"Alright, happy ladies and gentlemen! This time we will move on to the long-awaited offer!"
One of his hands pointed directly towards me. "The offer for a slave with the best quality!"
At the word "Best," faint grins spread across their faces. Their gazes sharpened—hungry, possessive. The pig mask above even licked his upper lip.
A chill ran down the back of my neck. "Ugh… Their stares are making my skin crawl."
Not long after that, there was something that made me immediately shift my gaze upwards. Located right next to the pig mask, I saw two people with such minimal movements, one sitting down, the other standing next to him. It seemed, they didn't want to take more attention, from behind the silhouette of the room that covered them.
"..."
Who are those people?
"As usual... I will explain the quality of the slave that we will sell!"
He whispered a little softly, bringing the atmosphere, "Moreover... the quality of this last slave, is the best of all. Hahaha!"
"As the saying goes, 'Opportunity will not repeat itself twice'."
He whispered a little softly again, "So... throw away as much money as possible here, and don't let this opportunity be taken by others! Hahaha!"
He sighed. "Without further ado, let me just go into the explanation!"
His hand pointed straight at me. "For this best quality slave, he has many advantages! Among them are: An athletic body, a steel mentality, to his intellectual abilities above average!"
Everyone who looked at me, smiled even wider after hearing my advantages.
He whispered even more softly, trying to attract attention, "Moreover, gentlemen and ladies, our slave has something that the slaves we just offered don't have, namely..." He smiled thinly, "his extraordinary chess ability! He is even said to be able to defeat our Boss easily, in just under fifteen steps!"
Hearing such information, the nobles who heard it were almost like wild beasts. They whispered to each other in their seats, discussing the remaining money they had at that time. Some of them also had eyes that turned red, with saliva coming out of the corners of their mouths.
My shoulders were giving me goosebumps again, even stronger. "Their gazes are getting more and more pressing."
However, for some reason that didn't scare me at all. As if in my heart was filled with a strong conviction, that my kindness all this time, would bear good results.
I stared at the spotlight above me and calmed my breath. I... just need to believe in the accumulation of my kindness, right?
"Next we will discuss the shortcomings! For the shortcomings of this slave, unfortunately..." He smirked, "There are none!"
Everyone was silent. No one reacted to hearing that.
The person in the black silhouette above only smirked thinly, while muttering, "Hoh..."
Among the nobles also began to experience a commotion. Because there has never been a slave who does not have shortcomings.
"How can there be a slave who doesn't have shortcomings?!"
"That's a lie!"
"Maybe, but usually what the MC of the event says will always be true!"
"If that's the case, we can't lose this opportunity!"
"How much money do I have?!"
"..."
It's natural that they're making such a fuss, but... I was sweating cold. My body was shaking. How can I not have any shortcomings?! I feel like I have a lot of shortcomings! Am I a god or what?! I reproached.
A few moments later, I let out a long sigh, trying to calm myself down. "Calm yourself. You have changed." I stared at the MC in front. "Surely what he meant about having no shortcomings is from the others... maybe from those three categories."
The "three categories" referred to the standards for sale: physical ability, mental resilience, and intellect. Possessing one made a slave marketable. Two meant high quality. All three meant exceptional. Slaves like that were rare—perhaps one in a hundred.
The MC smirked, "Hm hm~!" He raised his mic, pointing to himself with one of his hands. "Alright, honorable gentlemen and ladies. Next, I will discuss the position—!"
"Enough!"
A rather heavy voice, and as if spoiled by money, came out from the upper left corner. And it turned out, that voice came again from the pig mask.
The nobles who were below, squinted their eyes while looking at the person above them. Utterances of hatred were also no less than their gazes.
The MC wiped the cold sweat that came out of his forehead. "Ahaha... W-what is it, sir from—."
"Don't talk a lot of nonsense. Just say the price!" He smiled condescendingly, from behind his pig mask.
The MC on the stage smiled bitterly. "Ahaha... Alright, viewers, it seems—."
"Wow... It turns out there are annoying high-class nobles, huh."
I glanced directly at the source of the voice.
A heavy voice emerged from above. On the curved platform shaped like a balcony hanging next to the pig-masked noble, a man sat casually behind the black silhouette that still covered him.
The pig-masked man ground his teeth. His gaze lowered. His hands clenched tightly into fists. The veins that bulged on his forehead showed how infuriated he was.
"What... What... What..."
The gaze from the person behind the black silhouette turned to the MC in front.
"Just continue. Don't mind him," he said, telling the MC in front to continue the event.
The event continued as before. The MC in front continued his speech about the suitable position recommendations from all the accumulated assessments about me. The person with the heavy voice seemed to nod, once, then whispered softly to the person standing next to him, from behind the silhouette of the balcony that covered him.
Until before I knew it, time passed quickly. Now it was entering the core of the event.
"Gentlemen and ladies! Before I knew it, time passed so quickly, and now we will enter the bidding session!"
His hand pointed towards me. "For the price of our special slave, we will put the price starting from—!"
"700 Gold!" The voice from the upper corner immediately cut through the room.
And it turned out to be true, that voice came from the pig mask. He now seemed annoyed while glaring at the person next to him. The head veins that protruded from behind his pig mask showed his emotional state now. So much so that if his mind could utter a sentence, maybe he would say, "Ha! Feel that! You won't be able to defeat me!".
The MC in front seemed to wipe the sweat on his forehead. A bitter smile was plastered on his face. "Ahaha... Sir..."
"850 Gold!"
The person who was between the silhouettes pulled out a wooden board. The spotlight immediately illuminated him. Slowly, the two people there began to reveal themselves. One, he sat casually in a chair that looked like a throne, half of his face covered by a mask shaped like an orca whale, behind his long dark blue hair. The other, he was next to the person, wearing a mask shaped like a black crow, positioned ready, wearing square glasses outside the mask, dressed as a servant in a black tie, with long hair tied back and a pointed beard that had turned white, showing his old age.
The name of the wooden board slowly began to appear, from the light that gradually became accustomed. And when the light had illuminated it perfectly, the writing on the board revealed itself with the number, "002"
The atmosphere immediately calmed down. Their eyes seemed to widen simultaneously, including mine.
Is he another one of the high-ranking nobles?
The MC's smile became even more bitter. His voice was a little broken and soft. "H-hello everyone..."
A surge of shouts from the audience immediately filled the room.
"Another high-class noble?!"
"Why is everyone from a high-class noble family?!"
"Crazy...! Why is this auction getting more illogical?!"
"Mama...! I want to go home!"
"Ah... there's no hope of winning..."
"My money is not enough! I need more money!"
"My savings... All my savings for a year... Wasted..."
The corner of the MC's eye seemed to shed a little tear. His mouth wrinkled slightly inward. As if his inner self could speak directly, maybe he would say, "Ah... The event is ruined...".
"..."
I looked directly at the person up there, 002. He now seemed even more relaxed, with his body leaning back against the chair behind him and one of his legs raised. His gaze stared straight down, towards me.
I swallowed my saliva. "Another from a high-class family, huh."
I shifted my gaze to the person next to him, the pig mask. His face was now almost filled with veins that protruded from behind his pig mask. Added to that his squinting eyes, it seemed he was getting more and more annoyed with the person next to him.
The pig mask raised his board again, growling under his breath."900—"
"950 Gold," the orca mask cut in.
The pig mask's hand trembled. "960—"
"1000 Gold," the orca mask interrupted again, a grin visible beneath the mask.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing the price he put forth, including me. The MC in front also wore an expression of disbelief when he heard it.
"T-that becomes... O-one thousand Gold?" repeated the MC, his voice stiff.
"..."
A wave of sound from the audience below immediately broke out.
"1000 Gold?!"
"Crazy! Who wants to bid more than that?!"
"It's over... It's over..."
"Even if I borrow money from the whole place, I won't be able to get past 1000 Gold!"
"..."
I swallowed my saliva. Panic no longer controlled me. Actually, it's natural that their expressions became like that.
Because 1000 Gold could have bought luxury property in the major cities of my old world.
So, well that's natural. But... 1000 Gold? And that's just for a slave like me? I narrowed my eyes, staring at the person who had put such an expensive price on me. What is that person thinking?
The person I looked at smirked widely, while looking at me below with his great confidence.