Auction Registration
"Man, that was some fight."
"It was difficult to keep track of anything…"
"But still, that"s what makes it fun!"
The excitement had hardly died down even after we had left. That fighter was incredible. That style was amazing. It was the same for those around us. Everyone seemed to be preoccupied with searching for their favorite fighter and praising them to high heaven.
"Ah, Daniela. You look beautiful today-"
"I know, we should go and find a place to eat."
"Yes, there is so much we need to talk about! Let"s go!"
"Indeed…I would like to have meat."
"Daniela, I"m pretty sure you want vegetables."
And so we headed for the market district. It was as if we needed a quiet place to talk in order to settle our over-excited nerves.
We immediately started to walk toward the center of the city. It was then that I heard the "Hey, b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You"ve got some nerve to ignore me."
Which wasn"t quite as annoying as the hand that landed on my shoulder.
"Look here, I"m in a really good mood now. Do you mind not ruining it for me?"
"I wouldn"t talk like that if I were you, manservant."
"What?"
"You better stay away from my Daniela."
"Since when… Ugh, this is pointless. Let"s go."
It was a waste of time talking to these kinds of delusional people. It was simply tiring. You met them once in a while. Idiots who would not change no matter how much you talked to them.
"Don"t ignore me, you animal."
"You should try sticking to one insult, you idiot."
"Oh, but there are many words to describe you. Living long gives you lots of knowledge."
"Living long and acting smart doesn"t give you the right to touch someone"s partner."
Oh, now I was getting angry. Did it really bother people so much that I was with Daniela? I didn"t understand why. And where the h.e.l.l did he even come from?
Adlus looked at me smugly, but then he averted his eyes as if having lost interest. Of course, he was looking towards Daniela.
"Daniela. Might I take you out to eat?"
"I do love to eat. But I do not feel like doing it with you."
"You"re very stubborn. I know a good place that serves meat."
"Not interested. You would do well to stop talking to me."
Daniela said bluntly. For a second, I thought about what Adlus must go through. I wasn"t sure why he was only attracted to his own kind, but if he went around talking to every light elf he encountered…well, that was rather worrying.
I calmed down once Adlus had backed off a bit, and was able to concentrate on our surroundings again. I could tell by the expressions of some of the onlookers that they had seen this all play out before. It really made me wonder… What was happening? Either he was constantly getting rejected or he was trying to make a light elf harem. The later did not seem likely… After all, harems were things that just happened to you naturally. It would a look pathetic if he went around, laboring hard to build one around himself.
Well…who knew what methods this guy would use.
I stared at him up and down as he glared at me. He was wearing white robes that hid his physique but showed he was a sorcerer. But I still didn"t know what his fighting style was like.
Perhaps he fought with a sword as well. Were those blindingly white clothes for combat? Or were they just his casual clothes…
"I find no pleasure in being stared at by the likes of you."
"Well, I don"t get many opportunities to observe an idiot, so you"ll have to forgive me."
"Hmph… Very well. Daniela does not seem to be in the mood today. I will come again."
"Don"t ever come back, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
There would be no point, as he was likely to ruin Daniela"s mood on the moment of his arrival.
Adlus bowed smugly to Daniela and then walked away. He was annoying until the very last second.
"I have been targeted by a most despicable man…"
"Well, he"ll be in the fight with us. I"ll give him a good beating."
"Yes, hopefully until nothing remains."
"I don"t want to get arrested…"
Daniela was quite cross now.
"Still, he is quite popular, you know?"
"Seriously? I can hardly understand why…"
"It is mostly women. They call him the blonde prince."
That wasn"t a very creative name. But I guess it was his only notable feature.
"Do you know anything about the way he fights?"
"Oh, that is famous!"
Well, he had apparently won before, so it was not surprising. According to the well-informed Lemon, Adlus fought not only with magic, but also with a long sword. He would control water in order stop his enemy"s movements and then finish them off with his sword.
A long sword, huh… That meant he had a much better reach than me and my one-handed sword. That being said, it seemed like a bad idea to try and bring out the Schwarz Tempest. I wanted to fight with ice magic as well. There must be a good way…
"More importantly, we should go and eat."
"Yes… Eating will help drive away negative feelings."
"I agree!"
Well, I was hungry. And so Daniela, Lemon and I continued on our way to our destination.
That night, I looked out of the window with Eyes of the G.o.d Wolf. Well, I wasn"t really looking, as there was something weighing on my mind. It was about what had happened during lunch.
Ultimately, we had gone to "Meat, Meat, Meat, Meat" for the third time and ordered the same thing. It was a little awkward, but the conversation immediately moved to Adlus"s fighting style.
"Regardless of this difference in reach, I suppose we"ll just have to fight with the weapons we have?"
"It would not exactly be realistic for you to go out and acquire new weapons now…"
"That"s true. Even if I have a weapon with the same reach, it would take time to adjust to it. Something we don"t have."
"Indeed. You can always search for a weapon after the tournament if you really need one."
"In that case, I recommend the auctions. They often have rare and powerful weapons coming in."
"Ah, that reminds me! There is something we would like to sell as well."
"Oh? Do you two have something valuable?"
"Yeah, we dug up something really interesting."
"Dug up?"
Yes, I was thinking about the auctions. The ma.s.sive event that was the Imperial Sword Tournament had made me forget, but we had come here in order to sell the Automata. …Wait, maybe not. It was probably because Daniela wanted to visit?
Well, whatever. After we ate, we went to the auction house to have our item registered.
The building was to the southeast. The fact that it was located so close to the inns seemed, slimy in a way, but I guess it was how they did things here.
I had been expecting something rather "underground," but it was not like that at all. There was an open atmosphere if anything. Perhaps it was because of some old perceptions I had about hidden routes and slave auctions. I had been feeling anxious about what kind of shadow auction we were heading into, but even the manager seemed to be a nice man.
"It will be held after the tournament. You will have to be here in person, is that all right with you?"
"And where will we be?"
"On stage. We like to show the faces of the sellers. It is the style here."
Like farmers, then…
"So, what item is it that you wish to auction off?"
"This thing."
I said as I shoved a hand into the hollow bag and then dragged out the Automata.
"Ahh!!"
"It"s an Automata."
"Ah, oh, yes… I thought you had brought out a corpse."
"That"s not really my kind of thing…"
But it was hardly a surprise that he was surprised. And I couldn"t say that I hadn"t enjoyed his reaction just a little.
"An Automata! These things are very rare indeed…!"
"And we have a few spare "cores" as well."
"Wonderful! This will be the star of the show without a doubt. Would you mind if we advertise?"
"Of course not. I hope as many people as possible see it."
"Very good, Mister Asagi. Thank you for coming to us. I look forward to the event."
"Likewise."
We shook hands and finished the registration process. By the time we left the building, the sun had already started to come down, and so we split up. Daniela and I bought some food to eat on the way back. And that was it. The valuable Automata was still in the hollow bag. The manager was worried about it being stolen, and so it was decided that we should keep it until the actual date.
Well, it meant that we would be parting with the Automata… I felt oddly sad about it.
As it was made by the perverted ancient elves, the appearance was quite special. It almost seemed like a waste, but we had already made the agreement. And there was no going back.
"Maybe we"ll pick up another one someday…"
"And that one will go straight to the auction house as well."
"d.a.m.n it…have pity on a poor guy…"
"I do not think you need something like that. Am I wrong?"
"Oh, are you jealous of an Automata?"
"What? Fine, I will give you a lesson as to why you do not need such a thing."
"Sounds brilliant. You better teach me well."
It was late into the night, but too early to sleep. And I was very curious as to what exactly Daniela meant to teach me.