“We….” Sharon’s voice trembled. The group turns to face her. Her expression then changes to one filled brim with determination, “We will buy that slave!”

Announcer: New bid! At 1,200,000 coins! Is there anyone else that is willing to go higher than that?!

Sharon falls to her backseat in defeat as she feels her spirit being crushed.

“It’s no use…They’re too rich…” She says, pitifully repeating the same words as Victor.

A look of guilt forms on Queenie’s face. If she wanted to, she could easily buy out the entire stock the auction house had to offer; including that slave. Aware that Sharon made that statement with good intention, she felt bad not being able to make it possible for them. But this was all for the better. The sooner they realize her worth for the group has been spent, the easier it would be for her to discharge herself from the guild…And she had already fed them the lie of expending all of her riches; there was no turning back.

The next item gets brought out, a crude, white rocky stone piece formed in the shape of a distorted seashell with a cavity in the middle of it gets carted out.

Announcer: This here is a mysterious artifact that was dug out by miners near the Great Crevasse! Some appraisers say they can hear a cryptic sound coming from it! A one of a kind item perfect for collectors! We will begin with a price of 30,000 coins!

Tatsuo’s ears twitch. A soothing sound lulls Tatsuo in. A warm, nostalgic feeling wells up inside him, bringing him comfort.

Victor: Oh hey, that’s something we could actually afford. It’s the lowest thing we’ve seen so far.

Darren: Too bad it seems useless. It’s probably why it’s being bid so low compared to the other stuff.

Victor: You say that, but there’s people bidding on the thing - Various bidders continue raising the price one after another, with the current bid being at 75,000 coins.

Darren: Probably collectors. I mean, just now you were eyeing that expensive gauntlet right?

Victor: ….True.

Tatsuo raises his number, “100,000 coins”.

The group stares at Tatsuo dumbfounded.

Announcer: SOLD! To the young lad with number 88!

The group continues to stare at Tatsuo in sheer confusion.

Darren: Woah…I wasn’t expecting that…Until now, you seemed pretty uninterested…

Sharon: Yea…I figured If he was going to get anything at all, it’d be for something like some sort of expensive piece of food…

“TATSUO!!!” - Victor cries as he shakes Tatsuo by his collar. “How could you just throw 100,000 coins at something like that??!!!”

Sharon: I agree…It does seem pretty useless…But to be fair, it was mainly Tatsuo that earned us most of our money so…

Victor: But now we for sure won’t have enough for whatever else will come out! What if there’s another cool gauntlet, or magic weapon?!

“We probably wouldn’t have enough for those anyways…” - Darren says on the side.

“The sound”. Tatsuo says as everyone looks back at him.

Tatsuo: I really liked the sound coming from it. It soothes me.

Once again, the group looks at Tatsuo confused.

Victor: Huh? Was there noise coming from that thing? I didn’t hear anything.

Queenie: The announcer did mention about a supposed “cryptic” sound emanating from it.

Sharon: That’s right. I guess Tatsuo also has heightened hearing just as he does for his smell…And all of the rest of his senses I guess… Then again, I also have good hearing being an elf, and I couldn’t hear anything…Maybe it’s because we’re all too far away…?

A sudden epiphany dawned onto her, “Hold on! Doesn’t that mean Tatsuo's sense of hearing is better than mine…?!” She says in her head feeling now shamefully inferior.

Darren: Hmmm…Maybe there’s more value to that stuff. After all, it was able to catch Tatsuo’s attention.

“That’s right! He may be an eccentric one, but in the end, everything always turns out good with him! Even if he may not realize it himself!” - Sharon says in an attempt to uplift herself from comparing herself to Tatsuo.

The group continues to chatter among themselves. Meanwhile from the bottom corner of where they are located, a black haired man sporting a small ponytail with glasses placed on his forehead is thinking deeply to himself, ‘Hmmm…The goods from this auction have been pretty good…! It almost rivals the items you would see in the more reputable auction houses…! That Shinsuesoo in particular was a very remarkable specimen…!!’

‘Oh…! How I wish I could’ve bought it….!’ The man curls his hand in regret, biting his lips. ‘Studying it would’ve provided us with valuable data….!’

Black Haired Spectator: But I must stick with my task! There is only one reason for me to be here in this auction house today…!

Black Haired Spectator: Speaking of, when will they bring out that item…?

Announcer: Next up–! - The item is carted onto stage with a curtain draped over it.

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Black haired spectator: Hm?

Announcer: We have a magic crystal!

The item gets unveiled, revealing a glistening crystal of multi-colors.

Announcer: Now, you’ve all heard of the famed magic rock! Valued for its intense magic purity! Now, behold! Its superior and more dazzling older cousin!

The crowd stares in awe, appreciating the beauty of the sparkling crystalline object.

Random spectator: My…! How beautiful it is…! You can really see actual sparkles coming off from it…!

Announcer: We will begin the bid for this item at 50,000 coins!

Black Haired Spectator (thinking): It’s here!!!! Thank the Trade Union for cutting this deal for us!

The announcer turns to look at the black haired spectator and cuts a smile at him.

A random guest asks the person beside them if they were going to get the crystal. The person beside her responds, “Hmm…It sure looks pretty, and it may contain a lot of magic…But in the end, it’s still just a rock. There’s a reason why the starting bid is low…”

Black Haired Spectator (thinking): Alright, I have to claim those crystals…No matter what! Even if it means expending all the money Otis gave me!

The black haired spectator flips up his numbered card, “75,000 coins!”

Queenie: 150,000 coins.

“Huh?” - The black haired man says looking up at Queenie dumbfounded.

The group all barring Tatsuo looks at Queenie with the same dumbfounded expression, “Huh?”

Announcer (thinking): Uhhh…

The black haired spectator recomposes himself, “155,000 coins!”

Queenie: 200,000 coins.

The black haired man gasps louder: “HUH…??!!”

The rest of the spectators also go: “Huh…?”

Announcer: Ah…Ha, ha, ha…! Current bid at 200,000…!

The announcer rubs his face with a handkerchief.

The announcer discreetly faces the black haired spectator and thinks to himself, ‘Hey now…! We did our part here! There’s only so much we can do for you! Whatever happens is all up to you now!’

Black Haired Spectator (thinking): That girl…! Why is she going that far for a single magic crystal…?! It’s not like she knows about the other crystals in the back room, right?!

Victor: “ …Uhm…Hey…Queenie?”

Black haired spectator: 300,000 coins!

The black haired spectator reassures himself, ‘It's okay…! We predicted that something like this may happen…! We still got a lot of funds to spare…! But it would be aggravating if we do end up needing to spend all of it here…!’

Queenie nervously slides her eyes towards the group staring at her.

Queenie (thinking): Oh no…What should I do? I already made them think that I no longer have any more money on me…It’ll raise even more suspicion if I go any higher…And what do I even say to them after all of this…?

Queenie (thinking): Maybe I should just stop here…The other person bidding seems desperate in wanting it…But such a valuable and rare item…! A chance as rare as this…!

Queenie (thinking): If I were to present this to “him”, he may also…

Queenie: ….

Queenie looks back to the group, and finally makes a decision, ‘What am I even doing…? I shouldn’t even be here. What do I care how they may think of me after? Who cares if they may hate me afterwards. I’m used to it anyways…’

Queenie: 500,000 coins!

Victor: H-Hold up just a moment Queenie…!

Darren: What…is she even doing…? We don’t even have enough for that amount…!

Black haired spectator: 520,000!

Queenie: 700,000.

Black haired spectator: 725,000!

As the two continue raising the bid one over the other, the entire hall stares at the two in disbelief. The audience became increasingly mind-boggled as the numbers soared.

Queenie: 3,750,000.

Black haired spectator: 5,000,000!

Black haired spectator (thinking): There! How’s that little girl?! I’m going all in on this one! This is even more than how much the Shinsuesoo was bought for!

Queenie: 8,000,000.

The black haired man’s jaw drops down, and so does everybody else. An absolute shutdown.

Announcer: S-sold! For 8,000,000 coins!

The entire hall gets filled with clamors, murmurs and whispers. Queenie lets out a heavy sigh.

Victor: Queenie…

Hearing a familiar voice, her eyes pop open. Her mind now returns to reality with the guild members around her.

Victor: You just placed us into a lifetime of debt…

Sharon: We’re…Going to need to clear the guild boards everyday from now…

Queenie (thinking): Hold on…Do they not realize that I’ve been lying to them the whole time…?!

Queenie was astonished at how innocently naive they are.

Queenie: Um…No…Actually you don’t have to worry about that. The truth is–

Tatsuo suddenly interjects: “I’ve still got some diamonds on me”. The group looks back at Tatsuo.

Sharon: Huh…? What–

Tatsuo: I took them from Queenie. I coerced her. Why do you think I bought that rock thingy? It’s also why Queenie suddenly went broke.

Queenie stares at Tatsuo, blinking to herself.

“Tatsuo…You…!” Sharon grumbled angrily.

Sharon: You’re despicable! Just when I thought all my bad thoughts of you have washed away!

Victor: That’s right! How could you do something like that?!

Tatsuo with a smug smirk: Well, I mean, she just gave in so easily.

Sharon: Of course she did! Queenie is a sweet and kind person, unlike you! I took you for a brute, but I didn’t think you’d be also a crook!

Queenie stays cluelessly silent, wondering what on Beria Tatsuo was scheming. Could he even scheme? Just as Sharon spouted, Queenie also only took Tatsuo as an aloof brute. Darren silently ponders about the current circumstance with Queenie and Tatsuo as well. Both were trying to understand what was going on, and Tatsuo’s cryptic action.

The black haired man hunches over in his seat, depressed about his utter defeat.

Time passes by, and eventually the auction comes to a close. The bidders are now able to pick up their bought goods.