Chapter 100
You discovered an Animal Friend’s Egg!
The Egg of the Golden Sun Parrot.
After seeing that phrase, I once again looked at the gold resting on the altar.
It was Saint Pavarov’s egg, radiating a dazzling golden glow.
The system had been pointing to that very thing.
I knew this item.
‘I’ve seen it in the ga before, but… it didn’t have any special performance at all.’
According to its setting, it was a treasure steeped in long history.
But in the ga, it had simply been a ridiculously expensive decorative golden egg.
Its only function had been that, when sold in a shop, it could be exchanged for 10,000 gold.
‘And yet, this is actually an Egg of a Spirit Beast.’
I was the only one here who recognized its hidden value.
‘I don’t know exactly what kind of spirit beast lies inside.’
The only thought in my head was that I absolutely had to buy it.
“Number 481, 23,000 gold! Number 229, 24,000 gold!”
Despite the high price, the auction bids were climbing fast.
“…Number 225, 27,000 gold! Any higher?”
“Ahem!”
A rotund man coughed loudly, announcing himself as Number 225.
Rings were jamd on every joint of his finger like a robotic hand.
The main buyers of such luxury goods were nobles, who discarded masks and indulged their vanity.
To them, that egg was nothing more than a beautiful ornant.
‘It’s like putting a pearl necklace on a pig.’
From the egg’s perspective, it must have wanted to et a proper owner who recognized it.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll take you with no matter what.’
I kept watching the situation.
As the price rose higher, the number of competitors gradually dwindled.
“…Number 225, 27,000! Truly no higher?”
When the competition quieted down, and it seed it would be settled at that price…
“I’ll count down. Three…”
I lifted my fountain pen.
“Number 145, 28,000 gold!”
The auctioneer’s voice rang through the hall.
“Again, Number 145?”
“Just who is 145?”
Whispers of exasperation trickled out.
“Ehm!”
The rotund man coughed again, and the auctioneer shouted.
“Number 225, 29,000 gold!”
So botherso.
I clicked my tongue and scribbled with my fountain pen in the notebook.
“Yes! Number 145, 30,000 gold… huh?”
The auctioneer faltered in confusion, then corrected himself.
“I’ll restate that. Number 145, 50,000 gold!”
At the sudden jump of 20,000, a huge uproar erupted among the crowd, while I sat quietly, watching.
I knew those vain nobles.
The prouder they were, the more doggedly they clung.
Once competition started, it turned into a battle of pride, sending prices soaring far above the item’s worth.
It was better to crush them outright with an overwhelming sum.
It was an unspoken ssage: ‘No matter how high you go, I will buy this.’
“No more bids? Three… two…”
“Kh, khmm…”
Number 225 was sweating profusely, but he didn’t lift his pen again.
Bang, bang, bang! The wooden gavel struck, signaling the sale.
“50,000 gold! Congratulations, Number 145! Sold!”
Once the deal was sealed, I once again looked at the egg radiating golden light atop the table.
The Egg of the Golden Sun Parrot.
Judging from the na “Parrot,” it was likely a parrot’s egg.
‘Golden Sun, huh…’
Only two attributes ca to mind that matched such a title.
‘Fire, or… Light.’
The rarest of all, Light.
If I landed Light, it would be worth far more than the investnt.
‘Even Shurk of the Dark Attribute had an absurdly broken ability.’
It was true that I was eager to recruit a new spirit beast.
‘Of course, even if it turned out to be Fire instead of Light, it wouldn’t be bad.’
The more spirit beasts I had, the more advantageous it was, so I had to bring it with no matter the cost.
Even if the parrot was Fire Attribute, I would never regret the investnt.
Amid the murmurs, one of the staff carried the box holding the egg off the stage.
And a new auction item appeared on stage.
It was a painting in a fra the size of my forearm.
“A masterpiece by Artist Darraine, disciple of Gilley, .”
A black-haired girl stood in a field, gazing into the distance.
Animal Friends love this painting!
As soon as I looked at it, a system alarm appeared without fail.
‘…This ti it’s a painting?’
I stared at it with a weary gaze, but what could I do?
If it affected my animals, I had to buy it.
The auction went on, and as I read the system notification for this item, I thought.
Aside from the Egg of the Golden Sun Parrot, every auction item the system notified about had one thing in common.
‘This ti too, the auctioneer ntioned the Great Sage Gilley.’
Any auction item that didn’t ntion Gilley never triggered a system notification.
It was clear that the system was sohow connected to the Great Sage Gilley.
‘The Goddess and the Great Sage Gilley… what do they have to do with the Animal Farm System?’
I didn’t have many clues yet.
It wasn’t sothing I could figure out with shallow speculation.
But.
“Number 145, 18,000 gold, sold!”
If I gathered all the related items one by one, I would eventually find the answer.
With that in mind, I bought this auction item as well.
“Now then, thank you all for your patience!”
The auctioneer raised his voice even higher.
The participants began to buzz with excitent.
“Finally! The main dish of the day that everyone has been waiting for!
Creak, creak…”
A luxurious cart was rolled onto the stage.
On the cart sat a black boulder, as large as an evolved Boogie.
That was the very reason I had co to this auction.
“Not long ago, a piece of Clovarium from the Finjer Gold Mines erged into the world. It boasts high resistance to mana and one of the greatest strengths of any tal. It is famous as the material used by the Empire’s Honorary General, the Black Demon. The asking price is 5000, with a starting price of 200,000 gold! Number 553, 205,000 gold! Number 277, 205,000 gold!”
No sooner had the auction begun than the bids ca flying in.
Despite the exorbitant amount, the price was quickly climbing.
‘The amount is so massive that even wealthy nobles won’t dare think they can easily get it.’
When an expensive item ca up at auction, people usually sought investors or banded together to pool money.
This ti was no different.
I could understand it. Clovarium had endless potential uses, after all.
‘Let’s see how high it goes.’
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms.
“Ah! Number 177, 235,000 gold!”
The bidding had already surpassed the money I had on hand, but I still watched the bloody competition with ease, enjoying the spectacle.
Karlus von Linne quietly observed the auction.
“Number 337, 400,000 gold! Any higher?”
The bid had already doubled, which was a fair price.
“Number 661, 405,000 gold!”
When soone bid, the ‘group’ presud to be Number 337 exchanged opinions, then scribbled with their fountain pen.
“Oh! Number 337, 420,000 gold! Truly no higher? I’ll start the count! Three… two…!”
The price had jumped by 15,000 in an instant.
Number 661 seed to have given up, as the countdown flowed on.
The group of Number 337 clenched their fists tightly with confident smiles of victory.
‘So the only one recognizing its value is just that lot?’
Linne sighed and picked up her fountain pen.
“A new competitor! Number 190, 430,000 gold!”
The group of Number 337, who had expected the win, pressed their foreheads.
After a quick exchange, they scribbled with their pen.
“Number 337, 435,000 gold! Ah, Number 190, 445,000 gold!”
As soon as 337 bid, Linne countered with a bid higher by 10,000—double the usual incrent.
“That’s more than double the starting price already?”
“Is this really a fair price?”
Onlookers sighed or sneered at the soaring numbers.
But Linne didn’t hear any of their voices.
This was the best Clovarium she had seen in all the years she had collected it.
‘An item I must buy.’
Linne was ready to overbid no matter the price.
She glanced at the group of 337, who eventually lowered their heads, seemingly giving up.
To Linne’s eyes, this price was actually quite cheap.
“Number 190, 445,000 gold! Any higher? Three…”
The hall was completely silent.
Everyone was waiting to see the conclusion.
“Two… one…!”
Linne was certain of victory.
She closed her eyes and couldn’t suppress the smile spilling out.
‘With this…’
With this Clovarium, she could get that much closer to her goal.
Just as the auctioneer lifted the gavel to strike it down—
“…B-bid! Number 145, 450,000 gold!”
Number 145.
Linne quickly realized where he was—very close by.
Though 145 wore a black cat mask to hide his identity, Linne knew who he was.
It would be strange if she didn’t.
No matter how he hid his face, he was wearing a school uniform.
And look at that towering height.
Of course, Villed wasn’t the only tall man at the Academy.
But who else would co to an auction and spend such enormous sums but the young master of one of the Four Great Families?
‘He’s already swept up nearly a fifth of today’s auction items.’
He even bought that useless golden egg for tens of thousands, so clearly he was just indulging in vanity.
‘Does he plan to buy this Clovarium too, not even knowing its value, just because it’s expensive?’
Then again, it was puzzling how a disowned second son could bid as high as 450,000 gold.
‘Either way, I can’t let a wastrel like that take the Clovarium.’
Linne scribbled furiously.
“Number 190, 470,000 gold!”
She raised it by 20,000 in one go.
With the price this high, he should be forced to drop out…
“Ahh! Number 145! 490,000 gold!”
The sa incrent Linne had just called.
It was a declaration of duel.
Linne unconsciously glanced toward where 145 was seated.
Despite being from the high-ranking Dedenkman Family, he endured the humiliation of working in livestock sheds just to cling desperately to Yggdrasil.
A life with no value outside of graduating from Yggdrasil—it was an obvious choice.
A wastrel like him couldn’t possibly recognize the value of Clovarium.
‘Could it be that the Dedenkman Family is using their second son as a puppet to participate in the auction?’
It was the most plausible theory.
“Who is Number 145? Has he gone mad?”
“Even if it’s Clovarium, how could it possibly be worth 490,000…”
The Dedenkman Family was clearly determined to buy Clovarium at an exorbitant price.
And that made Linne pleased—it ant her own eye for value was correct.
If one of the Four Great Families wanted it at far above market price, then it was sothing Linne absolutely had to claim.
She too had backing no less powerful than Dedenkman’s.
At this level of money, it was no problem.
Linne scribbled again.
“Number 190, 700,000 gold!”
Gasps erupted around her.
The bid had jumped by 200,000 in an instant.
From the murmurs, it seed the crowd expected the auction to end at Linne’s price.
She stared at Villed.
He was from one of the Four Great Families.
If the incrents were in the tens of thousands, he would certainly overbid.
That was why she bid so high all at once—to make Villed hesitate.
Linne kept calculating her strategy.
For now, she had pushed it to 700,000, and would wait to see how Villed responded…
“Ah, ah! Number 145…!”
The auctioneer rubbed his eyes, mouth agape.
“Number 145! O-one million gold!”
Hearing the shout, Linne dropped her pen.
“…One million?”
A hollow laugh escaped her.
‘So no matter what I bid, the Dedenkman Family intended to overbid ?’
She wiped the smile from her face and looked at Villed.
“Three, two, one…!”
The final countdown was falling.
But Linne didn’t pick up her pen.
“One million gold! Sold to Number 145!”
The auctioneer banged the gavel three tis, closing the Dorados main dish auction.
The auction concluded in great success.
As I walked to the waiting room where the items were stored, I recalled Linne’s gaze.
‘Throughout the auction, Linne kept staring at .’
She must have realized that Number 145 was .
‘According to the setting, Linne needed Clovarium too, but she won’t ambush and steal it.’
Linne was still a noble of the Empire.
If she made an enemy of one of the Four Great Families, she would be showered with arrows.
After all, Villed was known as a wastrel in this world.
‘She’ll probably think I’m nothing more than a puppet set up by my family.’
She would almost certainly believe I was participating on the family’s orders, not with my own money.
And really, who would think a wastrel like could afford one million gold?
‘If she wants to misinterpret things that way, all the better for .’
When I arrived at the auction waiting room, the items I had won were already packed.
“May I ask your na?”
A nearby staff mber bowed politely and greeted .
I flipped open Number 145’s notebook and answered.
“Riz Villed Dedencman Ludwig.”
“Ah! From the Dedenkman Family!”
The exclamation didn’t co from the staff, but from elsewhere.
Turning my gaze, I saw the auctioneer who had conducted the event.
He was the master of the Dorados Auction House.
“So it was the young master of the Dedenkman Family! To grace us with your presence here—it is truly an honor!”
As I silently stared at him, the auctioneer bowed obsequiously and cautiously presented the settlent statent.
“Ah, I would love to speak further, but you must be busy. The total after calculation is 1,081,000 gold. How would you like to settle the paynt…?”
“……”
I continued to gaze silently at the auctioneer.
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