-Chapter 13- Auction I

Arthur Leywin P.O.V.

The big Helstea auction event is happening soon. It has been two months since we had decided the rules for me to go adventuring. Eleanor has made very little progress with developing her mana core but she is at least now able to do it on her own so she can train it while I'm gone. With her short attention span, she won't awaken till she is around the age of 11 which is still early for humans.

The Twin horns should be arriving soon for the anniversary event today. I am happy to see them again even though it's only been a couple of months since they left. As if on cue I heard a loud knocking on the front door, since I was nearby I went to answer it.

"Welcome-" I was once again hit with the nostalgic sensation of being smothered by a pair of foam pillows. A classic method of assassination, I thought this would stop happening but it seems they never learn.

I push her away to free myself and start to catch my breath.

"Angela you're gonna kill him one day," Adam says while walking in the manor. "Hey brat, just because I am gonna be your future bodyguard doesn't mean I'll save you for free, pay up."

Ignoring his dumb antics I say hello to the rest of the Twin Horns. The rest of my family comes downstairs to greet the Twin Horns and they all begin sharing stories. Helen and Angela both admire Ellie asking her things like how old she was.

We began getting into carriages to leave towards the Helstea Auction House. It didn't take long for us to arrive and I was shocked at the sight of the auction house. I haven't been here yet after living in Xyrus for several years, so this is the first time I have ever seen it. The architecture is divine even from what I've seen in my past life.

I see lots of nobles being brought to their seats, and now and then I see some special guests being brought up to some balconies. That's when I see the place we will be staying, a large room with a thick wall of glass to look down onto the stage. The VIP balcony is for important guests or the owner. We head up to see it has a few couches to watch the auction and a bar for refreshments.

We got situated after a while, Vincent had left for a moment only for the doors to burst open. Vincent walks Vincent, guiding several people behind him to the room. I see a man a bit older than my dad, he has deep red hair with a few streaks of gray. His broad shoulders and ramrod-straight posture of his spine took years off his appearance making him look older than he was. His eyes were stern and harsh, with sword-shaped eyebrows. Finally, the red robe he was wearing was lined with white fur around the collar. This man was the man I saw back when the royal family entered the city, so he must be the King.

Behind him was a lady who looked a few years older than my mother, her facial features reminding me of an ice sculpture, refined, noble, and flawless. But also cold and devoid of emotion. She wore a shimmering silvery-white dress that complimented her dark blue hair.

Following her, who I assumed to be the Queen, were two children who could only be their kin. The older child, a boy who looked around five years older than me, so 13 or so. He took after his father with mahogany hair and serious brown eyes. He gave off a level of charisma his other family members didn't have, one that would make him the center of any group or a great leader.

The younger child, a girl who looked to be about my age, studied the room before locking eyes with me. She looked at me with her penetratingly sharp eyes, which seemed much too mature for her age. Her hair was raven black, but in contrast to her dark hair and eyes, her small lips were a soft pink shade, giving her a doll-like appearance.

Peeling my eyes away from the girl in front of me, I turned my attention to the three guards who followed after.

Everyone in the room was quick to bow down on one knee so I followed suit, my slow reaction was surely noticed though when I heard one of the guards scoff.

The King then spoke, "I didn't know we would have guests here."

Vincent quickly replies, "They are close family friends, I'm sure you met my head of security Reynolds Leywin. These are his family."

The King looking over us for a moment forms a smile and says, "If they are your friends Vincent, then they are mine as well."

Queen Priscilla starts talking to Tabitha and my Mom, "It's nice to have company here other than the guards."

With a nod, the King tells us to not be so stiff and asks us to treat them like any other family friend. We all sit down, but I distinctly notice the King even after saying that separates himself from everyone else but the guards. I spot their son Curtis sitting near him peering down to the large auction room watching people enter.

I look over to the bar and see my Mom and Aunt Tabitha talking to Queen Priscillia about raising children.

Enjoying my time watching the others get along, suddenly I feel a gaze on me. The gaze isn't strong but is certainly threatening. I can feel the greed from the look, I turn my head to look for who could be watching me. I see a hooded man with a bony jawline and hollow cheeks, with gray hair falling onto his face. He was one of the King's royal guards, based on his appearance he was a conjurer, he wore a maroon hooded robe and in his hand was a metal staff.

When he sees that I caught his gaze he looks away and pretends to be focusing on something else. 'Did he dislike me? I haven't done anything yet.'

Suddenly, I heard an announcer up on stage speak into an artifact. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! May I say that it is the highest honor for me to be here tonight. All of you here are gathered today for one reason and one reason only, I presume for the chance to obtain the rare and valuable items in this auction!"

The crowd's applause thundered in enthusiasm at the announcers' introduction.

"If everyone in the audience would not kindly turn to face the back room at the very top, we would have a few exceedingly important figures who have blessed us with their presence. Please join me in welcoming the King and Queen of Sapin!"

The auction swiftly gets down to one knee and bows down towards the VIP lounge. The audience immediately followed suit, each noble in the crowd lowering in respect towards the window in front of me.

The King and Queen in response stepped towards the window and waved their arms slowly in a practiced motion. They eventually returned to what they were doing prior, the Queen talking with the other mothers and the King impatiently waiting for the auction to start.

"Next, the man who has made this whole event possible. Please give a big round of applause for Vincent Helstea!" The auctioneer's introduction was followed by another round of applause as Vincent this time stepped up to the window giving a deep bow.

I simply remained seated watching all the nobles below. The entire crowd was supposed to be a higher class than me, but I couldn't help but think back to when I was king, and if they were bowing and clapping for me-

'No, I shouldn't think like that. I'm not a king anymore.' I told myself. I hadn't even gone through puberty yet. I shouldn't bother thinking of acting like someone who didn't exist anymore.

I chose to simply observe the King and Queen, the citizens of Sapin respected them greatly. But they hadn't earned their seat. They were given it. I used mana to check to see the King's mana core, It wasn't anything surprising to see it was only Solid red.

I turned my attention to the Queen this time, what caught my eye was her wand on the back of her dress. I try to use mana to sense her mana core but fail to sense anything. I couldn't sense her mana which meant she probably had an artifact or was strong enough to hide it.

Queen Priscilla caught me observing her and gave me a knowing smile, revealing her pearly white teeth. The smile caught me off-guard, I flinched and quickly turned away. I could feel how hot my face was, making it all the more embarrassing.

Vincent was the one who knocked me out of my thoughts when he suddenly squeezed my shoulder "Arthur, a sword is up for auction if you want it you can put in my bid. Don't worry about the price, perks of owning the place." he whispers.

"Thank you," I observed the large screen that showed the items on stage.

The announcer was explaining the item, "This short sword was forged by a master smith who ensured that the forging process was of the finest quality. The weapon is imbued with the core of the Thunder Hawk mana beast. Reinforcing this sword with just a little mana will produce currents of electricity around the edge, enhancing its cutting power. The bidding will start with fifty gold."

Every noble boy in the crowd who sought to become a mage begged their parents to auction the short sword.

Good weapons were expected to be expensive, but fifty gold coins? Even with the straightforward currency in this world, that many gold coins for a short sword were a great surprise to me. A family of four could live in a small town like Ashbur just for a few copper coins a day.

Vincent's gaze kept shifting to me hoping I would be impressed, I simply shook my head in response.

"No worry, that's just the start. Let me know if you find something you like," he whispers.

After that I watched the auction go by, there were quite a few interesting items along the way. Tons of beast cores which were B-class or lower. A C-class core was around fifty gold. There were a few artifacts and cores but nothing I wanted.

The king had bid on quite a few of them, winning an A-class beast core. It wouldn't be till the mage absorbed the core they would learn whether or not it had a beast will within it. Meanwhile, the Queen had bid on a few conjurer items like a mana absorption ring.

As we reached the latter half of the auction we started to see the price of things increase in value. More and more items were sold off, soon a large square container, covered by a sheet was rolled out onto the stage by a few workers. I was agitated to see under the sheet was a cage full of female humans chained together to be auctioned off as slaves.

Vincent was looking guilty for having slaves be auctioned in his own auction house. The problem was the amount of money it made led the business to be hard to ignore.

I choose to get up and walk off to not look at the sight. I leave to one of the side rooms and simply walk around looking at the decorations. I hear someone approach and I turn around, I see the same guard who had gazed at me earlier approaching me. I can feel his mana focus on me sensing my strength.

I finally understand why he has been targeting me. He knows I'm a mage, 'Damnit why this again.' I try to speak but no sound is coming out, he must have planned this and brought a sound canceling artifact.

He raises his staff to try and stop me from moving.

'This foolish plebeian has the audacity.'

(Sebastian: Oh, You're approaching me?

Arthur: I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer)

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