noticed the one I met yesterday was not the one at the counter, I guess they must have shifts.
"I would like to purchase a rare and highly valuable item at this Auction House, I heard this is the best in town" I started.
"Y-Yes sir, you didn't hear wrong" She said nervously.
Now I see why she was employed. Her communication skills and confidence were unimpressive, however her cute act of nervousness and shyness was her appeal. At least for men who are into such women, they would obviously be attracted to the auction house more.
"Too bad it's me" I said to myself.
Consider me unimpressed. I even prefered Talia's assertive nature to that of an introvert.
'Now then, I want a membership of this auction house" I demanded.
"Y-Yes sir. What kind would you like? W-We have the basic plan, special plan, deluxe plan and the premium plan available. There is also the royal plan, however, it is not available for most individuals." She stuttered as she spoke.
"This girl is no good" I thought to myself.
The other one was more polite and also recommended the plan that would best suit me based on my appearance. Unlike this waste of space, the other one actually got the job done. Sigh, sometimes one just had to work with what they'd got.
"Then I want the premium plan, I won't settle for anything less than the best you have to offer" I spoke.
Why? Because I'm rich!!!
"S-Sir, that would be fifty million gold coins" She told me, expressing surprise that I would go for such a high plan without the slightest bit of hesitation.
I smiled. I had billions in my account, what was a mere fifty million to me?
"May I have your coin card sir?" She asked, shyly stretching her hands towards me."
Coin card? Oh shit! I totally forgot about the whole payment system.
"About that, do you accept payment other than that of coin cards?" I asked.
"We don't normally do that, since everyone who uses this house possesses a coin card." She said, becoming a bit confused at my question.
"You see, I just recently ran into some bit of trouble and had my coin card taken away. Of course I have your money. I won't be able to use the card for my transactions" I said, making excuses in a dignified manner.
"O-Ok sir, of course there is no rule prohibiting other transactions. But, how are you going to bring an entire fifty million coins for the transaction?" She asked me, getting more confused .
I smirked.
"Root" I called.
My treasure glowed and I commanded it to give me fifty million coins.
"Access coin Tmtreasury. Withdraw fifty million coins" I said.
Immediately, the light glowed and then treasure chests began appearing before me. The chests themselves were of course pure gold, with adornments of various kinds.
"Each chest contains a total of a million gold coins" I told her.
"These are fifty chests, your money in full cash!" I declared.
Her eyes sparkled, and even the attention of the other staff and people around the auction house were drawn by the scene I created. They all marveled at my brilliant splendor.
"Is that a relic?"
"A relic wielder is here?"
"How rare!"
"And he's so young too. And handsome"
"Must be the son of a noble"
"Shhh, he'll hear us"
"Yes, worship me some more" I thought as I basked in their praises.
Looked like I had narcissistic tendencies. Oops.
The secretary moved from behind her counter and opened the chests to confirm the coins stored within them. She brought out a device I had never seen before and stretched it toward the coins.
The device glowed and then the glow grew brighter and brighter until finally it died down. Her face was in shock the whole time. I wonder why?
"S-Sir. There seems to be an issue with your payment." She said, looking down and not making eye contact with me.
I wonder what the matter is now.
"What do you mean?" I said in slight irritation.
"Eeek" She shrieked a bit in fright.
"Well, sir. These coins aren't the currency of the Western Continent. But." She said in nervousness. "Huh." I said, still making a dignified look.
But my mind was in total chaos.
Crap! I'd forgotten again. The world had progressed over 3,000 years since my last time there. My money was worthless. And here I'd thought I was rich!! I was still totally broke!
"I-I see." I said, going flush with embarrassment.
After all my brilliant display, my entire wealth looked nothing more than fake money.
I expected people to boo me or make fun of me, however, their looks of admiration rose even more as they saw the contents of the chest.
"I-Is that what I think it is?" Someone asked.
"The ancient currency?"
"Oi, aren't those entirely rare?"
"Fifty million of them? Who is this man?"
The receptionist began to get flustered and nervous to the point that her voice was drowned by the endless comments and speculations of the crowd.
I was still confused as to what was going on when someone nudged me. It was none other than the secretary I'd seen the day before. What a relief, a sensible person had arrived.
"Sir, I need you to retract these chests immediately and follow me. This place is too public for the transaction we are going to be having." She said with a serious expression, looking around her.
"Ok." I said, returning the chests back to root.
She signaled the other shy secretary to keep her mouth shut and remain by the counter, indicating that she would deal with the situation.
I left with the secretary and she took me to a separate room. There were sofas opposite each other and then a table in between them. Freshly brewed tea was on the table, as well as cookies and fruits of various kinds. Even I could tell, this was a room for the VIPs.
"Tell me what is going on." I demanded as I entered the room.
"I apologize for my discourtesy, the situation was so urgent that I had to take action immediately" She said politely.
Now that was more like it.
"The matter at hand is a very sensitive one. The money you possess is a treasure as rare as relics themselves, and you just brought out a whole fifty million." She said to me seriously.
I was dazed. Sure I did see mentions of the ancient currency and the high demand of it in the memories I took, I didn't think the currency I had in my possession was what was being referred to.
"Yes sir, as it stands now you are at the center of a lot of speculation and suspicion. A stranger with that many ancient money. It is unheard of."
"Is that so?" I asked, crashing to a sofa while she remained standing.
"So tell me for reference, just how valuable is the ancient currency?" I asked her.
"That..." She said, looking flustered a bit.
That piqued my interest, it seemed that things were getting quite interesting.
"That's enough Lorna. I'll take it from here." A voice said as a person emerged from the entrance of the room.
A man in his late thirties smiled at me. He wore a very luxurious and formal outfit, obviously a big shot in the company.
"Who are you?" I asked the man in a hostile tone.
The secretary looked at me with shock, as if surprised by my impudence.
"S-Sir I..." Lorna, the usually confident secretary stuttered, literally melting before this top figure.
The man let out a hearty laugh, as if he was amused by my reaction. The impudence!
"Ah, forgive me for the unsightly laughter. Indeed you must not be from around here. I am the head of this branch of the Imperius Auction Center, Julius Bodenheim at your service." He introduced himself.
"I see. Then you must be the most influential person in this entire building" I said.
"That is correct." He answered me swiftly.
Impressive. This man could be worth my time.
"You may leave." He told the secretary, who appeared flustered anytime she heard his voice.
You disappointed me too, secretary. I guess all of them are the same.
Lorna immediately bowed her head and exited the room quickly like a loyal pet. How unsightly. "Now, let's get down to business." Julius said to me, sitting down opposite me.
"That's my line! I believe I asked a question before you interrupted me" I said, maintaining my domineering demeanor.
"How valuable is the ancient currency, correct?" He said.
I remained quiet, expecting a proper reply.
"It is the most powerful currency in this entire continent, no, this entire world. After the Great Calamity over three thousand years ago, civilization fell along with the valuable money they used. Normally, money used by ancient civilization would be deemed useless since they were obviously less advanced than we are." He explained, pausing to gauge my response.
I remained expressionless, waiting for him to finish his story.
"However, some of the money spent back then were discovered and it turned out that these currencies contained supernatural energy, as though they were relics." He said.
Now this was a surprise. I was certain they didn't have such properties when I was still alive.
"Don't tell me..." The thought suddenly came.
Due to the war, and the leak of energy from the heavenly realm, the currency might've absorbed Aspect properties, granting them special natures. How amazing. The question that remained was whether the coins were the only things of the past which absorbed those special properties.
"I'll have to find out," I told myself.
"Hmmmn, interesting." I said.
"Other than that, the coins themselves have even greater value, as the minerals used to create them have even more purity and a higher concentration of gold than the ones we are using now." He added.
"In order words. These aren't worth fifty million gold in your currency." I concluded.
"That is correct" He told me.
Wow, how did things get so interesting? What to do now?
"If I may say something," Julius beckoned to me.
"What is it?" I asked him.
"Would you like to trade those fifty million gold coins in your possession with us? I promise to give you the bargain of a lifetime."
I smiled.
"Things certainly are getting interesting aren't they?" I mused to myself.
I was so glad I didn't take Talia along.