"The one and only bid was 200,000 Nars," Ordan said plainly after I handed him the papyrus slip. "Deducting the participation fee, your total comes to 119,400 Nars, sir."
His tone was a little too flat. Was he looking down on that amount of money? A part of me wanted to pull out one of my two platinum coins and shove it in his face—just to see if the old man would keel over from the shock.
But of course, I wasn't going to show off over something so petty. It wasn't necessary, and frankly, I didn't care what this old guy thought of me.
So I simply took out 12 gold coins and handed them over.
Honestly, I felt incredibly lucky. Getting her at such a ridiculously low price felt unreal. Aside from the wizard, Erina should have easily been the most expensive and sought-after person in this entire auction.
It wasn't just her looks, noble bloodline, or fame—it was the sheer value of her God Tongue. Even just hearing about it, I could tell it was a unique and incredibly helpful talent for any labyrinth-goer.
And yet, here I was, buying her for the lowest price anyone can pay for a female in this auction. That also made her the most affordable slave in my entire group so far.
Ordan handed me back 6 silver coins as change, then asked us to raise our hands for the contract. Erina did so with elegant composure, her expression stoic.
He completed the chant with professional ease and gestured for me to check her Intelligence Card.
[Erina – Female, 15 years old, Cook, Owner: Kaga Michio]
"I will make sure to cook the most delicious meals you've ever eaten in your entire life… Master," Erina said with a confident smile.
"I would love that. Though it might be a bit difficult—I've had a lot of incredible meals in my time. In fact, many of them might be considered… out of this world," I said, giving her a teasing, mysterious grin.
"I'll gladly take on that challenge," she replied, a spark of fire lighting up in those purple-pink eyes of hers.
I smiled wryly, half-expecting her to shout Shokugeki! and challenge me to a cook-off on the spot. To steer her away from that dangerous idea, I quickly showed her my Intelligence Card instead.
[Kaga Michio – Male, 17 years old, Adventurer, Free Man, Slaves: Roxanne, Sherry, Lillia, Anastasia, Miria, Vesta, Setsuna, Ram, Rem, Viviana, Shea, Jasmine, Remu, Shera, Nyx, Erina]
Erina examined the Intelligence Card calmly, though I could tell her mind was still preoccupied with my earlier comment.
After that, we exited the room and began walking back to the waiting area. The walk was quiet—Ordan didn't seem interested in making conversation. I kept debating whether to ask him where he got the chef's outfit Erina was wearing. Just as we reached the door to the waiting room, he stopped.
"I thank you once again for making this auction a success for me, Michio Sir," he said, bowing politely.
"No need. I'm quite happy with my purchase," I replied, glancing at the beautiful blonde beside me. She returned my gaze with a soft smile.
"I hope you live a healthy, quiet, and long life, Miss Erina," he added, bowing respectfully to her as well.
"Thank you," Erina replied with a grateful nod. I was a little surprised, but I held back my questions—this wasn't the time to pry.
"If fate wills it, we shall meet again, sir," he said with one final bow before entering the waiting room.
We also took our leave and made our way toward the auction room, weaving through the crowded space as we stepped out of the waiting area.
Erina, who was just a bit shorter than me, walked gracefully—always maintaining a step behind.
I slowed my pace and gently took her soft hand in mine. To my surprise, her confident, fair-skinned face instantly flushed red as she lowered her gaze shyly while walking.
"Wow, you look quite lovely when you're shy," I said with a light chuckle.
"Master…" she murmured, averting her eyes as the redness crept up to her delicate ears.
She was seriously too shy—such a contrast from her anime counterpart. Instead of teasing her further, I decided to let it go for now.
"Welcome to my family, Erina," I said warmly, which made her look up at me in surprise. "I am sure I will get to see plenty of cute and pretty expressions from you going forward," I added with a grin.
"Thank you… Master," she whispered, her cheeks still red as her hand gently tightened around mine.
She probably had no idea what kind of perverted faces I was actually hoping to see from her—in bed, especially. It was hard to get that thought out of my head while looking at her pretty face, but I managed to refocus and started filling her in on everything going on right now.
As we reached the Auction Hall, I noticed many people standing near the walls, checking the order of upcoming exhibits. Erina—and by extension, I—still attracted some lingering gazes. But as we climbed the stairs, I caught the word Wizard being mentioned again and again.
Was the auction really nearing its finale? It sounded like people were getting excited for the wizard. I, myself, didn't clearly remember the exact order right now having just briefly glimpsed it once before.
As we neared the seats, the animated chatter among the girls quickly died down. Many of them were now eyeing Erina with curiosity. I sat her beside Nyx, letting them introduce themselves, and noticed there was no more space left on the bench.
I took my seat beside Anastasia, and just as I was about to ask if the Wizard was coming up soon, I noticed her gaze was fixed on the stage. I wasn't even sure she realized I had arrived.
"Ah, Master—s-sorry, I just—" She almost jumped as I wrapped an arm around her waist.
Before she could finish, Rosten's voice rang out, "Next!"
Looking at the Level 27 Slave Merchant entering the stage—and the two females behind him—I instantly understood why Anastasia had been so distracted.
"I understand. You don't need to say anything," I whispered into her ear.
"Mhm…" she nodded, her eyes still on the stage, where two foxkins had arrived—one small, one tall.
It was Yasaka and Kunou.
"Hehe, please don't be shy and feel free to bid generously today," the Level 27 Slave Merchant said with a bow.
"The next exhibit is two female foxkins—a 29-year-old mother and her 15-year-old daughter. They are being sold as a pair. The minimum bid is 200,000 Nars. Begin the bidding," Rosten announced.
"200,000 Nars!"
"210,000 Nars!"
Anastasia's body trembled beside me as the bids started flying fast. I could feel her anxiety radiating off her.
I gently held her trembling hand while caressing her soft waist.
'Breathe. There's no need to be anxious. No one will be able to take them from us. So just breathe and bid without worry—I'm right here with you,' I told her through the party link.
'Thank you, Master…' Anastasia's body steadied, and she squeezed my hand tightly, taking deep, calming breaths.
I smiled, understanding that it must be hard for her to watch people she cared about being auctioned off, with the added fear that someone else might take them away. But that fear was baseless as I still had more than enough funds left.
We both continued to observe the proceedings calmly, though Anastasia was sitting up straight, her body still slightly tense.
On the stage, Yasaka stood with composed grace, while Kunou's golden eyes darted around the crowd, her tail swishing impatiently behind her.
"340,000 Nars!" Anastasia called out, entering the bidding.
Both Yasaka and Kunou turned to look at us, their faces lighting up with delight as their golden-yellow eyes locked onto ours.
'Master, they're both non-combatants, but as a mother-daughter pair, their value could go up to 600,000 Nars. That said, with the Wizard's exhibit coming up soon, people will constantly be thinking about saving for it, so I doubt the price will go that high,' she told me thoughtfully through the party link.
Her analysis is rarely wrong—and once again, she was right. The other bidders, mostly Sex Maniacs and Merchants, dropped out quickly, through her rapid bidding.
"400,000 Nars going once… going twice… and—sold!" Rosten slammed the hammer three times and shouted loudly, finalizing the purchase.
Anastasia let out a relieved sigh, leaning back into me. I could see both Yasaka and Kunou smiling brightly at us.
'You did very well, Anastasia,' I said through the link, patting the back of her hand in praise.
'Thank you very much, Master,' she replied, her blue-green eyes shining with joy as she looked at me.
'Wait here. Let me go bring them over,' I added with a small smile as I stood up. I didn't really need Anastasia to bid on anything else, but I wanted her to stay behind and keep an eye on the rest of the girls.
'Alright, Master,' she replied, understanding immediately.
"Haha! I knew you would win the bid the moment I saw you," said the Level 27 Slave Merchant as he greeted me with a hearty laugh outside the waiting room. "I'm Sivor, a Slave Merchant from Kararagi," he said, bowing deeply.
I nodded and introduced myself in return.
Behind him stood both Yasaka and Kunou. Yasaka kept her gaze lowered, her posture elegant and calm, while Kunou curiously looked me over, her eyes brimming with interest.
Not wanting to waste time, I asked Sivor to proceed with the contract. He happily obliged, and we began walking toward the back room.
Sivor turned out to be a complete chatterbox, going on and on about how he could always tell who the real buyers were, claiming he knew from the start that I would win the bid. I just nodded along, humoring his nonsense, while the mother-daughter pair quietly followed behind us.
"Are all foxkins as beautiful as you two?" I asked the mother-daughter pair as Sivor went off to hand over his slip to the merchant.
Honestly, I couldn't take my eyes off them. Their golden-blonde hair, matching yellow fox ears, and those bushy tails swaying behind them made it almost impossible not to stare. Yasaka, in particular, drew my gaze—her ample bosom looked ready to spill out of her snug white tunic.
Kunou's face flushed crimson as she looked down shyly, her tail starting to swish with nervous energy. Yasaka, on the other hand, met my eyes and smiled with serene elegance.
"We foxkins are quite well known for our enchanting beauty," she said, her golden-yellow fox eyes holding mine without wavering.
I coughed and got a hold of myself just as Sivor returned. I handed him one of my remaining slips—I had only nine left now.
"Michio-san, the winning bid was 400,000 Nars," Sivor said with a satisfied smile. "After deducting the participation fee, your final total comes to 239,400 Nars."
I smiled too. That was the same price I had paid for Shea—not far off from what I had paid for Lillia and Miria either. But now I was getting not just one, but two stunning beauties for the same price.
Also Erina still held the record for the lowest-priced girl, but only by a few silver coins.
Still… getting a mother-daughter pair for this amount? That was an absolute steal. Maybe I really should start a religion dedicated to my Discount Skill.
Shaking off the sudden urge to worship a system skill, I handed him 24 gold coins and received six silver in change.
Next, Sivor asked me to raise my hand for the contract. Yasaka was up first, followed by her daughter—they had to be bound one at a time, just like the twins.
Yasaka lifted her hand with calm composure, her face serene as Sivor began the chant. Once her turn was over, she looked towards her daughter, giving her a silent nod of encouragement. Kunou looked a little nervous but nodded back.
Meanwhile, I was doing my best not to break into a full-on shit-eating grin. I just couldn't get the mental image out of my head—me, in the future, happily devouring a warm, delicious meal of oyakodon just in my bed!
***
[Razor has redeemed an Extra Chapter from previous week]