The Elusive Sorcerer

Chapter 174

The atmosphere inside the room suddenly descended into chaos the moment Zavi made such a bid.

Meanwhile, inside Zavi's mind.

'As if I'd actually pay that much, idiot. I've only got 215 Pace and 750 Pence left.'

Zavi gave a slight nod while adjusting his bowler hat.

The auctioneer glanced left and right, wanting to speak, but ultimately chose to observe the situation first.

In room number three on the upper floor, with the right curtain pulled aside.

Tiara continued biting her thumb, haunted by the declaration made by James Moriarty, or more accurately, Arsène Lupin.

"Miss?"

Naturally, the two guards who were always at Tiara's side grew worried after seeing her expression.

'Damn it, who is that man? How dare he bid such a ridiculous amount?'

After careful consideration, determined to obtain the robe artifact for a particular reason, Tiara raised her hand high and shouted,

"2,500,000 Pace!"

The auctioneer was stunned. He looked toward room number three and pointed the megaphone upward.

"Two million five hundred thousand Pace? Two million five hundred thousand Pace? Is there anyone willing to go higher?" the auctioneer shouted loudly.

Several customers who had previously wanted the robe artifact immediately withdrew once the price climbed that high.

Another man, seated in chair 129, raised his hand high.

"2,750,000?"

The auctioneer looked toward him, followed by the other customers and the two rivals.

Before he could speak, the man in the bowler hat raised his hand and made another offer.

"5,000,000 Pace. I'll take it."

The auctioneer's eyes widened, as did the eyes of the people on stage and the other customers.

In room number three on the upper floor, Tiara sprang to her feet. Resting both hands on the railing, she stared at Arsène Lupin through gritted teeth.

'That man? Is he testing me?'

She turned around, looked at her two guards, and almost shouted, "Who is that man? Do either of you know him, and where does he live?"

Hearing Miss Tiara's blunt question, both guards held back their smiles for one reason: Tiara looked even more adorable when she was angry.

The man hurried forward, bowed slightly, placed a hand over his chest, and said, "My apologies, Miss Tiara. I don't know who that man is."

Tiara leaned back in her tall chair with a snort.

"Then find out who that man in the bowler hat really is," she said, pouting.

The man brought his feet together, straightened his posture, and replied firmly, "Yes, Miss. I'll return shortly."

He turned around, looked at Nelly for two seconds, and whispered, "Protect Miss properly!"

Nelly gripped her dress tightly and replied quietly, "Understood. I'll protect her as if I were protecting my own life."

Hearing that, Tiara's guard immediately left with silent footsteps.

Down below, the auctioneer waited for a higher bid.

He wanted to accept Zavi's offer, who was acting as Arsène Lupin, but decided not to when Tiara raised her hand again.

"6,000,000 Pace?" Tiara shouted loudly.

The auctioneer pursed his lips as the words echoed through the room for several seconds.

He raised the megaphone to his mouth.

"Anyone willing to bid higher?"

Murmurs spread among several customers.

"How could anyone bid higher than that?"

"Exactly," the man beside him replied with a nod.

Another woman also commented on the auctioneer's statement.

"Forget it. That strange thing is ridiculous, even if it's extremely useful."

Far from them, at seat 389, another woman made a similar remark.

"A valuable artifact. But at that price, who's going to bid higher?"

The auctioneer listened for a moment and observed the crowd, who were still complaining.

"Alright, alright. The bidding is closed. There are no higher offers, and this robe artifact will be awarded to the lady in room number three up there."

He pointed toward room three with his megaphone and quickly added:

"As for payment, a courier will come to you later and deliver the item."

From room three, Tiara smiled in satisfaction after obtaining the remarkable artifact.

She laughed, looked at Nelly for two seconds, and said cheerfully, "I did it! I... beat that annoying man."

For a sixteen-year-old girl, acting childish was perfectly natural, at least for her.

Nelly stood silently while Tiara patted herself several times.

Below, the auctioneer watched as the woman in the slit dress carried the artifact back into the vault. Meanwhile, the customers eagerly awaited the next item, while the auctioneer seemed hesitant as he read a sheet of paper in his hand.

"Alright," he whispered. "The third and fourth items are the staff of the hermit Suola de Laurenze and a ring dating back to the year 500 or earlier, a time when the world was in crisis due to war, monster threats, non-human creatures, supernatural beings, and the mysterious figure who ended that war roughly five hundred years ago."

The auctioneer explained, while a chill crawled up the back of his neck, causing his next words to catch in his throat.

'I hate talking about this!' he thought, his heart pounding despite his calm outward appearance.

Curious murmurs arose a few seconds after the auctioneer silently contemplated his fate.

"A ring from before the Era of Chaos?"

The man seated beside him in seat 212 answered,

"The entire era was a gamble between life, death, and status."

"Oh? I just remembered there were beings other than humans who inhabited and did all sorts of things on Earth during that era."

As the two chatted, the auction continued, and outrageous bids were being made without either of them noticing.

The man in seat 212 nodded and said, "Yes, there was a researcher and adventurer who encountered Vampires on the scattered islands and archipelagos near the continent of Karanda."

"Oh? The Sangihe Islands, Siau, Taulad, or..."

The man in seat 212 confirmed the statement.

"The Arum Archipelago."

The eyes of the man wearing a half-top hat in seat 211 widened as his body trembled.

"...What's your name?" he asked quietly.

The man in seat 212 hesitated for a moment before calmly answering two seconds later.

"Joshua Heimers."

After hearing that name, the man quickly added,

"You said the Arum Archipelago, right?"

Joshua nodded before looking at him in confusion.

"Those islands aren't near the continent of Karanda. They're southwest of the eastern continent of Chynoria," he continued, clenching his hands tightly.

Joshua stared at him, his pupils trembling.

"...Impossible! How could an archipelago that large move to the southwest of Chynoria?"

The man held his breath and said,

"That's what worries me, but that fact has been covered up by the authorities there. Another matter is the Vampire conspiracy in Ninesorals."

Joshua turned toward him while adjusting his half-top hat.

"How do you know that?" he asked seriously.

"A hired worker," the man replied calmly.

"A hired worker?"

The man wearing the half-top hat wondered whether an event of that magnitude had truly been concealed by the rulers of the world.

He didn't know.

What he did know was that the Vampire conspiracy probably held some truth.

Moreover, both of them, along with countless others, knew of events that had added entire volumes to history books across continents, kingdoms, empires, provinces, districts, and cities.

"450,000?"

As the two fell silent and stopped speaking, their attention shifted toward the auctioneer.

...

The auctioneer shouted after receiving an astonishing bid from a customer below the stage.

"Does anyone have a higher offer than 170,000 Pace?"

There was no silence as customers competed with one another in both price and pride.

After all, the status of those attending this grand auction left them with a choice: retreat or keep moving forward.

The auctioneer observed the commotion that erupted once everyone realized that rare and historical items were right before their eyes, lavishly displayed atop an iron wheeled table.

Who wouldn't be tempted after seeing that?

No one. Even Tiara and the woman in room six were still battling to obtain the items.

Tiara raised her hand high.

"475,000 Pace."

The auctioneer was startled and further heated the atmosphere with his voice.

"This is getting intense! That beautiful young lady is finally getting serious with her bids."

Zavi simply sat and watched, pretending to buy things so the wealthy people here would spend their money while he took whatever remained.

Naturally, through theft or some other, more subtle method.

But now, a tycoon from Ninesorals who had taken time out of his schedule to come here could not remain silent after seeing the treasure before him.

He, seated at the very top in seat number 879, raised his hand high.

"750,000 Pace," he shouted loudly.

Not wanting to lose to a tycoon like him, the occupants of rooms one through eight on the upper floor began discussing higher bids with their guards.

Those rooms were occupied solely by nobles like them: three women and five adult men in their fifties.

In room one on the upper floor.

"Lord Batistutan, allow me to offer some advice regarding the price of that historical item," a guard said calmly.

Batistutan responded somewhat apathetically without looking up.

"Tell me whether it's useful."

"Obtaining a valuable item like that could be beneficial in the future!"

The guard whispered something, keeping it hidden from his two colleagues.

Meanwhile, Batistutan merely nodded, suppressing a smile as he considered his guard's brilliant idea.

"A great and brilliant idea. I never thought buying you at an auction in Kuranda five years ago would prove useful. Is this what they call 'hidden talent'?"

In room two on the upper floor.

A mid-ranking noble sat there, a man completely indifferent toward the item.

Although he had initially wanted to obtain it simply to prevent Batistutan from getting it, he changed his mind after realizing the auction would continue until eleven at night.

There were items far better than those two.

In room three on the upper floor.

Tiara appeared to be considering an even higher bid when her servant warned her not to waste money on useless things.

In room four on the upper floor.

A father and son, both nobles, had taken time to attend the magnificent Ountakana auction in Kuranda.

They were nobles from the city of Semilir, rulers of the Dangan territory.

Both carefully evaluated the two items despite not truly wanting either of them.

The auction continued as several customers submitted bids higher than the conglomerate's.

In room five on the upper floor.

A noblewoman from Yorkshire had interrupted her busy schedule to attend this auction.

"That thing gave me headaches back when I was in school! I'm not buying it," she said, her fingers clutching the edge of her dress.

The two men beside her remained professional, though they knew their mistress had hated history lessons during her school days.

Even though she was nearly thirty years old, she still remembered the difficult years she spent at Lueger University in the city of Vucan, Havanuheta Province.

Room six on the upper floor.

A noblewoman one year older than Tiara, who had been at odds with her for years and still remained her rival.

Even after Tiara decided to come to this hidden place, she had still found time to follow her.

"Tiara is the family's little bitch in the Caistilla household," she said, her jaw tightening while her gaze burned like bright flames in the darkness.

The two guards, one man and one woman, simply observed their mistress's troubled condition.

Neither of them dared ask anything, whether about her physical state or her current thoughts.

In room seven on the upper floor.

A brother and sister from a noble family in Kuranda appeared completely unaffected, even though the item could potentially set them apart from everyone else.

Both were the type of people who preferred things with guaranteed and practical benefits.

In room eight on the upper floor.

Under the dim light, a lantern rested at the feet of the seated man. His vacant gaze stared forward as though he were a puppet given life.

He had no interest in the item whatsoever, despite having previously submitted a bid of 450,000 Pace.

All he and his companion could do was wait for something other than those two ancient relics, which he considered to be merely the midpoint among the many items yet to come.

The auctioneer concluded the bidding for the ring and the Hermit's Staff, both dating from the year 500 or earlier.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. There are no bids higher than Lord Nolan's, the tycoon seated in seat 879. Therefore, we have decided to finalize the price of these two items at 870,000 Pace."

He paused briefly to catch his breath before continuing:

"Congratulations! You have acquired the staff of the hermit Suola de Laurenze and this ancient ring. Payment and collection will take place after the auction concludes."

The auctioneer bowed respectfully while applause from several customers filled the hall.

It was not what the higher-ups had expected or worried about.

Yet unbeknownst to them, a terrible threat lurked outside and had already entered the vast underground complex where the Ountakana auction was being held.

The auction paused briefly as the auctioneer and three others accompanying him moved to the right side of the stage.

A fifteen-minute break followed before the auction resumed.

Meanwhile, the couple seated in chairs 432 and 433 remained seated, the backs of their hands glowing red. Most of the other customers had already left the hall for their respective places, while each of them sank into their own thoughts.

Arsyfa Floweria, better known as Evelina Kalderan, looked at Zavi in confusion.

'Is he in that mode again?'

Remembering the same situation that had occurred at four o'clock that afternoon, Evelina reluctantly stayed by his side.

Unbeknownst to him, a bespectacled man in formal attire was standing silently on the stairs watching him.

Meanwhile, outside the hall, in the corridors of the Ountakana building, a man with a ponytail, his hair falling to either side, strolled through the luxurious, brightly lit corridor.

He was... Arsène Lupin.

Having waited far too long, he decided to find the storage area for the items and steal them.

He was also following a woman he had previously found suspicious.

The gamble over whether he could satisfy his curiosity and discover the storage vault began when the woman, dressed in a gown that exposed her shoulders and accentuated her chest, turned left instead of right.