Heukwol Auction House (13)

The next morning, Hyeonseong stretched and yawned lazily.

‘I feel really tired, even though it feels like I fell asleep right away.’

It was only natural. Something irritating had happened as soon as they arrived, and she had also needed to stay on edge the whole time she was awake. It would have been stranger not to be tired.

‘Let’s see if I ever come to a place like this again.’

This time, she had no choice because the item related to god-slaying that she could obtain the fastest was here. Once she obtained the item, she intended never to even look at such a gloomy place again.

‘Nothing happened during the night.’

After waking up a little, Hyeonseong checked the condition of her group. Haesu also looked fine, aside from being tired like Hyeonseong herself. Hyeonyeong did not need to be mentioned.

“Are we doing the same thing as yesterday today too?”

Haesu asked while yawning.

“We should. We need to hear the rest of the information about the holy relics and find out what those people are doing now.”

Hyeonseong took breakfast out of Infinite Corridor.

“Wouldn’t it be similar to yesterday? Those people didn’t look like they had any intention of looking up information. They didn’t even look like they were trying to hide that they were underlings hired by the auction house.”

“And they also said ominous things about backstabbing people and cleaning them up.”

Hyeonseong recalled the customer she had encountered in the gambling hall. He was definitely the only one who had openly said things like that. But the two customers who moved as a pair probably did not think very differently either.

‘They said there was no need to drag things out this annoyingly.’

“That’s why today too, if we can find out what they’re up to, we need to find out. They might really launch a surprise attack and overturn the board.”

“That’s true……. But can we find where those people are? Yesterday, we only found them by chance while wandering around here and there.”

“We really were lucky. We succeeded by wandering around and finding them.”

“Right, so in the end, it was luck.”

Haesu seemed worried that luck would not follow them today.

“That’s why I’m going to try to raise the odds even a little today.”

As she answered that way, Hyeonseong called Nemesis.

‘Yesterday, you said there were a few devices that could let us peek without being noticed, right? Can you at least look into those?’

At that instruction, Nemesis immediately began searching.

“The odds?”

“We need to check everything we can peek through, even a little. Well…… the limitations are clear, but you never know.”

“Then until then…….”

“Look at this for a moment.”

Hyeonseong shared the messages from ‘Lotus That Gazes Down Upon the Six Paths.’ During the night, the Constellation had sent one more piece of information about the holy relics.

“A broken spearhead…….”

“The spearhead, the shaft, and the tassel ornament……. It seems like all the basic components have gathered. Are there more holy relics left?”

Hyeonyeong asked.

“We’ll only know that after asking again. For now, I know the spear shaft was split into several pieces, but I still don’t know whether the spear shaft was the only thing split like that, or whether there are other ornaments or connecting parts too.”

“If they were stored in great temples, I don’t think they would have been split into that many pieces.”

“Probably. It’s not as if great temples are facilities scattered everywhere like neighborhood churches or temples.”

In any case, it was true that she needed to obtain more information from the Constellation. Hyeonseong turned off the message sharing and typed another reply.

“But that’s kind of fascinating too. Exchanging messages with a Constellation, I mean.”

Haesu pointed to Hyeonseong’s hand as she typed the message.

“I didn’t know you could exchange private messages with Constellations too. Since you say it’s possible, how should I put it……. I guess I should say even Constellations look like people who know how to use the internet.”

“Well, honestly, there’s no need to go that far. Just look at the messages flying in.”

Hyeonseong glanced sideways at the Constellation messages.

“……I don’t know whether the same things are flying in for you, but anyway, if you see them, you’ll roughly understand what I mean.”

“Ah…… I think I roughly understand.”

Haesu nodded with an accepting expression.

“Now then, since we’ve roughly eaten too, shall we get up?”

Hyeonseong threw the empty lunch box into the trash can. After cleaning up the trash left after their meal, the group packed all their few belongings and came out of the lodging.

“Where are we going?”

Hyeonyeong asked.

“For now…… I’m thinking of going to the café again first.”

Among the information Nemesis had sent her, there was content saying it seemed to have spotted the two-person team of customers at the café counter.

Perhaps because the level of the machine device it had looked through was crude, the message was phrased as a guess, but they could not simply not go. Right now, that was the only clue worth referring to.

They came out to the lobby and headed to the café they had stopped by yesterday. As soon as she stepped into the café, Hyeonseong quickly checked the customers’ appearances first.

‘For now, it doesn’t look like they’re sitting near the entrance…….’

Hyeonseong asked Hyeonyeong whether she had found them. Hyeonyeong nodded and pointed to a corner seat. It seemed the two people had found an inconspicuous seat again this time.

‘In any case, it doesn’t seem like it mistook someone with a similar appearance.’

Hyeonseong’s group found an empty seat close to the two customers. As they had the previous day, after ordering drinks, they began eavesdropping on the two people’s conversation.

“By the way, did you look into that? The item information.”

“Not really. You didn’t look either.”

The two people were talking while eating breakfast. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed they had been exchanging trivial talk since before Hyeonseong’s group arrived.

“Well, of course. Honestly, there’s not much meaning in it now.”

“I wondered if there was any need to go through all that trouble, and in the end……. It would’ve been nice if they had done that from the start, right?”

‘……What are they talking about?’

Hyeonseong, who had been eavesdropping on the two people’s conversation through the headphone item, narrowed her brows. The backstory that could be guessed from the context of that conversation was too obvious.

“What can we do when those people over there say that’s their taste? Can lowly people like us even understand the tastes of those noble people over there?”

“That’s true. Thinking that someone’s about to die while someone else is enjoying watching that scene from somewhere…….”

“I’d rather understand the Star side, but the human side is really something else. In the end, their position is the same as ours, yet they act like they’re some kind of Stars too…….”

“Isn’t saying any more than that a little dangerous? Surveillance is one thing, but there’s also someone who can hear even conversations like this clearly if they make up their mind.

If that person gets offended and reports what we were chatting about, we’ll be finished on the spot.”

“Oops, right.”

The two people’s conversation awkwardly broke off for a moment.

“Right, even if we feel bad, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“All we need to do is receive what we can receive anyway. Still, they say as long as we don’t do anything stupid in the middle, they’ll make sure the compensation isn’t lacking.”

“They did.”

“Once we receive the compensation, let’s leave right away.”

“You’re not going upstairs?”

“If you want to go, you go. I don’t want to get caught up in something wrong up there and have my life end.”

“Well, I heard rumors were everywhere yesterday that a few people had their lives ruined there. I wonder how many faces we’ll see again up there tomorrow.”

The two people chuckled while having that conversation.

“But shouldn’t we not be laughing like this right now?”

“Ah, now that I think about it, you’re right. Since they told us to avoid duel conditions no matter what, they must either be high rank or pros at person-to-person combat. If we poke them wrong, won’t we see the Samdocheon before making a fortune?”

“That’s the kind of thing the Peninsula Grannies would send likes for.”

“Huh? You brought up the grannies so naturally. Don’t tell me you’re part of that line of Constellation religion…….”

“When I entered the market, I shouted that I don’t buy minor gods, so what are you talking about…….”

The conversation that followed after that was nothing but meaningless small talk. Hyeonseong continued listening in case some new information came out, but in the end, no meaningful conversation emerged until the two people rose from their seats.

“……This is definitely a sign that something is going to happen soon, right?”

Haesu asked while removing the wall made of books, just like yesterday.

“No matter how you look at it, yes.”

Hyeonseong threw the headphones into Infinite Corridor.

‘To sum it up, it means there are higher-ups who want to see us in trouble. Among those higher-ups, it seemed certain that at least one Constellation was involved.’

She examined one by one the things those bastards had been chattering about just now. She did not know the exact names, but for now, she had found out that the gang holding the auction house consisted of a Constellation and a group of humans obsessed with playing Constellation.

‘And…… an attack will come soon. Whether it’s a surprise attack or an open one.’

Even without that, the customer who had been moving alone yesterday had subtly scattered words like backstabbing here and there. She had half expected it from then, but hearing that it really would happen definitely felt different.

‘I’d rather it be the sort where they secretly ambush us and clean us up…….’

Hyeonseong could assert that those bastards would not do that. From their perspective, this was not a place where they needed to act secretly.

‘Even if they move openly, the spectators will just think the people being chased did something wrong or were marked for a reason. Then they’ll pretend not to see it.’

Of course, it probably would not be a method where only the auction house’s personnel moved that way. There was no need to unnecessarily frighten the guests either. There might be times when that was necessary, but at least now was not one of them.

‘If it were me…… I think I’d make the board bigger altogether.’

The moment her thoughts flowed that far, Hyeonseong sprang up from her seat.

“Are we leaving already?”

Haesu asked.

“We already heard everything we need to hear anyway. There’s no meaning in staying longer, so let’s go.”

Hyeonseong immediately moved her steps out of the café. When Hyeonyeong followed right away without raising any particular question, Haesu also followed the two with a face that said she had no choice.

“Unni, do you think there will be an attack soon?”

Hyeonyeong asked on the way to the lobby.

“Yeah. Most people should be done with breakfast by now, shouldn’t they? Once you’ve eaten, you need to digest.”

“Digest? An attack isn’t some morning walk…….”

At Hyeonseong’s words, Haesu muttered in an absurd voice.

“They’ll probably try to make it feel about exactly like that.”

“What do you mean……. They’ll make an attack feel like a morning walk?”

Haesu asked in a voice that said she had no idea what Hyeonseong meant.

“Just watch. A huge surprise event will open soon.”

Haesu did not understand Hyeonseong’s following answer either. But the opportunity to understand arrived quickly.

— Announcement from the auction house.

It was when Hyeonseong’s group returned to the lobby.

Suddenly, a broadcast rang out inside the auction house.

“Tsk, let’s hurry.”

Hyeonseong hurried toward the door leading down to the basement floor.

— Our auction house is doing its utmost for the enjoyment and satisfaction of all our guests. As part of that, starting from this moment, a special…….

An auction house employee was waiting beside the basement floor door. The timing was perfect.

“Hyeonyeong.”

Hyeonseong gestured toward the employee with her chin. Then Hyeonyeong quickly approached the employee.

— ……The name of the event is, namely, Wanted! Capture the bounty criminals we designate…….

‘Predictions like this are never wrong.’

Hearing the continued broadcast, Hyeonseong clicked her tongue. She had thought that if they were going to pull a trick, they would draw in all the guests by pretending to hold an event, and things were really flowing exactly as she expected.

“Customer, I’m sorry, but this area is…….”

Seeing Hyeonseong’s group approach, the employee tried to explain with a smiling face. But that explanation was immediately cut off by a single movement of Hyeonyeong’s hand.

Hyeonyeong grabbed the employee’s body and turned him so he faced the basement floor door.

— We will reveal the appearances of the individuals designated as bounty criminals. If our guests see individuals with these appearances…….

“W-what are you……!”

Before the employee could shout, Hyeonyeong covered his mouth. In the meantime, Hyeonseong took a scythe out of Infinite Corridor.

“Open the door. Right now.”

Hyeonseong’s scythe threatened the employee’s neck.