Auction (3)

'Hmm, there's indeed a set baseline.'

Revet thought.

Frondier also had plenty of leeway. Unless the price went above the amount he had set, or the amount designated by his family, he would not raise his sign.

The price had exceeded ten million quir. It had already doubled. At this point, the number of bids began to decrease.

Currently, the only people still raising their signs were Elodie and some middle-aged aristocratic man who came out of nowhere. He glared at Elodie with simmering anger.

Elodie paid no attention to his anger and raised her sign again.

She was really not thinking anything of it.

The middle-aged man trembled as he held onto his sign.

In the meantime, Elodie looked at Frondier.

Frondier would probably be her next opponent.

But, he still showed no sign of movement.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man raised his sign once again.

And as if to ignore his petty rebellion, Elodie raised her sign before the auctioneer could even finish speaking.

Just as Revet had said, in an auction, the person with the most money wins the item.

Unlike that man whose budget was almost up, Elodie still had plenty of room to spare.

“127, 10.5 million! 10.5 million! Are there any higher bids?”

In the end, the middle-aged man hung his head. Elodie and Revet turned to look at Frondier.

Frondier’s expression was composed.

Now, it was time for the showdown with Frondier. Elodie quietly observed him.

But then,

“Are there any higher bids? If not, I will call out the price three times and close!”

Frondier remained still up until that point.

“10.5 million!”

The auctioneer called out the price for the first time, and Elodie tensed up slightly. Is this it, she thought.

“10.5 million!”

On the second call, Revet furrowed his brow. What trick are they trying to pull? That Frondier’s leisurely attitude irked him.

And then.

“10.5 million!”

The third call.

“……?”

“?”

Elodie and Revet blinked in unison.

“Congratulations to bidder number 127! The Viper Steel has been sold for 10.5 million quir!”

Ohhhhhh, the surrounding nobles cheered and clapped.

Revet reflexively raised his hand to acknowledge them, but his face still held a look of doubt. Elodie didn’t react at all. She simply asked.

“…Is there a chance he changed your mind halfway?”

“......”

Revet didn’t say anything. He just stared at Frondier with an expression that said he was looking at something strange. Well, to Revet, Frondier probably did look strange.

Elodie understood the meaning of Revet’s expression, and said.

“……I guess not. Then that means.”

Elodie looked at Frondier again.

From the moment it appeared until the successful bid was declared, his expression didn’t change at all, and his hands never moved once.

The answer was simple.

Frondier never intended to get his hands on it, from the very beginning.

The only explanation for why he came here was the “cursed cloth”.

“What is that guy, what the, what is he doing,”

Revet’s speech was broken as bewilderment and incomprehension washed over him.

* * *

A few days ago, inside the Constel Institute café, the “Tall Dwarf”.

After successfully scouting Quinie, I held a meeting with her and Aten.

“I’m more suited for long-ranged combat, if I had to say.”

When we divided up the party positions, Quinie said this. The blades hidden within her fans were her main weapons. While she threw them, you couldn’t really call her a ranged dealer.

“You’re good at both melee and long-range combat, aren’t you?”

“……Ahem, well, I suppose so.”

Quinie covered her mouth with her fan at my words.

Of course, I praised Quinie intentionally, but it wasn’t a lie, so I didn’t feel guilty.

“First, I’ll be at the front, Quinie in the middle, and Aten in the rear. That’s how it’ll be.”

“You’ll be at the front? You wanted to be the rearguard, didn’t you?”

“If there was someone who was thoroughly a vanguard, like Aster or Ellen, then I would have done that.”

Quinie is an all-rounder. She’s someone who can perform well in any position.

Therefore, it's best to keep it in the middle and respond flexibly depending on the situation.

"Hmm. That could be dangerous."

"I'll have to work hard."

It's sad that I'm getting used to being in danger.

But my response seemed to bother Quinie somehow, as she looked around once and then leaned in close to me.

"So, you know."

"Yes?"

"Did you really do it?"

"Do what?"

"The Fireworks."

At that, Aten closed the distance as well. Both of their eyes were sparkling with curiosity and wonder.

These two were the ones I had warned about the monster's attack in advance. Naturally, they could guess that I was involved in the 'Fireworks' that supposedly wiped out the fleeing monster.

Quinie said.

"I'm not going to ask how you knew the monster was going to attack, because that actually happened. But the 'Fireworks' are a different story. I'd like a little bit of gratitude for helping you."

"Protecting Constel benefits everyone, doesn't it?"

"That's why I said 'a little' bit of gratitude."

What is this?

But without the help of Quinie and the others, a proper response during the attack would have been impossible. Then I wouldn't have gained the 'Analyze' skill either.

...I see, a token of gratitude.

"Then I'll give you a straight answer."

"Mhm."

"I did it."

I asserted.

Quinie's face, which had a hint of playfulness, suddenly turned serious. Her expression hardened, and her eyes, shining transparently, looked straight at me. It was as if I could hear her thoughts spinning.

Then I added one more thing.

"But I can't do it anymore. How I did it is a secret."

Such an impossible feat of remote aiming, without Malia's help, I couldn't even have conceived the idea.

People might be able to replicate the appearance of what they call 'Fireworks', but at best, it would only be within my line of sight.

...And with that, I hoped they would think I was just bluffing.