Chapter 6: A black market within a black market

Most of the items introduced first in an auction are duds.

They are more curiosity-inducing than expensive, and the really important items come out from the middle of the auction.

A so-called appetizer.

“The item to be introduced this time is… fished from the river in the deep Darkness Valley! The tyrant of the Black River! The Black-toothed Piranha!”

A strangely shaped fish was put up for auction in a tank.

It had several eyes on its forehead, and something that looked like long antennae grew between them.

The fish, which was swimming fiercely in the aquarium, had black and sharp teeth.

The fish, whose whole body was blue, flailed and snapped its teeth fiercely.

“Do you see this ferocity, this wildness? We spent two weeks lurking in the Black River to get this guy…”

The man presiding over the auction was full of showmanship.

A middle-aged woman who looked like a noblewoman also began to listen to his explanation with interest.

Not only her, but most of the people were leaning forward as if they were interested in what he was saying.

“We will start the bidding for the Black-toothed Piranha from 3 million Rene!”

When the emcee said this, even people who didn’t seem interested were whispering to each other.

The noblewoman with the rabbit mask, who had been interested in the explanation from earlier, rang the bell.

-Ding ding ding~

Are you serious?

That fish?

That woman, who seems to have a lot of money, bid on the Black-toothed Piranha.

It looks a little too big to keep as a pet.

“Is there anyone else who wants to bid? Three… two… one… Congratulations! The rabbit-masked customer has become the owner of the Black-toothed Piranha!”

The transaction was made on the spot, and the surrounding people gave a small round of applause.

I also gave a perfunctory round of applause.

Of course, it was something I couldn’t understand at all.

I want to respect their tastes as much as possible.

“Then, let me introduce the next item!”

After that, various items came out in turn, and most of them found their owners.

Certainly, most of the items were hard to find in ordinary stores.

Alchemy materials that are dropped in dungeons but not handled by ordinary antique shops, such as imp horns or mimic herbs.

Armor stripped from the corpses of those who died in dungeons.

Each one was rare, like the Moonlight Lynx that only comes from Osiria Island.

It even seemed like there were stolen goods.

“This item is… a full plate armor from the corpse of a holy knight of the Eight-Colored Cross Order!”

Hearing that, the man with the tiger mask sitting next to me jumped up.

The man was very large, and the people sitting near him frowned, but they couldn’t say anything because of his fierce demeanor.

“Hold on, not yet.”

The woman sitting next to him put her hand on his side.

The man stood there for a while, made a groaning sound, and then sat back down in his chair.

The cushion chair sank far down.

“40 million Rene.”

In the end, the man bought the armor for a large sum of 40 million Rene.

Judging from his size and spirit, he seems to be a member of the Eight-Colored Cross Order.

‘By the way, when will the Dark Elf’s Heart come out?’

The item I’m looking for is rare, but there’s no sign of it coming out yet.

The novel I read was Teperi’s first-person novel, and I only knew that Trea bought the heart here today.

“This is the Desert Golem Core, acquired from the Mahogany Desert!”

The fact that a Golem Core is coming out means that the auction is slowly coming to an end.

-5.5 billion Rene!

-7 billion Rene!

This place is frequented by people with some wealth, so amounts that ordinary people can’t collect in a lifetime came and went.

It was like watching a painting being sold for hundreds of millions.

The amount is so large that it feels unreal.

“Breast Enlargement Pill!”

Pause, my curiosity reacted for the first time.

Listening to the emcee’s explanation, it seemed to be a pill that increases the size of the breasts, as expected.

‘Hmm.’

I gently looked down at my chest.

Can I barely make it to a B cup?

I hadn’t paid much attention to it until now, but I was slightly interested in being able to increase the size.

‘Let’s not.’

My thoughts disappeared as I saw the bidding competition that started from the beginning, unlike the previous items.

-5 billion Rene!

-8 billion Rene!

-T-Ten billion Rene!

…Like a monkey.

Seeing such a pathetic sight makes me afraid that I might look like that too.

I could call out several times that amount, but I decided to hold back.

My breasts aren’t that important in my life.

In the end, the Breast Enlargement Pill was taken away by a pot-bellied man with a grin.

…I’ll save my words.

The others applauded as usual for the expensive bid price, but I didn’t even think about it.

The auction soon ended.

The Dark Elf’s Heart that I was looking for didn’t come out until the end.

‘Did Trea in the original lie?

Or did I just skim through the novel?’

It’s not a necessity, but it’s a good item to have, so it’s a shame.

I was about to leave the auction house without buying anything.

“Customer, were you not satisfied with the auction?”

A masked employee approached me, seeing me leaving empty-handed.

“It’s not that, I just couldn’t find the item I was looking for.”

I think the viewing itself was a good viewing.

It was also funny to see several people struggling to carry the tank with the Black-toothed Piranha in it.

“Then… would you like me to guide you to a place that might be more interesting to you?”

The man looked around and whispered to me.

Ha, yes.

What I’ve seen so far was too healthy to be called a black market.

Is this a so-called VIP room?

It seems he smelled money from me.

“Please guide me.”

When I cleared away a few boxes in the corner, a hidden door was revealed.

He guided me, and I hesitated for a moment before entering.

‘It’s dark.’

Unlike the general auction house, where you can enter just by saying the password, this place has no fancy decorations, and the music that I occasionally heard is not heard, and it is quiet.

Unlike before, when I could see other people when I looked around, this place was so dark that I could barely confirm each other’s existence.

And it was narrow.

‘This means they’re doing more illegal things.’

No problem.

I have the ability to get myself out of here anyway.

Even if I get caught, it doesn’t seem like it would cause a big problem for the Duchess’s daughter.

“Let the auction begin.”

The auction started in less than 30 minutes.

Instead of the clown-like emcee from before, there was a colorless masked emcee with a gloomy feeling.

A small bottle was carried out on a cart.

“The first item we will introduce is a bottle of Amanita mushroom extract.”

The emcee grabbed the silver bottle, shook it slightly, and said.

Amanita mushroom extract.

This is drugs.

It has the effect of making you happy when you take it with tea or in small amounts… well said.

To put it simply, it is selling hallucinogens, which are extracts from poisonous mushrooms.

“We will start bidding from 50 million Rene.”

Unlike general auctions that start at a low price to induce buyers to bid, this starts at a high price from the beginning.

-Ding ding ding!

Urgent bell sounds were heard from all directions in the darkness.

The price rose rapidly, and it was bid at a price that easily exceeded the starting amount of 50 million.

“Congratulations.”

The emcee handed over the bottle in a gloomy tone, and the man quickly drank half of it as soon as he received the bottle.

The man, who was twisting his shoulders and making strange noises, was soon taken away by other employees.

No one offered applause or congratulations.

In the silence that was as quiet as a mouse, the emcee opened his mouth again.

“Next item.”

Items that were incomparably stranger and more frowned upon than before came out with the name tag of ‘item’.

Various drugs, cursed weapons, tiger beastman serum…

But the Dark Elf’s Heart was still not coming out.

“The next item is slaves.”

Slaves.

Slavery is prohibited in the academy, but it is still allowed in some countries.

It’s a comedy that slaves are being bought and sold right in front of the academy, which is a place of education.

“This is a gladiator captured as a prisoner of war.”

The first s*ave to come out was a gladiator s*ave.

The man, whose left hand was cut off, had chains on his wrists and ankles.

The man, wearing rags, was dragged out blankly with unfocused eyes.

“As you can see, he is missing one hand, but he is right-handed and in good physical condition. This s*ave, who had been working in Howard’s arena until recently…”

“Is it fun?”

The voice came from a place a little away from the center.

I remember that voice.

It was the man’s party who bought the armor of the Eight-Colored Cross Order earlier.

“Are you satisfied with buying and selling people and receiving money?”

“…We will not answer questions that are not related to this auction.”

As the emcee moved his hand, the men who had approached were approaching the woman.

Unexpectedly, the woman readily went outside.

‘It’s slowly starting.’

I should get ready to leave soon too.

I hope the Dark Elf’s Heart comes out before then.

The gladiator s*ave was sold for a relatively low price.

Because he’s a combat s*ave without a hand.

After that, captured prisoners of war and daughters of fallen families were sold as s*x slaves.

They all had dead eyes.

“…Next is a special s*ave.”

“Let go of me!”

“This is a special s*ave captured from the Darkness Valley.”

A girl who looked about my age was dragged out by two men with shackles on her hands and feet.

Her skin was as dark as ebony.

“Let me introduce you. A Dark Elf s*ave.”

Only then did I realize how Trea obtained the Dark Elf’s Heart.