Chapter 68: InvestigationDay 83

  As far as I can tell, the girls and Mirabel fully accept each other. Assuming that’s true, my role will simply be to accept everyone’s feelings and not be awkward. Fortunately, I’ve really improved in this regard. To put this into perspective, some athletes and actors are idolized by thousands, if not millions. The level of adoration the girls show me is trivial in comparison to what famous people must endure. I can’t feel sorry for myself when others have it much worse.

  Immediately after breakfast, I take the guys as far as I can towards Valois Territory. I give them some extra silver and a short list of the connections that should lead them to one of the towns.

  “I’ll expect you back before noon. If you get stuck somewhere, I’ll come find you. Just make sure to stay in the party.”

  When I return a few minutes ter, I take the girls to Curatar’s explorers guild for their research project. I say my goodbyes with soft hugs and kisses — well, being the center of attention certainly has some benefits. The merchant guild is just a short walk away.

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  “Hello, Luke. Hope I’m not te.”

  “Right on time, Sir, I was just on my way inside.”

  “Just to be clear, I have no pns to attend these auctions on a regur basis. That said, I will bid on whatever I want, even against you.”

  “Yes, that’s the way it should be. All bidders have an equal chance.”

  I had to pay a small fee to enter. Evidently, it will be refunded just by bidding on something so I guess it’s more of a deposit to keep out the gawkers.

  Luke offered, “Would you like me to expin the general protocol?”

  “No thanks. I’ll figure it out or ask for help. Don’t let me interfere too much with your normal work.”

  The auction room was impressively rge and dominated by a stage that looked just as expected for an auction. Dozens of chairs were arranged to face the stage with space for many more. Of course, my primary interest was in the stuff, not the environment. Auctions are apparently held quite frequently so there weren’t nearly as many items as I had hoped. Luke mentioned that I’m one of the biggest buyers for crystals for these open auctions. Do the nobles have their own or can they simply bypass them?

  Looking over the items avaible today, I found a set of dragon-leather gear. The main armor was just like Alina’s, two slots and regur fit, not a jacket. I can’t pass this up just because of how it will look on Roxanne. Also, I get the distinct impression that Roxanne doesn’t mind showing off a bit. The gloves have an open slot but the boots don’t. Not a problem since Roxanne has enchanted boots and her old gloves can be passed down to Theo. No hat was included since protecting one’s head seems to be unfashionable.

  I also found a Damascus-steel tower shield with an open slot. Well, I’ll get it if the price is reasonable. I could always enchant it and sell it back for a profit. There were also several crystals I might want. I trust that Luke won’t be petty if I snag them directly rather than going through him.

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  The bidding procedure was rather simple in comparison to what I’ve seen in spy movies. There were only about thirty bidders so it was possible to call out directly. The bids increased in moderate increments and it was all quite tame. I was especially happy that there seemed to be no weird hierarchies to navigate.

  The dragon-leather gear got auctioned as a set, starting at 10k. Luke seemed to hold back, probably because I would have been his most likely customer. This turned out to be a great advantage since I only saw one other Armor Merchant in the room. I eventually got it for 43k, which I had to pay right away. Fortunately, the next item was junk, i.e., no open slots.

  I ignored the unenchantable equipment and waited for the tower shield. I expected a fierce bidding war, but I got it for just 4k. The seller looked devastated. I guess it has a niche market.

  When the crystals were brought out, Luke said, “Mr. Moreau, I know I can’t sell any crystals I get here today to you, but I do need a few for other clients. Please do not be offended when we bid against each other.”

  “What do you need in particur? I could just avoid bidding on those.”

  “One does not normally ask such questions.”

  “Oh? Did I break a rule? I’m here disrupting your ability to sell to me. No need for me to disturb your other deals unless it’s something I really want.”

  This still seemed to be breaking some sort of taboo or maybe it was just rude to imply he couldn’t beat me. Regardless, he eventually caved and I avoided Caterpilr, Rabbit, and Goat. He didn’t ask for Kobold and he avoided talking about Slime. Yeah, I really squeezed him out of some deals today.

  In total, I got the skill crystals of three Ants, two Corals, four Kobolds, two Sarracenias, one Shrub, and one Slime for just over 64k. [1] The prices were reasonable for all but the Slime, where the other bidders might have been trying to punish me. I teased them by bidding aggressively on a Troll crystal and stopping abruptly. I don’t know the usual price but the ‘winner’ didn’t seem happy. Fortunately, Luke seemed amused.

  On our way out, “Luke, I’d like to introduce a young noble to you. Would you be avaible around this time in two days for a short meeting?”

  “Yes, Sir, I would appreciate that.”

  “Good. She needs to have some items evaluated, mainly armor. You’ll be paid the usual fee, of course. She might refuse to come or not become a customer.”

  “I understand, thank you for the opportunity.”

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  I made certain no one followed me from the auction and went to the explorer guild. Everyone was sitting on benches just outside.

  Alina greeted me, “Hello, David. We took notes on everything, though it really doesn’t amount to much. The guys arrived just a few minutes ago.”

  “Alright, let’s go home for lunch.”

  We got home to find delivery people at the door — the new bed had arrived. Alina and Roxanne prepared lunch while the rest of us helped with the delivery. The new bed came in several parts that needed to be assembled on-site. While the cart was being unpacked, Marcus and I took the old bed to an empty room. The delivery people started assembling the new, gigantic bed in my room with some assistance from us. It took less than 30 minutes and they thanked us for helping.

  I dumped the new equipment from the auction upstairs while the others fitted the sheets and tidied up the room. Damn, this bed is enormous. Besides the normal four posts, there are another ten legs for support. The frame felt solid enough to turn it into a giant waterbed. All the room needed was a mirrored ceiling and leather straps to make me look like a total deviant. I tried to get that image out of my head and went downstairs.

  Alina immediately teased, “The new bed sure is big. It’s enough for a lot more girls.”

  “Just trying to keep you comfortable, like you requested.”

  The guys look at each other, but decide not to get involved in the discussion. Time to move away from this topic.

  “Sherry, what do we know about the 44th floor of Curatar’s Labyrinth?”

  “This floor introduces the White Caterpilr. Just like the Green Caterpilr, it shoots sticky thread and is sensitive to fire.”

  “Thanks, Sherry. This is the st floor of the tier. We still have pans and ants to deal with but it shouldn’t be too bad. We’ll probably finish this floor tomorrow and won’t start the next before sending Sherry to the library to research the next tier. Let’s get ready to go.”

  This floor turned out to be a bit tougher than anticipated since we had to dodge both the ants’ poison darts and the caterpilrs’ webs. I concentrated on fire-based attacks since the sticky webs seemed more dangerous. After a while, I realized that caterpilrs are pretty weak at close range so it was easier for us to hit them with status effects. Once we got into this habit, I switched back to using water magic to hold back the ants.

  We made pretty good progress, though we couldn’t complete the floor before evening. We went home and I showed the new equipment to Marcus and Roxanne. I got a skeptical look regarding the tower shield until I told them that I got it at a discounted price and that it could be enchanted. This reminded me that I should probably crify what the guys should and shouldn’t say about me.

  During dinner, I broached the subject.

  Marcus responded very simply, “Boss, the easiest way to keep track of what not to say is to treat absolutely everything as secret. Anything else would make it too easy to slip up.”

  Theo added, “When they ask us your name, we’ll just say ‘We called him Boss’.”

  “Ha ha, that’s wonderful. Seriously though, if you really get stuck, say what you need to say. My secrets aren’t more important than your safety.”

  Alina chimed in, “So, you’re just hoping that they sound crazy.”

  “Exactly. The more they say about me, the less believable it sounds.”

  A bit ter, Marcus brought down the new gear, except for the gigantic shield.

  “The dragon-leather armor and gloves can be enchanted so I want Roxanne to have them. They’re exactly what Alina’s were like before we enchanted hers. Roxanne’s current dragon-leather jacket and gloves will go to Theo. He should take the new boots as well. If anyone disagrees, please tell me since I may have missed something important.”

  Sherry noted, “Um, will Roxanne switch from a jacket to men’s armor?”

  “That is indeed the disadvantage with this pn, one that Roxanne might be reluctant to accept.”

  Roxanne answered confidently, “If this is what Master has chosen for me, I will happily accept.”

  “Well, please go try it on before we decide. Uncomfortable armor will be unsafe.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “I also got a lot of nice crystals without paying a brokerage fee. It could be worth the effort to do this before holidays, but a waste of time on a regur basis. The main advantage is to get good deals on special armor since I can’t ask to only be offered enchantable items.”

  Roxanne came back in. “Master, how does it look?”

  Sherry did not look pleased, but didn’t say anything either.

  “Very dangerous, Roxanne, but that’s not the point. How does it feel to you?”

  Roxanne cheerfully reported, “The undergarments you had made for me make pretty much anything comfortable. This armor doesn’t feel much different than the jacket.”

  “That’s good. Theo, one reason for you to upgrade now is to protect you in case Rutina doesn’t have anything better avaible. That goes for all of the equipment you and Marcus have. This should be the minimum for you and sorry I didn’t give you even better stuff.”

  Again, Alina ruined the moment. “This is to get more money from Rutina, right?”

  “Alina! Shame on you for revealing my sinister pns. Ha ha. Of course Rutina will pay, but it really is for the guys to be properly prepared. It’s important for them to survive so they can come back in a few years.”

  Theo said, “Thanks, Boss. It’s really appreciated, whichever way you meant it.”

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  “What did all of you learn while I was at the auction? Let’s start with the guys. What was it like in Valois Territory?”

  Marcus answered, “It’s quite a nice pce, Boss. It’s calm, clean and peaceful. The towns we visited were smaller than Vale and we didn’t see anything that could be called a slum.”

  “Good towns suggest that the marquis isn’t corrupt. Did you happen to hear any gossip about him or the family?”

  “No, I didn’t hear a single compint. The few people who talked to us just asked if we were lost.”

  “Theo, anything to add?”

  “I got the feeling that they were cautious of strangers. Not necessarily in a bad way, but a few guards showed up and made sure we noticed them.”

  “Good that I didn’t go in person. Thanks guys. What did the gals find out in Curatar?”

  Alina reported, “The administrative center is Varenne, same as the family. There are several towns in the region, though none are rge and most people live in farming vilges. No warnings about the region were posted, at least as far as the adventurers guild is concerned. If there are problems, they are small enough that the news doesn’t reach us this far away. Sherry gathered information on the byrinths.”

  Sherry continued, “The region has a good history of maintaining their byrinths. Four are currently known: Boisleu, Boisvert, Cireval, and Crespy. [2] The first three are no more than a few years old and are under active subjugation efforts. Crespy was recently discovered due to monster activity in the vicinity. It has only been explored to the 12th floor, at least officially.”

  “So, Crespy is probably older, right?”

  “Yes, David. That’s quite likely.”

  “That’s interesting. Thanks for the help, everyone.”

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  That night, Sherry used Bat and Kobold crystals on Roxanne’s new dragon-leather gloves to enhance evasion. I was tempted to give her poison resistance, but that can be done ter if she switches away from Assassin.

  “Sherry, I saw that you were disturbed by the way Roxanne looked in her armor. I won’t try to tell you that your feelings are wrong. I just ask that you try to keep a good perspective. Some might be jealous of your beautiful hair, great strength, incredible intelligence or simply your smithing skills.”

  “I know, David. When I saw your reaction to Roxanne, I just couldn’t help feeling a little insecure. Please reassure me.”

  Is that what happened? Well, I can’t help my reflexes. The punishment is pleasant so I guess it’s fine.

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  [1] Sherry says that a Sarracenia crystal provides HP Shave alone or HP Absorption with a Kobold crystal (personal communication). This is analogous to Carnivine’s MP effects, where Carnivine is my name for Scissoresque Carnivorous Pnt.[2] None of these towns, the territory, Mirabel or her family appear in the LN or WN.