Chapter 219: Auction House (9)
Time passed, and before I knew it, the day the auction would be held was drawing near.
In the meantime, I had finished preparing a few things in my own way, just in case.
Truthfully, calling it preparation didn’t amount to anything all that impressive.
First of all, as was only natural, the very first thing that came to mind was money.
Since the destination was an Auction House, I thought I would inevitably need money—no, an enormous sum of it…….
But there was no way I had that kind of money on hand right now.
And borrowing from someone else was just as awkward of a situation.
‘Brother Artiac definitely said…….’
If I ever found myself short on money, he told me to talk to my eldest brother, Quirian, who ran a Merchant Group.
He even said that help would be given without complaint.
But that was, no matter how you looked at it, limited to matters related to my studies.
If I said I needed an astronomical sum of money—not even for my studies, but to participate in an auction—then even Artiac would obviously frown and ask if I’d lost my mind.
Thinking that far, I let out a small laugh.
‘Well…… it wasn’t something I was going to solve with money in the first place, so it didn’t really matter anyway.’
Thinking that to myself, I nodded.
In fact, Valen Zeisho had openly told me that even if he had more than enough money on hand, he had absolutely no intention of resolving this matter with money.
From his perspective, wasn’t this essentially the same as grave-robbing the remains of a spouse whose funeral had already been held long ago, then shamelessly putting them up for auction as merchandise?
From my point of view, it was nothing short of astonishing that he was maintaining such composure instead of rampaging and declaring he would kill everyone involved on the spot.
Perhaps that was why.
Even though I had heard him say several times that he would use force and take it by strength, I had no intention whatsoever of stopping him.
“…….”
The story had veered off for a moment, but in truth, I had originally intended to ask Windy May to accompany me during this process.
However, she refused, saying she still needed to immerse herself in her research on the Iron Needle, and in the end, I had no choice but to ask other people instead.
‘……He’ll definitely show up.’
The reason was none other than what Lot had said—that Valen Zeisho’s remains would be put up for auction.
Of course, it was highly likely that this was either an intentional lie spread by the organizers or a distorted rumor.
The fact that the item up for auction was said to be the remains of a High Elf.
Coupled with the fact that Valen Zeisho’s official record ended after all the wars concluded and he went into seclusion, it was probably an exaggerated story born from a careless mix of facts.
It might even have been nothing more than an unfounded rumor that Lot failed to properly filter.
Still, as long as such rumors were circulating, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the man without a head would appear.
‘No.’
I was convinced that he would definitely show up at the Auction House.
After all, he had been sincere to the point of causing that much chaos just to raid the Sanctum of the Wolpen Knights over matters related to them.
There was no way he would stay still after hearing that Valen Zeisho’s remains were being auctioned.
If it was him, he would surely appear at the Auction House.
‘More importantly…….’
At the same time, I had been feeling uneasy about the fact that, although only two short days had passed, the other party had remained completely quiet.
‘If I were him.’
If I were in his position, I would have stolen the item before the auction even opened, or caused an incident while the auction was in full swing.
But judging by his words and actions during the short time I’d experienced him…….
‘He liked attention, and he moved as if every action carried meaning, like a play…… in a way, he had a childish, clown-like side to him.’
In that case, wasn’t it highly likely that he would appear when the auction reached its climax?
I cautiously made that prediction.
At the very least, I firmly believed that such a flat and absurd conclusion as ‘turns out it had already been stolen long ago’ would not happen.
‘Even if he appears just as expected, that’s a problem in itself…….’
Could we really subdue him?
To be honest, although the legendary Valen Zeisho himself was sitting right next to me, I didn’t think he would unconditionally help me if an emergency situation arose.
That was why I had asked Deiare, Shagas, Yuran,
and Yeriel for help and was heading to the Auction House together with them.
‘……It would’ve been nice if Ms. Amaruah could have come along too.’
But protecting Menoruka was her priority, and more than anything, she didn’t seem eager to leave the Library at all, so I had no choice but to give up.
‘When I passed along the Countess—no, Mother’s greetings, she looked extremely pleased.’
As I silently let these thoughts drift by…….
“Security is a bit excessive.”
The one who suddenly spoke was Valen Zeisho, who had been sitting with his eyes closed until then.
“Ha ha…….”
I gave an awkward smile without saying anything.
It seemed he had noticed the others moving alongside the carriage.
“However, it doesn’t violate our agreement, so it’s not something I have any right to complain about.”
Muttering that, Valen Zeisho suddenly asked me something.
“But may I ask you one thing?”
“Yes. By all means.”
“To be honest, just relaying the news about this matter to me could already be considered the end of our contract.”
After a brief pause, Valen Zeisho continued.
“That was my condition from the start. Yet you went further and handed me an invitation that allowed entry, and even volunteered to accompany me.”
As he spoke, he looked at me as if he were inwardly worried.
“Why go so far as to invite trouble upon yourself just to follow me? What would you do if you got caught up in something unnecessarily?”
“First of all…….”
In response to his question, I answered calmly.
“I was told that since it was imprinted on me from the moment I received the invitation, I had to attend no matter what.”
In reality, Cecilia and Allen had also wanted to accompany us, but unfortunately, the Auction House Entry Tag was only valid for exactly two people.
Thus, it was naturally decided that only Valen Zeisho and I would go inside.
I shrugged and added,
“Of course, as you said, I could have just informed you and pretended not to know anything, but wouldn’t it be better for both of us to choose the more comfortable option, if possible?”
And then…….
Trailing off slightly, I quietly muttered,
“For some reason, I had a feeling that I absolutely had to be there with you.”
“……I see.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…….”
Valen Zeisho let out a low, indiscernible hum and quietly nodded.
Then, all of a sudden, he moved his arms exaggeratedly and coughed as if displeased.
“……Ahem. More importantly, this kind of attire is quite unfamiliar to me.”
Valen Zeisho was wearing the formal uniform that Yeriel had lent him.
His quietly muttering face was filled with an awkwardness and discomfort that he couldn’t possibly hide.
“I ran around trying to avoid even the victory parade because I hated putting things like this on my body, yet here I am.”
“Ha ha…….”
“And now a carriage, on top of that.”
“If we tried to walk in a situation like this, it really wouldn’t be an ordinary ordeal.”
“Well, I suppose…….”
Because of the awkward atmosphere, Valen Zeisho, who had been grumbling for no real reason, gradually fell silent and turned his gaze outside.
Outside the carriage, the streets were still noisy due to the Departure Festival, overflowing with countless people.
All around the streets, colorful flags fluttered, and the sound of lively music echoed without pause.
“The Departure Festival, huh. It brings back memories.”
Valen Zeisho, who had been staring out the window, suddenly spoke.
“……But more than that, why on earth would they choose to hold an auction at a time like this?”
His absentminded murmur carried a sense of incomprehension.
“Maybe they’re trying to deceive people’s eyes. You know the saying—if you want to hide a tree, hide it in the forest.”
“Hm. Now that you put it that way, that does make sense.”
At my answer, Valen Zeisho quietly nodded, looking convinced.
“…….”
After staring outside for quite some time, Valen Zeisho suddenly closed his eyes as if he wanted to rest.
It seemed he was unsettled in more ways than one.
“…….”
Respecting his intention, I quietly kept my mouth shut.
How much time had passed like that?
Before long, with a creaking sound, the carriage carefully came to a stop.
When we got down from the carriage, we found ourselves in front of an ordinary restaurant—neither cheap nor particularly luxurious.
“Thank you for coming. Do you happen to have a reservation?”
As soon as we stepped inside, a staff member approached and asked.
“Yes.”
I nodded and showed the invitation I had received from Lot.
The staff member nodded as if accustomed to this and began guiding us.
“I’ve confirmed it. This way, please, the two of you.”
The place we were led to was a moderately sized room located deeper inside the restaurant.
After saying that we should wait just a moment, the staff member closed the door and left.
Click.
Not long after the door closed, a small mechanical sound echoed.
Soon after, a section of one wall began to open soundlessly.
What was revealed as the wall opened was a staircase leading downward.
“Shall we go down?”
“That would be best.”
As we descended the stairs, Valen Zeisho and I were soon met with a space far more vast and splendid than we had imagined.
“Huh.”
Valen Zeisho, who had been walking silently behind me, let out a small exclamation as if dumbfounded.
“This isn’t the kind of scale you could pile together in just a day or two.”
“Indeed.”
I nodded in agreement at his murmur.
Since it was a secret auction held under the table to trade forbidden items, I had imagined a cramped and gloomy place…….
‘It’s more extravagant than most nobles’ mansions.’
Just then, someone approached and bowed politely toward us.
“Excuse me.”
Instead of replying, I held up the invitation, and he smoothly began guiding the two of us further inside.
The interior was deeper and wider than expected.
And as I followed him and looked around, it seemed there were other hidden entrances scattered here and there, not just the restaurant we had passed through earlier.
“……It seems the Imperial Family is tacitly allowing this.”
I muttered quietly, just loud enough for Valen Zeisho to hear.
“There’s no way something of this scale could be carried out secretly in the middle of the capital while deceiving the Imperial Family’s eyes.”
“Yes, you really do understand things well.”
That was when it happened.
A familiar voice reached my ears.
At that voice, I unconsciously turned my head in its direction.
“Are you doing well?”
There stood Velita, her face hidden behind a gorgeous fan, smiling at me with her eyes.
“I can’t bring myself to say names here, so would it be alright if I called you ‘sir’? I’d appreciate it if you called me ‘lady’ instead.”
“…….”
Velita said so with an easygoing smile.
But I couldn’t give her any response at all.
It wasn’t just because this was an entirely unexpected meeting, in an entirely unexpected place.
It was because Velita—
the Second Imperial Princess of this empire,
a woman who could be said to stand higher than anyone else in this country—
had cheeks that were flushed red.
As if she had been struck with full force by someone.