Demon Prince 46

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Chapter 46. Auction 3

“So, I see. That sounds fun.”

“Yes, I highly recommend it.”

Right now, we are gathering information by talking with people at the auction venue.

So far, we haven’t encountered anyone suspicious.

“Jun, how are things on your side?”

“Shanze-sama, nothing unusual here.”

“Same here. I doubt they wouldn’t show up, though.”

Since we defeated the dragon, there’s been no sign of any contact related to it.

If we miss today's opportunity, we may never get another chance to investigate the dragon.

Unless we win the auction—or steal it from the winner.

Of course, we’re staying on high alert for that possibility as well.

“Excuse me. It’s an honor to meet you. You must be Prince Jun Elmbarn of the Demon Kingdom, yes?”

“Yes, that’s correct. And you are?”

“Oh, my apologies. I am Mordef Grania, chairman of the Grania Trading Company.”

This man interrupted my conversation with Shanze-sama.

At a glance, he appears to be a friendly human gentleman.

He looks to be in his fifties, with brown hair streaked with gray and a neatly groomed beard.

He has two men with him who seem to be his subordinates.

“Actually, we are planning to open a branch of our company here in the capital. I was hoping to meet with you today, Jun, and so I decided to participate in this auction.”

“With me? I happened to come today, but I don’t attend auctions regularly.”

“Yes, of course. However, I thought the chances of you attending today were high.”

“Why is that?”

“One of the highlights of today’s auction is the dragon that you supposedly defeated.

Surely you’re curious to see how much your dragon fetches?”

“I see. But it wasn’t just me. The dragon was already weakened, and I had strong companions with me.”

“Yes, of course. But it must have been quite the formidable dragon.”

Is this it?

I glance at Shanze-sama, and it seems she agrees.

“Ah, I forgot to introduce her. This is Shanze-sama Flemrila, the Demon Queen of the Flemrila Federation.”

“I am Shanze Flemrila. Pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, I see! I thought you were a stunning lady, but you are the Queen of Flemrila. It is an honor to meet you. I am Mordef Grania. I hope to make your acquaintance.”

“And this is Princess Ai Darmdatt of the Darmdatt Demon Kingdom. This is my sister, Yuu Elmbarn.”

““Pleasure to meet you.””

Ai and Yuu respond indifferently, not seeming interested in him.

“It’s a pleasure, lovely princesses. Did I say something to offend you?”

“No, not really.”

“No, nothing at all.”

But that’s clearly not how it looks.

They’re smiling, but their eyes aren’t.

We can’t afford to raise suspicion here. I need to redirect the conversation.

“So, what did you need from me?”

“Ah, yes. I was hoping to establish a friendly relationship between you and my trading company.”

“With me? Not my father?”

“Yes. I’ve heard nothing but excellent things about you. And I’ve heard you’ve recently started working as an adventurer? Our company offers a wide selection of goods adventurers might find useful.”

“I see. I’ll stop by once your branch opens.”

I didn’t say I’d buy anything—just that I’d stop by.

Something about this man feels off.

Perhaps I’m being overly suspicious, but I can’t shake the sense that he’s lying.

“Thank you. I look forward to it. By the way, I have one question for you, Jun.”

“What is it?”

“What kind of dragon did you defeat?”

He’s coming straight for the information, huh?

Does he think he can fool me because I’m young?

“Hmm, well, it had black scales. It was over ten meters long, I think.”

“Oh, that’s large. You mentioned earlier that it was weakened, right?”

“Yes. It was missing an eye and a wing. Honestly, it might have died even if we’d left it alone.”

“I see. So it was in that bad of a condition. Did it still have any notable abilities, or was it too weak to use them?”

“No, it had incredible power. Its dragon breath was terrifying. Luckily, we dodged it, and it only carved a path through the forest and left a massive crater at its edge.”

After we returned the Dragon King’s crest, we went to check the forest.

The dragon breath had left a ten-meter-wide hole.

The thought of getting hit by that... it still sends chills down my spine.

“Dragon breath, huh? That sounds as fearsome as the rumors say. Did it have any other abilities?”

“It also used magic. That was powerful too, but we managed to block it.”

“Magic? A dragon using magic? Anything else?”

“No, nothing else special. It just swiped its claws and tail around. But, of course, with a body that big, even that was devastating.”

“Nothing else, you say?”

“Yeah, no other abilities worth mentioning.”

“Thank you, Jun. Well, the auction is about to begin, so I’ll be on my way.”

“Alright, see you.”

With that, they head to their seats.

The whole encounter felt a bit too obvious, making me second-guess my suspicions.

“Well, what do you think, everyone?”

“Oh, stop trying to act cool.”

“Don’t tease me. You were both pretty obvious with your attitudes back there.”

“Well, I didn’t like how he looked at us.”

“Me neither.”

“Looked at us?”

“Yeah, when he approached Jun, he kept glancing at Shanze-sama’s chest.”

“Wait, seriously?”

I glance at Shanze-sama and then sneak a peek downward.

Yeah, I get it.

I can’t blame him, as a fellow man.

“Oh, yes. He was definitely looking. But it’s okay if you look, Jun. You can even touch them. Or would you like to touch them right now?”

“No way! I’m not looking, and I’m not touching! What are you saying!?”

“Onii-chan, you’re one to talk. You’ve been sneaking glances at Shanze-sama every time you meet her. Men really are hopeless.”

Oh no, I’ve been found out.

But with the way Shanze-sama always wears clothes that emphasize her cleavage, it’s impossible not to notice.

“Anyway, let’s get back to the topic. What do you think of Mordef Grania?”

“I think he’s shady. I’m not sure how involved he is, but I think he’s suspicious.”

“Same here. A fake smile to hide his true intentions.”

“That’s a bit of a stretch, Yuu. A smile is just good business practice.”

“I agree, but the Grania Trading Company is real and reputable. They do business across both human and demon nations without discrimination. However…”

“However?”

“All their employees are human. Not even half-demons work there—only pure-blooded humans.”

“You know a lot.”

“I am a queen, after all. I keep track of major trading companies.”

It’s impressive that she remembers all that, given how much information must come her way.

“Alright. Let’s go meet with Father and Gaul to exchange information.”

“Wait, Jun.”

“Yes, Cornelia?”

Cornelia, who had been standing behind Shanze-sama, calls out, looking dissatisfied.

Did I do something wrong?

“You didn’t introduce me earlier.”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot.”

I really did forget.

Though, to be fair, I didn’t introduce Shanze-sama at first either.

“Forgot!? That’s mean!”

“Cornelia-sama, it seems I was forgotten as well.” 

Yufa adds.

Right, I forgot about Yufa-san too.

Though, since Yufa-san is Cornelia’s attendant, I figured Cornelia would introduce her.

“This calls for punishment.”

“I agree, Cornelia-sama.”

Punishment? That seems a bit much.

“As punishment, you’ll sleep with us tonight.”

“Huh? What are you saying?”

What is wrong with these girls? And wait—“us”? Does that include Yufa-san too?

“Oh, that sounds fun. Count me in.” 

Shanze-sama says.

“Of course, Sister.”

“No, no, no!”

This is dangerous. Nothing good will come of this.

I need to regroup with Father before things get out of hand.

However I have a bad feeling that meeting with him won’t improve the situation either.