Ch. 266

[Je… Je…?]

[I don’t think his name was Jeje?]

[I know! I just can’t remember his name.]

Right, his little sister’s name was Daria.

I fiddled with the bracelet on my wrist, trying to jog my memory.

I could remember the name of the sister who had given me this bracelet—supposedly something that increased one’s friendliness—as a thank-you gift after I rescued her from slave traders.

But I couldn’t recall that unlucky bastard’s name.

I’d only heard it briefly.

“Human! It was foul meeting you, and let’s never cross paths again!”

He was clearly a real piece of work.

[Anyway… the guy who flipped me off. The Eradicators or whatever, that’s him, right?]

[I think so. Wasn’t it his job to rescue his kidnapped kin?]

[Probably?]

[Then why is he a slave?]

[Maybe he got caught while trying to rescue them?]

[He didn’t seem like the type to get caught easily.]

I thought the same as Rai.

Though we only met in passing, he had an aura as powerful as Rovenin’s. It was strange to see him captured like this.

He seemed to know not only swordsmanship but also Spirit Magic and Magic… In terms of raw power, would he be somewhere between Rovenin and Ash?

It was hard to guess accurately with all those suppression tools hanging off him, but it was clear he was probably stronger than Ash.

—The high starting price is also related to the fact that this is the only slave on the block today. It’s because this Dark Elf freed all the other high-quality slaves that were scheduled to be sold. He failed to escape himself and was caught, however.

The hall stirred again, and complaints erupted from all sides.

“My master is displeased, asking why you’re raising the price when you were the fools who lost them.”

“My master demands a firm answer on whether he will be tamed before being handed over.”

“My master also wonders if safety can be guaranteed.”

“Are there no younger ones that are easier to tame….”

“I heard Dark Elves are difficult to handle. If he starves to death, is there a compensation sale….”

‘Why not ask if it comes with free shipping, too?’

As the surroundings grew noisier, the bidders’ escorts raised their voices, and the audience seats grew even more chaotic.

—Everyone, please calm down. I will answer your questions one by one. The price of this one has not been raised simply because we lost the other slaves. What determined this one’s starting price is… this item, which is included as a basic option.

Once again, the Dark Elf’s head was forcibly yanked up.

Behind the iron bars, two burly men who looked like they could pack a punch were pulling on iron chains, their faces contorted as they struggled not to lose their grip against his intense resistance.

Meanwhile, the auctioneer pointed with an elegant gesture at something like a crimson dog collar fastened around the Dark Elf’s neck. It seemed to be a type of suppression tool.

—Everyone, please raise your telescopes. You will see this suppression tool around this one’s neck. This is no ordinary suppression tool. It is a precious magical tool enchanted with ‘Obedience magic,’ which makes the wearer absolutely obey the master’s commands.

Sounds of admiration quickly came from the grumbling crowd.

—As you were concerned, Dark Elves are difficult to raise. Most Dark Elves who become slaves starve to death. Do you know why? Through our years of know-how, we have finally figured it out! It is because their doctrine does not permit ‘suicide.’ Except for starving to death….

“Oh…”

“Hoh.”

—However, what if the master commands them to eat? What if they have this item enchanted with Obedience magic? If they cannot starve to death… they can never escape.

‘Another loss for the demons today. Humans are truly wicked.’

—The magic of this suppression tool does not end there. If, by any chance, they try to harm their master or disobey a command, they will feel a pain so powerful they cannot move. Furthermore! If the master dies, the slave dies with them on the spot. They have no choice but to protect their master with all their might!

‘Are the demons slacking off? Or are humans so wicked there’s nothing left for them to do?’

—If they don’t protect their master, knowing they themselves will die… what is that? That is suicide. An act not permitted by their doctrine. In short, if you just occasionally command them to eat… you will have a faithful slave with a lifespan of several hundred years.

The auctioneer hadn’t even finished his explanation, but people began raising their paddles from all directions.

—Here, if you have this ‘Master’s Ring,’ made as a set with the suppression tool! Not only will he never be able to harm his master! He will obey all commands. Let me show you!

Wearing a crimson ring, the auctioneer stuck his hand inside the iron cage.

The Dark Elf reacted ferociously but immediately collapsed, his body trembling. I could just barely tell that he had tried to attack in that split second, and the magic had activated.

[Master….]

[Hm?]

[How can you see something like that… and think about putting it on Rovenin…?]

[Well… it looked good…]

[And you were just cursing the demons.]

[I was cursing them for not doing their job.]

‘How could I get that thing on Rovenin’s neck?’ I had seriously considered it for a moment.

I was still serious now.

—The market price for this suppression tool set alone is over 80 Golden. It requires several high-ranking mages to create, and because it is so difficult to make, only three sets can be produced a year. Right now, it’s an item you can’t even get, as reservations are full for the next 20 years.

The auctioneer truly had a magnificent way with words, and by that point, there was hardly anyone who hadn’t joined the bidding.

Looking around, I seemed to be the only one not holding up a paddle.

—Hundreds of years from now, when he dies, you can use it on another slave. If you buy now, the suppression tool set is included in the price of this slave! A golden opportunity!

‘He’s lumping it in like it’s free shipping.’

The starting price was ridiculous in the first place, and he was so ferocious that they had no choice but to include it, or he’d be impossible to sell.

“200!”

“230 Golden!”

“290, no, 300!”

The price shot up in an instant, surpassing 300 Golden in the blink of an eye.

The number of people holding paddles noticeably decreased when the price approached 500 Golden, and that’s when I jumped in.

“……Ge…!”

As I stealthily raised my paddle, I could feel Ash’s shock.

He pressed close behind my chair, held his breath, and whispered in my ear.

“Geenie, what are you doing right now? Participating in slave trading! How could you, of all people, do such a thing!”

“It’s a misunderstanding, Ash. Look into my eyes.”

“The eyes that say, ‘Oh my, I have to buy this’?”

“Exactly… no. That Dark Elf, I know him. So I’m going to buy him and set him free.”

‘I may not look it, but I’m a Saintess, you know?’

‘You trust your big sis, right?’

I made my eyes sparkle as much as I could, but Ash wasn’t easily convinced.

‘How could he be so suspicious?’

“……Really?”

“Of course! You’ll remember him, too. You know that slave caravan we hit before.”

“It was Blood Wing.”

“Was it? Whatever. That’s not important, is it? Anyway, there was that kid we rescued there, right? That’s his older brother. The sister was so nice… she even came to thank me later.”

Ash wasn’t with me then, so he wouldn’t know, but that part was true.

The part about buying him to set him free was a lie, though.

“If someone else wins the bid and takes him, we won’t know where he ends up, right? So I’m going to win the bid for now. It’s like a white lie. A white slave trade. Like buying a bird caught for food and releasing it into the wild.”

“Even so….”

“Did you forget your promise? You said you wouldn’t stop me no matter what I bought.”

Ash looked like he still had a lot to say, but he reluctantly backed down.

And while we were talking, I kept my paddle raised, and in that time, the Dark Elf’s price had become 600 Golden.

—We have 610 Golden! Do we have 620 Golden? There are only a few bidders left. I’m excited to see who will become the master.

As the price rose to a level that was burdensome to spend on a single slave, only three people remained.

Two formidable-looking people sitting in the central seats turned to look at me through their telescopes, their attitude seeming to mock me, sitting in the corner, for daring to join their fight.

I waved my paddle at them as if to show them.

The lady with blonde hair in row N has bid 630 Golden.

“650!”

—650 from row A, 650!

The two in the center quickly pushed my existence to the back of their minds and started a battle of wills between themselves.

Without lowering their paddles, they began to silently endure the price rising by 10 Golden at a time—which, to my perception, was about 100 million won each time.

‘It was a tedious fight.’

—690 Golden? I’ll raise it to 700. 710, 720? Yes! Double. 740… The gentleman who raised his hand, you may call out your bid directly.

“800 Golden.”

Before long, one of the two competitors in the center, a man with dark hair, irritably shouted the price himself.

It seemed he had reached his limit of waiting for the winning bid while maintaining his dignity.

Everyone was holding their breath watching this slave auction, so his voice was heard everywhere in the auction house.

Right now, except for those two, all the participants had become spectators.

“850.”

The man’s opponent was a woman with red hair who looked a bit older; her voice was thin and worldly, but it carried a deep sense of composure.

“……900!”

“950.”

“9… 980.”

“10 Mithril.”

100 Golden could be converted to 1 Mithril, and 1 Mithril was literally a coin made of pure mithril.

And that much mithril had the value of a four-story mansion built in the capital.

Simply put, 10 Mithril meant ten mansions.

“……11 Mithril.”

To lower the unit back to Golden now would seem incredibly petty, and although the man managed to call a bid, his defeat seemed imminent. The woman’s voice, after all, was as light as a feather.

“12 Mithril.”

“13…!”

“15.”

And there was a bit of a difference between paying in Golden and paying in Mithril.

Even if the value of 100 Golden and 1 Mithril was legally equivalent under the empire’s currency laws, there was a limit to the amount of mithril that could be mined, so the number of coins in circulation each year was fixed.

Because of that, there were many cases where you couldn’t exchange 100 Golden for 1 Mithril.

In conclusion, only high-ranking nobles could actually use the Mithril unit.

1 Mithril was too large a sum to spend on a slave, and the man could no longer call a bid, quietly lowering his paddle.

The auctioneer, seeing a satisfactory winning bid, had a wide smile plastered on his face.

—15 Mithril! Is there any more? The one who will become the master of the ultimate assassin, the Dark Elf! If not, sold to….

“Here.”

Even the auctioneer seemed to have forgotten my existence, caught up in the battle of the big shots.

I spoke without thinking, and though it was a small voice, hundreds of eyes turned to me in an instant.