"If you like it, big brother, you can bid on it."
Matthews thought it over, then said, "Forget it. It's not worth it."
"No matter. Once the things we brought in are sold, we'll have money."
"All right, then. Twenty-five gold coins."
Sure enough, as soon as Matthews finished speaking, a shill jumped in and called out, "Thirty-five gold coins!"
Matthews cursed under his breath. As expected, shills are a bunch of bastards!
The shill waited a while, but the person in the private box didn't bid again. The auctioneer, meanwhile, kept delaying the hammer, asking over and over, "Is anyone else willing to bid?"
Taking the opportunity, the second shill called out forty gold coins. Matthews remained calm and didn't bid again.
Just then, Winter called out, "Forty-five gold coins."
"Ah, why are you bidding so much? This thing isn't worth that price at all."
Winter didn't seem to care. "It's not much money. If you like it, I'll buy it for you."
In the end, Winter easily won the item for forty-five gold coins. Matthews also managed to buy an unknown mineral the size of a fist.
"Next, we have a pair of glass vessels from a noble family. They are crystal clear and exude an air of elegance. Their former owner was a young master from a prominent clan."
After the auctioneer displayed the two glass pieces Matthews had made, a young master in one of the top-tier private boxes exclaimed, "These are lovely. They might make a nice gift."
In another private box on the second floor, Kelly, whom Matthews had met once before, was with her brother. Seeing that his sister liked the pieces, he said, "If you like them, I'll bid on them for you."
"Mhm. Mother's birthday is in a few days. We can give them to her."
"You're always so thoughtful, little sister."
After introducing the pieces for a while, the auctioneer announced, "The starting price for these two glass vessels is one hundred thousand gold coins. Each bid must be at least one hundred gold coins higher than the previous one."
Someone in the main hall immediately called out, "One hundred and ten thousand gold coins!"
"Heh heh heh—"
Matthews wasn't an idiot. From what Winter had said earlier, he could tell that the ordinary glass cups would ultimately be bought by someone in a private box on the second or third floor. The person bidding in the main hall was definitely a shill hired by the auction house.
The shills Matthews had found so despicable earlier now seemed rather lovable. With just that one bid, he'd made an extra ten thousand gold coins.
The bids came fast. As soon as the person in the main hall finished, someone on the second floor called out, "One hundred and twenty thousand."
"Tch. Cheap."
After saying that, Kelly's brother bid, "Two hundred thousand gold coins."
The young master who'd shown interest earlier immediately followed with, "Two hundred and ten thousand gold coins."
"Two hundred and thirty thousand."
"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"
Their bids came one after another, and Matthews's head swung back and forth between them. He was so excited he was shouting inwardly, Keep bidding! Outbid him!
"Four hundred thousand gold coins! If you like them, my friend, I'll let you have them!"
Kelly could see that her brother was starting to lose his reason as the price climbed. Though the glass cups were rare, they weren't worth anywhere near that much. She reminded him, "Brother, maybe we should let it go."
Kelly's brother looked at his sister, then said, "All right. I'll make one last bid. If he raises it again, we'll let it go."
"Four hundred and ten thousand gold coins."
After Kelly's brother made that bid, the other person, who'd been matching him all along, didn't bid again.
"Aw, that's a shame. He didn't raise the bid again!"
Seeing Matthews's excitement, Winter explained, "We've already made a profit. The glass cups are worth around two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins."
Matthews was still wondering whether he should take the opportunity to make another batch, since these glass pieces had sold for so much. But one look at Lodi, standing beside Winter with a cold expression, immediately cooled his excitement at the thought of suddenly acquiring a fortune.
He wasn't the naïve newcomer who'd just arrived in this world anymore. He'd been able to sell these two glass cups only because of the influence of Winter's family. He was only a level-six warrior now; there was no way he could protect the secret of glassmaking.
If he revealed the secret now, Winter might not care. But Lodi would definitely report it to the people backing him, and Winter's clan would probably be the first to turn their blades on Matthews.
Soon, the auction came to an end. After deducting a five-percent commission from the four hundred and ten thousand gold coins, Matthews was left with more than three hundred and eighty thousand. Someone from the auction house brought a gold card and the Natural Magnetite to the private box.
A beautiful woman came to deliver them. She knocked and entered, then gave a standard noble's greeting and smiled at Winter. "Greetings, young Master Winter."
People in their line of business were highly skilled at reading others. The Utteridge Clan held considerable influence in the empire, so she naturally recognized its second young master, Winter.
"Thank you."
Winter nodded politely. After Lodi accepted the gold card, the woman withdrew with a courteous smile. Lodi turned and handed the card to Matthews.
Holding the gold card, Matthews thanked Winter. "I owe you one for this."
"I'll have Mia bring your share to the academy later."
"Sure, there's no rush. Where should we go next?"
"I want to have a weapon made. I'm a level-six warrior now, but I still don't have a weapon that suits me."
Winter thought for a moment, then added, "I don't know of any good weapon smiths in the Imperial Capital, though."
When Matthews had deliberately approached Winter, Lodi had also looked into the siblings' background. He'd found that they were commoners with little influence, and had learned about their talents as well. Later, after deciding they posed no threat to his young master, he'd been happy to let things continue. After all, the siblings had talents worth cultivating.
"Master Drexler has a workshop in the Imperial Capital."
Seeing Lodi, who was usually so curt, speak up, Matthews quickly asked, "Really?"
Matthews knew how to forge weapons, but he wasn't a professional smith. Before, he'd had no connections or cultivation techniques, so he'd planned to take the weapons he made and try his luck, hoping to obtain a technique.
Now that he had a better option, he naturally had to abandon that desperate last resort.
"I don't know whether the master will have time."
Winter replied, "No matter. We're not busy today anyway. Let's go have a look!"
Before you continue