Chapter 59
The white-masked figure held a small dagger that could be strapped to the hip.
When he drew the dagger from its sheath, a jet-black blade was revealed.
"Presenting the Black Iron Dagger!"
"A dagger?"
"A weapon, huh..."
"Ugh, I'll pass on this one."
Disappointed reactions rippled through the crowd at the mention of a dagger.
However, the white-masked figure chuckled heartily, as if he had anticipated their response.
"Hahahaha! Listen closely. This is no ordinary dagger. It's crafted from a special alloy, incredibly difficult to produce, that allows even those who cannot use mana to cut through magic and deflect mana-enchanted attacks, simply by swinging it!"
An ordinary person who couldn't use mana would be defenseless against the attacks of a mage or a warrior without a special protective artifact.
However, such special artifacts were extremely expensive, and most required periodic mana replenishment, losing their effectiveness when mana was depleted.
That's why many people wore mana-resistant armor instead of, or in addition to, artifacts.
"There are many metals that possess mana resistance, I know. But this weapon is a little different. While it possesses resistance, it can also absorb ambient mana and directly unleash it."
The white-masked figure took out a small magic stone from his pocket and touched it to the dagger.
"You won't get a feel for it just by hearing about it, so I'll show you directly. If you touch it directly to mana like this..."
Mana then began to flow from the dagger.
The white-masked figure lifted the dagger and slashed at the iron stand it had rested on.
Slice.
The stand was cleanly cut in half.
"Oh...!"
"The performance isn't bad, is it?"
Even if the flowing mana wasn't visible, the sight of the stand being cut in half was clearly seen by the customers.
"What do you think? It's an excellent dagger for defense, and it can temporarily turn you into a mana-enchantment user at any time. Just leaving it still for a day allows for ten minutes of use. It can store up to an hour's worth. And it's convenient because it's blocked when sheathed, so you don't use it when you're not using it."
The claim of temporarily becoming a mana-enchantment user seemed to have had an effect, causing a brief stir.
Just then, the white-masked figure, as if waiting for this moment, added, "Incidentally, the one who forged this Black Iron Dagger is none other than the blacksmith Draksen."
"Draksen...?"
"That eccentric blacksmith?"
"Hoh ho. The origins of today's items are quite impressive."
The name Draksen also seemed quite famous, as exclamations of admiration flowed from among the customers.
Kain, once again, asked Eisel, "Who is Draksen?"
"What, I thought you'd know Draksen. Well, I guess a mage might not. There's a blacksmith who's skilled but has a rather peculiar personality. He makes a lot of strange weapons, and if he doesn't like them, he'll smash them immediately even if they turn out well, you know, that kind of person?"
"I see."
"But it's strange. Even if he's eccentric, I didn't think he was the type to distribute goods in the black market."
And it seemed Eisel wasn't the only one with that question.
"But did Draksen usually distribute goods in the black market?"
"Yeah, how did they get it?"
"Did they pay a lot of money?"
In response to the customers' questions, the white-masked figure clapped his hands.
"Haha! Ladies and gentlemen, what is our business? Isn't it our black market's role to bring and sell any item in the world, if it has value? And you all have come to purchase those valuable items. Isn't that enough?"
"Well, that's true."
"As long as the item is good. The acquisition method is a trade secret."
The customers seemed to be convinced.
However.
"Phew. Even so, I'd have to use a weapon myself... I've never even held a sword."
"Still, at that level, it might be useful even if you just swing it wildly."
"Seeing it cut the stand definitely makes it tempting. That means I can do that too, right?"
"For now, I'll have to just watch."
"Let's see the price..."
In front of those who were still hesitant to purchase a weapon.
The white-masked figure grinned and shouted, "Alright, bidding starts at 15 gold!"
Fifteen gold.
It was much cheaper than the Elven Tear imitation that had just been auctioned, but in truth, it wasn't a sum one would typically spend on a small dagger.
However.
"Bid."
At that moment, Kain immediately raised his hand.
"Alright! A bid of 15 gold has just come in! Bids up to 50 gold are in 1-gold increments, and immediate calls are always welcome!"
"What, a bid already?"
"I thought it was a bit expensive for a dagger..."
"Ah, I'll bid too!"
"Anyway, I couldn't buy the Elven Tears so I have money left. Bid!"
"Compared to Elven Tears, well, bid!"
"Bid 25 gold."
When Kain immediately started bidding while everyone else hesitated, the flood of bids seemed to suggest that they thought it must indeed be worth that much.
One bid called forth another.
"Kain, you're not actually going to buy it, are you?"
"Of course not. Would you buy it?"
Kain answered Eisel's cautious question immediately.
'A dagger that possesses mana resistance while also absorbing and emitting mana? It's literally just expensive junk.'
As the white-masked figure said, the Black Iron Dagger was indeed a dagger that could allow even someone who couldn't use mana to mimic a warrior simply by swinging it.
Conversely, it was also a dagger with nothing else to offer.
'Its inherent mana resistance would only hinder a true warrior from using mana enchantment if they held it.'
And while it was true that the dagger could produce an effect similar to mana enchantment, it was laughably crude compared to genuine mana enchantment.
Mana enchantment allowed the user to precisely focus mana according to their will.
In contrast, that dagger simply continuously discharged a fixed amount of mana in a predetermined direction.
It was utterly impossible to perform operations like concentrating mana at the tip of the dagger or instantly emitting more mana to increase its power.
'Most of all, how much could people who've never even held a sword utilize that thing...?'
The white-masked figure knew these facts, which is why he skillfully sold hope and imagination to the crowd.
He made them envision themselves magnificently deflecting a mage's attack, even as an ordinary person who couldn't use mana.
He made them imagine receiving an attack from a warrior and even counterattacking.
If someone had a vivid imagination, they might have even fantasized about a monster attacking their carriage, breaking through the door, only for them to subdue the beast with a single dagger they possessed, then, with an air of nonchalance, showing the beast's corpse to the hastily arriving mercenaries, who would then applaud them.
"I bid too!"
"Bid!"
People who had little interest in combat, or who lacked the talent for mana manipulation and were unwilling to put in the effort, still entertained the occasional fantasy of impressively cutting something with a mana-infused sword.
The white-masked figure fueled that imagination by demonstrating how the dagger cleanly cut the iron stand.
Kain then ignited it by being the first to bid without hesitation.
'Honestly, I am interested in that special alloy itself.'
A metal that could absorb and release ambient mana would likely be Resonium.
However, Resonium is generally difficult to alloy with other metals.
Yet, this wasn't even a commonly used metal like iron or copper; it was alloyed with a metal that possessed the opposite property of mana resistance.
This was usually impossible with ordinary technology.
'If a skilled blacksmith used a special catalyst to create the alloy, then it makes sense.'
What kind of catalyst did he use? Or did he create it?
His scholarly curiosity was piqued.
'But the dagger itself is a failure.'
If the creator was a skilled blacksmith, they probably didn't intend to make something like that.
As evidence, the material and craftsmanship of the scabbard, which blocked mana, subtly didn't match the dagger.
It was highly likely that the organizers, who somehow acquired the dagger, later custom-made the scabbard for its intended purpose.
'He probably originally wanted to create a weapon that could hold more mana in its blade during mana enchantment and release it instantly.'
At the same time, he would have wanted to alloy it with a mana-resistant metal to support the low-durability Resonium, in case mana clashed and pushed against each other.
'Draksen, he said. I should remember that name.'
Anyway, Eisel breathed a sigh of relief at Kain's statement that he had no intention of buying the dagger.
"Good, that's a relief. You bid so quickly, I was worried."
"I merely intended to show multiple bids since the starting price was cheap. We don't have a lot of money, after all."
"Ugh. That hits a sore spot."
Eisel had brought money in case they won a bid, and Kain had also gathered what he could, but even combined, it was barely enough to buy one of the Elven Tear imitations, leaving them penniless.
What could they do? The Geihardt clan was a minor one.
"And if no one bids, the organizers get time to observe the customers. It's better to start a competition quickly."
"True, we're quite conspicuous sitting here with no one else around us."
For Kain and Eisel, the less unwanted attention, the better.
"Bid."
"50 gold bid."
"50 gold! From now on, bids increase by 5 gold!"
"Bid!"
Even though the bidding increment changed, there were still quite a few people willing to bid.
"80 gold! If there are no further bids, it will be confirmed. ...Sold. Congratulations!"
In the end, the dagger, which started at 15 gold, was sold for 80 gold.
The white-masked figure declared the sale in a cheerful voice, then handed the dagger to the customer.
"As a bonus, we'll also give you a magic stone. If you wish to activate it, you can lightly touch it with this. If you wish to stop the effect, simply put it in the scabbard."
"Hehehe, is this how it's done?"
The customer, who clearly seemed new to handling a sword, gleefully activated the effect with the magic stone, then playfully swung it around in front of his escort.
"Hahahaha! There's a thrill to swinging this! I feel a bit stronger too! I almost want to spar with you!"
The escort merely dodged slightly to avoid getting his mask cut, tolerating the customer's antics with a degree of patience.
"Thank you all for your enthusiastic participation! Now, we will immediately reveal the third item!"
After that, items were revealed one by one, and people became increasingly engrossed and excited by the auction.
As the auction continued, items were sold for amounts that Kain found utterly unreasonable.
Amidst the overheated competition, Kain repeatedly placed and withdrew bids at opportune moments, all while observing the items closely.
'The chances are slim, but if by any chance an item related to the Chaos Core were to appear among the listings, offering a clue...'
Such items probably wouldn't be very popular among the customers, so he might have a chance to bid and acquire them.
'And... that sound I heard earlier...'
-...s Ni...
It had been so faint that he even considered he might have misheard it.
However, based on his past life's experience, when he thought he might have misheard something, it usually turned out he had heard it correctly.
Kain waited to discover the true nature of that sound.
"Now, regrettable as it may be, the final item is already awaiting our esteemed guests!"
Unfortunately, no Chaos Core related items appeared.
Since there was no presence of a Desmond follower among the people present, it meant today yielded no harvest in that regard.
'I didn't come with high expectations in the first place.'
He and Eisel had agreed to split the money earned here evenly, so he would have to be content with that.
"What, is it already the last item?"
"We did spend a lot of money today."
"Hmm. It's a bit disappointing."
"I only managed to buy one, damn it."
As the customers expressed slight disappointment, the white-masked figure chuckled.
"Hahahaha! It seems you're quite disappointed! Well then... This wasn't originally meant to be revealed now, but I'll let a little something slip."
The white-masked figure grinned, surveying the bidding area.
"Although this item is officially the last one, there's one more surprise item left for today!"
"A surprise item?"
"Has there ever been something like that before?"
"I'm curious."
"Heh heh, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it? Anyway, please look forward to it..."
The white-masked figure said that and disappeared behind the curtain.
"Then, first, I will officially reveal the last item!"
And soon, what the white-masked figure brought from behind the curtain.
No, what he brought in.
"Let go of me! Let go!"
"Sister...!"
They were a brother and sister, around Kain's age, with blue hair and eyes.
