Ch.33Illegal Auction

# 1.

Luna’s first memory.

It was of someone who coldly turned away, abandoning her in the <Ashen Wasteland>.

Though it was a memory from when she was very young, it still felt as vivid as if it had happened moments ago.

“Please live and be happy, Luna.”

Golden hair shimmering under the moonlight and emerald eyes that briefly met hers.

“M-Mother…!!”

Luna desperately reached out, thinking she would lose everything if she let go, but she was abandoned there without even managing to grasp the hem of her mother’s clothes.

The <Ashen Wasteland>.

A land between Count Gardner’s territory and Viscount Koppel’s domain, abandoned and overrun with magical beasts.

A place where the Empire’s gaze rarely fell, where all manner of criminals gathered to form their own colonies.

No shelter,

No food,

Not even drinking water in that barren land.

Abandoned there, Luna wandered like a beast, struggling to survive.

*Rip*

…*munch munch*

She tore at the rotting corpses of magical beasts, drinking their blood and consuming their flesh.

“KHAACK!! Kugh…!!!”

She nearly died several times, but even when she survived, her environment remained unchanged.

*Rip*

…*munch munch*

She ate to survive, and her days were filled with desperate struggles against death.

How many months, or perhaps years, passed like that?

“…Go away.”

As she trembled before death that approached while she was tearing at the corpse of a special magical beast, a masked woman extended her hand to Luna.

“Die now, or die a little later. The choice is yours.”

*Grab!*

Luna quickly seized the outstretched hand and barely managed to lift her head to murmur.

“…Mother?”

“…No. I am not your parent.”

However

“If you want, I can become one.”

.

.

.

“…Kup, heurp! …Ah?”

Consciousness that had flickered out and back on.

‘I must have blacked out for a moment.’

Yet Luna still maintained her smile, though she was reaching her limit.

The same was true for the children who had just witnessed Olan’s death.

“Hic, Olan…”

“No… No more, keurp, I don’t want this…!!”

“Olaaaan…”

Of the five children, excluding Olan and Luna, three began to cry.

“100,000 gold.”

“Number 1 wins the bid. Purpose?”

“The same as before.”

*Crack.*

*Rip.*

*Gulp.*

The same kind of death was repeated three times.

Luna, still smiling, watched over the children’s final moments with blurry focus.

Olan, who wanted to feel full,

Mina, who wanted to wear a dress,

Bang, who wanted to see the ocean,

Karin, who wanted to go home.

“…I told you not to cry.”

In the end, they all died.

This was <Wandering Troupe – Loss>.

A garbage group that sold “items” to high nobles to scrape together money.

Today too, Luna, the sole survivor, naturally lowered her gaze to look at Mother.

Regardless, she still opened her mouth with a cold voice.

“Luna. Starting at 100 million gold.”

A price incomparably higher than for the other children, one that even high nobles couldn’t easily afford.

“Let’s go. Let’s head back.”

“Damn, she didn’t cry and held up well last time.”

“It’s fine, my friend. Don’t fret over small change. Well, there’s always next month.”

The audience gathered their belongings,

“…Tch.”

And Number 1 had already disappeared.

“End.”

As Mother declared the end after confirming this, the bright lights went out.

…*Creeak*

“Kuhup! Puha, heok, heok!!”

Luna, whose feet finally touched the ground, desperately gasped for air as she barely managed to lift her head.

“Mother…!!”

Under the darkened tent of the wandering troupe where everyone had disappeared, the only one visible was Mother.

Luna, who instinctively checked for shadows first, only distorted her expression and crawled on the floor after confirming he was gone.

“They died, they died again…!! Everyone except me!!”

“…Shh.”

“I told them not to cry…!! I passed on everything you told me…!!!”

*Tremble*

Mother held Luna’s pitifully trembling hands and whispered in her ear.

“Smile brightly, that’s how you survive.”

“That’s right, smile a little more.”

“More brightly, smile until your mouth tears.”

“That’s how you survive.”

As Mother spoke, she removed her mask, revealing a smile so bright it was frightening.

…*Click*

Mother put her own mask back on Luna and continued whispering until the end.

“Don’t tremble, that’s how you survive.”

“When it gets too hard, wear the mask and cry.”

“Try and try again.”

“So that someday you can smile even while wearing the mask.”

Eyes curved into thin crescents,

Twisted corners of her mouth,

A money bag full of gold coins.

…*Grip*

Just as she tightly held Luna with one hand and the money bag with the other, an anger-filled voice came from the darkened audience seats.

“Let go.”

A voice filled with terrible hostility,

…no,

【<Black Curtain(Ex)> activates.】

【Absorbing part of the <Coercive Force(Ex-)> of this space through the <Necklace of the Dark Spirit>.】

【<Black Curtain(Ex)> manifests at maximum capacity.】

“Get away from Luna right now.”

It was a voice filled with terrible killing intent.

# 2.

Immediately after entering the tent of <Wandering Troupe – Loss>.

Dallan, who had been walking in silence, nudged the hesitating Ruby.

“Focus, Ruby.”

“Ah, sorry.”

Only then did a spark of light return to her eyes that had been clouding with fear.

Confirming this, Dallan slowly looked around the dust-covered interior and asked.

“Any information you know? As a branch manager, you should have free access to information.”

“I actually checked briefly earlier, but there’s nothing. You know how it is. The <Ashen Wasteland> is treated similarly to demon territory.”

Ruby’s words were true.

The <Ashen Wasteland>.

Until four years ago, before a certain <incident> occurred, it was a criminal den, but now after being completely cleared out, it was literally just abandoned land.

With the hero’s party setting out, magical beast appearances had noticeably decreased, and thanks to the trickle-down effect, it had become much safer than before, but magical beasts hadn’t completely disappeared.

Because of this, the Mercenary Union, nobles, merchants, and everyone else hesitated to invest in this place, and even stopped gathering information, deeming it unnecessary.

Dallan sighed softly and dropped his shoulders in disappointment.

“So we have to figure it out physically.”

If only they had at least a blueprint of this tent-like building, it would have been helpful.

Noticing Dallan’s regret, Ruby smiled and handed him a piece of paper.

On the fresh paper, a floor plan of the building was drawn with something red.

“I did it all before we came in.”

“Flesh doll, was it?”

“Flesh puppet. You can just call it a baby for convenience.”

Dallan ignored the madness gleaming in Ruby’s eyes and checked the floor plan.

A semicircular stage. Seats arranged in a fan shape facing it.

Apart from the devices installed on the stage, it was just an ordinary circus tent.

“Is that all?”

“I think so?”

Nodding, Dallan carefully folded the tent floor plan and put it in his pocket.

There was one tent flap at the entrance to go through, and another double layer in front of it.

Dallan, whose eyes were shining between them, detected ‘something’ flowing from Luna.

“Luna must be on the stage.”

“And the idler is standing right in front of it.”

Position identification completed in an instant.

“Capture alive if possible, but if not…”

“…We’ll have to kill them. After forcibly breaking the contract with the Captain.”

Blue and red eyes crossing in an instant.

“I’ll take the idler.”

*Thud*

Dallan, veins bulging, lowered his posture and nodded, while Ruby, who had somehow put on a smile, covered her mouth and grinned.

“Leave Luna to me.”

Perhaps because their cover identities were world’s top 10 and Mercenary Union branch manager respectively?

The two showed better teamwork than expected as they slowly approached the inner tent.

“I’ll count to three and then we open it.”

“Okay.”

“Alright. One, twoo…”

Three!!

*Flutter!!*

With Dallan’s muted command, the inner tent was lifted, revealing what was hidden inside.

And

“…Ah, miss…”

There was the idler, wearing not his usual stone mask, but one permeated with dark malice.

“Ah, miss!!!!!”

*Crunch!!*

The idler, his fist tightly clenched, swung at Dallan before he could dodge.

“Wow, we picked the wrong fight, huh?”

Just as Dallan let out a short laugh, the idler’s fist struck him.

*KWAAANG!!!!*

The ground shook violently.

“Ruby, bring out the captain puppets!! Pour out everything you have!!!”

Dallan, who barely blocked the attack, turned his head toward Ruby and shouted, but what entered his vision was Luna wearing a mask.

Ruby must have been caught just before, as she was frozen in place, trying to remove the mask placed on her face.

‘They were waiting for us.’

Since when?

‘…Probably from the very moment we fell separately.’

An unexplained rampage.

A situation where three members of the <Black Wolf> and himself were caught in what seemed like brainwashing.

Though Dallan initially judged that a fight to the death was appropriate,

-Is it okay for me to rest?

The face of a reliable man came to mind.

So he threw his sword outside the tent, then smiled slightly and muttered.

“I’m sorry, but it seems you’ll have to handle this for us, Captain.”

With those final words.

“Smile brightly. That’s how you survive.”

*Click*

By hands that coiled like snakes, an ashen mask was placed on Dallan’s face as well.