## Chapter 152 – 152. Wavelength (4)
#152. Wavelength (4)
As night deepened, I rode in Elmar Merchant Guild’s carriage toward the noble district where the auction house was located.
The guild leader suggested that attending in the guild’s carriage with an invitation issued under the guild’s name would be less suspicious.
‘To be happy with a little extra life.’
As if I’d let that bastard who tried to kidnap Iris live just because of that.
The guild leader is still alive because he’s useful.
Saying he was lucky at the end was just a sarcastic remark about him clinging to life, nothing more, nothing less.
Of course, if he abandons everything he’s built in this city and runs away to a place where no one can reach him, he might survive.
I can’t waste time killing a guy like that when I don’t have much time.
But it doesn’t seem like he will, so the guild leader’s future is as good as decided.
As we drove through the sparsely populated night streets and reached the noble district, the carriage suddenly stopped.
-Halt.
A small voice came from outside, probably a guard.
I didn’t think it was anything to worry about, so I quickly ignored it.
The noble district is basically only accessible to nobles, but even non-nobles can pass through if they have a pass from the lord.
The slave auction house is directly managed and operated by the lord, so the invitation can serve as a pass.
I gave the invitation to the coachman, so there shouldn’t be any problem getting through.
As expected, the carriage started moving again before long.
I slightly parted the curtains and admired the noble district. As expected, it was mostly mansions and luxury buildings. The streets were cleaner than downtown Seoul, and there seemed to be more people managing the streets than in the general district.
It was late at night, so there weren’t many people walking around. Instead, there were many carriages heading in the same direction as me.
Probably going to the slave auction house.
-We have arrived.
Knock, knock. At the coachman’s cautious knock on the carriage door, I put on my mask and adjusted my attire.
Formal wear is so stuffy.
***
At the entrance of the auction house, I handed the invitation to a man who looked like a guard.
“…Yes, confirmed.”
There was no identification process, probably because anonymity was the principle.
I crumpled the invitation back into my pocket.
After waiting for a moment, a woman in a maid outfit came out from inside the building. She was a beauty with a well-suited brown bob.
“Thank you very much for visiting our auction house today. I am Laura, the maid in charge of guiding you.”
I followed her into the auction house.
The interior of the auction house had the most luxurious and modern atmosphere I had seen since coming to this world.
There were also other guests who had come to participate in the auction. They were all wearing masks like me.
Occasionally, there were quite a few people who weren’t wearing masks, and they seemed to be employees of this place, like the maid who was guiding me.
I wondered if normal labor was possible in such a slave auction house.
“Are you an employee here?”
“Pardon?”
The maid, who had been walking ahead, turned around with a slightly surprised expression.
“…I’m sorry, you’re the first guest to ask us that question. I am a slave.”
“A slave?”
“Yes, about 10 years ago, a war broke out between the Veilheaven Republic and my country. The result was the defeat of my country, and I, who was living with my family in a small village, was captured as a slave.”
“10 years ago? Haven’t you been sold yet?”
“No, the lord, who is the owner of the auction house, bought me. I usually help manage the auction house, and on days like today, I guide guests.”
My eyes were drawn to her short maid outfit that revealed her thighs.
I forced myself to look away and surveyed the surroundings. There were quite a few people, but not many who looked like guards.
Perhaps bringing guards to a place directly managed by the lord was considered disrespectful to the lord.
“Of course, you can buy me if you wish.”
“You?”
“Yes, that’s also why I’m here to guide you. For your information, I’m a virgin, so you don’t have to worry. All the guests I’ve served so far have been women.”
“Hmm…”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested as a man, but I felt disgusted by the act of buying a woman with money, especially one who wasn’t a prostitute.
When I fell silent, the maid didn’t say anything more. I guess they don’t force sales since they’re dealing with the upper class.
Before long, we arrived at what looked like a reception room. It wasn’t very large, but one wall felt out of place.
“When the auction starts, that wall will become transparent. If you want to bid, just tell me.”
“Magic?”
“I believe it’s called magic engineering.”
Intrigued by the maid’s words, I carefully observed the wall. It looked like an ordinary wall, but there was a subtle flow of magic.
I don’t know much about magic engineering, but I roughly understood the principle.
It seems to be a method of transmitting scenery from another place as a video.
I didn’t expect magic engineering to be so developed in this world.
“When does the auction start?”
“It will start in about 30 minutes.”
More time than I thought.
The overall plan was already in place, and nothing had changed now, so the problem was how to spend the remaining 30 minutes.
“What do the other participants do during the remaining time?”
“In general, they spend time with the slaves they brought with them, or they buy a maid like me and enjoy themselves.”
“Not surprising, just as I expected.”
“Is that so? I think it’s normal.”
I took out a gold coin from my pocket and handed it to her.
“…I’m sorry, sir. That’s not enough for my price.”
“I have some decency, I wouldn’t try to buy you with that small amount of money.”
“Pardon?”
I grabbed a teacup prepared on the table. It had a pretty good aroma.
“I want to hear your story for the remaining 30 minutes.”
“…I don’t think it’s a very interesting story, but are you sure you want to hear it?”
“I’m not trying to hear an interesting story, so don’t worry.”
After hesitating for a moment, Laura began to tell her story.
She spoke as if reminiscing about her life in the village she lived in before becoming a slave, the scenery there, and the days she spent with her family. Especially when she talked about her younger sister, she recounted her memories with her in detail, as if she were bragging.
“My younger sister was a kind and intelligent child. She even learned to read on her own without anyone teaching her.”
“Impressive.”
“Yes.”
Laura smiled.
It was a pure smile that came from the heart, not a fabricated smile as a maid.
“My younger sister used to tell everyone that she would become a magician someday. The adults dismissed it as a common childhood dream and laughed it off, but at least I believed that my younger sister could become a magician. She was a genius who didn’t belong in such a small and humble village.”
But after the defeat of her country, her family was scattered by the army of the Veilheaven Republic, which occupied the village.
“Now, I don’t even know the whereabouts of my father, mother, or younger sister. That’s because we weren’t the only ones who became slaves at that time. There must have been at least tens of thousands of slaves, and finding family among them is like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Laura gave a bitter smile.
It was the look of someone who had already given up on many things a long time ago.
“Don’t you want to see your younger sister?”
“…I am satisfied with my current life.”
“Is that an answer as a slave? Or is it an answer as a human being named Laura?”
“…”
Laura didn’t answer. She quietly avoided my gaze and poured tea.
In the heavy silence, I didn’t bother to ask any further.
After a while, the auction began.
One wall of the waiting room flickered like a movie screen, and the scenery of a completely different place was projected there.
-Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this special night.
A neatly dressed gentleman stood in the middle of what appeared to be a very large hall.
-Tonight’s auction is a special occasion for those of you who desire something even more valuable within the beautiful jewels. I sincerely hope that those of you gathered here will each find your own jewel. Now, let’s begin the auction.
The auction proceeded quickly.
The first item was a rather large man. He had large and small scars all over his body.
-Let me introduce you to Luke, the leader of the Luke Mercenary Corps. He is a veteran warrior who single-handedly cut down dozens of royal soldiers on the southern front. His level is the highest among Aura Users!
The highest level of Aura User is about C-class on Earth, and the edge of the elite in Chun Yeo-hwa’s world.
If you go one step further, you can reach the level of Aura Expert and be able to handle Aura, but nine out of ten people don’t reach that level.
-Let’s start the bidding at 50 gold coins!
Ding, ding!
The price rose sharply, probably because it was a pretty attractive item.
After a fierce battle, the mercenary was eventually sold for 180 gold coins.
Since 1 gold coin is about 10 million won, it was sold for 1.8 billion won.
Of course, that wasn’t the exact price. Unlike Earth, where the exact value is somewhat fixed, the currency here fluctuates periodically depending on the value of gold and silver.
After the mercenary was sold, the auction caught fire.
There were not only ordinary handsome or pretty sex slaves, but also combat slaves with strong martial arts skills and slaves with specialized skills such as blacksmiths and doctors. There were even magician slaves.
Of course, even the magicians were only around the 1st Circle.
“Don’t you like any of the slaves?”
“I don’t know.”
I didn’t come here to buy slaves in the first place.
The reason I was watching the auction so intently was to find out the exact location of the auction house.
The security was surprisingly strong, so it took quite a while to find it.
‘…Underground.’
Now that I’ve figured out the location of the auction, there’s no reason to watch this farce any longer.
I jumped up from my seat.
“Sir…?”
“I lost my parents in the war when I was 5 years old. I was left in an orphanage without any siblings or relatives and had to grow up there until I became an adult.”
I took off the cumbersome tie and took out Guillennium from my inventory.
“What about you? Even if you don’t know if they’re alive or dead, you haven’t seen your parents’ corpses, cold like mine, have you?”
“…”
It could be sympathy, or it could be meddling.
“The tea was good.”
I left the reception room, leaving Laura staring blankly at me. Armed guards were standing in the hallway.
“Sir? Is there something wrong?”
The guards who found me approached, and their eyes changed when they saw the sword at my waist.
“…I’m sorry, but disarmament is the rule in the auction house.”
Pretending to speak politely, the guards began to surround me little by little.
Each one seemed to be around the middle to highest level of Aura User.
“Please return your weapon to us…”
“From now on.”
Swish, the blade of Guillennium, which had come out of its scabbard, emitted a bluish sword energy.
“Anyone who blocks me will die.”
