บท 8: Auction House
I make myself invisible and sneak out of the manor I was in. The guards are light, which scares me a little, but is good for me right now. I fly over the gate and set myself back down on the ground on the other side. I walk through the city for a while before heading into an alleyway and undoing the invisibility.
I make my way to the auction house with the stone in tow. While this thing may as well be a piece of regular stone for me, it'll help someone around 5-circles grow at a much faster pace. This could be a game changer for someone.
I take in the sight around me, and see a mixture between the early 1900's and the medieval times. People are dressed in Edwardian style attire, with a bit of a mixture of medieval and modern trends. Some men wear shirts similar to fencing shirts. Women wear them too, but they're less common than the sundress style dress worn.
However, it's winter now so the people are wearing their winter attire which is Edwardian style.
I get to the auction house and feel instantly warmed up. No doubt a use of fire imbued mana stones. Fancy. The inside is mainly brass, with granite flooring and pillars. The walls are a type of floral wallpaper and a gigantic glass chandelier hangs in a circular opening that shows the second floor. Two separate bays are sitting on the left and right side of the building, with the left being the seller's bay and the right being the tickets for buyers. This auction house is a rather upscale place as it's situated on the edge of the noble district.
I head to the sellers bay and set up a meeting with a seller's associate. It takes about 20 minutes as I'm not seen as a VIP seller, but that'll change soon enough. This stone should basically push me into stardom for this auction house. Especially when I tell them I have access to more. Luckily, this house keeps the identities of their sellers a secret. Of course, anything illegal is reported to the guards, but other than that they don't even ask the seller's name.
After the wait, I'm led to a private room to talk to the associate. The door opens to reveal a young man in a tuxedo and two gruff looking individuals standing behind him. Both are around master knight level, but they would lose to a practiced master knight. The young black haired man notices me and puts on his 'buyer smile'. I return a 'seller smile' and walk forward. He holds his hand out for me and introduces himself,
"Hello! I'm John Senna! I'll be your sales associate for today! Just so you know, we take a 25% fee for any successful sales. Any failures will not be charged to you however, so there's no need to worry."
I shake the man's hand and get a better view of his face. The guy can't be older than 23 with slight stubble dotting his face. He has brown eyes and a rather average looking face. His hands are covered by white gloves. I introduce myself to him,
"Hi."
Common buyer's courtesy says that if the seller does not say their name, you are not supposed to press for it. Evidently, this guy is relatively new as he continues on,
"And your name is?"
I give him a confused look and then glance at the guards, one of which steps forward and apologizes on the guys behalf,
"I'm sorry ma'am, this lad is relatively new here and apparently has forgotten the buyer's code. If you wish, I could retrieve a higher ranking associate should you desire."
The young man starts sweating and gets a shocked look on his face as he starts to speak up, but I interrupt him,
"That's not necessary. So long as he no longer asks for my name, I won't need to press this any further."
I give the man a warm smile which elicits a grateful smile and slight blush from him. Before anything else can happen, I tell him what I wish to sell.
"So, John. I have a mana stone to sell."
The man quickly gets into business mode and motions for one of the bodyguards to bring up a small plush box to avoid scratching the box. He takes off his white gloves and replaces them with a pair of gloves placed inside the box. These gloves are leather and have wires covering the fingers.
The handling of mana stones is considered rather dangerous, because strong stones can become a poison for the weak. These gloves will absorb the mana that comes from the stone to avoid residue going into the hand. They also have a small clear stone on the back that appraises the stone in hand.
I take the stone out of my pocket with my bare hand, which earns a few gasps from the three men in the room. I set the stone down and motion for him to appraise it. Having realized I'm much stronger than he thought, he starts treating me with a little more respect,
"Ah, yes milady."
He picks up the stone and looks at the smaller clear stone on the back of the glove. A single circle appears, then a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and finally, it stops at the sixth circle. The man very slowly puts the stone back with sweat dripping from his forehead. He looks up to me and says,
"Uhm, as this is a 6 circle stone, we'll have to set it up as the main focus of the auction. The auction should take place next week if you desire to go through with this."
I nod my head and say,
"Indeed I would. And just so you're aware, I have access to multiple of these stones so I may sell them more in the future. For now though, I'll only sell the one."
John nods his head and smiles,
"Very well! I'll bring this to the auction manager and have it set up for next week. Expect to see advertisements across the capital soon. Do you have a moniker you would like to sell under?"
I think for a moment and nod my head,
"Sure, let's go with Midas."
John nods and writes the name down on the pad. He also takes a leather briefcase from the side of the chair and opens it. He takes out a piece of paper and writes something on it before handing the paper and a badge to me. The paper has my moniker signed on it by him, while the badge is a golden pin that has the letters VIP engraved in silver.
"The paper is merely something we give to VIP's when they're made into VIP's. The badge is required to get into the VIP sellers private booth. It also acts as a way for anonymous sellers to verify their identity."
I nod my head and take the pin and paper. I put the badge in my pocket and place an anti-pickpocket spell on it.
"Well John, I believe it may be time for me to head out. I trust I'll be pleasantly surprised at how many people are talking about such a "miraculous" little stone?"
He nods his head and flinches as I sarcastically call the stone miraculous, but nonetheless keeps his smile,
"Indeed Lady Midas, I would wager to say the news would reach the royal family themselves!"
I look at him with slightly seductive eyes,
"Oh, John. I'm a very sinful woman. I may just have to take you up on that wager."
I see the man flinch and blush and my voice tickles his ears. I stand up and walk towards the door before leaving him one last thing,
"Oh, just so you know, I have quite expensive tastes when it comes to luxury."
I wink at him and leave the room. I walk out of the auction house and dart into an alley before turning invisible.
Why do I need money when my family is so rich? Simple, I plan on setting up a rather big company to dig my claws into the whole world, grocery titan style. I don't wish for this company to lead back to me in any way possible, because that would make my family a target. Plus, it feels damn good to act like the mysterious strong and rich stranger.
I make it back to my room, and fall asleep with Annie in peace, but not before cuddling the girl a little.
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