第１４９７堀：オークション日和？ (Part2)
After all, they are a healer and physician whose name is known not just across the Logari Continent, but across every continent; they are at the absolute forefront of medicine.
That said, I felt that performing a health checkup openly on stage was a bit questionable.
Perhaps it is meant to serve as an assurance of quality, but it feels like a spectacle... though, in truth, since they are being sold, it is a spectacle regardless.
With such thoughts in mind, I stand beside Yuki-sama and the others, watching the auction unfold.
"Now, as the health checkups have concluded safely and everyone’s well-being is guaranteed, we shall proceed to the sales. First, we have the slaves from the Geunia Trading Company."
Bamai-dono continues to act as the moderator as the slave auction proceeds.
Bids are announced, and the prices climb higher and higher.
One might call this a reflection of a person’s value, but watching it like this is far from a pleasant experience.
After all, I was once in that very position myself.
Regardless of my own sentiments, the buying and selling of slaves continues according to schedule.
Generally, the common slaves introduced first are purchased by allied nations, non-allied nations, and private individuals in a measured fashion. As for the main event—the "star" items, the rare races, and the former princess—it is understood that the deals have already been brokered behind the scenes.
It feels like a fixed race, but by settling these matters beforehand, they avoid potential trouble later on.
As a merchant, I know this well from watching my father and brothers, and many such arrangements occur in the auctions held within Weed as well.
If a bidding war were to break out externally, even if it happens outside our borders, it would stem from a dispute at a Weed auction, which would only serve to tarnish our reputation.
And so, the sale of the common slaves concludes...
"Now, we shall move on to the auction of our star items!"
*Woah!*
That is the level of enthusiasm from the crowd.
The prices for the rare races and the former princess will be far beyond the reach of the general attendees, and while the outcome is rigged from the start, they are likely simply excited to see just how high the numbers will climb.
...It is truly distasteful.
Well, there may be some among them who were destined to fall into slavery for reasons beyond help, but with General Steve and his team currently investigating their backgrounds, reports suggest that such cases account for at most one-third of the total.
The details are still unclear, but it seems many were likely forced into slavery through various illicit means.
As for the former princess who is our objective... it is apparently legal.
I have heard of the nation’s collapse, but to expect her alone to conjure enough wealth to sustain a country is an impossible demand.
However, to those desperate to recoup their losses, she is nothing more than a person trying to default on a debt.
She likely did not incur the debt herself, but it is common sense that a family’s debts are the family’s responsibility.
Above all, for the head of a nation to borrow money and then default...
No, I have heard from Yuki-sama and General Lowel that it is not uncommon for nobles to default on their debts, but still...
Regardless, as Ria-sama noted, the former princess’s state does not seem normal.
She looks as though she has suffered something so profound that her spirit has been shattered.
That is why...
"Now, for our final item: the princess of a fallen nation, said to know the location of its hidden treasures, Canaria-sama!"
At those words, she steps out.
Her movements are graceful, and one can tell from her every gesture that she is of noble birth, yet there is no smile upon her face. Her hair, a silvery-white shade reminiscent of Ria-sama’s, is styled in twin-tails, and her attire is that of a princess rather than a slave.
If one were to simply look at her, the impression of her being beautiful and lovely would come naturally, but her face remains motionless; to me, she feels like a well-crafted Noh mask.
The crowd around us is roaring with excitement, wondering what price she will fetch, but that heat does not reach her. It feels as though she is trapped within a cage of ice, separated from the rest of the world.
Yet, such misfortune is scattered everywhere across this world.
It is merely a matter of scale—whether it is large or small.
Ria-sama, who was saved, seems to wish for the happiness of this girl who shares a similar background, but nothing begins without the resolve to reach out and take it.
That was the same for us.
We are here now because we grasped the hand that Yuki-sama extended to us.
Whether she will emerge from that world is entirely up to her.
Thinking of such things, I simply watch her as the bids are placed.
It feels a bit better when it’s sunny rather than rainy, doesn't it?
You can hang out the laundry and let it dry.