Chapter 41 – Why Is That There

Why Is That There

When we opened the doors of the mansion and entered, what we saw was a banquet hall reminiscent of a masquerade ball.
Seeing about twenty people wearing masks chatting with each other, I wondered if we had come to the wrong place, but…

“Just a little more, Victor! I’ve bet so much money on you!”
“Tom! Gouge his eyes out!”
Seeing two people beating each other mercilessly in a makeshift arena in the center of the banquet hall, I intuitively knew we had come to the right place.

“What on earth is this nonsense?”
Their shirtless bodies were covered with numerous scars that seemed to be traces of battles, and muscles boasting sturdy contours.
What was a bit peculiar was that they were fighting each other with bare hands, without weapons.

“Just a little more! Just kill him!”
The surrounding nobles were cheering and encouraging the scene of bloodshed.
Beyond their masked faces, their eyes were bloodshot. Having thrown away the noble virtue of valuing composure, they looked like gamblers.

“Is this an illegal fighting arena? These so-called nobles are doing despicable things.”
“Be patient for a bit.”
I restrained Marian, who was clenching her fists, and briefly surveyed the surroundings.

“Let’s sit down for now, Marian.”
“Okay.”
I pointed to an empty table nearby.
Not long after Marian and I sat down, a girl who looked like a maid approached our table with a tray carrying a bottle of wine and two wine glasses.

‘This is a bit concerning…’
“I-I’ll pour you some wine. This wine is made from a variety called T-Tresian Ruby…”
She ended up making a mistake. The girl, who seemed frightened and had been shaking her hands since pouring the wine, spilled some on my dress.
She was probably scared by this scene. It’s not a very pleasant sight for an ordinary girl to see.

“I-I’m so sorry!! I’ll clean it right away…”
“It’s okay. It didn’t splash much.”
The girl started frantically wiping the wine on my dress.
A man wearing a butler’s uniform, who had been watching her, approached us.

From the fact that he wasn’t wearing a mask, he was probably a servant of the host of this banquet. The man, who seemed to be the girl’s superior, approached our table and…
Slap─!
…mercilessly struck the cheek of the girl who had made a mistake with me.

“What is this…!”
Thud. The girl, whose body was too frail to withstand the strength of an adult man, lost her balance from the shock and sprawled on the floor.
“I apologize. I would like to apologize for the rudeness committed by our staff.”

After leaving a brief apology, he turned back to the girl, grabbed her hair as she couldn’t properly control her body, and was about to slap her cheek again… but was stopped by Marian’s angry hand.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Marian’s voice filled with anger.

“Sob… sniff…”
“Are you okay? Just a moment…”
As I cast a simple healing spell on the girl whose lip was split and bleeding, her swollen cheek gradually returned to its normal shape.
“This was disciplining a maid who dared to be rude to the noble guests. If it offended you in any way, I apologize.”

After saying this, the man then slapped his own cheek with all his might.
“W-wait.”
Slap─! Slap─!
Even though his lip was split and his cheek was grotesquely swollen, he didn’t stop his self-harm. Marian, who had been staring blankly at this scene, seemed to come to her senses and grabbed the man’s hand.

“Stop. I forgive you. That’s enough.”
“I am grateful for the noble guest’s generosity.”
After saying this, the man quietly headed back to where he had been.
“Th-thank you.”
The girl also gave me a brief thanks before following after the man.

“This place isn’t normal.”
“I agree.”
Marian muttered as if in disbelief. I strongly agreed with her words.
Despite such a commotion, the surrounding nobles who had been watching us as if used to such things turned their attention back to the arena in the center.

“I just want to overturn everything.”
“Be patient, Marian. Until the host of this crazy banquet appears.”
Marian, seemingly irritated by this situation, downed the wine in front of her in one go. I understand her feelings a hundred times over, but we need to be patient until the mastermind behind this crazy banquet appears. That’s why we infiltrated in the first place.

“Excuse me, may we join you?”
As we were quietly trying to calm our anger, someone else approached us. This time, it was a couple wearing masks.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you. There were no empty tables…”

When I vaguely estimated their age, they seemed to be a middle-aged couple who sat at our table.
A different servant from before handed them wine, and the two raised their glasses elegantly for a toast.
Meanwhile, the fight in the arena in the center had reached its conclusion.

“Urgh…”
Crack.
“Wooooaaaahhh!!!!”
The man who had literally crushed the head of his groggy opponent roared like a beast.
The nobles laughed uproariously, watching him like an animal in a zoo. Some nobles who had lost money were jeering at him.

“Haha. How barbaric, isn’t it? I heard they brought savages from foreign lands, and today marks their third consecutive win already.”
The wife of the couple who had joined our table spoke to Ariel, who was watching the scene.
“…Indeed.”

“This is our fourth visit here with my husband, and I never tire of watching these bare-handed fights. It’s like watching animals fight in a zoo.”
She’s definitely not normal. She regards humans like animals without a shred of sympathy.
Suppressing the disgust rising from within, Ariel spoke to her.

“Animals… Perhaps so. By the way, when will the host arrive?”
“The host? Ah. Were you here for the auction? They should be here soon. With the goods.”
‘Goods?’
Is it normal to use the expression “bring” for objects?

“Thank you for waiting, ladies and gentlemen.”
Not long after, a man’s voice echoed through the hall.
At the same time, the magical lights installed in the hall began to illuminate a man standing in front of the stage. It was like the start of a show.

“Now, I will introduce today’s items! Please direct your attention this way.”
“Is that person the host?”
I asked the woman next to me who was looking on with sparkling eyes.
“No. Strange, usually they come out when the auction starts, but they’re a bit late today.”

So he’s just a simple presenter then.
Next to the man was something covered with a black curtain. Probably about to start the auction now.
“First, the item we’ll showcase is a magic staff said to have been used by Ariel, the great magician of the hero party who has disappeared! It’s an item we obtained with great difficulty.”

Eh? Me?
Marian next to me stared at me blankly. No, my staff is in my subspace right now?
“Oh. Is that the legendary…”
“Ariel’s staff. Dear, how much of our available assets did we have?”

As the black curtain covering the item was lifted, a wooden staff about one meter long was revealed.
‘Huh? That’s…’
It’s the staff I lost a long time ago. I had bought it cheaply from a weapon merchant, so when I lost it, I didn’t particularly think about finding it…
‘Why do they have that?’

A masked man raised his hand and asked the presenter:
“Wait. How can you prove that’s real?”
“Pfft…”
I glanced at Marian sitting next to me, and she was clearly trying to hold back laughter.

“I thought you might ask that. Take a look here.”
The presenter pointed to a corner of the staff. There was a mark there that read ‘Ariel’ in the imperial language.
“Oh. It seems to be real. It’s exactly like Ariel-nim’s handwriting…! I’ll buy it! How much?”

“Haha. We’ll proceed with an auction, so please calm your excitement a bit. We’ll start the bidding at 10 gold.”
Why does that guy know my handwriting? It’s a bit unpleasant.
“Hey, Ariel. Is it really your item?”
Marian whispered softly in my ear. She must have been curious if it was really my staff.

“Yes. It’s that staff I said I lost before. I just habitually wrote my name there.”
I had a habit of writing my name on my belongings, so I just unconsciously wrote it.
…Who knew it would serve as a kind of certificate of authenticity.

“100 gold!”
“You think you can get Ariel-nim’s staff for that much? Don’t be ridiculous. 150 gold!”
The auction price skyrocketed and finally settled at 300 gold.
‘I think it took about 50 gold to buy a house in the capital…’

It’s truly an astronomical price. It was a price that made me have to suppress the urge to take out the staff in my subspace and sell it.
“Huff… huff… This is an item that Ariel-nim’s hands touched…!”
The masked person who won the bid for my staff was caressing it while breathing heavily.
Marian, who was watching this scene with interest, said to Ariel:

“How nice. Your used staff is so loved.”
“Marian. Be quiet.”
This is really ridiculous.