Asher, who had been watching the situation with cold, sunken eyes, nodded and stepped forward.
The Valkilov guys looked totally bewildered.
“Young master, what happened to you suddenly?”
The long-haired man twirled his sword from side to side and shook his head.
“No matter how much you want to imitate an apostle of justice, choose a time and place to do it. We…”
I cut whatever he’s saying and pointed to him.
“Let him live for a while. I have something to ask him.”
It was the moment that the guy frowned.
Asher’s sword was pulled out, and a blue flash of light flashed through the darkness.
And then blood started gushing out.
That was the end.
The bodies of the men who had lost their heads were scattered on the floor one by one. The road was stained with blood, and dozens of corpses were created in the blink of an eye.
If this was before, I probably wouldn’t be able to see anything, but now I can see clearly thanks to my [Super Sensory].
Asher slashed her sword at the sides of the long-haired man and cut his arm with a single blow.
“...“
He grabbed the cut edge of his arm and let out a scream of pain.
Kneeling down on the floor, he groaned, then looked around urgently. Seeing the annihilated subordinates, his pupils shook like an earthquake.
“Hey, this is… what the hell is this….”
He didn’t even properly see Asher wielding her sword.
Even if the level was close to 60, there was a far-off difference from Asher, who was over level 80.
I plodded.
I looked down at the trembling man and opened my mouth.
“Are there vampires at the auction in the city of Domihawk?”
“···”
“One of the vampire sisters you captured, the older sister.”
“...Yes, that’s right. There is one.”
He became polite in an instant and nodded his head as if half insane.
“Please spare me, young master. I’ll tell you everything you want…”
“Where and when is the auction held?”
“Ah, exactly fifteen days from now, the venue will open in the basement of a man named Horton on the outskirts of the city. From sunset to midnight, you just need to bring an invitation.”
'Is it the basement of the mansion?'
“Who takes part in the auction?”
“Usually, nobles from nearby cities take part… and some officials from the monarchy also attend.”
“It doesn’t look like it’s an auction only for nobles. Can anyone openly take part?”
“No, of course not. Everyone wears a mask and attends the auction.”
“Can only one person participate per invitation?”
“...No. One person per invitation could take part in the auction as the attendee’s escort.”
I nodded. All I needed to ask was this.
The guy got impatient and continued talking gibberish.
“Y-young master, I will take you to the auction house of the Domihawk. These guys are like consumables that you use and throw away anyway, so I have no problem with you killing them. With me, you take part in the auction as a VIP…”
I looked down at him without a word.
His face was stained with despair, as if he had read the future in my eyes that would soon happen.
“If you kill me, you’ll be in trouble too! I’m a Valkilov executive! All the high-ranking officials of the monarchy have business with our group! And my brother is the head of Valkilov…!”
I shook my head and said softly.
“Didn’t you say that if you are weak, you will be trampled?”
“......”
“As you said, it’s just the law of nature, so accept it.”
And I turned around.
I heard a desperate cry behind my back.
“Y-you bastard!”
He picked up the sword that had fallen on the floor, turned and ran towards me.
Asher flew past me.
Fwish!
A shattering sound rang out, followed by the sound of something falling to the floor.
Even if Asher didn’t move, I could still stop him with the [Floating Veil].
Asher brushed off the blood on her sword, then came closer and bowed her head.
I felt a little strange and looked around. Corpses strewn with blood.
I had seen people die a lot since I fell into this world.
But this time, I could say that it was different since it was a massacre that I had committed myself.
Of course, the first murder in his life was when he killed the warrior, but he didn’t feel much at the time.
To be honest, it felt more like killing a monster than a human being, and I didn’t feel like I had killed someone because he died in an instant.
And all the thieves he encountered while wandering around Calderic were killed by Baros himself before I could even step out.
This time, there was no feeling at all.
But it wasn’t just the effect of the [Soul of the King].
What made me feel strange right now was not because of shock or guilt, but because, on the contrary, my mind was too calm. Even if these people were trash, they were still humans.
I didn’t think deeply. I guess it’s just because I already got used to it. Or maybe it’s just how I was originally.
“Ugh…”
The fallen beastmen stumbled up one by one.
They looked at the annihilated Valkilov with bewildered eyes. Then, soon, their eyes focused on this direction.
“…Did you help us, human?”
The female beastman who had just been trampled by the long-haired man asked with a voice mixed with vigilance.
I nodded and said.
“Pack up the wagon and leave quickly. Over time, the organization where these people belonged to may try to track you down.”
“Oh, I see.”
She nodded and organized the situation by leading the other prisoners.
She looked after her colleagues who were seriously injured and rescued those who were imprisoned inside the iron bars.
The young prisoners who were released from captivity wept and cried and embraced them.
I watched the scene, and as I was about to turn to the carriage, the woman shouted.
“Thank you very much, humans! I am Kagor, the chieftain of the Hard Rock clan! I will never forget this favor on the honor of my clan!”
Hard Rock?
It was unnecessary to put any special meaning in this encounter, since it was a beastman tribe that was widespread on this continent.
“If we see each other again. Be more careful with slave hunters in the future.”
“...I will always remember this grace! Please tell me your name!”
“It’s Ron.”
I turned around and walked to the carriage.
Suddenly, I saw Rudica, who was sticking her head out the window.
There was a look of fear on her face, so I stroked her hair once.
“Your sister seems to be in the auction house. I’ll save her right away.”
After tidying up, the beastmen left first.
I thought about the future.
Auction house…
First, I had a rough idea about the auctions held in the city of Domihawk
It would be held a fortnight later, in the mansion's basement owned by a person named Horton. That mansion must also be a mansion managed by the Valkilov.
Should I participate?
Two methods came to mind.
The first was to just quietly take part in an auction and save only Rudica’s older sister.
I had plenty of money anyway, so unless there’s a bidding competition with some vampire-crazed pervert aristocrat, I’d be able to win the bid with ease.
The second was to overturn everything in the auction.
I could do this with Asher.
It didn’t matter how many Valkilov fighters were in the auction house. Because the number of people in the face of a high level difference had no meaning.
Or maybe I could go to the mayor of the city of Domihawk and press him down with the power of a Lord to interrupt with Valkilov’s business.
An auction was being held in the city he managed. I could tie them all together like that.
“...”
After weighing for a while, I ended up choosing to do it quietly.
Also, I was reluctant to do something big like that in other Lord’s territory.
Without getting involved in any more annoying things, let’s just get Rudica’s sister and head to the Elrod Forest. That was it.
'And the ones I just killed…'
There were no witnesses, but I thought they might follow the tail. Just because there weren’t any witnesses didn’t mean no one could track what happened here.
Of course, it wasn’t much of a concern.
I just had to deal with them.
If they still bothered me, then I could turn the whole Valkilov over.
My thoughts were quickly organized.
The carriage, which had started again, crossed the road.
***
After some time, we arrived in the city of Domihawk.
There was still some time before they held the auction, so in the meantime, I just looked around the city.
And the night of the auction finally came.
I left Baros and Rudica at the inn, and Asher and I went out into the street.
'I see.'
There were already several people with masks in their hands circling the streets.
Judging by the fact that people who looked like escorts were also attached to them, they were nobles who came to the city to participate in the auction.
I looked around them and walked through the streets where the night market was open.
There was a street vendor selling masks just in time, so I stopped and looked at the masks hanging from the stalls.
There were various animal masks, and there were also masks that were ridiculous like the ones worn by clowns.
I chose roughly one of them, a fox animal mask.
“You choose one too.”
I spoke to Asher, and she glanced at the masks.
Considering her personality, I thought she would pick just one, but she was choosing more carefully than I thought.
“I’ll pick this.”
Soon, Asher picked up one mask. It was a rabbit mask with elongated ears.
She picked something that didn’t suit her, so I stared at it, and she said as if reading my mind.
“If it stands out too much, I’ll pick another one.”
“No, it doesn’t matter.”
After picking the masks, we headed straight for our destination.
Horton’s mansion was on the outskirts of the city, and the location had already been determined.
After walking down the street, we fell into an alleyway and came out on a narrow road again.
The surrounding people vanished, and the mansion began to slowly appear in the distance.
Although the size of the mansion was not very large, it didn’t matter since the auction was held underground, anyway.
Near the entrance to the mansion, masked men were entering the mansion one by one.
“Now put on your mask.”
“Yes.”
Asher and I put on masks and snuggled between them and entered the mansion.
An old elf stood at the entrance of the mansion, which passed through a short garden.
Since he was examining the invitations of the people ahead of me, I also took mine out of my arms.
My turn came, and I showed the invitation to the old man.
He glanced over at Asher and I, then accepted the invitation and bowed his head.
“I hope you have a great night. Just go inside and go down the stairs right in front of you.”
