Rinmian

"How lucky you are to have me!" exclaims Isabel as she pulls a wad of bills out of the bag hanging from her shoulder.

Our heroes shake their heads, again. This Isabel sure has aces up her sleeve.

"Okay, Let's sit," says Leah.

They walk through the corridors between the seats, until Lucien, who leads the group, stops and beckons them to sit down.

"Hey, look," says Leah, showing the brochure found on top of the chair.

The booklet is a catalog of the objects to be auctioned. It gives the same information as the screens on the walls: name of the object, its description, a photo, a bit of the history of the object, and its price. In addition, the brochure explains in what order the objects will be displayed during the auction. Rinmian will auction the last one.

"You're sure you have enough money?" whispers Eva to Isabel, as she looks at the exorbitant price. She has not seen so many zeros in... never! And it will only increase during the auction!

"Si, don't worry," Isabel replies.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The loudspeakers, strategically placed throughout the room, try to attract the attention of guests.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. The auction will begin in a moment. Ladies and..."

As the loudspeakers repeat over and over, the auctioneer approaches the lectern.

"Isn't that...?" Eva asks.

"Si, Ebon is also the auctioneer on the 15th floor. He's one of the best in the whole Auction House," Isabel says.

"Wow."

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome once again to the auction on the 15th floor. I see new faces. As always, we have prepared the best for you, our dear and loyal customers. I hope you enjoy our lots. Let's begin!" announces Ebon from the lectern.

The public, under the watchful eye of Ebon, is preparing for the auction.

"Well, the first lot to be auctioned is..." Ebon begins to say.

As he speaks, two gargoyles appear on the stage with the lot to be auctioned. Between the two of them, they place it on the counter in the center of the stage so that everyone can see it. For those who are seated in the last seats, they can see the lot thanks to the side screens.

After the presentation of the lot, the bidding begins. There are many people interested in this object, a statuette old enough and beautiful enough to become an essential piece of any collector.

The price then goes up and quickly doubles the initial price. Until, finally, there is only one bidder left.

"Sold to the lord of the third row," says Ebon, while dropping the wooden hammer, to signal that the bidding is over. " All right, the next batch is different from the previous one..."

The process is repeated with the other eleven batches.

From time to time, Eva and Leah yawn, not because they are bored, but because they are exhausted. They've been walking all day and there's also the fight against the Shaktila.

"And the moment you've all been waiting for has come," says Ebon.

As he speaks, the two assistants appear with the desired artifact and place it on the counter. Seeing it, many in the audience move nervously at the thought of them being the new owner of such a wonder.

"Rinmian is one of the most desirable objects. It's about..."

"Prepare yourselves. We have to get it any way we can," says Lucien.

"Don't worry. Everything is under control, okay?" Isabel says confidently.

"Okay, the bidding starts with 10,000,000," says Ebon.

"10,000,000," says one.

10,000,500," says another.

The bid quickly increases.

"Come on, Isabel, you can do it. We need you," encourages Leah.

" Eh... 22,500,000," Isabel finally says.

Everyone turns to see who's bidding. At first, the bid goes up between 100 and 1,000 at a time. However, this... human has raised the bid 9,000,000 more.

"Anybody want to raise the bid? 22,500,000 at one o'clock... 22.500.000 at two... 22.500.000 at three... Sold to the human," Ebon says as he drops the wooden hammer to end the auction. "Here ends the auction for today. Those who have won the auctions, please come to the counter at the entrance to deposit the bid money. Thank you very much for coming and I look forward to seeing you at the next auction with more lots."

The public begins to stand up and comment on how the auction went. Some people stare at the last bidder who took the most expensive lot.

"Let's get out of here and pay," says Lucien, as he gets up and helps Eve, who is about to fall asleep, to get up. However, he chooses to take her in his arms, so that she doesn't really fall in the end. With her in her arms, he begins to walk towards the exit, followed by Leah and Isabel.

When they leave the room, they approach the counter, where Ebon is already waiting for them. Isabel takes out the wad of bills and, surprisingly, pays the exorbitant price without any problem.

" All right, in a few minutes the object you bid on will be brought up to your suite. Thank you very much for participating," says Ebon.

Our heroes say goodbye and head for the elevator.

"What floor is your room on?" asks Leah, as she learns the number 25.

"Ha, ha, it's very funny, it turns out..." Isabel says.

Lucien and Leah snort.

"You can stay with us," says Lucien.

"Oh, wow. Gracias[1]," Isabel says.

Once in the room, everyone gets ready for bed: Leah and Isabel in the double bed, and Eva and Lucien in the double bed.