"I can't believe it. We hit six different places and didn't find a single one! Not a single one, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's the peak season, so everywhere's jam-packed."
Riizu had returned after a few days and was going on at length about her adventure.
Setting the results aside, she'd made it back safely without any major injuries. Her certified Level was supposedly lower than what was appropriate, and yet she'd been climbing through six Treasure Halls — I'd never heard of anyone doing that — but there was no trace of fatigue on her face.
"I was actually debating whether to go on an expedition or hunt bounties. But bounties take forever to track down and cash in, and if I went on an expedition, the auction might start before I got back, right? So I figured, if I wasn't going to make it in time anyway, I'd be better off selling off Phantoms and Monster drops for whatever extra funds I could scrape together. Here! This is what I got from cashing in!"
Riizu pressed a large leather pouch toward me with a bright smile.
Income from selling Monster materials and Phantom drops was no small matter for Hunters. Unlike Treasure Weapons and Phantom drops, which required luck to obtain, Monster materials were guaranteed drops as long as you could defeat the Monster. Because of that, some Hunters with high enough combat skills specifically targeted Monsters.
The bag Riizu handed me was stuffed with gold coins. She was playing it cool, but she must have worked incredibly hard to earn that kind of sum.
Citry peeked inside the bag and furrowed her brow.
"Big sister is useless."
"...Huh?! You're the one who caused this whole mess! How did word get out that the Treasure Weapon Miss Kurai is after is up for grabs?!"
Sorry, that was my fault...
Watching the sisters bicker, guilt gnawed at me, and I silently looked away.
The auction period had begun, and the Imperial Capital was overflowing with people.
The Zeburdia Auction ran for an entire week. During this time, the capital turned into a full-blown festival.
Stalls lined the main streets, and smaller side auctions popped up everywhere, all piggybacking on the main event. The Explorer's Guild was drowning in requests, and for both merchants and Hunters, it was prime earning season.
I'd been preoccupied with the Changing Human Face for a while now, but thinking calmly, there had to be other useful Treasure Weapons on offer at the auction. My current financial situation meant I couldn't go after any of them, but it still felt a little lonely to be missing out on what was essentially a grand festival.
Sandwiched between Riizu and Citry, I made my way through the crowd. Pickpockets were out in full force, but with Riizu at my side, there was no risk of falling victim to them.
"Hmm. Even combining your share with big sister's, we still won't hit a billion... You never save anything."
"What can you do? I was throwing everything I had at conquering the City, and all the spoils are in Luda's hands anyway..."
The City of Ten Thousand Demons was a Treasure Hall that no one had managed to conquer in a very long time. There had to be treasures buried inside worth the risk.
Our Party had a rule: if any member dropped out partway through, they wouldn't bring back any spoils.
If that rule hadn't existed, and Riizu or Citry had brought back even a single Treasure Weapon, the outcome of this auction might have been very different.
Riizu puffed out her cheeks, and Citry let out a small sigh.
"That's right... the timing was unfortunate. Normally, things would have gone a bit more smoothly..."
Even with every move we could play, it still wasn't enough...
Citry looked up at me with a tentative gaze.
"Our current odds of winning are probably around seventy percent. If Miss Kurai hadn't said no, there were other moves we could have made..."
"No. You've already done more than enough, Citry. Thank you."
"Oh, no..."
At my words, Citry softened into a gentle smile.
Citry was cleverer than Riizu, but she had a tendency to dig too deeply into things. That was probably the curse of being gifted.
"Oh, hey! Kurai, if you can't get your hands on the Treasure Weapon..."
Riizu latched onto my right arm, pressing close, and flashed a confident grin.
"I'll steal it right out from under that brat for you."
"...Our opponent is a noble, you know?"
Well, even if they weren't a noble, theft was still out of the question.
'Being a Thief' didn't mean that was your whole job description. Stealing someone's property was a crime.
"So what? It's fine — those peace-corrupted knights could show up in droves and still not beat me!"
"Big sister, if you did something like that, Miss Kurai would be the one under suspicion! If you're going to do it... make it look like a robbery instead."
"Don't."
Don't. Do you two have zero concept of a brake?
It was probably just a joke, but if anyone overheard, they might take it seriously.
The Zeburdia Auction venue was a white-marble theater located in the heart of the Imperial Capital.
Normally, it was used for concerts and plays. The refined building, constructed from marble, was lined with people of every age, gender, and style.
How many of them were here with the goal of winning an auction item? How many would end up bidding against us? At this point, all I could hope for was that the auction would be enjoyable.
The entrance was divided into sections for nobles, Hunters, and everyone else. Nobles went without saying, but having a dedicated entrance for Hunters was a necessity — mixing them with civilians was guaranteed to cause problems.
The admission fee for the Zeburdia Auction was ten thousand Gill. The entrance with the most people, and the most striking spectacle, was the Hunters' entrance.
For starters, the way they dressed was different. Why would anyone show up to an auction in full plate armor? Their faces told different stories too, and some had even, for reasons I couldn't fathom, brought weapons.
Anyone attending the auction would be a Hunter of decent Level with money to spare, so I recognized a few faces.
Among them, I spotted a familiar group.
A boy with blazing crimson hair that seemed to reach the sky. A middle-aged man with a hard face and dark brown hair. A brown-haired female Thief. And clinging to my right arm was that man's apprentice. The Dark Pot crew had reunited after quite some time.
There were a few unfamiliar faces among them too, but even I wouldn't mistake Tino's face.
I debated whether to address the boy as Gilbert, call out to Gregg, or speak to Luda, but in the end, I called to Tino.
"Tino! You're here too? You came to buy something?"
"Mastaa! Good morning!"
The Dark Pot members caught sight of me, and their expressions twisted with faint discomfort.
Had the fact that we'd formed a Party together led to them tagging along?
Either way, it was good to see that Tino had made friends.
Riizu's piercing glare had Gilbert and Gregg visibly shrinking back.
"I came to witness Mastaa's glorious presence. They were heading to the auction anyway, so I figured I might as well come along."
"Tino, you totally change your character when you're in front of Thousand Transformations, you know," Gilbert muttered under his breath.
Tino shot him a contemptuous glare.
It hadn't been intentional on my part, but I was the talk of the auction. A man standing next to Gilbert was watching me with keen interest. I could hear whispered conversations. It was extremely uncomfortable.
"Setting aside whether my 'glorious presence' is worth seeing, if you were coming anyway, you should've invited me..."
"I... wasn't invited..."
"..."
Sorry. I was truly, genuinely sorry. You'd even lent me money, and I didn't even notice. I felt awful.
But if I could offer an explanation... right! Honestly, going with Luda and the others probably drew less attention than going with me. I almost wished our positions were swapped.
Luda was giving me a look that could only be described as accusatory. Did she know about my debt to Tino?
"Ah... hmm... well..."
Tino was staring up at me intently.
What should I say? I could still invite her now, but she had prior obligations, and she probably wouldn't feel at ease so close to Riizu and Citry either.
Then, an idea struck me.
"Hey, Tino — if you're up for it, would you like to participate in the auction as my proxy?"
"...Your... proxy?"
The Zeburdia Auction had a proxy system.
As the name suggested, it was a system that allowed you to designate someone to bid on your behalf.
We would still attend the auction in person, but we'd stay silent, sending Tino signals with a unique hand sign so she could place bids for us.
The system was mainly used by winners who wanted to keep their identities hidden. In our case, it was already common knowledge that I was after the Changing Human Face, so there wasn't much practical benefit — but it could still serve as a small consolation by letting her enjoy the auction.
Tino's eyes went wide at my proposal. Citry narrowed her eyes slightly and gave a small nod.
"That's... not a bad idea. I'm not sure how the Young Lady would judge it, but it could throw her off balance... at least it might serve as a morale boost. But are you sure about this, Kurai? Didn't you want to win the bid yourself?"
She had a point. I loved auctions.
The thrill of competing in a heated bidding war and snatching up your target was an incredible rush. But for this one, maybe I should step back.
"I've already participated multiple times the last couple years. Besides, there's too much going on this time... Here, Riizu. Stop looking so hungry."
I chided Riizu, who had been practically bouncing with excitement at the prospect of being a proxy.
At least try to look a little more mature.
Riizu drawled out her reply and glared at Tino.
"...Fiiine. Tch — Ti, you absolutely have to win, got it?"
"Y-yes! Leave it to me, Mastaa, Big Sister! I will absolutely secure that Treasure Weapon!"
Tino clenched her fist with determination.
Well, she was being told to absolutely win, but there were limits to the funds, so even if we lost, it wouldn't be her fault.
A horse-drawn carriage approached the nobles' entrance. From a carriage bearing the crest of House Gradius that I recognized, a girl in a pure-white dress stepped out, followed by an elderly man in a butler's uniform.
Miss Eclair scanned the surroundings with wide eyes, spotted me, and fixed me with a glare from a gaze far too intense for someone who was supposedly a whole grade younger than me.
There wasn't a trace of the stunned, deflated expression she'd shown at the end of our negotiation. It seemed she'd managed to gather over two hundred million after all.
Citry squeezed my hand without letting it show on her face. From the side, her expression still looked like a smile.
But I could sense the unease buried deep beneath it.
...I think we've lost.