Chapter 60: The Port City of Muriel and Carlos Alben
"Stop! Stop!"
Hearing Tolman's voice from behind me, I released my grip on my opponent.
He fell to the ground with a grimace on his face.
"Off."
Even if you were a Knight Academy student, an unexpected punch to the jaw would knock you out cold.
If he had been prepared and covered in mana, it would have been a different story, but who would have expected a mage to approach and punch him first.
"It was a great way to poke at the votes.
I tried my best to paraphrase ....
I'm not a fan of provocation by any means.
"Student Adrias Cromwell."
Tolman approached, giving me an odd look.
He glanced over at the fallen Aslan and spoke.
"I thought I told you to stop attacking a helpless opponent before the match began?"
"Professor, I have something to say about that, too."
"What is it?"
"As you can see, I'm a mage and my opponent is a student of knighthood. I had no other intention than to throw my fists as hard as I could without losing. If I hadn't attacked my opponent out of desperation, I would have been killed by my opponent who was already close to me."
Common sense dictated that knights and mages would not engage in hand-to-hand combat.
Sure, there are some exceptions, but they shouldn't be as common as the one before him.
After listening to me, Tolman finally sighed and nodded.
"You have a point. I accept your defense."
He then turned to his assistant, who had been assigned to judge the bout.
"The winner is Adrias Cromwell."
"Yes, Professor."
Shortly afterward, Aslan was taken to the infirmary.
I quickly heard the schedule for the next bout from the assistant and walked off the field.
Honestly, if Aslan had kept his cool, the match might have lasted a bit longer, but that's a pointless assumption.
"You win.
* * *
"Whoa.... What was that!"
Lucia's voice leaked out of her mouth, sounding a bit dumbfounded.
But Vivian could understand her.
Honestly, even she wanted to see something like that.
"Is that a wizard?"
"Yes. Adrias is a mage."
"That's not what I'm asking, I'm asking if those fists are the fists of a real wizard."
Vivian knew what Adrias was really capable of, so she didn't think he'd lose.
But she hadn't expected him to win like that.
What was even more baffling was the way she saw him move.
'His movements are concise and sharp, like a swordsman's....'
After seeing Tolman stop her, Vivian got up to see Adrias emerge as the winner.
"Adrias, I didn't see that, but I saw something strange. Uh, where are you going?"
"I have to get ready."
"What? Oh, you're participating in the tournament?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm just here to watch."
"I'll cheer you on."
"Thanks."
The two had developed an inexplicable rapport while Adriàs was in the hospital and had become fast friends.
Today, Lucia casually walked over to Vivian, who was sitting in the stands, and sat down next to her, but there was an unspoken bond between them.
"I'm not going to lose either.
Turning away from the cheering Lucia, Vivian clenched her fists.
She wanted to be the one who wasn't ashamed of Adrias.
* * *
The second game was even more exciting.
My opponent, a fourth-year magical student like me, dodged all of my magic, and when I used my Mana Talent to cast Rock Spear, he finally gave up.
After a series of bouts like that, I was surprisingly able to easily advance to the main round.
"This was a stroke of luck?"
I literally hadn't faced a single opponent on my way to the round of 32.
In fact, he even won his last match by a narrow margin, as his opponent had to withdraw due to an injury sustained in a previous match.
"I'm worried that I'm getting too lucky."
I was nervous because things were going so well.
It's strange because I've rarely been lucky enough to change the outcome of a match with my actions.
Anyway, I had just gotten back to my dorm after a quick win by forfeit.
Now it's just the weekend, and the real work begins on Monday.
He didn't have to worry about his grades since he had already qualified as a student of the School of Magic, but he was determined to use this opportunity to show his skills properly.
"As long as I can use a sword, I'll try to win.
His first opponent in the tournament was Diane Alben.
The perfect opponent to showcase her skills.
Normally, she would have been the runner-up in this tournament.
But now that she'd met me, that future would change.
"Hmm?"
When I reached the room and opened the door, I saw a letter on the floor.
I scratched my head at the unexpected letter that must have slipped through the crack in the door.
"Is this from Amy?
I picked it up and sat down in my chair.
When I opened it, I saw that it was not from Amy, but from a completely unexpected person.
"It's been a long time, my dear, how have you been?
There was no sender, but I could tell from the sentence who it was from.
The tone was that of Morne Dwalski, whom I had met once before.
"What a surprise."
I don't know how the letter made it to my room, but it was unsettling.
If people knew that Morne was connected to me, it would be a downward spiral.
"You must be surprised by this unexpected letter," he said, "and understand that I write unannounced because I want to share the good news.
When I read the letter, it was as if he had predicted my thoughts.
What does he mean by good news, anyway?
'This weekend, there is an auction in the port city of Muriel. And from what I've been privy to, this auction will unlock a map containing information about Dragon Rares.
Dragon Rares.
It's a bit tempting, but I already know of two Dragon Rares.
It's just that the locations I know aren't ones I can go to right now.
'If it's not in a place I know, I'm definitely greedy.
Muriel's auction was already set.
It's no exaggeration to say that I've memorized the upcoming schedules and items of not only Muriel's auction house but most of the auction houses in the world.
But this is the past, just before the game starts.
There could have been auctions and items I didn't know about.
The only question is, who is this unknown person telling me this information?
I can't take it cold, because I don't know the story behind it.
'I know only that my father was his pupil, and nothing else.'
I wonder if my father was quite fond of him.
I can't think of any reason why he would be so nice to me.
Anyway, I finished reading the letter.
'The auctioneer probably doesn't even know this information. If you're inclined, you can participate in the auction on Saturday at 10:44 pm. Instructions on how to attend are below. And if you show my sigil to the auctioneers, they'll recognize it and won't ask you for money, so don't worry about it.
My head ached from Morne's generosity, from his willingness to give me everything.
Next time I see him, I'll have to ask him why.
Why is she so nice to me?
"Why are you giving me instead of taking care of yourself?"
I realized it could be a trap, but it was worth the risk.
I didn't know the auction schedule in the first place, so there could be items I missed.
It was the weekend before the tournament's main event, so what the heck?
* * *
The port city of Muriel was a huge harbor with tons of ships coming and going, living up to its name as a port city.
It wasn't always that big, but it was a natural progression of the city's high foot traffic.
It was so famous that there was a direct train from the capital, which took only five hours for the distance.
"It's really crowded.
I hadn't expected to visit so early.
I had originally planned to come to Muriel for the auction next year.
"There are two auctions in Muriel.
One is the one on the surface, the Golden Banquet.
The other, the one I'm aiming for, is a shadowy auction, the Night of Money.
The only thing they had in common was that you had to be invited to attend.
And they were held on the same day.
So, uninvited, I was unfortunately unable to attend the golden banquet.
The city overlooking the sea was bustling with activity.
It seemed to be even more active on the weekends, and since I was a little early, I decided to take a look around.
But before I could get anywhere, I bumped into someone I really didn't expect.
"Uh, Adrias, I mean Cromwell!"
Even with his jet-black hair, he looked handsome.
He was a lightly dressed man in a simple heart plate and leather armor, and he greeted me with a welcoming smile.
"Gee, I never thought I'd run into you in a place like this. How many years has it been?"
He was Carlos Alben, brother of Diane Alben and the eldest son of the Alben family.
It's safe to say he's the reason I knew terrorism existed, but I don't know if he knows that.
I hadn't seen Carlos since he became an earl, so he used an awkward honorific that I found rather uncomfortable.
"Brother Carlos, you can just make yourself comfortable. You're making me feel uncomfortable."
"No, no, you can't. I'm the eldest son of the House of Albion, and I'm a Viscount, so how could I possibly address His Excellency Cromwell, who outranks me?"
He gave me a rascal-like look, and I could tell he was trying to tease me.
Finally, I shook my head and greeted him properly.
"Anyway, it's good to see you after all these years, and I didn't expect to see you in a place like this."
"Of course. Did you have any business to attend to?"
"Yes, but my appointment was at night, so I was free."
"Great! No, that's great, then why don't you come with me over there?"
Carlos's fingertips moved toward the auction house building where the Golden Banquet was being held.
The auction house. Coincidentally, it was happening today.
I was curious, but I didn't have an invitation.
But I was lucky enough to not only meet Carlos Alben, but he asked me to go with him.
As the eldest son of the Alven family, I'm sure he'd have an invitation, and I'd be allowed in as a companion.
"I won't say no."
"Let's go!"
There was no problem getting into the auction house.
As expected, he had an invitation, and I was allowed in as his companion without any restrictions.
"This is so Alven.
We were shown a private room reserved for VIPs.
It was on the second floor, and since it was made up of rooms, I couldn't see who the other participants were on the second floor.
Through the glass in front of me, I could see the seats on the first floor.
The auction had already been going on for a while, but there was a tablet in the VIP room with a detailed description of the auction items.
It seemed like there were a lot of items reserved for VIPs, but I decided to keep an eye on each item as it came up, just in case.
"Let me know if you see anything you like."
Carlos said as he watched me check out the tablets.
Does he mean he's going to buy me one?
I asked, half joking, half serious.
"You're going to buy it for me?"
"Sure."
As I stared at him, dumbfounded by his all-too-easy answer, he continued.
"That's the least I can do for a lifesaver."
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