CHAPTER 31: SAVE THE AUCTIONEER

The sun was just beginning to set, casting an orange tint across the dusty path as I followed behind the guard who claimed to escort me as a suspect of an exhibit.

That’s what would popularly be understood, as was seen among the crowd of people that had been standing in line. But the truth was that I found it strange.

Under normal circumstances, a suspect of an exhibit would be annihilated at sight.

That has been the tradition since time immemorial.

’Maybe, they just decided to respect my position as the heir of Seafrost,’ I thought to convince myself.

Several minutes have passed since we walked the path, with silence filling the space between the guard and me. Although I had tried to strike up a conversation, the guard gave me a cold shoulder.

"Is the place you’re taking me that far from the gate?"

"How far is it if you don’t mind telling me?"

"..."

I asked again and again, but still got no response from this cold stone that claims to be a living being.

He only kept walking, his back straight, his armor clinking lightly with each step. There was something unnatural about his silence that crawled beneath my skin.

It meant I could be in danger if care was not taken.

The danger of annihilation.

’But Muna said not to worry since they didn’t identify anything on me.’

Yet, the question still remained.

Why then did the Check-in magic ball shine red before I could get checked in? Why didn’t the guards search me on the spot? Are they keeping me alive for a purpose?

Whatever the answer could be, I decided to play along since it would be fun in the end. I only hoped not to fall into the valley I wouldn’t be able to crawl out from.

But still, I frowned at his silence. Why the hell won’t he speak?

Moments stretched into more minutes until the faint outline of rooftops appeared in the distance. The smell of burnt wood and something foul hung in the air like rotting iron.

The path ahead widened, leading into a narrow street lined with dimly lit houses and broken carts. It was a natural but uncommon setting for a habitat that didn’t have mages as its citizens.

Then, as we turned a corner, I froze.

Near a half-collapsed hut ahead, a man was over a struggling young lady. His frame was thick and brutish, and from a distant glance, one could guess his hair was matted with sweat.

The face of the thick-framed man was scarred, and a closer look will expose one to his teeth clenched in wicked delight. He had one hand twisted in the young lady’s hair, forcing her to the ground, while his other hand grabbed her wrist to stop her from clawing at him.

"Please—stop!" The lady’s voice trembled, choked with fear, hands raised to the guard as a flicker of hope flashed in her eyes.

To my surprise, the guard did nothing.

My pulse quickened, and I hastened my steps to block the guard’s front.

"Hey, I don’t care if you won’t speak to me. But that..." I snapped, pointing fingers behind me at the scene of the man assaulting the young lady. "That’s your work to safeguard the town, isn’t it?"

The guard didn’t move. He only kept his gaze focused on my worry-stance composure, pointing pitifully at the lady.

"Hey, don’t tell me you won’t speak or do something in this situation. What are you waiting for?!" I barked. "She’s in danger! Do something!"

But, he still refused to move.

After a short while of standing as though he had been thinking to act, he pushed me aside and made to continue his steps to his target destination.

"Really?" I muttered, with hands on the dusty ground, my face turned to the guard who had slowly begun to move. "Don’t tell me you’re reluctant to exercise your power? Don’t tell me you plan to forsake that lady?"

At that moment, the guard paused and turned to me sharply.

"You still don’t get it? Safety is earned through power. Power is earned through wealth. Are you that ignorant to understand?" The guard roared.

I looked at the cruel man who seemed to have noticed the guard. His laughter echoed as the young lady tried to break free again. The sound twisted my gut.

"What does power have to do with her safety?" I said, raising my left hand off the ground to point at the lady. "What does wealth have to do with exercising your security actions?"

The guard turned his back on me again, but didn’t move this time.

"You should ignore them and follow me," he muttered.

After not noticing any movement from me, the guard continued. "Let me make it clear. That woman is just a mere and lowly auctioneer. And you see the man, he’s a successful businessman who has accumulated wealth."

"With wealth, you get whatever you want. You own the rules, the laws, security, name them," the guard mentioned, and tilted his head to the direction of the scene. "That scene is simply that of a rich man buying his way to a successful auction sale that will soon begin in a few hours."

I swallowed my saliva at those words.

"You... mean... to... tell me that assaulting an innocent lady is the way of the rich? Isn’t what you mentioned done with money?" I stuttered, rising slowly from the ground. "Save the Auctioneer with immediate alacrity."

The guard ignored my words and began to move. Not caring if I followed him this time.

Anger was gradually crawling up my skin as I rose completely from the ground. With my face still down, staring at the ground, I muttered.

"Save the Auctioneer."

"And what if I don’t care to?!" The guard turned and thundered at me.

Of course. How could I have forgotten how unruly Marketplace was? Even though it was a town that housed civilians, their activities could be compared to be as dangerous as those of demons.

The only difference was that they were welcome-friendly, and didn’t cause havoc in the world.

"If you won’t act," I whispered, enough for him to get my words clearly, "then I will."

With those final words, and face still raised down, I snapped my thumbs against my middle finger two consecutive times.

Click! Click!

The surroundings changed after the snaps; the air around began to change. From rusty, a cool breeze brushed past me as if the sea itself had taken a breath. A typical sea breeze phenomenon.

Not only that, a faint blue glow spread from my body, and suddenly, the place felt more alive than before, except for the subtle cold that replaced its order. The ground dampened, the scent of water filled the air, and tiny ripples of mist rolled out from where I stood to stir in the air.

"Please... help me!" I heard the lady’s cry. It resonated in my mind.

I felt the guard tremble at the sheer presence I now exuded.

"This isn’t what I planned for, but I only want to prove that power should be earned through strength and not wealth."

"I agree that safety could be earned through power, if proper requirements are met."

"But I also want to tell how necessary it was for those who have power to protect the powerless. I want to tell how it gives them peace and can spur them to hustle for their own power and save others."

"Just, how do people with power think that using it against the powerless would motivate them to gain the same? Won’t that only breed villains if they do... if ever they get motivated to gain power?"

At my words, the cold-shouldered guard turned to me and fell on his knees.

"Is this why he was called a threat of Doom? He should really not have existed?" the guard murmured, unknowing to him that I heard him clearly.

"Please forgive me. I will do my work now," the guard pleaded, pretending to support my notion.

"I wonder..." I ignored his plea and raised my right hand to perform some peaceful actions, "Who are the real threats of Doom?"

But before I could do further things as planned, as a way of nurturing the disciplines of both the guard and the thick-framed man, the wind moved, and a new presence arrived.

"Did young master get trampled upon?"

"Did someone underestimate young master?"

"Young Master should give the order, and we will execute."

The three voices of Vera and her companions sounded from within the bag. They had spoken in that language only I could surprisingly understand.

And for a while, I thought the presence had changed because of them. So, I stroked the bag for them to stay put.

But the real person behind this new aura was...

My glow had slowly and completely faded. Replaced with a strange silence that took over.

It didn’t belong to the guard. It shouldn’t.

The air grew still, and the wind stopped moving. It wasn’t heavy or scary — just deeply quiet.

I tried to recollect, realizing I had felt this kind of aura before.

’Where did I feel this presence? Who owns this presence?’

Just as I thought, the brightness of the day dimmed and, within a second, returned to its normal state.

Then my eyes widened after seeing who owned the aura and what the person had done.