Theo had always been a model student. When the other students had gone out drinking with friends, he had stayed in the library and faithfully followed the path of a magician. He had never been curious about a tavern or entertainment house. In that sense, this place was an unknown experience for Theo.
In the center of the auction house, a gentle-looking middle-aged man raised his hand.
[No. 176 has raised the bid to fifty gold! Does anyone else want to bid? After ten seconds, the item will be awarded to customer No. 176!]
The voice of the host was just loud enough to cut through the chatter. He was using a necklace that had been enchanted with a sound amplification spell. It allowed him to speak at a normal volume and still be heard, conserving his voice.
However, his eyes were not spared, and were always swiveling from one corner to another.
[Yes, No. 238! A bid of sixty gold! Any more? There are still three more bidding opportunities!]
The bidding method of the underground auction wasn’t too different from other auctions. Participants had a sign with their number and would raise it to indicate a bid, then they would raise their fingers to indicate the bid amount to the host. However, this place was outside the boundaries of the law, so the rules of the underground auctions had an important addition.
Gibra whispered to Theo in a tense tone, “The underground auctions have additional rules that don’t exist in ordinary auction houses.”
“Additional rules?” Theo asked with a strange expression.
He knew about the ordinary rules, but he didn’t know there were additional rules. Rules and morality were no use in a lawless place like this, and those gathered at the auction house knew this better than anyone else. Would they concede to new rules being added? Theo couldn’t understand it.
Gibra smiled bitterly at his question. “As Employer said, when the underground auctions first began, there were all sorts of problems. Making a bid in order to raise the price or colluding with others to increase the burden on the competitors… There were even cases of using poison or assassins to reduce the number of participants.”
“How common.”
“Well, yes. However, a major incident occurred thirty years ago.”
Theo’s ears pricked up at the mention of a large incident. The branch director of the Information Guild on the central continent, the King of Mice, would not use those words lightly.
Unsurprisingly, Theo found it hard to maintain his expressionless face at Gibra’s next words.
“To sum it up, a member of the royal family was killed.”
Theo nearly choked. “-Huh?!”
“Come now. It is an open secret, but don’t make a loud sound. There are those who hate hearing about what happened.” Gibra snagged a drink from a passing servant and took a sip before continuing.
Since the underground auctions were outside the law, it was rare for people to reveal their identities. So when Kargas’ 4th Prince, Musica, had found out about the auction house, he had disguised himself. The disguise had worked, but in retrospect, perhaps he might have been better off not trying to disguise himself.
At the very least, he wouldn’t have received a glass filled with poison.
“Since then, there have been a few more stringent rules that’ve been added. Be careful of touching an opponent when you don’t know who they are.”
Theo sucked in a breath. “Hah, how is this place still standing after that?”
Gibra chuckled darkly. “Fortunately, he wasn’t the heir to the throne but the 4th Prince. If he had been the heir, all of Sipoto would’ve been accused of treason.”
The 4th Prince might have died, but the underground auction brought the kingdom an astronomical amount of money. Thus, the king of Kargas saw more value from the underground auctions than one of his useless sons. Thus, the assassin had been quietly killed, the murder covered up, and the underground auction had a few unnatural rules added.
Gibra deftly changed the topic by pointing to the next auction item. “Oh! Employer, over there. It is today’s first original book.”
“… Indeed.”
“Huh, just forget about what I told you. It already happened, so there is no point wasting time worrying about it.”
Theo smiled. “I understand. Then let’s focus on the auction.”
***
The special rules of the Kargas underground auction were as follows:
In some ways, they were better than the rules of a general auction house. The sellers were guaranteed a price close to the market, and buyers were guaranteed some sort of limit on any bidding wars. However, some cooperation could get around these rules, so buyers often hired professionals to bid for their items in order to avoid falling for any tricks.
Theo quickly arrived at the same conclusion.
… It is tricky. I had read a few books about auctions, but it isn’t something that an amateur can get involved in.
Theo might be smart, but he lacked experience compared to the experts who were cheerfully mingling in the room. They had been swimming in these waters long before him, and knew the rules and trends of the underground auction houses better than anyone else. If Theo was participating in the underground auction by himself, it was clear he would’ve wasted a lot of money. 𝓫𝒹ℴ𝓿𝓵.𝓬ℴ𝓶
However, Theo had a different purpose, so he hired someone who was better than some auctioneers.
[No. 381 has won the original book [Applications of Lightning Arrows] for fifty gold! My sincere congratulations!]
Akan’s resourcefulness didn’t just end with acting. He had come highly recommended by Gibra, and proved his worth by easily beating another professional auctioneer to win another original book for Theo. Just like the other four original books they’d bought in this auction so far, this one didn’t have a Rare rating, but it wasn’t a bad profit. If this continued, Theo would be able to obtain more than twenty original books by the time the auctions ended.
Gibra chuckled. “Hahaha! How is it? It wasn’t a waste of money to hire us.”
Theo nodded. “Yes, truly wonderful skills.”
It might be patronizing to say something like this, but Gibra was clearly in a good mood.
A set of servants brought [Applications of Lightning Arrows] to Theo, who placed it in his inventory. He had felt a little bitter about hiring three agents at ten gold per day, but these results were enough to show him that the money was worth it. Theo had simply wanted an assistant from the Information Guild, so this was a pleasant surprise.
At that moment, his right temple tickled from someone’s gaze.
Again.
It was a little bit annoying, but Theo suppressed the emotion and met the gaze calmly. A fat man was staring at Theo with a heated expression. The fat man’s body reminded him of Professor Balloon from the Bergen Academy.
According to the Information Guild, he was the nouveau riche librarian called Coulson. Theo recalled what Gibra had told him
“Ah, he doesn’t operate a real library.He doesn’t like reading books. He just likes collecting books in order to prove his status.He’s made a collection with all the books he bought, which got him that nickname.Well, if he thinks it will damage him then he will hand it over.”
However, Theo had directed Akan to buy as many original books as possible, so Akan hadn’t given an inch to Coulson. However, Theo didn’t feel the least bit guilty. He didn’t buy books to read but to live. As a magician, he disliked fools who placed a value on information.
Coulson hurriedly turned head away from the cold light in Theo’s eyes. He hadn’t the spirit to meet Theo’s eyes for long. Theo turned away from Coulson’s unsightly appearance toward another person.
The only real contender is that man.
The man had white hair and a white beard, along with so many wrinkles that he looked like tree bark. Despite that, the old man’s posture was as straight as a pine tree, and the intensity in his gaze wasn’t any less than that of a young man.
The Information Guild had nicknamed him Old Books Maniac, but his given name was Heinrich. He was a scholar who would read books until he died. Although he didn’t hoard books like Coulson, Heinrich never backed down when it came to getting a book he wanted.
This meant that he was willing to spend as much money as it took. It was an image which Theo didn’t hate, but it made it hard for him. Theo looked at the upright profile of the old man and turned his head away.
The sound of the cart carrying the next item tickled Theo’s ears.
At that moment, the host cried out, “Oh, No. 107! No. 107 has increased the bid by 100%! The minimum bid for this item is twenty gold, so from now on, you will have to bid over forty-two gold!”
The Old Books Maniac, Heinrich, raised his sign faster than anyone else. Those who had been to other auctions reluctantly gave up. They could tell that Heinrick would never give up. This old man would pay up to five times the price if they tried to keep bidding.
However, at that moment…
“N-No. 381! 100% has been bid again! Sixty gold!”
Theo’s agent, Akan had raised the sign. The best move was to allow Heinrich to gain the book, but he couldn’t refuse his employer’s instructions. That’s right. It was Theodore Miller himself who put in the second 100% bid.
“Akan.”
“Yes.”
“You must buy it. The budget for the item is two hundred gold, so I will allow you to go up to that limit.”
Akan couldn’t understand, but he just nodded. The money was coming from Theo, so the Information Guild wouldn’t receive any damage. Gibra tried to stop him, but Theo couldn’t resist buying this original book. This item was that meaningful for him.
This original book was [Introduction to Elemental Magic II]. It was an elemental magic theory book written by Myrdal Herseim. If Theo bought the original book, he would be able to talk to Myrdal again. Furthermore, the fragment of soul from a sage was worth a few times more than others. It was an item he absolutely couldn’t miss.
“N-No. 107 has come back with 100% again! Now it is eighty gold!”
From here on out, it was war. The old man’s fierce gaze turned to Theo. The young magician had no intention of giving up either, so he also stared back with powerful eyes.
Thus, the bidding war at the northern auction house began.