System's POV
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chapter-122
"The Chad Skunk bidding will start with 1,000 Silvers, and the minimum bid increment is 100 Silvers," Dorra explained. "Bidding starts now!"
"1,100!"
"1,500!"
"2,000!"
"2,100!"Thirteen remained silent as the price of the Chad Skunk slowly rose.
As a creature that was native to the Sumatran Kingdom, owning one was like having an extremely rare pet that no one else would have.
Simply put, there was only one Chad Skunk in the entirety of the Valbarra Archipelago, and whoever owned it would definitely use it for bragging rights.
Norris had carefully imported Monsters that could only be found on the Main Continent. He knew that profits could be earned if he played his cards wisely, so he didn't allow Thirteen to take both the Pocopoco and the Chad Skunk from his collection.
He made him choose which one was more important, and Thirteen chose the Pocopoco. Now, he had to win the bidding for the Chad Skunk, whose price had reached 5,000 Silver Coins.
"5,000 Silver coins!" Dorra shouted. "Going once…"
"5,100!" Thirteen shouted.The Old Man, who looked like someone in his late sixties, glanced in Thirteen's direction and frowned.
His VIP Room was right across Norris' VIP Room, so he was able to see the face of the boy who outbid him.
"5,400," the Old man stated.
"5,600," Thirteen declared.
"6,000."
"6,200."
"6,500."
"6,600."
The Old Man stared daggers at the boy, but the latter ignored him.
Norris knew who the man was and couldn't help but smell trouble brewing in the air.
He was tempted to tell Thirteen that he should probably not continue bidding because the person he was bidding against was someone working for the City Lord.
However, he kept his silence because it was not his place to interfere with what the boy wanted.
"8,000!" the Old Man shouted.
Clearly, he had reached the limit of his patience and decided to increase the bid for the Monster.
Even though the Chad Skunk was rare, he only planned to buy it for 5,000 Silver Coins.
The most skilled Slaves in the Slave Market wouldn't even reach that price range, so when he bid for 5,000 Silver Coins, he thought that he already had it in the bag.
Unfortunately, there was a person who understood the value of the Chad Skunk and decided to outbid him, making him feel very annoyed.
"9,000." Thirteen wasn't fazed by the Old Man's bid and raised the price by a thousand silver.
"10,000!" the Old Man shouted. "Let's see if you can outbid me, boy."
The limit that he had set for the Chad Skunk had now doubled, and he was truly getting angry because he still planned to buy other rare Monsters and Slaves, but the seven-year-old was getting in his way."
"15,000," Thirteen stated. "I can do this all day, you smelly old man."
"Smelly Old Man? Bwahahahaha!" Someone wearing a bull mask and sitting beside the Old Man in the same VIP Room burst out in laughter after hearing Thirteen's declaration.
Several other High-Ranking Officials who help maintain Gronar City also wanted to laugh, but they didn't dare to do it.
In the end, they just covered their lips as their body shook from time to time in an attempt to stop themselves from laughing out loud.
Knowing the identity of the Old Man, they didn't dare to challenge his authority by laughing.
"… Zion, I think it is best that you stop bidding now before it's too late," Norris said with a solemn expression on his face. "That person is one of the higher-ups of Gronar City. If you offend him, things might become difficult for you in the future."
Thirteen frowned after hearing Norris' words. The last thing he wanted was to offend one of the Officials of the City.
Although he was reluctant, he decided to no longer bid for the Chad Skunk if the Old Man were to outbid him again.
However, the Old Man remained silent and only glared in Thirteen's direction.
Dorra's smile was strained as he looked at the two VIP Rooms who were outbidding each other just a while ago.
But since this was her job, she steeled her resolve and raised her voice.
"15,000 Silver Coins!" Dorra shouted. "Going once… Going twice… Sold to Customer Number 13! You can claim your Monster right after the Auction ends!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Cristopher, Norris, and Adira had no words to say after Thirteen had won.
If he wasn't bidding against one of the officials of Gronar City, all three of them would be congratulating him right now.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Before Dorra could even present the next monster to be auctioned, Thirteen suddenly spoke up, catching everyone's attention.
"Old Man, since I respect my elders, I will give you the Chad Skunk as a gift," Thirteen said as he gave the Old Man a respectful bow. "My name is Zion, and I present you with this gift at our first meeting."
The Old Man, who went by the name, Netero, already planned to make the boy suffer after the auction ended for getting in his way.
However, this sudden twist, which caught him completely by surprise, made the anger he was feeling decrease by a bit.
"Oh? Why did you suddenly change your mind?" Netero asked. "Are you having cold feet after calling me a Smelly Old Man?"
"No," Thirteen replied. "You remind me of my Grandpa who raised me since I was a boy. Although we were poor, both of us were able to survive by relying on each other. Unfortunately, he passed away while we were traveling together.
"I can still remember his words before he died. He told me that I should always respect old people because they are the most compassionate and generous of all people. I just got too emotional because you shouted at me earlier and called me a boy. Even my Grandpa never shouted at me, yet you did, so I got angry. I felt like I was getting bullied."
'… But you are still a boy.'
Everyone in the Auction House thought along those lines.
But since the two were talking seriously, they decided to not get in the way of the discussion and simply watched how things would end.
Netero played with his beard a few times before nodding his head.
"Fine," Netero stated. "I will let bygones be bygones with this. You can keep the Chad Skunk because I am a kind and compassionate old man. I don't want to be seen as an Elder bullying a child."
"Thank you, handsome Grandpa," Thirteen replied. "You are the best."
"Mmm." Netero nodded with a smile. "You can now continue the auction, Dorra."
"Y-Yes!" Dorra replied before making a gesture to the staff to bring the next item for sale.
Norris and Adira were quite impressed by the way Zion had handled the matter with one of the High-Ranking Officials of the City.
'Unbelievable,' Norris thought. 'To think that he managed to diffuse the situation by taking a step back and making up a story on the spot. This boy is the real deal.'
Even Adira couldn't help but be impressed with the seven-year-
old's witty action.
'He might really be the one that the Master is looking for,' Adira mused. 'I need to take him back to the Headquarters by hook or by crook.'
Thirteen, who had no idea about what Norris and Adira were thinking, was paying close attention to Netero.
Seeing that the Old Man was no longer showing any hostility to him and even seemed to have changed his opinion of him, he smiled faintly.
If he could make a connection with the Old Man then he might be able to use it as leverage to acquire things in the city that he would need in the future.
He was someone who looked at the bigger picture, and anything that might affect his plans should be dealt with at all costs.
Thirteen didn't know that the man wearing a bull mask, who was seated beside Netero, was also paying close attention to him.
There was no one in the city who dared call Netero a smelly old man, which was the reason why he burst out laughing earlier.
Earlier, he pitied the boy because he knew that his right-hand man would make the child's life miserable after the auction.
So when Thirteen suddenly made peace with Netero, he found the kid to his liking.
'A daring Slave boy, and he is with Norris,' the man wearing the bull mask thought. 'I guess I'll give him a visit later.'
The man was none other than the City Lord of Gronar City, Arthas, and the moment he saw Thirteen, he thought that the boy resembled his boldness, when he was his age.
(E/N: Thirteen is treating the smelly old man better than his actual Grandfather.)
