Chapter 108 - Auction

Two nights later, Bera headed to the grand performance hall on Fourth Avenue, holding Renée's hand. They were going to attend the auction.

"Wow...!"

Aisha was with them too.

For some reason, Bera felt irritated as he glared at Aisha, who was holding Renée's other hand.

Perhaps spending so much time with her lately, teaching her swordsmanship, had been his undoing. Aisha had overheard that he and Renée were attending the auction today and insisted that she wanted to go too. And so here they were.

Logically, there was nothing to lose by bringing Aisha along. Yet for some reason, being out as a group of three rather than two put him in a foul mood, leaving him sullen the whole time.

"Lady Renée! There are orcs over there!"

"Are there?"

"They're so biiig...!"

Unlike Bera, however, Renée wore a small smile.

Aisha had been struggling with her training lately. It had weighed on Renée's mind that the girl was doing nothing but such arduous work at an age when she ought to be playing. This was a good opportunity to give her at least something to look back on fondly.

"Stop making such a fuss."

"Yeees, yeees."

Aisha pulled a series of faces at Bera and answered insolently.

Bera tensed, and an awkward look came over Renée's face.

"Both of you, stop it. Let's go inside."

They ought to have grown closer by now, so why did they fight whenever they were together?

She found herself shaking her head.

* * *

After presenting their VIP ticket, they were shown into a small room on the performance hall's second floor.

It had lavish furnishings and a long sofa prominently placed in the middle.

Bera grabbed Aisha by the scruff of the neck as she bounced on the sofa and tossed her into a corner. Then he seated Renée and began explaining.

"The front of the room is a large pane of glass. Its main feature is an unobstructed view of the stage."

"Won't it be hard to hear with everything closed off like this?"

"As far as I know, the hall's design prevents that. The building was designed to make these second-floor rooms more comfortable than the first floor."

"Oh..."

"There's a small table in front of the sofa. If an item catches your interest, you can press the bell here to signal that you wish to bid."

"Hmm. It's comfortable, but not quite what I imagined. I pictured jostling among the crowd and shouting."

"It is like that on the first floor, but those in the VIP seats are people of standing. They tend to dislike that sort of thing."

Renée nodded in understanding.

"No wonder the tickets are so expensive."

There were only forty. Given that they allowed people to enjoy the auction at leisure, far removed from the chaos below, the price made sense.

As she voiced that thought, Bera added,

"That is part of it... but the biggest reason for the price is the opportunity to make the acquaintance of other VIPs."

"Oh, that makes sense too. Money alone isn't enough to get a ticket."

People flocked here from across the continent, yet there were only forty tickets. That meant acquiring one required power as well as money.

Even the room they occupied had been assigned to the Empire's crown prince.

People with that much wealth and power used these VIP rooms for backroom deals. That must be what he meant.

"A great many unsavory discussions take place here."

"Hmm... That could be troublesome. They won't come here too, will they?"

"No. I hung a 'No Entry' sign at the entrance. Anyone with common sense will stay out."

Renée breathed a sigh of relief.

Getting mixed up with foreign nobles or royalty would only lead to trouble. Besides, she didn't want people like that interrupting her time with Bera.

Sensing Bera beside her, Renée inched across the seat toward him and asked,

"What sorts of things will be up for auction?"

"I'm looking forward to finding out myself. Priceless treasures occasionally appear here."

Bera straightened his back as he sensed Renée approaching, his muscles tightening.

He still wasn't used to her bold advances. His flustered reaction came unbidden.

A peculiar atmosphere developed between them—so obvious that even the oblivious Aisha could sense it.

Renée's hand overlapped Bera's. Their shoulders touched. Aisha's eyes darted back and forth.

Just as Renée smoothly slipped her arm around his—

BANG BANG BANG!

"Is anyone in there?"

Someone was pounding on the door.

Renée frowned. Bera jolted. Aisha tilted her head.

They all turned toward the door at once.

It was an unfamiliar voice. Who on earth would start hammering on their door without warning? As that thought deepened their frowns—

"P-Professor! Isn't this terribly rude?"

"Just stay put for a moment, Your Highness."

Another voice joined in, a melodious tenor recognizable even through the door.

It was Albrecht.

Albrecht, again.

Renée's face twisted into a fierce scowl. Then she heaved a sigh and spoke.

"Come in."

This had better be important. As that thought stoked her anger, the door clicked open and two men entered.

Bera frowned at the newcomers.

There was only one reason: the man who had entered with Albrecht.

Curly red hair, half-lidded eyes, and freckles made him distinctive. His gray suit was plastered with all manner of bizarre ornaments, giving him an appearance that could only be described as eccentric. And Bera knew him.

The question of why that man was here crossed his mind, then quickly faded.

Rather than feeling surprised to encounter him, Bera somehow found himself wondering why he would be surprised at this point.

'... Miller.'

One of the heroes who had defeated the Demon King. Telon Academy's youngest-ever head professor. Miller, the shaman.

The man who had planted a curse in Bera's heart in his previous life.

He greeted them with a broad grin.

"Pleasure to meet you?"

* * *

Albrecht's eyes darted between Renée and Miller.

'Th-This is bad!'

It was very bad indeed.

Professor Miller, notorious for his foul temper, had met the sharp-tongued Saintess. There was no way this would end quietly.

The professor ought to apologize first for barging in so rudely, but that shameless man would never do so.

Naturally, that meant Albrecht would get caught in the crossfire again.

Cold sweat streamed down his body. A sense of crisis seized him: he had to smooth things over somehow.

Albrecht spoke in the most courteous tone he could muster.

"I-I apologize for intruding so rudely! We..."

"So you do realize it's rude?"

He froze solid.

He had been sunk before he could even properly speak.

While Aisha poked at Albrecht, who stood frozen like a statue, Miller spoke.

"Well now, I'm sorry about that. We're in a bit of a hurry ourselves."

He chuckled heartily, paying no attention to the mood in the room.

Perching on the table opposite the sofa, Miller continued.

"I'm Miller, a professor in the academy's Department of Shamanism. The Saintess and... the apostle of oaths? A pleasure to meet you."

He extended his hand for a handshake, but no one took it.

Renée heaved a sigh at the way Miller had barged in and begun acting familiar with them.

"Isn't there something you ought to do before introducing yourself?"

"Hmm?"

"Apologize properly."

Renée straightened her back and spoke with a stern expression.

"When you behave rudely, you apologize. Even a five-year-old knows that. I'd expect someone who is a professor to know it as well. Am I mistaken?"

One might have said she was expressing an unusual amount of anger, but Renée herself believed she was showing considerable restraint.

Wasn't she? Setting aside the fact that he had interrupted her time with Bera, behaving so high-handedly toward people he was meeting for the first time showed a lack of respect.

Renée knew that choosing not to be courteous when one was perfectly capable of it was rudeness.

"Hmm..."

Miller scratched the back of his head, looking awkward.

He glanced at Bera, then at the frozen Albrecht and Aisha, who was amusing herself by poking him. Turning back to Renée, Miller rose, formally knelt, and apologized.

"I apologize for my rudeness. I was in such a hurry that I wasn't thinking. Please forgive me and set aside your anger."

His tone was serious rather than the breezy one he had used throughout, an attempt to express what sincerity he could.

Renée sighed deeply and nodded.

"I accept your apology."

In all honesty, she had no desire whatsoever to accept it... but what else could she do?

If he had come here with the prince, he must have some urgent business. Renée wasn't foolish enough to let her personal feelings take precedence over that.

"So, what brings you here? It must be urgent enough to come in despite having seen the 'No Entry' sign, correct?"

If he had come over something trivial, she would be very angry indeed.

At the implication in her words, Miller finally returned to his original, shabby manner and grinned.

"Yes. I came to propose a deal."

"If it's a financial deal, we're not interested."

"What if it's something else?"

Renée tilted her head.

Miller rose from his kneeling position and brushed off the dust as he spoke.

"Something stolen from the academy is among the items in this auction. I'm here on business to recover it. I'm making the rounds of the VIP rooms because I'd like to reduce the competition as much as possible."

Miller lifted his head. As he straightened, the strange ornaments he wore swayed with a clatter.

"A grimoire will be coming up for auction. Would you refrain from bidding on it? If you do, I can promise you substantial compensation from the academy."

"A grimoire?"

"Yes. We'd been keeping it for research, and someone stole it and handed it over here. We caught the culprit, but we have to participate in the auction to recover the item itself."

"If it was stolen, surely you could explain the circumstances and take it back."

Why go to the trouble of entering the auction to retrieve it?

It was Bera who answered her question.

"... Once an item has been consigned to the auction, it cannot be withdrawn. Even if the purpose is to recover stolen property, setting a precedent for removing an item before the auction would put the auction house in a difficult position."

He answered while gazing at Miller with a somber look. Meanwhile, another thought was forming in his mind.

'So he's still an ordinary professor.'

He was beginning to understand why someone who ought to be at the academy had appeared at an auction in the capital.

'He must be after an achievement to his name.'

He must have come to earn the credentials he needed to become head professor.

'As for the grimoire... '

He didn't know.

Even Bera couldn't remember every item that had come up for auction in his previous life.

"What do you think, Bera?"

Renée's question interrupted his thoughts. Setting them aside for the moment, he answered.

"... I don't think we have any particular reason to refuse. We came to look around, not to acquire a grimoire. And there's no reason to turn down the compensation he's offering, is there?"

"Hmm! The apostle of oaths certainly is an easygoing man, isn't he?"

Miller chuckled as he spoke.

For some reason, Renée felt a surge of irritation. Her tone was sharper than before when she replied.

"Yes, well. As easygoing Bera says, there's no reason to refuse, so we'll refrain from bidding. Would you leave now, then? The room is small, and having so many people in here makes it rather crowded."

"Ah, of course. I'll be off to the next room, then! Sorry for the intrusion!"

Miller left, and the door thudded shut.

Only then did Renée let out a deep sigh and grumble.

"What a rude man."

"Indeed. It makes one question how a person like that is qualified to be a professor."

Bera's opinion wasn't favorable either.

Quite apart from everything else, he had suffered considerably from the curse Miller had placed on him in his previous life. He could hardly think well of the man.

'Was he always like that?'

Having never met the heroes privately, Bera was only discovering their personalities in this life. Once again, that thought crossed his mind.

'Every last one of those so-called heroes is a fucking idiot.'

Renée was an exception, of course.

"Lady Renée! Lady Renée!"

"Yes?"

Renée answered Aisha's call.

"That man left this behind."

Aisha spoke as she nudged the still-frozen Albrecht with her foot.

Renée felt a headache coming on.