Adrine said in a puzzled tone.
“John… Do you think you have the secret of the universe?”
I couldn’t say it was out of the blue.
The reason she participated in this auction was to get answers to her questions.
In other words, Adrine is now asking, ‘Do I have to spend that much money to hear your answer?’
And I had no intention of answering that question.
I shrugged and said.
“First is important, Adrine. Just like Jackal did, be sure to double or more. Let them know that you are determined and intend to wipe out all the merchandise here.”
“… Twice?”
“yes. That way, in the end, it will make it possible to purchase products cheaply.”
“… … .”
As the audience quieted down, the auctioneer spoke in a mechanical voice.
“Is there anyone who can offer more than 1,000 gold? Then I’ll give it a shout. 1,000 gold, 1,000 gold-”
“2… 2,000 gold.”
The gaze, which had been focused on the jackal in the front seat, quickly returned to Adrinne. Among the students of this academy, there are two characters who can block an auction with pure financial power, and those two are the Jackal and Adrinne.
And Jackal was no match for Adrine when it came to money.
“It’s hot right from the start. Seat J-11. 2,000 gold came out. Can anyone suggest more than this?”
The jackal did not step out. It was as programmed. If you raise the price by a subtle amount, he persistently follows, but if you call more than twice the price he asked at once, he won’t follow.
“Then I’ll give you a favor. 2,000 gold. 2,000 gold. 2,000 gold. The bid was successful.”
One of the auction assistants brought a signed piece of paper and handed it to Adrine. Catalog 001, a document stating that a mermaid’s tears were sold for 2,000 gold.
She sent the auction assistant with a smile on her face and said to me with a smile on her face.
“Do you know how much a warhorse in Zurmania costs?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Then you don’t even know that this one jewel is equivalent to 10 warhorses.”
Adrine seemed to have a lot to say.
She was brought up in an imperial family overflowing with precious things, and she might know how to appraise gems.
However, before she could talk about the value of ‘mermaid tears’, the auctioneer continued.
“Then the second product. Catalog number 002. It is the heart of the deep.”
***
Even after the last product, ‘Goblin’s Fire’, was successful, a system log appeared to Yohan.
[You have cleared the hidden event ‘Frantimo Jewelry Collection’.]
[Reward Item: Secret Point]
[Reward: 3 points]
Regarding the ‘savior from another world’, there was a part that John was satisfied with planning. The format of the event and the variety of rewards. Some events notify the entry itself and reward is given, and some events start without any notice and are delivered as soon as they are cleared.
In the case of [Frantimo Jewelry Collection], it was the latter.
Yohan was satisfied with the reward details in his system log, but it was a satisfaction that was difficult to share with Adrinne. Adrin said in a volmental voice.
“John… , Can I just say one rude thing?”
“Let’s try.”
“Honestly, it makes me wonder if Zurmania’s 4 warhorses wouldn’t have been enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“To hear your answer.”
John laughed. In the empire, there is a punishment called ‘heavy heat’. It was a punishment in which the ropes that tied the criminal’s limbs were tied back to the horses, and then the horses were run. And the punishment is mainly applied to the criminals who insulted the imperial family.
“You say terrible things, Adrine.”
“Please understand this as the complaint of a person who spent 120,000 gold on an auction.”
Johann took this as an Adrine-style high-end blackmail. ‘I paid the price, so I have to answer straight away’.
Adrinne was called to the auctioneer, and since she had no money on hand, she had to prove herself as a princess and go through the process of issuing a bill.
As a moderator, it may have become rather comfortable. At today’s auction, there was no winning bidder other than Adrine. The jackal, who had been accompanied by several children, left the auction house looking a bit lethargic, and the others also left the auction house, curious about the new rich girl.
And in the meantime, the hand that came from behind the seat grabbed John’s collar.
“What the hell are you doing?”
John could not be surprised because he expected this man to be watching somewhere.
A man who does not respect Adrin if he is suspected of harming her.
It was Adrine’s guardian knight, Hoan.
John looked at his collar and said,
“Who am I? When you were gone, he was the person who acted as your substitute for a while.”
“… I heard that you saved a lady during the march.”
“Then I’ll assume you heard my thanks.”
I had no intention of saying thank you in the first place. Hoan shook his head and said.
“Are those jewels the price of the lady’s life? Did you save the lady with the goal of financial compensation from the beginning?”
The collar that Hoan had grabbed had the momentum to shake Yohan. But John spoke without much resistance.
“Calm down, Joan. Because the cost of those jewels is different.”
“Then, for what price?”
“It’s a problem between Adrine and me. But from what you said, you skipped the price of Adrine’s life.”
Hoan was taken aback and asked again.
“what?”
“It is literally. Isn’t it your role to save Adrine?”
Hoan didn’t say anything for a moment. John added as if it were natural.
“Since I saved Adrine instead of you during training, I guess I can ask you for one too.”
Hoan stomped his foot once. However, no matter how excited he was, he wasn’t so reckless that he ran amok at the auction house.
“You’re talking freely about a cracked mouth.”
“It’s not a big request. Bring the jewel that Adrine won the bid to my room.”
Joan accepted John’s offer with a hand that did not let go of his collar. It was the key to John’s dorm room.
“… no way Do you think I’ll give in to this crazy request? I am a guardian knight sworn to protect her life and property.”
“I see you misunderstood. I’m not asking you to steal it. It’s with her consent. Isn’t it your duty to follow her will?”
“Don’t mind me, I know my duty even if you don’t talk about it.”
“You can leave your room key on the desk.”
Johan’s confident attitude, ‘Adrinne will agree’, made Hoan a little fed up. Of course, if Adrine ordered that, Hoan would do so. There was just one question.
“… Why don’t you take it now?”
“Because I have someone to meet right now… . She’s going to take expensive jewels, so she’ll need an escort. So drop this collar and go to her.”
Hoan glared at John for a moment. It was a situation I didn’t like, but there was nothing wrong with what he said.
He let go of John’s collar as if throwing him away, and walked towards Adrine.
As his back disappeared into the inner chamber of the auction house, John spoke to himself.
“There must have been a lot of articles.”
The child, who had been sitting in seat J-13 throughout the auction, was startled. I know the identity of that guy who is sitting with his hands on his hands.
He is one of the academy clubs and newspaper clubs that should have been created this year.
“The kid who did the valve is called Adrin.”
“ah… .”
“I’ll be back if you wait, so let’s cover it. Write a good article… The first newspaper after admission, look forward to it.”
The child who was sitting in the seat nodded in embarrassment. John knew. [School Election] is just around the corner, and the academy’s newspaper members secretly follow popular characters.
Bona Mana Jackal must have had one too… Right now, this guy must have been attached to observe himself, Adrine, or both.
And the fact that Adrinne is here today will make the jackal’s wealth look relatively poor.
‘For now, it’s 1 win.’
The reason I informed the newspaper staff about Adrine was because being written in the newspaper itself would affect the vote. As John set up when he was developing the game, people in this world like to have a rich man be their leader. And the auction house is a battleground where people compete for each other’s wealth.
Hoping that the guy from the newspaper department would deal with Adrine properly, Yohan hurriedly left the auction house. Still crowded with people.
Lovers walking hand in hand.
Lively solicitation and powder scent blooming here and there. The sound of horses hooves treading on well-groomed ground.
The noon sunlight hitting the crown of the head.
It was a peaceful sight.
And between the scenes, the smell of death was still thick. And he had someone he had to meet before fighting Hidesolau’s Fang.
***
The academy’s apprentice wizard.
It was Arien’s official title.
Sitting cross-legged by the window, Arien recalled a conversation she had with the one assigned to be her mentor. It was the conversation of the very day she opened the floor of the dantian and entered the floor of the apprenticeship.
‘Sound is a two-way system. One is passive perception, and the other is active creation.’
‘… oh Do you hear with your ears or do you speak?’
‘okay. You say your talent has been confirmed, but you are still an apprentice wizard. Only after you find your own training method do you choose a wand. It is recognized as an official wizard.’
‘then… How is that practice… .’
‘The training method is different for each person. So you have to focus on yourself and devise your own method. There are people who realize it at once, and there are people who don’t realize it even if it takes a lifetime.’
‘… I don’t have too many ideas.’
‘Well, let’s see… . You said your aptitude was singing, so playing an instrument or reading a book out loud could be a way.’
‘… I can’t read letters.’
‘Is that so? Too bad. Anyway, don’t have a stereotype, try something like this. Then, the moment you perform magical oddities, you will be able to pass through the layer of apprenticeship here.’
That was all the advice the teacher gave.
He sat down by the door of the apprenticeship as if he had cleared the trouble and started reading the thick book again, and Arien had returned home.
‘Why do wizards make things difficult?’
Regarding the training method of magic, Bastia did not give any particular advice.
And now, Arien was hoarse.
That’s why I sang all night in Bastia’s basement warehouse.
She decided to follow Bastia’s advice: “A raw egg is good for a hoarse throat.”
He was trying what he could, swallowing the raw eggs Bastia had given him (which he had robbed from the kitchen).
All day long after waking up, she focused on the sounds she heard.
From a young age, she had a keen ear. This is why, when I was in the circus, I couldn’t fall asleep even after doing hard work. It was strange that I was concentrating on things that I usually didn’t want to focus on.
Various sounds rang in her ears.
The low sound of bugs coming from the garden on the first floor. Bastia’s guttural yawn came from the room in the room. wind noise.
birdsong.
and-
There were footsteps.
And Arien knew the owner of the footsteps.