"This is most certainly the result of a timequake. Monsters from the past have
come forth into our present," Granny Tokie said, confirming that the monsters
had slipped through time. It was just as I'd suspected from the start.
"You're the goddess of Space-Time, right? Can't you send them back to their
own eras or something?"
"I certainly could in theory, but... I am sure you know, young Touya, that the
divine such as I are forbidden from interfering in mortal affairs. Free use of my
abilities in a direct capacity could have unknowable consequences. Well...there
are some loopholes, I suppose, but I'd rather not go through them if I can
feasibly avoid it."
You can, but you won't? Dang it... I guess you're higher on the totem pole than
I am. It's fine for me to do some stuff, but she's probably way stronger than me.
"I would also rather conserve my power so I can send your children back
when the time is right. If I use it now, and then become unable to use it for your
family, I imagine your present and future selves would be rather upset."
Ugh... She's got a point. That'd really suck.
"Timequakes are natural phenomena as well, so there is little need for me to
interfere with them. I'm sure they've even happened on the Earth that you hail
from, even."
"Hmm, now that you mention it..."
I've definitely heard stories of people slipping through time back on Earth.
There was the Moberly-Jourdain incident, where two teachers visiting the
Palace of Versailles claimed to have slipped through time and briefly
experienced events from over a hundred years before their births. Then, there
was also the story of a man who was walking around New York in a daze before
being hit by a car and killed...and they found items on him that suggested he
had actually traveled forward in time from the 1800s somehow. Plus, there
were also plenty of people on the internet who claimed that they were time
travelers from the future. I didn't know how much of that was actually true,
however. Earth didn't have magic, after all. Though, if timequakes were natural
phenomena that could happen anyway, perhaps some of those stories were
actually rooted in reality...
At this point, I'm just confused as to why we've had two timequake incidents
so close to each other.
"The timequake tremors should die down over time, so you needn't worry. I
doubt we'll have any fixed points from this either."
"Fixed points? What are those?"
"It's a permanent connection between two points in time. You might call it a
time tunnel, I suppose. It would allow free travel from either direction. Of
course, that would jumble up past, present, and future... It would create
something of a mess. The only way to fix that would be through my own power,
but to use my power would mean breaking the rules and interfering with the
mortal realm... Something of a conundrum, to be sure. Typically, the solution
would be to deploy the god of destruction."
Wait, so the world would just get wrecked? I've heard the trope about worlds
getting destroyed or rewritten in time travel fiction, but who'd have thought it
was true...
"You needn't worry, though. It won't come to that. I am the goddess of SpaceTime for a reason, after all. That said, I'm not entirely comfortable with the
circumstances as they are..."
"Are you talking about the wicked devout?"
"Indeed. Even dregs such as them have divine power, so I do hope they don't
do anything ridiculous... After all, Touya...you've been recognized as a god
properly now... If they were to fully revive a wicked god upon the soil of this
world, well..."
Wait... Right! I wouldn't be able to interfere, would I?! That'd be against the
rules! I guess I could fight it without my divinity, but I don't know if I'd be able to
kill it that way... Oh damn, that totally sucks. But wait, wicked gods sprout up all
over the place, don't they? If gods can't ordinarily interfere to defeat them,
then...
"The typical method of dealing with such foes is to grant divine artifacts or
tools to an appointed human hero. If that fails, the god of destruction does his
job."
Okay, that's not so bad, then. Yeah, it'll be fine. I can just make a powerful
enough weapon and give it to some hero in this world or something to fight in
my stead. Easy.
"Can I choose Yumina or any beneficiaries of my divinity to be the heroes?"
"You cannot. Those who benefit from your divinity are as kin to the divine
themselves. Like angels."
Seriously? Well, I guess my wives are definitely angels... I knew that from the
start.
But still, that meant I needed to choose some mortal or mortals to act as
heroes in my stead... Moroha probably couldn't be a hero, even if she was in a
mortal body... Her status as a god probably excluded her from it.
But then, who exactly could defeat a wicked god? Oh, wait, I know! Ende! He's
got those divine twinblades, right? If I help him out, it'll be fine.
"At any rate, there may be some minor aftereffects from the timequakes. I'll
ensure the time spirits work extra hard to prevent any potential damage."
"Got it. Best of luck."
There was nothing I could really do, so I just left it in Granny Tokie's hands. I
thanked her, then promptly ended the call.
Fam looked up from the book she was engrossed in and asked, "Done with
your call?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Looks like it fell through time after all. Actually, are monsters
all that different now compared to back when you were born?"
"Oh, yes. There are definitely more nowadays. When the ancient civilization
thrived, warding technology was deployed fairly regularly within its territory.
Thus, monsters and magical beasts were relegated to the frontier lands. And as
a result, only the mightiest of beasts tended to survive. So while there are more
monsters nowadays, they're largely weaker."
Huh... The Marchosias and the Ipos were definitely red-rank monsters, but I
guess it wasn't just random luck? Were all the monsters back then roughly that
strong?
I'd already told the guild to tell me if any strong monsters showed up, but not
every country had a guild branch. The Kingdom of Curelia wasn't part of the
alliance, for example, and their port town was lost as a result. We probably
needed to expand our global information network to be safe.
"Indeed. You should work harder to interact more closely with all the nations
of the world. That's your main mission, master. Focus on it."
"...Any reason you're so keen to get me moving?"
"Hm? Why wouldn't I be? More countries mean more books for my library!
It's the noblest pursuit of all!"
Oh... I guess it's true that I haven't brought a lot of books here lately. Fam's
pretty voracious when it comes to reading materials, so she's probably been
getting agitated.
Fam always talked about her role in the library as some official business, but I
knew in her heart of hearts that she was just an obsessive bookworm. Her
reasons might've been dressed up in noble talks of media preservation, but she
was definitely driven by selfish motivation.
"All right, relax. I'll get you some new books later."
"Bring me literature from some of those newfound nations. I want to see how
writing changes from country to country."
Newfound ones, huh...? Hmm, I guess I've never seen any books from Lassei or
Gandhilis. Alternatively, I could go buy some books from countries I've never
really set foot in. Curelia aside, I still haven't made contact with the Rephan
Kingdom or the Kingdom of Langeais.
That was largely because I tended to wait until I was officially referred to
them by other world leaders, though. My official relationship with the nations
on the western continent was still somewhat shaky, since I didn't have a lot of
contacts there. Plus, there was that weird rumor going around that I was the
one who'd destroyed Isengard.
I shrugged and sighed, certain that I'd eventually make more royal contacts.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Father! Father! Father! Faaaaaaaaaaaather!"
"Bwaugh!"
Once I returned to the castle from Babylon, I was immediately met with a side
tackle from Frei. Seriously, I'd barely made it one step into the hallway before
she'd catapulted herself into my side like I was a quarterback.
"Ghaaagh..."
"Father! Listen! Father! King Felsen is hosting an auction for armor that once
belonged to the legendary champion Dahmuel! But money! We don't have
enough money!"
"Calm down... I don't know what you're saying..."
Frei started babbling about something or other, but I was far too dazed and
confused from the tackle to even begin to process what she was going on
about. And so, I applied some restoration magic to my aching back, slowly rose
to my feet, and tried my best to calm Frei down.
After she'd settled, she explained to me that there was an auction to be held
in Felsen. And among the items for sale, there was a set of armor once worn by
some legendary hero named Dahmuel.
King Felsen, knowing of Frei's interest in such things, sent her an email about
it. Frankly, I'd have been a lot happier if he hadn't said anything...
"So what, you want that armor?"
"I do, yes! In the future, Dahmuel's armor is missing! I've never even seen it
before! I've only heard stories!"
...It's missing in the future? Does the person who wins the auction lose it, or
something? I know if King Felsen won it, he'd probably just put it in his royal
collection...and you couldn't pull a heist on that vault easily, so does that mean
King Felsen isn't gonna bid on it?
"King Felsen said he won't be bidding on it, no. Apparently, he doesn't have
very much pocket money this month."
...Damn, he's got a personal allowance? His wife must be reining him in.
I could understand his apprehension, though. It wouldn't have been good if
public money was used for the king's personal collection. Hobby purchases like
that were best made with money the king saved up personally.
"Dahmuel's armor needs to be preserved! Preserved for the future, I say!"
Frei exclaimed, her eyes ablaze with desire. Though she spoke nobly about
armor preservation, I could tell her desires were driven by selfish needs.
"Sure, I don't have a problem with you bidding on it...but with what money,
exactly?"
"That's precisely why I'm here, father! Take me out Dragon slaying! We can
kill another Fiendrake and make money!"
"Huh, you wanna go out again?"
It certainly made sense, at least. If Frei wanted money, that was the best
option. But honestly, I wasn't sure about letting her use all that reward cash just
for an auction... And unfortunately, I couldn't just loan her the money, since
Hilde would definitely have a problem with that.
"Come on, father! Just tell me where the nearest Fiendrake is! Or furthest! I
can have Yoshino or Yakumo send me!"
"Hrm..."
I guess you could just go there with either of those two thanks to [Gate] or
[Teleport], huh?
"If you get Hilde's permission, then..."
"I'm on it!" Frei roared as she dashed off, a huge grin on her face. She
certainly needed to learn a thing or two about calming down...
A few minutes later, she triumphantly returned. Apparently, Hilde had given
her consent. Yakumo and Linne came with her.
"I would like to test my blade against the Fiendrakes of this era."
"Yeah, and this time I wanna kill one without breaking it into pieces!"
"Hey, hold on! You two are just coming for support! I need most of the
money, okay?!"
Apparently, Frei had already decided she was getting the lion's share of the
reward. She sure was greedy. Though honestly, I couldn't blame her if she was
on a tight deadline. The auction was approaching, after all.
I was a little exasperated, but she'd gotten permission...so I simply shrugged
and started looking up the location of the nearest Fiendrake.
◇ ◇ ◇
Frei and the others ended up killing the Fiendrake and selling its body to the
guild for quite the tidy sum. We quickly ran into another issue, however. The
auction in Felsen was not open for minors to participate in. That wasn't too
surprising, but it was still a pain.
"Oh, my bad... I forgot about that," King Felsen apologized over the phone. He
was so single-minded when it came to his hobbies that he'd probably forgotten
he was texting a literal child.
Still, it wasn't the end of the world. We could just get an adult to bid at Frei's
proxy. And, as you might have guessed, that duty fell to me. As for the reason...
"Because I know you'll win the bid, father! I believe in you!" Frei exclaimed
excitedly, beaming over at me all the while, causing a rosy flush to rise to my
cheeks.
Gosh... With expectations like those, I can't afford to lose...
"Do not be deceived by her wiles, Touya. She's likely thinking that if the
bidding goes beyond her budget, you'll step in and cover the difference. Isn't
that right, Frei?"
"N-N-N-Not at all!"
Hilde's comment caused Frei to stiffen up and shift her eyes from side to side.
...Yeah. Guess that makes sense.
"Listen, Frei. This is money that you earned. I won't tell you how to spend it,
but I must ask that you don't use it to cause trouble for people around you.
Understood?"
"Okay..."
"It's a promise, then. Break that promise and I'll have Touya take away all
your weapons."
"O-Okay! It's a promise!"
Frei, trying to hide the panic in her eyes, brought her hand up to salute her
mother. Hilde sure had controlling Frei down to an art. I was impressed.
With that out of the way, I activated [Gate] and took Frei to Felsen's capital
city. The auction was to be held at the museum in the city, and it wouldn't be
long until things kicked off.
I checked the location on my smartphone, and the museum was only a short
walk away. I walked over toward it with Frei, who seemed in high spirits. It
wasn't long before she was skipping and humming to herself.
"Hey, don't get too excited, okay? It's still an auction, so you might not win
that armor."
I didn't want her building her hopes up too high, since it'd be sadder if they
got dashed. I didn't want to bring her mood down or anything either, but she
needed to keep the possibility of losing at the back of her mind. Apparently,
King Felsen had secured enough funding to bid personally too...so he'd be one
to watch out for.
"It's all right! I don't think many people will care about Dahmuel's armor. The
only other person I know who really wants it is King Felsen, so if we have more
money than him, we'll win!"
"Huh? Not many people care about it? Why?"
"Dahmuel's armor is cursed. If you wear it, you'll be in for a world of pain, so
it's not a super popular treasure!"
"Why would you want that?!"
Cursed armor?! You didn't think to mention that sooner?!
Frei noticed my panic and quickly moved to elaborate.
"It's fine, really. It's not a bad curse or anything! I think it's Pain Heal or Life
Conversion, so it's just minor! Don't worry!"
...Pain Heal? Isn't that the curse that doubles the power of recovery magic, but
causes massive pain when it's cast on you? And Life Conversion's a curse that
amplifies your magic power in exchange for years of your life span, right? That's
kind of a crazy power... Wait, how can you call those things minor?! That's
pretty intense! What was this Dahmuel trying to do, exactly? Become a Dark
Knight or something?
"What kinda guy was this Dahmuel, anyway?"
"They called him the self-sacrificing hero..."
...Self-sacrificing? Something tells me the guy was probably just a weird
masochist. Less of a champion and more of a pervert.
"...Frei, you're not gonna equip the armor, are you? I don't wanna bid on it if
you're planning on that."
"I don't want to wear it. I just want to add it to my collection. Besides,
Dahmuel was over two meters tall. King Felsen could wear his armor, but it
wouldn't fit me."
That was reassuring... If that was the case, then it'd be fine to let her have it.
Or would it? Would it really be fine? It was still a cursed item...
I quietly struggled with my personal hang-ups about the armor until we
arrived at Felsen's Capital Museum. It was an ornate white building with
sublime architectural design. The museum was home to many powerful magical
artifacts from Felsen's distant past.
Though it was called a museum, it was somewhat different from the ones
back on Earth. For starters, it wasn't commonly open to the public. It was more
of an exhibition hall for the nobility, so really it was closer to a state-funded
artifact storage facility rather than an open place anyone could come to look
through.
While the venue was owned by the state, the auction itself was sponsored by
Felsen's primary financial guild, the Magicraft Commissary. That was why King
Felsen couldn't just butt in and secure any of the goods for himself. It was an
independent operation.
I handed over my invitation to the nearest security guard before proceeding
inside the building. A great number of people had already gathered. I could tell
from their extravagant, gaudy outfits that most of the people here were either
wealthy nobles or rich merchants.
"You should've brought a crown or something fancy to wear, father."
"...Yeah, like I'd be caught dead in something like that."
I had no interest in wearing a crown in private, let alone in public. Hell,
Brunhild didn't even have an official crown to begin with. We were smaller than
Belfast and Regulus, so it would have felt way out of place to wear something
that formal.
I headed over to the desk and completed my auction registration. Then, I was
given directions to the seat that had been reserved for us. It was a pretty good
spot... King Felsen had been generous with us, clearly.
I was given an auction calling card, as well as a catalog that listed everything
we'd be able to bid on. There were no photographs, of course, but every listing
had an illustration accompanying it.
I flipped through the catalog until I found the armor Frei wanted.
...Of course. Of course it's the armor covered in spikes with skulls on the
shoulders and spooky eyeballs carved into the chest. Why wouldn't it be that
one?
"Wow! It looks even cooler than I thought!"
"Not the word I'd have used..."
Frei let out an excited giggle as she gazed at the illustration. I simply shook my
head, completely unaware of where my daughter's poor aesthetic sense had
come from.
◇ ◇ ◇
The Felsen Museum had a large hall set aside for the auction. I was somewhat
surprised to see that a great number of guests had already arrived and taken
their seats.
...Is everyone here to bid on stuff? They all look pretty rich.
"Uhhh... Our seat's over...where, exactly?"
Frei tugged at my sleeve after I said that.
Oh, is it over there?
"Father, King Felsen's here."
"Huh?"
I glanced over to where Frei was pointing, only to see King Felsen himself
waving at us. Or at least, it was probably King Felsen. He was wearing a domino
mask on his face, presumably to keep his identity concealed. I wanted to go and
say hello, but he was a good distance away and I didn't want to risk outing his
identity. As such, I just gave him a small nod and decided I'd go and see him
after the auction was over. I still needed to find my seat, after all. Didn't want to
still be standing when the auction began.
I looked around and saw that King Felsen wasn't the only one wearing a mask;
there were a bunch of nobles with various facial coverings. It was possible that
they didn't want to be recognized in the event they won...or perhaps they
wanted to spend money without their spouses finding out...
After a small while spent fumbling around, we eventually found my seat. It
was a pretty good spot, not too far from the front of the stage. Both Frei and I
had a great view of the items from that spot. Before I sat down, I picked up my
paddle. It had a number on it corresponding to my seat. I checked, and
apparently, all you had to do was raise your paddle to indicate your bid. It was
basically the same way auctions worked back on Earth.
I sat down, Frei sat next to me, and I started thumbing through the auction
catalog. Apparently, this auction wasn't just for weapons and armor, but also
rare art and antiques.
I glanced over the items, but I didn't really see anything I was interested in.
The catalog had images and descriptions of the goods, but nothing indicated
what the bids started at, or what they could go up to. From what I understood,
the sellers usually set a minimum amount that had to be reached or the item
wouldn't sell.
"Do you really want this thing?"
I looked over the listing for Dahmuel's armor again, a small frown on my face.
It looked totally distasteful, to the point that simply staring at it immediately
gave you the impression that it was cursed. Plus, it was actually cursed!
"I guess I can remove the curse, at least..."
"Absolutely not, father! If you break the curse, it won't be nearly as valuable!
I wouldn't want you to change a thing about it!"
"Ugh..."
I didn't understand my daughter at all. Why was she happier about it being
cursed? I didn't get it. However, at the same time, she was my daughter... I
wanted to make her happy, so I just decided to suck it up.
I passed the catalog to Frei, and she lit up after looking through a couple of
the pages.
"Whoa! Matlack's dagger?! Hnnnh! I want that too... But money... My
money... I... Nooo!"
Why're you giving me that look? I mean, I know why...but gimme a break
here.
"...If it's not too expensive, we can get it, maybe."
"I love you!"
Hilde's gonna kick me into the sun. Dammit... Why am I such a pushover when
it comes to my daughters? They're playing me like a damn fiddle...
I groaned, but my attention was suddenly captured by the presence of the
auctioneer as he walked onto the stage.
The first thing that came out was some kind of vase. Apparently, it was some
three-thousand-year-old work of art. The auctioneer explained that it once
belonged to the king of some dead nation and that a war was fought over it that
led to said nation's death. I thought it was kind of cool that the item had a story
to go with it, but wondered who would want something so grim. My question
was quickly answered by a flurry of excited hands that shot into the air. I was
clearly out of my depth. I didn't understand these people at all.
The bidding only intensified after that, with various interesting items coming
up for sale. You could only use gold coins to raise your bid for this auction, so in
Earth terms that was something akin to raising your bid by at least a hundred
thousand yen each time. It made sense, though. If we were going with silver
coins, the bids would probably drag on forever, and with everyone getting
caught in the heat of the moment, it guaranteed a nice payout for the sellers.
Some of the items ended up selling for insane amounts, though...which led
me to wonder if any of these people understood that they were spending real
money... I could understand being invested in a hobby, but not if it drained your
wallet to this degree. There was enthusiasm, and then there was obsession.
These frenzied bidders barely seemed human to me.
"Father! Matlack's dagger is next! You've gotta bid on it! Do it!"
...My daughter barely seems human right now too.
Anxiety began to set in as the next item was brought into the hall. It was
basically just a dagger. There was a slit running through the middle that split the
blade into a left and right side. It kind of looked more like a two-pronged fork
than a dagger. The kind of thing you'd use to jab at a bowl of fruit, essentially.
Matlack's dagger, huh...? Well, okay.
The auctioneer cleared his throat before speaking into his loudspeaker-like
artifact to say, "Many of us know of the mercenary nation, Catan. It once
flourished under the guidance of its mighty king...and the great General Matlack
who served as that king's intrepid right arm. The dagger we have today is
believed to have been a gift from Matlack to his son. The pronged blade is
composed of mithril, while the decorative parts are orichalcum. Even after a
thousand years, you can see it still retains its beautiful luster. Shall we start the
bidding?"
"A hundred coins!"
Bwah?! A hundred gold coins?! Ten million yen for a fruit fork?! Are you
crazy?!
I was stunned into silence right out of the gate, and that was just the opening
bid.
Seriously? For that thing? I could make one myself...
"A hundred and ten!"
"A hundred twenty!"
"A hundred twenty-five!"
Eep! It's going up?! Is it that popular?!
"Father! The paddle! Hurry!"
"But it's already higher than what I was gonna bid..."
"It's Matlack's dagger, father! A hundred coins is more than reasonable! If you
don't bid, we'll lose it at a bargain price!"
...Really? I can't say I know much about this kind of thing, but if Frei's saying it,
then maybe it's true... I guess the money Frei got for killing the Fiendrake was
more than this, so maybe this isn't actually that much money at all.
"Uhm, okay... A hundred and thirt—"
"A hundred and thirty-five!"
Before I could even finish speaking, another bidder beat me from across the
room. He was a chubby aristocrat with a shit-eating grin on his face.
Gah... Do I back down or...
"A hundred and forty!"
"A hundred and fifty!"
"A hundred and sixty!"
"A-A hundred and sixty-five!"
"A hundred and seventy!"
"A hundred and seventy...two!"
The tubby aristocrat was clearly running out of steam. He was probably close
to his budget. The contest was just between me and him now, as everyone else
had dropped out. That was why I decided to make a decisive call.
"Two hundred coins!"
"Ah...!"
The fat man didn't raise his paddle again. He just sat in his chair, pouting.
I did it... I bought it. No, I didn't just buy it... I won it!
"Sold! The item goes to the fine gentleman in seat sixty-five for the price of
two hundred coins!"
The sound of the auctioneer's hammer thwapping down reverberated
through the hall.
"I did it! I won the item!"
...Oh crap. I got carried away, didn't I? Dammit! I bought it for twice the
opening bid!
Frei was ecstatic, but I knew Hilde would have words to say to me about this...
Just picturing her scary, forced smile was enough to give me the shivers.
I sat back down, then started wondering why King Felsen hadn't placed a bid
on the dagger. Wasn't he supposed to be a weapon maniac like Frei?
"King Felsen doesn't care for weapons that haven't seen actual combat.
Matlack's dagger wasn't ever actually used by Matlack, so he doesn't value it."
Oh yeah, the auctioneer said something like that. Matlack gave it as a gift to
his son or whatever. Well, I guess that's lucky for us. I might've ended up
spending more if the king was in the running.
Whatever the case, I had spent twenty million yen on a single dagger. That
was no small sum. My daughter had me wrapped around her little finger, and
there wasn't anything I could say to deny that.
Still, she can earn more than that on her own if she puts in a little effort... It's
not like she's wasting her allowance, so it's not that bad... Hmm, maybe I just
became a little less human. I can feel the fiscal responsibility flowing out of my
body... I get it... I get it now.
The auctions continued, and I found myself thinking about how potentially
lucrative these things could be... I almost felt dirty as I considered setting up
one of my own.
Between my [Storage] and the Babylon storehouse, I had a ton of junk
materials and magical tools I never used. I realized if I put them on the auction
circuit, I could make some crazy cash. There had to be people out there who
wanted those things, right? Wasn't it a waste to just have them sitting around
unused by me?
Hmm, maybe I can sell them to the other world leaders at our next summit
meeting...
"Next item, folks. An artificial spellstone crafted in the ancient days of the
magic kingdom. No stone of this size has ever been seen anywhere else in the
world! I'm sad to say that its magical power has been almost completely
drained, but it still holds considerable value as a collector's piece and a rare
gem!"
When the auctioneer finished speaking, the attendants brought in a massive
red crystal the size of a balance ball.
That's an artificial spellstone from some ancient kingdom or whatever?
Spellstones can store and amplify magic, right? I guess they saw a lot of use as
power sources in the past. But natural ones were hard to find back then, and
they're even harder still to come across nowadays. That's why artificial ones
ended up getting created. They're not as good as natural ones, though. They can
only contain the magic power they were created with, so there's no refueling
them. In other words, they're disposable batteries.
That made this item pretty useless to me. Even if it was an ancient remnant, it
didn't mean much if it was drained. Plus, Doc Babylon had already made a
breakthrough with spellstone production. She'd created several that could be
recharged, and they were used in the Babylon tower, and as a general power
source in the other Babylon facilities.
The doc's improved artificial spellstones were something similar to a Gollem's
G-Cube. They took in magic from the surrounding atmosphere, amplified it
internally, and used it to empower themselves. Phrasium was somewhat similar
too. If I had to guess, the spellstone I was looking at now was probably used in
some huge factory or facility. It was drained, so it had no application as a power
source, but it sure was pretty.
"Let's start the bidding!"
"One thousand seven hundred!"
Bwugh?! You're going in at a hundred and seventy million yen to start?! It's
just a big stone! You can't do anything with it! I'm sure it has historical value,
but...
To my horror and surprise, a furious bidding war began over the spellstone. It
was definitely valuable as a rare gem, and it was massive...but was it really
worth this much? From my perspective, it was just a big, glass orb. But, well, I
had to defer to the experts here. Clearly, they saw something more in this thing
than I did. Perhaps its rarity made it worth such an absurd starting bid?
"One thousand eight hundred and fifty!"
"One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five!"
"Two thousand."
Shock and awe rippled through the crowd. I turned to see a noble in a blue
mask. He was quite a way back in the hallway, but his paddle was raised high
into the air and his manner was surprisingly calm.
...Two thousand gold coins? That's extreme. Way too extreme. That's over two
hundred million yen.
"Two thousand...one hundred!"
A gaudy merchant with a prominent overbite raised his own paddle,
outbidding the blue-masked man. The crowd was kicked up into a frenzy by this
sudden turn. The merchant, apparently enjoying the attention, soaked in the
cheers. Or at least he did, until...
"Three thousand," the masked noble said, putting in another absurd bid, his
voice calm as ever. The bucktoothed merchant scowled and groaned before
tossing his paddle to the floor in a rage.
"Sold! The item goes to the magnanimous gentleman in seat ninety-eight for
the price of three thousand coins!" The wooden hammer came down once
more, sealing the deal.
...Three thousand gold coins. Three hundred million yen... That's the highest
bid I've seen today.
I shuddered to think how high the bidding might've gone if the stone still had
any juice left in it.
I guess I've heard about equally absurd prices for jewels back on Earth, so
maybe that's just how it is? People are always gonna spend money...
"I can't believe he'd spend so much on something so ridiculous..."
"We should see if they're selling any mirrors so you can look into it."
Frei's words could've been just as easily applied to herself.
I looked over and saw the blue-masked noble leaving the hall with his
attendants. Apparently, he was only here for the stone. Then again, he'd
probably wiped out his savings on that big purchase. Or at least, part of me
hoped he had. The bucktoothed merchant left as well. He'd presumably come
here only for that stone as well.
The auction continued after that, but there was nothing that prompted me to
bid. There was a set of five necklaces that might've been nice for my wives, but
the set was short about four of them. I couldn't just buy five.
"And now, the final item! The legendary armor worn by the ancient
champion, Dahmuel! It is a cursed cuirass that eats at your body while granting
you great power!"
A terrifying bluish-black armor was carted into the hall. It was, presumably,
Dahmuel's armor. Honestly, it looked even creepier up close.
Why's this the centerpiece, exactly? It's pretty eye-catching, I guess... It also
has literal eyes on it... I really don't know if I wanna bid on this thing. Ugh!
"Father! We can't lose to King Felsen!"
"If we lose, we lose. I'm using your funds, okay? I'm not going over."
The money Frei got from her hunt wasn't infinite. If the bidding went over
that amount, there wasn't anything I could do. There was a chance I would win
it in one fell swoop if I just bid high right off the bat, but it was probably smarter
to try going up in smaller increments.
"Let the bidding commence!"
"Five hundred!"
What?! Fifty million yen already? That's a lot...
"Five hundred and ten!"
Oh, someone went up by ten already.
I glanced over to see who the second bidder was...and sure enough...King
Felsen was there with a raised paddle.
So he's going with the small increment plan too, huh? Not that this amount of
money is small, exactly.
"Five hundred and twenty!"
"Five hundred and thirty!"
Oh? I thought it'd just be a bidding war between a few enthusiasts, but it
looks like the crowd's getting pretty excited about it. This might be a problem...
"Father! You have to join the running!"
"All right, I'll go...five hundred and forty!"
I'll raise my bid in increments of ten. Frei has eight royal coins, which is
equivalent to around eight hundred gold coins. Hopefully, we won't have to go
that high, though...
"Six hundred!"
Another man in the hall suddenly raised the bid by a ton.
Dammit, don't do that! You'll start a chain reaction!
"Six hundred and thirty!"
"Six hundred and seventy!"
Dammit! Noooo!
The bidding was quickly turning insane, with all the bidders doing their best to
flex how much they could bid.
"Seven hundred and fifty!"
Just as I began to hesitate, King Felsen stepped in with another outrageous
bid.
Wait, won't the prime minister tell you off for bidding that much?!
The sudden jump caused some stragglers to peter off, thinning the
competition.
Wait...I need to bid too or I'll be out.
"Seven hundred and sixty!"
Okay! Another ten added! If we stay under eight hundred, I can still win this! It
might be okay!
"Seven hundred and seventy!"
Hngh! King Felsen added another ten? He's probably getting close to his limit
too... Let's see if I can defeat him, then...
"Eight hundred!"
"Hngh... Gah..."
King Felsen looked at me with a shocked look that seemed to say, "Seriously?"
And then, with a resolute swoosh of his arm, he raised his paddle once more.
"Eight hundred and fifty!"
Shit. He's bested me...
King Felsen adopted a smug grin and shot it my way.
That bastard...
I glanced over at Frei and slowly shook my head. We were at our limit. I
could've added more, but we'd bought the dagger...and I knew Hilde would
definitely kill me if I pushed it any further than that.
With that, I set my paddle down in defeat.
"Sold! The item goes to the fine gentleman in seat twenty-five for the price of
eight hundred and fifty coins!"
The wooden hammer came slamming down. King Felsen's expression
suddenly shifted to a stiff smile as his victory was confirmed.
Don't tell me...
He suddenly started to nervously chat to his entourage, and part of me
wondered if he didn't have enough money. He was still a world leader, so he'd
definitely be able to pay...but I had a feeling he'd gone over budget. That
might've been my fault, but he was the one who decided to outbid me.
"Waaah... I shouldn't have asked for Matlack's dagger..." Frei exclaimed,
letting out a pitiful groan.
She was right. If it wasn't for that dagger, we probably could've beaten King
Felsen for the armor. Judging by the guy's pale expression, he'd hit his absolute
limit with that final bid. Still, that was his problem now. And hey, at least we'd
won one nice thing.
With the auction over, the guests filed out of the hall. It was time for the
winners to exchange their money for the goods they'd won.
We stood up and went off to pick up the dagger.
◇ ◇ ◇
Three men walked out of the auction, carrying the item they'd won. Their
prize was contained within a large box that was half the size of an average man.
It was being hoisted and carried by the largest of the trio, a lumbering giant
who stood roughly two meters tall.
"Did you really pay thirty royal coins for this thing? Why not just attack the
hall and steal it? Are you nuts?" the youngest of the three, a gray-haired boy,
asked, complaining to the slit-eyed man he was standing next to. His face had
been concealed by a domino mask up until that exact moment, but suddenly,
his appalled expression was on full display.
"What if we attacked this place and the item was damaged, hm? And this is
Felsen, the magic kingdom! It would be poor form for us to attack without
scouting out what possible magical security systems or artifacts they have in
place. It made more sense to obtain this the legitimate way," the brown-haired,
narrow-eyed man replied, letting out a sigh in response to his companion's
short fuse. He didn't have the patience for the youth's hot-blooded nature.
"Besides, there was quite the threat here tonight."
The grand duke of Brunhild, Mochizuki Touya himself, had been present. He
was the inheritor of an ancient legacy, a mediator between nations, a great
hero to the world...and a natural enemy of the wicked devout.
The narrow-eyed man, Indigo, was quietly relieved that things had gone off
without a hitch. If his identity had been unveiled and he'd been forced to fight,
he wouldn't have been able to obtain the artificial spellstone he required. Why,
he'd have probably had to retreat. And if that had happened, then Scarlet
would've never let him hear the end of it and his plan would've been ruined.
"He didn't look that strong to me. Right, Hazel? He looked like a weakling."
"You... You want me...chop meat?"
"No. No chopping right now, Hazel. Just hold the box. Don't drop it, okay?"
"Ohkaaay," Hazel mumbled as he clutched the heavy crate tight.
The three of them were just heading into an alley so they could warp away
when a group of men suddenly appeared to confront them. Indigo raised a
brow, recognizing one of them. It was the bucktoothed merchant, flanked by
some bulky men armed with weapons.
The merchant pursed his lips before sneering and pointing at Hazel.
"Hand over the box, ya big lug. We can do this the easy way...or the hard
way."
Before they could even respond, the trio realized that there were more men
behind them. They were surrounded on either side of the alley.
"What's the deal here?"
"I imagine they want to murder us and take the spellstone. It's a fairly
simplistic idea, but the kind you only expect from a lowlife. It won't do any good
to explain that this isn't actually an artificial spellstone," the narrow-eyed man
said, casually explaining the situation to the gray-haired boy.
In response, the boy cheerily took the spear hanging at his waist and
brandished it. Before the merchant or his men could even blink, the little spear
had extended into a long metallic-purple weapon.
"That means we can kill them, right? Self-defense applies here, I'd say!"
"...Want me cut...meat?"
"You just keep a firm hold on the box. We need to keep that thing safe. Let
Orchid take out this trash."
The bucktoothed merchant scowled, apparently not amused by the
indifference the three men were showing.
"Get them! Get the stone!"
The burly men closed in on the trio...but in only a few seconds, all their
weapons went soaring through the air. The spear-wielding boy had disarmed
them with a single slash of his weapon...and then that spear drove itself deep
into one of the men's chests. As he died, his mind was still processing the pain.
"What?!"
"Hwah?!"
"One down," the boy cheerily mumbled to himself before leaping off the dead
man toward his companions. The alley was soon illuminated by numerous
flashes of purple light. Several men were brutally butchered that night in the back alleys of Felsen's capital.