Chapter 464: Jianye Grand Auction House

(Manami POV)

"Sister..."

I nodded slowly, making sure Master did not notice our whispering.

"They have fox youkais in the slave cage as well... Interesting..."

One of the slaves within the carriage lifted her head to look outside, catching my eye. There was clear resentment in her eyes, the girl glaring at everything around her with absolute hate.

Even from here, I could tell that at least one of her tails had been cut off.

Kiyomi waited until the carriage was a little further away before whispering, "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"Ufufufu~ That is but of course, my dearest Kiyomi..."

"Slavery is rampant in this country... The slaves are also mistreated and thought of as objects instead of people. Most of them probably won't live long and would most likely have sad fates waiting for them. "

"Ufufufu... Of course, we should rescue them... They are absolutely perfect to start the flames of rebellion in this country when we eventually take over it for Master~"

Kiyomi nodded, "Indeed. We should get more information when we can... How many slaves can we incite to start a rebellion around here? We'll need to instill a sense of worship for Master as well."

Before I could answer, Master pointed to the front, "Oh look girls, there it is."

We looked up to see a giant dome in front of us, the slave carriage we had seen earlier was also heading straight towards it.

That must be the auction house.

It looked as though the entire market district was built around it, roads stretched out from the auction house leading outwards to various other shops with the dome building itself as the centrepiece.

Tons of people milled about and wealth exchanged hands easily on this street.

"Really bustling eh?" Master commented, showing us His usual dazzling smile.

Maybe I should suggest that we book a room in an inn somewhere and have some fun first~

Master turned back to look at the auction house, "Seems like most of the people here are heading there, we can just follow the crowd."

We followed behind some well dressed merchants, the group of them talking loudly about buying new slaves from the auction house today. They were especially specific on how they were going to break the new slaves and have their way with them.

One of them just happened to look behind and saw us.

"Hey, young man. Those are nice slaves you have there. Are you planning to sell them at the Grand Auction House?"

Master smiled at them, "I apologize, but no, I do not plan to sell them. They are mine."

Ara?

Ara ara! Master! How bold!

That is right, we most definitely belong to Master~ Ufufufufu!

Ufufu, look at how my cute little Kiyomi is blushing! Even her ears have turned red! How cute~

Ahhh~~ My tails are definitely wagging a lot right now, but I can't stop them! Master, Master, Master~~

As though not hearing Master's words, the merchant actually came up to inspect us.

My mood immediately plummeted when he got near.

"Hmmm... Good skin, hair is smooth, good assets... Tail is also fluffy... Very good slaves you have here. How about I buy them from you right here? Five gold for each of them. What do you say?"

Master maintained His smile, "I'm sorry. I already said they are not for sale."

"My, too little? How about ten gold for each of them? That's enough to let you live comfortably for quite a while, eh?"

"I already told you no."

"Oh you drive a hard bargain, mister. Fifteen gold for each of them, that's the highest I can go! You won't get a better price, I assure you!"

Master sighed and reached into his sleeve, pulling out a handful of silver coins.

He gestured to the merchant to stretch out his palm, waiting for him to do so before depositing the bunch of coins in them.

"Here. I'm gonna pay you five silvers to fuck off."

Without waiting for his response, Master strolled past them, bringing Kiyomi and I with Him.

The merchants were so surprised by Master's actions they didn't even react to it until we were a distance away from them.

"Master, isn't that quite a waste?" Kiyomi asked, looking back at the spluttering merchants.

Master chuckled, "Oh, if it lets me spend more time with my cute disciples without any interference, it's worth it."

"Ufufufu~ Oh Master, could we rent an inn somewhere soon? I'm feeling quite hot right now~"

Master simply smiled at me, but the fact that He did not reject the idea bode well for us.

It was another short walk before we reached the entrance of the auction house, the entrance itself was as grand as it can be where one might even think they were entering a palace instead of an auction house.

There were several counters right behind the entrance where well-dressed staff were greeting the people who entered. Armed guards were posted around the area keeping a watchful eye on those who entered as well.

Master led us to one of the counters where a bespectacled woman was seated behind.

"Good day, sir. The auction will start in about half an hour. Are you selling or buying?"

"Hmmm... I suppose just buying for now. It's my first time here so I'd like to know what the procedure is like for this place?"

"Certainly sir. This is Jianye city's Grand Auction House. If you are buying, you get a token with your number and will be seated inside according to that number. Each seat has an orb connected to the tag which you can light up using a button when you wish to bid for something. The entrance fee is five silvers per person."

"Entrance fee?" Master asked.

She nodded, "There's no point giving seats to people who have no capital to buy anything, after all. Five silvers will get you the common seats which might not be suitable for your slaves since there would not be space for them. The middle tier seats would require ten silvers as the entrance fee."

"Hmm... That makes sense I suppose. What if I am here to sell?"

"You would need to use the entrance on the other side if you wish to sell something, sir. Your products would be appraised by our in-house appraisers to see if they are worth our stage."

"Ho? Quite high standards you have here."

The woman seemed to puff her chest up a little, "Naturally. We are the biggest auction house in the entire continent after all."

Master turned back to us, "What do you two think? Want to go in and take a look around? Maybe they have some nice things for bidding?"

The woman behind the counter smiled, "I believe we have quite a number of slaves coming from Mei today. They even have a few fox youkais if you wish to have a few more, sir."

Master seemed to ignore her, His attention still directed at us.

I bowed, acting as the 'slave' the woman obviously thinks we are, "We are fine with Master's wishes."

"Hmm... In that case, alright then. Let's go take a look. Entry for three for the middle tier please."

"Oh, slaves don't need to pay the fee, sir. Just ten silvers will do."

"Is that so? How nice..."

Master placed the required amount of silvers on the counter and the woman immediately switched it for a number tag.

"Press the button on the tag to light up your orb when you wish to bid for something. Please do not lose the tag, sir, as others might be able to use the tag to bid for you and we are not responsible for such malicious actions. All bids are final once it is settled. Show the tag to the guard standing at the entrance to your right and someone will show you to your seat."

Master nodded and picked up the tag before turning back to us, "Shall we?"

Naturally, we followed behind Master.

I wonder what they would sell here?