After everything calmed down, Cesare planned to take Sandino back to school. However, Cesare was grabbed by Sandino as he was about to leave. "Don't leave in a hurry. We are all here. Aren't you curious about where this place is? Besides, those two guards might still be squatting on us outside." When he said this, Sandino's face He looked slightly excited, as if he had wanted to bring Cesare here for some time.
Cesare looked at the big security guard standing at the door. The guy even made a sign of deal with the two of them, then looked back at Sandino's expectant expression, and sighed helplessly. Before he could wait, After asking clearly, the steps on his feet were already walking deeper into the corridor with Sandino.
"So, what is this place? Why did he let you in?"
"Don't be nervous, brother, it's just an auction." Sandino replied with excitement. "As long as you are a noble and show your family crest ring, they will let you in unconditionally. If you are a commoner, you will have to show your admission ticket. It is obvious that the reputable people in Carl Liu know it, but it is strange that you don't know."
"I've never heard of any auctions here... Are you sure this is legal?" Cesare followed Sandino as he walked along the corridor. After passing a downward staircase, the originally dim The indoor environment suddenly became much brighter, and the walls on both sides were covered with luxurious and elegant candlesticks. Cesare felt that he had suddenly arrived in some upper-class place from the old city.
"I really don't know about this, and only Wednesday is the auction. There will be opera and occasionally circus performances here on Saturday night! I don't know what to do with the rest of the time." Sandino added slightly. He replied thoughtfully. "And the things auctioned here are always weird and weird, just like you. You will definitely like them."
“But I don’t have any money, so even if I have something I like, I definitely can’t afford it,” Cesare said frankly.
"It's okay, brother! Don't you still have me?" At this point, Sandino straightened his collar proudly. "Others don't know you, but I know it very well! With you here, we will definitely get a big deal!"
Backstage in the square, a masked man was handing a box to the auctioneer. "How much do you plan to set the starting bid for this item?" "Five hundred." From the cold tone of the man in black, no emotion could be heard. "Are you talking about five hundred gold coins or five hundred silver coins?" the auctioneer asked with some confusion. After all, the difference in units is not a small amount.
"Five hundred copper coins."
When the classical-style door was slowly pushed open, Cesare and Sandino arrived at the main venue of the auction. It seemed that the auction had been going on for a while. The grand and wide hall seemed like an indoor square. The size ratio here It looks much bigger from the outside. The overall structure is divided into two floors. The first floor is crowded with people. It seems that there are no chairs specially prepared to accommodate more people, while the second floor is the box for the nobles.
"Quiet! Quiet! The current bid has reached 2,000! Are there any friends who have increased their bids!?" The old man, who was skinny and wearing an eyepatch on his left eye, stood on the high platform in the front and shouted loudly with his hoarse and ugly drake voice. Shouting, that rather short figure was particularly unusual compared to the two huge and burly bodyguards beside him, but judging from his unusual and luxurious clothes, this thin old man seemed to have unusual possessions in the auction. right to speak. "Two thousand one! I heard it! The current bid is two thousand one!"
The flat ground at the front of the venue did not have a height difference design, so Sandino, who was standing in the back row, was blocked by a sea of people. He couldn't see clearly what was going on at the front even if he jumped up. In a fit of anger, he grabbed Cesare, who was not paying much attention to him, and pushed towards the front row of the auction. The two teenagers took advantage of their body shapes to move forward among the crowds of different postures, walking in the shadow of adults as if they were walking under cover. The dense forest blocks out the sun. Finally arriving at the front row, the mighty and powerful security personnel cleared a circle of open space around the high platform, allowing the staff a place to breathe and allowing the two teenagers to get out.
At this time, another hoarse shout came from the high platform: "Deal! Congratulations to the gentleman in the helmet for finally buying this sword for 4,700 copper coins! The royal sword with a long history is still extremely sharp! Mr. Good Vision, You definitely made a lot of money!”
Cesare, who had just joined the front row, glanced at the high platform with his peripheral vision and muttered casually: "The Valgin knight sword of the last century has just been renovated. It's fine to hang on the wall as a decoration. If you really use it, you'll kill someone." The rabbit has worked hard, and that guy has suffered a big loss." Cesare was looking around at the scenery in the front row, and suddenly saw a familiar figure in the box on the upper right. After carefully identifying it, he subconsciously stepped back two steps. step.
"What's wrong with Cesare?" Sandino asked in confusion.
"It's okay... I just saw someone I know." Following Cesare's gaze, a red-haired nobleman wearing a black and red coat stood in front of the crowd on the right. That was undoubtedly Count Lauryn. At this moment He was holding an elegant small telescope and looking at the high platform with interest. Standing next to him was a young girl, wearing the uniform of St. Carlius School. She also had the iconic red hair. She looked like his daughter, but most of her figure was blocked by Count Lauryn. , can’t see the specific appearance.
"Count Lauryn." Sandino looked surprised. "You know him?"
"It's not really an acquaintance. I just met him once at the place where he worked. I repaired something for him." Cesare explained.
"So that's it, do you know? Rumor has it that Earl Lauryn was an uneducated boy when he was young. He liked to collect folk junk things since he was a child. He started to restrain himself after getting married." At this point, Sang Sang Dino deliberately lowered his voice and whispered in Cesare's ear: "I heard that his married life is very bad. He is only glamorous outside and has no say at home."
"Let's not talk about whether it's true or not, how do you know other people's family affairs so clearly?" Cesare looked at Sandino in confusion, and suddenly felt a little strange to this good brother who had always been a good brother. God knows what else he knew. Something.
Faced with Cesare's doubts, Sandino just shrugged indifferently. "There are a lot of such rumors in school. You can hear a lot of them just by casually chatting. People use bad things in other people's homes to make themselves feel better. This is what everyone does. This is not our traditional palace. For entertainment?”
Cesare originally thought about continuing to ask about the rumors about the Hunyadi family, but after thinking about it carefully, he decided not to bring trouble to himself. He just laughed and dismissed the topic, and then focused on it again. At the auction ahead.
The old man on the stage took the next item to be auctioned from the scantily clad hostess. It was an object wrapped in layers of oilcloth, and it looked like it was only as big as a fist in actual size. When taking over this thing, the old host was obviously sluggish for a moment, but he quickly adjusted back to his normal state.
"Today's No. 7 product is not simple! It comes from a respected count family - Hunyadi!" As soon as he finished speaking, there was a commotion in the entire venue. People were whispering to each other and seemed to be discussing something, but it was nothing more than worries and sneers. . Sandino nudged Cesare with his elbow. "Hunyadi? That's not from your family?"
After a moment of hesitation and shock, Cesare nodded silently. Cesare looked at the oilcloth on the stage and frowned. Although it was just intuition, he still vaguely noticed some traces of magic floating vaguely from under the oilcloth, and it was very similar to the magic hidden in the Hunyadi family crest ring. There must be some connections that he could not understand yet. , but are there really such coincidences in this world? Why are the things from the Hunyadi family here?
The old host wiped the sweat from his forehead and seemed to be prepared that this thing was destined to not be sold. He pushed aside the layers of oilcloth, with a somewhat embarrassed smile on his face. When the mysterious veil of the item was finally lifted, what was revealed to the crowd was a finely crafted mechanical core covered with gears and wires. It looked like a strong iron heart, but no one could tell what it was. What is it used for?
"Our experts determined that this thing is a part of some kind of machinery. Although it is no longer functioning, the overall structure is intact and slightly worn. As a collection, it is beautiful and mysterious! Someone is willing to... uh... pay five hundred for this thing. Is it the lowest price?" The old host has always been shameless, but holding such an unknown object, his tone was rarely confident. It was obvious that he would not pay a penny for this thing.
Sandino looked at the mechanical core and asked Cesare in a low voice: "Do you know what that is?"
"It looks like some kind of magic engine..." Cesare thought for a moment and replied. "The engines of the railway locomotive and the clock tower are all industrial products of the interaction of machinery and magic. It's just that I have never seen an engine device of that shape in the books... I can't imagine what magic is used to drive it, but If I can get my hands on it... maybe I can fix it."
"Will it be worth anything if it's repaired?" Sandino asked excitedly.
"If it is an intact magic engine, no matter how big or small, it can be sold for at least a thousand gold coins at the market price."
"Gold coins!?" Sandino counted something with his fingers. "One silver coin is two thousand copper coins...that gold coin is...a lot anyway! We made a lot of money!" Sandino no longer hesitated and waved his arms directly to the auction table, as if he was already interested in the engine. It was a sure win, and I was so excited that I almost jumped up on the spot. "Here! Here! We want it!"
