Chapter 52 - Frate"s Festival (5)
"Waaaa. There a lot of people here."
"There are a lot of security too. It seems our job might not be as easy as I thought."
At this point in time, all humans were focused on what was going on in Frate. Of course, a ma.s.sive number of people would be gathering here at the auction located at the main square.
There were booths selling food that they had never heard of before, and there was a decent amount of vendors selling children"s toys. The eyes of Sienna and Maetel twinkled everytime they walked past a vendor. They looked like grown up young ladies on the outside, but at times like this, they were without a doubt still kids.
He had already expected it to be like this. He let out a sigh as he spoke.
"You guys can each pick out one thing you want to eat."
"Ya-ho! I love you, Artpe!"
"Oppa, I want to eat those large candies!"
The hero and the Warrior Priestess started chewing on the candy-coated apple candies they bought from a vendor. They were quite innocent as they showed simple pleasure at eating the treats. Artpe took the precaution of trying not to draw attention of the people around them as he led the two girls towards the auction.
"Can anyone partic.i.p.ate in the auction?"
"I heard a rumor that partic.i.p.ation will be denied unless you can come up with at least 3,000 gold."
"Three thousand gold! There must be amazing items being sold if we have to prepare 3,000 gold!"
An enormous public auction house had been constructed in the shape of a circle, and there were a lot of people milling around it. Even if someone was murdered with the auction house, he didn"t think people would pay much attention to it. Artpe turned around to look at the dummies swinging and playing around with the stick that had held the candy…..
"Eh-eet."
"Ooh-boohp."
Maetel had pushed the candy towards his mouth, so he decided to take a bite. It was a clean bite where the crunchy fruit within and the candy on the outside entered into his mouth. He tasted an almost unbearable amount of sweetness. However, that wasn"t what was important here….
"This candy is cursed."
"Huh!?"
Sienna and Maetel expressed their shock at the same time. It was to be expected. The candy had been so delicious that they were each having a second helping. They had no idea something was wrong. Artpe gave a light blow to the heads of the two girls. They were looking at him with round eyes, so he gave an explanation.
"You are a hero, and you are an Evil Reflector, who"s also a Priestess. Our existence itself gives us immunity from most curses. However, that doesn"t mean you shouldn"t keep an eye out for curses. You guys have to develop your senses."
"As expected, oppa is amazing….."
The curse was one of the ones he had a.s.sumed would show up. It was a curse that would cause rage and madness. It didn"t matter how much one ate the food infused with the curse. For a fixed amount of time, the curse would stay hidden within the body, and it would only activate when a certain prerequisite was met.
Of course, the items that met this specific prerequisite were busily coming towards the auction house through various routes.
"Most of the vendors on this street are selling such products. Moreover, it is cleverly hidden, so one won"t pick up on it unless one posses a decent detection skill. Even if one became aware of it, it isn"t something that can be easily dispelled. It is a very complicated curse…."
As expected, the situation was moving along in a way that he had predicted. The more important point was the fact that the curse of anger wasn"t the only one spreading across the city.
If he just looked around right now, he could see the curse within food and drinks. There was even a curse spreading through air. There were all kinds of curse that amplified emotions, and there were ones that turned humans into monsters. He even saw one that weakened people through his Read All Creation ability.
It seemed they planned on taking over the whole city. By looking at the size of the plan, it seemed they started preparing for this plan as soon as the kingship exchanged hands.
Moreover, the hero"s party arrived right when the large event was prepared to go off! It was to be expected.
s.h.i.t!
"However, I can"t deny the fact that I"m able to move around more freely."
Artpe waited for them to eat all their candies before he gave them an order.
"I want you guys to destroy this auction house right now. I want you to act crazy as if the curse of rage had been activated."
"······huh?"
The eyes of Sienna and Maetel turned round. However, Artpe repeated his instructions verbatim, so they knew they hadn"t heard his words wrong. Maetel was taken aback, so she shouted out her words.
"That"s a crime!"
"Moreover, that isn"t something a hero should do."
"What kind of image do you actually a.s.sociate with a hero!?"
Artpe didn"t go out of his way to explain that part to them.
"I want you to make your appearances a little bit more indistinct with the artifacts. I want you guys to pretend fight, while destroying the auction house. However, I don"t want you to make it seem you guys are intentionally destroying the place. You have to show no interest in the auction house. What do you think? It"s easy, right?"
"······."
"...y...yes"
At such an absurd request, Maetel was at a loss for words. Sienna was barely able to answer him. Artpe continued his explanation.
"Currently, there aren"t many people within the city that will be able to stop you guys, so you"ll be able to cause a ruckus for a long time. People will solely pay attention to the two of you, and when you completely destroy the auction house, I"ll be able to achieve my goal too. When I finish my work, I"ll give you guys a singal. When that happens, you must get out of there without being detained."
"But, Artpe, wouldn"t the auction be stalled if the auction house is destroyed?"
"Of course. However, if they use all the available resources, they"ll have no trouble starting the auction on time."
"So what"s the point of us destroying the auction house?"
"That is a very good question."
Artpe let out an evil laugh. He was holding the egg of the Greed beast that was waiting to be hatched. As if it could sense the curse in the air, the egg twitched. It was a pitiful sight.
"You"ll find out soon enough."
There was an amazing amount of people gathered at the central square.
In the midst of them, Maetel"s anger filled voice (she was acting) rang out.
"You thieving caaaaaaaaat!"
What kind of intro was that!?
"It isn"t just one or two days. You are quite persistent in trying to get at my man! I can"t forgive you!"
"Koohk!"
Maetel"s powerful kick landed a direct hit on Sienna"s stomach. Sienna flew several dozen meters in the air before she impacted on the wall of the auction house.
"Kyahhhhhhk!"
"A...a person flew!"
"Run!"
The angle of her flight was beautiful. Miraculously, no one except Sienna was hurt. The impact was powerful enough to push the people crowded around the auction house backwards in fright.
"Dieeeeeeeeeee!"
Before the worried people could approach Sienna, Maetel came forth for a second round of attacks. Sienna didn"t even have time pick herself up before Maetel attacked.
She was gripping the enormous b.a.s.t.a.r.d sword with both hands, and she was focusing the strength of her entire body on that swing. Sienna was barely able to dodge it, and the b.a.s.t.a.r.d sword impacted on the wall of the auction house. The strength of the strike was transferred into the wall, and she easily toppled the wall.
"T...the auction house!"
"You are dodging like a little mouse!"
"When did Maetel"s way of speech get so rough?!"
She"s acting, right?
After she indulged herself by making up a novel in her spare time, she gained this acting ability, right?
Please tell me I"m right!
Don"t tell me she is pouring out her real feeling by exploiting this opportunity!
"Hoo. Unni is a real scaredy cat."
Maetel had made the entire city tremble in fear, and Sienna finally started her counterattack! She didn"t care if the people around her retreated in fear. She planted her main Sledge Hammer on the ground as she grinned.
"It seems unni is really scared that oppa will fall for me."
"You······!"
"However, you do know that oppa likes younger women, right? Unni, you are already done. Oppa is mine now!"
"You guys are only 1 years apart!"
"I...I"ll kill you······!"
Maetel finally activated her Berserk! At this point, she didn"t care about the defenseless people or the auction. The soldiers and the fighters a.s.sociated with the merchant a.s.sociation could only look on in fear!
"B...Berserk."
"She"s a Berserker."
"A Berserker"s blind pa.s.sion is making her fight! She is expressing it through physical violence!"
"This is the end! The city is ruined!"
"Koo-ahhhhhhhhng!"
Maetel activated her Acceleration ability, and she charged forward at a crazy speed! Sienna desperately dodged the attack. Instead, another blameless wall of the auction house was. .h.i.t by the b.a.s.t.a.r.d sword. It crumbled under the a.s.sault.
"Unni is acting this way, because you aren"t confident in yourself. Aren"t I right? Recently, I noticed oppa is laughing more for me than unni!"
Finally, Sienna let out her first attack! The Sledge Hammer was the ideal weapon when one wanted to destroy something. It was also under the influence of her destructive magical energy. The already large hammer became larger as she swung it!
"Hooht!"
There were few in the human world that could measure up to her speed, but she had lost her sense of reason through Berserk. This was why Sienna was able to dodge the attack easily, and the blameless auction house took the blow in her stead!
"At this rate, everyone within the auction house will die!"
"Stop yelling! You don"t want to become the target of the Berserker!"
"S...someone go get the head of the auction house!"
"Dungeon Merchants… Where are the Dungeon Merchants!"
"Customer, we want 7,500 gold to intervene in this fight! Ah, no. We require 8,000 gold! We require 8,500 gold! T...this is idiotic! The cost needed to intervene is incalculable!?"
"How dare you!"
The place was a crucible of chaos. The people there wondered if this was how h.e.l.l looks like. Shouts, screams and Mana was all mixed all in as everything in the surrounding was being destroyed!
"I...if it wasn"t for you, it would have been just the two of us for the past year!"
"It isn"t as if I want him only for myself, unni. You can share him a little bit! I want him too!"
"No······! He is mine! I won"t give him up to anyone!"
Maetel and Sienna was speaking with such venom and anger that it was hard to think of it as acting. As they spat out their words, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d sword and the hammer were swung at each other. Each blow narrowly missed each other"s body every time. It only destroyed the blamess surrounding.
The officials of the auction were trembling with fear. The Dungeon Merchants, who were talented in magic and martial prowess, hesitated. They wondered if they could really stop this fight.
Then there was Artpe. He wondered if he should just abandon the plan before Maetel really killed Sienna. He was conflicted as to whether he should just retrieve and run with the two girls.
"I won"t forgive yoooooooooooooou!"
"Kyahhhhhhhk!"
At some point in time, Maetel finally got in a critical hit. Sienna was kicked to the floor, and Maetel had stolen her Sledge Hammer. Maetel imbued a ma.s.sive amount of Mana as she brought it down!
Sienna thought she really might die if things progressed any further. She desperately rolled on the ground to avoid the blow. Maetel"s hammer blow was magnificent. It destroyed the stage. The traces of an auction house was nowhere to be seen.
"H...huh, huhk."
"That is a technique that can be learned by a small number of Berserkers called Earth Break….!"
It was just a normal Bash skill.
"Since the moment I"ve been waiting for is here, I should do what I came here to do….."
Artpe had been watching the sight from afar, and he activated his magic as he had a heavy heart. He imbued his Mana String with stealth ability. It held tightly to the egg of the Greed Beast. When everyone"s attention was on Maetel and Sienna, he used that moment to secretly sneak in the egg.
He moved it towards the absolute center of auction house"s stage. It was where Maetel had made a big hole with her h.e.l.lbent attack!
He made sure the egg was buried, and he put dirt over it.
His task ended perfectly.
"S...stop immediately! I...I order in the name of the l...lord, Count Melud!"
At that point, the one in charge of Frate finally stepped forward. He was a n.o.ble, yet his safety wasn"t guaranteed. His legs were shaking, but he had shown up himself to stop the crazy girls.
It was admirable.
Artpe decided to give him high marks for it. Of course, the count himself didn"t look too happy~
"Uh. Firework······?"
"Beautiful."
As if he had been waiting for the lord to step forward, a pretty firework bloomed in the sky. Of course, it was a signal from Artpe that signified the success of his plan.
"Aht."
"Ah······."
Maetel and Sienna was panting to gather their breath. They hesitated as they looked at the firework. Both girls clicked their tongue.
"Let"s finish this somewhere else."
"Hoong. Do you think unni will win just by changing the venue?"
The two left as they provoked each other until the end!
Of course, the power they displayed was so terrifying that no one dared to stop them. It was possible for Maetel, but there were a good number of people amongst the Dungeon Merchants that would be able to stop Sienna. However, they weren"t going to intervene unless it was profitable for them. The Dungeon Merchants abstained from doing anything.
The two criminals successfully walked out from the scene of the crime!
"This… What the h.e.l.l happened…."
"We were unlucky, lord. Of all places, those monsters decided to fight here…."
"How can a man be worth all of this!"
"It seems this person is receiving the love of those two women. I don"t know who he is, but I"m jealous······."
"Jealous? It is obvious that man will suffer an early death."
"Koo-hmm. That...."
Artpe cleared his throat as he released his Stealth spell. He appeared in front of the lord. Of course, he still had his disguise on through his artifact.
As expected, everyone turned their attention to him. Artpe felt like dying from embarra.s.sment, but he opened his mouth to speak.
"That is······ They are my companions."
"You are the one receiving the love of those two women!?"
"Uh. That"s······."
He was thankful that their fight had attracted attention away from him, but why the h.e.l.l did they have to fight over such a topic! Artpe kept sighing as he pushed one hand forward. A white magical energy burned at the tip of his fingers.
"This important location was destroyed thanks to my party members. I"m not sure if this will be enough to compensate for everything. I"ll want to help you restore the auction house. Ah, of course, I"ll also give you money for reparations."
"Ohhhhhhhhh!"
The lord let out a acclamation when a rare mage made an appearance. Moreover, unlike his terrifying companions, he was full of common sense!
How could the lord turn him down?
The lord welcomed him. He even gave a promise to not chase the two girls if Artpe helped with recovering the auction house.
This was how Artpe joined in on the work of reconstructing the auction house.
They were able to restore it back into excellent shape.
The auction would be held later that night as scheduled.