By Zephyria 
“Buy it?”
As soon as they heard that, Hugh and Marianne slapped their foreheads and fell backward. The entire group, sunk deep into the sofa, became limp like wet laundry, just as they were at first. Only Elvin stood straight with the same blank expression as before.
With me not properly understanding, Marianne let out a pained sound.
“…Ah. I didn’t think of that. I guess I haven’t been sleeping well.”
“Right… Damn, I must have been robbing mansions for too long. If there’s something at the auction, we should buy it.”
“How much do people usually… sell for?”
“They’re expensive. Very expensive.”
Marianne looked at me once, then at Rubel once.
Following her gaze, I looked at Rubel and then understood what she meant.
“…It would be within our means.”
“Yes. The only problem is that we snuck into Owen and don’t have readily available funds right now.”
Tedros quickly chimed in to answer.
“I always keep half a year’s worth of maintenance costs for the mansion we’re using as a hideout.”
“I’ll borrow some.”
“As much as you need.”
No matter how expensive a ‘Heterogeneous Race’ might be, it wouldn’t cost as much as the maintenance for this enormous mansion. If we could resolve this peacefully without a fight, there was nothing better.
There was even more fortunate news.
“When trading Heterogeneous Races, it’s customary for even high-ranking nobles to hide their identities. I’ll get some suitable masks.”
“We might have to go to the desert after this, but perhaps…”
“Once Nadi regains consciousness, he might be able to find his way home on his own. If he’s a Spirit Master himself, he’ll have no trouble breaking this temporary contract.”
“Ah.”
“Let’s get it done quickly and go back to Sierren.”
It was a great relief that I hadn’t voiced my intention to go to the desert alone.
After roughly tidying things up, I sent Ranunculus to Duke Widrow. The message simply stated that it might be a few days late, so not to worry and to wait. After that, there was nothing else to do.
The entire group rested at ease until the afternoon when the auction was scheduled to begin.
❖ ❖ ❖
The clothes from Owen that Tedros and the informants brought were generously sized.
The inner garments were light and soft, while the outer fabric was durable and dense, perfectly suited for Owen’s harsh climate. The incredibly beautiful and ornate embroidery that adorned the collar and cuffs would have taken days to create. Despite being procured in a hurry, there was nothing lacking.
Since the garments were not tailored to fit but rather folded, tied, and worn, they bore a resemblance to Central Plains attire at first glance.
Among them, I chose a blue outfit. The way the belt was tied and the line of the loose sleeves felt strangely familiar, evoking a peculiar nostalgia. Although the style of the trousers and shoes were different, it still felt that way. When asked to choose a wig color, I picked black again.
Cheap wigs were made from dyed horsehair or decorated with fake threads, but the wigs provided by the informants were made from human hair. Wigs crafted from carefully cut and woven hair looked indistinguishable from real hair even upon close inspection.
Perhaps because of that. The me in my reflection looked fleetingly like Namgung Jeong-yeon, and I flinched in surprise.
It was a delusion that wasn’t even funny.
While I was accustomed to wearing blue robes, tying my black hair up high like that was something I did in my younger days. My stoic expression wouldn’t be much different from how it was in the Central Plains, but the sharp bridge of my nose, the smooth jawline without a hint of a beard, and the light blue eyes…
They belonged to Michael Ernhardt. Not Namgung Jeong-yeon.
Feeling inexplicably unsettled, I just stared at the mirror.
Then, a sight caught the corner of my eye, and my breath hitched.
Rubel, dressed in a black robe, had his long silver hair neatly combed down. As our eyes met through the mirror, he smiled, his eyes crinkling, and I found it difficult to distinguish between dream and reality, my mind unable to return.
Was this what a celestial maiden looked like when she descended to earth?
I had no room to marvel at how beautiful he was or what not.
After staring blankly for a long time, I went outside when told to. When asked to get into the carriage, I did.
Ruben sat beside me as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Listening to the children chatter, I occasionally stole glances at Ruben. Since his face was half-covered by a mask, only his handsome jawline was visible, which was quite vexing. If I kept looking like this, wouldn’t Ruben misunderstand again?
What kind of misunderstanding, you ask… Well, that.
No, it’s not. I carefully controlled my breathing.
On the way to the auction house, we had to change carriages three times.
The carriages, painted black to be nondescript, were pulled by horses also dressed in black. As we changed carriages, people were ready at various points in Bardiol to switch to new ones. This was done simultaneously to make it impossible to know where we started or where we were headed.
This third carriage was meant to travel across a path guarded by many people, from Sector 4 to Sector 1. It was astonishing that such a clandestine and suspicious route existed, and that so many people traveled it.
While listening to various explanations, Marianne suddenly burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny all of a sudden?”
“Oh, no. I just remembered… Michael breaking the chair earlier.”
“…”
“I knew you liked long hair… but does the color matter?”
“What?”
A sudden, chilling silence fell.
Everyone was clearly biting their lips, trying to suppress their laughter. I didn’t immediately understand what she meant. To regain my scattered senses, I slipped my hand under the mask and pressed the inner corner of my eyes, shaking my head a couple of times.
While I remained silent for a long time, Ruben leaned his head against my shoulder. His platinum blonde hair, resembling faint moonlight, shimmered and ruffled on my shoulder like sunlight on water.
“…I broke a chair? What do you mean?”
“Wow, you don’t even remember? When you made eye contact with me while getting ready earlier, you did that. The armrest of the chair turned to dust.”
“Is that because of the hair color? Leave them be, let them live like that.”
Hugh Benson waved his hand to stop Marianne, then turned back to Tedros to ask about the auction house’s details. Most of the information was reassuring, stating that those who came to buy items generally benefited greatly.
I blankly watched as Ruben gently intertwined his fingers with mine and held my hand.
He broke a chair the moment he made eye contact with me. He had never shown such force towards anything I cherished, so why… What if I accidentally hurt him without realizing it?
Suddenly, fear struck me, and I gently cupped Ruben’s hand in mine as if holding an egg. The sound of my pounding heart, which had been delayed, finally reached me. I felt confused by the growing sense that I was becoming something other than myself day by day.
Only then did I think to examine the members of our group.
Marianne’s hair was red. Her short, shoulder-length bob was half-tied up with a decorative hairpin. She wore a black mask with feathers, and her outfit was also black and red to match.
Hugh Benson was dressed in dark green, keeping his natural hair color, but upon closer inspection, his robes were so voluminous they made him look like a martial artist from a prominent family.
Elvin and Benjamin were dressed as guards again. Their attire was simple, but the reinforced steel plates at vital points and the deliberately erased noble seals suggested they were acting as escorts for someone important, a common practice for knights accompanying nobles to clandestine meetings.
And Rubel…
His platinum blonde hair, reaching his waist, was neatly braided and draped over one shoulder. His sideburns were beautifully styled to frame his face, and above them, he wore a mask made of black silk embroidered with colorful threads. His black attire was adorned with patterns similar to his hair color, shimmering like peacock feathers.
He certainly suited anything flashy and radiant. As I gazed at him, the boy blinked and then smiled bashfully again. I almost lost myself again and quickly turned my gaze out the carriage window. The warmth on my fingertips made me restless.
Still, my senses returned when we alighted from the carriage.
Twelve unfamiliar martial artists stood guard, split into two groups on either side of the entrance. Two of them possessed a level of skill comparable to Elvin. They all wore black masks with only eyeholes, which looked anything but comical. It was hard to believe such formidable qi was being used for mere gatekeeping.
“Do you have the invitation?”
“Of course.”
The voice asking the question was strangely familiar.
Was it the same fellow I had looked down on from below the ventilation shaft, whining about losing money gambling? His previously disheveled appearance was gone. I tried not to be distracted by the guards, who stood with their long spears planted on the ground, mimicking knights.
Just as I had assessed them, they had likely assessed the strength of our group.
Tedros, dressed in a black robe over elegant clothes, stepped half a pace forward and presented some sort of token. The way his voice trailed off in a melodic, peculiar tone was, I recalled, a form of Owen noble speech.
A gentle voice responded.
“We shall escort you to the VIP seats. This way.”
We followed the path they indicated.
Ornate candelabras illuminated the sides of the stone path. We ascended stairs and then descended them. Was this an attempt to make the height unpredictable? Nevertheless, we were VIPs, and a room was provided not too far away, where we entered.
The inner chamber was crescent-shaped. Through the inwardly curved window, we could see the stage area. As we had arrived at the appointed time, we could see people below, illuminated by lights, finding their seats one by one.
There were several windows on the other side, appearing to be of similar size to the one I was looking through, but we could not see into them from our side. I was relieved to know that we, too, were hidden from others’ view.
Facing the windows, plush sofas were arranged in a row, with round tables placed between them.
On each table lay a hand of cards, each embedded with four Mana Stones… Five? I was briefly puzzled, then realized I had counted excluding Benjamin and Elvin, who were standing guard.
“Then, please enjoy your time.”
The gatekeeper bowed and closed the door.
As no one spoke carelessly, the spirit from before squeezed through Marianne’s embrace and stuck to the glass window. When had that fellow appeared again? It must have been while I was distracted by Rubel, so I didn’t mention it to avoid becoming a laughingstock.
Tedros smiled brightly and took his own placard.
“To buy what we desire, it’s the rule that we must spend a certain amount of money beforehand. If something worth buying appears, you tap the table twice with this placard.”
“Twice?”
“Yes. Once is to forfeit, twice is to bid. The auctioneer will announce the price. The currency unit is gold, and it’s generally understood that the price will increase by increments of 10 or 100 from the previous bid.”
“It’s Owen, but you use gold instead of Dalts?”
“The currency of Sierren has higher credibility and is easier to exchange.”
“Hmm.”
Now, I rarely hesitated when buying something.
I didn’t feel happier by having more, nor had my greed particularly increased. However, the timing was perfect. Rubel’s birthday was just around the corner. I found myself excited at the thought of something rare and beautiful appearing.