As she turned around, what Seraphina saw was beyond her expectations, to the point that she could only stare in a daze at the young man who appeared to be around 18 years old. He possessed a unique poise and elegance that seed to exude attraction, with an otherworldly beauty. His perfectly styled, deep black hair was adorned with stars and galaxies, as if he held his own universe.
The young man's curious hair sharply contrasted with his porcelain-like white skin, and his striking erald green eyes seed to glow with wisdom. This blended seamlessly with his formal black suit and tie, the sa color as his eyes, which rested against a pristine white shirt.
The suit was a two-piece, where both the jacket and pants appeared to have been cut from a slab of obsidian. The pointed lapels of the jacket added a touch of modernity, while the two front buttons gave it a classic feel.
"How do I look?" Erik asked with a small smile as he looked at the astonished Seraphina, who seed to snap out of her reverie at his words, then replied while glancing him up and down with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"You look very elegant, young master."
"Hehe, thank you, Seraphina. Shall we go?"
After thanking her, Erik asked with a pleasant smile on his face as he slightly extended his arm for Seraphina to take. She did so with a beautiful smile, while the shadow of the perfect maid expanded greatly, rising into the air and wrapping them in a deep darkness, making them disappear from the place in an instant.
...
...
...
In the bustling District 12, known for being a place exclusive to those of great fortune and influence, stood the renowned auction house, "Aetherion's Hall." It majestically towered in the center of the district, with walls of bluish glass and grand doors adorned with intricate runes that softly glowed, creating an iridescent light show in the surroundings.
Inside the imposing building, the expansive main hall opened up with a ceiling that seed like a recreation of the night sky, with moving constellations, twinkling stars, and beautiful walls lined with shelves carved from ancient woods, filled with magical artifacts from distant tis and places that seed to pulse with mana.
Suddenly, into the beautiful hall entered a handso young man with hair that appeared to be an extension of the ceiling, followed closely by a woman of transcendent beauty. She wore a stunning black dress worthy of the occasion, though for so reason, she evoked the image of a dedicated maid.
The new arrivals did not go unnoticed, and as they passed, they captured the attention of n and won alike, leaving the onlookers awed by their exquisite beauty and elegance. So recognized them, while others frantically searched for news.
"Welco to Aetherion's Hall auction house."
Quickly, a beautiful woman with olive skin and brown hair, dressed in a stunning dark blue gown fitted to her body, approached the new guests and greeted them with an elegant tone while offering a courteous bow. Shortly afterward, she resud her posture, adding with an almost magnetic smile on her beautiful face.
"It is an honor to welco the esteed direct disciple, Erik."
"You know ?" Hearing the comnt, Erik couldn't help but ask with a slight smile at the beautiful woman in front of him, who quickly replied with an elegant tone and a knowing smile.
"How could I not recognize soone with the reputation of the direct disciple, Erik?"
"If you say so." Erik added with softness and elegance, causing the corners of the woman's lips to relax slightly into a more relaxed smile.
"My young master has decided to attend the auction. Please guide us there."
Suddenly, Seraphina stepped forward and spoke with an elegant and magnetic voice, full of professionalism, befitting the perfect maid she was. The woman responded with a slight bow.
"It is a pleasure to host such a distinguished participant at our auction. Please, follow ; I will guide you to the VIP area."
After receiving a nod from Erik, the woman led the pair of young masters and maids deeper into the building. A discreet guard, dressed in what appeared to be armor mixing tal with runic inscriptions, pointed to a side door, almost imperceptible to the untrained eye, which soon opened automatically.
Upon crossing the door, the group was greeted by a hallway softly lit by floating lights resembling magical fireflies trapped in crystal spheres. The floor was a mosaic of carefully set precious stones, and even the air seed faintly perfud with a subtle mix of exotic woods and unknown flowers, calming the senses and preparing the visitor for what lay ahead.
Truly captivated by the curious design of the place, Erik began to look around with an appreciative gaze. He paid special attention to the statuettes of mythical creatures and portraits of great Mana users from across the galaxy that decorated the hallway. Finally, they reached a second door, this ti made of bluish glass, with runes that danced and intertwined around it, acting as a security system.
Entering the room, Erik was slightly surprised by the wide, circular space designed to resemble a stellar bubble, with a ceiling that appeared to be an enhanced version of the one in the main hall. It looked much more detailed and realistic. It seed as if each star were real, while the deep blue, tallic walls were embedded with gems and minerals that glowed with their own light, creating patterns representing different star systems.
The center of the room was dominated by an oval obsidian table surrounded by floating chairs. In one corner of the room was an elegant bar offering drinks from any part of the galaxy, and a small raised stage hosted autonomous instrunts playing calming, enigmatic lodies, adjusting their rhythm and tone to the general mood of the room.
"What an interesting design." Erik murmured to himself as he looked around the room with interest. This prompted the beautiful woman guiding them to smile pleasantly and comnt with a slightly pleased tone.
"I'm glad the design of the room pleases you, direct disciple Erik. That makes all the effort worthwhile."
"Did you design it?" Erik asked, a bit surprised as he looked at the woman, who replied with a pleasant smile, revealing a hint of pride in her creation.
"Indeed, this is the result of countless efforts to create a room that is both comforting and srizing, ensuring that our VIP guests feel at ease during our auctions."
"You have a great talent for design. Do you do it professionally, or was it just for this particular project?" Erik asked with so curiosity as he looked at the woman, who responded with her typical formal and elegant tone, though a touch of nostalgia slipped into her voice and expression.
"It's more of a hobby for , and I don't do it professionally. I inherited this auction house from my grandparents and have aid to elevate it to the highest level, so my efforts are focused here."
As the woman seed to get lost in mories of fond monts from the past, Erik couldn't help but smile warmly and sympathetically, deeply relating to her. Much of his work in his previous life was driven by a similar motivation. He then approached the beautiful woman and extended his hand for a handshake while speaking in a much warr tone.
"It's a pleasure to et soone like you. My na is Erik; you can call that from now on."
"The pleasure is mine as well, Erik. My na is Laura."
Although a bit surprised by the sudden change, the beautiful woman quickly responded and took the hand of the star-haired boy, who seed to blend into the design of the room, initiating a handshake while speaking with a lovely smile. Erik responded with a smile as he presented a beautiful crystal card that appeared in his hand.
"It's a pleasure, Laura. If you're interested, take my contact information. If you ever feel like pursuing design, reach out to . I'm keenly interested in having you design a building for ."
Hearing Erik's words, a beautiful golden card appeared in Laura's hand, a type of card Erik had never seen before, though he decided not to comnt on it and instead made a ntal note to investigate later. At that mont, the beautiful woman responded in a pleased tone.
"Of course, Erik. Though I don't do it professionally, I'd be happy to design a building for you as a courtesy."
As she spoke, Laura gently placed her card over Erik's, causing two holograms to appear, indicating that contact information would be shared. Both quickly accepted, and the handshake was released.
"Please charge , Laura. Your work is excellent, and it would be uncomfortable for not to pay for it." Erik comnted with a smile as he stored his card in his storage ring, to which Laura responded with a small smile and a friendlier tone.
"Very well, Erik. Then I'll charge you. Contact when you're ready to start your project."
"I will. Thank you very much." Erik replied with a smile. At that mont, Laura gave a slight, elegant bow and then comnted.
"Then, once again, it was a pleasure to et you, Erik. I'll step out now to continue receiving guests."
"Of course, see you later."
As Laura and Erik exchanged smiles in their farewell, Seraphina couldn't help but look at the scene filled with surprise and disbelief. After all, if one were to list the most prominent traits of her beloved young master, very high on the list would be his complete lack of interest in socializing, to the point that he seed like a hermit. His only interest was interacting with them, reading, or working on his own things.
Whether male or female, rich or poor, pretty or ugly, Erik always disdained interacting with people. In nearly two decades since he arrived at the university planet, he barely had anyone who could be called a friend, and usually, it was always Chen who contacted him first.
Hence, Seraphina's great surprise upon seeing Erik interact so pleasantly and even exchange contacts with soone on his own initiative. It was sothing she had never seen before, which simultaneously filled her with an unpleasant sense of danger toward this woman. She had sohow managed to break with a few words the barrier her beloved young master placed in front of everyone, except for her and his masters, of course.
Fully alert, Seraphina began to analyze the woman from head to toe, carefully observing her appearance, manners, mannerisms, everything, trying to discover what had caused her young master to pay attention to her in the first place. After all, while she was incredibly beautiful, it wasn't sothing Erik hadn't encountered before.
In fact, Erik had interacted with won of nearly equal beauty in his classes on several occasions, never exchanging more than a couple of distant words with them. Sothing Seraphina knew from her regular security audits on her beloved young master, which she conducted to prevent any security breaches—not because she was stalking him or anything like that. Yes, it was just a security audit and nothing more.
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