Actually No Losses?

“Tower, what exactly is your Witch race up to?”

Inside a luxury private booth at the auction, the members of the Tarot Villa were surrounding Lan Qingyou.

Lan Qingyou wasn't floating in the air today as she usually did. For once, her feet were firmly on the floor as she sat in a chair.

The reason for this rare occurrence was that she couldn't leave the chair even if she wanted to.

She was tied up.

With hemp rope.

And the knots were quite sturdy.

The culprit was none other than Vivian, the High Priestess, who had just asked the question. Her accomplices were Gu Xiaobei, the Empress, and Ingrid, the Sun.

Meanwhile, Ruan Qingyi, the Star, was cheering them on from the side, shouting things like, “I made those clothes! Ordinary rope can't hurt her! Tie them tighter!”

And so, Lan Qingyou ended up in her current predicament.

But even with her hands tied to the armrests, Lan Qingyou—burdened by her own image—maintained a faint smile and a calm expression on the Witch Queen's face, along with her damnably persistent, reserved elegance.

As someone capable of casting dozens of spells, it was naturally impossible for ordinary rope without any attributes or enchantments to hold her.

However, since she was playing along with their antics, she didn't intend to do anything drastic.

It was all in good fun, after all. Any way to play was fine.

At the current pace of the auction, it would only be a matter of a few hours.

“To say I’m ‘up to something’ sounds so unpleasant. Didn't I already say? You'll find out once the auction is over,” Lan Qingyou said calmly.

“There she goes again! That same old line. I’ve heard enough of it.”

Vivian, tired of being brushed off with the same excuse, waved her hands dismissively. She then leaned in close to Lan Qingyou, grinning like a villainous secret agent.

“I was too naive. You’re the woman who became the Witch Queen; how could you possibly tell the truth so easily? It seems you won't talk without a little torture. Xiaobei, bring the torture!”

Vivian gave a grand wave of her hand, and Gu Xiaobei stepped forward holding two white feathers.

“Has it finally come to this? What a shame, Witch Queen. I really thought we could be friends.”

With those words, Gu Xiaobei reached out and began her ‘attack’ by tickling Lan Qingyou’s armpits with the feathers.

Watching the performance of these two drama queens, Lan Qingyou rolled her eyes, as did the ‘accomplices’ standing around them.

Yet, even under this ‘severe torture,’ Lan Qingyou gritted her teeth and refused to speak.

“She’s not talking... what do we do?”

“As expected of the Witch of the Tower. She really is stubborn.”

After a short ten minutes, Vivian and Gu Xiaobei were panting, with sweat even appearing on their foreheads, but Lan Qingyou still hadn't opened her mouth.

The two eventually stopped to drink some water and wipe their brows.

“You’ve already waited several days. Can’t you wait just a few more hours?” Lan Qingyou asked, pouting as she watched the two of them fussing around the booth.

“No, we can't,” Vivian said ‘viciously’ while drinking her water.

Perhaps it was because of her height, or maybe it was the way she held the water cup, but in Lan Qingyou's eyes, Vivian's behavior looked more like a ‘dragon’s roar’—it wasn't scary at all; in fact, it was actually a bit cute.

At that moment...

Esmeralda, the Wheel of Fortune, who had been watching the spectacle from the side, stepped forward with her arms crossed and a smile on her face.

“The past is the past, but the present is the present. The pricing of these magic items is highly problematic. At best, you’re selling at a loss just to drum up business; at worst, you’re disrupting the market order. Are you, the Witch of the Tower, really the type of person to give up the profits you deserve?”

“No,” Lan Qingyou answered immediately.

“Then that settles it.”

“...”

Feeling as though she had been seen through, Lan Qingyou closed her mouth and remained silent.

“Another set sold. 13 gold, 39 silver, and 88 copper. This set went for higher than the market price,” Frenna, the Lovers, remarked. She had been mostly unaffected by Vivian and the others’ joking, keeping her eyes on the stage displayed on the screen.

“Hmm? This set didn't lose money?”

Because they had been busy ‘interrogating’ Lan Qingyou, many of them hadn't been paying attention to the auction below.

After all, none of them were particularly interested in those items.

But to their surprise, not only was there no loss, they had actually made a profit of over 3 gold?

“Actually, none of the sets have lost money. Some earned 1 gold extra, others 5 gold. Overall, they’re all profitable,” Frenna said without turning around, staring thoughtfully at the items.

“Everyone assumed it would be a high-volume, low-margin strategy. But in reality, because the base of participants is so large, every set finds someone who needs it. Consequently, the competition is actually more intense than it would be in a regular shop.”

Shang Chuan, the Moon, nodded in agreement.

“In this regard, Bei Adolis is indeed a capable merchant.”

As a merchant in the Abandoned Land himself, Shang Chuan inevitably dealt with Diana, Bei Adolis, and the others from time to time.

He had a genuine respect for Bei Adolis.

“Say, Moon, you wouldn't happen to be involved in this, would you?”

Olf, the Chariot, stood nearby with a wine glass, looking at Shang Chuan with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

“It would be a lie to say I’m not. But there’s no need to look at me with such an aggressive gaze. I don't know what the Tower has up her sleeve this time either.”

Turning to Olf, Shang Chuan spread his hands and shrugged.

Originally, the witches had decided to hold this auction, but none of them were very clear on how to implement it or what the workflow should be. So, they had approached Shang Chuan.

As a profiteer, Shang Chuan was naturally eager to get involved in such a good opportunity.

Not only did he put some of his own inventory up for auction, but he also provided guidance on various procedures, especially the format of the invitations.

The result was the complete version they saw today.

In truth, Shang Chuan was quite proud of it.

While a merchant's primary focus was making money, that didn't stop him from treating some matters as a form of recreation.

Moreover, he had his own goods being auctioned here.

It was essentially a way to prepare for the auctioning of his own merchandise, so it wasn't as if he was helping for nothing.

Of course...

The most important reason was that he had officially taken over the position of Operating Officer of Abandoned Harbor.

Compared to the revenue brought in by the fleet and the port, this was all just pocket change.

“Is that so? You don't know either...”

Seeing that Shang Chuan didn't seem to be lying, Olf retracted his gaze and went back to his drink.

Though he let Shang Chuan off the hook, it didn't mean the topic was over.

Esmeralda remained in the same posture.

But this time, her relaxed demeanor was gone. Her gaze became as sharp as Olf's had been just moments ago.

“Then it seems Tower's security is very tight. But the more that's the case, the more it suggests this likely concerns us directly... wouldn't you say... Tower?”

...