Magic Item Auction

Charlotte was slightly surprised. "Miss Anne! Why are you here so early? I was just about to take care of a personal matter. Your carriage is over there—thank you for lending it to me."

Anne nodded to the other coachman on the carriage. He jumped down and drove away the carriage that had been parked there since last night.

She said to Charlotte, "Where are you going? I'll give you a ride."

Charlotte greatly envied the lifestyle of getting around by carriage. Riding in one was far more comfortable than walking, especially in rainy weather, when traveling on foot was simply a disaster.

He could afford to buy a carriage, but storing one required a courtyard, the horse needed a stable, and he would also have to hire a coachman.

A First-Class Clerk of the forty-first rank could hardly afford all the expenses that came with a carriage. Even a First-Rank Chief Clerk of the thirty-seventh rank could not afford it. It was a lifestyle divided by class.

He said, "A friend asked me to sell a magic item for him."

Anne's eyes lit up. "I happen to know of a Magic Item Auction."

Charlotte was quietly delighted as well. He had no connections of his own, so if he wanted to sell something, he could only go to a secondhand shop. Such stores generally offered very low prices.

Magic Item Auctions often sold things for several times their value.

Such gatherings were for the upper class. Their organizers were usually people of great standing, and only wealthy merchants rich enough to rival nations or great nobles received invitations.

The Mecklen Family was considered wealthy, but it still did not meet the threshold for attending a Magic Item Auction. As the Mecklen Family's second son, Charlotte had no way in.

Anne extended her small hand in invitation.

Charlotte did not hesitate long. He opened the carriage door and helped Anne aboard, then climbed in after her.

This carriage was a little plainer than yesterday's, though it was still spacious enough to seat seven or eight people.

Charlotte sat across from Anne and asked, "Miss Anne, don't you have classes today?"

As a third-year student, her studies ought to have been demanding. Charlotte asked casually, opening up today's conversation.

Anne answered with a touch of pride, "I've already completed my core credits. I only have a few practical courses left, so my schedule is quite relaxed. I don't need to go to school every day."

Only then did Charlotte realize that he should not view the world of top students through the eyes of a mediocre student.

Back in college, Huang Haisheng had struggled every day, working desperately to finish the assignments assigned by his professors, worrying that he would not earn enough credits and fail to graduate. He could not relax for even a moment. The mathematics department had a famous saying: when pushed to the limit, people can do anything—except mathematics.

Charlotte Mecklen was much the same as Huang Haisheng, both merely ordinary kinds of outstanding. He had graduated from Leman Public School and entered Behemoth National Academy. He had once taken Lamia Breathing Technique as an elective, but even by graduation, he had only barely condensed a Seed of Power and had never managed to break free of the cocoon. During four years at Sheffield University, he had likewise failed to achieve Spiritual Awakening, only stepping into Transcendence by summoning an evil god.

Compared to Anne Brittany, who had entered Transcendence through her own strength in her first year, he fell short by far more than a little.

Anne Brittany was much more composed than yesterday. She was actually quite tall; by Earth's measurements, she was around one hundred seventy centimeters. Even allowing for the thickness of her shoe soles, she could not have been under one hundred sixty-eight centimeters. She was a tall girl by any standard.

Today, she wore tortoiseshell-framed glasses instead of a long dress. Her knee-high boots and leather hunting trousers perfectly outlined her long legs. She wore a fitted short jacket on top, while her smooth blonde hair was tied into a ponytail that fell behind her head. She looked valiant and dashing, and a tricorne hat rested beside her seat.

After the small talk, Charlotte asked, "Miss Anne, do you have any other plans today? If you changed your schedule because of me, I'd feel terribly sorry."

Anne hesitated slightly before answering, "I'm also going to the Magic Item Auction."

Anne lowered her voice. "But there's something I must explain to Mr. Mecklen. I'm not going to the Magic Item Auction to buy anything. Rather... the person who killed my aunt will be at today's auction."

Charlotte was startled. "Mr. Yang Mills will be there too? Shouldn't we report this to the City Patrol?"

Biting her lip, Anne said, "The Magic Item Auction is being hosted by Duchess Mesu. The City Patrol cannot enter the venue."

Charlotte understood at once. Although the Empire of Fars was a society governed by law, things were utterly different from the world of later generations.

In Huang Haisheng's original world, no high-ranking official would have dared openly entertain a wanted criminal. But in this world, the law was nothing but a pile of wastepaper before nobles.

Power stood above the law!

The City Patrol would never offend a duchess over a wanted criminal, especially not a powerful noble like Duchess Mesu.

Charlotte had heard many rumors about Duchess Mesu, but all of them could be summed up in one line—she controlled one-sixth of the Empire's navy.

The Northern Fleet was the hereditary army of Duchess Mesu. It had never pledged loyalty to His Imperial Majesty, only to the Mesu Family.

Had Zimmerman Axel Robin not returned with the Pirate King's fleet, and had Duchess Mesu not lost part of her fleet exploring the Sea of Fury several years ago, the Northern Fleet at its peak would have been half the size of the Imperial Navy.

Charlotte was wondering whether his little trinket would seem too shabby at such an elite auction when he heard the girl speak apologetically. "I'm sorry to drag Mr. Mecklen into this, but I truly need your help."

Charlotte asked in some confusion, "What can I help with?"

He did not think making a move at Duchess Mesu's auction was a good idea. Even if the Brittany Family was powerful, this was absolutely not something they should do.

Anne said softly, "He knows me, but he doesn't know you. You can help me get close to him and place this Tracking Beetle on him. That way, even if he leaves the auction, I'll still be able to track him."

Anne Brittany opened her palm. A tiny black beetle rested on her delicate hand. The beetle looked lifelike, but it was not a living creature. It was a Magic Alchemy Creation, and one could even see gears as fine as strands of hair.

Charlotte did not understand how Magic Alchemy Creations moved. Earth's technology could accomplish the same thing, but its principles were clear and everything was scientific. Magic Alchemy Creations, however, were chaotic in every respect. To this day, there was not even a complete theory for them. He could only marvel that this world truly possessed wonders of its own.

This seemed like a simple favor, and it would not bring him any trouble. Charlotte agreed at once and said with a smile, "I would be happy to be of service to Miss Anne."

The two discussed some details of the plan, and then the carriage arrived before an old residence.

Charlotte had not expected the Magic Item Auction to be held in the Alexander District.

He had always assumed that a Magic Item Auction would be held in the Val-d'Oise District. He had never imagined it was in the Alexander District, not even far from the Savings Society Apartment.