Vivian

In front of a tall and majestic building in Rosewood Town, a group of soldiers stood on guard on both sides neatly, staring at the pedestrians with solemn expressions.

This was the largest chamber of commerce in Rosewood Town—the Nightingale Chamber of Commerce.

Many aristocrats in gorgeous attire and their female companions entered the hall and walked towards the room on the second floor of the chamber of commerce after submitting the admission tickets.

On the other side of the passageway was a mercenary dressed in excellent equipment. The group leader led the team to enter the arena after showing the gray admission ticket and came to the lobby on the first floor to take a seat.

Click~ Clack~ Click~ Clack~

The sound of horseshoes came from a distance, and everyone caught a glimpse of an exquisite carriage slowly stopping in front of the chamber of commerce.

As soon as the door opened, they saw a gallant-looking lady in a men's suit stepping out of the carriage. She wore a faint smile on her mouth, exuding a hint of maturity that didn't match her young appearance. When she stepped off the carriage, many gazes started to flock at her presence, and surprisingly, the majority of them were the eyes of many coquettish noble ladies.

After walking down, Aurora turned around and stretched out her hand towards the car door, and a slender hand stretched out from inside and gently put it on her hand.

Everyone took a deep breath when a beautiful elf girl wearing a stunning gown and carefully walking out of the carriage appeared. The unique noble temperament and beauty of the elves, combined with the faint blush on her face, made the hearts of most men beat unconsciously.

After Claudia got off the carriage, Aurora stretched out her hand to the carriage again, and Flamme walked out of the carriage in the same way under the eyes of everyone. The moment everyone saw her, they almost stopped breathing.

Just one glance at her graceful figure had that kind of primitive desire sweeping over her upper body, but when they saw her angelic face, they couldn't bear to blaspheme her.

The carriage gradually drove away. Claudia and Flamme stood beside Aurora and locked hands at the same time. A blush slowly rose on Claudia's face, and she whispered shyly into her ear. "Just this one time, okay!"

Feeling the warm and soft touch from her arms, the faint fragrance from the two girls on the left and the right, and the envious eyes of the people around her, Aurora only has one word in her heart—awesome!

After all, ordinary people may not be able to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The only regret was…

Aurora looked at Flamme on her right side. Although she also hugged her hand tightly, her expression was still as calm as ever, unlike Claudia on the left, who was slightly flushed because of shyness.

Well, what did she expect from Flamme, anyway?

However…

Aurora recalled her gentle eyes when she picked up the child that day, and she didn't know when she could see them again.

"Leader, let's go! Don't stand here in a daze." Claudia secretly squeezed her hand. The enthusiastic eyes of the people around her made her very uncomfortable.

"Hmm, let's go." Aurora, who had come back to her senses, smiled lightly, and the three of them treaded towards the entrance.

"Welcome distinguished guest, please come in!"

After confirming the admission ticket, the members of the Chamber of Commerce at the door smiled and waved their palms towards the inside.

As soon as they entered, a member of the Chamber of Commerce who was in charge of escorting them came forward and led the three girls towards the second floor until they were brought into a room.

When Aurora entered the door, she found that the window of this room was facing the central hall downstairs, and a magic circle had been placed on the glass window to prevent detection. From the inside, you could clearly see everything outside, but the line of sight from the outside would be blocked by this magic circle.

It functioned similarly to the one-way glass window in a police interrogation room that often showed up in television shows in her previous world.

There were comfortable sofas and reclining chairs in the room, and the table was filled with a fancy assortment and black tea. The magic stone lamps on the surrounding walls illuminate the whole room resplendently, giving you a sense of luxury.

"Milady, this is the bidding gem of our auction. If you find something you like later, you can use this bidding gem to bid for it with magic power. If the bid is successful, you can put the coins in this grid. The auction item will come to Milady from here after the coins are collected."

The member of the chamber of commerce introduced the tools in front of the sofa to Aurora with a smile on his face.

"Okay, I got it. By the way, can I auction items at this auction?" Aurora suddenly asked after learning how to use it.

"Yes, I don't know what items Milady wants to auction?"

"This is what I want to auction."

With a flick of her hand, Aurora took out a wand from the inventory and put it on the table. It was the elite wand that Claudia looted from the black-robed woman earlier—Nether Embrace.

"I'm very sorry, Milady. Judging from the fluctuations in magic power, this wand of yours must be expensive. I need to ask our appraiser to come and appraise it before we can determine the exact price. Could you please wait a moment, Milady?"

"No problem."

Shortly after the members of the chamber of commerce bowed their heads and left quickly, Aurora heard a knock on the door.

When she opened the door, she saw a girl in a black gauze and purple dress standing at the door. Seeing her open the door, the girl raised the hem of her skirt with both hands and saluted. Although her beauty was not as overwhelming as Flamme's or Claudia's, she was as elegant and quiet as a beauty under the moon.

Aurora raised her eyebrows slightly when she saw this young girl.

The young girl in front of her was also someone she knew well back then. With her own power, it took her three years to miraculously save the chamber of commerce that was on the verge of bankruptcy and make it one of the largest chambers of commerce.

Three years ago, this girl was just 17 years old!

And in the subsequent progress of the main quest, she would also have to deal with her. No matter what kind of materials and items the players had, they could get a satisfactory price from her. This was the reason why she became one of the new players' favorite characters.

Even a pile of common junk, such as old furs and damaged monster armor picked up by the player in the dungeon, could fetch a good price from her. Of course, it was only a one-time event for newbies.

Only later, when the Republic of Harmonia declared war on the Arentia Kingdom, did she persuade the Chamber of Commerce to join the war and continue to supply Brigitt City with materials and equipment. Unfortunately, she was also one of the characters who fell victim to the Republic of Harmonia's atrociousness.

This was also one of the triggers for players to hate the Republic of Harmonia to the bone.

"It's an honor to meet you, Dame Silverburg. I'm Vivian from the Nightingale Chamber of Commerce. We are glad to have your presence here in today's auction."

The girl's eyes showed a brilliance that rarely appeared in a girl who had barely reached her twenties as she observed the female mercenary in front of her with curiosity. She had heard the rumor of the newcomer mercenary who had only recently appeared in Rosewood Town but was able to receive Earl Vidal's grace for curing his daughter's illness, which had proven unsolvable even for senior priests from the church, and was even named a noble by the earl himself.

She felt a sense of camaraderie and longing to meet the young female mercenary leader after hearing such an outstanding achievement by a girl younger than herself.

It wasn't easy for a woman to thrive in a profession such as mercenary where mostly dominated by men. As a merchant, where the treatment of women who pursue a career in this profession wasn't that much better off or could be even worse, she knew from experience that such a feat would be impossible to achieve without outstanding ability and perseverance.

Vivian had fought hard since taking over the helm of Nightingale Chamber of Commerce from her grandfather's hand, spilling a lot of blood and sweat to reach the unshakeable position she now held, despite the mockery and disdain of her peers. After she had single-handedly brought the nearly bankrupt company to its current high, no one dared to underestimate her uncanny business acumen and decisiveness.

However, such prestige also brought her a lot of loneliness. It was difficult for her to find someone that she could truly call a friend—someone that could stand shoulder to shoulder with her, someone that truly understood her. Most of them approached her with ulterior motives in mind or were too dumb to appreciate her true worth.

However, when she heard about Aurora, her heart told her that she might be different. After seeing the person with her own eyes, her hunch ultimately didn't fail her. She was really different and even exceeded her expectations.

'If it's her, she'll definitely...'

From Aurora's shimmering golden eyes, Vivian could perceive complete confidence and a sense of dignity, as if everything was within her grasp, nothing was outside her calculation. Strangely, she also sensed a trace of melancholy from her gaze, as if the girl in front of her had known her for a long time, like she had met a long-lost bosom friend. But how could it be? She was certain that they had just met today. Nevertheless, it wasn't a bad feeling. Not at all.

'I can be a true friend with her,' Vivian's heart told so.

"Miss Vivian, I am also very happy to meet you. I never expected to witness the dignity of a legendary girl in this way on this occasion."

Vivian could feel the sincerity in her deep, charming voice. It wasn't just small talk, nor was it just common courtesy. That made her truly feel joy, but she didn't show it in her expression, 'Keep calm, I have an image to maintain... you're not a little girl anymore, Vivian!'

"Milady is joking. I just happened to meet the opportunity as best I could. The rumors are too exaggerated." Vivian smiled lightly, but couldn't hide the pride in her tone.

"It isn't exaggerated at all. I believe the future of the Nightingale Chamber of Commerce will be more brilliant in Miss Vivian's capable hands," Aurora sincerely said.

"Is that so?" Vivian smiled even more brightly. "I'll borrow milady's auspicious word then."

Vivian wanted to continue chatting, but then she heard a light cough from the attendant beside her and finally remembered her original purpose. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment and quickly inquired. "Then, can you show me the staff?"

"Okay, please come in." Aurora brought Vivian in.

Vivian soon began to appraise the Nether Embrace. Her fingers rested lightly on the wand, and the fingertips emitted a faint gleam. Under the flow of light, the attributes of the wand were clearly recorded on the parchment she carried.

"Milady, the wand has been appraised. An elite wand with this attribute is very precious. According to my estimate, the auction can start with as few as 200 gold coins. Are you sure you want to auction it?"

"Please just call me Aurora, Miss Vivian; I hope this wand can be auctioned off as soon as possible." Aurora nodded.

"When the auction starts, we will give priority to bringing your wand to the earlier session. I wonder if Lady Aurora agrees?"

"No problem."

This magic wand was useless to her anyway; it was better to auction it for some gold coins so that, in case something she needed appeared in the auction later, she would have the confidence to bid for it.

"I understand. Please sign your name here. After the auction is successful, the gold coins will be sent to you through the delivery box as soon as possible. Our chamber of commerce will draw 10% of the total gold coins as a handling fee..." Vivian paused slightly. "Since Lady Aurora is here for the first time, I will not charge you a single fee this time. I hope we will have better cooperation opportunities in the future."

"Thank you, Miss Vivian, for your generosity. I also hope to establish a good friendship with your Chamber of Commerce in the future."

"It's our honor to cooperate with milady."

Vivian really wanted to spend more time with Aurora, but the time for the auction would soon arrive. Reluctantly, she bid farewell to the mercenary lady.

"Then I won't bother Lady Aurora any longer." Before turning around to leave, Vivian asked anxiously, "If milady has spare time in the future, would you mind sharing a cup of tea together?"

"Of course. I'm happy to accompany such a lovely lady."

"It's a promise, then."

"It's a promise."

Seeing Vivian's expectant gaze, Aurora couldn't help but chuckle in her heart.

After reconfirming, Vivian put away the Nether Embrace and saluted Aurora before leaving the room, and Aurora was also leaning on the sofa to take a rest for a while before sensing a pair of intense gazes directed at her.

She raised her head and laughed wryly when she saw Claudia and Flamme staring at her with piercing glares.

"What's with that look?"

Flamme didn't say anything and kept staring at her with an indifferent face, while Claudia pouted a little and muttered in a low voice.

"Captain, you seem to be quite friendly with Miss Vivian. Is this really your first meeting?"

"It's just your imagination." Aurora quickly denied it. "It's just that she looked like someone I knew before."

"Oh..." Claudia didn't seem to buy her excuses.

Aurora didn't say anything anymore and simply closed her eyes.

Claudia saw that Aurora didn't have the intention to explain further, harrumphed, and walked slowly toward the window. She stood in front of the glass window and observed the situation inside the auction hall with a curious face.

She found that there were many mercenaries sitting in the seats and shouting loudly. She looked around, frowned slightly when she saw something unpleasant, and returned to Aurora's side.

"Captain... that group of troublesome guys has also come over."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Aurora, who was still resting, immediately opened her eyes, stood up, went to the window, and looked in the direction of Claudia's finger. A big bald head among the noisy mercenaries caught her attention.

"It's really a narrow road for enemies to meet. I didn't expect this group of people to come to the auction."

Aurora eyed Olsen and his group icily, who were forcing other mercenaries to make room for them, but she looked around and didn't seem to find their leader. He must have something to deal with, so he asked Olsen to come forward in his stead.

"Since you're here, I won't be polite..." Aurora's mouth curled into a wicked smile. "Tonight will be fun~"

Her appearance in Claudia's eyes made her feel a little sympathy for the members of the Raging Tempest Mercenary Group. This group of people will probably be punished enough today.

*

"What happened?"

Kicking away a mercenary from the fifth-ranked mercenary regiment, Olsen looked at him disdainfully, suppressing his anger, and moved away. Suddenly, he felt a chill in his back. He looked around and didn't notice anything strange.

"Am I too sensitive? Don't worry about it! We must get the thing the boss told us today!" Olsen looked at the central auction table with a serious expression.

Blair escaped from under his nose after the conflict with Aurora. The failure of the monitoring task resulted in him being severely punished by the boss. This time he came to bid on behalf of the boss, so he didn't want to fail!

"Aurora, you wait for me! Sooner or later, I will rip your throat out with my own hands and humiliate you like the bitch you are."

Olsen growled viciously while touching the scorched black patch on his chest.