Chapter 45 - The Auction House

I hid the corpse where others couldn't find it and moved forward.

Due to the narrow corridor, there was a high chance of being discovered if someone with keen observation skills passed by.

On the other hand, it meant that ordinary people were unlikely to notice, so there was a high possibility of not being discovered for a while.

So, deciding to gather evidence and information as quickly as possible and destroy this place, I went inside and saw a large door that was luxurious yet extravagant, reminiscent of a casino.

It doesn't seem to be an ordinary human trafficking place.

Thinking it was somewhat unusual, I entered, and a specially soft and cozy scent spread out, revealing an auction house that was lavishly decorated.

...Judging by how elaborately it's decorated, it seems the customers aren't just black mages.

It appeared they were conducting this not only for black mages but also for the wealthy or those who used slaves in large numbers.

As I was realizing that the scale was larger than expected, suddenly, a hypothesis crossed my mind.

If black mages are running this place…

I suspected they might be making huge profits through commission business.

If this speculation was true, it would be fair to say that I had discovered part of the source of the black mages' vast capital.

It's intricately entangled.

I laughed hollowly as I watched this, then entered among the people who were talking as if they were having a party, wearing masks.

Whether it was right to call it lucky or not, I wasn’t sure, but thanks to wearing my helmet pulled down deeply, I thought I blended in fairly well with the surroundings.

Just then, I overheard an interesting conversation from nearby.

"I heard there's a bastard going around raiding black mages recently."

"Ah... the delinquent from the Carsaril family?"

"What, it was that guy? Wasn't he the kid brainwashed by black mages?"

Judging by how casually they were discussing black mages, it seemed they were quite familiar with them.

Thinking I learned something interesting at those words, I whispered to Liana beside me, "It seems more people are involved with black mages than I thought."

"Yes. You can assume that black mages have infiltrated places of certain scale, knowingly or unknowingly."

"I see."

Nodding as I recalled how the Carsaril family was also ruined because of black mages, I discovered some quite interesting individuals gathered in the distance.

Clergy.

I couldn't help but laugh, not expecting the church's clergy to operate so openly.

It was somewhat ridiculous that they acted so brazenly instead of at least changing their clothes to come to a place like this.

Looking at that scene, I added to Liana, "Take some pictures of those guys."

"Huhu, I've been recording since we entered."

I nodded slightly to show she did well, and as I was quickly looking around to acquire new evidence and information, a voice was heard from afar.

"Then we'll start with the regular slave auction! We'll begin with 100 young men, so those who need them, please write your bids on the magic books and submit them!"

The moment the host's voice was heard, the auction house darkened, and the noisy venue quickly quieted down.

As attention was focused forward, I thought it was rather good and was quickly moving my feet to look around when Siren tugged on my clothes and spoke to me.

"I feel a strange mana flow from this direction."

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm not sure what it is, but it doesn't seem ordinary."

Hearing those words, I silently looked at where Siren was pointing.

A small door that, if this were a concert hall, would seem to lead to the performers' waiting room.

As Siren said, it seemed something was hidden there, as the security looked excessively thorough.

Five guards, and it seems there's even a protective magic circle.

It was clear that it would be difficult to sneak in even if I wanted to, so I had to choose one of two options.

Either give up or force our way in.

As I was contemplating which of these two would be better, Siren tugged on my clothes and made a suggestion.

"Shall I draw their attention?"

Seeing her calmly make such a suggestion, it seemed she had an innovative method.

I nodded at Siren's suggestion and asked her to do so.

Siren calmly reached out her hand and then burst the huge statue in the center.

Boom!

As the place was silent due to the ongoing auction, when the statue exploded with a huge sound like a bomb going off, chaos ensued.

Seeing this scene, Liana spoke to Siren as if startled, "W-what are you doing?"

"I burst the statue."

"No, that's not what I mean...!"

"Don't worry. I twisted the mana circuit to activate it, so no one will think I did it."

Siren looked at Liana with a very proud expression.

Liana, seeming to have a headache, held her head and said to us, "Ah... my head hurts."

Siren ignored Liana's reaction and looked up at me, saying, "Was I not supposed to do that?"

To that question, I shook my head and said, "You did well."

"Okay."

When I praised Siren, Liana groaned again, but ignoring this as it wasn't a very important reaction, I looked ahead.

Indeed, as attention is drawn there, the number of guards has decreased.

The number that was five has decreased to two.

Judging that it would be possible to quickly deal with them and enter, I asked Siren for a noise cancellation spell and took out the hammer I had preciously kept in my chest.

As quickly and discreetly as possible.

Aiming not to be discovered, I enhanced my body with the sun's mana while simultaneously leaping forward and striking the guards' heads once each.

With the movement of an expert far beyond the range of ordinary humans, plus the sun's mana added, the guards fell helplessly without even being able to react properly.

I immediately pushed those corpses next to the curtain.

Then, asking Siren to undo the protective magic, I looked around.

Fortunately, thanks to the statue Siren burst, it seems no one is paying attention to this side.

Even if there were, it wouldn't matter much as we could handle it.

Still, if attention was drawn, it would become quite troublesome, so I decided to enter quickly and continue the exploration.

Entering inside, what I saw was a prison holding numerous slaves.

In fact, it was arranged to feel more like a display case than a prison, so the scenery was somewhat strange.

But now wasn't the time to pay attention to such things, so I shook my head and said to Siren, "Where do you feel that strange mana flow you mentioned earlier?"

At those words, Siren calmly looked around and then pointed to one side, saying to me, "Over there."

Then she started moving forward quickly, gesturing for me to follow.

As I was following Siren and quickly scanning the surroundings, I discovered a blue door with numerous papers attached to it ahead.

The door itself was an ordinary wooden door with nothing special about its style.

However, the fact that the door's color was a mana-like blue and that powerful mana was spreading from the papers attached to the door made it clear that this wasn't just an ordinary door.

The moment I saw this, I briefly cheered and said to Liana and Siren, "What about that door?"

It looked like something that shouldn't be touched carelessly.

Wondering if they knew anything about it, I asked, and they each gave different opinions.

"That's the famous Phillips' barrier door. I heard it's a masterpiece created by high-level mages twisting mana in 12 layers, and only an archmage can undo it."

"It seems to have 12 layers of security magic. I think I can undo it if I have time."

"...What? You can undo this? Is, is that possible?"

Liana's emotional changes were quite varied today.

I waved my hand at Liana to signal her to calm down, then spoke to Siren, "How long do you think it will take?"

"...An hour?"

It was incredibly short compared to what I expected, but an hour was enough time for the situation to be resolved and for enemies to likely flood this place, so it required some consideration.

The moment I heard those words, I threw a question at the flustered Liana.

"Is there anything inside that would explode if we smash this?"

"It won't explode... I heard it teleports to a place designated by the contractor who contracted with Phillips' barrier door."

It was unfortunate, but it seemed impossible to smash it with a point explosion.

Thinking I had no choice but to ask Siren to unlock it, I sighed.

Then I'll have to guard this place for an hour.

Guarding this place for about an hour wouldn't be too difficult.

The problem was if a strong opponent like Loraine appeared, as it had happened before.

If they're about my level it might be okay, but if someone as strong as Loraine appears, I'd die without even knowing why.

So, as I was deciding to stay alert and run away immediately if it seemed dangerous,

Suddenly, an interesting thought crossed my mind.

Come to think of it, do I really need to fight head-on?

The important thing is to prevent people from entering this place, right?

The moment this judgment came to mind, I immediately turned my gaze and looked at the numerous people trapped in the prison.

Judging by how they were tightly hidden in a prison that was more like a display case than an ordinary prison, there was a high possibility they weren't ordinary slaves.

From the auction house's perspective, they would likely think of these people as “products” with great value.

And to put it another way...

This meant that the moment I released all of these guys, the auction house would have to capture them without hurting them as much as possible, causing considerable trouble.

The moment this judgment came to mind, I thought it would be quite fun and started smashing all the iron cages that were holding them.