Shinji Matou at Your Service

In Shinji's mind, he expected to utter a single phrase that would shock everyone and make him the center of attention—after all, that's how it always goes in the various web novels he read in his past life. Society isn't short of examples where people throw money around to make a point.

However, this time, his expectations fell flat.

He did become the center of attention, but not for reasons of awe; instead, he was met with ridicule, disdain, or even pity.

Melvin, who was seated at a nearby table and continuing to bid despite coughing up blood, spoke up: "The closing price in London the day before yesterday was $405 per ounce. For ten tons, that would be around $140 million, not counting the train's fees."

In other words, what sounded like a bold and arrogant offer of ten tons of gold was less than a third of the auction price—a classic case of overestimating oneself and making an ineffective bid.

Failing to impress and having his bluff called out, even Shinji, with his thick skin, couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed, realizing that he had neglected to check the current gold prices and had made an assumption.

Fortunately, he quickly adjusted his mindset, cleared his throat, and nonchalantly said, "I don't usually need that much gold, so I wasn't paying attention. If ten tons isn't enough, then make it fifty tons. That should be sufficient, right?"

Come on, come on, bow down, the true super-rich is right here.

If he hadn't flopped with that earlier show of arrogance, if he had just come out with the offer of 50 tons of gold right away, it might have been a display of extravagant wealth. However, given what had just happened, everyone's first reaction wasn't shock but suspicion.

Even Waver asked, "Shinji, can you produce that much gold?"

The deputy manager also chimed in, "Honored guest, false bids are prohibited."

Receiving all these skeptical looks, Shinji found the experience of trying to show off to be quite disappointing, but he had already spoken and couldn't backtrack now without losing even more face. So, he patiently explained:

"It's one thing for others to doubt me, but you, Deputy Manager, shouldn't."

"Why?" the woman asked.

"You, the conductor Rodin, and Miss Leandra are all under Rita Rozay-en's command, so you should know your master well. Rita Rozay-en has a certain frenemy who is also one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, just like her."

Not only were these three employees from Rita Rozay-en's faction, but anyone with a bit of knowledge about the Dead Apostle world would know about this duo of best friends—Rita Rozay-en, the 15th of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, and the 21st, Water Demon Sumire. They were so close that they believed, "If one of us has to die, it will be by the other's hand," and would often fight to the death for fun.

"Sumire possesses a unique ability similar to Arcueid's."

"What does this have to do with me?"

Arcueid looked confused, while the three staff members stiffened, clearly understanding what Shinji meant.

Sumire was the only Dead Apostle Ancestor who possessed Marble Phantasm. It was thanks to this nearly omnipotent ability that she could rival Rita Rozay-en, who had collected numerous Mystic Eyes.

Marble Phantasm is connected to nature, allowing its users to manifest any natural creation as long as they have enough mental energy, and make it permanently exist. Gold, which humans use as currency, is essentially just a type of mineral found on Earth. With Arcueid's abilities, fifty tons, a hundred tons, a thousand tons, or even ten thousand tons would be no problem.

If she wanted to, she could crash the global economy in no time.

"I apologize for my ignorance," the deputy manager bowed to both Shinji and Arcueid.

"Fifty tons of gold is equivalent to seven billion dollars. The bid is valid."

"Seven billion dollars going once, does anyone want to bid higher?"

Leandra raised the hammer, but the strongest competitors—Melvin, Adashino, and Yvette—had all shown signs of giving up.

"Seven billion dollars going twice."

"Seven billion dollars going three times."

"Sold!"

The hammer struck.

"Congratulations, honored guest, on successfully winning the Mystic Eyes of Transcience,'" the deputy manager smiled slightly as she handed the container with the Mystic Eyes to Shinji.

"The transplant surgery can be scheduled at any time—although the guest may not need it."

Shinji knew she was referring to Touko, though he wasn't sure if she could perform a risk-free removal like the deputy manager could. However, transplanting should be no issue. Of course, he didn't say this out loud and responded vaguely.

"That's hard to say. The person these Mystic Eyes are intended for is still a minor and not suitable for surgery. We might need your assistance in the future."

"Then, this concludes the auction. Thank you all for your—"

"Please wait a moment, may I take up a bit more of everyone's time?"

Just as Leandra was about to close the event with a thank you, someone stood up and walked to the center of the auction platform.

It was Waver.

"Oh? Is there something you need, Professor Velvet? Perhaps you disagree with my deduction?"

Adashino, the female magus from the Department of Policies, tilted her head with a slight challenge in her voice, though her face was full of satisfaction.

Yes, a deduction.

Before Shinji arrived, something else had happened on the train—another death, a real one this time, not the fake death charade from Castle Adra or the framing by Iselma.

Right now, the victim's head was placed in the middle of the venue, held by Waver's assistant, Caules.

"Trisha…"

At the sight of the head, Olga-Marie bit her lip tightly, her face turning pale.

The deceased was Trisha Fellows, Olga-Marie's servant and family tutor, who had a very close relationship with her.

Olga-Marie's father, ‎Marisbury Animusphere, was very busy, so Trisha was responsible for her day-to-day care and education. To Olga-Marie, Trisha was not just a teacher but also a sister, even a mother figure.

It's easy to imagine the immense impact her death had on the twelve-year-old girl. Even someone raised with an elite education, accustomed to using aristocratic pride and a mask of decorum, found it hard to stay composed.

The situation was not overly complicated. On the second day after boarding the train, Olga-Marie returned to her room after interacting with Waver and others, only to find Trisha lying in a pool of blood, her head missing, with only her body left in the blood.

At that point, Waver automatically switched to his second profession as a detective, beginning to investigate, gather evidence, and search for the killer.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion, and Waver had even found some clues, but before he could delve deeper, he was attacked.

Although he had protection prepared by Shinji in advance, and Gray was there to guard him, the attacker was unexpectedly strong. Fortunately, receiving orders from their master, Leandra and Conductor Rodin, who had been secretly watching Waver, arrived in time to force the enemy to retreat.

Despite that, Waver was still injured, with significant magic depletion, requiring treatment and rest.

It was during this time that Olga-Marie found Trisha's missing head, only for Adashino, who had been secretly observing, to catch her, and thus identified the murderer.