My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 12

I descend the stairs leading underground. Beyond the stairs, a massive gate stood open.

As I stepped inside, I found a space larger than a tavern.

It felt like I was looking at a university auditorium. It was large enough to hold hundreds of people at once.

I took a seat in a corner, close to the podium but out of sight.

A tanned blonde man confidently headed for the front row.

“Hey, move aside.”

“What? I got here first.”

“Are you seriously debating priority in front of me right now?”

His tanned muscles flexed. A blatant killing intent emanated from him, naturally drawing everyone’s gaze.

“Um… I-I’m sorry.”

Ultimately, the man who was sitting gave an apology and had no choice but to yield.

It was pitiful, but that was the wise choice.

No matter how unarmed he was, he was an S-Class Adventurer. There was no way a fistfight stood a chance.

The tanned man claimed his seat, crossing his legs arrogantly and tilting his head up.

“Let’s see if there are any tasty slaves.”

His blatant demeanor made the crowd swallow hard.

His display of superficiality was sickening.

With someone like him leading the adventurers, the perception of adventurers as a whole could only worsen.

Of course, this had nothing to do with me, who had no intentions of becoming an adventurer.

As everyone entered, the door closed.

The light magic pouring from the ceiling weakened a bit, and the podium brightened. There, a goblin mask with two horns was perched.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen.”

The man on the podium shouted into a magical loudspeaker. The impressive goblin horns glimmered in the light.

“First of all, I sincerely thank all of you for attending the 3rd Slave Auction.”

The man stepped slightly forward, placing his hand on his chest and bowing. People applauded his polite greeting.

I too clapped a few times, glancing around.

“Now that we’ve exchanged greetings! Let’s skip the formalities. Your time is valuable amidst your busy lives. As the auctioneer, I shall protect you.”

With a snap of his fingers, the auctioneer’s mouth curved into a grin.

“Now, before we start~! You all should know how the bidding works, but for those who are newcomers, let me explain just once!”

The man, who was about to proceed to the podium, turned his feet and raised his index finger. Look at him play hard to get.

“The auction method is simple. Just raise the number paddle you hold and state your price. The slave will go to the highest bidder among those present. Simple, right? Oh, and the first bidder must call a price above the minimum I mention. But I bet you all know that much common sense! Hahaha!”

Laughter echoed loudly.

“Also, if there are any slaves that don’t sell after the first round of auction, interested bidders can gather and do it once more. You can think of it as two chances to buy.”

He raised his fingers, making a V shape, shaking them front and back as he spoke.

“But naturally, quality slaves are more likely to sell in the first round, so it’s wise to bid carefully considering your finances.”

After finishing his explanation, the man took a turn and strode to the front of the podium.

“Now, let’s introduce the first slave right away!”

Before long, a small wooden hammer was in his hand.

He looked like a judge, but what was happening here was nothing short of human trafficking, something that should never occur in modern times.

“Come out!”

With his shout, the tent was pulled back to reveal a hulking figure behind bars. This being was clad in a restraint device on all four limbs, a muzzle strapped to its mouth.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

It tried to resist, but the restraints and muzzle held it firmly in place.

“The first slave is a wolf beastman! Male, presumed age twenty. He possesses a physical prowess and magical abilities potent enough to trouble even the knights of the Royal Knight Order when we suppressed his beastman village. We exhausted ourselves trying to capture this slave!”

Though the figure appeared male, it had the characteristic beast ears and tail of a beastman. With deep blue hair and solid muscles, sighs escaped from the women in the room.

“He’s handsome, isn’t he?”

“They say beastmen are quite well-endowed?”

“I heard their tongues are long and great for pleasuring.”

Geez, there sure are a lot of crazy women around.

I frowned at their crude comments, and the auctioneer called out.

“Alright! The minimum bid for this slave starts at 100 gold! Bidders, please start the auction!”

“110 gold!”

“120 gold!”

Competition began to heat up.

“150 gold!”

“That’s right! You won’t find a beastman like this easily! If you miss this chance, you might regret it?!”

“200 gold!”

The price soared quickly, doubling the minimum bid. But the amount showed no sign of slowing down.

“320 gold!”

“…320 gold! Is there anything higher than 320 gold?!”

The auctioneer called out, trying to incite competition, but everyone hesitated.

Perhaps they were considering that they didn’t know what kind of other slaves might come up next, and thought they couldn’t spend all their money here.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Sold! 320 gold! Number 41, you can take your slave immediately, but will you pay now or continue bidding?”

“Let’s keep going. Do you think I only have this much money?”

Number 41 declared boldly. The auctioneer’s smile reached his ears.

“Great! This slave will be stored by our side!”

Hmm. As expected.

The first male beastman sold for 320 gold followed the game’s script.

The tent fell, and shortly after, it rose again.

This time, there were no bars. A blonde girl sat down.

Though her clothes were rags, her face, hair, and skin were well-kept.

She bore the same restraint devices on her neck and limbs.

“This slave was born as the daughter of a count from the neighboring Aioum Kingdom, but she has become a slave due to treason charges. Just having reached adulthood, she possesses a plump and voluptuous figure. The minimum bid starts at 150 gold!”

This information matched as well.

In the neighboring nation of the Pretéum Empire, Aioum Kingdom, there was a noble who played the role of a spy for the demon tribe.

In truth, they were coerced into doing it by the demons, but the fact remained that they had acted as a spy, leading to their family’s total destruction.

And that girl would become a demon to seek revenge on the kingdom that destroyed her family.

Who would have expected that the character who appeared in the slave auction would later become the deputy commander of the demon tribe?

If I bought her and kept her next to me, I might be able to prevent her from becoming the deputy commander of the demon tribe…

But the important matter right now was the Third Hero.

If I couldn’t save her, it wouldn’t matter at all. I had to save my funds.

If no one buys her by the time the round completes, then I will have to take her home.

Of course, that scenario would happen only if the story I know proceeds as expected.

While I was contemplating, the auction began.

“Whoa, that one seems nice.”

The tanned man licked his lips.

He started to get excited, raising paddle number 21. He was officially participating in the auction.

“400 gold.”

He shouted and raised the paddle.

Competitors murmured at the suddenly aggressive bid from the tanned man.

It was nothing but superficial arrogance.

He thought he was appealing that he had more money than most nobles, but in the auction, that was practically meaningless.

Yeah, go ahead and keep participating. The more you bid, the better for me to save the Third Hero.

As an S-Class Adventurer, he had a lot more funds than I did.

He carried far more than 1,300 gold, which was a number I couldn’t compete with.

Yet even an S-Class Adventurer had limits in their finances.

In the game, that guy ended up spending all his money buying other slaves, which led him to be unable to take away the Third Hero and pass her to me.

I thank the scriptwriter for giving him such a simple-minded character who thinks only about picking up women.

“400 gold! Is there anyone higher?”

“Geez… spending this much already feels a bit…”

The nobles started to back off.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The wooden hammer struck down, declaring the sale.

“400 gold sold!”

The noble girl was handed over to him.

“Number 21, you can take your slave—”

“Do I look like I only have that much money? Keep going!”

Even while wearing a mask, anyone in this place could easily guess who he was.

With a physique like that and acting arrogantly, he was among the most notable in the empire.

“Understood! I will prepare the next slave!”

In any case, with this, I couldn’t prevent her from siding with the demon tribe. But this was just how the story progresses; I had to resign myself to that.

Next came an elven woman.

For a moment, I thought it was her, but it wasn’t.

As soon as the elf appeared, the male nobles began to cheer.

She possessed such stunning beauty and a quintessentially divine figure. Even her chest was ample, making her the perfect female in every way.

As befitting the beautiful elf, the bidding started at a minimum of 300 gold, and competition among the men escalated the price mercilessly.

“890 gold!”

With that declaration from the tanned man, the rest fell silent.

So, the tanned man had claimed the second slave. Was he planning to build a slave harem or something?

The ongoing auction heated up, and even the hesitant nobles began to bid boldly.

Soon it reached the eleventh item.

“Next up is also an elf! Though this one is only ten years old, I can boldly say she possesses beauty that surpasses any slave here!”

“Ten years old… Isn’t that a bit too young?”

“Thinking about raising her seems like a hassle.”

The use of slaves among the nobles was simple.

They were nothing more than trash bins for their desires.

When stressed, they would beat and rape the slaves to release their urges. Then, if they broke, they would discard them immediately—just like an object.

That’s how nobles used slaves.

However, that way of thinking worked to my advantage.

It meant significantly reducing competitors and raising the chances of buying for as little money as possible.

“Now, let’s reveal her!”

The tent was pulled back, revealing a blonde blue-eyed elf with completely dead eyes.

While she had a clean appearance, her body was emaciated to the point of seeming like she’d break if touched.

Her glance and gestures emitted a certain off-kilter vibe that was hard to conceal.

Yet despite her condition, her looks were striking enough to stand out.

Could she really be the most beautiful elf in the world?

Even during my gameplay, I thought her illustrations were genuine art pieces.

“Wow… her face is incredible!”

“If we fatten her up, she could definitely serve as a signboard attendant.”

“Once she comes of age, it’ll be a lot of fun.”

The nobles commented.

Among the women, most looked on with jealousy, but they acknowledged her appearance.

“Alright, then we will start the minimum at 300 gold!”

“500.”

The tanned man shouted. The other nobles murmured.

Was that the same guy who had already spent nearly 3,000 gold on slaves now calling 500 gold?

But this might just be a show of bravado, a way to scare off challengers.

“500 gold! Is there anything higher?”

“520 gold.”

A man sitting next to me raised his paddle. The tanned man shot him a displeased glare.

I remained quiet. I had to see just how high the amount would climb.

“530 gold!”

“540 gold!”

“600 gold!”

As the stakes heated up, the bids soared madly.

“Damn it! 1,000 gold!”

The tanned man shouted as if he wanted all bidding to cease.

Four-digit pricing reached the room.

At this point, I was starting to feel anxious.

1,000 gold for a single young slave.

Absurd. I couldn’t fathom what they were thinking as they shouted these prices. Had their brains turned to mush?

“Is there anyone higher than 1,000 gold?”

The other bidders hesitated.

1,000 gold was a sum even extravagantly rich nobles had to consider carefully.

They might even have to forgo participation in future slave auctions.

Was there really anyone willing to spend that much gold to acquire this girl?

Probably not.

Only I knew that she was a “Hero” as someone who had played the game.

A heavy silence descended in the auction hall.

“Is there no response? Then—”

As the auctioneer raised his wooden hammer, just as a smile was about to bloom on the tanned man’s face, I raised paddle number 87.

“1,100 gold.”

“!”

Even though the amount was already high, I raised it by another hundred gold coins, and the auction house began to buzz once more.