Of course, if I meet someone irresistible, I’ll still go for them or I wouldn’t be called Quinlan Noir. The best women of Thalorind only deserve the best man of Thalorind, it simply wouldn’t be fair to the ladies if I didn’t pursue them.
They deserve a chance to be with me.
After the pleasure slaves came the combat ones, and once again, I refrained from betting. There were a few somewhat promising ones, but they were not good enough to make me use my gold before the true gems of the night emerged.
“Now then, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time we enter the realm of true prestige and rarity!” the host announced with a booming voice. “What you’ve seen so far may be valuable, but they pale in comparison to what comes next! Prepare yourselves for items of unparalleled craftsmanship, ancient relics steeped in legend, and treasures sought by all!”
First was a beautiful Epic rarity longsword, and now that the slave auction part of the event ended, the two hot women who had to dress up due to the princess’ presence returned instead of the burly men who replaced them to keep the slaves in order.
A lot of people could use this blade in my faction, but none were of my most important subordinates. Cedric came to mind, but yeah… I’m sure his mom will get him something, or his sponsor. Ayame’s class only worked to its full potential if she used an eastern blade, so it wasn’t ideal for her. Iris was also a swordsman, but she already had an Epic rarity blade. I don’t know how she got it, there must be quite the story behind it.
Furthermore, Iris was her own woman with a sponsor to help her, so I didn’t see the need to spend dozens if not hundreds of gold to get her something like this. I didn’t treat her as my subordinate out of respect, but that also meant that I was not planning on showering her with gifts. She had to get them herself.
The ladies sitting behind me seemed to think differently about this blade though, as for the first time, the Scarlet Lilies bet on an item. “Ten gold…” The mage of the group muttered in such a slow, serene tone, that it felt like she was half asleep.
I didn’t know much about this member of the Lilies, only that her name was Void and that she could manipulate space to her advantage in some ways. When I unlocked [Warp Gate], Ayame told me that she’d never heard of a spell that could teleport like that, thus I was pretty confident in saying that she couldn’t do that, at least not on a scale I could. Well, to be fair, Orianna did somewhat bring Ayame’s reliability into question when she did a strange teleportation spell to attack Mordecai.
Ayame was a young girl, not even 18 when she was betrayed, thus her father didn’t impart all the needed knowledge to her before his untimely demise.
Void was also said to be blind, and indeed, she didn’t open her eyes back when I turned around to introduce myself. At least that meant she didn’t glare at me like her teammates did, though maybe she did, for I was sure she had some way to see despite her disability.
As for her clothes, she was a real bombshell just like the rest of the Gilf squad, she wore some rather revealing clothes, but even for such an event, she didn’t seem intent on losing her mage hat.
(Picture)
I couldn’t tell why Void would bet on a sword when she was a pure mage. Only Lilith used a sword in their team, but I don’t believe even for a second that she didn’t have a good sword. Maybe it broke, to be fair. Who knows what kind of fights these people get into…
“I don’t need it.” Lilith decreed just in time to confirm my thoughts.
“You always say that… but your giant sword collection… begs to differ… Think of it as my present for saving my life… on our last mission…”
Void was truly speaking like a sloth, but I couldn’t help but admit that it was very moody, I liked it. Felt good on my ears.
“My fair lady, there won’t be any bad blood if I bet against you, will there?” A rich count who was one of the ten people enjoying the front row asked while turning toward Void.
“… No, of course not… your next commission… might cost thrice as much… Inflation…” Damn, she was so lazy that she didn’t even bother forming correct sentences now.
The count chuckled wryly, “If that’s what it takes. Twenty gold!”
“Thirty…”
“Forty!”
“I quit…”
“Didn’t you just say it was for saving your life?” Lilith grumbled annoyedly.
“Is your life only worth 30 gold? Kekeke!” Scar, the rogue of the group snickered.
“No… but now that I think about it… my life wasn’t even in danger…”
“You were bleeding from hundreds of wounds and the horde was about to tear you apart! Bahaha!” It was the tanker who rebutted Void as she began laughing boisterously.
“… Lies…”
“Sigh, leave this shameless woman alone, she will never spend so much on anyone but herself…” Lilith murmured.
“… Very ugly lies…”
“Really? Then please brighten up my seemingly clouded memory, when did you buy anything in this price range for anyone but yourself?”
“… No bully…”
As the grannies continued their bickering, a sudden overwhelming feeling assaulted my body.
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I’d never felt anything like this before.
“Ladies and gentlemen! The next set of items are such a curiosity that even we couldn’t make out what they were meant to do exactly, but only one look is enough to ascertain the fact that they’re a true gem!”
The two women brought out a truly curious set of items, making my whole body shiver and it only intensified the closer they walked to me.
It felt as if my entire existence was screaming at me to acquire this set no matter the cost or method.
