| Auction (2)|

'Damn, did I say something I wasn't supposed to?' I looked at Merlin who's giving me a side eyes with a face that is enough to answer my question.

"Umm, I'm not sure what that is, but she was the one that initiated the contract, so I think so?" I shrugged, hoping to switch topic.

'Was it that big of a deal who formed the contract?'

"Let me take a closer look at your bond!" the hooded guard exclaimed, creeping closer to us but Merlin appeared in front of Sylvie. I couldn't see his expression but judging from the guard's expression...it must have been something along the line of apathetic.

"Pardon me your Majesty. Correct me if this humble self is wrong but I think this guard is not doing what he's suppose to do as a 'mere' guard" Merlin's voice was so cold, it's my first time seeing him like this.

Before things could accelerate any further, the King stepped in.

"You are right, young man. This isn't the time nor place to study someone else's pet. You're being rude, Sebastian." His gaze turned harsh as he rebuked him.

"My apologies…" the guard named Sebastian apologized and back down.

"Arthur. Arthur Leywin," I finished, giving a curt bow.

"Merlin" Merl too followed suit.

The king and his wife gave us a small smile, we took our seats in time to hear the clear voice declaring that the auction would start soon.

>FSHOO<

A cold shiver made me turn back just to see Sebastian, who had taken off his hood, staring intently at Sylvie, who was nestled on my lap. I failed to see but Merlin had this mischievous smile upon seeing Sebastian eyeing Sylvie.

***

[Merlin's PoV]

"Ladies and Gentlemen! May I say that it is of the highest honor for me to be here tonight? All of you are gathered here today for one reason and one reason only, I presume? It is to have the chance to obtain rare and valuable items in this auction!"

Applause thundered in enthusiasm at the old gentleman's ardent introduction.

"If everyone in the audience would now kindly turn to face the back room at the very top, we have a few exceedingly important figures that have decided to bless us with their presence. Please join me in welcoming the King and Queen of Sapin!" The auctioneer was the first to flick out the tail of his suit and genuflect. The audience immediately followed suit, lowering themselves respectfully in a bow since they couldn't kneel in their seats.

The King and Queen, in response, stepped out towards the window in front of me and waved their arms slowly in a practiced motion.

'Being a Royal is such a hassel' I thought

"Next, the one that 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 stepped up next to the King and Queen, giving a deep bow in return.

I remained seated, looking down below at the crowds of people.

I turned my gaze toward the King and Queen, studying them. Despite the stoic expression the King always carried, he didn't have a domineering demeanor. He had a charismatic and strong presence, making it easy to believe that a majority of the citizens of Sapin would respect him, but that was it. He didn't earn his seat; his father had given it to him. The Glayder family had been the Royal Family since the founding of Sapin. I wasn't surprised to see that King Glayder's mana core was only at the red stage.

Turning my gaze over to the Queen, something caught my eyes that I didn't really notice at first. Strapped to the backside of her dress was a white wand. I couldn't sense her mana without enhancing my eyes, which meant she was either carrying an artifact that could hide it or she was at a level higher level than me...which is least likely to be true.

Queen Priscilla caught me observing her and gave me a discerning smile, revealing her pearl white teeth. Her smile threw me off-guard, making me flinch before returning her with a smile of my own and turned away.

'That wand must be really expensive...' Was the only thought in my mind.

The fourth object came on stage,

"This short sword was forged by a master smith who is also a fire artificer, ensuring that the quality during the forging process is top class. The core of this weapon is made from the core of a Thunder Hawk mana beast. Reinforcing this sword with just a little mana will produce currents of electricity around the edge of the blade, enhancing its cutting power and even having a mild paralyzing effect! The bid will start at fifty gold!"

Excited cries erupted immediately as nearly every noble boy who sought to become a mage tugged at their parent's sleeves, begging them to bid.

"Art, you're looking for a sword right?"

"Yeah..."

"This sword's useless..."

"Yeah" Art answered as his head propped up on his arm as he inadvertently let out a yawn.

There was a large screen that magnified the items so the audience in the back was able to see.

"I have the items you wanted in the back. I'll have one of the workers deliver it to me after this event is over," I heard Vincent whispering to Art, leaning closely to so only he could hear.

Art's ears perked up as he abruptly turned to him.

"You managed to find a voice-altering mask as well?"

"It took a bit longer than I expected but I finally managed to find one. I also got you a coat made from a nightmare fox that should make it harder for the wearer to be registered to the unsuspecting eye. I thought it would be something you would want so I snatched that too while I could," Vincent replied softly, shooting Art a wink.

"A Voice-altering mask? What for?" I asked.

"Shh, it's to ensure that no one will be able to identify me via my voice" Art stated his reasoning.

"...shit" I muttered, knowing that I made a huge mistake.

"Did you say something?" Art asked, not hearing my muttering.

"I said nice." I smiled wryly before focusing on the stage.

There were a few interesting items along the way. There were several beast cores, most of which were B-class or lower. The prices for those were astronomical. Even a C-class core was around fifty gold, and each class multiplied this figure exponentially. There were a few more artifacts and cores but none of those were things I wanted.

Next object is an unidentified slime-like object with a purple glow sitting on a pedestal in the center of the stage. The auctioneer announced the starting price of 40 golds, but there was little interest from the bidders.

>SHUA<

I got goosebump upon seeing this object, my intuition are telling me something.

'That thing...'

My intuition is telling me that there was something special about this object, and despite the murmurs of the other bidders, I decided to bid on it.

I raised the bidding board with 50 written on it.

"Merl, you're bidding?" Art asked.

"Why not? I like interesting things afterall" I answered.

I have collected around 802 gold coins so far, I have plenty to spend.

The auctioneer looked surprised but continued the bidding, hoping to drive the price up. But nobody else was interested, and I won the auction.

"Easy~"

As he approached the pedestal to collect his prize, he could feel the eyes of the other bidders on him, wondering why he would waste his money on what appeared to be a useless object.

I see that I've gotten quite the attention from the crowd, even the royal family is looking at me.

The King himself then bid on a few of them, winning an A-class beast core. It wasn't until a mage actually absorbed the core that they would find whether a beast core still contained a will or not. Chances were slim to find a core that still had its will still intact; even if it did contain the will, it had to be compatible with the user. Most beasts, however, had already passed it on to one of its offspring or instinctively chose to disperse their will before dying.

I guess the King was hoping to get lucky. The Queen, on the other hand, bid on a mana absorption ring and a couple other items useful for conjurers.

'Mana absorption ring...I should buy some cheaper ones from the magic store.' I made a mental note.

As the latter half of the auction approached, the items began increasing in value. As more and more items were sold off, my interest started to deplete until a large, square container, covered by a sheet, was rolled out onto the stage by a few workers.

I couldn't help but grow agitated as the auctioneer removed the sheet, revealing a cage full of females chained together with only a dirty sack to cover their private areas. No one among the slave is below 16 as this isn't an illegal auction house like in black market.

It disgusted me as so many noblemen frantically began bidding on the young female slaves that were soon stripped to show their assets like animals.

"Disgusting" I muttered, I could easily know what Art's thinking just from his look.

'Slaves are those who got their freedom taken right?' I thought.

I enhanced my eyes and skimmed through all the slaves, and I found something in common among them...A slave contact that is imprinted on the back of their neck.

***

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