Chapter 66
“Te, ten million gold! Is there anyone else…?!”
The hall fell silent in an instant.
The great southern tycoon, Gusaf Fad Nenchel, had left even before the second part began, and with his departure, there was no one left who would toy with the price by casually driving it up.
Aside from the auctioneer’s voice, a suffocating stillness stretched on.
Everyone’s attention was fixed on the blazing red hair seated among the audience.
Aquila still had one hand raised, waiting for the result, while only rien stared wide-eyed, anxiously hoping that soone else would raise a hand.
“Is there no one, no one at all? I will begin the countdown! Ten, nine, eight…!”
The numbers of the countdown steadily decreased, but no one stepped forward.
It was not only because the Reschenhardt heir, who had seed utterly uninterested in the auction until now, had raised his hand for the first ti.
Ten million gold.
The price had leapt in a single bound from seven hundred thousand gold, but that alone was not the whole reason.
“Quija’s Smile” was certainly a rare flower, but it was a dicinal herb needed only by those afflicted with Mineralization. To anyone else, it was utterly useless.
Purely ornantal.
It was not extraordinarily beautiful, and while it blood without wilting for two months, that was all it had going for it.
There was simply no reason for anyone to pay over ten million gold to obtain “Quija’s Smile.”
Instead, another thought blood vividly in their minds.
‘There is soone in Reschenhardt afflicted with Mineralization. They have found a mithril mine!’
The light went on in people’s heads when only one second remained.
“One…! Sold!”
Bang! Bang!
The sound announcing the end of the auction item spread swiftly.
With no competition at all, Aquila, who had claid “Quija’s Smile” in one stroke, lowered his raised hand.
As if nothing had happened, he tugged at his sleeve to straighten it, then returned calmly to his seat.
His face expressionless and cool, Aquila recalled a thought.
‘Right. The person who originally won Quija’s Smile was Gusaf.’
This ti, Gusaf had conveniently gone off to gamble after eting them, but ordinarily he would have been a competitor.
And if things had gone as they normally would, neither Aquila nor rien would have been here, and he would have obtained “Quija’s Smile” without any rivals at all.
He was the sort who always tried to acquire anything rare or interesting.
Leaning back against the seat, Aquila whispered softly enough that only rien could hear.
“…I know that ten million gold is not excessive for Raiesel. I sincerely hope it proves worth the price.”
Everything had happened so quickly that rien, frozen and unable to tell whether this was a dream or reality, finally swallowed a breath.
Even compared to the great southern tycoon, Raiesel possessed wealth that did not lag behind in the slightest.
So she was not shocked by the price of ten million gold that Aquila had called out.
What mattered was that Aquila had shouted the bid before she could even beg him to na any price at all, no matter how high, for this item.
He had spoken even before the auctioneer had finished.
‘No. That does not matter. What matters now is that we obtained Quija’s Smile….’
There was no need to question or doubt how he had known.
Thanks to Aquila, she had been able to attend this auction, and Aquila had ensured that she obtained the item she wanted.
In rien’s mind, the face of her beloved youngest sibling flashed past.
A body that had not yet fully grown, and minerals sprouting ever more heavily from both legs.
A sibling who could not walk, whose thigh bones had broken under the unbearable weight, and who suffered constantly from the pain that followed.
“Th, thank you… truly…”
Plop.
Tears fell one by one, soaking the lenses of the glasses she wore as a disguise.
“Truly, thank you. Lord Aquila…”
rien bowed her head deeply, her voice trembling.
Seeing her quivering form, Cahena and Shen stepped in beside her, shielding her from view.
The mont they saw rien’s reaction, they realized what was currently happening in Raiesel.
If soone reacted like this after obtaining “Quija’s Smile,” there could only be one reason.
Ianpel, noticing that so people were still glancing in their direction amid a faint stir, leaned over.
He whispered quietly enough that only Aquila could hear.
“Now that you have drawn this much attention, there will be no end to those trying to confirm whether Reschenhardt has a mithril mine. Are you all right with that?”
Of course, Aquila had anticipated this.
From the outset, unless soone raised the price little by little as a joke, it would not have mattered who won “Quija’s Smile.” The result would have been the sa.
A mithril mine.
How many people could resist coveting such a remarkable and rare ore?
Indeed, a few of those who had been watching him called their attendants over and whispered to them. The attendants nodded and left the theater.
They were likely going to investigate Reschenhardt.
Yet even as Aquila took in this blatant scene, he was not particularly worried.
Igrail was a northern fortress.
It was not a bustling tropolis like Portplum, where people ca and went freely, but a place where only those granted permission could enter, ruled by the one said to stand at the pinnacle of martial might.
No matter how many packs of wolves ca sniffing around, it was not a place they could easily prey upon.
“Even if I had stubbornly raised the price, the result would have been the sa, so it does not matter.”
At Aquila’s firm declaration, Ianpel maintained his gentle smile.
“I was thinking of calling out a bid myself if you did not. Thank you.”
At the straightforward thanks, Aquila cast him a sideways glance.
“So you already knew.”
“Yes. She asked for help, wondering whether Quija’s Smile truly was the only way to treat Mineralization.”
Ianpel whispered this while glancing sideways at rien, who was too busy holding back her tears to notice.
No wonder he had given his permission so easily. It seed he had known everything already and simply pretended otherwise.
If necessary, he could have purchased the herb under the pretext that the Saintess was buying it for a potential future patient.
“I have received so much help from them that I wanted to help in return, but I had no ans to do so, which troubled . This is fortunate.”
Since they coexisted together in Portplum, the relationship between the Temple of the Sun and Raiesel was closer than most people realized.
To begin with, Raiesel was one of the houses that worshiped the Sun God, and there must have been assistance involved when the Saintess took her place at the Grand Temple.
‘Well, it does not seem like he joined the auction for so deeper sche.’
It seed he had intended to ask Ianpel if Aquila refused.
If that was the case, there was no particular reason to be more wary of the Saint.
Aquila exhaled softly and relaxed back against his seat.
Then, shall I watch to see whether anything useful appears until the end?
With that thought, Aquila looked toward the stage, subtly turning his attention away to spare rien, who was struggling not to let out any sobs behind him.
***
A blessed bow said to have co from the land of the elves.
‘Judging by the craftsmanship, it is quite impressive. But I do not need it.’
A scroll discovered in a dungeon.
‘That looks rather decent… ah. The options are too much of a gamble.’
And artworks, yet more artworks.
‘Useless.’
The four items that appeared on stage passed by in the blink of an eye.
The interior, which had been stirred up by “Quija’s Smile,” once again transford into the fervor of the auction.
Although they could have left with their won items, Aquila was still seated, so people decided it would be better to postpone any questioning or attempts at conversation until later.
After all, they had co here to enjoy themselves.
rien’s tears had already stopped.
She desperately wanted to return to Raiesel imdiately with the herb, but she would only be able to receive it after the auction ended anyway.
Instead, she began carefully considering how she would pay the price.
“Sold, sold! With this round concluded, there are only two auction items remaining! Please enjoy yourselves until the very end! Now, I present the sixteenth auction item!”
Rrrrk.
A tray bearing an object covered in black cloth was brought onto the stage.
By now, Aquila was leaning his chin on his hand at a slant, having returned to the sa complete indifference he had shown at the beginning.
He had expected that nothing useful would appear until the end.
Flap!
Though he had heard it dozens of tis already, the sound of the black cloth being pulled away was energetic.
“This magical tool that looks like a pair of glasses is called the Eye That Sees the Hidden!”
Aquila nearly sprang to his feet on the spot.
‘What?’
In reality, his half-lidded eyes snapped wide open as he lifted himself halfway out of his chair.
His black eyes bored into the item on the stage.
Resting atop the velvet cloth was a monocle.
At a glance, it looked like nothing more than a crude tool.
But pointing to the silver fra, the chain attached to it, and the clear lens, the auctioneer shouted in a hoarse voice.
“This item is said to be a magical tool that can see hidden things exactly as its na suggests—hidden treasure chests within dungeons, invisible paths, traps, and more! Simply wearing it allows use without the need to infuse mana…”
“Th, that could it be…?”
It seed Shen and Cahena recognized the item as well.
After all, for the past few days, had their young master not been scouring every street stall in search of a magical tool shaped like glasses?
Just yesterday, after the Old Items Auction ended, they had gone around the stalls once again.
Cahena muttered sothing like, “So the rumors were true.”
Ianpel and rien’s puzzled gazes turned toward Aquila, who was staring with wide eyes.
But Aquila was trembling for an entirely different reason.
‘You said it was sold at a street stall, you fraudulent bastard!’
In the previous cycle, Gusaf had claid that he had found and purchased the Eye That Sees the Hidden at a street stall in Portplum during this very Great Old Dust Release.
It had supposedly been a stall on the outskirts, unsold until the very end, and cheap…
“We will start at two million gold!”
“Two point one!”
“Two point one million gold!”
“Two point two!”
‘Everything you said was wrong, damn you.’
A long-dormant fire flared up inside him.
It was not that he trusted Gusaf, but he had not expected him to lie about even this.
Aquila stiffened coldly as bewildernt, disbelief, and anger struck him in turn.
Even so, the price of the Eye That Sees the Hidden was climbing rapidly.
“Four hundred.”
Aquila shouted as he raised one hand sharply.
“…Four million gold!”
As the red-haired young man entered the auction once again, people’s gazes converged on him.
Once more, it was because he had driven the price up in a single leap.
Their eyes were filled with confusion and curiosity.
But Aquila remained resolute, ignoring their stares.
This ti, Gusaf was not present.
Which ant that if Aquila failed to win it now, there might not be another opportunity.
No matter what, he had to obtain the Eye That Sees the Hidden.
Yet seeing Aquila act this way, another spark lit up in so people’s minds.
‘It is another item that Reschenhardt is trying to obtain. Could it be useful for sothing? Surely not for a mithril mine…!’
Soone who had finished their calculations raised a hand.
“Four point one!”
“Four point one million gold!”
“Over here! Four point one five!”
Thus, like a wildfire, competition for this item began.
As soon as one person shouted a price, another followed.
Clicking his tongue, Aquila raised his hand again.
“Six point five.”
“S, six point five five!”
Aquila furrowed his brow and turned his gaze toward the person who had imdiately countered him.
Even so, the price began to climb at an unprecedented speed.
It easily surpassed seven hundred, and Aquila raised his hand once more, about to call out eight hundred.
At that mont—
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
A sudden scream rang out from outside the theater.
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