144 Bidding War (2/2)

Ty screamed, and then he passed out. And with its summoner unconscious, the creature floating above Ty glared once at Carta before vanished back into whatever void it had come from.

Immediately afterward, the heavy and dark atmosphere permeating the auditorium dissipated and we could all breathe a sigh of relief.

Quick to capitalize on Ty's showing, Roselle jumped back on stage and yelled, \”Summoning the Lord of Darkness on the only night he can be summoned. Such power… bidding starts at ten thousand Leprechauns!\”

There was an audible murmur of discontent from the crowd. Ten thousand Leprechauns was certainly no joke. In Mudgardian currency, that was roughly four hundred thousand US dollars, which made Ty about equal in worth to a high-end Lamborghini.

A hand was raised in the air. It belonged to General Morrigan of the Scarlet Moon. It was the very first time she bid for something in the entire auction.

\”Ten thousand for the Scarlet Moon,\” Roselle called excitedly. \”Will anyone raise the price?\”

\”Fifteen thousand!\” offered the attendant standing behind Lord Rah.

\”Twenty thousand!\” yelled one of the companions of the Lord of Stars.

\”Twenty-five thousand!\” Kallista counter-offered.

Finally, our side had joined the bidding and the battle had well and truly begun.

\”Are gift cards really expensive enough to balance twenty-five thousand Leprechauns?\” Luca asked.

\”Off-hand, I'd say they'd cost five thousand Leps, easy,\” Shanks revealed, his brow furrowing as he thought about it. \”Price would increase exponentially depending on the gift though, and a sense-gift like your brother's, if it really was linked to the legendary Sense Knights… I'd say Kallista could make way more than twenty-five thousand Leprechauns at an auction just for one of those.\”

I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing. Was that really the value of Fool's Insight? And here I was just thinking it was just natural to have alongside me, like a third eye. Sure, I'd heard both Orryn and Auranos tell me my gift was special a number of times, but to rival Ty's power to summon a dark lord, that was a bit mind-boggling.

Suddenly, I imagined making a bunch of gift cards and selling them wholesale to vastly increase the Foolhardies coffers, but then I remembered that my gift hadn't returned since I gave it away last night, and I was worried that there could be lasting effects to such a transaction. I wasn't even sure Fool's Insight would come back to me despite reassurances from Aura that my figurative blindness was only temporary.

Thinking about just how long temporary would last made my head woozy enough that I didn't quite notice the bidding had reached the upper fifties until Kallista yelled, \”Fifty-five thousand!\”

There was an audible, \”O~~ooh,\” from the audience who at this point were basically onlookers in the battle between the five high-rollers.

\”Fifty-five thousand Leprechauns to the vivacious Madam Kallista of the Broken Sellsword's Canyon Alliance!\” Roselle screamed in the air. \”Going once, going—\”

\”—Seventy thousand Leprechauns!\” Chancellor Kairon interrupted in  a smug voice.

My ears were just about ready to pop. Seventy thousand Leprechauns, the slimy turd had that much money?

I could literally feel the frustration roll off Aura.

\”Imagine what that kind of wealth could do if it was used to support the growth of our clan rather than serve the needs of one selfish fairy,\” she said.

My response to her was interrupted by Lord Rah's yell of, \”Eighty thousand Leprechauns!\”

\”Ninety thousand Leprechauns!\” Kallista countered.

\”One hundred thousand!\” the Lord of Stars shouted to the stage.

It was the first time I'd heard his gruff voice out loud, but those familiar with him looked up at his balcony with unease. Here was a man who was a literal incarnation of this generation's Sense Knights. He was so strong that he, a human, ruled over what was once one of the most powerful fairy clans.

\”One hundred and fifty thousand!\” Ardeen Spellweaver countered for his team, escalating the price of Ty to astronomic proportions.

From the obvious hesitation to offer a counter, even the other big bidders seemed to think that the last bid was a truly outrageous number.

\”Kallista,\” I pleaded. \”I'll make it up to you, whatever price I have to pay later, I promise…\”

Kallista glanced back at me, and seeing the determination in my face, she sighed. \”Very well… but we will have to renegotiate our agreement later.\”

I nodded, knowing that I was effectively selling my soul to save my friend. I just trusted that Kallista would prove me wrong after all and that there were really fairies besides my crew that weren't evil.

However, before Kallista could make another bid, someone unexpected beat her to it.

\”Two hundred thousand Leprechauns!\” called an individual sitting toward the very back of the regular seats in the stalls area.

Silence from everyone present. Not just because the bid was so high it was bordering insanity, but because the individual who made the bid was a human, perhaps the only other human besides me, Luca, and the Lord of Stars in the entire auditorium.