At that moment, even Baron Auguinare couldn't maintain his composure.
"Hoo! No wonder you didn't reveal what's in the treasure chest to anyone."
Inside the chest, everyone saw hundreds of white gold coins, different types of magic stones, and even some precious materials like platinum, sapphire, rubies, etc.,
The only person who remained calm in this situation was Helena, Tobin, and Abium.
Helena had long opened the treasure chest and knew what was hidden there. In contrast, Abium and Tobin didn't seem surprised by the number of white gold coins and gems.
At that moment, Azolla scanned the treasure chest and started speaking in Abium's mind.
'There are a total of 2,130 white gold coins, 100 low-tier magic stones, 35 mid-tier magic stones, five high-tier magic tones, 12 sapphire gems, 11 rubies, seven platinum bars, etc.,'
'Oh? Not bad.' Abium nodded inwardly.
While Baron and his disciples were stunned by the number of gold coins, Helena quietly closed the treasure chest, shifted her gaze towards Abium, and spoke solemnly.
"Although I worked hard to get this treasure chest, you are the one who gave the information about its location, Abium. Take whatever you want."
On the other hand, Abium shook his head and refused to take anything.
"It's your reward. Moreover, I have plenty of these gold coins now."
Saying so, he shifted his gaze towards Kuran and greeted him with a nod.
Then, he looked at the stunned Baron and asked.
"I didn't expect you would come here for Helena, My Lord."
"I came here to attend the upcoming Royal Banquet, lad. But when Helena told me about her sister's condition, I decided to help her. After all, you helped me and my town once. Accept this help as a kind of repayment."
Baron replied and turned his head to that young Tobin.
"When is the auction going to start?"
"It will start in 2 hours, My Lord."
Baron nodded his head and returned to the Lawson sofa.
After that, everyone waited in the room for the next two hours.
...
It was around 9 A.M!
A loud bell sound came from all directions and resounded everywhere.
"It's time," Baron said as he stood up from his seat and hastened his footsteps towards the entrance door.
Meanwhile, Abium, Tobin, and Helena followed after him and soon left the guest room, leaving Richard and the other disciple inside.
The group stepped into the long corridor and started walking towards the grand hall located on the rear side of the building.
With Tobin's help, the trio arrived at the auction site, moved towards the second floor, and entered the grand hall.
It was so vast that it could hold nearly a thousand people. Multiple seats were arranged before the luxurious stage, and many guests were already seated in the allocated seats.
At that moment, Baron Auguinare took out three coin-like tokens and read out the seat numbers.
"Our seat numbers are 145, 146, and 147."
"It's in the eleventh row, My Lord," Tobin said and pointed his hand towards the direction where their allocated seats were located.
Abium and others arrived near the allocated two minutes later and sat down comfortably.
After that, Abium turned his gaze toward the third floor and looked at the glass-covered VIP rooms with interest.
'There are many powerful existences gathered in this auction, lad. Be careful.' Azolla's warning echoed in his ears.
Abium observed them slowly and soon realized that all of the Peral Kingdom's noble household members and mages had come to attend this auction!
A few influential figures like Duke Adhemar, Ice Queen, Duchess Margery, and Alius's disciples like Zivior and Ubius also appeared in the VIP section!
'But Margrave Eliot hasn't come to attend this auction which means he has completely sided with the Light Church. Which side would Baron Tibbott choose?' In his opinion, the dispute between the royal family and the Light church might become more violent sooner rather than later.
He shook his head and shifted his gaze towards the auction stage.
It didn't take long for the auction to begin.
To his surprise, Tabitha personally hosted the auction. Once she arrived on the stage, she politely bowed to the audience and spoke loudly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Orchid Auction House. Let the auction begin!" Her voice echoed clearly in the large hall without any enchanting sound artifact.
Her simple words made everyone stop chatting and attracted their eyes to the stage.
The first item was a low-tier magic artifact called Devil's claw.
'They used real Devil's claw to craft this dagger.' Azolla said inside his mind.
"We call this dagger the 'Devil's Claw.' It's an artifact created by Kaummiths Institute's Alchemy Rune mage Ubius. There are zero-tier dark element spell models inscribed inside this dagger. One is 'black flame,' and another is 'Devil's curse.' It is a rare, high-quality piece among the low-tier magic artifacts. The starting price is 50 white gold coins, and the lowest bidding increment is five white gold coins."
"55 white gold coins."
The item's price was relatively high for the first item in the auction. Just as Tabitha finished introducing the thing, someone raised their paddle.
"60 white gold."
"65."
"70."
…
Naturally, a few people had their eyes on it, and in a short time, the price went up to 100 white gold coins. In the end, it was brought by a wealthy and influential merchant from the Keris Kingdom's capital for 120 white gold coins.
After Devil's Claw, Tabitha quickly auctioned two more low-tier magic tools.
Although Abium wanted to get some artifacts, he didn't want to expose his wealth to others.
'My priority is rescuing Helena's sister.'
He didn't have to wait for long. The fourth item soon appeared, and it was the item Abium and Helena had been eagerly awaiting.
A guard came from the rear, carrying a cage covered in silk cloth, and stepped towards the stage. He soon arrived at the center of the stage, placed the cage on the nearby table, and walked away.
In the meantime, Tabitha extended her hand towards the red silk and pulled it away.
Once she removed the silk cloth, many let out a gasp of shock.
A second later, a small figure appeared in front of everyone's vision.
A young fairy stood inside that cage with an anxious expression and looked sick.
"Camilla!" Helena muttered slowly.
At that moment, Camilla's unique purple eyes wandered everywhere as she flapped her tiny wings and searched for someone familiar. She had fair skin, long greenish hair, a round face, and appeared only around 10 cm tall!
Helena couldn't hold back her tears and cried silently upon seeing her sister in a cage.
On the other hand, Abium and Baron Auguinare held Helena from doing any reckless actions and waited for Tabitha's announcement.
As they had expected, she politely smiled at the audience and spoke.
"The next item is a fairy. One of our customers captured it from the Baxbron Woods and placed it here for auction. We have already checked her blood and confirmed that the quality is pure. I am sure everyone is aware of the value of a fairy. This fairy's starting price is 200 white gold coins, and the lowest bidding increment is 20."
"220."
"240."
"260."
"280 white gold coins."
…..
Just as Tabitha finished her speech, voices echoed here and there in the audience.
But Abium wasn't anxious at all.
'Every item has a final price.'
He soon noticed that the price was increasing very slowly after reaching 400.
In other words, most people felt this fairy was worth only this much, so it would be unprofitable to chase the price much higher.
Abium just waited for the bidding to die down. Meanwhile, Helena anxiously stared at her sister and started sobbing.
When the price reached 680 white gold coins, the venue fell silent. Most of the people who had taken part in the bidding were shaking their heads, mockingly smiling.
They thought it was already foolish to waste this much money on a fairy.
Even if the fairy was rare, it was intended for two purposes.
The first was to keep it as a pet. Some nobles would buy these fairies to keep in their homes to show off.
A rumor spread around saying that keeping a fairy would bring good luck.
The second purpose had to do with fairies' blood.
An arcane scientific theory implied that drinking fairy blood would increase one's lifespan by three years!
Although it was just three years of lifespan, a few people already had their eyes on this fairy.
One of them was Count Tibal. He was already over eighty years old, and if he didn't consume the blood of a few fairies, he would die soon.
As he had no elemental affinity to join the magic academy, this was the only way to increase his lifespan.
If he could consume a few fairies' bloods, he might live for another twenty to thirty years.
When Count Tibal heard from his henchmen that a fairy appeared in this auction, he was escalated.
Although 680 white gold coins were not a small amount, he could easily earn this much money from taxes in a year or two.
A smile emerged on his face when he realized no one was bidding.
"680 white gold coins, once... Bidding twice... 680 white gold coins, if there are no higher bids…."
"800 white gold."
Just as Tabitha announced the deal, a voice came from the second floor's corner.
A bid of 800 white gold coins made the initially quiet venue rather lively.
The people who had participated in the bidding for the item couldn't help but look in their direction.
Six hundred eighty white gold coins for a fairy were more than the regular price.
But which idiot would raise 200 white gold coins at once? They thought in confusion.
Soon everyone recognized who it was and got shocked a little.
The one who made that bid was not Abium but Baron Auguinare!