“Do you wish to participate in the auction using your Underworld Merchant Guild auction entry ticket?”
The moment I touched the screen to confirm my participation.
The surrounding space distorted.
Simultaneously, the feeling of the ceiling and floor flipping caused my vision to change in an instant.
“My…”
Along with a slight dizziness, the space unfolding before me was not my home.
The scenery that was my home until a moment ago had changed to a completely different place.
Could someone have seen me suddenly appear?
With a slight worry, I looked around.
“This is a relief.”
Except for one woman, there was no one else.
What’s more, the other party didn’t seem interested in me.
“Still, it seems I’ve fortunately ended up in a corner?”
After all, imagine if I suddenly appeared in the middle of a place swarming with monsters.
Probably all eyes would turn to me.
In that case, it would be obvious that I would get unwanted attention.
“It’s for the best.”
My goal from the start was to quietly participate in the auction.
Why would I, a human, draw the attention of monsters?
It would be obvious that it would only cause trouble if my human identity were revealed.
As I thought that and tried to move my position.
“Sob…”
The woman nearby suddenly started crying.
“?”
What’s going on?
Why is she suddenly crying?
Seeing the other party crying so sorrowfully, I paused for a moment.
“……”
Looking at the crying person, I noticed something strange.
This was clearly a place where social gatherings were held before the auction.
As such, it was normal to interact with the other party and build relationships.
At the very least, being alone here was strange no matter how I looked at it.
And the other party’s appearance was the same.
The crying person looked too shabby to have attended a gathering.
Her golden hair seemed dull and dry, and more importantly, the clothes she was wearing were worn out.
She must be a monster, not an ordinary human.
“What is it? Has a dungeon collapsed or something?”
Perhaps she is a slave of a merchant guild.
Whatever it was, it looked like it would only lead to troublesome things, and there was nothing good for me to get involved.
As I was about to move my feet.
“…Huh?”
The crying person suddenly raised her head with a sound.
At the same time, her eyes turned to me.
“……”
A moment of silence passed.
“Hmm.”
Her eyes, which seemed somewhat familiar, still looked at me.
It’s awkward.
Why is she still looking at me?
Did she perhaps realize I was human?
That couldn’t be it…
Should I just say something to comfort her?
Various thoughts swirled in my mind.
Then, one thought reached a conclusion.
“Is there a need to talk to her?”
She’s a monster anyway.
It would be obvious that talking to her here would only arouse suspicion.
As my thoughts reached this point, my next action was swift.
I quickly turned my head and headed towards the center.
Even as I headed towards the center, I could feel her gaze, but I decided to ignore it.
“Still, it feels a bit unsettling.”
This was clearly a gathering place for monsters.
No matter how much I concealed my appearance with a mask and robe, my essence was human.
“There are many fearsome guys if monsters are gathered, right?”
And I might encounter other monsters like before, and in the worst-case scenario, I might get into trouble.
Perhaps I could be torn apart in an instant.
“I need my allies.”
At least I needed someone around to guard me.
“They must be nearby.”
My subordinates who participated in the social gathering must be somewhere.
I scanned here and there looking for Arch Lich and Azmo.
I would feel more at ease if they were by my side.
And soon, I found a familiar face.
“Oh?”
A sound escaped my lips without my realizing it.
It was Arch Lich.
I could easily find him because he was wearing the robe I gave him last time.
The problem was where Arch Lich was sitting.
“What’s with all that piled up?”
Looking closely, I saw piles of gold coins and jewels piled up on the table.
At the same time, monsters were lined up in front of him, and when it was their turn, they offered gold coins and jewels to Arch Lich.
It looked like Arch Lich was some kind of lord.
“…What is it?”
It’s been a short while since I came here, but there have been so many baffling situations.
Still, it’s true that I was happy to see Arch Lich.
I immediately moved towards Arch Lich.
Just having my allies in this vast place made me feel at ease.
As I moved towards Arch Lich, a strange scene unfolded.
Every time I moved forward, the line in front of me began to scatter.
“It looks like they’re avoiding me?”
Wherever I went, monsters seemed to avoid me and moved aside.
Like the miracle of the Red Sea, monsters parted to the sides, clearing a path for me.
Thanks to the open path, there was no one between Arch Lich and me.
Immediately after, Arch Lich’s gaze turned to me.
“!!”
Arch Lich’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw me, and he leaped to his feet.
He then rushed towards me and bowed more than 90 degrees to greet me.
Murmurs from the surroundings were a bonus.
Some monsters followed Arch Lich and greeted me.
“What is this situation?”
I suddenly found myself surrounded by monsters and being greeted.
“You bastard…”
Arch Lich was still bowing, and the monsters who followed him remained in their greeting posture.
“Arch Lich, get up quickly.”
As more and more attention was drawn to this place, I whispered to Arch Lich to stop.
Then, Arch Lich straightened up and gestured as if offering all the jewels and gold coins on the table to me.
“Who is that person?”
“Clack clack!”
(He’s an incredibly imposing person!)
“Arch Lich-nim is bowing…?”
The surroundings were already whispering about me.
Thanks to that, I received a lot of attention.
My original goal of quietly participating in the auction was long gone.
Instead, thanks to having a loyal subordinate, it became an opportunity to make myself widely known.
“Oh, my head.”
I put my hand on my forehead at the completely unexpected situation.
And looking at Arch Lich, I whispered quietly.
“You can have all of that, so please just stay still.”
“Click!”
(As you wish!)
Fortunately, Arch Lich listened to my words well.
He went to his seat, pulled out a chair, and offered it to me.
“Hoo.”
I quickly sat down, not wanting to receive any more attention.
It hadn’t been long since I arrived here, but I had gone through a lot.
“Please, take your eyes off me.”
Sitting still in my seat, I waited for the gaze directed at me to disappear.
Fortunately, the auction soon began, and the attention focused on me became dispersed.
All the lights except for the central stage went out.
The chaotic atmosphere gradually subsided.
The light was directed only at the central stage, and soon a monster went up on stage.
“Ahh, everyone. Let me introduce myself again. My name is Thunderhead, and I will be the host of this event.”
The bulky brown monster introduced himself and explained about the auction.
The explanation about the auction was quite long, and perhaps realizing the boredom, the merchant guild provided some service.
Monsters wearing tuxedos started circulating.
“Are they using monsters as waiters?”
And they began handing out glasses placed on trays, each containing a red liquid.
“Is it a drink?”
A skeleton approached and handed a glass to me and Arch Lich.
“It’s good that I was thirsty.”
As I was about to drink the liquid handed by the skeleton.
“…?”
In the glass, along with a thick, unidentifiable red liquid, an eyeball was floating.
Damn.
I couldn’t help but curse in my mind.
“Can I eat this?”
Feeling uneasy, I looked at Arch Lich next to me.
He unhesitatingly brought the drink to his mouth and emptied the glass in no time.
Naturally, since his entire body was made of bones, the red liquid scattered onto the floor.
Fortunately, Arch Lich’s dark blue robe was a high-rank item, so it didn’t get wet at all.
“Hah…”
I casually handed the glass to Arch Lich.
“You drink it all.”
Arch Lich looked deeply impressed and bowed his head in thanks.
And he drank the drink I handed him again.
“He eats well.”
With nothing else to do, I watched Arch Lich and listened to the host’s words.
The host’s words were predictable.
They were just boasting about the merchant guild and flowery words about how special this auction was, but there was one piece of good news for me.
“…We have changed the regulations so that all bids in this auction can only be made with Magic Stones!”
“Instead, we will receive the payment afterwards!”
The host’s declaration that all bids in this auction could only be made with Magic Stones made my lips curl up.
“It was right to buy jewels in advance.”
I knew that the jewels I bought with real money, which I had spent to develop dungeons, were actually Magic Stones.
Through Celia’s report, I learned of this fact and also that the price varied greatly depending on the quality of the Magic Stone.
She said that usually, one Magic Stone was valued at 100 gold coins.
“At least I won’t be unable to buy anything at the auction.”
I waited for the auction to begin with a satisfied expression.
Soon, with the host’s shout, the auction began.
The first lot was simple and smooth.
Monsters brought a painting onto the stage.
As the painting was brought out, the host immediately introduced it.
“Isn’t it magnificent just to look at? It’s a painting by an artist famous among human nobles…”
Even I, who am ignorant of art, felt that it was well-drawn.
But if I had to say whether I needed it, it was absolutely not.
What I needed now was not such art.
I needed items that would actually help in combat or items related to dungeon management.
In that regard, wouldn’t monsters also have no reason to buy paintings?
But that was my misjudgment.
“Well, one Magic Stone!”
“Oh, that gentleman bid two Magic Stones!”
“Yes! Four Magic Stones!”
The price for a painting rose quickly.
Thanks to that, the host’s mouth was constantly opening and closing.
“The Magic Stones have already reached 10! Are there any more bidders here?”
I waited, thinking that the painting might be sold for 10 Magic Stones, when an unexpected event occurred.
“14 Magic Stones!”
The price of the painting rose to 14 Magic Stones due to someone’s bid.
“Yes! 14! 14! Are there any more bidders? Are there no more!”
The host’s mouth stretched to his ears with the unexpected harvest.
“Yes! Then I will sell it for 14 Magic Stones!”
The auction was fierce from the start.
Of course, 14 Magic Stones meant nothing to me.
My 10 consecutive gacha draws cost 5000.
Even if I spent 5000, I would only get a huge number of 1-star monsters.
Compared to such an inefficient gacha, 14 was a small amount.
“By the way, what do they intend to use that painting for?”
I was curious as to what they would do with such a seemingly useless painting.
I turned my head slightly, wanting to know who bought the painting.
“……?”
There was a very familiar face, a monster I knew well.
“Azmo?”
He was none other than Azmo, the Incubus who managed the dungeon on Earth.
“Does he have somewhere to use the painting?”
I thought Azmo would have thought about it before buying it.
“Yes! The ring with diamonds goes to the lovely Succubus!”
“This statue of a valiant knight is awarded to the gentleman Incubus!”
“Perfume that seduces reason is taken by the lady Succubus as well!”
Succubi and Incubi bought luxury items that were merely for eye-catching purposes.
“……”
As expected.
Seeing that sight, I realized that Azmo had bought the painting without much thought.
Well, it was an auction, so it was meant to be bought, and I had no reason to stop Azmo from spending his own money.
Separately, the auction continued.
“Now, shall we change the atmosphere a bit?”
The host smiled slyly.
At the same time, people chained with iron shackles on their hands and feet were brought onto the stage one by one.
“Don’t you lack workers for your dungeon? Take this opportunity to acquire quality slaves at a cheap price!”
It was a slave auction.
“Are you worried about slaves escaping? Hahaha. Each slave is branded with a soul mark. Slaves bearing the soul mark cannot escape, so the buyers have no need to worry! Hahaha.”
As expected of a slave auction, there were various races, including humans like me.
“Not only as workers for your dungeon, but look at these tender meats. Don’t they make your mouth water? Or what about the night companions for the dungeon masters? I’m sure the slaves will consider it an honor!”
There were goblins and orcs like humans.
But there was something else that caught my eye.
“Elf?”
Even though they were dirty and wore tattered clothes, their unique looks could not be hidden.
And their pointed ears speak for themselves.
“An Elf…”
Although there was only one, the value of an Elf was immense.
Elves are a race that lives in harmony with nature.
Moreover, Elves are a race with great potential as hunters.
Perhaps this is the most rare item in this slave auction?
“If I could take her to Earth someday, it would be a tremendous help…”
On Earth, Elf dungeons are known to be difficult.
But what if an Elf were included in my party?
This would be a great innovation.
“Although I don’t know if I can take her to Earth…”
Even if I can’t take her to Earth right now, having an Elf as a slave will be useful in the long run.
It’s always beneficial to secure an Elf.
I immediately whispered to Arch Lich next to me.
“Make sure to secure the Elf.”
