Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 92 : Slave Auction House (2)

Slave Auction House (2)

A residence in Shioten.

Several nobles were gathered at the Deoric family's villa, chatting among themselves.

"Does anyone know who that man at the auction is?"

"There aren't many who could spend that much money without batting an eye ..."

The topic of conversation was, without a doubt, the man they had just seen at the auction house.

A mysterious man who had bought all the demi-human slaves and then disappeared.

There were countless wild speculations, but no one could provide a definitive answer to his identity.

"Does Count Deoric perhaps know anything?"

A noble addressed Logan Deoric, who had remained silent up to that point.

Logan had kept his mouth firmly shut, not joining in the conversation.

"I don't know."

"If even Count Deoric doesn't know ... I, I apologize."

The noble, who'd tried to sound friendly, quickly fell silent under Logan's sharp gaze.

He had only just realized that Logan wasn't in a good mood at all.

'... Clay Vanhart.'

The man who had disappeared after buying all the demi-human slaves at the auction.

Logan thought of Clay, prompted by those actions.

It was only a guess, but Clay's name kept echoing in his mind.

This was simply an event too bizarre to make sense of.

'... If it's that bastard, it wouldn't be strange for him to do something no one else would even think of.'

Buying up all the demi-human slaves—Logan thought it was excessive to chalk it up to mere hobby.

There had to be a reason for investing so much money.

And Clay Vanhart was always doing the unexpected, going beyond everyone's predictions.

That's why, the man behind these incomprehensible actions immediately called Clay to Logan's mind.

"Hey, Viscount Gwynn. Is that all for today's auction? I heard all the demi-humans caught have been sold off."

A noble addressed another man who had been quiet up to then.

The man, giving off the impression of a mouse, quickly wrung his hands and bowed.

This was none other than Viscount Gwynn, the one who oversaw all the auctions in the city's underworld.

"As a matter of fact, there's going to be a rather unusual auction tomorrow."

"An unusual auction?"

"Thanks to the prince of Lavantara lending a hand this time, we were able to pull off a massive raid, weren't we?"

"That's right."

"During that, we acquired some valuable goods. For example ..."

Viscount Gwynn, pleased by the attention he was drawing, quietly continued.

"There is, you know, Seven Swords Under Heaven."

At those words, Logan's eyes widened. After all, that was what had made Clay a hero renowned across the continent.

"There was a temple in one of the villages we raided this time. Was it a village where dwarves lived? By coincidence, we caught them while they were moving it during the raid, so we just took it. And, well, we've got plenty of other items ..."

"Where is it?"

Viscount Gwynn frowned slightly as someone cut him off mid-speech, but when he realized it was Logan, he quickly bowed again.

"It's scheduled to go up at tomorrow's auction."

"So you're saying it's being kept at the auction house right now."

"That's correct."

"Take me there."

"... Pardon?"

Viscount Gwynn's eyes widened at Logan's command.

"I said take me there."

"P-please wait. That's only going up for auction tomorrow!"

"So?"

Logan rose slowly from his seat.

A heavy murderous aura began to leak out from his body.

Under the killing intent of a knight on the verge of becoming a Swordmaster, the other nobles blanched and fell silent.

Even though the Deoric family had recently lost dominance of the south, they were still one of the most prestigious families in the Talua kingdom.

There was not a single noble here who dared to defy Logan's words.

"I said I'll buy it. How much do you want?"

"Th-that's ..."

Viscount Gwynn hesitated, his eyes darting back and forth.

Logan was infuriated by his behavior.

Clearly, Viscount Gwynn was considering the possibility of 'that man' showing up tomorrow. He could ask for an unimaginable price.

That's why Logan didn't want to wait for tomorrow.

No matter what, he wanted to make that sword his own.

"Viscount Gwynn."

"Y-yes?"

"Do you want to die?"

"...!"

Viscount Gwynn startled at the murderous intent coming from Logan.

This was not the head of the Deoric family he knew.

Right now, Logan seemed genuinely ready to kill Viscount Gwynn.

"I-I'll sell it."

"Good. Then take me to it right now."

"Understood, yes, sir."

It was an outrageous demand, but under Logan's deadly aura, no one dared to speak up.

* * *

As I entered the room where the demi-humans were gathered, they all sat politely in place.

"Oh my. Welcome, Clay."

Riya said with a bright smile.

As she smiled, I could sense the demi-humans around her flinch visibly.

I watched them for a moment, then spoke calmly.

"Before I introduce myself, let me say one thing first. I did not buy you to use as slaves."

Distrust flickered in their eyes. Understandably so.

"I paid money to purchase you solely so I could send you back to your homelands."

"Don't spout nonsense!"

An elven youth shouted as he stood.

Judging from the injuries on his face, he seemed to have been beaten.

"You think we don't know how you humans scheme! Surely, you have another wicked plan ..."

"Hmph."

The elven youth who was spitting venom quickly quieted down at Riya's serene smile.

"I don't think we could believe you so easily. Our minds and hearts are confused right now, and it's hard to take this in. But if you could explain things more clearly, I would appreciate it."

I nodded readily at the elf's polite words.

"First, I am Clay Vanhart, Count of Talua kingdom. As for you demi-humans, you don't need to worry about human titles—please just call me by name. And this lady beside me is Riya Asktalin, Princess of the Asktalin empire."

"Hehe, if you call Clay by his name, I wouldn't mind if you called me by my name, too."

Riya was smiling kindly, but what she really meant was:

If you have the courage to address me by name, just try calling Clay by his first name.

Thanks to that, I had a strong feeling no one here would call me by my first name.

"Those who kidnapped you were only a handful of cruel people among humans. Recently, the empire and some other kingdoms have begun adopting policies to seek peace by creating a place of harmony with you demi-humans."

"Are we supposed to believe that ... ?"

"Oh my."

"... I am speaking in general, but I understand it is indeed a difficult issue."

The elven youth spoke politely, then slowly returned to his seat.

The other demi-humans went over to comfort him with a pat on the shoulder.

"Of course, I know it's hard for you to fully trust me. So rather than just talking, I intend to show you with my actions."

I briefly explained what would happen next.

As soon as the Talua kingdom's upcoming Founding Festival ended, I would send them back to the Kezmen Mountains.

Naturally, not a single one seemed to believe me.

I expected as much, but it seemed necessary to restore at least a bit of their trust before leaving for Kezmen Mountains.

'By the way, most profiles are nothing unusual ...'

As I was thinking this, I suddenly noticed a young girl.

She was holding her twin sibling close, as if to protect them, and her profile had something unique.

More precisely, there was something that fell under the category of special trait.

'The second master of the Calamity of Madness?'

I froze, surprised by information I had never even imagined, and read it several times.

Calamity of Madness.

It was a name I remembered.

That was the very calamity that led to the death of the king of Talua kingdom, Leogart Talua.

But there was something even more concerning.

[What does it mean, to be the master of a calamity?]

'I wonder ...'

Master of a calamity.

Could it mean she could control a calamity at will?

The information was so vague that it made my head spin.

Hurriedly, I looked at the others' profiles, and found a few more unusual special traits.

'Transporter?'

Some had the profile of "killed by the Calamity of Madness", and some were listed as "one who transported the Calamity of Madness".

Two dwarves had unique profiles stating they'd transported the calamity, but it was hard to guess what it really meant.

"For now, please think of this place as your home and rest ... And, I'd appreciate it if the six I call could join me for a short conversation."

"Conversation?"

My request made the demi-humans look uneasy, but after glancing at Riya, they all nodded.

If Riya hadn't been here, I might have wasted too much time on pointless explanations.

* * *

I led the six demi-humans into a small room.

This room was thoroughly soundproofed, so there was no chance of anyone overhearing.

"W-what will become of us now?"

The eldest dwarf looked uneasy, as if checking the room's structure.

"It's nothing serious. I just want to ask you a few questions."

"Q-questions?"

I nodded, moving straight to the point.

"Could you tell me how you ended up being captured?"

"W-we were attacked by humans who invaded our village ..."

"We were ambushed while hauling goods."

"I was just out foraging for food and got abducted."

The reasons were nothing special, but I listened closely to the dwarves.

I fixed my gaze on the two dwarves and spoke.

"Can you tell me exactly what goods you were carrying when you were attacked? Please explain in as much detail as possible."

"T-that's ..."

The dwarves hesitated, so Riya prodded them sharply.

"Don't drag it out. Please tell us quickly."

"F-fine. Alright. Recently, an ancient ruin was discovered in an elven village. Apparently, it's a ruin related to us dwarves."

"A ruin related to dwarves?"

"Do you know of Seven Swords Under Heaven?"

I nodded calmly.

Considering that Fabian was heading for Lavantara, I'd more or less predicted an incident involving both a calamity and the Seven Swords Under Heaven would happen there.

"Of course. I am the current master of the Seven Swords Under Heaven."

As I slowly drew Genova, which was sheathed at my waist, the dwarves' eyes widened at the sight of Agatram and Genova.

"T-This is definitely one of the Seven Swords Under Heaven! And this scabbard—! Do you know who made this scabbard!?"

"It was made by the Fairy Queen Beatrice. Crafted from the finest fairywood."

"T-the Fairy Queen?"

They seemed so astonished that they glanced back and forth between the sword and me.

"They say the fairies' skills defy imagination ... We still have much to learn."

As skilled craftsmen, they instantly recognized just how extraordinary the scabbard was.

Especially the elves, being a race that lives close to nature, gazed in a daze at the energy exuding from the scabbard.

'I should have shown them the scabbard sooner.'

Just the fact that I had received something from a fairy made the demi-humans' impression of me shoot up.

After all, fairies would never meet with anyone who wasn't a good-natured being.