Bribed by the Demon Lord Right Before the Ending

■ Underground Auction House □

As we sat munching on boiled beans to stave off our hunger, the food we had ordered finally arrived.

It was a seafood barbecue assortment grilled over an open flame with various shellfish and beer, the dwarves’ favorite drink.

I had heard that octopuses and squids are usually avoided because they’re called “devil fish” due to their strange appearance, but here they were served perfectly roasted whole.

They’re probably meant to be dipped in the red sauce that came alongside.

“Wow! This is amazing!”

Dorothea exclaimed in pure admiration, unable to wait any longer as she armed herself with a fork and knife in each hand.

I helped Dorothea by cutting up some fish, clams, and octopus tentacles into suitable portions and placing them on her plate.

Gabriel, watching this from the side while stroking his chin, said,

“It’s like watching a father and daughter.”

“…Are you picking a fight?”

“No, it’s just an observation. You seem like you’d make a good father.”

Dorothea teased as she held out her plate,

“Hehe, did you get offended because you look old?”

“It’s not about that.”

Since I felt somewhat pricked, I vaguely brushed it off and turned my head.

Honestly, comparing appearances between Dorothea and me is unfair since Dorothea’s growth stopped at 17 due to a witch’s magic.

On the other hand, I have the body of someone in their late twenties.

Moreover, the person who made the comment had no ill intent, which made it sting even more.

Anyway, we enjoyed a happy meal of seafood barbecue and beer.

“To your health!”

Our wooden mugs collided with each other.

The golden liquid inside swayed and mixed into each other’s cups.

I bit into a nameless fish starting from its head; it was the size of my palm.

Though typically fish with thick bones should only have the flesh eaten, this one seemed meant to be eaten whole.

Just seasoned with salt and grilled, its meat was savory and slightly greasy, making me think I could eat several of these.

I washed down the oily taste in my mouth with a refreshing sip of beer.

“Holy cow! This is the taste!”

The delicacies I couldn’t enjoy at the Nídavellir Royal Castle melted away in my mind like snow.

While grand feasts prepared there were splendid, enjoying local cuisine like this wasn’t bad either.

That’s the charm of traveling, after all.

“Definitely, eating fish after only having meat gives a new feeling.”

Dorothea, being a drinker, closed her eyes tightly as if deeply moved, savoring the flavor.

She usually would’ve wolfed down the food and drink, but today she seemed to want to savor it.

Camilla and Sophia were tearing apart large octopus legs, and judging by their expressions, they didn’t dislike it despite it being their first time trying.

While everyone was enjoying the food in their own way, Gabriel, who had consumed three servings of food and beer alone, asked,

“So, what do we do after eating? Is there anywhere you’d like to visit?”

“Not really. Do you have any recommendations?”

At this, Gabriel nodded while eating a skewer of scallops.

“The only landmarks worth mentioning in Nídavellir are the underground auction house and the casino.”

“Oh. The underground auction house.”

I had heard of it before.

The giant auction representing the city of Nídavellir, created by the dwarves, where everything in the world can supposedly be bought or sold.

“If you have anything you want to buy or sell, visiting once wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

I nodded and asked the others who were busy eating,

“What do you guys think?”

Dorothea responded with her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel,

“I’m in favor.”

Camilla followed up,

“I have no objections.”

In the case of Sophia, who was last, she inclined her head slightly instead of answering verbally.

Thus, the voting concluded swiftly, so I looked back at Gabriel.

“We can go to the auction house by majority rule, right?”

“Sure. Let’s head to the underground auction house after finishing our meal.”

With that, Gabriel raised his empty mug in his right hand above his head and called out for the serving girl.

“Mary! Over here! Can you refill the beer?”[[#]]Gulp!

“Ugh, it’s disgusting.”

Despite Dorothea’s reprimand, I calmly ignored it and walked away.

Currently, we were moving toward the underground auction house from the restaurant under Gabriel’s guidance.

Although the casino was a little intriguing, it seemed far cheaper to impulsively shop at the auction than waste money there.

“This is the entrance to the underground auction house.”

Gabriel stopped speaking near a large staircase leading underground.

The atmosphere resembled the entrance to a dungeon, but as it was clearly a public facility of the city, many people were going up and down the stairs.

Originally, dwarves are a race that lived underground, so they prefer creating such vast spaces beneath the ground.

All of this is thanks to their unmatched architectural skills compared to humans, and actually visiting the famed underground auction house I had only heard about before was quite fascinating.

Since it’s underground and sunlight doesn’t reach, luminous pearls are embedded at regular intervals on the high ceiling.

Considering the price of just one of those pearls is astronomically expensive, this space itself is literally a display of extravagant wealth.

When Gabriel and I, acting as tour guides, approached the front desk of the auction house, one of the people inside jumped up in surprise.

“Mr. Gabriel! What brings you here today?”

“Ah, I just happened to be nearby and thought I’d drop by for some business. My friends wanted to take a look at your facilities.”

As Gabriel pointed at us, the staff member immediately greeted us.

“Hello! My name is Daedalus!”

Though their strict demeanor is appreciated, I’d rather not draw too much attention.

Seeming to read my troubled expression, Gabriel spoke up first.

“We’d like to watch today’s auction. Is there a room available?”

At this, Daedalus immediately lifted his head.

“Of course! If VIP Mr. Gabriel is visiting, we’ll make a room available even if none exists!”

Please wait a moment!

The man disappeared into a room behind the front desk after saying this.

He returned about three minutes later.

“Here is the room key. Room 203 awaits you.”

“Thank you.”

“If you need any room service, feel free to call.”

The man continued to treat us with utmost respect until we left the front desk.

I asked Gabriel as we moved towards Room 203,

“How often do you come here to get treated like that?”

“I haven’t visited that often, but every time I do, I spend a lot, so that’s why.”

Replied casually, Gabriel stopped in front of a door painted red.

The plaque read ‘Room 203’.

Click!

“Let’s go inside.”

Following him in, I understood what VIP meant.

Unlike the general participants sitting closely together, the VIPs in this room could comfortably participate in the auction from a terrace-like setting.

What blatant social disparity.

It’s truly a structure that embodies capitalism at its extreme.

“There are occasionally useful items put up for auction here. I visit when I want to purchase something like that.”

To the dvergar who viewed Gabriel as their arch-nemesis, he must be a big spender to the auction house owner.

After all, everyone knows dragons love treasures.

“This is today’s auction catalog. It lists the order of the auction and brief descriptions of the items, so it’d be good to take a look.”

“Let’s see…”

I spread out the catalog he handed me like a newspaper and checked it.

True to the reputation of the underground auction house, which claims to sell everything except nothing, there were dozens of items scheduled for sale today alone.

Everything from various works of art, weapons, jewels, artifacts, animals, to slaves was listed without discrimination.

Since I wasn’t really planning to buy anything anyway, I skimmed through the list of items when I suddenly paused.

‘Philosopher’s Stone?’

The legendary gem said to be created only by magi who have reached the pinnacle of alchemy.

Even the Unlimited Power pendant I wear daily was originally an artifact made by altering a Philosopher’s Stone.

There shouldn’t be many of these precious items in the entire Western Continent, yet here it was, plainly listed for auction.

Guess I got lucky today.

Deciding to splurge a bit, I focused solely on the Philosopher’s Stone, ignoring all other items.

“I don’t know who the original owner is, but I’ve got a great catch.”

Thinking this, I asked Camilla beside me,

“Do you want anything? I’ll buy it for you during this opportunity.”

But Camilla shook her head vigorously.

“I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me.”

Indeed, Camilla, as always, showed little material desire and promptly declined my offer.

I decided to keep an eye out for any appropriate accessories during the auction to buy her as a gift, then headed to the terrace of the VIP room upon hearing the bell signaling the start of the auction.