It was a rusty iron ring that he wouldn’t have picked up even if it was rolling on the street. However, that wasn’t the ring’s true form.

It could transform into a special ring, one that couldn’t be bought with any amount of gold, under the right circumstances and with the ingredients.

Hmm, I can feel some mysterious power. Is it a sealed item? You have some sharp eyes.

Wrath admired, noticing the energy inside the ring.

“Eek? Are you going to buy that? It’s completely rusty. Even the secondhand shop wouldn’t give one silver, not even one copper for it.”

On the other hand, Dorian frowned looking at the ring. Despite being from a merchant family, he was unable to notice it.

“I don’t think so.”

Raon wagged his finger and brought the ring to the shop owner.

“How much is this?”

“You picked a good one. It’s magical equipment that can increase strength and cleanse the mind, so… just give five.”

Five meant five gold. Even though it was magical equipment, it was extremely expensive considering its mediocre abilities and appearance.

“Dorian, let’s leave.”

Raon left the ring on the counter and turned around.

“That’s a wise decision! You can find a low-quality item like that anywhere…”

“Wait! You should listen until the end!”

The shop owner ran out from behind the counter and blocked their way.

“I was just trying to cast a net, so you shouldn’t leave like that.”

The shop owner laughed foolishly and started calculating the price by folding and stretching his fingers.

“Four! Four gold would be the perfect price…”

“I wasted my time.”

“Ah, wait!”

As he was about to leave after clicking his tongue, the shop owner spread his arms to block him.

“Three and half! No, three!”

After trying three and half, he saw Raon’s expression and lowered it to three. However, Raon was just staring at the shop owner instead of showing a reaction.

“Ugh! T-two and half.”

“……”

“This is the real one. I need to make a living, too!”

“……”

“O-okay! Okay! Two!”

“Well, that sounds…”

“Pff! That’s so wrong!”

When Raon was about to nod, Dorian interrupted like the wind.

“Old man! Who are you trying to scam? I can see at a glance you got this ring with silvers!”

“Eek?”

“Let’s see. The ring’s effects are on strength and mind, but if it really was effective on the mind, it wouldn’t be at a place like this. And its strength effect shouldn’t be as good as an ogre gauntlet or ogre ring.”

“Uhh…”

“Then does it look good? Not at all. Nobody would pick it up even if you threw it over there. That’s why we should come to another agreement. Let’s see…”

Dorian grabbed the merchant’s shoulder, who was partially out of his mind, and kept telling him something incomprehensible.

“It’s perfect! One gold!”

“Uwaa…”

It looked like the shop owner was sick of Dorian’s eloquence and talkativeness as his head shook like a pendulum.

“J-just give one gold for it.”

Raon looked around, and Dorian raised his thumb to brag.

“Good job.”

Raon snickered and left one gold on the counter.

He must’ve obtained the ring at between ten to twenty silvers. The reason he gave him one gold despite knowing that was because the ring was worth more than a hundred gold.

“Wow, do the customers visit around here often? That was really amazing despite your young appearance.”

The shop owner wiped the sweat from his forehead and blew a breath.

“I’m from a merchant family. I know everything about stuff like this.”

“That’s why you were so good with calculations. Goodbye!”

The shop owner waved his hand and sat in front of the counter.

“It doesn’t look great in my eyes, but it must be good if the young master likes it.”

“You are indeed from a merchant family, but your eyes aren’t sharp at all.”

As Raon went outside with the ring in his hand, the fox masked woman and her guards were standing in front of the shop. She was the woman he met the day before in the casino.

“Wait a moment.”

She looked at the ring he was holding in his right hand.

“Did you buy that ring from here?”

She was speaking politely unlike the day before, even though the arrogance behind it was the same.

“I did.”

Raon responded the same way.

“How about selling it to me? I don’t know how much you bought it for, but I’ll pay ten times the price.”

“Eek!”

The scream came from the merchant, who had been smiling from behind him.

“Y-young master let’s sell it. She wants to buy that cheap ring for ten times its price!”

Dorian walked up to him like a crab and whispered in his ears.

The fox masked woman’s yellow eyes were glowing. It was a different feeling from yesterday's desire for victory, the greed. She must’ve been aware of the ring’s true value.

“I don’t want to.”

Raon resolutely shook his head.

“Then as for the payment… What?”

Her voice’s pitch increased since she’d expected him to sell it for sure.

“I’m not selling it.”

As he was trying to leave the shop while shaking his hand, the guards that were standing next to her blocked his way.

“Then twenty times, no I’ll give thirty times the price.”

“I’m not interested.”

The guard didn’t move away despite his refusal.

“Fifty gold.”

“I told you I don’t want to.”

Raon got more and more annoyed as he shook his head.

“H-hey, m-mate.”

The shop owner came up to him with trembling hands.

“What are you doing! S-sell it already! That ten-silver ring became fifty gold. That’s five hundred times the price! Sell it already and give me a portion…”

So, the ring’s original price was ten silvers.

The shop owner murmured ten silvers, forgetting that he’d sold it for one gold.

“I don’t recklessly sell my belongings.”

Raon snickered and drew a half moon with his hand.

“Ugh?”

The guard that was blocking his way was unconsciously pushed aside. Since he hadn’t expected to be bounced off by a single hand gesture, his face turned red.

“Argh!”

“What.”

When the guard was about to block his way once again, Raon stomped his foot. The ground trembled along with a thud.

“Did you forget where we are? It will be troublesome if you cause problems in the black market.”

“Stay still.”

“E-excuse me.”

The guard that was about to make his move lowered his head upon hearing the woman’s order.

“This is my last offer. I’ll give you a hundred gold.”

“I refuse.”

Raon immediately shook his head and went to the auction house.

The fact that she offered a hundred gold meant the ring’s value surpassed it. Moreover, he needed it even more than that, so there was no way he would sell it.

“Kuahh!”

“Uhaaa!”

The shop owner that sold him the ring and Dorian screamed at once upon hearing the refusal.

“The beggar doesn’t know his place because he is slightly good at gambling.”

The fox masked woman snickered, putting her hand on her waist.

“Are you seriously saying that just because I’m not selling my own item?”

“You don’t know how scary the world is. You’d better think about the reason that people lower themselves if you don’t want to end up dying in a ditch.”

There was no way that was true. He knew better than anyone how scary the world was. The person who didn’t know anything wasn’t himself, but the woman that was acting as she pleased.

“I’m leaving if you’re done.”

He could feel the fox masked woman’s threatening gaze, but he ignored her and went to the auction house.

* * *

* * *

[Date's necklace was auctioned at 70 gold!]

[Congratulations!]

The auction had begun.

It wasn’t the only auction house, as there was another one downstairs. It was a place for the truly rich people, since the items over there mostly started at twenty to fifty gold, ending up several times more expensive than the one he was in.

Since the black butterfly Raon was trying to purchase wasn’t a really expensive item, it was auctioned on the first floor, where he was at.

As expected of the first floor’s auction, none of the items had a unique rating and most of them had either a magic or rare rating.

Raon looked for interesting items with blazing eyes, but he couldn’t find anything worth purchasing.

He just came to buy the black butterfly. Obtaining the ring was already a great harvest, so it would’ve been greedy of him to hope for more.

[The next up is the aloof black colored butterfly that eats magic stones, the black butterfly!]

A bird cage was brought up to the platform at the host’s excited voice. A butterfly that shone a faint black was stuck to the magic stone inside the birdcage.

Even though it could leave through the cage, the butterfly wasn’t running away as it stayed near the magic stone.

[It’s a popular ornamental item because of its beautiful faint light. Even though it doesn’t live for a long time and eats a lot of magic stones, nothing beats its beauty.]

The downsides could barely be heard, unlike when he was talking about the upsides.

[Let’s start the auction. Since the black butterfly was sold at twelve gold last time, we will start at one gold.]

[Yes. Number 15, two gold.]

[Number 21, three gold.]

* * *

People raised their hands here and there as the auction progressed. When the price got fairly high, Raon raised his finger.

[Number 77, thirteen gold. Thirteen gold! Is anyone calling for more?]

The host looked around, but no one was raising their hands.

Thirteen was actually a lot already, since the butterfly only had ornamental purposes for them.

[If not, then it will be auctioned at thirteen gold.]

It was as Raon was getting ready to stand up and the host was about to strike his hammer that someone raised their hand in the center.

[Fifteen! Number 80 raised it to fifteen gold!]

“Hmm?”

He looked to find out who was burning fifteen gold on an ornamental butterfly that only had a lifespan of a few days.

It was the fox masked woman that he’d met in the casino the day before and at the shop that day.

She looked at him and grinned. It was different from the ring. She just wanted to disturb him despite not needing the butterfly.

“She is blatantly provoking us right now.”

Dorian also noticed as he murmured that it was going to be troublesome.

“I’ll accept it.”

Raon raised his hand once again.

[Ohh! Number 77, seventeen gold! Seventeen gold has been call… Twenty?]

As soon as he increased the price to seventeen gold, the woman raised it to twenty.

[Twenty-two, Twenty-four, Twenty-six, Thirty! Thirty gold has been called! It’s a new record for the black butterfly at our auction house!]

Tsk.

Raon clicked his tongue. The old record was twenty gold, yet it was now thirty gold. It was all because of that woman.

“Haa…”

He raised his finger again.

[Thirty-three! Number 77 called thirty-three gold. Oh! Number 80 called thirty-seven! It’s increasing again!]

However, as soon as he finished saying that the woman raised her hand once again.

[Woaah! Forty! Number 77 called forty gold! Am I dreaming right now?]

Raon increased the price without a second thought. He didn’t currently possess that much money, but he could prepare it by selling a few objects he’d brought.

[Forty! Is anyone calling more? Huh? Just like that? Number 80 called fifty gold! Woooow!]

[Fifty gold! Fifty gold! Fifty gold! Is anyone calling more? I guess there wouldn’t be! There’s no way anyone would. The black butterfly broke its record and was auctioned at fifty gold!]

The host struck his hammer three times and announced that the black butterfly was auctioned loud and clear.

“Wow…”

“Wh-what’s happening?”

“Why would anyone burn fifty gold on an ornamental butterfly?”

“The black butterfly’s owner hit a jackpot.”

People participating in the auction were shocked, looking at the black butterfly coming down from the scene.

[The next up is a silver magic stone with water energy, rated as rare. Oh, twenty gold already! No, thirty!]

Raon called twenty gold as soon as the host introduced the next item, and the fox masked woman raised her hand immediately after.

[Number 80 won it with forty-one gold!]

The woman grinned at him after winning even the water attribute magic stone. Her face was telling him that whatever he did was pointless.

He tried bidding on a few other items in the auction, but the woman interfered and won all of them. She was blatantly disturbing them.

Even in the casino, she was using her money to win the games rather than her abilities. There was no way he could win with the amount of money he currently had.

I was going to stand back since I was in a good mood, but it can’t be helped anymore. Take her mask off and pluck out her eyes. Kill her! She is picking a fight with the King of Essence!

Upon seeing the fox masked woman, who was showing him a smile of victory, Wrath became the embodiment of his name and popped out. He grew in size to cover the entire auction house.

That’s right! Pluck out those eyes that dared to pick a fight with the King of Essence, and freeze her mouth to… huh? Wh-what did you just say?

Wrath’s jaw dropped at the unexpected answer.

Raon smiled and waved his finger.

“Dorian.”

“Y-young master, please calm down. We can get a butterfly like that any time we want…”

Judging from Dorian’s trembling hand, it seemed he thought Raon was angry. However, Raon was actually completely calm.

“Don’t worry about it. Go out and buy a night traveling outfit.”

“Night traveling outfit?”

“Yes, one that is completely black from top to bottom, including the shoes and mask.”

“We don’t need to buy one. I already have it.”

Dorian took out the night traveling set from his belly pocket and showed him. Raon was now curious about what exist inside that belly pocket.

“But why do you need this?”

“Why else would I need it? I’m going to steal that butterfly from her.”

“Eek? B-but you told me not to worry!”

“Yes, you don’t need to worry.”

“You are planning to cause a major incident! We are in the black market right now!”

Dorian’s eyes started spinning.

“It’s alright.”

Crimson flames flared in Raon’s eyes.

“As long as we aren’t caught.”