Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~

The auction plaza is heating up.

From the large central stage, the auction seats were divided into three sections.
The general section for the general public such as member from companies and rich citizen.
An isolated section where all the Treasure Hunters are guided to.
And finally, a special section for nobles and the people they invited.

The noisiest is the Hunters section.

Anyone can participate in the Zebrudia Auction as long as you can pay the entrance fee but for regular citizen, an admission fee of one hundred thousand Gils is an expensive amount to pay just to get in.
This is why most of the people participating are in the upper class who have a calm and decent demeanor, but Treasure Hunters are different.

The admission of one hundred thousand Gils is not an amount high enough to hesitate when you are a Hunter who have proved themselves.
In the first place, they are people who live in the moment.
The Hunter section looks different from the other section.
As expect, we are not allowed to bring weapons or food and drink, but it is only a gathering of a bunch of hot-headed people so there are undignified laughter and loud shout everywhere.

The sections were positioned so you can see well the stage.
We were guided to the highest seat in the Hunter section, so we could have a full view of the entire Hunter section.

A few meters next to me I can hear a threatening high-pitched voice.

“Ha!? You bastard were watching us and Liz-chan1, right now!? Who told you to? You have five seconds.
Spit it out.”

“Wha… What…?”

“…… Can you stop it now, please?”

’

Liz immediately threaten Hunters in the immediate vicinity.

She grabs the arm of a tall man who is one head taller and looks up with a sharp eye.
The opponent is twice as big as the petite Liz but it is the man who turn pale.
The arm she is grasping makes creaking noises.
Her power is disproportionately strong compare to her size.
She can break one or two arms easily and she won’t hesitate to do it.
Distress, the man tries to escape by step back but perhaps because of the difference in strength, his body doesn’t move a single millimeter.

When I was stunned, the other Smart who was peacefully sitting next to me, stand up and called out to the troublemaker Smart.

“Onee-chan, Cry-san, told you to let him get away!”

“Eh, again? It is boring.”

“In any case, we know who he is with now! Come one, quickly sit down.”

“… Tsk.
Scram.
Get it? time, I will kill you if you come in front of Liz-chan with that look again.”

When Liz releases her hand, he escapes as if he was running for his life.
Even though he paid his entrance fee, I feel sorry for him… There should be a limit for how the strong wants to bully the weak.
The surrounding was quiet for a moment during the turmoil, but liveliness returns soon.
This level of banter is a daily occurrence.
No more, I want to stop being a Hunter, now.
I want to spend the rest of my life in a gentle sweet store in a distant place.

“I am sorry, Cry-san.
Onee-chan makes a lot of noise for any little thing…”

’

Sytry apologizes in a small voice.
When Liz hears that, this time she goes for her sister.
She intimidatingly glares at her while strongly pulling Sytry’s arm.

“Syt, don’t use me as an excuse to go flirt with Cry-chan! It is because you didn’t properly do your job that those kinds of insect came here! In the first place, what is that? When did I allowed you to sit next to him? Don’t touch him! Don’t get close to Cry-chan within one-meter radius.”

“It was Onee-chan fault because you were late! If only you did your part properly, you only got a drop of money! In the first place, I am the one who is taking the money out… Right, Cry-san.”

“Hah!? That got nothing to do with it.
Right, Cry-chan.”

“Un, un, you are right.
… Ah, there are various Relics exhibited beside that one.
Oh… 『Lion’s chain』, eh… Uuuun… It is big chain so it will be bulky, but it doesn’t have much power.”

I cross my legs and drop my sight on the catalog they distributed when we got in.

The Relic’s name, power, name of the seller and the name of the appraiser.
Degree of risk.
Place of discovery.
The quality of each of the product exhibited for the auction are guaranteed by an expert appraiser but the products on sale aren’t always guaranteed to be genuine.
That is not always the case but if you are unlucky, you might end up paying a fortune to get a fake.
The auction is challenging both your discernment and judgment but also a place to create new connections.

There is also rare books, armor, art and jewelry on exhibit, but I am only interest on Relics.
As expect of an Auction that is held only once a year, there are many Relics I am interest in even though I just briefly check the catalog.

I will definitively save some money so I can participate next year.
This time, I was too unprepared.

’

Far downstairs, I can see Tino nervously talking to Greg-sama.
Far from us, near the ceiling, I can see Éclair-jou sitting with a look of tension in the special seat section.

It is probably because it was talked so much, the target prize is treated as the main dish and seems to appear in the second half.

Perhaps they settle down, Sytry sits on my left and Liz sits on my right next to me.

The curtain of the Zebrudia Auction which has been my source of trouble for a while, finally opens.

§

The Zebrudia Auction process is simple.

A minimum amount of bid is set for each exhibit product and the bidders will present their purchase price to outbid it.
The bid increments depend on the product, but it is often one hundred thousand, one million and ten million per bid.
You have one hundred and twenty second after the highest bidder bid to decide, if there is no one else who overbid after him then the highest bidder will get the item.
Once you bid you can’t cancel it.
If for some reason you can’t buy the product at your bidding price the bidder will be charged as a criminal and you will receive heavy penalties.

There are various methods of bidding.
You can put a board with the price written on it or you can raise your voice to say it.
You can also use hands signal you determine beforehand.

“… Awarded.
Thereupon, the 『Mirror Shield』 is sold to N°413-sama for fifteen million Gils!”

’

A thunder of applause is heard in the venue.
As its name suggests, a mysterious shield reflecting light like a mirror is carried outside the stage.
As the auction progress, the venues tension is slowly rising as if a storm of fire is gradually burning up.

“Well then, we continue with entry number fifteen.
From the old Advance Magic Tool Civilization and at the same time used by the chain clan, it is said to possess the strongest attack power all the “Chain-Type (Model Chain)” Relics…”

The voice of the auctioneer echoes in my brain.
My body becomes hot.

I am only aiming for one product.
Therefore, the Relics that is coming out before shouldn’t be cared about but the enthusiasm of the people competing for it spreads to me and my heart is beating violently.

Why, why is the 『Reverse Face』 appearing in the second half.
If it was the first half, I might have had extra money to participate in another Relic bidding!

Thanks for reading! So, have Éclair sent a spy next to Cry? Too bad for them but he had been found out by Liz and Sytry! If you want to do it choose someone more capable XD And will Cry succeed to repress his urge to buy a Relic before the mask appear? Tchao à plus!

1.
When Liz talk about herself, she uses the third person or her own name to say I.