Chapter 353

Unusual Thing

“Haha. Well, do what you will.”

Since Rosalie-sama seems to have been through a lot in her life, there may be some forbidden words or phrases I shouldn’t say before her, so I will ask Wald-sama about them.

“By the way, are you interested in auctions, Takumi?”

That was the end to Rosalie-sama’s story, and the conversation changed again.

Al-sama asked me about auctions.

“Auctions? The fact that there is an auction is new to me.”

“There are auctions of all sizes, but twice a year there is a large country-sponsored auction in the spring and fall.”

“Heeh~ I didn’t know that. I didn’t hear about it last year~”

I was in the Capital this time last year as well, but I never heard anything about an auction.

Oh, no, was that it? Maybe it was a time when we were away from the Capital because I was in Argo on a request.

“Takumi, I will inform you now, but there are no dragon meats or magic rings put up on sale at the moment.”

“Well, those will seldom appear.”

I thought, ‘just maybe’… but, my expectations were not met.

Well, since the person who is the organizer says so, they certainly will not be auctioning them off this time.

“But, there may be other bargains to be found.”

“That’s right. It sounds fun, but…”

“But?”

“Ah~ you had that problem~ I won’t say you can’t bring them with you, but it’s not a good look~”

“I thought so.”

I would like to go to the auction because I think some of the items are rare and never seen before, but children who might make noise in the auction room are usually not welcome.

“It’s possible to go alone if the kids agree, but auction… would they agree with not going?”

Maybe Rebecca-san can take care of the kids, but I bet the kids will want to go because it sounds like fun when it comes to an event where they can see a variety of items. If we keep quiet, people might not notice us, but since they are… intuitive kids, it would be better to stop them from learning to lie and of course, keeping silent when unnecessary.

“There is a way, if you don’t mind standing out.”

“Err… let’s hear it first?”

“You can come with me, as an invited guest.”

“……”

With the royalty. Yeah, that definitely stands out!

“Ah, but, brining the kids with me will stand out… just as much?”

Then I guess I will have less trouble going with the royalty?

“Yeah. Would you like to go together with me then?”

“If that’s okay with you, can we join you?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

Since Al-sama allowed us to accompany him, I will obediently thank him.

“Good for you, Alfried. Now that you have companions, you won’t feel lonely anymore.”

Lionel-sama called out to Al-sama as if he is making fun of him. That was… completely amusing~

“Is Al-sama the only one going to the auction?”

“It’s an annual thing, so someone has to go and represent us.”

Even though the auction is hosted by the royal family, it does not seem that the royal family will be all present on the day of the auction.

“I see. So you invited me because you were lonely?”

“There’s no way it’s like that! Even if I said I was going alone, I would be escorted, so how could I be lonely or anything!”

As if riding on Lionel-sama’s bandwagon, I asked him a question with a bit of teasing tone, to which he quickly responded.

Well, that’s right. It’s impossible for royalty to go out without an escort or a follower, isn’t it? Even a royal outing with a retinue would have had guards.

“But, won’t it be a problem if I go with you? Would it make it more difficult for the guards?”

“I’m sure it will be fine, so don’t worry about it and go with Al. I know he says he won’t be lonely, but being held for long periods of time with no one to talk to can be a pain.”

Austin-sama told me that if you actively participate in the auction, you won’t have too much free time on your hands, but if you don’t, it would be better to have someone accompany you.

And by a companion, I mean someone other than an escort or a follower. Well, you can’t chat too much with your escort or squire in public, can you?

“If there’s something you want, you can actively participate, or you can just enjoy the atmosphere, so it’s fine if you plan to just go hang out with Al.”

“I understand. Then I will look forward to it.”

Since Austin-sama said it’s okay, I will just go have fun in general.

“Oh, we are still accepting rare items, so if you have something that would be a highlight for us, you are more than welcome to exhibit it. I think you might have a something unusual on you, right?”

Something unusual~ Something rare. Something not often seen. Something people would like.

N~ how good of a thing it should be?

“Crystal Elk antlers?”

“That would cause a fuss.”

“Then, how about the polka-dot dye? I still have more of those.”

“Ah, that might be a good item to acution off.”

“Also… Gaya wood, Majesta fruit, Majesta leaves, Kelm salt.”

“Ah~ all those would be appreciated.”

At any rate, I will list every single thing I can think of.

Orc King and Orc General meat sounds good, but the kids don’t like selling food-related items! Oh, then, Majesta fruit might be out of question, too?

And then there’s that~…—

“Large pearls, Rainbow flowers, Red truffles, Reiki weeds, Flame grass.”

“Wait, wait, wait up! Wait a moment, please! You listed all kinds of strange things!”

I gave these names knowing they would interject, though!

And as I planned, Austin-sama showed a panicked expression.

“I also have some rare medicines that were given to me.”

“Haah… it seems that you have much more to list, but let’s hear it first. What’s the medicine? What kind of medicine?”

“Red Rose Drops and Blue Rose Drops.”

“Blue Rose drops!?”

At this moment, Richard-sama, who has been mostly listening, suddenly raised his voice.

He seems to have reacted to the Blue Rose Drops, and that is… conception medicine, right? Perhaps—

“Excuse me for asking, Richard-sama, you don’t have any children yet?”

“Yeah, we are having quite a difficult time conceiving.”

The Blue Rose Drops is the perfect medicine for couples who want to have a child but are having trouble conceiving one.

Richard-sama is still young, so I don’t think there’s any need to be in such a hurry, but his expression seems a little desperate, so it’s probably best not to ask too much.

“In that case, I will give this to you.”

“Nonono, that’s not the kind of thing you can offer up that easily! That being the case, if you put it up for auction, I’m sure it would fetch a pretty penny.”

“I would rather it is useful to someone I know than sell it to someone I don’t know. If it’s something you need, I can give it to you.”

I originally mentioned it as an example, but I didn’t want to put it up for auction because it’s a rarely available drug.

“Not wanting to sell it is so much like you.”

Lionel-sama laughed with amusement.

“It’s so like me, right? That being the case, Richard-sama, please take it.”

“N, no, that’s…”

I put the medicine bottle in Richard-sama’s flustered hands.

“Let me see the baby when it’s born.”

“Takumi-dono, I’m in your debt. However, let me pay the full price.”

I decided to accept the market price because Richard-sama seemed to be concerned about taking it for free.