The beasts, seemingly extremely hungry, drooled as they circled Eclis, who stood upright.
His hands and feet were bound, and the shackles on his ankles were chained, limiting his movement.
All he had was a small wooden sword.
Moreover, he was almost naked, with only a piece of cloth roughly covering his lower body, leaving him completely unprotected.
'This is too much!'
My heart sank. It was as if he was to be torn apart by the starving beasts.
'What should I do?'
Just as I was considering whether to stand up and shout that I would buy the slave,
"Gr-r-r-."
The largest hyena, which had been sizing up the situation, leaped at Eclis.
At the same moment, Eclis rolled on the ground, grabbed the wooden sword like lightning, and stabbed it into the hyena's eyes.
Then he kicked it forcefully.
Crack!
The hyena howled and fell away, soon lying motionless.
"Gr-r, Gr-h!"
That was the signal for the other beasts to pounce simultaneously.
"Ah!"
I let out a short scream.
While he could handle one at a time, it was clear that dealing with multiple at once would be impossible.
However, my worries were unfounded.
Eclis, with extremely controlled movements, dodged the sharp claws and teeth, and began to cut down the hyenas one by one, using just a wooden sword.
In an instant, two more hyenas lay on the ground. Now only two remained.
While dealing with one, the other targeted his back.
After breaking the neck of the one he was facing, he quickly turned around with the wooden sword in hand.
Squeal!
He thrust the wooden sword, which had a blunt end, into the belly of the hyena that was attacking him.
The last hyena, splattering blood, was thrown to the ground, and the situation came to an end.
"Huff, huff..."
His hands, which were trembling, dripped with the bright red blood of the beasts.
Silence fell over the auction hall.
Then, with a single clap, thunderous applause erupted.
"Thank you!"
The lights came on, and the auctioneer loudly declared the successful end of the show.
"Wow!"
Eclis, who had seen blood, seemed extremely excited and continued to thrash around with the wooden sword in his hand.
He swung his arms threateningly at the approaching workers and suddenly convulsed, collapsing to the ground.
He was then dragged off the stage.
It seemed that some measures had been taken to subdue the rebellious slave.
"Haha, he's such a fiery one... It's not easy to handle him with ordinary methods."
The auctioneer chuckled, calming the noisy crowd after the near-dangerous situation.
"Alright, then! Let's start with a light 500,000 gold?"
Finally, the auction for Eclis began. The starting price was clearly different from the previous slaves.
I focused intently on the auction.
"600,000!"
"900,000!"
"1,000,000! 1,000,000 gold bid!"
Eclis's price soared rapidly. At this rate, it seemed he would easily reach the 10,000,000 gold I had anticipated.
"2,000,000! Oh, 4,000,000 just came in!"
Fortunately, the intense competition for Eclis gradually decreased over time.
In fact, it was rare for someone to pay over 5,000,000 gold for a slave from a defeated nation, especially one as dangerous as Eclis, who couldn't be immediately used for night service or entertainment.
Unless they were crazy.
"5,000,000! 6,000,000! 6,000,000 gold bid!"
The price had risen to a level where one could buy a small house.
Now only two bidders remained.
Though their faces were hidden by masks, one was an old woman with wrinkled neck and the other was an extremely fat man.
Their sleepy, gleaming eyes made it clear why they were interested in Eclis.
"9,000,000! 9,000,000 gold bid!"
The old woman made a final bid, raising the price by 3,000,000.
"10,000,000! 10,000,000 gold bid!"
But the fat man didn't back down. The auctioneer, whose mouth was wide open in disbelief, looked at the old woman.
However, she seemed to have conceded, throwing her paddle angrily.
"10,000,000! 10,000,000 gold, if there are no more bids, it's going to him! 5! 4!"
The countdown began.
I carefully looked around to see if anyone else could outbid the fat man.
"3! 2...!"
When I was certain no one else would bid, I raised my paddle.
"100,000,000."
The hall fell silent instantly.
If the gazes directed at me had a sound, it would have been incredibly loud.
"1...!"
The auctioneer's mouth dropped open. After a moment of stuttering, he shouted with a face full of excitement.
"100,000,000! 100,000,000 gold bid! Any more bids?"
There were none. Even if there were, it didn't matter.
I had decided to bid ten times the last bid, no matter what.
This was a matter of life and death for me. Whether it was 100,000,000 or 1,000,000,000, I was determined.
"100,000,000 gold, sold!"
I would pay it with a smile.
* * *
"R-Right this way, please!"
After the auction ended, the auctioneer personally guided me.
It seemed he wasn't just a face, but held a position in the organization running the auction house.
I followed him to the prison where the slaves were kept.
Eclis was confined in a solitary cell deep inside.
Crack! The whips of several workers fell on his bare skin.
Auctions winners were immediately moved to a cage and then delivered to the buyer's residence.
Eclis, who I had bought, was being prepared for delivery.
Crack!
Another whip fell on his back, and blood splattered.
'Oh my.'
I frowned at his pitiful state.
Originally, in the game, the Duke brought Eclis during the height of the festival.
Recognizing him just before he was about to be delivered to another buyer, the Duke paid extra and brought him.
I had forced an escape from the beginning of the festival to get ahead of the Duke.
In the end, winning the bid was fortunate.
"How will you pay, sir?"
The auctioneer, or rather the slave trader, bowed and asked.
"Here."
"Ah!"
I took out a blank check from my pocket and handed it to him.
The slave trader gasped. But then, with a nervous smile, he asked,
"To which house should I send the bill?"
"To the Duke of Ecart's residence."
I said confidently.
The Duke would be furious to learn I spent 100,000,000 gold on a slave, but I had already prepared an excuse.
The slave trader, surprised by my words, looked skeptical.
"U-Um, excuse me, but could I see some proof of your identity?"
"Are you doubting me?"
I asked coldly. He waved his hands.
"No, no! How could I! But, you seem different from the usual visitors to our auction house..."
With no choice, I searched my pocket and took something out, throwing it nervously at the slave trader.
"Bring this with you when you come to pay."
"Oh, oh! I, I didn't recognize you, sir!"
Seeing the Duke of Ecart's emblem clearly engraved on the gold button, the slave trader bowed deeply.
He then hurriedly took something out and handed it to me.
"Here, sir, please take this."
It was a large, bright red ruby ring.
"What is this?"
"It's a token to prove you are the owner of the slave."
I took the ring.
Not knowing what it was for, I just stared at it. The slave trader pointed to something with his finger.
"Do you see the leather collar around the slave's neck?"
Eclis had a yellow bead on a leather choker around his neck.
The slave trader continued as I nodded.
"The choker is enchanted with a paralyzing spell. Press the ruby on this ring, and a shockwave will emit from the yellow bead, subduing the slave."
This must have been what subdued Eclis on stage earlier.
"However, be careful not to use it too much, as it can melt the brain."
The slave trader added a warning.
'Melt the brain...'
It was too cruel. I frowned at the ring in my hand.
"But, sir, handling such a dangerous slave is very risky. Please wear the ring at all times. Try it on now, please."
The slave trader, unable to see my frown due to the mask