After sorting out the details with Julius, Elish received his copy of the written agreement and left the auction house. Julius gave him the details of the date and time of the auction, and everything Elish had arranged for would get to him.
According to Julius, Elish would have to wait a few days before everything got sorted out. Fortunately, the auction was the next week, about five days away. His proper credentials would be ready before the date of the auction.
However, since Elish was now affiliated with the Scylla Auction House, there was no way he would return to that small inn that his money could afford at the time he got it. It was time to live decently at least.
Though his coin card wasn't ready yet, a simple letter from the Scylla auction house would be enough to allow him access to the best hotels in Artia.
Elish asked Julius to write a recommendatory letter to the hotel he would be lodging in. While he was doing this, he used one of his many treasures to create a telepathic link between Astra and himself.
"Astra, it's me," Elish transferred his thought to her.
"Oh. What's the matter?" She responded slowly.
Elish could hear her yawning in the background.
He had given her the other part of the treasure he used to communicate with her in case she needed to reach him.
'I guess that wasn't necessary.' His thoughts trailed.
"Meet me at the Tarius Hotel. We'll be spending our nights there from now on," Elish said, deciding not to comment on her sleepy and lazy behavior.
"Whoah? For real? That place is really fancy! Does that mean everything worked out with the auction? Did you get my wings?" She asked excitedly.
"Just get there first. I'll explain the situation when we meet. I must not get there before you," He sternly warned.
There was a short silence on her end before she finally answered.
"Understood."
It looked like she understood her position perfectly.
Despite how expressive Astra was, she didn't lose sight of her relationship with Elish, and she could tell when he meant business.
That was common sense, a trait Elish thought others would do well to have.
"Now then. I'd best be on my way too," Elish told Julius, who already had prepared his letter.
"Have a wonderful day."
********
Elish decided to walk to the hotel and take in the sights of the city.
It wasn't a bad experience overall.
He noticed the presence of many slaves though, and they looked dirty and miserable.
Even men who belonged to the middle class had a slave or two. People who sold in stalls and even merchants who had shops had slaves who did the heavy lifting or served as security.
Of course, these slaves ranged from humans to other species, though humans seemed to be the most common.
Slaves of other races would naturally have been more expensive.
It looked like this town was very tolerant toward slave trading, or rather it was part of business. Elish heard from someone that there was nothing you couldn't find for sale in Artia; you just had to search well enough.
While that was indeed arguable, the morals of trade were loose here, and while Elish knew the world had changed since his death, he was sure not every place was as morally liberal.
"Humans selling their fellow humans as commodities. What a sight," He mused.
Moving on, he eventually got to the hotel and met Astra waiting for him.
"Master, you're here," Astra said to him, bowing her head.
He told her to address him as Master in public, seeing as she resembled an Elf. Besides, his real name, Elish, stood out too much.
According to the legend of the people, he was some sort of Demon God. The one who sought to destroy the world and caused the Great Chaos over a thousand years ago.
Mentioning his name was considered blasphemy and it was both hated and feared. Well, they weren't too wrong about that.
In any case, he needed to create an alternate identity for himself. He had Julius working on it, so in the meantime, that would have to do.
"Yeah, let's go in," Elish said.
The both of them walked to the Hotel, and after showing them the letter, they were immediately ushered in.
Their suite was in an exclusive wing, specially made for VIP guests.
Elish smiled at the luxury of the suite. That was merely the beginning; soon, he would possess more than that. But there was no need to be in a hurry. He could take his time.
He called Astra after they had settled in and told her about the deal he made with Julius.
"Oh, that's a good thing. Right? But what about me? You didn't mention any coin card or membership for me. Am I also sitting this one out? Please let me go with you. I don't want to be alone," she pleaded.
Of course, Elish wasn't planning on leaving her behind.
"You're coming with me. Premium members and above are allowed to bring an additional member into the auction to serve as their aid or company," Elish said to her.
Her eyes gleamed with delight, indicating how happy she was to hear the news.
Normally, it would have been preferable if both of them had their separate membership and coin cards, but it would raise too much attention that way.
Julius was already making an exception for him, doing the same for his servant would definitely not fly.
"It also works out well this way," Elish said to her. All they had to do now was wait for his package to arrive.
Afterwards, they would prepare for the auction.
******
[3 Days Later]
Just as Julius said, the package arrived in three days—both Elish's Royal Membership Card and Special Scylla Account Coin Card.
Looking at the information displayed, everything was in place.
Both cards had affiliations with Scylla, meaning the identity of the owner could be changed and edited by Scylla. Pursuant to Elish's wishes, Julius had created a new identity for him.
"Li Shel. That's my new identity from now on," Elish smiled to himself.
Now then, for further preparations.
Elish gave Astra an identity-concealing ring which made her appear as a human to whoever saw her, unless she gave them permission to see her true form.
That was to avoid unnecessary eyes looking in their direction. Of course, Elish could always see her true form, so it was powerless on him.
He also decided that it was high time they changed their clothing.
Their current clothes were made by Elish using his essence and turning it into clothing. But since it was merely matter woven to form clothes, it was not very durable.
It also had no real benefit or special properties.
Now, with Pandora, he could finally choose from the clothes he had stored there. Not only were they exponentially more durable and even more regal, but they also possessed special features.
"Time for indoor shopping," Elish smiled to Astra, who seemed very excited about this.
*******
After hours of sorting through the clothes and testing them out, though most of the time was taken up by Astra, they finally got their outfits.
Elish wore a black and gold regal attire, with dark shiny shoes and dark gloves. Astra went for a dark red gown, with black leggings and shoes.
She also wore dark-colored gloves and had red ribbons in her hair. These clothes had the special abilities of magic resistance, stain resistance, wear resistance, damage resistance, auto repair feature, and color change feature.
Elish couldn't even recall what pushed him to start designing clothes in the past. He must have been bored out of his mind then, with nothing to do.
With the ring Astra had, preventing her identity from being exposed, and the shapeshifting function of his body, no one would be able to recognize the both of them.
That way, they wouldn't draw too much attention to themselves.
"It's almost time Astra, how do you feel?" Elish asked her.
The look in her eyes told it all.
"I can't wait!"
*******
[Day Of The Auction]
Elish and Astra walked into the Scylla auction house, noticing how there were so many people at the entrance.
However, they didn't need to join them since their membership was of the highest rank.
A personal attendant escorted them to where they would be staying for the auction. Unlike the general hall, which was on the first floor, they were taken to a higher level.
They entered through a special door that led to the same massive hall, except that they were on an upper level.
Elish was able to see the rest of the bidders sitting on their seats downstairs; he could see almost everything from the position in which he sat.
The place Elish and Astra had to themselves was exclusive, a private chamber to be precise. Also, their identities were kept safe; a glass barrier served to protect the open room from any eye.
The other bidders could see their private room from where they sat, but they would not be able to see who was inside.
'And yet I can see them all clearly. Truly, there is no such thing as equality.' He mused.
He looked and also saw the Premium members sitting in a special section. They had more elevated seats than the rest, but were nowhere near where he sat.
The difference between the two memberships was just that vast.
Elish was curious about how he was to bid if anything caught his eye, so he asked their personal attendant and guide.
"Yes sir. When you want to bid for an item, all you have to do is press this button," She said, pointing to a button that was to Elish's right, on a vertical ledge within his arm's reach.
"It will send a light and buzz signal from your room so everyone can see you bid for the goods. Normally, this place is soundproof, however, after pressing the button, everyone will be able to hear whatever goes on in this room, so you'll be able to speak out the amount you're willing to bid," She explained to him.
Elish understood everything perfectly, so he sent her off.
"If you need me for anything else sir, I'm right outside this room," She said, finally leaving them.
Elish smiled at the Auction itself, finding it amusing that despite how many people had turned up for the grand prize, his possession of it had already been determined.
'And none of them know of this. It is truly besetting to be ignorant.'
As Elish had these thoughts, aman suddenly came up to the stage, introducing himself as the person who would be presiding over the auction.
He was short, fat, and also had a mustache. He had a regal suit on, and his clear skin was enough to signify his high-status upbringing.
Elish relaxed in his chair, as did Astra, who was seated to his left. They both braced themselves for what would come next.
"Now then, without further delay…" The man announced with his deep baritone.
"... LET THE AUCTION BEGIN!"
*
*
*
[A/N]
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
You can join the Discord for character arts and interaction with me and other readers.
Link: https://discord.gg/yMPNRURZJh