episode_0077

“Thankfully, we got in safely.”

Asel muttered, putting the two tickets in his hand into his pocket.

Fortunately, Nigel didn’t even suspect the two and let them enter the auction house. It was proof that their acting hadn’t been discovered. It meant that even to him, who had faced many couples standing at the entrance, Asel and Elena looked like a couple.

Their concept had definitely paid off. Asel smiled with satisfaction and looked down at Elena, who was walking right beside him.

“Are we going straight to the auction house? Or should we look around here a bit first? There’s still some time until the auction starts.”

“……”

“Elena?”

No answer came back. For some reason, her expression was blank. Her cheeks were red, and her mumbling lips looked like they had something to say. Her clear, blood-red eyes couldn’t stay still for a moment.

This was quite an unusual look for her, who was always so lively. Asel poked her shoulder with his finger and called her name, causing Elena to startle and quickly turn her head.

“Hic!”

“……? Why are you so surprised? Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?”

“Ah, no! I-I-I-I was just, just thinking about something for a moment!”

“Really?”

Asel didn’t dwell on her overreaction and adjusted the slightly ruffled position of his coat. Elena looked up at his face and swallowed hard.

‘Why am I like this?’

The pseudo-hug from before. Ever since then, Elena’s heart has been pounding as if broken. Whenever she sees his face, her cheeks feel hot, and her fingers twist and turn. An unknown wave of emotion seems to sweep through her whole body. She doesn’t know what the nature of that emotion is, but it was certainly controlling her brain right now.

Her face felt 괜스레 hot, so Elena stepped a step ahead of Asel and pointed her finger at the various shops set up in the auction house.

“Let’s, let’s walk around for a bit before the auction starts! There’s a lot to see, ahaha!”

“……?”

Asel shook his head at her wavering attitude but nonetheless matched her pace as she started walking quickly. Since he had come to the auction house today at her request, he intended to follow her lead. Besides, there was plenty of time before the auction started, so walking around wouldn’t be a big problem.

“Welcome.”

The first place they stepped into was an accessory shop full of splendid ornaments. Elaborately cut jewels filled the display cases, and gems with good magic conductivity emitted a faint light. The two looked at them for a moment, then soon left the shop.

The next place they visited was a restaurant selling simple snacks. Since they were feeling a bit hungry, Elena ordered a piece of bread and Asel ordered fried chicken. The two walked down the splendid auction house corridor with their food in hand.

Just then, they saw an auction house employee walking towards them from the opposite direction. Asel immediately put on his concept and skewered a piece of fried chicken with a stick, offering it to Elena.

“Ah~”

“Uh, huh?”

“I’ll feed you.”

“Ah, uh-huh.”

Elena awkwardly opened her mouth and took a bite of the meat Asel offered. Her sharp fangs tore the meat, and her molars crushed it. She chewed a few times, then her eyes sparkled as she looked back at Asel.

“Delicious! Give me one more!”

“Here.”

Asel felt the employee glancing at him as he passed by and fed Elena another piece of meat. This time, without any awkwardness, she opened her mouth wide and chewed the meat happily.

Happiness spread across her face. Asel chuckled, stroked her hair, and put the last remaining piece of fried chicken into his mouth.

“It would be perfect with a glass of blood. Too bad.”

“You say scary things so casually.”

Elena, who had somehow returned to her usual self, murmured as she traced her lips with her finger, and Asel wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth as he replied.

[Ah, welcome, everyone. I am the owner of the auction house and the owner of the Leonard Merchant Group, Leonard.]

Just then, Leonard’s voice began to resonate from the ceiling. People walking in the corridor all stopped in place and looked up towards the ceiling.

[I am very grateful to everyone who has visited our auction house today. Most of you have probably traveled a long distance to purchase the newly released couple items.]

The man’s voice was full of power. One could glimpse the arrogance and confidence typical of a merchant group leader. As the owner of a renowned merchant group, famous enough to operate an auction house within the academy grounds, it was perhaps natural for him to be overflowing with confidence and self-love. The amount of fluid capital he handled alone would be close to tens of thousands of gold coins.

[We swear to do our best to provide the best experience for all our customers. We have also prepared a generous supply of newly acquired items, so please feel free to bid at your leisure. There are not only items for couples, but also many items that can be helpful to scholars, swordsmen, and mages, so please actively participate in the auction!]

“Come to think of it, they said the Guardian Tree Staff is coming out this time, right? I should buy that too.”

“I’m going to buy the Five-Horned Beast Horn. It’s an excellent catalyst.”

As Leonard’s voice continued, murmurs began to spread among the people around. They were all stating which item they intended to buy from the items coming out in this auction. Fortunately, no one mentioned the Vampiric Blade that Elena was targeting.

Of course, that didn’t mean they could be complacent. The auction house was always full of variables, so it was right to bring plenty of money that could be used.

Fortunately, when paying the price at the Leonard Auction House, there was no need to hand over the money right on the spot. As long as the money was given within 24 hours, the item would be transferred to the buyer. That’s why Elena hadn’t brought the gold coins with her right now. She probably kept them carefully in her dormitory and planned to bring them after winning the bid.

‘Should I buy a few things if there’s anything I like?’

Asel also had quite a bit of money saved up. He couldn’t spend astronomical amounts, but he could still afford to buy relatively expensive items. If there were any interesting items related to magic, it wouldn’t be bad to buy a few.

[From now on, in 5 minutes! The auction hall will be opened. A list of items exhibited at the auction is written on the back of the admission ticket, so we hope you can enter and purchase the items you want when they appear! Now, we wish you a pleasant auction and successful transactions, and I, Leonard, will withdraw! Have a happy night, a wonderful night of revelry!]

With that, Leonard withdrew.

At the news that the auction hall would soon open, the people who had been strolling in the corridor all began to flock towards the auction hall. Asel and Elena sat side by side on a nearby bench, scanning the items listed on the back of their tickets.

“The Vampiric Blade is… coming out quite late?”

“Yeah. I think we have to wait three more hours.”

The list of items was divided by time slots. The Vampiric Blade was located in the middle of the list. As Elena said, they would have to wait three more hours for the item to appear on the stage. There was nothing among the items coming out before that piqued their interest.

A staff that increases magic power is meaningless from the 5th tier onwards.

Armor that creates an outer shell to protect against external impact is less efficient than shields or the interception magic Asel created. The same goes for catalysts used in alchemy.

The only thing that was somewhat interesting was the grimoire that came after the Vampiric Blade.

‘Basic Dark Magic, huh…’

Dark magic is heretical magic treated as an unorthodox path, unlike legitimate magic such as blood magic or corpse magic. Simply by using it, you are treated as a repulsive sorcerer by other mages, and you become someone who cannot blend into any group.

The only places you can associate with are demon cultists or criminal organizations. Thus, the number of dark mages publicly is absolutely small, and they do not reveal themselves carelessly. Because of this, information about dark magic is strictly prohibited from leaking out among them.

Even if that weren’t the case, normal groups would never deal with dark magic.

Therefore, it was quite peculiar that an item related to dark magic was put up for auction. It wasn’t common for grimoires recorded by reclusive dark mages to be openly revealed like this.

However, it wasn’t entirely strange either, as it wasn’t unheard of for items carried by vanquished dark mages to appear in auctions. Since they were items always in high demand among collectors, there were quite a few people willing to pay a high price for them.

Asel wasn’t exactly a collector, but he was quite interested in dark magic itself. Just like wanting to learn blood magic, he had long been interested in dark magic and necromancy. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, there was no reason to refuse.

‘I’ll probably have to spend at least a hundred gold coins.’

If there were no competing bidders, it would cost less, but who knows. Would there really be no collectors here?

Collecting is something only people with suspiciously large amounts of money and time do. There will probably be a few people here who want to collect items related to dark magic. Thinking that he might have to compete with them in a bidding war, he 괜히 felt tight-fisted about his pocket.

“What should we do with the remaining time?”

Just as Asel was thinking that, Elena asked, blinking her eyes. Asel put aside his thoughts about the grimoire for now and examined the auction hall map hanging on the wall.

The largest area was, of course, the auction hall where the auction took place. This massive stage occupied almost half of the underground space. And next to it, there was a banquet hall connected to the auction hall.

-This is a banquet hall prepared with various food, drinks, music, and dancing! If you wish to rest during the auction, please come this way!

That was the description of the banquet hall. Asel thought for a moment, then turned to Elena and suggested going to the banquet hall. Elena’s eyes sparkled at the word ‘banquet’, and she nodded vigorously.

***

The banquet hall was as large as the banquet halls in most noble mansions.

A place that exuded a splendid and luxurious atmosphere, painted overall in gold and red. Musicians sitting in the corner played elegant songs, and various types of couples danced or drank and laughed heartily.

“Wow…”

Perhaps liking this atmosphere, Elena exclaimed and ran into the banquet hall with quick steps. Then she turned back to Asel and waved her hand as if telling him to come quickly. Asel chuckled and approached her.

Just that scene became a painting. At the appearance of the handsome man and beautiful woman, the eyes of those who were already in the banquet hall fixed on the two, and the musicians, influenced by the atmosphere, played cheerful music. Asel held two cocktails handed to him by a banquet hall employee, gave one to Elena, and smiled.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah! I love this kind of atmosphere! With music playing, and people just enjoying themselves!”

“If you like it, I like it too.”

Perhaps because there were many people around, Asel put on his concept again. He subtly smiled and sipped his cocktail while standing next to Elena, who was humming a tune.

In the eyes of others, they looked like a lively country girl and a cold noble young master. The reality was the complete opposite, though.

“Excuse me, young master.”

Just then, a tall man approached Asel and cautiously called him. Asel subtly shifted his gaze to check his face.

A man with impressive golden hair and green eyes, accompanied by his lover, wore a pleasant smile. Asel glanced at the two and spoke in a low voice.

“Do you have some business?”

The noble way of speaking and grace he had learned from Ena made people mistake Asel’s true identity for a noble without fail. Asel inwardly admired his acting while maintaining a cold expression. The man then smiled sheepishly and scratched his head.

“Well… it’s nothing else, but my lover said she wanted to see you two dance. If it’s not an imposition, could you show us?”

“……Dance, you say?”

“Yes. My lover is a painter, and she said she might get inspiration if she sees you two dance. Perhaps because you two are so handsome and beautiful. Would that be possible?”

“……That’s a sudden suggestion.”

Asel replied with a poker face. However, Elena seemed to have a different opinion, as she listened to the man’s words, tugged on Asel’s sleeve, and said with a bright face.

“I’m fine with it? Let’s dance together!”

“……Are you sure?”

“Yeah! This is the kind of place where you dance when you come here!”

Since Elena’s opinion was such, Asel also chuckled and nodded.

At that, the man’s lover’s eyes sparkled.

“A cold noble man who is completely swayed by a woman’s words… How can such a novel-like couple exist? Inspiration is overflowing…!”

Her eyes resembled those of a fanatic. Asel looked at her with a look of disapproval, then followed Elena, who was walking towards the center of the banquet hall. The musicians momentarily stopped playing their instruments, then exchanged signals among themselves and began to play the most representative classical music piece.

Asel gave a wry smile at the music clearly intended for them.

After a short while, he composed his expression, bowed to Elena, and held out one hand.

“Would you like to dance a song with me?”

Elena giggled at his request and lightly placed her hand on his.

“Yes!”