In the distance, he saw the girl who was with the Magistrate going into the tower. He quickly scoured the place to look for the Magistrate. He didn’t want to stay near a person who could see through him that easily.
He guessed that the mage was her guard while the Magistrate was away. This meant that the girl was someone he could not afford to offend. After waiting for a while, he walked into the tower. Since the girl probably went to the first floor, he would be fine on the ground floor.
He entered and went straight to the purchasing counter to ask for some information.
“Hello, how can I help you?” The receptionist asked him.
“Hi, can you give me information about the auction?” Leo asked her.
“Yes, of course. Can I have your card, please?” She asked him. He handed it to her, and she took it to the back. She came back and handed it to him before talking again.
“The auction is on the 7th and 8th of January. Are you here for someone, or…” She asked him. Looking at his young age and appearance, she assumed he was running an errand for someone.
“I’m asking for myself,” he said. He didn’t mind that she was assuming. He expected it.
“Oh. You need to show that you can pay for all the purchases that you have made, so only accounts with more than 1 million Starcoins are allowed to participate in auctions. Anyone who does can request a free copy of the items appearing on the auction.” She said. “Unfortunately, you only have 3 thousand Starcoins in your account, so you aren’t eligible to participate.”
“So if I put in a million Starcoins, can I participate?” He asked. She nodded.
He took the card and went to the counter where he normally deposited cash into his card. He had done it numerous times and was experienced in it. He took out a pouch that he had on him to mask the use of the dimensional ring.
He pulled out the money from the pouch and deposited a million Starcoins in his account. He took his card back and went to the same person.
“Hi, I deposited some money. Can you please check and see if it’s enough?” He asked her.
She took the card with a begrudging look and checked the balance on it. When she did, she was so shocked that she almost dropped the card. She handed the card back to him with shaky hands.
“Yes, sir. You have enough money to participate in the auction. Do you want to hear the next steps to participate?” She asked with a more subdued tone of voice.
“Yes, please.” He said with a huge grin.
“I can have you registered for the auction, so you can come in on the day of the auction and proceed to the auction hall. You are in the General Buyer Section. You can collect your paddle on the day of if you show your card there.” She informed him.
He nodded. “Thank you for your help,” he said. “Can I get the items that appear on the auction?”
“Of course,” she said. She quickly scrambled to the back and brought a nicely decorated book. She handed it to him and he left.
The reason she became so respectful was because a million Starcoins was a lot of money. Only the wealthy commoners and the nobles could have them. This typically meant having a 2nd Circle Person as a member of the family. And a 2nd Circle member was essentially a Powerhouse in a small city like Solhaven. There were around a thousand of them in a city of 70000 people.
Leo was more special because he was so young and had this much money. It meant that he was part of a huge family. Even though he said he wasn’t there on behalf of someone, she assumed he was from a big family.
Meanwhile, Leo was facing his own set of problems. He was just walking out when he encountered the girl who was with the Magistrate. She had also come down the stairs at the same time that he was leaving the tower. He didn’t know why she was using the commoner’s entrance.
Aurora saw him and recognized him from a few days ago. Unfortunately for him, she approached him. The person guarding her also approached him with her.
The girl had light blonde hair and green eyes. She was an apprentice mage based on what he sensed from her. She looked the same age as him, so he assumed she was. She was dressed in a very fancy coat and she looked like she was in charge. Her demeanor showed that she was a noble.
The person next to her was a young man in his twenties. He was dressed in a military uniform with a crest pinned to his chest. Based on the gazes of contempt he gave the commoners who passed by, Leo guessed he was a noble.
“You. What’s your name again?” She asked Leo.
“Me? I’m Leo. What’s your name?” He asked her. He tried to be polite, but his use of language quickly showed the difference between the two.
“Lady Aurora, why are we wasting your precious time like this? Is this boy an eyesore to you? We can have him removed.” The man said.
Even though he could, Leo stopped himself from blowing up the mage in front of him. He was angry that the person thought he was that expendable, but that was just how nobles were.
“No. My grandfather liked this boy. I thought it would be interesting to actually converse with him,” she said. She had a more formal tone of voice than the last time he saw her. It was probably because she was with a different person.
‘”As for you, I’m Aurora. Nice to meet you,” she said. She didn’t curtsy, but she took his hand and shook it. Leo could immediately see the person behind her was getting angry at this.
“I’m sure that you have more important things to do. Why waste your time on me?” He asked her.
She frowned a little. “What are you implying? Are you implying that I cannot dictate how I use my time?” She asked him.
“No, of course not. I was just…” he trailed off. He didn’t want to trap himself. He was trying his best to decrease the interaction he was having with her.
She looked back and saw that her guard was getting impatient. She smiled at this.
“Mr. Redback. I don’t want to keep you waiting here. How about I have a meal with my friend here while you take care of any business you have?” She said to him.
The man became flustered. “I can’t do that Lady Aurora. The Lord Magistrate assigned me to protect you from-”
“There aren’t any threats that I will face. I can handle myself.” She said.
While this conversation was happening, Leo internally killed himself a few times. Why did he have the worst luck possible?