Nameless King

'Damn, looks like I overestimated my finances,' Wain thought as he watched the bidding progress.

The price almost instantly reached thirty thousand Void Souls, almost half of what he had. He was curious to know more about this girl, but he wasn't ready to spend all his money on it.

"Thirty-five thousand!"

"Thirty-seven thousand!"

"Forty thousand!"

The bidding included guests from the first floor as well as from the second floor. The girl, a human, was a priceless treasure to all who attended this auction. They were thrilled just to see a representative of a race that had disappeared long ago, and now they had the opportunity to buy this girl.

"Ah, I didn't expect them to be so interested, though there's nothing strange about that." Ern muttered.

He, too, was surprised that the auction organizers were able to find and capture this girl, but not as much as the others. Next to Ern sat a human, and so his reaction was cooler.

"Looks like they're not going to spare any money." Wain looked at the girl, "She's scared, every time someone raises the stakes, she flinches like a hare in front of predators."

"Well... It's inevitable. I hope this girl doesn't get killed and turned into a sex slave, that would be a big waste. She's a living chest of riddles you want to find clues to."

"Forty-three thousand!" Someone exclaimed.

"I'm glad you're so interested in this girl. Go for it! There won't be another chance to buy a member of an extinct race again! This is a unique opportunity!" The auctioneer exclaimed, and the audience became even more active in offering large sums.

"Fifty thousand." A quiet female voice came from the second floor. Its owner was Erza.

"Your friend intends to buy it. Maybe you shouldn't hide anymore?" Ern smiled.

"She's not my friend, and I don't want to see her again at all, it could get me into a lot of trouble. It was enough for me once to know that."

"Your business." Ern shrugged.

"Fifty-five thousand!" Someone interrupted Erza's bid.

"Sixty thousand." Erza repeated.

"Damn it! Inerian, why do you want this girl? Stop outbidding me!" the man with the short purple hair exclaimed. He was one of the few Constructs present at this auction.

Demons were hospitable people, and any race was welcome, but there were no Angels or Elves in the room. They preferred not to associate with Demons and treated them with contempt, but that aside, all the Pillars were present at this auction.

"Scrap bucket, are you addressing me?" Erza snapped back, and her aura intensified.

"Why do you need a human girl? Do you have any idea how valuable she could be to science? I and the other Constructs can do thousands of studies with her blood, body, and other data. Don't piss me off, just back off!" Construct exclaimed.

"Ahahahaha, that's pretty funny." The Red Demon on the second floor laughed, "Dude, you don't seem to understand where you are. This is Demon City, and we don't give a fuck about your science. I like this girl's fighting spirit better than your nerdiness, and I'm going to add fuel to the fire. I'm offering sixty-five thousand Void Souls!"

"What?!" Construct thought the bidders would support him, but instead, the opposite happened. Construct could do nothing about it, and he had to accept defeat.

"Holy shit! This is your grave mistake!" Construct shouted, kicked the table, causing it to shatter, and sat back in his chair with an annoyed look on his face.

"Seventy thousand." Erza continued to up the ante, "You want to stop me from buying it?"

"Hmm, no, from the looks of it, you have no intention of stopping, but why would you want her?" Red Demon asked.

"It's none of your business. It's my personal interest."

Erza wanted to buy this girl to try to experience those feelings again when she met Wain in the Purgatory zone. She doubted if it would happen since just looking at the girl didn't make Erza feel anything, but she had to try. Her heart and eyes were still empty, which to Inerian was scarier than any curse.

"Whatever you say." The Red Demon shrugged.

The auctioneer saw that no one else was bidding and began the countdown.

"One, two, three and sol...!"

"One hundred thousand." Suddenly a quiet voice came from one room on the second floor.

Everyone looked there and saw a Blue Demon with two long horns drinking expensive and one-of-a-kind wine.

"Ern...?" Wain muttered.

"What? I, too, like the others, am curious to know more about this girl. It would be especially effective if you were around."

"No, that's not what I mean. I didn't expect you to be so rich."

The wine Ern bought cost ten thousand Void Souls, and now he was offering to give a hundred thousand for the girl, which was a huge amount to most people in the room.

'Wait, if everyone is looking here now, they see not only Ern but also me, which means...'

Wain slowly turned his head and saw Erza's intense gaze directed in his direction.

'Ern, damn it...'

Ern smiled, he actually wanted to ask this girl many things, but he also did so for Erza to pay attention to them and see Wain. He was curious to see what would happen between these two next.

Erza's eyes were as sharp as daggers, but a flame gradually ignited in them, and her heart began to pound faster. She realized that she didn't need a human, and the girl couldn't interest her, only Wain was important to her.

"One, two, three, sold!" The auctioneer exclaimed, closing the deal.

"Mister, bring her here at once. I'm not going to wait." Ern said seriously.

"Sure, you'll have her in a minute." The auctioneer smiled and beckoned to his subordinates.

"Damn, you're lucky to get such a rare treasure, but is it really worth that much?" Someone from the second floor asked.

"Huh, you just don't know how to appreciate uniqueness." Ern uttered.