Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 81

Ting, ting. The auctioneer shook a bell in his hand as he spoke.
“Here is how the auction works. Each table has two small bells. Ring the silver bell to place a bid—the amount increases in units of two. If you raise the gold bell, you may call out ten times the current bid amount.”
This was too big a fish to ignore.
At the very least, I wanted to confirm whether the sword on display was genuine. When I’d dealt with Count Flux before, I’d blown up that entire underground market—and yet, despite other victims, somehow the place had gone quiet and continued operating, so the matter of the coverup was baffling. Either way, there had to be quite a few collaborators among the nobility of this city. Even if the principals didn’t know, they might be using it from the shadows while hiding their identities. In any case, I’d investigate the truth behind the rumors by leveraging whoever I needed to, and if I was certain it was genuine, I would try to obtain it.
The Emoticon Sword was not a weapon imbued with divine power recorded in history.
But, to be honest, no matter how it was restricted to contractors only, its performance was too good.
Anyone seeing it might mistake it for a weapon containing divine power.
The Castrain Family had already obtained the Fury of Flambeau and the Banner of Gloriana. The Necklace of Chloris, presumed to have already vanished, was originally a treasure of the Castrain Family as far as I knew. In other words, among the current powers, they held one of the largest collections of weapons imbued with divine power.
Whether I wanted to bring about the empire’s collapse or defeat the Castrain Family and become the empire’s number one power, if an opportunity came to seize such things, I would do whatever it took to possess them.
One of my ultimate goals is to gather all ancient weapons imbued with divine power, fully repair the barrier that weakens with each passing day, and then applaud the empire’s secured future before disappearing. Yet somehow, the more days pass, the more I have an ominous feeling that things will only grow harder. I narrowed my eyes and gazed at the scene before me.
“Well then, the first item. Considering that today is our first auction in quite some time, the goods we have to show you are….”
The auctioneer set down the bell and removed the dome that had been covering the tray. A tiara decorated with jewels gleaming in five colors was revealed.
“None other than a distinguished tiara passed down from ancient times to the present! All the jewels adorning it are Mana Stones! Regrettably, the power of these Mana Stones has been exhausted and they are now merely ordinary gems, but perhaps some resourceful guest might discover the secrets of the past hidden within them!”
It was a common bait product meant to hook people. Deva muttered dismissively.
“Ugh, everyone knows exhausted Mana Stones are nothing but trash. And they’re wrapping it up like that.”
“So that’s just pretty garbage, then?”
“Well, in a place like this, you can’t complain about whatever you buy later….”
Still, the pretty, ancient trash received unexpected enthusiasm from the crowd and sold for quite a high price.
Then came the next item.
From one end of the stage, a woman emerged pulling a tray draped in red velvet. Like the countless “esteemed guests” filling this space, she wore a mask covering half her face and was dressed in a form-fitting red gown that revealed her figure—a sultry beauty.
Someone whistled. But the woman paid no attention and slowly set the tray down beside the auctioneer. The auctioneer laughed loudly.
“Well, it’s still early for excitement, but. Today! We have truly important items. This one is…. Well yes. We ourselves obtained this with great difficulty. Without further ado, let me show you the item first!”
The auctioneer slowly removed the red cloth.
What lay revealed on the tray was a large stone.
Rather, it couldn’t simply be called a stone. Crimson and violet light shimmered faintly within it, and it sparkled like stardust as it caught the light.
“…Yes, observe this magnificent radiance! Some of you may have guessed already. We ourselves couldn’t be certain of its authenticity without difficulty, so through our own special channels…. We had it verified directly by a Priest. Yes, a Holy Relic—one not discovered anew in over two hundred years! It heals people, drives away Magic Beasts, and magnifies sacred energy! Observe this magnificent size. Even the Temple rarely possesses such precious Holy Relics!”
Murmurs arose from all around. There were clearly bewildered voices, and people conferring with one another.
‘A sword lost by a princess’—there had been rumors of such a thing being put up for auction.
But almost no one had known that a ‘genuine Holy Relic’ would be on display.
I smiled wickedly.
“I’m truly sorry, but according to our Auction House’s principles. We cannot reveal the source of acquisition, the identity of the original owner, or anything at all. Only this: the item is genuine. Only those who pay a price befitting its value will be able to possess it….”
Clap clap. As the auctioneer clapped his hands, the woman who had brought the tray stepped close beside the stone. Then she withdrew a small glass vial from her bosom. She uncorked the vial—thin and delicate as a child’s pinky finger—and let a single drop of black liquid fall onto the stone.
Whoooosh!
The moment that liquid touched the stone, it vanished into thin air like boiling water turning to steam in an instant. The auctioneer gestured dramatically at the spectacle.
“Behold! The poison extracted from a Magic Beast, instantaneously purified and evaporated!”
One corner of Nabira’s eye, who was participating in this fraud, twitched slightly.
Yes.
The genuine Mana Stone—substitute for a Holy Relic—that the Castrain Family had provided for use in the Dedication Ceremony was there because I had put it there.
To begin with, the ‘Holy Relic’ used in the Dedication Ceremony simply served as a medium to maintain and reinforce the barrier inscribed within the Temple itself. It wasn’t something that possessed healing power or was particularly remarkable in itself. Which meant that the Priest who had whispered to Count Cortez, ‘With this Holy Relic, I believe we can heal your son,’ had essentially been lying without even knowing it himself.
In other words, there was no way poison extracted from a Magic Beast would naturally be purified just by being dropped on a large Mana Stone. So Nabira, standing right there, secretly concealed a purification magical apparatus within the palm of her gloved hand, and as she dropped the poison herself, she used the Mana Stone’s power to cast the spell for her. The technique was so flawless that even the auctioneer beside her was fooled.
“Now then, such an extraordinary item! It’s almost impossible to set a price, but…. Still, we must start somewhere. Yes. We’ll begin at three hundred thousand Gold!”
From the start, a sum emerged that could easily purchase a substantial mansion in the Capital. Yet people rang the silver bells like madmen.
“Six hundred thousand Gold!”
“Nine hundred thousand Gold!”
“Ugh, what a nuisance! Three million Gold!”
Normally it would have proceeded with elegant bell-ringing and attendants stationed throughout saying things like ‘The guest who rang the gold bell has appeared—three million Gold! Does anyone wish to bid higher?’….
But the guests participated in the auction with considerable fervor. I observed the scene with complete composure.
Of course, as competition intensified, the amount rose wildly. Three million six hundred thousand, six million, nine million…. Finally, twelve million.
For an auction house no less, twelve million Gold was an astronomical sum. One immediately doubted whether anyone calling such a number could actually pay it. Enough to purchase forty grand mansions in the Capital.
“Wow, this is truly remarkable. Twelve million Gold! Twelve million Gold has been called. Are you truly bidding?”
The bidder who had called twelve million was sweating profusely.
Like the other guests, they wore a mask covering more than half their face, so their features weren’t clearly distinguishable, but their expression was plainly one of deep worry. Well, it was twelve million Gold. Even the Castrain Family couldn’t easily spend such an amount. To use such a sum without hesitation, one would have to be… yes, that’s right. Either Cleo, the empress who controls the Imperial Palace’s household and has accumulated bribes, or a great merchant family controlling the empire…. Or else.
“…I will bid!”
Kronen, a Priest who had slowly accumulated backroom funds in this prosperous Southern Metropolis over many years, but would rather secure a substitute Holy Relic and somehow make it work than risk ruining the Dedication Ceremony itself and destroying his own life in the process.
Yes. If I emptied all the wealth and slush funds I’d saved up over these years, I could produce that amount.
“Sir. I’m afraid that, given the sum in question. For you to take the item home, you must pay the entire amount today….”
“Didn’t I just say I will bid!”
Kronen cried out desperately. I chuckled at the sight of him.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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