Alfonso could be seen on the stage.
He was facing the guests.
“I’m glad to announce that I will be doing the honor of hosting you today. Nobles and Merchants, I welcome you to the first auction of the Jade Branch. I hope we will all act civilly and get along. You may know what’s to be auctioned today. If you don’t, you can get a list delivered to you by the servers. So… I will skip the boring part of listing out the categories of items we’ll be auctioning today and start the auction.”
He wasn’t using a mic or a speaker, but his voice reached everyone’s ears. This was only possible for people who could amplify their voice using Aura.
Alfonso snapped his fingers. “Fleur, please bring up the first item to be auctioned.”
Immediately, a young woman pushed a cage on the stage. It was draped in a black cloth, and hence, what it hid couldn’t be seen. Alfonso grabbed it and yanked it away. Two chained-up half-elves were revealed. One was a boy, the other a girl. Their looks were strikingly similar. Their facial features were slightly developed, showing that they had hit puberty.
Alfonso gestured at them, “These two are twins and are equally talented. This is quite a rare find. Both have opened their magic gates and can become mages with a little guidance. Not just that, they also carry the elven bloodline and have been branded the slave mark, meaning they’ll be forced to follow the command of the person who purchases them. Their starting price is 5000 gold coins. Only an increment of more than 500 is acceptable.”.
Slavery was common in the Empire. Furthermore, everyone had read what terrible things these two half-elves did to land in this situation, and hence, they didn’t pity them.
Their family was found colluding with the frantic worshippers of Chaos.
All the adults found to be kissed by Chaos were personally executed by the Northern Duke.
The children were punished into slavery to pay for their parent’s crimes.
Yup, in these times, the debt of a father was repaid by their sons and daughters.
The sound of discussion emerged from the audience.
“The price is too high. No one’s going to pay so much for two cheap spawns of Chaos.”
“You say like they’re already tainted by it.”
“An apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. If their parents and relatives could hug Chaos’s thighs, what’s the chance they won’t?”
“Be aware, caring and providing for them and teaching them magic might be the cause of your downfall.”
Many pairs of scornful and scrutinizing eyes landed on the two half-elves, inspecting them thoroughly.
As they were children of traitors and branded as slaves, no one pitied them.
For the same reason, no one quoted a price to purchase them. After all, who would want to house innocent children of people connected to Chaos? No one!
Roy’s eyes were glued to them.
‘W-what the heck! I’ve had some doubts before, but it turned out to be true. Aydin and Maya, the two major villains of the novel, are just slaves today and are being treated as objects. It’s really like what is said in the list.’
‘The author said they had a sad past and that society forced them to become chaotic, but he didn’t explain their past clearly. He only said that they were miserable and pitiful. They met one tragedy after another until, eventually, they descended into madness and accepted Chaos.’
Roy inspected them.
『Ding! You’ve gained the status screen and character screen of Aydin and Maya.』
Roy checked their backgrounds and found out they currently didn’t have anything to do with Chaos.
Heck, they didn’t even know that their parents, friends, and family had accepted Chaos and become chaotic beings.
The number of tragedies they have faced so far was 1.
A month ago, they were still living happily with their parents. And surprisingly, there was no mention of their parents and relatives being cruel to them. Were they really Chaotic beings? The Chaos-kissed people that Roy knew would even eat their children alive.
Anyway, in a single night, Maya and Aydin’s lives went down a spiral of misery as they lost their parents and home and were distanced from their friends and were reduced to this status.
Roy scratched his chin thoughtfully, ‘Was it this tragedy that made them give in to Chaos? No, it can’t be. If that were the case, they would’ve already become Chaotic beings. They have only faced one tragedy so far. The author said several tragedies pushed them into the abyss. So… They are far from becoming Chaos’s minions. Maybe I can change their future. They would be facing far terrible things in the future. If I help them evade all that, they will not end up as villains. And then… they might even join the fight against Chaos.’
The thought of buying and then killing them to nip the evil in the bud did cross his mind, But he discarded it as they hadn’t committed a crime and were still innocent, and he wanted to insubordinate them. He was well aware of their potential.
The boy was supposed to shatter the empire’s defensive wall and become the unstoppable chaotic spear in the future, and his sister was supposed to be known as the Lunar Maiden after she destroyed a county in cold blood three years later.
But… all that wouldn’t happen if he were to show them kindness and save them from their tragic fate.
This was a heaven-sent opportunity. Roy wasn’t one to let go of free benefits. Thus, he made a plan to transform two major villains into two superheroes.
A lot of work needed to be done for that. It will take time, but if they are treated humanely and shoved on the right path, they’re bound to stray clean from Chaos in the future.
And… if he succeeded in keeping the humanity in them alive, he would earn two capable subordinates.
“Hehehehehe!” Creepy laughter rang in the private box. Four pairs of eyes turned towards its source. It was Roy laughing with his head in his hands.
“Why are you laughing like a devil? Are you on crack?” Arlo questioned.
“No, but I am planning to… crack the future by… playing a game… with fate,” Roy said between laughter.
Arlo: ‘He’s definitely on crack.’