episode_0039

Most of the items up for auction at secret auctions come from the hands of mercenaries.

The only way to obtain the item is through clearing the dungeon or hunting field named monsters.

Because of this, Lihelm, where mercenaries naturally gathered, was overflowing with quality items.

However, as people gather and the scale grows, groups that seek profit are bound to emerge.

Mercenary Guild Black Cloud.

They were a guild that mainly did what was called reselling, buying items at a low price and reselling them.

Powerful items command a high price, but are hard to find buyers for.

If you want to sell it quickly, you need to consider some depreciation.

However, the fact that it takes a long time is a huge disadvantage for mercenaries.

Because they often hear stories of people clinking glasses at a tavern the day before dying the next day.

Even if it is subject to depreciation, I prefer to sell it as long as the price is right.

Therefore, most people prefer to sell quickly through secret auctions and the like.

Black Cloud’s strategy was to sweep up the items of those people.

“It doesn’t seem like they’re from other guilds, what should I do, bro?”

Dane, the leader of the Black Cloud Auction Fence Crew, looked at where his brother’s hand was pointing.

A purple-haired woman with her face covered by a mask and a black-haired man enter the inn.

Of all the people who had been at the auction house until just now, these were the ones who had caught Dane’s eye the most.

Those who only raise their prices until they match exactly what Dane is willing to offer at auction.

One or two times, you might think it was just a coincidence, but since it matched every item Dane had auctioned, there were definitely a lot of suspicious points.

“Just watch for now.”

“Brother, it’s obvious that our information has been leaked, are you just going to watch?”

“Not yet confirmed.”

“… Didn’t you see the price those bastards were calling, bro?”

Dane calmed down his raging younger brother.

Even if the information inside really leaked, we can’t take action right now.

All things are to be done after the work is finished.

It’s a shame to lose an item at an auction, but if you stir things up now to catch the spy, you’ll have trouble participating in the next auction.

Since you don’t lose money if you don’t win an item, you can’t just abandon the auction because you’re feeling a little bad.

“… There are suspicious circumstances, but we need to get the evidence first.”

“No, bro! Those bastards tried to buy the Eternal Ice and Snow for 200 gold. Isn’t that the same amount we first estimated?”

Dane begins by gathering information about the registered items before putting them up for auction.

Since exchanging information about items to be put up for auction is disadvantageous to the seller, confidentiality is the principle.

But that is just the principle of the auction house.

There is nothing you can do about the words that come out of your own mouth when you register an item.

If the information is revealed, the probability of the price significantly exceeding the regular price, the so-called ‘jackpot’, decreases sharply.

There are taverns all around, and the mouths of mercenaries who are very drunk become lighter than feathers.

You could hear stories everywhere about drunk people who had acquired some item and were putting it up for auction, so they would make a lot of money.

Of course, there are mercenaries who know that they are collecting such information and pretend to be drunk and leak the information at a higher price than the original price.

It is not enough to deceive the item data that Black Cloud has collected from numerous places including auctions.

Dane has also prepared a list of items up for auction and an approximate appraisal value.

If you purchase more than this amount, it means that you may incur a loss.

The emotional price was the last line of defense that Dane would offer.

It’s not an absolute price, but at least if it goes over this price, Dane will let go.

Because the possibility of loss increased.

“How many items were stolen this time?”

“There are 4 of them that were taken from over there.”

“I had 10 items marked in advance… but half of them were stolen.”

It’s rare for items up for auction to go up close to their regular price.

That makes sense, because the more expensive the item, the harder it is to find demand.

To get my money’s worth, I had to sell it to the nobles in the heart of the empire, which was no easy task.

So Dane figured he would get at least eight of the ten items he had marked down.

However, this time I only got 4 items.

The reason was because of those two who had just entered the inn.

The woman with the purple hair in particular was a problem.

The woman quoted prices for all four items that were exactly in line with Dane’s appraisal.

So, Dane also agreed to some extent with what his brother said about ‘information being leaked’.

“Did you get the personal information?”

“They say those bastards won’t take their masks off even if they die soon, bro. Let’s just get them on. Okay? ”

“Stop it. He looks like a nobleman, and if you mess with him, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“Then are you just going to look at me?”

“No.”

Dane laughed bitterly.

“The red heart fruit that Gen, who was spewing blood, was looking for. Those guys won the bid.”

“That’s true, but… … Ah.”

Blood-Sprinkling Gen. One of the eight evildoers of the Empire, he is a quiet figure even among the mercenaries who have had a taste for swords.

The fact that he was looking for the Red Heart Fruit was already known to several people, including Dane.

Items up for auction are kept secret until they are revealed on the day of the auction, but the first day’s auction has already ended.

Dane contacted Genn immediately after seeing Cain bid on the Red Heart Fruit.

“He’ll be here soon. We’ll just watch the net and take what we need.”

“Hey me again. Was it like that?”

His younger brother, who understood what Dane was saying, laughed along as if he understood.

When Gen gets here, those two will be dead.

Whether or not the informant really exists… is still irrelevant.

Just as a thief stumbles upon his own feet, it will not be long before his tail is stepped on.

Everything is difficult at first, and someone who betrayed you once will betray you again.

It’s not really a loss to have an item stolen from an auction, so if you slowly prepare a trap, you’ll definitely be able to catch it.

Of course, there are some suspects… but nothing has been confirmed yet.

“Add Rehena to the watch list that year.”

“Aren’t you in charge of collecting information, brother?”

“You’re the fastest at this.”

If you hear a lot of information at a tavern, you may start to feel empty.

Dane had seen many an information officer try to make a killing by thinking, “If only I had the money to buy the items, all this profit would have been mine.”

If there’s going to betray, it’ll definitely be this side.

Dane sent his brother away and looked straight ahead again.

Watch to see if they escape during the dawn.

This time, when the auction staff was divided into two teams, Dane also had to participate in monitoring due to the shortage of people.

It’s been a while since I’ve been monitored… I wanted to immediately throw it away, but I couldn’t.

I took my eyes off of them for a moment, the moment I lost track of their whereabouts, blood would be sprayed everywhere. I could be killed by one of the eight villains.

—

The second day dawned in Lihelm.

Since the secret auction was held at dawn when darkness had fallen, I enjoyed a light tour with Libra during the day.

However, he kept his face covered. It would not be good for a high-ranking noble to be seen wandering around a mercenary village.

In a place like this, showing off your status is useless, and you’ll just end up getting screwed like crazy.

“… What is that?”

“… … Can you give me the lead too?”

Libra was also instructed to walk around with her face covered.

She loved to eat so much that she would wander around the streets of Lihelm buying chicken skewers and snacks.

It’s okay to buy food, but we promised to pack it and take it to our hotel room to eat.

“I wish dinner would come quickly.”

“Are auctions fun?”

“Yeah.”

“I guess that’s possible with your skills.”

There is no harm in using her ability, Libra.

However, reselling the purchased items is a problem… but if you have connections with the Calderon family, that part won’t be a problem.

As money also came out of my wallet, Libra was caught up in the auction like a teenager chasing only dopamine.

I’m a bit worried that he might become addicted… but he’s not a kid, so he’ll figure it out.

Since she doesn’t have any real hobbies, it would be nice to have at least one thing she likes to do.

The harder she works, the more money I earn.

“Oh, and since yesterday, three people have joined us.”

“I know. So never take off your mask.”

“Okay. Those three… don’t seem that strong, but should I try catching them?”

“Wait until they make their move first. Gen is our top priority.”

As expected, after we won the red heart fruit auction, we now have someone watching us.

Auction items are kept secret until just before they are put up for auction, but once they are sold, they will have spread everywhere.

It’s not clear whether the person watching us is someone Gen assigned to us, but we’ll find out soon enough.

Once all the auctions are over and you receive your items from the auction house, they will move too.

“… If you’re going to think about it, go to the inn. I want to go quickly and rest. ”

“Do you want to eat quickly?”

“The chicken skewers are cooling. Important.”

Sigh.

At Libra’s urging, I let out a short sigh and turned around.