章節 24: Ancient Currency [Pt 1]
The next day, Elish went to the auction house alone.
He told Astra to remain in the room, though she protested a lot. However, as the master, he had the final say.
This time he was confident in himself. After all, he held riches incomparable to most men, and the information he possessed would ensure he didn't make a fool of himself like last time.
'There's a slight issue, though, but if I play my cards right, it'll work itself out.' Elish noted within himself as he looked at the grand building he was about to enter.
'I just have to proceed according to the plan. This should be fine…'.
*******
"Good morning, sir," One of the many receptionists in the hall greeted him.
'She looks shy. Did she just start working here?' Elish made a mental note as he closely observed her facial reactions and body movements.
He also noticed the one he met the previous day was not at any of the counters.
'They must operate in shifts. That makes sense for an organization as large as this.' He concluded, all in the brief moment of a second.
"I would like to purchase a rare and highly valuable item at this Auction House. I heard this is the best in town," he started.
"Y-yes, sir! You didn't hear wrong," The woman said nervously.
Elish wasn't certain if she was bothered by his extravagant outfit or his charming appearance, but he knew he was making her uncomfortable.
'I can also see why she was employed here.'
She was very cute, and her short height granted her a persona that felt charming to look at. Her communication skills and confidence levels were quite unimpressive, however, her cute act of nervousness and shyness were her appeal.
… At least for the men who were into such women.
This would cause customers to perhaps return to the Auction House, if only to be attended to by such a woman. Then again, in business, such things were only secondary.
Quality of goods was the most important aspect in businesses like these, and he knew the establishment understood that too.
'Plys, girls like these don't particularly do it for people like me…'
Elish even preferred Astra's assertive nature to that of an introvert. When people expressed themselves properly and frequently, it was easier for him to understand them.
And so, just as he made the lady uncomfortable… she had the same effect on him as well.
"I want to become a member of this auction house," Elish spoke calmly, his gentle smile radiating.
He could see the lady blush violently, and while she did her best to hide it, it was plenty obvious.
"Y-yes, sir. What kind would you like? W-we have the basic plan, special plan, deluxe plan, and the premium plan available. There is also the royal plan, however, it is not available for most individuals," she stuttered as she spoke.
Once again, she appeared cute and charming. However, to him he was only further unhinged.
'This girl is no good,' he thought to himself, trying his best to maintain a calm smile.
The first girl he met was more polite than this one, plus she had even recommended the plan that would best suit him based on his appearance.
That was how to get the job done.
'She must have been a veteran, unlike this one…'
"Then, I want the premium plan," Elish replied in the same calm tone.
'Since I can afford it, I should get the best that is available to me at the moment.'
"S-Sir, that would be fifty million Coins," The receptionist told him, expressing surprise that he would go for such a high plan without the slightest bit of hesitation.
Elish could do nothing but smile at her ignorance.
He had billions in his account, what was a mere fifty million to him?
"May I have your coin card, sir?" She asked, shyly stretching her hands towards him.
'Alright… here comes the tricky part.' Elish thought to himself.
He had yet to have a Coin Card, and the process to obtain one was quite bothersome. Since he was in a bit of a hurry, he decided to ignore all of that and return to the Auction House.
"About that, I am certain you accept payment other than that of Coin Cards."
"We don't normally do that, since everyone who uses this house possesses a Coin Card," she replied in a slight murmur.
'She's slowly losing her respect for me. It's similar to the last time.'
"You see, I just recently ran into some bit of trouble and had my Coin Card taken away. Of course, I have your money. I won't be able to use the card for my transactions," Elish decided to explain using his generic-esque narrative.
"O-okay, sir! Of course, there is no rule prohibiting other transactions. But, how are you going to bring an entire fifty million coins for the transaction?" She asked him, her face depicting what he could only consider to be confusion.
Unlike the last girl, it seemed she was still trying to reason with him. As someone who was still a newbie, she had a lot more patience, after all.
"[Pandora]" Elish whispered, causing his ring to glow. Afterward, he only had to give his command.
"Access coin treasury. Withdraw fifty million coins."
Immediately, a bright light glowed, and then treasure chests began appearing before him. The chests themselves were of course pure gold, with adornments of various kinds.
"Each chest contains a total of a million coins," Elish told the gawking receptionist. "These are fifty chests, your money in full cash."
Her eyes sparkled, and even the attention of the other staff and people around the auction house was drawn by the scene he created.
They all marveled at his overt display of wealth, particularly the glowing treasure chests
'Alright. The plan begins…' Elish could hear murmurs echo all across the reception hall.
"Is that a relic?"
"A relic wielder is here?"
"How rare!"
"And he's so young too. And handsome."
"Must be the son of a noble."
"Shhh, he'll hear us."
'Humans get so easily impressed and distracted…' Elish sighed, though he desired for them to continue with their attention on him.
The more focus rested on him, the better it would be for his plan.
The secretary moved from behind her counter and opened the chests to confirm the coins stored within them. She even brought out a device he had never seen before and stretched it toward the coins.
The device glowed, and then the glow grew brighter and brighter until finally, it died down. Her face was in shock the whole time.
'It seems she has already noticed it…' Elish's thoughts trailed as he felt his heart race a little in uncertainty.
His entire plan was contingent upon whatever would happen next.
"S-sir. There seems to be an issue with your payment," she said, looking down and not making eye contact with him.
"What do you mean?" Elish asked calmly, though he could feel unease searing through him.
"W-well, sir. These coins aren't the currency of the Western Continent. But…" She explained nervously, her voice trailing.
Elish maintained his dignified facade, but internally he was in deep thought.
'I knew it. This is the problem…'
The world had progressed over 3,000 years after his death, so it only made sense that the currency had also changed.
After obtaining his funds, he had initially feared that his money would be worthless. However, that wasn't completely the case.
An Auction House had to have means of exchanging various currencies, and so if his money didn't align with the Western Continent's currency, he had hoped there would be a way to determine its worth and still use his funds one way or another
'What now?'
After all his brilliant display, it seemed his entire wealth was nothing more than fake money.
However…
'Something is strange…' Elish thought as he observed the reactions of the people who watched him.
One of the reasons he chose such a flashy way of revealing his means of payment was to gauge the reaction of his audience. Even though the currency had changed, that didn't change the value of the coins themselves.
There had to be a way to determine that value.
'It seems I might not be at a total loss, after all…' Elish smiled as he listened in to the words of the audience.
"I-Is that what I think it is?" Someone whispered to another beside him.
"The ancient currency?"
"Oi, aren't those extremely rare?"
"Fifty million of them? Who is this man?"
The receptionist began to get flustered and nervous to the point that her voice was drowned by the endless comments and speculations of the crowd.
'So that's how it is, huh?' Elish's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
All along, his situation had been the opposite of what he feared.
'I hit the jackpot.'
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[A/N]
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