Sakura walked along with Uehara towards the auction venue. It was still a bit early outside, only about 7:00 in the morning. Employees were preparing to open the shops while some merchants were putting the finishing touches on their stalls. Delivery wagons were getting ready to head outside the city gates to either deliver to the next city or or go back empty-handed to the suppliers and pick up the next load.
There were a few workers shoveling away the horse dung excreted by the horses pulling the carts into the sewage system where water continuously ran to wash it way to the fields.
Uehara watched all of this with an impressed gaze. Although he had a hatred for humans that started even before he reincarnated, he had to admire the meticulousness of the extremely few humans who were actually good. He always appreciated a proper running system.
Seeing the sight in front of him made him think of Dubai.
[I wonder if that place will develop the same way here?]
Arriving at the city lord's mansion, it was normal to say the least. It wasn't grand, just a bit better than a normal house. It was a modest manor that had high walls, about two-and-a-half-metres in height. They were painted a pale grey with the top part painted in maroon red (very dark red).
The manor was also pale grey with the roof being maroon in colour. There was a lot of well-maintained greenery all over that could be seen from the outside. While it looked grand from a commoner's perspective, it was actually really frugal for someone with the status of a city lord. The whole manor barely occupied more than eight-hectares, much less than the steads of nobles and wealthy merchants who occupied dozens of hectares.
Seeing the manor of they city lord, Uehara gave a nod of approval.
"Which family is this city lord from?"
Sakura slowly began to recall. During the three years from 1016 to 1019, she was set on studying more about Japan so that she could rule it in the future. She had gathered information on all the families that reside in Japan, especially the influential ones so that she would know which families she should spare once she becomes the empress of Japan.
Although that ambition has died down and was replaced with hunger for personal strength, the knowledge wasn't lost.
"The current city lord is Tachibana no Jiro, Aoki-sama."
"I see."
As they turned right to head to the auction house, Sakura could no longer hold her curiosity inside her as this was the first time she had witnessed Uehara enquire about a human.
Swallowing her saliva, she hyped herself up.
"Aoki-sama? Why did you ask about the city lord?"
Uehara didn't turn towards her as they continued walking.
"Although I haven't met the city lord, just by seeing how this city is being run gives me a good impression of him. The reason I asked for his name is so that if someone from the Tachibana clan displeases me, I will think twice before ending their lives."
Sakura choked on her saliva when she heard the last part.
[As expected of Aoki-sama. Gaining his recognition gives you three seconds of extra life if you anger him.]
Uehara ignored her coughing. They continued to walk together in silence, their footsteps being drowned out by the hustle and bustle of carts going out the city before the eight-o-clock bell that symbolizes the start of the day for the rest of the populace.
(AN: Japan one-thousand years ago didn't use clocks like ours. Instead, they used water clocks and incense sticks or candles to measure the passage of time but for convenience sake, I will use the modern method of measuring time. Also, the concept of city lords didn't exist during the Heian period. A place would usually be collectively ruled by family's, local shrines and wealthy people and officials.)
Reaching the auction house, it was relatively vacant as the auction would start at ten-o-clock. The auction house was a large two-storey building. Two guards in armour were standing outside holding spears like statues.
With Sakura's beauty and noble attire as well as Uehara's quiet and expressionless gaze, they were treated as noble scions out to experience the world so they weren't stopped by the guards. Entering the building, the interior was huge. There were hundreds of chairs aligned neatly on the first floor as well as balconies that had private rooms on the second floor. The interior was decorated with simple patterns and the dark curtains were still peeled open, allowing in light as well as fresh air.
Seeing everything, Uehara's curiosity increased. The reason why he accepted coming to this auction in the first place was according to the history on Earth, auction houses didn't exist in Japan during the Heian period.
[Auction houses were supposed to come into existence at least a hundred-and-sixty-years from now. But seeing how old the building is and how widely known and accepted auction houses are, they've existed for at least half-a-millennium.]
Going back to the front-desk, they met a pretty young lady who looked to be seventeen-to-nineteen-years old. She had long black hair and black eyes, a gentle face that exuded a noble yet cute charm and a smile that would make a eunuch mourn the loss of their little brother.
As she noticed the two of them walk towards her, she quickly fixed the veil on her face and smiled.
"Hello. How may I help you?"
Sakura didn't answer. Instead, she took out a black card embedded with diamonds and placed it on the counter. On it was written the characters for "Hiroshi". Seeing the card, the receptionist's gaze wavered slightly.
[A custom-made card?! Not even the imperial family was able to get a custom-made card. Just who is she?]
But she quickly recovered.
"Welcome to the Tachibana Auction House, Mistress Hiroshi. My name is Tachibana Aoi. Please follow me as I lead you to your VIP room."
Quickly signaling for another employee to take her place, Aoi led them towards one of the rooms on the balcony.
As she led them, her thoughts began to wonder.
[It'd be understandable if it was part of the great clans like Minamoto, Taira or Fujiwara, but Hiroshi? I've never heard of such a reputable clan. Or is it one of the hidden ancient clans that father told me about? No. You're thinking too much Aoi. Father will tell me when the need arises.]
Entering the room, she bowed.
"The auction will start in three hours. During this time, we will serve you so please ring the bell on the table if you have any requests."
Raising her head, she gave them a friendly smile before closing the door to leave them alone.
The room itself was simple. There was a round table in the middle, enough for four people to sit around it as well as a couch that spanned the entire room, allowing about eight people to sit comfortably while being able to view the auction below.
But what amazed Uehara was near the window overlooking the first floor below was a button that when pressed, would activate a few inscriptions that would darken the window, making it almost impossible for anyone on the first floor to see inside.
There was also another button that would activate a few inscriptions that would release a golden light. He assumed that was for when the people in the room wanted to bid.
While Sakura was calmly sitting on the couch, Uehara was more interested in analysing the inscriptions and comparing them to the surin script he uses.
In the end, he came to a conclusion.
[Too long. What would take one surin script to complete is ten characters for the humans. Truly inefficient. But what's bothering me is that these characters are similar to surin script if you look close enough. Were there possibly demons from surin that came here and then taught humans how to script? I'll have to ask father later.]
After half-an-hour of analysing the inscriptions, Uehara finally backed away from the two buttons and went to sit on the couch.
Laying his head on Sakura's thighs, he spoke.
"Wake me up when it starts."
Sakura, who was originally absent-minded froze up when she felt a weight on her lap. She was still trying to process what was happening when Uehara spoke to her.
Instinctively, she muttered.
"Yes, Aoki-sama."
However, as the seconds trickled by, her face increasingly grew red. When she heard Uehara's breathing grow steady, her lips curved up a bit as she looked at him sleeping so peacefully…on HER thighs.
"Hihihihihihi~"
…
Waking up to his mindscape, he saw that Volkarin was sitting down with his back against the tree. In his hands was a dark black greatsword that he was polishing with great care.
Sensing his son manifest, Volkarin didn't bother standing up. Giving Uehara a glance, he spoke.
"What brings you here this time son?"
Manifesting a scroll parchment, he wrote down the inscription characters that he saw in the auction house.
Walking over to his father, he handed him the parchment.
"Father. Please tell me why these inscription characters look slightly similar to surin script?"