"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tonight's charity auction. I'm your host for the evening, Ryan."
The hall fell silent at once, leaving the host to continue, "I'm sure your time is exceptionally valuable, so I'll get straight to the point."
An attendant removed a red cloth, revealing an ancient implement beneath it.
"Emperor Roselle once said, 'Taking history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of nations.' As it happens, our first lot today was recently unearthed by the Cultural Relics Protection Association. It's said to date back to the Fourth Epoch."
"Those who wish to contribute to the Cultural Relics Protection Association, or to safeguard the history of the Loen Kingdom, may bid on it. The starting price is five hundred pounds, with minimum increments of ten pounds."
Wilt: "..."
Old Huang... He's everywhere.
And this thing is worth two hundred pounds at most, yet you're starting the bidding at five hundred. Is this what they call a charity auction? Nobles really do have too much money.
To make the distribution of wealth a little more even, I'll swindle them properly and rob the rich to help the poor.
While Wilt's thoughts ran wild, someone made a bid as soon as Ryan finished speaking. "Six hundred pounds!"
"Sir Deville truly lives up to his reputation as a great philanthropist, raising the bid by a hundred pounds at once. On behalf of the Cultural Relics Protection Association, I thank you..."
"Any other bids?"
"Six hundred and fifty pounds!"
"Very good. Baron Fred bids six hundred and fifty pounds."
"It seems everyone attaches great importance to archaeology. I hope that, with all your efforts, the Loen Kingdom can enact laws to protect cultural relics as soon as possible."
"Seven hundred pounds!"
After a round of bidding, Sir Deville ultimately won the ordinary relic for nine hundred pounds.
"Now for our second lot!"
A childlike drawing was brought out.
"This is the graduation work of a child from the Church of Evernight's Sunday school. Let us praise the Goddess, for Her existence has given even women and children from poor families the right to an education."
"If you are a faithful believer of the Evernight Goddess, or if you wish to contribute to the Sunday school and give more children the opportunity to learn, now is the time to bid."
"The starting price is three thousand pounds!"
As soon as Ryan finished speaking, Sir Deville bid again. "Ten thousand pounds!"
"Praise the Goddess! Sir Deville truly is a devout believer of the Evernight Goddess. The Goddess will surely watch over you."
Wilt: !!!
He donated ten thousand pounds to the Evernight Goddess. Can I still go through with it now?
Wilt considered whether to change his original plan. At the very least, he could avoid frightening Sir Deville quite so badly.
The charity auction continued for more than two hours. Wilt noticed that Sir Deville bought a fifth of the lots, spending roughly fifty thousand pounds in total.
Seated in the carriage, Earl Corodo asked Wilt, "What did you think of tonight?"
"I was deeply shocked," Wilt replied. "It was completely different from what I used to see in the Rorsted Archipelago."
A smile appeared on Earl Corodo's face. "You'll get used to it after you've experienced more of these things. What I wanted to ask was, what do you think of the Conservative Party and the New Party?"
Wilt shook his head. "Sorry, Uncle Corodo. I can't see any difference between them."
"You're right not to see one," Corodo replied. "In truth, the Conservative Party and the New Party are merely groups formed to protect their respective interests."
"The Conservative Party is made up mainly of landed nobles, while the New Party consists of factory owners and bankers. Both need large populations. The former use farmers to grow crops and increase their profits, while the latter put farmers to work in factories."
"Besides the population, they also clashed over land, taxes, laws, control of resources, and other matters. In time, they became the Loen Kingdom's two major political parties."
"The people we need to win over next are the major capitalists, primarily factory owners and bankers. You don't need to understand the other matters just yet, but it's best to know the basics."
"Mm." Wilt nodded as though he had understood something, then took the initiative to say goodbye.
"In that case, Uncle Corodo, I'll head back first. I'll leave the rest to Lanevus. I'll come forward again when you need me."
A trace of surprise flashed in Earl Corodo's eyes. "Aren't you staying with me?"
"You may need to meet with New Party members frequently in the coming days. If you stay with me, everything you do will be much more convenient."
"No." Wilt shook his head.
"Ever since I left the Ross Archipelago, assassins have been after me. If I weren't a Beyonder myself, I might have died long ago."
"Also, I recently encountered someone from the Rose School of Thought. I suspect they were assassins hired by someone in the Rorsted Archipelago as well."
"To avoid getting you into trouble, Uncle Corodo, I'd better stay somewhere else on my own. As for the gold mine, sorry to trouble you with it, Uncle Corodo. Lanevus will give you his full cooperation."
The moment he heard about the assassins and the Rose School of Thought, Earl Corodo changed his attitude. "Then take care of yourself. If anything happens, remember to ask the Church for help immediately."
Wilt opened his mouth, then swallowed the lines he had prepared.
Is he really that afraid of death? And here I'd prepared so many arguments. What a waste of emotion.
Wilt then had the carriage stop and stood by the roadside to bid Earl Corodo farewell.
"Goodbye, Uncle Corodo. I wish you every success in what comes next."
Tingen City, at night, in Sir Deville's house.
After parting with Earl Corodo, Wilt had come straight here.
"Tap, tap, tap!" He strolled leisurely down the path, while the servants passing by looked straight through him, as though he didn't exist.
That was because Wilt was using Psychological Invisibility, so the others couldn't see him at all.
Wilt made his way into Sir Deville's bedroom without hindrance. Sir Deville was already lying in bed, fast asleep.
"Sleeping so soundly. Let me spice up your dream!"
"Whoosh!" Hailiye flew out of Wilt's body. Dense black gas poured from her spirit body and entered Sir Deville's body.
Fast asleep, Sir Deville suddenly frowned, as though somewhat uncomfortable.
"Let me think. I can't be too hard on him. He did just donate money to the Evernight Goddess, so I'd better micromanage this myself."
The next instant, Wilt vanished from where he stood and entered Sir Deville's dream.
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
"Get up and get to work!"
Sir Deville blearily opened his eyes and found someone shoving him.
"Deville, get up and get to work! If you're late, watch out or you'll get the whip again!"