novelraw Chapter 150 : Chapter 150
Chapter 150 : Chapter 150
Volume 2
Chapter 74 : Tear of True Love
“All right, I really did not take that matter to heart, so you do not need to worry about it either.”
Muen helped the alluring woman to her feet, then tucked a few disheveled strands of hair behind her ear.
Her makeup was heavy, but Muen could still tell that she was not very old. At most, she was only in her early twenties, at the height of her youth.
“When you are out in the world, do not degrade yourself like this.”
“But...”
The alluring woman still hesitated.
In the black market, where the Empire’s radiance could not reach, survival for someone as weak as her worked precisely this way.
If she dared to hope for unearned kindness from others, it would only end badly. Her “seniors” who had suddenly disappeared were the best proof of that.
“Is it because you think this is not enough, sir? I... I am quite open-minded. If you have any other requests, or any other ways you want to play, I can do them too.
I can even—”
“That is enough!”
Muen frowned and sharply cut off the woman’s self-promotion.
“I do not need that.”
“Then...”
The woman’s face turned a little pale. She thought Muen had no intention of forgiving her.
Her hands clutched the hem of her skirt as she stood there, lost and at a complete loss.
“Ah.”
Seeing her like this, Muen knew that if he only kept refusing, it would probably have the opposite effect.
So he could not help sighing.
“Fine. Since you insist on doing something, then I suppose I can only...”
...
“Sir, does this feel good?”
“Ah, yes, that is good... right there...”
Under the alluring woman’s care, Muen could not help letting out a pleased groan.
“Yes, yes, a little more over there. Harder. Mm, that is it. This feels amazing. Your technique is excellent.”
“You flatter me, sir. After all, I do this sort of thing quite often.”
The alluring woman gave a charming smile, then could not help falling into a daze.
She had not expected that the thing this man wanted her to do was merely... knead his shoulders and pound his back.
“Sir, is this really all right? After all, this is already included in the original service.”
The alluring woman still sounded uneasy.
She worked very carefully.
Even though both her hands were already beginning to ache, she still did not dare slack off in the slightest.
“It is enough. I had a little too much fun last night, so my back and waist happen to be sore. It is great that you are good at this.”
Muen sat up and signaled for her to stop.
He stretched comfortably, and indeed felt much lighter.
“All right, you can go now. The auction is about to start.”
“Yes, sir.”
The alluring woman nodded obediently.
She knew that during an auction, matters of privacy were often involved, so most guests would not allow outsiders to remain at their side.
Their purpose was merely to help the guests pass the time before the auction began.
“If you need anything, you may call for me at any time.”
The alluring woman respectfully withdrew. But just as she was about to turn and leave, Muen suddenly stopped her.
“Wait. Take this.”
“This is...”
The alluring woman looked at the heavy envelope Muen tossed to her, her face full of surprise.
“It is a tip.”
“A tip? This much?”
Muen did not turn around. Resting his chin on one hand, he looked out the window.
At that moment, the entire hall had gone dark. Then the spotlights came on, illuminating the very center.
The curtain rose.
Everything fell silent, and that little stage seemed to become the center of the world.
The darkness around it only seemed deeper.
In that fog-like darkness, Muen watched the clustered lights and murmured softly, almost to himself,
“If a pretty girl stays in a place that dark for too long, her skin will darken too. I like fairer skin better.”
“...Sir.”
The alluring woman stared blankly at Muen’s back. Suddenly, her eyes grew moist.
She took a deep breath, bowed deeply, and said,“...Thank you, sir. I will try.”
She held the heavy envelope tightly in her hand, as though clutching a lifeline.
...
...
“Gentlemen, ladies, welcome to today’s Secret Auction. I am the host of this auction. You may call me... Miss Fairy.”
Under the spotlight, a sultry woman in a flesh-toned gown studded with glittering gems slowly rose from beneath the stage.
Her figure was devilishly hot, and the tight dress outlined curves enough to set one’s blood racing.
The deep V of the neckline revealed nearly half of her full breasts.
Accompanied by a soft, alluring voice, the woman calling herself Miss Fairy casually brushed a slender finger across the pale skin before her chest, instantly setting the entire auction hall ablaze with excitement.
“Heh. A standard auction trick, I see.”
Muen reclined sideways on the sofa in a comfortable position, his eyes so pure they seemed to be examining a work of art.
He felt not the slightest ripple within himself.
After all, the aftereffects of last night’s madness had not yet faded, and he was still in sage mode.
No matter how beautiful a woman was, she could not stir even the slightest reaction in him.
Miss Fairy naturally could not compare to a real little fairy either.
At this moment, he was merely a merciless auction machine.
Nothing short of the ancient dragon heart’s blood could possibly arouse his interest.
“Enough idle chatter. Let us take a look at today’s first lot.”
After telling a few dirty jokes and showing off her seductive figure until a bunch of virgins were nearly bleeding from the nose, Miss Fairy finally got to the point.
At a wave of her slender hand, a young girl dressed just as revealingly stepped forward, carrying a tray covered in red cloth.
Since it was only the first item of the auction, Miss Fairy did not bother to keep the audience in suspense for long.
After throwing a few flirtatious glances toward the crowd below, she whisked away the cloth.
A pink gemstone in the shape of a teardrop appeared before everyone’s eyes.
“A gemstone—the Tear of True Love!”
As her charm-laced voice spread through the hall, Miss Fairy lifted the gold-trimmed gem case in one hand and walked one full circle around the stage.
The gathered lights shone upon the pink teardrop-shaped gemstone, making it sparkle brilliantly.
A special imaging spell projected the gem onto a massive screen so that every guest could clearly admire every detail from every angle.
Tears of True Love?
Muen jolted upright on the sofa, staring at the pink gemstone in astonishment.
What a coincidence.
He had only recently been scammed with a fake one, and now the real thing had actually appeared?
“The Tear of True Love, a true love gemstone that symbolizes pure affection. It is said that if you give this gemstone to the one you adore, you will win that person’s heart...”
“Quite apart from its symbolic meaning, the material of this gemstone itself is of the highest quality. Its entire teardrop form bears no trace of artificial carving, as though it were naturally formed...”
After spending a full five minutes lavishly introducing the gem, Miss Fairy finally announced the opening price.
“The starting bid is one hundred thousand!”
One hundred thousand?
Hearing that price, Muen was astonished again.
Even a fire-sale discount could not be this low.
Back when the Tear of True Love had been at the height of its hype among the nobility, there had been noble lords willing to offer ten million Aemir for their lovers.
Was this some kind of special marketing tactic?
Muen swept his gaze across the room, only to find that the atmosphere in the hall was far less exciting than he had expected.
Only a few half-hearted voices called out bids, and after what felt like ages, the price had only crawled up to three hundred thousand.
“Why is that...”
Muen stroked his chin, then suddenly understood.
This was not some proper auction.
It was a black market auction.
Most of the people who came here were desperadoes who drifted through the Lower City and lived every day with their lives on the edge of a blade.
For people like that, a magic scroll that could blow an enemy’s whole family sky-high, or an alchemical weapon that could cut people down like vegetables, was far more valuable than a gemstone that was only pretty, ridiculously expensive, and otherwise useless.
This was a fantasy world, after all. A normal gemstone that could not even shoot lasers was something only those nobles with lard for brains would pay dearly for, all to curry favor with women.
Nobody else would be willing to spend a high price on it.
Naturally, Muen was not about to play the fool either.
What gemstone did his family not already have?
Why would he buy something this utterly ordinary?
Forget pigeon-egg size—even goose-egg-sized gems that could transform were something he could pull out without effort.
“Hm? Wait.”
But just as Muen was about to go back to lying around and waiting for the ancient dragon heart’s blood, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
“I remember... Senior Anna seemed to like the Tear of True Love quite a bit.”
After all, during their earlier date, even though she had known there was a ninety-nine point nine percent chance it was fake, she had still refused to give up on that last sliver of possibility and had been drawn in by that mangy old peddler’s cries.
That was one of the very few times Anna had shown genuine interest in something in front of him.
“So if I give this to Senior Anna, she will definitely be happy!”
Muen’s eyes lit up. All those thoughts about nobles with lard for brains, currying favor with women, and being a fool were instantly thrown to the winds.
He had decided.
He was getting this Tear of True Love no matter what!
...
...
“Listen, Ariel.”
“The secret to sweeping through an auction and remaining undefeated is to keep a low profile.”
“Each bid cannot be too much higher than the last one, but it cannot be too small either, or people will notice something is off.”
“The price you call out should show that you are somewhat interested in the item, but without exposing its true value.”
“Remember this: only by keeping quiet can you make a fortune.”
In the ordinary seating area, Ariel too was wrapped in a black robe that concealed her aura.
With her eyes closed, she listened carefully to her Master’s teachings in her mind.
As though she were absorbing every drop of this wisdom passed down from her predecessor and turning it into her own, Ariel suddenly opened her eyes.
A lightning-like brilliance burst forth from those clear eyes.
She raised the number card in her hand, and immediately after the previous bid of exactly three hundred thousand, she called out a new price.
“Three hundred thousand... and one thousand!”
“Tch.”
After Ariel’s bid, the person not far away who had offered three hundred thousand clicked their tongue, then gave up on continuing.
Seeing that, the corners of Ariel’s lips unconsciously curled into a wild, unrestrained smile.
“Do not let your guard down. It is not over yet.”
“Three hundred thousand... and two thousand!”
No sooner had her Master’s warning faded than someone in a corner on the other side of the seating area raised the number fifty placard and added a mere thousand as well.
At once, Ariel narrowed her eyes and looked over.
The person in the corner was also hidden in a black robe, but through the looseness of it, one could still glimpse the breathtaking curve of a woman’s chest.
Seeing that, Ariel immediately puffed out her own chest in pride.
Hmph. Not professional at all.
With boobs that big, could people not tell at a glance that she was a woman?
Look at me.
Wrap me in a black robe, and who could tell whether I am male or female?
In a place like the black market, you could not reveal even the slightest flaw.
Sometimes a tiny slip like that could cost you dearly.
These were all lessons learned in blood.
Even so, Ariel did not look down on that woman for it.
Because the way she was bidding made it obvious that she too was an old hand who knew the art of auctions inside and out.
More importantly, she might also have noticed, just as Master had, that this Tear of True Love was not as simple as it looked!
“You do not need to worry too much about that.”
Master’s voice sounded in Ariel’s mind once more.
“That Tear of True Love may contain some special power. Even I only have a vague suspicion and cannot be completely certain. At the level of the people here, they would not discover anything for another hundred years. Otherwise, it never would have ended up at this auction for you to snap up. That person probably just wants to buy it and then resell it to those nobles at a high price.”
“Then I am relieved!”
Ariel nodded and raised her number card once more.
“Three hundred thousand... and three thousand.”
“Three hundred thousand... and four thousand.”
“Three hundred thousand... and five thousand.”
“Three hundred thousand...”
Soon, the only voices left in the hall were Ariel’s number thirty-eight and that mysterious woman’s number fifty.
Their bids rose one after another, as though they were deliberately competing.
But after all that back and forth, the price was still only inching upward through the three-hundred-thousand range like a snail.
Miss Fairy was nearly speechless.
She had hosted so many auctions, yet never seen bidding like two old ladies haggling over vegetables in a market.
The others in the hall were growing impatient and began to boo.
But Ariel did not care in the slightest.
Because number fifty had already begun to hesitate.
As long as she held on, victory would surely be hers!
A gemstone hiding some mysterious profundity, bought for only a few hundred thousand—this was not just a huge profit.
This was a bloody windfall!
Thinking of that, Ariel almost felt moved to tears.
Just look at the kind of days she has been living lately.
The black market had been closed, and learning ancient magic required mountains of money, which forced her to tighten her belt every single day. Her food budget for an entire week had sunk to only two hundred Aemir!
Two hundred! In the past, even if it had fallen on the ground, she would not have bothered to pick it up!
And not only that, she had actually lost that two-hundred-Aemir food budget two times in a row.
All because of that detestable Muen Campbell!
Because of him, she had been forced to live on black bread for nearly ten days, and she had almost starved her chest smaller.
Fortunately, the black market had reopened in time.
The ancient magic scrolls she had stockpiled for nearly two months, along with those alchemical devices her Master had helped refine, were quickly sold off through black market channels.
After all, there was always more demand than supply for such things, and because they were ancient magic, their quality far surpassed what was sold on the open market.
This time, she had naturally made a killing.
And now that she had money, of course she had come to the auction to see whether there was anything good.
Though she had been tricked out of a little money by that woman from the black shop before coming here, such a small matter was hardly worth mentioning.
As long as she could get the Tear of True Love, every grievance would be worth enduring!
“Three hundred and fifty-two thousand!”
“...”
Sure enough, heaven rewarded perseverance.
After Ariel called out that number in a voice brimming with determination, the mysterious number fifty finally seemed to give up and stopped bidding.
Everything seemed settled.
“Three hundred and fifty-two thousand, going once.”
“Three hundred and fifty-two thousand, going twice.”
Miss Fairy brought the hammer down quickly.
She no longer cared whether she could squeeze out a few more tens of thousands.
She just wanted this over with before the atmosphere she had worked so hard to build turned completely cold.
As the hammer fell again and again, Ariel clenched both fists, held her breath, and stared ahead with eager anticipation in her eyes.
Once she pulled off this deal, forget chicken legs at every meal—even a whole roast chicken every meal would be no problem at all!
Hmph. Damn you, Muen Campbell. Surely you cannot ruin my good fortune this time!
“Three hundred and fifty-two thousand, going for the third—”
“Number eighty-eight, five hundred thousand.”
Just as the hammer was about to fall for the third time, a cold declaration rang through the entire hall through the booth’s special magic amplifier.
The voice was low and hoarse, clearly altered by magic, yet it carried the arrogance of a noble and the swagger of a rich man, like a heavy hammer crashing straight into Ariel’s head and making her vision go black.
“F-Five hundred thousand?”
Ariel nearly failed to catch her breath.
“Has that number eighty-eight gone insane? Raising it by more than a hundred thousand at once?”
“Five hundred thousand! Number eighty-eight bids five hundred thousand!”
Miss Fairy herself froze for a moment, then instantly brightened with excitement.
She looked toward booth number eighty-eight, her beautiful eyes glittering with unusual light.
Now this was more like it. This was what an auction should look like.
If you wanted to add one thousand at a time, why not go haggle with old grannies at the vegetable market instead of coming to her auction?
“Five hundred thousand! Does anyone wish to raise the bid?”
“I... five hundred thousand... and one thousand!”
Ariel’s eyes had turned bloodshot.
She nearly ground her silver teeth to dust before forcing out that number.
It was fine.
There was still profit to be made even at five hundred thousand.
It had merely gone from a bloody windfall to a substantial one.
“Six hundred thousand.”
But that voice rang out again, as casual as though it had not thrown out six hundred thousand, but sixty sheets of toilet paper.
“Six hundred thousand... and one thousand.” Ariel’s face twisted.
“Seven hundred thousand.”
“Seven hundred thousand... and one thousand.” Ariel looked positively ferocious.
“Eight hundred thousand.”
“Eight hundred thousand! And one thousand!”
Ariel had gone mad.
I refuse to believe you can keep raising it like this!
Come on!
Keep going!
To you, the Tear of True Love is just an ordinary gemstone! I refuse to believe you would squander nearly a million on one stupid rock!
“Ha. What a nuisance.”
But at that moment, a sigh came from booth number eighty-eight.
“Then let us just make it one million.”
One million!
The entire auction hall erupted at once.
Even Miss Fairy, who had presided over countless auctions, was left momentarily stunned.
This was not one of those noble auctions where artworks were sold, where a single painting could fetch hundreds of millions with ease.
For many people here, one million might represent their entire fortune.
And yet now someone was spending one million on an ordinary gemstone?
Of course, there were people here who had heard of the Tear of True Love back when it was famous.
But such an ordinary gemstone with no special use had only ever been worth something when its symbolism as “true love” was being hyped.
If anyone tried to take it to the nobles now and sell it for millions, those nobles would only spit elegantly in their face and curse them out!
“O-One million? How is that possible...”
Ariel collapsed into her chair, clutching her chest and gasping for breath.
“Ha. Haha. It is only one million. Help me up, I can still—”
“No, Ariel!”
This time, even her Master could no longer sit still.
“Give up. We do not have that much money! There will certainly be better things later. There is no need to hang yourself on this one tree.”
“Sell things, then! We keep selling and turn it into cash!”
“There is nothing left for us to sell. If we keep selling, the only thing left would be...”
Master paused, then said,
“The only thing left would be your Heavenly Fire Greatsword. Are you willing to part with it?”
“But...”
Ariel stared at the gemstone that might contain some hidden secret, her face full of unwillingness.
The chance to make a fortune and then eat roast chicken at every meal was right in front of her, yet she could only let it slip away. How could she possibly accept that?
“Damn it all!”
But unwillingness changed nothing.
No money meant no money.
In the end, as the third strike of Miss Fairy’s hammer fell, Ariel could only look toward the hidden booth of mysterious number eighty-eight with a face full of grief and fury.
The black one-way glass concealed everything inside, yet merely staring at it was enough to make flames seem to ignite in Ariel’s heart.
“Who are you? Why is this feeling of irritation so familiar?”
...
...
“Was that too extravagant?”
Inside the booth, Muen, who had just spent a million in one breath, immediately fell into deep guilt.
Though a mere million was nothing to the Duke’s household, spending a million to buy a gift for a girl still felt like the kind of thing a dissolute young noble who thought with his lower body would do.
“No, that is different. I am not trying to seduce Senior Anna. I just want to repay her kindness. After all, to me, the value of Senior Anna’s patient guidance over that entire month has long since exceeded a mere million. Calling it priceless would not be an exaggeration.”
Muen persuaded himself, and before long, his guilt faded away.
Just look at all those snake spirits, bird spirits, and fox spirits. “Repaying kindness” was a universal excuse.
...
The auction continued.
But the items that followed did not attract Muen’s interest in the least.
Most of them were contraband that did not circulate openly on the market.
For example, forbidden drugs that could temporarily increase one’s combat power by fifty percent, but had impotence as a side effect.
Or magic scrolls powerful enough to blow an entire plaza into the sky, but which could only be detonated manually.
Strange as they were, those items sold extremely well.
The prices shot up fiercely, and some people even nearly came to blows on the spot.
The only thing that truly surprised Muen was that among the auction lots there were actually fifteen military magic repeating crossbows and ten standard third-generation magic artifact armors.
“These are the sort of dangerous things that, if found in a noble household, would be taken as proof of rebellion. And yet they are circulating in the black market? Could it be that the people behind the black market have ties to the military as well?”
If that was the case, then the identity of this so-called black market magnate was anything but simple.
Muen stroked his chin and kept observing the situation below.
At that moment, he suddenly noticed that the few people who had bought the crossbows and the magic artifact armor were sneaking out of the auction hall.
After they left, several others quietly followed behind them, and from the way they were dressed, it was obvious they were not together.
“This is...”
Muen arched his brow, as if remembering something. He picked up the bronze bell specially placed at the corner of the table and gave it a shake.
The heavily made-up alluring woman pushed open the door and entered, bowing respectfully.
“Sir, did you call for me?”
“Does your auction house guarantee the personal safety of its guests?” Muen asked.
“Of course. As long as they are inside the venue, we will protect our guests without fail.”
“Inside the venue, hm?”
Muen understood at once, and a light smile touched his lips.
“Could you do me a favor?”
“A favor?”
The woman was startled for a moment, then nodded firmly.
“Please say it.”
“Go to the entrance of the auction house.”
“The entrance... and then?”
“And stay there.”
Muen said, “Do whatever you normally do there. All you need to do is help me remember which direction those people who leave early go in from this point on. Do not concern yourself with anything else.”