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chapter 31
“Wow…”
The interior of the auction hall wasn’t decorated as lavishly as other areas, yet somehow it felt far grander and more dignified. Even though illegal auctions were held here—dealing with stolen goods, poisons, and all sorts of contraband—the place had the elegance of a gallery meant for appreciating fine art.
‘Why aren’t these two nervous at all?’
Unlike me, who felt out of place, Nereus and Clara looked completely at home. Nereus was even drinking the most expensive alcohol reserved only for VIPs.
“Mmm, not bad.”
He said it leisurely after taking a sip, but judging from that smug grin, he loved it.
Clara leaned toward us and whispered.
“I gathered all the intel. They call it ‘Angel.’”
“Oh yeah? Knew you were perfect for dealing with those snobby nobles.”
Nereus chuckled and poured Clara a full glass.
Angel?
I knew that substance—not just vaguely, but in detail. I had studied it back when I worked under the Witar Medical Association.
Addiction to Angel caused unique withdrawal symptoms. The treatment for addicts was something Witar later discovered, and its origin was…
“Now then, let’s begin the long-awaited auction~!”
The host’s loud voice echoed through the hall. He fixed the magic amplifier to its stand and began spouting all sorts of flashy nonsense.
The gist was basically: everyone present was blessed and elite, the glorious history of this ship auction house, blah blah…
Sitting in a chair too big for my small body was uncomfortable as hell. I squirmed impatiently, waiting for things to move along.
“For the sake of anticipation, I can’t reveal everything, but let me give you a few hints about today’s items!”
Next to me, Nereus whistled.
‘What now…?’
It wasn’t just reacting to the atmosphere. Something was…
“One item is known for producing the voice of an angel… another is a gemstone said to contain all the stars in the world, and lastly—”
Is something going on?
“…the necklace holding the greatest tragedy of all.”
As soon as he said that, murmurs spread through the audience. They had caught on that it referred to Araceli Laos’ necklace. Only then did I understand why the staff reacted so strangely when I submitted it.
‘Ah… so it really was that princess’s necklace.’
No wonder they were desperate to obtain it—even their reactions had been unusual.
“That means… it has to be the real one.”
“Well, if he’s boasting that loudly, it must be genuine.”
I wasn’t as shocked as the others, since I’d already known it was valuable. But the nobles—who valued their dignity—couldn’t hide their excitement. Their number paddles were already trembling in their hands.
‘More importantly… why has Nereus been smiling creepily this whole time?’
“Now, first up—”
The refined atmosphere created by the chandeliers collapsed into chaos moments later.
The first item was fine. But the second—
“…?!”
“W-what is this?!”
The Étoile Sapphire, the gemstone said to contain all the stars of the world, had vanished from its case.
‘Wh-what’s happening?’
An auction house like this should have airtight security—especially one catering to pirates.
But my confusion melted away when—
“Keh— cheers?”
“Cheers~ ♥”
Nereus and Clara lightly clinked their glasses beside me.
This was 100% their doing.
Nereus snickered at the increasingly chaotic hall, then rose from his seat.
“Let’s go, kiddo.”
“Back to the ship?”
“Nope.”
“Then where?”
He smiled like a villain plotting something.
“To collect our payment.”
* * *
Inside the restricted area of the auction hall, things were far worse than in the customer section.
Starting from the Étoile Sapphire, multiple items had been stolen. All of them were verified genuine pieces.
The manager, pale as a ghost, muttered:
“I-I’d rather die….”
If he failed to resolve this, his fate might be worse than death. The pirates who supplied the goods, the VIP customers demanding answers, and worst of all—the fury of the auction house’s owner. Even if he fled from the pirates and nobles, the owner would eventually hunt him down.
A knock echoed through the office. The manager snapped.
“S-shut up! I said no one comes in—!”
“My, my. A gentleman shouldn’t raise his voice like that~”
A low, relaxed, predatory voice cut him off. The manager shivered at the eerily calm tone.
That man…
“So? What’re you gonna do about the money you owe me~?”
Blue-green hair, tanned skin, mismatched red-and-white eyes gleaming in the dim light.
A man most adult women would call attractive—but unfortunately, the manager was neither a woman nor in any mood to appreciate anyone’s looks.
“O-owed money?! H-how did you even get in here?!”
“Huh? Nobody was around.”
Nereus lazily scratched his chin and grinned.
“Buddy, you shouldn’t be trembling like this right now. Doesn’t it bother you how easily I came in?”
“…!”
“People outside are losing their minds. Do you know how hard I worked to stop them from setting fire to your ship?”
The manager’s face turned an alarming shade of blue.
“Sit, sit. You look terrible.”
“…Ahem.”
Trying to salvage some dignity, the manager sat where Nereus pointed. Nereus’s attitude hinted at negotiation rather than immediate violence.
“Looks like things are… not great.”
“I’m ashamed, sir.”
“What’s to be ashamed of? The ones who stole the goods are trash. Any leads on the thieves?”
“T-that…”
Of course not. The manager felt his throat drying up. The auction items were stored in the most secure, deeply isolated area of the ship.
Seven locks. Each with a sequence. One wrong move—and the magic device activated, sounding an alarm and trapping the intruder.
It was practically impossible to access normally.
So the thief had to be an insider, or an old customer with strong connections.
Or perhaps one of those cockroach pirates who frequently delivered stolen goods…
The manager pictured many ugly pirate faces in his mind. A few knew enough about the layout to attempt something like this. Meanwhile, all staff were currently searching every suspicious person they could.
“Hmm. Want me to help?”
“H-help…?”
“Well, I’ve got two daughters, you know. You’ve seen them, right?”
“Yes, yes. As beautiful as their father.”
“Right, right. Anyway—”
Nereus waved his hands as if telling him not to mention his daughters again.
“They’re my treasures. I raised them carefully so they’d never get involved in things like this. You get what I’m saying?”
Not involved. In other words, he himself was experienced in such things.
Nereus dropped a massive bag onto the table.
“T-this is…?”
“Money. I can’t give the deposit I paid for the necklace back, but I’ll give you everything I brought for the auction.”
It was a terrifying amount. Not standard currency, so the exchange fee would hurt—but it was still an enormous sum.
“You know what you need to do now, right?”
The manager swallowed hard.
* * *
“WAHAHAHAHA—!!”
“……”
The one cackling obnoxiously beside me was, obviously, Nereus.
But this time, the entire family was laughing loudly along with him.
‘Well… they did hit the jackpot.’
Of course the thieves were the Caelum Pirates.
‘Why are these people so good at this…?’
Apparently Clara and Nereus had spent the hours before the auction distracting crowds in pairs—Clara in the public hall, Nereus in the gambling lounge.
Clara gathered intel from nobles and attendants, learned the patrol schedule, then signaled Caelum members waiting outside to infiltrate. After that, the items naturally ended up in Caelum’s hands.
And they only stole the genuine items—max profit, minimal effort.
‘So Gerard had that kind of talent…’
Gerard could pick any lock and had a keen eye for assessing treasure. I never knew before my regression, since he died young.
“Hahaha! This kid’s a walking goldmine!”
“Live a long life, yeah? Grow old with us in Caelum!”
The pirate dads were smothering Gerard in unwanted kisses, celebrating wildly.
I stared at the Laos princess’s necklace in Nereus’s hand. He examined each gemstone carefully—then suddenly fastened it around my neck. Its weight made me stumble.
“It’s heavy.”
“Endure it. It’s the weight of gold.”
He burst out laughing. What was so funny?
“Lara, you made this easy for us. That’s yours.”
“Because of me?”
“Of cooourse, thanks to our Lara.”
He didn’t explain and instead lifted me into his arms, rubbing his cheek against mine. Normally his beard would’ve pricked, but he’d shaved for the infiltration.
Isaac explained from the side:
“Pirates rarely travel with women or—especially—children.”
“Oh.”
Which meant: my presence helped them pose as entitled customers without raising suspicion as pirates.
Nereus covered my face with kisses while continuing:
“And our Lara is sooo smart and fearless! Kyaa, a natural negotiator. Who raised such a genius~?”
“……”
“Right~? Daddy’s girl~?”
Whatever charisma he showed in the auction was gone—he’d reverted to being a giggling fool.
‘Well, he did show his true colors in the gambling hall too…’
“Hehehe, I wonder if those idiots realized yet that all the money I gave them was actually what I stole from their casino?”
“They’ll realize eventually, but the switched currencies will delay it.”
In the corner, piles of Western Continent coins and gold glittered—Nereus’s casino winnings.
‘This man is insane…’
Nereus had given the manager money in exchange for not searching us. But that money was entirely what he had won from the casino.
Meaning: Clara’s signal prompted Caelum members to replace all Caelum’s various currencies with Nereus’s winnings.
So we basically used the auction house as a fee-free currency exchange.
And stole treasure on top of it.
