Demon Prince 47.2

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Chapter 47.2. Auction 4

Eh, really? Is it okay to push things toward a harem situation like this?

I almost let a grin slip, but I hold it back with all my might.

Yuu and Ai are here, after all.

I can't let them see me make that kind of face.

I'm their big brother, after all.

"Yes, yes. Anyway, this makes you owe me one, okay?"

"Geez, you're so cold."

"That's a deduction."

"A deduction, yep."

Wait, both of you... Isn't that a deduction for Shanze-sama?

It’s not for me, right?

"Now then, next up, we have a treasure unearthed from some ruins—a gem―――"

Even as Shanze-sama's slip-ups get revealed, the auction continues.

Finally, it’s time for the grand item—the materials from a dragon’s corpse.

"Alright, since it seems everyone’s been eagerly waiting for this, let's welcome today's highlight—the dragon! Here it is!"

OOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!

The room erupts with the most excitement it has seen today.

The dragon's corpse, already dismantled for use as materials, appears.

I exchange glances with my father, Aslad, and keep a wary eye on our surroundings.

It seems no one is making any suspicious moves.

"This dragon suddenly appeared in the forest to the north of the capital and was defeated by the party led by none other than Prince Jun of our kingdom, seated over there!"

Ugh, everyone’s eyes are on me.

For now, I wave at them with a smile.

But this makes it seem like all the credit goes to me.

Sure, I dealt the final blow, but Fenrir and Noella, who aren’t even here, deserve recognition too.

"Come on, don’t make such a complicated face."

"It’s fine to take the credit, you know. You were the party leader back then."

"Fenrir was there, too, wasn’t she?"

"She’d probably say she didn’t care about credit anyway."

Yeah, she would.

Well, it’s too late to correct it now, so I’ll just let it go.

"Let’s begin the bidding! Starting at one hundred gold coins!"

Of course, it’s dragon materials.

The starting price is ten times that of a branch from the World Tree.

I wonder if Gaul-sama will win this one.

If he does, things will be much easier later.

No one seems to be bidding yet—maybe they’re waiting to see how things go.

"Gaul-sama, how confident are you?"

"Heh, of course I’m confident. Leave it to me—five hundred gold coins!"

Wow, starting with five times the opening bid!

Is he trying to crush the competition’s spirit from the start?

"We have five hundred gold coins! Any other bids?"

"Six hundred!" 

"Six hundred fifty!"

As expected, five hundred wasn’t enough to close the deal.

It is equivalent to the price of a World Tree branch, after all.

"Well, of course it wouldn’t end here. But this was within expectations. One thousand gold coins!"

The bid has finally hit the one billion yen mark in Japanese currency.

Is this really going to be okay?

"Alize-neechan, are you sure about the budget?"

"Hmm? Yeah, no worries. If it gets too high, I’ll stop."

"This isn’t coming from the national budget, is it?"

"Of course not. We earned a lot back in our adventuring days, so I’m covering this entirely out of pocket. I don’t know exactly how much we set aside, though."

I guess that’s fine, then.

Still, it’s amazing they earned so much.

No wonder kids dream of becoming adventurers.

"One thousand gold coins! Any further bids? None?"

"Heh, I’ve still got plenty of budget left. Is this all you’ve got? How disappointing."

Gaul-sama maintains an air of confidence.

This must be part of his strategy, too.

"Two thousand gold coins."

"What!?"

OOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!

The bid just doubled in an instant.

Someone who hadn’t bid before has finally joined the fray—Modef Granier.

So, he’s going to compete after all.

"Hmph! I’m still in this—two thousand five hundred gold coins!"

"Three thousand!"

Ah, Gaul-sama’s confidence is starting to wane.

Even I can tell, and I’m no expert.

Will he be okay?

It’s now a head-to-head battle between Gaul-sama and Modef.

Everyone else seems to have given up.

A wise decision, I’d say.

"Three thousand five hundred!"

"Four thousand."

A bead of sweat drips down Gaul-sama’s forehead.

Oh no, this might not end well.

"Four thousand five hundred!"

"Five thousand."

"F-five thousand two hundred!"

He’s obviously out of his depth.

It looks like defeat is inevitable—

"Hmm. I’ll stop here."

"SOLD! To Gaul-sama for five thousand two hundred gold coins!"

Thank goodness.

If Gaul-sama hadn’t won, things would’ve been tricky later.

But despite his win, his expression remains dark.

"Congratulations, Gaul-sama."

"Y-yeah, thanks."

"Gaur?"

"Dad, are you hiding something?"

I have a bad feeling about this.

The mood turns heavy again.

"Jun."

"Yes?"

"Will you help your future father-in-law out?"

It was the moment Gaul-sama formally acknowledged my engagement to Ai.

Well, not that he hadn’t been supportive all along, but it was the first time he said it outright.

"How much are you short?"

"Two hundred."

"Alright, but it’s a loan, okay?"

"Yeah."

It seems his budget was exactly five thousand gold coins.

Now he’s shrinking in fear, worried about how his wife will react to his overspending.

There’s not a shred of a demon lord’s dignity left in him.

"Not a good look, Gaur."

"He’s always been like this—never quite gets it right."

"You’re getting punished when we get home."

"A major deduction, Dad."

They’re all so merciless.

The only one who kept quiet was Zeke, probably because he’s only five and didn’t understand.

"But wow, five thousand two hundred gold coins—that’s a lot."

"Don’t talk like it’s someone else’s problem. Most of that money is going to you guys, you know."

"Oh, right."

Since we aren’t paid directly by the guild, a portion of this winning bid will be our reward.

"Ten percent goes to the auctioneer as commission. Twenty percent goes to the Adventurers' Guild as dues. The remaining seventy percent is yours."

So our cut is three thousand six hundred forty gold coins.

The guild gets one thousand forty coins.

And five hundred twenty coins go to the auctioneer.

We’ll split our share equally among all of us.

Now, once I lend money to both Shanze-sama and Gaul-sama, the real deal begins.

By the way, anyone who wins an auction must pay before leaving the venue.

Breaking that rule results in severe punishment.

So they can’t just teleport to grab money, either.

In fact, the venue is under an anti-magic barrier to prevent cheating or theft, so teleportation isn’t even possible.

The auction ends, and the participants start leaving.

As Modef leaves, our eyes briefly meet, and he gives me a slight nod.

He doesn’t seem to have any intention of favoring our business from now on.

He probably thinks we won’t see each other again.

I bet we’ll meet again sooner than he expects.