Hauren returns before the intermission ends. Two staff members follow behind him. They carry the Foundation Stones in a cloth-wrapped bundle, the Warden's Seal Kit in its fitted case, the Merchant's Scale in a wooden box, and the dessert selection on a separate tray. They set everything down without any wasted movement.
Aurelia is already reaching for the Seal Kit.
[Aurelia] "Thank you."
She opens her Storage and slides both items in. I do the same with the scale.
[Wright] "One less thing to carry back."
[Aurelia] "One less thing to think about."
She flags Hauren before he's fully turned away.
[Aurelia] "The menu. Can I see it? And something light to drink as well."
[Hauren] "Of course."
Vesper has already claimed her place at the dessert tray. She lifts the cover, picks up something layered in dark cream, and turns it once before taking a bite. Sylphaeris reaches past her and takes one of the glazed pastries. One bite and she stops.
[Sylphaeris] "Oh. Oh, that's really good."
She immediately reaches for another.
[Vesper] "Told you."
[Sylphaeris] "You didn't tell me anything. You just took one."
[Vesper] "The implication was there."
[Auctioneer] "Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be resuming shortly. Please return to your seats."
---
[Auctioneer] "We now move to the premier lots. Lot ten. The Resonance Blade."
The sword comes up on the stand. Single-edged, clean lines, no ornamentation. A faint shimmer runs along the edge when the display light catches it.
[Auctioneer] "Mana-channeled vibration edge. Increases cutting efficiency against armored targets. No visible damage. Opening at four hundred gold."
I sit up.
A vibrating high-frequency blade that cuts through armor. That's not just useful, that's the cheat weapon. The protagonist's overpowered sword that every isekai chapter eventually delivers. I've read this exact scene probably thirty times. The hero gets the blade, everyone's jaw drops, they call it impossible, and then he cuts straight through a solid steel door.
[Wright] "That sword."
[Eldrin] "Yes?"
[Wright] "I'm interested in it."
[Eldrin] "It's flashy."
[Lucien] "Very flashy. The vibration effect looks impressive but the application is narrow. You'd only really benefit against heavy plate, and even then a skilled fighter doesn't need it."
[Vesper] "The enchantment is also inefficient. It's only active while mana is being channeled through the hilt, which means sustained focus during combat. The moment your concentration slips it's just a sword."
[Eldrin] "It's a good sword, yes, but a good sword that will cost three times what a good sword should cost."
I look at the stand. The shimmer along the edge catches the light just right.
[Wright] "...you're right."
The floor below is already moving. While the Resonance Blade climbs, Hauren reappears at Aurelia's side with her drink and the menu. She scans it quickly and points to something near the top.
[Aurelia] "This one. The meat dish."
[Hauren] "Right away."
Seraphina glances up from her glass and catches Hauren's eye.
[Seraphina] "Another bottle when you have a moment."
[Hauren] "Of course."
The Resonance Blade sells at one thousand and forty gold to a man in the front row who has the look of someone who thinks about armor penetration quite often and has strong feelings on the subject.
[Auctioneer] "Lot eleven. The Archivist's Tome."
The book comes up on the stand. Plain binding, nothing remarkable from the outside.
[Auctioneer] "Self-writing journal. Records all conversations and events within a three meter radius when open. Entries cannot be erased. Previous entries intact and included with purchase. Binding undamaged. Opening at five hundred gold."
Liora looks at the stand.
[Liora] "That would be useful for the crop records. Everything we're doing with the new varieties, having an accurate record without someone needing to write it all down manually."
[Aurelia] "I thought the same thing when I saw it in the catalogue."
[Liora] "You marked it?"
[Aurelia] "I considered it. Figured I was already pushing my budget with the other two."
[Liora] "I'll get it. Five hundred."
A clerk near the back and a robed woman both push back. Liora matches each one without pause.
[Robed Woman] "Six hundred!"
[Liora] "Six fifty."
[Clerk] "Seven hundred!"
[Liora] "Seven fifty."
The robed woman drops out. The clerk pushes to eight hundred. Liora goes to eight fifty and he folds.
[Auctioneer] "Eight hundred and fifty gold. Going once... going twice... sold."
[Aurelia] "Congratulations."
[Liora] "I actually got it for you. For Terravene. Vesper can put something together for the crop records. A monitoring artifact would be more specific to what we need anyway."
[Vesper] "Already have the design mostly worked out."
[Aurelia] "Liora, you just spent eight hundred and fifty gold on that."
[Liora] "And now I'm giving it to you. A small blessing for a new friendship."
[Aurelia] "...thank you."
Liora smiles then makes her way over to the dessert tray.
[Liora] "Can I try the glazed one?"
Vesper passes one over without looking up. Liora takes a bite and her expression does the same thing Sylphaeris's did.
[Auctioneer] "Lot twelve. Plumefang's Bite."
The daggers come up in an open case, curved and pale, the material catching the light differently from standard metal.
[Auctioneer] "A pair of daggers carved from the hollow fang of a Plumefang. Mana-sensitive, scaling with the wielder's power. The bearer may alter the trajectory of thrown blades mid-flight. Provenance verified, both present. Opening at five hundred gold."
[Eldrin] "Five hundred."
[Auctioneer] "Five hundred from the balcony."
A sharp-eyed bidder two rows from the front comes in immediately.
[Sharp-Eyed Bidder] "Five fifty!"
[Eldrin] "Six hundred."
[Sharp-Eyed Bidder] "Six fifty!"
[Eldrin] "Seven hundred."
[Sharp-Eyed Bidder] "Seven fifty!"
[Eldrin] "Eight hundred."
The bidder looks up at the balcony, reassesses, and doesn't come back.
[Auctioneer] "Eight hundred gold. Going once... going twice... sold."
[Eldrin] "Rhevan will use these well."
[Liora] "He will. He's been using the same pair of hunting blades for years."
[Vesper] "The trajectory control is the interesting part. Redirecting mid-flight while scaling with the wielder's own power is genuinely uncommon enchantment work."
[Lucien] "It will be a good match for Rhen. For someone who already fights with wind affinity, it will extend the range of his movements."
Aurelia's food arrives during the lull. She works through the meat and reaches over for one of the pastries while the next lot number is still being called.
[Aurelia] "These are good."
[Liora] "I know."
Seraphina drifts closer with her refilled glass and looks over the dessert tray.
[Seraphina] "Is that a citrus reduction on the pastry?"
[Vesper] "I think so."
Seraphina takes a small piece, pairs it with a sip from her glass, and goes still for a moment.
[Seraphina] "Yes. That's quite good actually."
She signals Hauren for another bottle.
[Auctioneer] "Lot thirteen. The Liquid Mana Concentrate."
The vial comes up on the stand. Small, sealed, with red liquid inside that pulses faintly under the display light. Eight hands go up before the auctioneer finishes the description.
[Auctioneer] "A concentrated vial of refined dungeon energy. Consuming the contents permanently expands the bearer's mana capacity. A rare dungeon drop. Sealed, uncontaminated. Opening at seven hundred gold."
I look at it.
[Wright] "Lucien."
[Lucien] "Yes."
[Wright] "We picked something like that up in the dungeon."
Lucien looks at the stand, then back at me.
[Lucien] "We did."
I open my Storage and find it. A vial, same shape, same seal. But when I hold it up the liquid sits deeper in color, the glow steady rather than pulsing.
[Wright] "Ours looks better."
[Lucien] "The one on the stand is lower quality."
Lucien looks closer at the vial in my hand.
[Lucien] "Dungeons concentrate energy at different rates. What we retrieved was from a higher level dungeon."
Aurelia leans over to look at the vial as well.
[Aurelia] "Most dungeons never produce one at all. The bidding on the one down there is going to get ugly."
[Wright] "How high do you think it'll go?"
[Aurelia] "High."
Seven hundred disappears inside twenty seconds.
[Eager Collector] "Eight hundred!"
[Bidder in Grey Coat] "Nine fifty!"
[Eager Collector] "One thousand one hundred!"
[Robed Man with a Staff] "One thousand three hundred!"
[Bidder in Grey Coat] "One thousand five hundred!"
They push in aggressive jumps, nobody willing to inch up when a larger number might end it faster. The Eager Collector drops out past eighteen hundred. The Robed Man follows shortly after. The Bidder in Grey Coat and one other who hasn't spoken since the opening grind the rest of the way up until the gavel falls at two thousand two hundred on the man with crossed arms who has been outwaiting everyone else since the first lot.
[Wright] "Two thousand two hundred for the lower quality one."
Lucien glances at the vial still in my hand.
[Lucien] "Yours would go for considerably more."
I put it back in my Storage. Something to think about later.
[Auctioneer] "Final lots. Three items remaining. We expect spirited bidding."
The room goes quiet in a different way. Not settling. Paying attention.
[Auctioneer] "Lot fourteen. The Tempest Crown."
A staff member carries it to the stand with both hands. A circlet of dark metal, with something worked into the band that makes the air around it look like it's moving very slightly.
[Auctioneer] "Enchanted to grant the wearer control over local weather conditions within a five kilometer radius. Adjustable output from a light breeze to a full heavy storm. Sustained use requires considerable mana reserves. Some tarnishing on the band, which does not affect function. A singular piece. We open at one thousand gold."
Several people in the room put their catalogues down.
[Eldrin] "One thousand."
[Auctioneer] "One thousand from the balcony."
Three hands go up at once.
[Woman with Paddle] "One thousand one hundred!"
[Eldrin] "One thousand three hundred."
[Man Near the Side Wall] "One thousand five hundred!"
[Eldrin] "One thousand eight hundred."
The man near the side wall pauses. A representative near the back, bidding on behalf of someone else, confers briefly and raises.
[Representative at the Back] "Two thousand!"
[Eldrin] "Two thousand three hundred."
[Woman with Paddle] "Two thousand five hundred!"
[Eldrin] "Two thousand eight hundred."
The woman sets her paddle down. The representative confers again.
[Representative at the Back] "Three thousand!"
[Eldrin] "Three thousand five hundred."
The room takes a breath. The representative doesn't come back.
[Auctioneer] "Three thousand five hundred gold from the balcony. Any advance? Going once... going twice... sold."
Liora stares at him.
[Liora] "Eldrin."
[Eldrin] "Nym will put it to good use."
[Vesper] "That's an understatement. A five kilometer weather radius in the hands of Nym. I need to not get on her bad side."
[Aurelia] "Three thousand five hundred gold."
She looks at Eldrin like the number still hasn't landed right.
[Aurelia] "How does a village chief have three thousand five hundred gold?"
[Eldrin] "I spent a long time adventuring. There was never much to spend it on."
Lucien nods in agreement. Seraphina takes a sip of her wine and nods the same way.
[Auctioneer] "Lot fifteen. The Sovereign's Insignia."
The badge comes up on the stand. Small, understated, the kind of thing that belongs behind glass somewhere.
[Auctioneer] "A ceremonial badge of office from an unidentified noble house. Enchanted to verify the bearer's authority to those of lower rank. Historical provenance unclear. No structural damage. Opening at eight hundred gold."
Lucien stands.
[Lucien] "Eight hundred."
[Auctioneer] "Eight hundred from the balcony."
[Seraphina] "You don't need a badge to verify your authority."
[Lucien] "It's not about authority. The enchantment style and the crest design place it in a specific period that I'd like to examine properly."
[Collector Near the Front] "Eight fifty!"
[Lucien] "Eight eighty."
[Seraphina] "You want to acquire it."
[Lucien] "I want to examine it. Properly."
[Seraphina] "That's the same thing."
[Collector Near the Front] "Nine hundred!"
[Lucien] "Nine thirty."
[Seraphina] "It's always the same with you. Academic interest that conveniently ends in acquisition."
[Lucien] "Academic interest that happens to result in careful custodianship."
[Collector Near the Front] "Nine fifty!"
[Lucien] "Nine eighty."
He doesn't pause. Not once. The bids come without a gap, like two conversations happening in parallel.
[Seraphina] "Custodianship. You've been acquiring things for forty years."
[Lucien] "Curating."
[Collector Near the Front] "One thousand!"
[Lucien] "Eleven hundred."
Silence.
[Auctioneer] "One thousand one hundred gold. Going once..."
The collector drops out.
[Auctioneer] "Going twice... sold."
[Seraphina] "Insufferable."
[Lucien] "You've mentioned."
He produces a small leather notebook, makes a note, and settles back.
[Auctioneer] "And finally, lot sixteen. The last item of this evening."
Even the staff move more carefully as the item is brought out.