The Young Master in the Shadows

“Wife! When did you arrive?” Victor exclaimed as soon as he entered the VIP balcony. It was huge and had nine chairs overlooking a large, three-story tall hall below. Rosette, Macil, Meril, Aerith, Lyra and Emira were the only ones there.

“Just now…” Aerith, dressed in an elegant dress with a silky shawl tied around her head to cover the horn, replied as she patted the empty chair right beside her, gesturing for him to sit. “Where were you?” she asked as she watched him sit down and hand Emira who was sitting on the other side some candy that he had just gotten.

“Just selling a few things to earn some pocket money…” he shrugged as he eyed the shawl. She didn’t want others to know how horny she was, but he knew the truth!

“45 minutes just to sell a few things?” Lyra, who sat on the other side of the balcony, asked before he could make a very inappropriate comment. She seemed to have arrived with Aerith.

“Ah… Yeah… I also spent a few minutes in the hall downstairs, and did some ‘socializing’. “ he smirked. In fact, after putting the things he wanted to sell on auction he took the time to go around the auction house, mapping the place to make his movement easier afterwards. He was not sure if his plan would work, but he did promise himself to always be extra prepared!

“I see…” Lyra just glared at him for a moment before looking away toward the stage downstairs where many people were taking their seats, including Quras who were sitting in the back trying to look inconspicuous.

Victor just ignored him for now and decided to map the main hall just in case… Its design was quite traditional, with the audience sitting below a grand stage. Above them, many VIP balconies were scattered around divided into three levels. Rosette’s balcony was on the highest story, with only one balcony above it, probably reserved for the Storm Lord.

Thankfully it was empty, or Victor would have never dared to pull off anything here!

In the balconies below he could see many fancily dressed people, including some Elve nobles who were glaring at Macil like he was some kind of a traitor. He kept ignoring them with pride in his eyes, he was on a secret mission for the Sun Lord after all!

Opposite to Rosette's balcony, there were four others. Two of them were already occupied by the Lord’s two other disciples, Lazarus and Atma. They seemed to have already arrived. Atma was alone but Lazarous had a sizable entourage that included a familiar face, that girl Nega who was shooting glares at Victor as if she couldn't wait to jump and kill him!

Naturally, he waved at her while smiling.

She almost exploded, but Lazrous grabbed her and pushed her to her chair while shooting Victor a glare.

“Stop messing around!” Rosette, who sat to his right after Emira, scolded after watching the exchange.

“You are no fun!” Victor sighed.

“All the fun you are having might bite you in the ass someday!” she spat back. “What kind of drug did you use on Naga by the way to make her surrender herself to you in the carriage that day?” she asked, making Aerith who sat beside him naturally grab his hand and begin to pinch it.

“My charm is all the drugs I need!” Victor claimed. He expected Lyra to make a report. “Look how Aerith already can’t let go of me!” he said, raising his hand, making Aerith pull hers back and look away quickly.

“Your charm would never erase someone’s short-term memories…” Rosette spat.

“Oh… Really?” Victor paused, his real charm could do that, but it also caused people to lose more than their memories... Anyway, it seemed like Nega made an official complaint. “No idea about that… Maybe that happened because I was too rough with her!”

“...” Rosette just glared at him. “Lazarus is a dangerous guy, you better not antagonize him!” she sighed.

“Too late for that warning!” Victor shrugged.

“Don’t antagonize him anymore…” she corrected herself.

“... I am not an idiot!” he finally said.

Rosette sighed again, then looked away, shaking her head. This guy was as stubborn as his father!

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…. WELCOME TO THE GRAND AUCTION!” a charming female auctioneer finally entered the stage and announced, making everyone look at the stage. She was rather charming wearing a red revealing dress and an expensive necklace on her ample chest. “Sorry for the delay, it is just like always many of our guests brought forward superb treasures that they wanted to sell, so we had to appraise them before we could arrange everything… “ she clarified ignoring the men who were inspecting every inch of her alluring body body. 𝑅𝘈ΝՕᛒЕṡ

“A half elf ha…” Victor whispered.

“Yes!” Aerith to his side nodded, feeling a little thankful that he didn’t seem very interested like the elf prince, Macil, who couldn’t take his eyes off her slightly pointy ears and huge chest that no elf could have. It was as if he was looking at some kind of forbidden fruit. “Half elves get persecuted in the elven lands, and hated in the south, so the Storm lord's domain is the best place for them to live!”

“I see...” he nodded. He already learned this from his two new elf maids.

“Now for our first-time guests let me remind you of the rules…” the auctioneer said. “You can bid by adding as much as you can, and payments can only be done by System Coins or their equivalent in GEM or Storm Coins… We don’t accept Elven ones here, be mindful of that… We also have to warn you against threatening others, let’s be civil here or we will have to ban you for life! “ she spoke and explained how the auction would work as she watched most of the late guests arrive. Many of the people who were scurrying around socializing also began to settle in their seats.

“Now that we are done with the formalities, let's start… I hope you will enjoy this night’s collections…” she said then clapped her hands. “Our first collection for tonight is titled ‘Treasures from the lands of the dwarves!’” she said as two female dwarves pushed forward a tray with many covered trinkets. “As you might know, the dwarves in the south are very famous for their delicate craftsmanship, and for you my esteemed guests, we chose the best of the best, things that you would never find anywhere else!”

“I hope they will have something that vibrates…” Victor whispered toward Aerith.

BAM!

Rosette smacked the back of his head. “Behave!”

“Sorry…” he scratched his head. Damn it, that’s why he didn’t like to go shopping with his parents. They were no fun!

“The first item for tonight will be this! A simple necklace made by Aito. The chain is made out of blue gold holding a Water frost diamond… Ladies and Gentlemen, Although it doesn’t have System Powers, this gem is really good for women and will grant them a cold atmosphere…. “ the auctioneer quickly began to explain. “We will start with 190 Coins!”

“200!”

“220!”

“230!” Victor entered the bid.

“240!”

“250!”

“255!”

“...”

“260!” Victor bidded again.

“260 for the gentleman in the VIP balcony. once…. Twice… Sold!” the auctioneer announced then moved to the next object.

“A ruby red comb inlaid with black gold…”

Victor bid again, but in the end, he stopped after the price went too high.

After that, as the items were presented he bid every once in a while, sometimes winning and others losing, buying more and more items in the process.

It seemed like the real big spenders didn’t care about all of those trinkets so he didn’t really face any opposition most of the time.

Naga, who seemed to be holding a grudge after what happened at the palace the other day tried to steal a few from him, but after he raised the price a few times and let her take some stupid stuff at 10 times their price, she could only coincide. Her pockets were way too deep for her to compete with!

“Why are you spending your money on those trinkets?” Lyra, who couldn’t hold her curiosity, finally asked. If he bought one or two, she would presume that he wanted to give it to Aerith or Emira, but he had already bought more than 20! Sure they had some very fine craftsmanship, but that was it! “The real stuff will come later you know!

“I know, I know…. ” Victor sighed, relaxing a bit, “It is just that I want to bring a few gifts for my wives when I go back to my original world! And the things here are very suitable!”

“WHAT?” Lyra asked in shock.

“Yes, I guess Mother-in-law didn’t tell you, but My master has a way to send me back, and you can come too…”

“We already know that!” Lyra stopped him. Rosette told them about this while Victor was downstairs. And they have already discussed it. “What I am asking about was your ‘Wives’!”

“What about them?” he asked with a frown. What a strange question.

“You are already married?” she asked. Aerith was also looking at him for an answer. She had been wanting to ask him about this for a while now but didn’t find a good chance to bring it up. Thankfully her nosy little sister, Lyra, did it for her.

Rosette who knew about the family rules on the other hand had a deep frown as she glanced at him.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?!” he asked as if he was offended.

“Victor… How old are you?” Rosete asked.

“18…” he answered. 18 was always the right answer unless being caught with a minor.

“So you have just awakened…” she pondered.

“Yeah… about four months ago!” he nodded.

“How many wives did you say you have?” She asked. He just used the plural form when he said Wives after all.

“I didn’t say!”

“.... How many do you have?” Rosette almost smacked him again.

“Ah…” Victor frowned as he began to count on his fingers. “Officially… Should be 11 with Aerith, though there are others who can be counted as such… ”

“Hsss…..” Aertith who was beside him gasped, grabbing his hand and intending to pinch the life out of it. She finally realized what the number 11 in her status meant! THE BASTARD!

“Since when did the family allow an heir to marry that many women?” Rosette asked in a cold voice, clearly not pleased. Thankfully there were no death fate threads, so Victor didn’t go defensive.

“It was supposed to be one, but the fiance’s was changed at the last moment, and another one was added for some reason, so I used the chance to turn it into a grand wedding, what is the difference between marrying two and 10 at the same time!” he chuckled as if he did a great thing. No one else laughed. “Anyways, The family was only going to approve of the main two, but since I tricked them and performed a system marriage, they had to acknowledge every one of them as an official wife!” he shrugged… “It is an obscure rule in the family!”

“Oh…” Rosette frowned. Right, there was such a rule in one of the old family court cases she read when she was young. It was hidden away in an old book in one of her Master’s private collections. She was sure she burnt it up, but it seemed like there were other copies!

“...”

“...”

“...”

All the girls kept glaring at him, including Meril who bit her lip. They totally disregarded the auction that was happening in the background.

“What's with the awkward atmosphere? Can’t a man marry many women here too?” he asked as he looked around. “It’s not like I forced any of them!”

“I am sure you didn’t…” Lyra who was glaring at him with hostility spat.

“I DID NOT, OK!” he clarified. “On the contrary, there was supposed to be a 12th wife, but she was a little against it and some bastard broke into the wedding and took her away! I was understanding enough that I didn’t stop them!”

“... Someone broke into your wedding?” Rosette asked in surprise. “And Theodore didn’t kill him?”

Victor paused, wondering what kind of image his stupid father gave Rosette. “He couldn't, that guy was from the heavenly sect! The son of the patriarch or something…” he said in a low voice. “He wanted to kill me too, but one of my buddies sacrificed himself to protect me!”

“OH!” Rosette who knew about the heavenly sect better than anyone there paused and then sighed. “Silver’s son… I see…” she pondered as she squeezed her fist. “You were lucky…”

“Father said the same...” Victor replied as he frowned. He really wanted to know Rosette’s backstory, but it would be too awkward to ask, maybe he needed to find a chance to go have a drink with her.

“...”

After that, the balcony remains a little silent.

Well, not really. As the auction downstairs proceeded, Victor quickly found a few things he wanted and began to bid again. Other than him, Macil also bought a very delicate ring that was clearly intended to be given to Maril as he was looking at her fingers while bidding for it.

Aerith and Lyra on the other hand were like their mother, totally not interested in those trinkets. They had a lot of those things at home, and they were saving their Coins for the real stuff!

“Excellent… Thanks to your patronage the first collection was fully sold off!” the Auctioneer suddenly announced as the first few trays were carted away, making everyone, including those who were not interested, look down. “Now, let’s start with the second collection! Things will get a little heated up as we have a batch of very rare Materials!” she announced.

Everyone sat straight and squinted their eyes as the second cart entered the stage with many trays on it. The auctioneer took off the silk cover to reveal the first item. A blue leather-bound book.

The auctioneer took it and opened it up at a random page to reveal something that made many maidens blush as the men beside them jumped to take a closer look. “This book is titled “The Most Beautiful, it offers intricate paintings of some very beautiful women in exquisite poses… The author is unknown with only the letters V. V. W. written on its first page. As you may see the drawing technique in it is so delicate that no signs of a brush or printing plates could be seen! We will start with 50 COINs!”

“60…”

“70!”

“...”

“120!”

“130.”

“OUCH! Why did you hit me?” Victor asked his violent mother-in-law. Why were all the women around him turning rabid? Did it have something with his personality?

“That one is yours, isn’t it?” Rosette asked as she used her other hand to cover Emiras eyes.

“... No comment…” Victor looked away only to be welcomed by Aerith’s eyes glaring at him. “What?”

“...” she didn’t answer, choosing to look away and focus on the stage below. She was clearly still annoyed by the fact that she was the 11th wife! PERVERT!

“299… SOLD!”

After an intense betting battle between perverts, the book was quickly sold to a fat gentleman in one of the lower balconies! This world really lacked quality ‘materials’. Victor really regretted not having some of his late brother’s magazine collection with him, he would have really made a fortune using them!

“Next we have this scroll about the noble lineage kingdom of Plora that was destroyed 380 years…” the auctioneer quickly started with the next item.

Victor, who gave it a quick glance, casually dismissed it. He was not interested in such stupid things.

After that, similar things like paintings, treasure maps, and heritage documents began popping up one after another.

“Next we have a map of the Death Gorge’s lower terrain near the desert Bridge…Although it is very risky, according to the seller, he used it to successfully fish for treasures down there using a long rope and a hook!”

“10…”

“20…”

“25…”

“40!” Lyra bidded this time.

“45…” Naga bidded against her.

“Don’t bid anymore…” Victor suddenly stopped Lyra.

“Why?” Rosette asked.

“It is fake!” Victor although most of the map on the table downstairs was covered, from the exposed part he could tell it was not real… And even if it was, there would be nothing down there… Not anymore!

“You know about the gorge?” Rosette asked.

“... I can’t say… My master would scold me!” Victor looked away.

“Oh…” Rosette nodded.

Lyra frowned for a moment, then stopped bidding.

“Now, the documents collection is over… we will take a 30-minute rest, then proceed with the Rare Raw materials collection afterward!” After 3 more items, the auctioneer announced. “Feel free to try our cousin at the cafeteria if you feel like it!” she added before bowing and walking off stage.

“Wow… That was intense!” Macil said as he finally relaxed in his seat. He always wanted to attend this auction.

In the second round, he tried for a few documents about Elven lineage, but could only get one due to the other Elves downstairs bidding against him. But it was worth it.

“You haven’t yet seen the start of it!” Rosette smirked. They have already been here for two hours and the auction has just started. Most of the really good stuff hadn’t made it to the stage yet. The competition will be very intense later! Blood might be shed!

“Yeah…” Aerith sighed as they could hear a knock on the balcony’s door.

“Enter…” Rosette commanded in an authoritative voice.

Moments later it was opened and a few maids entered with trays full of refreshment that they began to place on a long table at the back of the balcony. The treatment here was not bad, but this was to be expected as they will probably have to stay here for another 7 to 8 hours going deep into the night! That’s why this grand auction was only held annually.

Victor was about to go grab something to eat when two new trays were pushed in, they held the stuff the occupiers of the balcony won.

“Please pay up before taking the items…” one of the maids who walked in after them said as she presented two red jade tablets. One for Macil and the other for Victor.

“Sure!” Victor said, putting his hand on the tablet.

; ;

PAYMENT TABLET 9912 COINS DO YOU WANT TO PAY?

Victor pressed <Yes>. Thanks to all the Gems he got from Death Gorge and sold to the system he was now a billionaire. Even his old Piggy Bank’s fortune paled in contrast.

Watching him pay up, Rosette didn’t care to ask where his money came from, she just inspected his expression, noting that he was not that stressed.

“Thank you!” the maid said, taking the tablets that turned white back before gesturing to the trays. “If you may, leave the trays outside after you finish taking your goods!” she said before bowing down and walking out.

Victor slowly walked to his tray and began to inspect the trinkets that were each placed in a suitable box. He bought a total of 49 items. He really had a lot of girls around him after all, and buying them gifts was a must.

Under Lyra’s curious eyes, he began taking the stuff one by one, after giving them a quick check he put them in his ring. Leaving only three things on the tray.

The first one was a simple necklace with a small flower pendant. It didn’t look impressive, but Victor could tell that it was made from a material called Obsidian Raindrop. It was a very hard material and hard to work with.

He took it, weighing it in his hand, then turned and walked toward Emira who was watching curiously, he bent on one knee and then put it around her neck. “This is for you…”

“Ah…” she blushed as he wrapped his hands around her neck, locking the pendant’s chain. “Thanks…” she said, looking down shyly at the pendant on her chest as soon as he let go. She really looked super cute.

“Tsk…” Lyra clicked her tongue and then paused as she watched Victor grab her arm and put a bracelet around it. “What the…”

“This thing is made out of Blue gold, and I thought you would like it. It really matches your eye color!” he said, making her blush a little.

“I don’t want…”

“Consider it a gift from your brother-in-law!” he interrupted as he flashed her a smile. He had been really training on how to do those lately. They were surprisingly very useful! "As expected, pretty things should be worn by pretty girls...."

“... It is not like I couldn't buy it by myself or anything…” she said as she looked away, blushing a bit. “I guess I will just accept it…”

Rosette who watched was squinting her eyes at him and sneering. This guy was so damn good at scamming little girls! Well… She really didn’t mind it, as his relationship with Lyra was clearly improving, but it made her a little concerned if he had any other ‘hobbies’ that went beyond that.

Aerith, on the other hand, who was still frowning, looked toward the last box left on the try, biting her lip and not knowing what to expect…

Well, Victor didn’t disappoint as he opened it to reveal a golden bangle inside. It was clearly very old, yet intricate, inlaid by 12 pretty gems around it. He grabbed it and held it in his hand for a bit as if weighing it.

“Ah…” Aerith was disappointed. It was too small for her to wear. It should be for Emira right?

No!

“This is for you!” Victor said, presenting it to Aerith.

“Ah…” she frowned, taking the intricate jade bangle and looking at it. This thing was one of the most expensive things in the auction earlier and Victor had to fight with Naga over it and ended up paying 2100 Coins for it! “I will find a chain to hang it around my neck…” she said with some disappointment. Well, at least he got something for her.

“Idiot!” Victor said, grabbing it from her hand “This is to be put up there!” he added, pulling away Aerith’s turban, and putting it on her horn, letting it slide down… It fits perfectly.

Everyone froze.

Both Lyra and Rosette tensed up. Although Aerith didn’t show it, she was very sensitive about things regarding her Horn. When she was young, if anyone were to make fun of it, they would end up with some serious injuries.

Aerith really got angry for a moment there… But moments later she felt a strange sense of clarity.

“The gems around it have natural demonic energy purifying properties…” Victor whispered telling the truth. “Although it is weak, being close to your head, I thought it might have some calming effects on you!”

“Ah!” Aertih blushed a bit, she didn’t expect him to be still thinking about her situation.

“Really? The auctioneer didn’t say anything about that?” Lyra, who couldn’t read the atmosphere, asked.

“She told you that those Gems were rare, didn’t she…” he shrugged. “In fact, the knowledge about them was something my master taught me…

He used a couple of them on demons restraining shackles!” he clarified. In fact, this knowledge was something he got from the old Artificer soul he ate months ago. That guy was an expert in demonic materials, and he really didn’t expect to find such a fine thing here. They were really one of the materials used in Demonic shackles, but to create a fully functioning one, many other rare minerals were required. “Now you can restrain your horniness!” he whispered.

BAM!

“Ouch!!!”

Aerith smacked his head. “Pervert…” she said as she turned and walked away to grab a plate, skipping a bit. “I forgive you!” she whispered.

“Thanks, I guess,” he whispered as he scratched his head. Why did all the women around him turn violent?

Rosette, who watched them reconcile, almost clicked her tongue. He was not only good at scamming little girls, it seemed! But in a way, he was a perfect fit for the rigid Aerith.

She could only shake her head and look to the side where Macil was giving Meril the ring he bought, telling her that he thought she might like it and that it meant absolutely nothing!

Although Rosette was not really against this elf marrying her daughter, she needed to cut him off from that Sun Lord first! And really had to find a way to straighten up that crooked elven brain of his, and to tell the truth, she had no idea how to do all of that!

Maybe she should consult Victor’s master about it!