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The Staggering Price of Bridging Worlds – Part 04

Kujastria told Hikaru she’d look for elemental magic stones but warned him not to expect too much.

With 27 days remaining until the next execution of the spell, and Serika’s request to activate it earlier than scheduled, Hikaru had to obtain a sizable elemental magic stone within the next 24 days.

“…”

“What’s wrong, Hikaru? You seem lost in thought, staring out the window.”

“It’s nothing.”

Hikaru found himself thinking about the time he’d traveled to the Quinbrand Empire with Luvain. Back then, he’d promised himself a late summer vacation, determined not to let it end in failure. But now he realized that said vacation hinged on resolving the Four Eastern Stars’ problem.

Well, I had a feeling it would turn out this way… But I never thought I’d be scrambling to get elemental magic stones.

Hikaru had already reached out to Southleaf Island’s Adventurers Guild through the royal capital’s branch, asking to buy elemental magic stones. While the capital was running low on stock, Southleaf Island should still have some.

Even if the purchase went through, though, the stones wouldn’t arrive until next month at the earliest. For the next spell, he had to find elemental magic stones himself.

Worst case, I might have to skip this month altogether.

He turned around and looked at Lavia. “Wow,” he breathed. “That looks great on you.”

Hikaru’s party was at a high-class inn—as always—in the royal capital.

Usually opting for an adventurer’s style, Hikaru was currently dressed to the nines, with a well-tailored suit and a necktie. He even had his hair groomed.

“Really? It doesn’t look weird?”

“Not at all. I can tell you were a noble.”

Lavia wore a striking light blue dress that matched the color of her eyes. Her wide-brimmed hat, adorned with feathers, looked heavy, but according to Lavia, it was surprisingly light. She was also holding a dark brown parasol.

Lavia giggled. “It’s nice to dress up like this occasionally while we go out.”

“Yeah. We’ve earned quite a lot, and barely spent it.”

They had not purchased these clothes, only rented them. Since they weren’t tailor-made, finding ones that fit was difficult, and the fact that Lavia found a dress in the same color as her eyes was fortunate.

“Um… does this still not look strange?”

Paula, also changed, came out of her room.

Her violet dress had a mature flair to it, emphasizing her curves, and her makeup made her appear like she was in her mid-twenties.

“…”

“…”

“Why are you not saying anything?!”

“Just thinking how the habit provided a lot of protection,” Hikaru said.

“Showing such disparity in crucial moments is dirty,” Lavia added.

“What are you saying?!”

She’s right, Hikaru thought. There was no other way to describe it than dirty.

“All right. We should get going.”

The trio left the inn together. As it was located on the main street of the capital, they quickly arranged for a carriage and headed to an estate owned by a noble. Numerous carriages had already gathered, elegantly dressed people streaming into the mansion.

“Oh, hello, lovely young man, ladies. Is this your first time here?” A black-suited man at the entrance respectfully bowed. “There’s an auction of rare magic-related items today. Are you certain you haven’t mistaken this for a party at another mansion?”

“We have invitations. Check them,” Hikaru said, deliberately adopting an arrogant tone as he pulled an envelope from his pocket.

Most of the other guests were middle-aged, with the youngest in their thirties.

This auction, known for its high-priced items, lacked the entertaining vibe typical of art auctions. It was considered a more serious affair, with the kingdom itself managing the sellers and listings. It was no place for children.

With my clothes and hairstyle, I think I look older than my age.

There weren’t any other young boys and girls at the venue, so they stood out. To avoid suspicion, they all wore ornate festival masks instead of silver ones.

The black-suited man checked the invitation with a hint of exasperation, and upon seeing the signature, his eyes widened.

“Q-Queen Kujastria’s signature?!” His loud voice drew all eyes toward them. “I-Is it authentic? But this seal clearly belongs to the royal family.”

The man turned the invitation inside out to check, but Hikaru wasn’t keen on wasting time.

“Can we enter?”

“Y-Yes. Go ahead.”

He swiftly retrieved the invitation, and they entered the mansion.

A staff ushered them to the auction venue—a large room resembling a dining hall with evenly spaced chairs facing a stage about fifty centimeters high, where the auctioneer would likely stand.

As Hikaru’s group prepared to take their seats, a deliberately-raised voice reached their ears.

“Good grief. Children sneaking into a place like this. The prestige of the royal capital auction has really taken a hit.”

In the distance, four portly men, who seemed like merchants, were seated comfortably.

“I heard they have an invitation from Her Majesty the Queen.”

“There’s no way it’s authentic. Even if it were, that would be a problem. I can’t believe the new Queen would meddle in such an auction.”

“The late king was exceptional. The items in circulation were of high quality, and I made a considerable profit. But now, it seems many goods are stuck at customs. Suspicion of irregularities and all that.”

“Oh, scary. Imagine having business shut down because of baseless accusations. Queen Kujastria seems quite distrustful.”

These merchants had reaped significant benefits under the previous king, who was controlled by the chamberlain.

Kujastria should have banished the nobles under the chamberlain and Austrin.

Nobles wielded privileges, facilitating substantial corruption in their pursuit of major ventures. Meanwhile, merchants, reliant on nobility for profit, hovered in a precarious gray area. Their larger numbers, perhaps, shielded them from extensive investigations.

Regardless, they likely suffered losses from the nobility’s downfall, yet they still had the leeway to attend an auction.

It looks like Kujastria’s vision of an ideal future will take some times to materialize.

When people talked about how the previous ruler was better, Hikaru found himself empathizing with Queen Kujastria.

“Ladies and gentlemen. It is time for the auction to begin.”

The auctioneer made his appearance—a middle-aged man with a round, egg-shaped physique donning a tailcoat. His head was bald, and his body was smooth overall. Notably, his beard alone remained rich.

While his appearance possessed a certain charm, his auctioneering skills were formidable, smoothly introducing items and advancing the auction.

Rare magic items and catalysts were presented, and with approximately thirty participants, the ambiance was quiet, given the practical nature of the items. Bidding entailed a simple raising of hands and stating the amount.

More affordable than I expected.

While some items surpassed 100,000 gilans, others dipped as low as 30,000 gilans. The kingdom’s currency, gilan, held a value of around 10 yen per gilan.

Hikaru had exchanged the holy gold coins he acquired in Bios for kingdom currency, amassing a total of about 10 million gilans. With this, he should be able to secure several elemental magic stones—ensuring, of course, to claim the expenses from Serika.

“Next up is a water elemental magic stone, found in the Poison Wind Passage dungeon in the eastern part of the kingdom. Of course, all harmful substances, including poison, have been removed.”

A small murmur arose—the first noticeable reaction from the audience. It was big, about twice the size of a basketball. The round, plump rock emanated a light blue glow.

“The starting bid is 1 million gilans.”

“1.5.”

“2 million.”

“3 million.”

“3.5.”

The bidding intensified. Hikaru hastily raised his hand, offering 5 million, but was immediately countered with a 5.5.

In the blink of an eye, the amount soared past 10 million gilans, preventing Hikaru from participating further. The participants were astir at the escalating bid, which ultimately ended up at 15 million gilans. The victor was one of the merchants mocking Hikaru’s group earlier.

“That was quite expensive.”

“Indeed. But elemental magic stones are a scarce resource currently. A client pestered me, you see.”

“Only huge firms can fork out this amount of money. Definitely not children.”

The sight of them smirking at Hikaru’s direction was irritating.

I doubt they have unlimited funds.

Hikaru shifted his focus to bidding on other elemental magic stones.