Chapter 216 - auction

We finally arrived at the Imperial Capital and found ourselves in familiar surroundings. We had visited this place many times during our stays at the Royal Palace.

Luna smiled brightly as we walked through the city.

Just like in the other cities, we wandered around. Then I remembered something and looked at her.

"Hey, how about we attend an auction?"

She looked at me with curiosity and anticipation.

"For what?"

I simply shrugged. "Do we need a reason to do things? Let’s see what they have up for auction, and if we find something we like, let’s buy it."

Her eyes crinkled with excitement.

"That’s... an amazing idea!"

"When did we ever need a reason to have fun?"

She laughed, and I heard her silver bell-like laughter.

I nodded as we went to find an auction hall.

After looking around for a little while, we finally found one. It was the largest auction house on the entire Human Continent.

So we entered the auction hall and went to the reception to ask when the auction was starting.

The receptionist looked at something before saying, "There should be two hours left. May I know if you’re invited to the auction?"

"Or have you registered to participate beforehand?"

We looked at each other and then shook our heads.

She looked at us, and her eyes twitched.

However, she maintained her politeness and said, "Then, unfortunately, you can’t participate in this auction. I’m sorry."

"But if you’re willing, I can register you for another auction if you sign up with us now."

I asked, "Isn’t there a way for nobles to participate without having to go through all that?"

"I heard about it from a different auction hall."

She nodded politely and said, "That’s true, sir. If you can provide sufficient information proving that you belong to a prestigious noble house or have a recommendation, we can arrange that."

Luna and I immediately lit up as we took out our family crests and handed them to her for inspection.

She was flabbergasted when she saw two of the most powerful family crests in her possession.

One belonged to the Royal Family, while the other belonged to the renowned Starlight Family.

Her hands nearly trembled as she inspected them.

Once she confirmed that both were genuine, she immediately called a staff member and ordered him, "Bring our distinguished guests to the VVIP room for bidding in the next auction."

I looked at her.

"Didn’t we need to show our financial capabilities?"

She simply let out a hollow laugh.

"Sir, please don’t joke around. If you don’t have money, then no one in the kingdom does."

I scratched my head awkwardly.

"Ahh, that’s... strangely makes sense. Even I don’t know how much I have."

Luna giggled behind me as we followed the staff member to our room.

While we were walking, the staff member asked, "Sir, would you like anything, such as champagne or other drinks?"

I simply waved my hand.

"No, no. We’re underage, so we don’t drink those."

Luna also said, "Not interested."

His eyes widened a little, but he quickly regained his composure and respectfully led us to the room.

It was an absolutely luxurious room, with everything decorated in gold and black.

We spotted a comfortable sofa and went over to take our seats.

From here, we could see the other places where the bids were being placed.

We also noticed a tablet sitting there, so we looked at the staff member in confusion.

He explained the entire process to Luna and me, including how to place our bids and so on.

We nodded as we took off the cloaks we were wearing.

Then Luna picked up the tablet and studied it. She figured out all its features in an instant.

So we waited for the auction to start. We could see other rooms across from us, as well as many people seated downstairs.

Luna said, "It seems there are lots of people here, huh?"

I used my perception and sensed many more people.

Then I nodded.

"Hmm, yeah. There are quite a lot of them. It seems the items in this auction are good."

Luna nodded at that.

"Let’s buy everything that catches our eyes."

I laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, somehow we need to spend this money."

She nodded and said awkwardly, "I have lots of money as well."

I nodded.

"Of course you do. You’re a princess, a little evil one, so you must have lots of money."

She puffed out her cheeks as always.

"Who’s evil, you say?"

She pinched me, increasing the force every moment I delayed answering. I grinned and said, "No one, no one."

She nodded with satisfaction.

"Just as I thought."

Then we turned our attention to the auction as it began.

After the greetings and introductions, they brought out the first item.

It caused a commotion in the auction hall as soon as it was revealed.

The first item was a skill book.

It was an SS-Rank spellbook containing an Ice-type spell.

Luna looked at it, but she had no interest in it. A spellbook was just another shackle for her, so she would never learn a skill from one.

It limited her imagination.

The bidding went crazy as the price kept increasing. Eventually, the room beside us purchased it for 100 million credits.

My eyes twitched as I watched the bids increase little by little until they finally reached 100 million.

Then the auctioneer brought out the second item. All the items in this auction were considered the best of the best.

In an ordinary auction, they could have been presented as the final item.

The second item was an SS+ Rank Sword Art.

That caused even more commotion.

As soon as the bidding started at 50 million, the offers began pouring in.

60...

70...

90...

150...

And finally, the room next to us bid 200 million.

I made a mental note of the person in the next room.

But then the auctioneer’s voice rang out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next item is a little special because even we haven’t been able to figure out its origin. This is the third time it has been auctioned in this auction hall."

"All its previous owners were researchers who purchased this stone for research. Once again, it has arrived at our auction hall."

As soon as they brought out that stone, my senses told me it contained Abyssal Energy, and I needed it.

My eyes sharpened as a smirk played on my lips.

Hmm, my luck is quite good, huh?

Then the opening bid started at 10 million.

I immediately took the tablet and placed a bid of 15 million.

Luna looked at me with surprise.

"Do you need that?"

I nodded.

"I can sense that the stone has energy connected to my physique, so I’m going to buy it."

She nodded.

"Hmm, that’s a good idea."

As soon as my bid went through, another bid came in.

20 million.

They didn’t know what it was used for, but some people wanted to buy it as a decoration.

If I were a poor person, I’d grit my teeth and curse at that person. But I’m not. I don’t care about this little bit of money.

I bid 50 million at once.

That made most of them back off, but that bastard in the next room bid 60 million.

I simply yawned and bid 100 million.

I didn’t care about the cost. I was buying it.

Then he bid again.

110 million.

I simply bid 200 million without batting an eye as Luna looked at me with a speechless expression.

I looked back at her.

"What? I’m too bored to play with little 10- to 20-million bids."

She laughed and nodded.

Finally, the person next door stopped bidding, and the auctioneer announced that the item was mine.

I nodded with satisfaction.

"Nobody takes what’s mine."

Luna simply rolled her eyes.

Then the auction continued. We didn’t see anything particularly eye-catching until something called the Primordial Soul Crystal appeared.

Luna bid for it, and not a single person could compete with her financial power.

Even the person next door was nothing more than a frog in a well compared to Luna’s wealth.

Then the auction continued, with a few more items being presented, including a Phoenix Feather that could provide a massive boost to users with a Fire Element.

I bought it as well, for Amy.

Then the most anticipated moment of the auction arrived.

It was the last item.

The auctioneer gestured towards the middle of the stage, where something was stored under a black cloth.

The auctioneer began giving a lengthy explanation about the item and its uses.

As the effects of the item were revealed, everyone looked at it with burning eyes.

Luna looked at it too.

"Hmm, it’s similar to the thing we got from the Secret Realm, but much more powerful. Let’s buy it."

I smiled and nodded.

"Hmm, this one is on the list. Let’s just buy it and go."

Luna nodded.

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