Chapter 213: Auction House (3)
The woman wearing the fox mask sat down, clearly unwilling.
She crossed her legs, folded her arms, and slowly swept her gaze across the room.
When her eyes finally reached the masked man, a low, cold voice flowed from her lips.
“Just what kind of nonsense scheme is this?”
Her voice was as beautiful as Arpentia’s, no less.
However, the aura contained within it carried more than enough force to make the man’s spine chill—no, to the point of being downright eerie.
“Arpentia, why are you sticking to that fellow, and what are you trying to do with him? And what sort of ulterior motive does he have?”
“An ulterior motive? That is quite unfounded.”
The masked man replied gently.
He had his two hands politely clasped together, as if addressing someone he deeply respected.
“I shall dare to answer a question with another question.”
The woman let out a scoffing snort, as though dumbfounded.
“How insolent. Answering a question with a question—do you lack even the most basic common sense?”
“Which is why I said I dare. I ask that you kindly be magnanimous.”
As he spoke, the man spread his hands.
“In this era, if there is a name praised as the greatest hero, what name would that be?”
“…….”
The woman did not answer.
The man continued speaking without the slightest sign of discouragement.
“Yes, indeed. If such a name exists, would it not undoubtedly be the Wolpen Knights? And when the hero among heroes, the sage Arpentia, asks me for a small favor…… I merely thought it only proper to help, if even my meager strength could become of use to him.”
“Hah.”
The fox-masked woman scoffed.
Then, shaking her head, she delivered a brief assessment of him.
“I wondered what sort of man you were—turns out you’re just a madman.”
“If you would instead call me one drunk on romance and conviction, I would be grateful.”
The masked man continued speaking, unfazed by her scathing remark.
“And in truth, there is also something I am curious about regarding you.”
“…….”
“If it would be acceptable, may I ask?”
The woman tapped the table lightly with a finger.
And then she spat out only this.
“……Know your place. Since you are an uninvited guest, I’ll let it slide just this once.”
“Ah, what a pity.”
The man swayed his body in an exaggeratedly sorrowful manner, as though he were genuinely hurt.
The woman merely watched his behavior with an expression of displeasure.
“At the very least, I hope you will forgive me for voicing the doubt I hold in my heart, O noble one, the last remaining of this era.”
Without waiting for an answer, he immediately continued.
“Why are you gathering fragments of the Eight Demon Lords?”
His voice remained gentle and carried respect toward the woman.
Yet the edge of his words was as sharp as a honed blade.
“Thanks to that, I made quite a wasted trip in the underground sewer not long ago……”
“…….”
The woman did not respond.
She simply lifted her chin slightly and looked down at the man.
Go on, say whatever you want.
That was the impression she gave, as if she were saying exactly that.
“I am merely grateful that you have permitted me to speak.”
The man continued, unconcerned by her sharp reaction.
The mask.
The inorganic mask placed on the table was facing the woman, as though it were seeing straight through everything.
“If I may dare to surmise…… it seems you are attempting to restore your own power. In truth, anyone would think as much. What in the world happened for someone like you to lose so much strength? I simply…… cannot understand it.”
As he spoke, the man picked up the teacup set before him.
Then, with a trickling sound, he began pouring the tea over the mask lying on the table.
Along with the rising steam, the tea thoroughly soaked the mask.
“Ordinarily, someone like me would not even have been able to approach you. This is no joke—merely by the breath you exhaled, my life and very existence would have been in jeopardy. There should have been such an overwhelming gap between you and me. And yet now…….”
The man set the empty teacup down with a soft clink.
“……Pardon my rudeness. But now I can even dare to peer at and covet your life.”
His voice as he said this had sunk low.
It was a bizarre voice, like one flowing from a broken music box.
“An unbelievable fall, a miserable decline. And yet, even so, your presence has not changed in the slightest. Just how much did you willingly sacrifice, and for what? A being such as you—why…… for what reason, exactly?”
“Enough.”
The woman cut him off sharply.
“That is none of your concern.”
Her coldly spat words clearly carried the light of a warning.
The man bowed deeply, as though apologizing for the offense.
“Then, that staff……”
Her gaze shifted to the wand standing beside the man.
At the head of the wand, an ominous red gemstone was embedded, glowing faintly.
Yet her eyes were not on the gemstone, but on the faint patterns engraved along the wand’s surface.
“As expected, you recognize it.”
The masked man clapped his hands together a couple of times, like a child.
“……Unfortunately, I was not one of the chosen. So I embedded it into the staff and use it as a substitute.”
As he spoke, he carefully stroked the surface of the staff.
“A few days ago in the underground sewer, I was one step too late and failed to obtain a fragment of the Eight Demon Lords, but fortunately, I was at least able to recover this.”
There was neither regret nor joy in his words.
He was merely conveying a simple fact.
“…….”
Without speaking, the woman lightly tapped the teacup before her with a finger.
The cup trembled faintly, yet her gaze showed not the slightest hint of agitation.
“Did you figure out that method by tracing the fragment you obtained?”
“No, I heard it from someone else.”
“Someone else…… Arpentia?”
“Hmm, one at a time. It is now your turn to answer my question.”
The masked man gently but firmly cut her off.
“Shouldn’t we exchange one question each, fairly?”
“…….”
The woman glanced at him sidelong, without saying a word.
“All right.”
“Thank you for granting permission.”
“In exchange, as the price for your arrogance, I’ll be taking one of your hands.”
The man hesitated for a moment, then extended his left hand.
The woman reached out and grasped his hand, and immediately, white flames surged upward.
“……Kgh?!”
Overwhelming pain made his entire body shudder violently.
He quickly pulled his hand back and let out a small, ragged gasp.
His left hand was already gone, burned away without leaving even a trace.
The woman, who had burned away the man’s left hand without blinking an eye, brushed her hand off and spoke.
“Now speak.”
“……Yes.”
The man nodded.
He glanced once at his now-empty left arm and continued.
“I met a human. And from his body, I was able to see your presence—an exceedingly clear trace.”
“…….”
The man did not miss the subtle stiffening of the woman’s shoulders in that instant.
“……What kind of relationship do you and he share, exactly? Why did a being such as yourself leave such an intense mark on an ordinary human? And with it, a warning so severe…… a warning never to touch him.”
The man’s voice gradually lowered.
His gaze dug into the woman with growing persistence.
“No…… the question was wrong. What does your existence being mostly erased have to do with him, exactly?”
Crash!
The teacup placed before the woman shattered into pieces, scattering fragments in all directions.
“If you wish to hear the answer.”
The woman spoke in a quiet voice.
“Then this time, you’ll have to offer up half your body.”
“……My apologies. I beg your forgiveness.”
The masked man hurriedly lowered his posture and bowed deeply.
It was then.
From far away, a clamorous sound faintly reached them, as though the entire underground space were reverberating.
The moment he heard it, the man began to show far more agitation than when his left hand had been burned away.
“……I’m terribly sorry, but I believe we must end things here for today. If you visit again at a later time, I shall provide the utmost hospitality then.”
At his words, the woman waved her hand dismissively.
“There’s no need.”
She spat coldly, as though she were genuinely offended.
“I’d rather beg on the streets than receive hospitality from the likes of you.”
“Hm…… It seems I’ve earned quite a bit of hatred by speaking too boldly. I ask that you kindly forgive me.”
As he spoke, the man carefully picked up the mask resting on the table.
“And please, let us treat today as though we never met. Arpentia tends to be surprisingly jealous.”
“Arpentia, that one really does have vile taste.”
The woman muttered as if exasperated.
“Surely not that he, of all people, with demons and…….”
“Enough.”
In an instant, the masked man’s voice turned colder than could be imagined.
The excessively polite demeanor—so humble it bordered on servile—that he had maintained until now, even after having his hand burned away, vanished without a trace.
“I don’t mind, but please do not insult that person.”
“…….”
For a moment, a taut tension flowed between the two.
However, the man was the first to step back, letting out a deep sigh.
“……I’m simply courting unilaterally. That person, he…… no.”
He added quietly.
“……She is merely using me. And I am merely being used.”
“Hmph. A half-breed mermaid, and a ragged wretch who doesn’t even know his own place…… they really are a fitting pair.”
The woman let out a low, mocking laugh.
Soon after, as if she had lost all interest, she likewise rose slowly from her seat.
“Well. Whatever you two do has nothing to do with me anyway. I only came to say this much.”
She took one step toward the man.
The man barely endured the pressure that felt as though his body might shatter, and faced her.
“……Don’t touch him.”
Her words were closer to a whisper, yet the threat contained within them was heavier than anything else.
“I don’t know why you suddenly started acting so wildly. I don’t care, and I’m not curious.”
“…….”
“Just one thing. Don’t touch that human. Do you understand?”
The man quietly asked in return.
“……Is he yours?”
The masked man spat it out at the very end, almost provocatively.
It seemed he was still holding onto the fact that she had just called Arpentia a half-breed.
“If that’s the case, then how regrettable. I saw the seed of a hero in him, so I, too, wanted him quite badly.”
“…….”
Instead of answering, the woman fell silent for a moment.
Soon, a faint yet unmistakable scoff leaked from her lips.
“……Now that I think about it, there really was one thing you and I had in common.”
“Yes?”
When the masked man asked in confusion, the woman whispered softly.
“I am.”
“I am courting unilaterally too, just like you.”