What was with Esmeralda today?
Usually, she was a total wallflower, barely saying a word or two before fading into the background. Today, however, she was surprisingly talkative!
Looking at Esmeralda, who was 'smiling' at her, Lan Qingyou couldn't help but complain inwardly.
No, the auction wasn't over yet. She had to hold out.
“Haha, Fortune, what are you talking about? I don’t quite understand,” Lan Qingyou said, her eyes squinting as she smiled.
“Wow, if you’re going to fake it, at least put some heart into it. You’re being so dismissive that I don’t think any of us can just pretend we didn’t notice,” Jiang Lan, the Emperor, said with a chuckle as she sat on the sofa.
Though everyone knew there was something fishy going on, there wasn't much they could do if Lan Qingyou refused to talk.
Vivian and Gu Xiaobei might have tied Lan Qingyou up just now, but that was just two young girls messing around; no one took it seriously.
Even the victim herself had been playing along with the act.
Of course, the most important factor was Lan Qingyou's behavior. In the past, she always had an indifferent attitude toward most things, so she would answer almost anything they asked. Now, she was keeping her mouth shut tight.
In a way, it was hard to say if this was a sign of growth for Lan Qingyou, but at the very least, she finally seemed to have something she truly cared about.
...
“Fine, since you’re all so eager, I’ll reveal a little something.”
After a period of stalemate, Lan Qingyou finally spoke up as she saw that more than half of the auction items had been sold.
“Ooh!”
The others, who had been quietly watching the auction below, couldn't help but turn their heads toward her.
“Wait... she’s not actually changing her mind, is she?” Vivian asked in a low voice.
“High Priestess, that’s a bit rude,” Jiang Lan laughed from the side.
“But she was being so stubborn just a moment ago, and now she suddenly wants to tell us? It feels suspicious no matter how you look at it,” Vivian grumbled.
It was true. Lan Qingyou's change in attitude was quite drastic, especially since it had only been an hour or two. It felt eerie.
“Haha, she’s probably only willing to talk because she sees the auction items are almost gone,” Gu Xiaobei, her 'plastic friend,' teased.
But... that was actually quite likely!
Everyone thought the same as they looked down at the stage, where the only S-grade item was currently being auctioned.
“That is indeed the case,” Lan Qingyou admitted with a smile.
Meanwhile, below...
On the auction stage bathed in warm orange light, Bei Adolis struck the wooden gavel heavily.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Congratulations to Customer 10086 in the private booth for winning the only S-grade Abyss Blade in this auction for 4,860,000 gold and 80 silver!”
Bei Adolis held the microphone, her face beaming with a smile.
She never expected someone would actually spend nearly five million gold on a single S-grade weapon.
While S-grade was indeed rare, it paled in comparison to world-class items recognized by the world consciousness. In fact, the two weren't even in the same league.
And yet, people had fought tooth and nail for it until Customer 10086 finally claimed the prize.
It wasn't that she didn't understand how the wealthy operated; rather, after living in Kalim for over six months, Bei Adolis had long lost the flightiness she’d had back on Blue Star.
Combined with the new understanding of her identity since becoming a witch, she felt that spending such a massive amount of resources on something that wasn't even as good as a typical S-grade item was a complete waste.
As a popular saying among the witches went: it didn't meet the standard of 'equivalent exchange.'
“Alright! Now that the S-grade item has been sold, let us move on to the mysterious finale item of today’s auction!”
Wait, there was more?!
And it was a mysterious item?
Everyone, who had assumed the S-grade magic item was the peak of the auction, was stunned.
What could this mysterious item be?
They had already seen ancient blood, potion recipes, bubble suits that allowed travel through mana turbulence, and S-grade magic items. If none of those were considered the finale, then what kind of thing would be enough to catch the eyes of these witches?
With a single sentence, Bei Adolis had piqued the curiosity of everyone present.
It wasn't just those in the main hall; the clan leaders and organization executives in the private booths felt the same way.
For instance, in one of the booths...
A man with muscles so developed they looked ready to burst his light blue shirt sat boldly with his legs wide apart on a sofa. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at the small projected screen.
He then turned around, resting one hand on the back of the sofa, and looked at a woman behind him. She was wearing a long orange velvet skirt and was looking down at a book in her hands.
“Katie, what do you think the witches will bring out as the finale?”
“Shut up, Nicholas. Can’t you see I’m enjoying the literature of this world?”
The woman didn't give the muscular man the time of day. In fact, she didn't even lift her head, so there was no 'expression' to speak of. Her tone, however, was filled with obvious disdain and annoyance.
She seemed completely unafraid of offending the violent-looking man in front of her.
“Phew—the Head of the Social Sciences Department at The Library really is different. Even at such an auction, you still have to study hard? Or is this the next book you plan to copy?”
Nicholas let out a flippant whistle and teased her back.
Katie—full name Katie Meserta—was the Head of the Social Sciences Department at The Library, the organization mentioned before that made a fortune by copying books.
She was also the representative sent by The Library for this auction.
However, compared to shopping, she seemed more interested in immersing herself in the sea of an original book written in Kalim text.
After all, The Library was an organization focused on copying books, unlike those groups that were all muscle and only knew how to fight.
As such, aside from buying a few books that were on consignment and not in their collection, she had absolutely no interest in equipment, blood, or rare materials.
Yes, even with 'official duties' to attend to, her priority was still how to expand her bookshelves. No one could expect her to care about anything else.
Finding no luck there, Nicholas turned his gaze toward the other man and woman in the room.
The woman was sitting in a chair, draped in a white cloth. Behind her stood a thin man with a pink mohawk, fiddling with a pair of scissors.
Rate on N.U.
