The black market auction was more interesting than I thought. The first thing to come out was a strange axe. It was said to be obtained from Dark Moon, a place where vampires were located. I hadn"t thought this place still existed. The people below me started to pick up their number paddles.
It was then that AIdan spoke to me, "Are you interested in weapons?”
He wanted me to be interested for some reason but he pointed out the wrong item. I rarely used weapons. In fact, I already had weapons to use. They were the Shadow Dagger and the Fork Spoon. For me, these two were enough.
“I"m not interested.”
“Hrmm. Too bad.”
-Now it is 10 coins. Does anyone want to bid 11 coins? No more? Then it is sold.
The axe was won for 10 coins. It was around $1 million? It was a huge price. The second auction followed. This time, it was armor that boasted a pretty cool design. No, it seemed to be a full set, not just one armor. I grabbed a pair of the gla.s.ses with magnification magic to look at the item information. I could see the armor"s information window straight away.
[Armor of Tireless Faith]
[Rating: Heroic
Durability: 400/400 Defense 189
Fitness +30, Agility +30
-Leggings of Tireless Faith.
-Gauntlets of Tireless Faith.
-Insignia of Tireless Faith.
-Helm of Tireless Faith.
Armor worn by Orca"s hero, Brunhilde, who had tireless faith.
In his lifetime, he was able to freely wield his sword with the pride of a knight.
It has faded due to its age but the dwarves who found his body in a cave repaired it and it was born again.
+This is an item with a set effect.
-All stats will increase by +30 when all four set items are collected.
-Special skill when wearing all the set: Knight"s Pride can be used.
-Dwarf"s Blessing: There is a higher chance that "Super Armor" is triggered when hit.]
“Hoh.” I sighed softly with admiration. It was better than I had expected. I hadn"t seen any other equipment comparable to this armor. Where did this come from? It was great.
“Oh, are you interested this time?”
It was a low murmur but he heard it. Aidan"s eyes were greasy with greed but I deliberately pretended not to be interested. I was feeling burdened since he had been staring at me from the beginning.
“Well, somewhat. Huhu.”
“Groan. Indeed.”
Aidan frowned and turned his head back to the stage. I smiled slightly and focused on the auction again.
-This is something a thief stole from a dwarf"s treasure trove. Originally, these illegal goods can"t be auctioned off but aren"t we the black market?
People laughed at her words. The young woman seemed familiar with this type of auction. Aidan spoke from next to me, “Her name is Lanya. She adds "Madam" in front and is called Madam Lanya. She is working as an auctioneer here in the black market and she is pretty famous for her beauty.”
“I see.”
“A lot of men want her. I was the same. However, you will get a big injury if you look down on her. She is a th.o.r.n.y rose. Huhu.”
What did he want me to do? I was already old. Of course, this woman was beautiful but that was it. I was a one woman person. I would meet my wife in this life and in the next life.
-Let"s start the auction. It will start with 20 coins. If you want to bid then please raise the number paddle.
People on the first floor started to raise their number paddles. There was a number paddle next to me so I tried raising it. Aidan"s antic.i.p.ation could be felt from the side. We made eye contact.
“......”
“......”
Then I put down the number paddle again. The wrinkles on Aidan"s forehead deepened.
* * *
As a result, I never picked up the number paddle in the four auctions. Of course, there were a few decent temptations but I was able to withstand it. One of the most enticing things was the "Blood-stained Invitation." It was a formal invitation to Dark Moon, the vampire estate, and it was said to have been issued by the newly inaugurated vampire queen. Those who had it could purchase items in the vampire territory without being attacked.
After all, 500 years had pa.s.sed and Dark Moon seemed to have developed a lot. Originally, it was a mosquito sucking human blood in the dark. I wanted to go once but it was regrettable. The invitation was sold for a huge 80 coins. It wasn"t like I was going abroad. It was too expensive. I didn"t know if it was worth it. In any case, I would be a guest there later but an uninvited one. They were hiding some pretty good stuff in the warehouse.
-After a 10 minute break, the last auction will start.
There was a lot of noise once Madam Lanya"s broadcast was heard.
Aidan sitting next to me asked, “Are you hungry? I"ll order a dessert for you if you like.”
Dessert. It was an enticing suggestion. I had been too focused and was craving something sweet. “How much is dessert?”
“Huhu. It is cheap. Only 5 coins.”
What bulls.h.i.+t is it calling that cheap?
“I"ll be fine.”
“Is it really okay?”
“...Yes.”
“Hmm, if you want.”
Aidan shrugged and beckoned to one of the soldiers. The soldier nodded, seemingly familiar with this, and disappeared somewhere. After a while, he came back with a hearty cheesecake. Aidan gracefully picked up the fork and placed the cheesecake in his mouth. It was so delicious that his eyes trembled.
“Um, sure enough, Milang"s cheesecake is the best.”
Milang? If it was that Milang...
“You really don"t want some? This is my favorite dessert these days. It was created by that restaurant"s chef. It is very delicious.”
I gulped while watching Aidan eating the cheesecake. I would love to try it. For some reason, it felt like it would melt when I placed it in my mouth. What would be the taste of the food made by the 1st ranked chef.
“I will accept 1 coin for one bite. I"ll give you a fork.”
...This was really sickening.
I couldn"t believe he was doing this to food. 1 coin for one bite...
$100,000 wasn"t worth it.
“...Cough. No thanks.”
“Really?”
“I"m on a diet.”
“Diet? What does that mean?”
“I"m losing weight.”
“Ah~ I see. Then I"ll eat without hesitation.”
Another piece went into Aidan"s mouth. His puffed up cheeks made me feel even more annoyed. This f.u.c.king guy. I would surely stab the fork spoon in him. Just then, there was the sound of the microphone echoing.
-We"ll finally start the long-awaited final auction. All guests, please be seated.
The people started sitting down. Come to think of it, there were microphones in this world. Perhaps it was one of the mechanical items imported from the Parta Princ.i.p.ality as Joseph had mentioned. Nowadays, convenient mechanical objects were said to be popular in Fortren. It was a perfect fit for Fortren"s n.o.bles who weren"t good at magic or combat. In any case, it was as Joseph said. Parta Princ.i.p.ality"s mechanical civilization was gradually spreading its influence. It was possible because Fortren wasn"t a part of the Orca Kingdom but an independent country.
-It is finally the last auction. I think that many people have come to see this.
Aidan spoke at the same time as Lanya, “It seems that the auction for the blazing heart will finally begin.”
He wore the gla.s.ses and looked down at the stage with a look of antic.i.p.ation. I also turned my head that way. Finally, Lanya brought the item to the center. I wore the magnification gla.s.ses and looked at them. It really was the heart. It was a new feeling to see the loot I struggled to obtain being auctioned at the auction house like this.
What should I say? It was like meeting a friend after a long time. It was hard to describe but in any case, it felt like this.
“I"m looking forward to seeing how much it will sell for. Isn"t that right?"
I nodded at Aidan"s question. The greed-filled eyes had dimmed a bit. It was because during the four auctions, I never once lifted the number paddle so he had given up.
[Chwik. It is the heart of that d.a.m.n cow. It will be very chewy.]
"Do you have nothing besides eating in your head?"
There were only three reasons why Mudur spoke these days. First was when a fight broke out. Second was when he was hungry. Third was when food appeared. This guy must be speaking to me for the third reason.
[Grruk. I need to eat a lot to become strong.]
"How funny. There is no need to become stronger. Tsk."
[Why not? I"m training by pulling out cherry trees in front of the house and swinging it around right now.]
This crazy guy was starting again. A few days ago, he said he wanted to destroy the building of the Star Coffee House. I barely managed to stop him using food. For reference, he wasn"t a constellation so I had to eat it myself. Fortunately, I was able to fill his stomach even if I ate a small amount. This was a small blessing in the misfortune.
[Grruk. In any case, I want to eat that, old man.]
"Shut up. Go to sleep."
[Eat!!!!]
"Sleep."
[Eaaaaaaaat!!!!!!]
I was going to become deaf. s.h.i.+t. The auction was just beginning. I could see that it started at 50 coins.
-56 coins! 57 coins! 58 coins!
The number of coins kept rising. The starting price was 50 coins but it went up in an instant. Still, it was worth it. Of course, there was a downside.
“Oh, it"s going up quickly. Kukuk.”
Aidan was snickering in a silly manner next to me. I didn"t know what was so good.
[Eaaaaaaaat!!!!!!]
"Shut up, this guy! Your spirit is too fierce!"
[Eat!!!!]
Ah, how could I appease this b.a.s.t.a.r.d? I had no choice but to put something in my mouth when he was whining like this. This didn"t mean I could eat that heart. It was at this moment...
-...1-100 coins! 100 coins have come out!
“Haha. This is the biggest bid today.”
At Aidan"s words, I calculated it in my head. If it was 100 coins, then it was $10 million. The money I currently held was $70 million. It was a huge 700 coins. I could buy it but was it worth it just to feed Mudur? Wait. I didn"t have to feed Mudur? A good idea came to mind and I smiled. Then I turned my head toward Aidan. “I want to bid.”
“Oh! Good. I"ll help you.”
He laughed like it was exciting. He gestured slightly and called to the waiting staff.
Aidan asked, “How many coins would you like to bid?”
“I"ll do it lightly at 110 coins.”
The staff member started to speak into the walkie talkie he was holding. A short time later, a broadcast rang out.
-Uh... A guest in the VIP room has made a bid. 110 coins.
[Huhu. Old man, did you finally succ.u.mb to me?]
"What bulls.h.i.+t. This isn"t for you."
[Chwiiik! What do you mean?!]
Neither Mudur or I could eat it but there was one person who could eat it. No, it wasn"t a person. After all, this being could turn all the disadvantages of the blazing heart into an advantage. My lips curved up into a smile. "I"m going to feed Solar."