Baranoa was somewhat bored as she followed half a step behind her mother. Looking between the tall, mature woman and the greasy brown-haired man, the young girl couldn't fathom how her mother endured the same interactions time and time again.
The greasy man, the auction house's manager, had been blabbering on and on ever since they arrived. He hovered around her mother, spewing flattering words without any substance, doing everything he could think of to build a good relationship.
Meanwhile, Baranoa's mother kept her polite and professional attitude which she perfected since a young age.
Although Baranoa was supposed to learn from her mom, the mischievous and energetic young girl found it difficult to follow her mother's example.
Just like at this moment when she was supposed to listen to the business talk, but the shallow conversation couldn't catch her interest. Baranoa only paid attention halfheartedly as she scanned the auction hall's guests.
Suddenly the young girl's eyes lit up. She spotted someone close to the hallway. Someone she remembered very well. It was the big brother who saved her from being scolded by her mommy.
With a quick movement Baranoa separated from the group as she joyfully skipped towards Tepo.
The young man was surprised. He didn't expect to see the blond girl ever again, much less here in the auction house. And now she even recognized him and came over.
Rolling his eyes, Tepo turned around and quickly walked away. This girl audaciously scammed him out of his crystals and now she dared to approach him again?!
The warrior would have loved to grab Baranoa and shake her until those crystals fell out of her pockets.
But a gaze at the gorgeous blond woman and two powerful guards accompanying the young girl deterred him immediately. Thus, it was better to just run away.
"Big brother! Where are you going? I wanted to show you my illumination stone. It's really pretty…"
As Baranoa began to talk, Tepo hastily sped up. He even ducked slightly, pretending to be invisible.
Left behind, the young girl sulked for a moment before a smile grazed her lips. Her eyes twinkled. Mischievous ideas formed in her mind.
"Baranoa, sweety. Don't bother the guests here.", reprimanded the blond woman with a regal tone.
Baranoa puckered her lips.
"Yes… mom."
"I apologize to everyone here. You know how children can be."
With a soft face Baranoa's mother addressed the present guests. Respectful answers eachoed among the crowd, not daring to accept the apology, while the young girl trotted back to her mother.
"No need to apologize. Not at all."
"Yes, weren't we all lively once?"
Right, right. You have such a sweet daughter, how could we be angry at her?"
Even the greasy man hastily spoke up:
"Lady Elanoa, there is absolutely no need to apologize. It is the young man's honor that your precious daughter calls him big brother. In fact, if you wish so I can bring him back so he can apologize to your daughter for running away."
"Thank you, but there is no need to do so."
Luckily Tepo didn't know anything about the commotion. After getting away the young man reached the auction venue.
He arrived in a slightly bigger room with a small stage at the front. Since the auction was bi-weekly and only for invited guest, no big audience was expected.
Thus, only a few dozen seats were placed in rows on the floor. They were made from smooth dark wood, with comfortable red cushions.
The room was decorated in good taste with many plants giving the room a natural feeling.
Tepo looked left and right observing the few guests who were already seated.
Suddenly the young man's body stiffened. His face almost slipped but he controlled it at the last second. His eyes were focused on a person in the first row before he quickly directed his attention elsewhere.
Who would've thought that Tondka would be here today. This b*stard! Look how he sits there and laughs together with some other pretentious hypocrites! Oh how I wish I could mop the floor with him right now.
Tepo forcefully suppressed all emotions as he kept a polite smile on his face. He quickly went towards the last row, putting as much distance as possible between himself and Tondka.
Keeping a low profile Tepo politely nodded at those around him before sitting down and waiting for the auction to start.
Over the next few minutes, the room slowly filled up. The last to arrive was a young woman in an airy white dress. Her long, curly black hair hung towards her chest, almost covering the auction house's sign there.
The woman closed the door right on time as she made her way onto the stage.
"Welcome everyone!", opened the auctioneer in a warm and friendly way.
"I assume every one of you, our precious invited guests, already knows what to expect from our auction. I implore you to bid fairly and hope everyone finds what they need."
Immediately a few calm greetings sounded out. The mood was rather informal, showing that these bi-weekly auctions were a normal event for a certain circle of people.
Without much delay the auctioneer immediately announced the first item. A door opened on the stage and a young man brought in a glass container with a colorful flower growing within.
"Everyone. As today's first item I present to you a stalk of Unarzis! This flower is not only gorgeous, it is also a rather rare material for many pill recipes. We don't often see an Unarzis in our Floating Rain City.
I know all of you have decerning eyes. You know the worth of this precious flower. So please, ladies and gentlemen, start your bids."
As soon as the auctioneer stopped talking, multiple people rose their hands. The price quickly jumped upwards.
"Fifty crystals."
"Sixty!"
"One hundred!"
In the blink of an eye the bid reached 666 crystals.
Tepo watched the commotion in surprise. He had learned about Unarzis. In his opinion this plant couldn't really be called rare.
Although it didn't grow in the Carrying Winds World, it was almost a common weed in some other worlds. The Web also offered the flower for the negligible price of thirty contribution points.
Looking at the fiercely bidding people in the room, Tepo could only sigh. This was simply supply and demand at play here. A common flower could achieve such a price in the Floating Rain City.
An idea even came to Tepo's mind. What if he redeemed many common materials from the Web and sold them elsewhere at high prices.
For a second Tepo could already see a mountain of force crystals falling into his hands, but he quickly remembered what he had to go through in the second dungeon to get his hands on a thousand contribution points. Suddenly those points appeared way more precious than any force crystals.
Tepo chuckled to himself as the bid ended at seven hundred crystals. A man garbed in a fine robe stood up and went to the stage to pay before directly putting the Unarzis away.
Subsequently the auction continued. Tepo was somewhat disappointed as he watched many materials being auctioned off which he didn't hold in high regard.
Thus, the young man could only wait for half an hour until the Shuàr brain was finally brought in.
A young man arrived, carrying a cylindrical glass container. It contained a yellow liquid, with a tiny brain swimming within. The auctioneer quickly presented this new item.
"Precious guests, the next item is something you requested often. As always, we have spared no effort to procure the brain of a Blue Striped Shuár. I'm sure everyone of you knows what this rare ingredient is used for.
Thus, without further ado, please place your bids!"
Many hands rose, including Tepo's. The young man frowned faintly as he noticed the high number of competitors. He was prepared for a fierce battle.
"One hundred."
"One hundred and twenty!"
"One hundred and fifty!"
The bids quickly rose. Tepo almost wasn't able to keep up, deciding to wait with his bids until more people dropped out of the race.
With every shout the warrior's mouth twitched lightly. Soon, the bids approached…
"… four hundred and fifty!"
Abruptly Tepo narrowed his eyes, focusing on Tondka who suddenly started bidding.
With the rising price the excitement gradually died down. Tondka increased again, ending at four hundred and seventy.
I guess it's time for me to chime in…
"Four hundred and eighty-five!"
Suddenly Tondka turned around. He eyed Tepo. Although he was cursing inwardly the talented youth only nodded politely.
Tepo let out a faint sigh. Although he knew that his mask was almost perfect, a slight doubt always existed when confronted with people he had known for years.
But so far only mother had been able to see through my disguise.
Thinking about the gentle woman, Tepo had a light smile on his face. But his good mood was quickly disrupted as Tondka increased the bid again.
"Four hundred and ninety-five!"