Avi2112
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Chapter 126: Noon Auction || Harem in a Labyrinth
🕑 Added 2025-07-17 12:15:38 +0000 UTCThe girl on the left had short, light blue hair, and she wore a white shirt with blue stripes paired with dark blue pants.
The girl on the right had long, slightly wild brown hair. Her shirt was a mix of red, brown, and white, and she wore short brown pants.
They had been a bit far off earlier, and were now walking away. However even from behind, they looked just like Eula and Amber from Genshin Impact.
Obviously, the first thing I did was use Appraisal, which confirmed my suspicion.
[Eula Lawrence <Female * Age 18>
Knight Level 10
Equipment: Sacrificial Misanga]
[Amber <Female * Age 15>
Hunter Level 9
Equipment: Sacrificial Misanga]
Even their voices that I had heard sounded like the ones from the game… although that could have just been my mind playing tricks on me.
There was a bit of a crowd between us, and I wasn’t keen on pushing my way through just to reach them. So, I kept an eye on them while heading up the stairs.
I asked Anastasia about the Lawrence family and about the earlier confrontation with the elf, but she didn’t know anything.
‘I do know about the Hunter job, Master,’ Anastasia responded through the party link, answering my other question about Amber. ‘They hunt animals and sell their parts to Merchants. Sometimes they take on small Demons too, but they mostly go after regular wildlife. It’s not a popular job in the big cities, but many villages near large forests have a Hunter Guild.’
I smiled, glad to discover another Job that I might be able to acquire myself.
We reached the auction hall, where a merchant at the entrance was loudly announcing their honest lottery system for determining the order of exhibits, just like in the morning auction.
The first thing I did after entering the large hall was scan the crowd for Eula and Amber. I spotted them seated in the packed front rows.
We definitely weren’t going to be sitting that far up—doing so would mean losing my Appraisal advantage. I sighed. I would probably only be able to talk to them after the auction.
Not that I had any real plan for what I would do once I approached them. Unlike the others I had met so far, these two weren’t slaves I could simply buy with money.
They were the first “free” waifus I had encountered in this world. In fact, Eula might even be a noble, considering she had a last name—but she didn’t seem to carry any of the grand titles Radia and her cousin Azur had.
I will have to ask Sherry sometime about how noble names and titles actually work here—and how someone qualifies for one.
“Master, let’s check the order list,” Anastasia said, drawing my attention and pointing toward one of the posted lists on the wall.
I nodded and followed her to a spot where a small group had just cleared out.
“Weapons, equipment... perfumes, carpets... wow, there’s a lot being auctioned,” I muttered after skimming through the two pages displayed side by side.
“Master, I will need a little time to memorize this,” Anastasia said, eyes fixed on the paper.
“Alright, take your time,” I said with a wry smile. Trying to memorize this myself would be a pointless endeavour.
As she focused on the list, my thoughts drifted to my finances. Back home, I had taken the time to count my remaining coins. Even after today’s extravagant spending spree, I still had 2 platinum, 6 gold, and 83 silver coins left.
Just to be safe, I should probably set aside 1 platinum coin for emergencies. After all, I still didn’t know when I would gain another one through the level-up rewards. The only regular way to acquire one was through having a white crystal—but my crystal was still green, and it would take a while before it turned white.
Still, I doubted I would be spending much at this auction. The prices for most of the items here wouldn’t come close to the cost of a slave—who, after all, were considered top-tier luxury goods in this world.
And I still had 9 participation slips left, which would be crucial for keeping the prices down.
“I have memorized it,” Anastasia said, taking a deep breath and standing up straight.
“Good work. Let’s get seated,” I replied, and we made our way to the same seats we had occupied during the previous auction, with Anastasia sitting beside me.
“There are a lot more people here than in the morning,” I muttered, glancing around the hall, which was now nearly full. Even the row directly in front of us had people seated in it.
“The auction sponsored by the Merchant Guild always draws a larger crowd,” Anastasia whispered beside me. “As this one caters to many more people.”
She leaned closer. “Also, Master, this auction will be a bit different from the previous one,” she added, beginning to explain the changes between them.
Many of the differences I had already noticed, but her explanation was far more detailed and insightful.
For example, this auction didn’t allow participants to inspect the items beforehand—unlike the previous slave auction. Instead, once you win a bid, you can verify the item’s authenticity at the Guild Temple before paying.
Also, after winning, you are given a small papyrus slip that corresponds to the exhibit number. You show this to the merchant to confirm your identity as the winning bidder.
This system was used because this auction moves much faster than the other one—there simply isn’t time for participants to walk away mid-auction to pay.
“Got it. Thanks,” I said with a smile, hugging her waist.
‘Can you tell me what all the items are, one by one?’ I asked through the party link.
‘Yes, Master,’ she replied dutifully and began listing them.
I listened to her voice while letting my gaze wander around the auction hall, mentally noting which items we might need to bid on.
Anastasia knew far more about these kinds of goods than I did, so I made sure to discuss my thoughts with her as we went through the list.
In the end, we marked several items as must-buys, while others were flagged as maybe, depending on their final price. As for the weapons and equipment, I would only consider bidding on them if they had empty slots—which I could verify with Appraisal.
With no waifus being auctioned this time, I could finally think more rationally about what I actually needed to buy.
While discussing things with Anastasia, I didn’t stop using Appraisal as my eyes scanned the Auction hall. This time, there were far more Merchants present and noticeably fewer Adventurers or Explorers. I even spotted a number of high-level Villagers among the attendees.
Of course, my gaze kept drifting back to Eula and Amber. They were seated near the front, quietly talking among themselves, ignoring everyone else around them.
I also noticed something new—many more people here had last names, which was unusual compared to the earlier auction. A few wore dark cloaks, shrouding their identities, while the rest were dressed in extravagant clothing. Unfortunately, most of them were men, so no new waifus to be found. And none of them had any of the grand titles I had seen on Radia or Azur either.
Speaking of which, I had expected Azur might show up, but she was surprisingly nowhere in sight.
My thoughts kept returning to Eula and Amber. Could this world really be connected to Teyvat? There were no signs of the Abyss, no Visions, no Archons… nothing like that here. Still, the possibility lingered.
Maybe this world is in the same multiverse as the HoYo games? The idea excited me—and terrified me. If that were true, then the ceiling here was insane. We would be talking about planet-busting entities roaming the cosmos.
I sighed, half-joking to myself. Guess I should start watching the skies for a flying train. If the Star Rail really shows up… well, that would be insane—but epic.
‘So the last item is really that... I don’t think I will have much use for it, though—’ I cut off mid-thought, my eyes widening.
Two unfamiliar figures in full black cloaks walked past us.
One was massive—tall enough to rival Vesta—while the other was closer to Anastasia’s height.
I had instinctively used Appraisal, just out of habit by now. But what I saw shocked me in disbelief.
“Master? What’s wrong?” Anastasia asked, catching my stunned expression.
“…Nothing,” I muttered, quickly averting my eyes. I forced myself to glance at them only in passing as they made their way to a seat in the middle rows.
But my mind was spiraling.
I kept using Appraisal on them repeatedly just to verify what I was seeing was true.
After repeated checks, I went silent, becoming deep in thought. Anastasia went quiet too, sensing something had shifted in my mood.
“I welcome you all to this Big Auction, proudly sponsored by the Merchant Guild!”
A loud male voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
It was Rosten—the same man who conducted the earlier auction. He stood center stage, announcing just as confidently as before, a broad smile on his face.
I straightened in my seat, pushing all lingering thoughts to the back of my mind. Beside me, Anastasia looked up with a relieved smile, then turned forward with a focused expression.
“The order of the exhibits has been determined by a fair lottery,” Rosten continued. “Let’s begin! Will the first exhibitor please come onto the stage?”
A weapon merchant stepped forward, carrying a tray with a sword displayed on it. He bowed respectfully to the audience.
“The first item is a Wind Rapier, accompanied by its Spell Chant,” Rosten declared. “The minimum bid starts at 500 nars. Now then—please begin!”
“500 nars!”
“600 nars!”
“700 nars!”
‘No empty slots on the sword. No need to bid,’ I told Anastasia via the party link after using Appraisal.
She nodded obediently.
Even though the final price would be in gold coins—and with my [Discount] skill I would pay even less—I wasn’t interested in equipment without skill slots. If it had a slot, Sherry could have added a skill into it through the skill crystal, greatly increasing its value and making it more useful for our party in the long run.
Anastasia had agreed with my assessment, even praising the cleverness of my thinking.
The Wind Rapier eventually sold for 10 gold—a steep price, according to Anastasia. It was a sign of how competitive the bidding would be.
Before long, Anastasia began participating in the bidding herself, as the honest lottery had arranged for all the weapons and equipment to be auctioned at the start.
Naturally, we won every item we had our eyes on. In fact, some merchants voluntarily backed out once they realized it was me bidding—likely as a gesture of goodwill. Of course, a few stubborn ones kept raising the bids, but with deep pockets like mine, there was no way we would lose.
“Looks like I am going to need a lot more participation slips,” I said with a wry smile, watching Anastasia win yet another bid.
“I am sure Mina will be happy to give you whatever you ask for, Master,” Anastasia replied with a teasing grin.
I pinched her soft waist, making her yelp and blush.
“Sir, your winning slip,” a Level 2 male merchant said as he approached and handed me a small paper with the exhibit number written on it.
“Thanks,” I said, slipping it into my pocket along with the others.
“The next exhibit is rather unusual,” Rosten announced, drawing our attention back to the stage. “It’s a Weapon-type Equipment, but strangely, it cannot be appraised by the Weapon Merchant.”
A Weapon Merchant stepped on the stage with a dull silver sword placed on a tray.
“Huh?” I muttered, frowning at the results from my own Appraisal skill.
“These kinds of defective products pop up from time to time in auctions, Master,” Anastasia added with a shake of her head. “They hope someone might buy it by mistake or curiosity, but usually no one bids.”
“100,000 nars!”
Just as she finished speaking, a calm female voice called out the first bid—an enormous jump straight to ten gold coins.
I looked up sharply. The one who placed the bid was the shorter of the two figures in black cloaks.
“Anastasia, match their bid,” I said quietly, my gaze narrowing as I stared at the silver sword.
***
[Whitewings has used his points to add waifu, Eula from Genshin Impact to this story!]
[Whitewings has used his points to add waifu, Amber from Genshin Impact to this story!]
Thank you for your support!
***
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Comments
Avirat Dulera
Thank you for not spoiling 🤣🤣
Liquidforest
Thanks for the chapter, it's so obvious who the cloaked character is, I immediately figured it out, not even a surprise really. But I won't say so as to not spoil it for others even though I totally definitely know who it is. 😉 🤣
Grolis
Thanks for the chapter
Vanthebeard
So who are the mysterious cloaked people? The author clearly wants us to ask
