In Muriel's Pleasure District stood the auction house, where money flowed freely during the night.
Jones, the ruler of the district, was overseeing the participants of the upcoming auction.
"The Sword Demon is participating."
"I suspected they would. Considering the nature of the items to be auctioned."
Even though they were insane, they were merely obsessed with their swords, so they wouldn't cause any major trouble. Besides, there was no one among the big shots who dared to challenge the Sword Demon.
One of Jones's subordinates reported further information.
"The next leader candidate of the Cat Tribe, Ya Yingmin, has arrived with his escorts. As for the Deep Sea Dragon, he declined to participate this time, citing prior engagements."
"I see. What about the supposed appearance of Dwalski, who was rumored to join the auction before?"
"They have sent a representative who possesses their unique pattern."
I couldn't figure out why Morne, who hadn't attended any auction unless there was an unexpected corpse, would participate in this one. Frankly, apart from the swords that interested the Sword Demon, the items to be auctioned today were quite ordinary. There wouldn't be any corpses intriguing enough to pique Morne's interest.
Could there be something mixed among the auction items that I'm unaware of?
"I should keep an eye on what Morne's representative is purchasing."
Hiding his true intentions, Jones asked again.
"Any other unusual matters?"
"Someone entered the Pleasure District wearing Bloody Dan's mask."
"Bloody Dan's mask? Understood. Go and find out."
Jones nodded and tapped his finger adorned with flashy rings.
Once his subordinate left, Jones exhaled a long puff of smoke from the cigarette he had been holding in his mouth, scratching his head.
'So, Bloody Dan's mask...'
A dead Bloody Dan was unexpectedly found without wearing his mask in a completely different location. Although there was no certainty that the dead person was Bloody Dan, considering that Dan's last known whereabouts were at the meeting with Fireman, it was a plausible assumption. The disappearance of the mask was suspicious, indicating that the true culprit behind the incident had appeared.
"I should investigate who this person is."
.
.
.
.
The auction house in the Pleasure District was adjacent to a gambling arena.
As I walked along the street, I observed the various shady characters that emitted a dubious aura, befitting the name Pleasure District. There were con artists and swindlers targeting the money of these individuals who lurked around every corner.
'I get to see villains I haven't seen in a while here.'
From the serial killer Michael Hidan to the human hunter Jack Hill and the disemboweling Valan, villains who were usually hard to come across were everywhere in this place.
However, there was no need for me to get involved with them, so I avoided making eye contact and walked straight toward the auction house.
There was no point in getting into unnecessary trouble.
'So, that's it.'
The entrance to the auction house, which operated alongside the gambling arena, was guarded by a gatekeeper. The entrance the gatekeeper was blocking led to the auction house, while the gambling arena had a separate entrance at the back.
I handed the piece of paper with the symbol I cut out from Morne's letter to the gatekeeper.
"Confirmed. Please enter."
The night of flowing money had a completely different vibe from the Golden Banquet. There were no separate VIP rooms, just tables and people dancing here and there, along with bars selling drinks.
'No separate clubs, huh?'
The dim atmosphere reminded me of a club, but with a slightly more decadent feel.
"Oh, are you a guest?"
As soon as I entered the auction house and stood still, a woman approached me with a seductive gaze.
She was not human but a half-elf.
"There's still some time left until the auction starts. Shall we chat during that time?"
Dressed in revealing attire, she tried to engage me with her suggestive words, but I remained silent and nodded.
I didn't wear the mask for no reason. I couldn't afford to show even the slightest opening.
"That's a shame."
With only those words, she moved on to lure another target.
By concealing my identity, I found the faces of the auction participants familiar.
"Hawkshooter Migellan, Ya Yingmin of the Cat Tribe, Cursed Eye Flutman..."
There seemed to be around thirty participants in the auction. Some, like me, concealed their appearances to hide their identities. There was a high probability that they were nobles or at least famous individuals who didn't quite fit in with the Pleasure District.
However, my attention was drawn to a man sitting in a corner of the auction house, emptying his glass.
'Sword Demon Hozan.'
A villain who has reached the verge of becoming an Aura Master.
In terms of strength, he was on par with Payat, whom I fought against last time. He was a notorious killer with an insatiable desire for swords, carrying five swords on his back and three on each side of his waist.
His transformation into a villain was due to his obsession with swords, leading him to commit murder.
'In the game, he would appear when you have a famous sword or a named-grade sword. It was an event for the Sword Fiend.'
The appearance of the Sword Fiend was random. If luck was bad, he could appear within a week of obtaining a named-grade sword, while if luck was good, he might not appear for years or even until the game was cleared.
Of course, that was all from the events in the game. The Sword Fiend wouldn't know the fact that I possessed Galakshur. So it didn't matter.
Hozan was an antagonist who killed people as he pleased, but he was generally calm unless provoked. As long as I didn't start a fight, there shouldn't be any issues.
While waiting for the auction, I heard the cheers coming from the underground arena. Finally, a figure who appeared to be the auctioneer stood on the circular stage.
"You've been waiting for a long time. Shall we proceed with the auction now?"
Two large employees placed the first auction item on the stage in no time.
"The first auction item! This box contains a mutant Keltus. It has two heads and six legs. We'll start the bidding at 20 million!"
Even though I couldn't imagine who would buy such a thing, eventually, someone placed the winning bid.
The existence of mutant monsters seemed to be quite desirable as experimental subjects for wizards, considering how they were being sold.
After that, various items appeared in the auction, ranging from slaves to monster organs and items cursed by unknown forces.
'I just want to buy what's mine.'
As if reading my thoughts, the next item to appear was a booklet that Morne had mentioned.
The description merely stated that it was an encrypted map, and even the organizers seemed unaware of its true nature.
The competition for the booklet was also not intense.
'Not many people are willing to buy a map with no information.'
Those who bid seemed more curious than anything else, but there was no one else competing for it like me, who wanted to win the bid.
In the end, I successfully obtained the booklet at a steady price.
As soon as the bid was settled, I decided to give up on the following auctions and went straight to pay for the item.
'I shouldn't get involved in anything strange by staying here for too long.'
As I turned to leave, the gaze of the auction participants focused on me.
They probably found it peculiar that I had come all the way here just to buy a booklet.
Arriving at the payment area, I handed over the booklet and showed Morne's symbol.
After confirming the magically encoded symbol, the staff member informed me unexpectedly.
"Sir, our master would like to have a brief conversation with you. Could you spare some time?"
The ruler of the night of flowing money was undoubtedly a man named Jones.
As the owner of this place, he was a man of low quality, but ignoring him was difficult.
From what I knew, he had a strong sense of pride.
I wanted to decline internally, but I didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble.
"If it's just for a moment."
"Yes, thank you. Please follow me."
Following him, we ascended the stairs and soon arrived on a lavishly decorated floor.
In the spacious area, there were large tubs made by excavating the floor, and naked women and body-adorned men were present.
Jones, the owner of the auction house, was sitting across from me.
"Thank you for taking the time to meet me. I am Jones, the owner of this place."
"What can I help you with?"
I asked directly about the matter, and Jones furrowed his brow slightly before relaxing. He gestured to the chair on the opposite side.
"Let's sit down and have a conversation first."
Following his suggestion, I took a seat.
However, I was prepared to draw my sword at any moment.
"First of all, thank you for taking the time. I understand that you are here as Morne Dwalski's representative. How is Morne doing?"
"I would prefer not to discuss that."
He seemed to know me as Morne's representative.
Regardless, the more I revealed about Morne's situation, the worse it would be without knowing what he knew.
"Hmm, it's strange that I can't even get that much information."
"If you are going to ask about Morne, I have nothing more to say. May I leave now?"
"You being Morne's representative is quite suspicious, don't you think?"
As Jones finished speaking, his subordinates, who had been hiding around, revealed themselves.
Without fear, I calmly replied, "I don't understand why you're acting like this."
"Well, at least I know you're a suspicious character. That mask you wore, it was Bloody Dan's mask."
"I don't understand the connection between that and the persecution I'm facing now."
"First, take off the mask. Then we can confirm whether you're truly Morne's representative."
It seems like talking won't work.
Why is he being so persistent?
"Please understand my situation as well. If you're not truly Morne's representative, I'll be in trouble too. So, let's take off the mask and confirm it."
If I am Morne's representative, I can use this opportunity to escape. If I'm not Morne's representative, I'll have to fight.
It seemed like a fight was inevitable.
'Underestimated me, huh?'
Based on his attitude, even if I had refused to talk, he might have sent someone to attack me from behind.
Since it had come to this, I thought it was better to carry out a proper show of force.
I slowly stood up from my seat and drew my sword.
"A sword? The representative of Morne with a sword? More suspicious by the minute."
"What's suspicious is your cynical attitude, you bastard."
I immediately swung my sword.
As a result, the two subordinates of Jones standing by his side collapsed, their upper and lower bodies separated.
"Kyaaah!"
The women next to Jones screamed and fled, while Jones himself looked bewildered and shouted, "What are you doing? Kill him quickly! He attacked first!"
"You're talking nonsense after threatening me first."
Blaming me for attacking when he was the one who made me draw my sword.
But if I killed Jones, the situation would spiral out of control, so I decided to attack only his subordinates.
Slash! Thump!
My sword technique could only be used for the first attack.
After that, I had to move my body and fight directly.
Although his subordinates were skilled, I, who had trained under Deschurn, was no longer the same as before.
In an instant, I cut down around ten of Jones' subordinates and caught Jones, who was crawling towards the exit in a panic.
"Hee hee!"
"Don't giggle like that, it doesn't suit your size."
I grabbed Jones while wiping the blood from my sword onto his fancy clothes.
"Why did you cause all this trouble? Aren't you afraid of Morne?"
"I truly didn't know you were Morne's representative. I couldn't trust someone wearing Bloody Dan's mask..."
"That's why I brought this symbol along."
"If we're going to make excuses, then you could have stolen that symbol as well..."
His eyeballs rolled.
He's resorting to lies till the end.
I pretended to slip and grazed his abdomen with the sword.
"Oops, my mistake."
"Ugh!"
"Jones, let's have a proper conversation. If we keep talking, I might make another mistake."
"I-I will tell you the truth. Please, just put away your sword!"
Why is he trying to negotiate with me now?
I almost made another mistake, but then I sensed someone approaching from the stairs and turned to look at the entrance.
'The Sword Demon!'
Why are you here?
Hosan, the Sword Demon, climbed up the stairs and met my gaze before finally reaching the top and surveying the surroundings.
"H-Hosan-nim! Please save me! It's an assassination! I will reward you, so please get rid of this person..."
"You're being too loud."
Swoosh.
Half of Hosan's sword was partially revealed from its sheath, and with a click sound, it disappeared from sight again.
Then, as I was sitting there, Jones's throat was sliced open, and blood gushed out.
Crazy!
In a movement so fast that ordinary people wouldn't even see it, he swiftly retracted his foot and sheathed his sword.
Indeed, he was powerful, and indeed, he was crazy.
Did he kill him just because he was making noise?
No matter how strong Hosan is, it would become quite troublesome.
But I couldn't say anything.
I could only watch Hosan carefully.
Tense moments passed, and Hosan's gaze turned to the sword I was holding.
"That sword... I feel like I've seen it in a book. What's its name?"
This is bad.
Of all things, Hosan has taken an interest in Galakshur.