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“Five hundred and fifty!” another voice cried before the auctioneer could respond. It came from someone in the seated section, and their marker had a four-digit number despite there being only a couple hundred people in attendance so far.

At that moment, Oli realized something. On the back of his menu was his own marker. It only had a single digit, the number ‘9’, but it also had a star.

“Five hundred and fifty going once!” shouted the auctioneer, scanning the crowd and riling up the bidders.

“Six hundred!” the first person called out again, not backing down.

Smiling, the auctioneer pointed at the bidder. “Six hundred gold! Going once...”

“Oliver, would you mind if I bid?” Fulkar asked.

.....

Oli was caught off guard but didn’t ask any questions. They were at an auction. Asking an ill-timed question would result in an immediate loss. So Oli nodded and passed Fulkar the marker without hesitation.

“Going twice-”

“Six hundred and fifty!” Fulkar shouted and raised the marker.

The entire crowd was stunned to hear that voice come from the lounge section. Seeing someone in the lounge section so early was already rare, but seeing their bid on an item targeted for the poorer early birds was shocking.

But the auctioneer was beaming. “Six hundred and fifty going once! Going twice! ... Sold!” As the auctioneer clapped his hands together, it strangely reverberated through the room mimicking the sound of a gavel.

“Thank you, Oliver,” Fulkar sighed with a tinge of relief.

Oli just chuckled, “Don’t look at me. I didn’t do anything. But why would you bid on such an item?”

“Since I already have a guaranteed price for the item searching for, why not spend the extra that I have left? Besides, those daggers would be perfect for my younger brother, who’ll be able to use them until he gets a peak-elder weapon. Even if they’re only low-elder grade, having both made with identical embedded cores is more than enough to compete with any rivals in the territory,” reasoned Fulkar.

“That makes sense...” But Oli sighed, “What if you find a sword you like and you can’t afford it anymore?”

Smiling, Fulkar answered, “There’s no way I would’ve been able to afford it in the first place. And even if there is a peak-elder, ice-type sword that appears, will it be the style of blade that I prefer? The odds aren’t in my favor.”

While the curtain was closing and they took their time prepping the next preliminary item, the server returned with two domes in hand. He politely bowed his head while approaching the table, getting Oli’s acknowledgment to enter the silent formation. “Here you are, sirs. Your roast beef sandwich with a side of rosemary fries and your pork potato stew with a side of garlic breadsticks. Please, enjoy.”

“Thank you,” Oli nodded and smiled. “Also, I have a couple of questions.”

“Ask away, sir.”

“How do we claim our items and pay for them in the end?”

Bowing with a smile, the server answered, “You’ll be able to wait here until we bring you to an exchange room after the auction. However, regarding your recent purchase, I’ve been told to bring it right away since the true auction has yet to begin and the cost was well within your deposit.”

The server lifted his head and retrieved a wooden case from a vector ring. He placed it on the table and smiled. “What other questions do you have, sirs?”

“... Do those in private booths need to visit exchange rooms?” asked Oli.

The man shook his head. “No, they’ll have their goods brought to them. And any exchanges of gold or goods will happen inside their private booth.”

“I see... That makes the private deposit much more appealing... If we were to offer goods in exchange, how are they verified?”

“Come time for the auction, we’ll have appraisers on standby in each section. And since you’ve joined the lounge section, you’ll be allowed to bid on anything with gold or equivalent exchange, so long as the appraisers agree with your proposed value.”

“... I happen to have a few goods on me, but they’ve yet to be officially appraised,” stated Oli, startling Fulkar and widening the server’s smile. “Is there a way for me to get them appraised while we wait, and potentially sold should I feel like it?”

All smiles, the server bowed yet again. “Of course! Would you like to hire an appraiser by the item, by the minute, or by the room?”

“When you say room, you mean I can have them appraised in secret?” asked Oli.

“Of course. So long as you rent the room for one hour, our appraisers will give you official grades on however many goods you wish to present,” answered the server. “Considering how much time you have, would you like me to reserve a room for after your meal? The room rental will be five hundred gold, and we’ll also reserve your lounge seats free of charge.”

Thinking for a moment, Oli nodded. “... Yes. Please do that.”

“Very well, sirs. And thank you for your patronage.” With the conversation over, the server left with a pep in his step and hurried to make the reservation.

With food on the table, Oli detached the bottom portion of his mask to uncover his mouth. He picked up the sandwich and was glad that it tasted great. But he soon noticed Fulkar staring at him instead of the bowl of soup. “... Is something wrong?”

“No... I’m just surprised is all. You’re much more low profile than I ever expected,” admitted Fulkar.

“Well, if you keep quiet about everything that happens today, you can consider those daggers a gift,” Oli suggested, sliding the wooden case closer to Fulkar.

Taken aback, Fulkar was at a loss for words.

Oli added, “And if a suitable sword appears, then I’ll pay the difference between the necessary bidding price and the gold you have on you.”

“Deal.” Fulkar immediately stored the dagger case, accepting in word and action.

Seeing Fulkar then bow and reach out to shake Oli’s hand, Oli snickered and put down his sandwich. He firmly shook Fulkar’s hand, commenting, “But if I find out that you told ANYONE about what happens today, your best-case scenario is dying alone. Do you understand?”

“Yes!” Fulkar replied without flinching. “Given your surprising wealth, I at least know that you’re not an ordinary person. And I have no desire or intention to bring about your ire, or the ire of those you’re connected to.”

Smiling, Oli lightened up. “Great! I’m glad you can understand without asking for a detailed explanation I clearly won’t give you... at this time. In that case, I look forward to working with you and your family in the future.”

Fulkar had already deduced that Oli was from some prominent, secret family or organization. Being Zelsh’s private pupil, having such phenomenal abilities, and carrying a secret wealth was more than enough for Fulkar to understand that much. However, the man before Fulkar no longer gave off the aura of a young mortal candidate. Oli now acted with a demeanor more reminiscent of his father, a powerful perennial in charge of a noble family.

“Is something wrong? Or do you still have a question?” Oli asked, bringing Fulkar out of his daze.

Shaking his head, Fulkar stammered slightly, “Um... By that you mean... What do you mean by working with me and my family?”

“Ahh. Let me clarify a couple of things then, but make sure to eat so we have time for my room rental.”

As Fulkar was reminded to enjoy his meal, Oli explained between bites, “You don’t need to explain that you’re the family heir, because it’s obvious. You’re just as skilled as Trantor, only from a noble family and not from the territory leader, so there’s no need to publicly announce it. And though the business under your family had some shady dealings, that never seemed to be the case for your head family. It’s my guess that those running the business are just a branch family and you’ve given them free control of the business, to the point that they tried to gain enough wealth and power to replace the head family. Of course, that’s just based on my previous observations... Was I correct?”

Fulkar didn’t verbally reply, but the pause of his spoon and the amazement in his eyes was enough of a response.

Oli continued, “Since you’re the family heir, and your family is so business savvy, I think there’s a certain proposition I’d like to offer you...”

Nodding slowly, Fulkar was trying to ready his expectations for what Oli would say next. Nearly everything that had happened the entire day had gradually shattered Fulkar’s estimation of Oli more and more. And now it seemed that Fulkar’s expectations were still far from enough.

Oli had paused his speech but not for Fulkar’s sake. He was having a brief mental conversation with someone else. However, it only took a few seconds to get the answer Oli wanted to hear.