Chapter 174 – The Underground Auction House
While we quenched our hunger by eating boiled beans, the food we ordered was finally served.
Barbecue assorted fish and shellfish grilled over direct fire, and beer, the drink that dwarves love the most.
I heard that octopus and squid are generally avoided because they are called the devil’s fish because of their bizarre appearance, but this place seems to have no such superstition.
It must be eaten with the red sauce that came with it.
“Wow! Awesome!”
Dorothea let out an exclamation of pure exclamation, and as if she couldn’t wait any longer, she equipped both hands with forks and knives.
For Dorothea, I cut the fish, clams, and octopus legs appropriately and put them on the front plate.
Gabriel, who was watching him from the side, said while stroking his chin.
“It’s like a father and daughter.”
“…Are you arguing now?”
“No, it’s a normal sentiment. I think I’ll be a good father.”
Teased Dorothea, who was holding out her plate.
“Gig-kick, are you mad at me for looking old?”
“It’s not like that.”
I had something stabbed, so I evaded my words and turned my head away.
To be honest, it’s against the rules to compare my appearance with Dorothea. Dorothea’s body stopped growing at the age of 17 because of her witch’s secret technique.
On the other hand, I am in my late 20s.
Moreover, since the person concerned said the words without any malice, the damage was even greater.
Anyway, we had a happy meal time eating seafood barbecue and beer.
“”Cheers!””
Wooden cups collide with each other.
As a result, the golden liquid inside stirred and mixed into each other’s glasses.
It chews and eats an unknown palm-sized fish from its head.
Normally, fish with thick thorns should be eaten only by removing the flesh, but this seems to be a whole fish.
It was only seasoned with salt and roasted over a fire, but if the lean meat was salty and savory, I thought I could eat a few of them.
I wash the fish oil in my mouth with cold beer.
“Kuuuuueueueu This is delicious!”
The mountain and sea delicacies she couldn’t eat in Nida Bellir disappeared like snow melting in her head.
It’s nice to have food that’s decorated like that, but it’s not bad to eat local food this way.
That’s the beauty of travel.
“Certainly, eating fish after eating only meat gives me a new feeling.”
Dorothea, a drunkard, savored her taste with her eyes closed as if moved.
If it was his usual style, he would have been drinking and eating, but he doesn’t seem to want to do that today.
Camilla and Sofia were tearing off the large octopus legs one by one, and their expressions weren’t too bad for trying it for the first time.
It was a time when they were savoring cooking in their own style.
Gabriel, who was eating three servings of food and beer by himself, asked.
“By the way, what are you going to do after eating? Is there a place you want to visit by any chance?”
“I don’t think there’s anything special. Do you have any recommendations?”
Then Gabriel nodded his head as he ate the scallop skewer.
“Nidavellir’s specialties are, of course, only underground auction houses and casinos.”
“Oh. The underground auction house.”
I’ve heard of it before.
A gigantic auction where everything in the world is bought and sold, symbolizing Nidavellir, the city of capitalism created by the dwarves.
“If you have something you want to buy or something you want to sell, it’s not bad to go there at least once.”
I nodded and asked the other party who were busy eating.
“What do you think?”
Then Dorothea answered with puffed cheeks like a squirrel.
“I agree.”
Continuing, Camilla also said.
“I have no objection.”
In the case of Sophia, the last step, instead of answering, she substituted a slight bow of her head.
Anyway, since the voting ended so quickly, I looked at Gabriel again.
“I heard it’s okay to go to the auction house by majority rule?”
“Okay. Then, after dinner, let’s go to the underground auction house.”
When Gabriel said that, he raised the empty glass he was holding in his right hand over his head and called out the name of his maid.
“Mary! Here! Get me a beer refill!”
***
Fuck off!
“Ugh, bad.”
Despite Dorothea’s scolding, I calmly walked on, pretending not to know.
Currently, we are moving from the restaurant to the underground auction house, following Gabriel’s guidance.
Although I was a little interested in the casino, it seemed to me that it would be much cheaper to make an impulsive purchase at an auction rather than go there and waste my money.
“This is the entrance to the underground auction house.”
Saying that, Gabriel stopped at a large staircase leading down to the basement.
The atmosphere was like the entrance to some kind of dungeon, but it was definitely a public facility in the city, so there were a lot of people going up and down the stairs.
Originally, dwarves are a species that lived underground, so they prefer to create a huge space underground in this way.
This is all thanks to the architectural ability that is incomparable to humans, and the impression of actually visiting the underground auction house that I had only heard about was quite strange.
Perhaps because it is underground, the sunlight does not enter, and the high ceiling is studded with yamyeongju at regular intervals.
Considering that the price of that one is extremely expensive, this space itself is literally a product of money.
When I headed towards the front of the auction house with Gabriel, who had assumed the role of a tour guide, one of the people inside jumped out in amazement.
“Gabriel-sama! What did you visit today?!”
“Ah, I came to the neighborhood and had business, so I came here once. My friends said they wanted to see some of the facilities here.”
When Gabriel said that and pointed at us, the staff greeted us without hesitation.
“Hello! My name is Daedalus!”
It’s nice to have discipline, but I don’t want to attract attention in this way either.
Perhaps reading my troubled expression, Gabriel spoke first.
“I’d like to see the auction today, do you have any spare rooms?”
An employee named Dei Dalos immediately raised his head.
“Of course! Gabriel, the VVIP of the main store, came to visit us, so even if we don’t have a room, we’ll make it!”
Wait a minute!
After saying that, the man went straight into the room behind the front desk.
He came out about 3 minutes later.
“Here is the room key. You can go to Room 203.”
“Thanks.”
“If you ever need room service, feel free to call.”
The man said so, and treated us with an honest attitude until we left the front desk.
I asked while following Gabriel to room 203.
“How many times have you been to this auction house to be treated like that?”
“I bet you didn’t come more than you thought? Every time you come, you spend a lot of money, right?”
Responding calmly, Gabriel stopped in front of a red-painted door.
It says 203 on the nameplate.
Rattle!
“Let’s go inside.”
As I followed her familiar look and entered her, I understood what her VIP room meant.
Unlike the general participants who sat on chairs close to each other, the VIPs in this room were able to sit on the terrace and participate in the auction leisurely.
What kind of identity gap is this?
It is literally a structure that shows the extremes of capitalism.
“Sometimes useful items are on display at this auction house. I often visit when I want to buy something like that.”
Unlike De Berg, who regarded her as her mortal enemy, Gabriel would be a big hand to her owner of the auction house.
Because there’s probably no one who doesn’t know that dragons love treasure.
“This is the catalog for today’s auction. It contains the order of events and a brief description of the items, so you may want to read it.”
“Let’s see…”
I opened the catalog she gave me and checked it out as if I were reading her newspaper.
As befits the reputation of the underground auction house, which sells everything except those that do not exist, there were more than dozens of items traded today.
It did not cover the types of art, weapons, jewels, art, animals, or slaves.
I didn’t want to buy much anyway, so I briefly paused as I looked through the list of items on the rough list.
‘Philosopher’s Stone?’
It is a legendary jewel that can only be crafted by wizards who have reached the pinnacle of alchemy.
The necklace I wear, Unlimited Power, is originally an artifact made by transforming a Philosopher’s Stone.
Even if you look at the entire western continent, you can’t believe that a few precious items will be auctioned off at such a price.
The day he went was market day, so he must have been lucky.
I decided to aim only for the Philosopher’s Stone, not paying any attention to other products.
‘I don’t know who the original owner is, but I got it.’
Having decided to overspend today, I asked Camilla, who was next to me.
“Do you have anything you want? I’ll buy you one at a time like this.”
Camilla then shook her head.
“I’m fine. Please don’t worry too much.”
After all, I should say Camilla, but she immediately rejected my offer, probably because she didn’t have much material desires.
I thought that if a suitable accessory came out during the auction, I should buy one and give it as a gift. After hearing the bell announcing the start of the auction, I headed to the terrace of the VIP room.
