"Ladies and gentlemen. We will now hold an auction!

　With a proclamation from the moderator, this month's auction was held.

'Hmm, this auction is crowded too.

　I observe the guests attending the auction from the upper level seats.
　My name is Lailaba-Gaiba.
I am the owner of this auctioneer's room, and I am the person in charge of the entire auction.

　When the auction starts, I secretly look forward to watching the guests from here.
　I'm organizing an auction to enjoy the sight of people clamoring for the food on their plates.

　If you provide them with a place, they will come here voluntarily, both for their goods and for their customers.
　They have money and status, and they want the goods so shallowly that they are overjoyed like children when they get them, and when they don't, even great aristocrats are gripped with regret.

　I enjoyed watching such comedy.

　And at this auction, there were several faces who would not normally be seen.
　It wasn't just the auctioneers who would normally be left to their subordinates, but even those who had no interest in auctions were participating directly.

　And it wasn't just the aristocrats who were participating, but also the powerful great merchants.
　They are all looking for the same thing.

''The Ancient Plant, Kaiserhawk, and Shadow Fox's magic stone?

　For the past few months or so, the auction hall in the royal capital had been unusually busy.
　It started with an auction just a few months ago.

　In the auction held at that time, a dragon was offered for sale.
　Dragon materials themselves are rare, so they are not that rare.
　Scales and bones, which do not perish, are sold by money-losing fallen aristocrats who cut off the inheritance of their ancestors.

　But when it comes to freshly-caught dragons with little or no damage, it's a different story.
　The internal organs and other perishable parts can be used as catalysts for high-difficulty magic, ingredients for high-class potions and even magic items.

Moreover, scales, wings and other parts of the body that would normally be torn apart were almost intact, which is why many people participated in the auction in search of dragon materials.

　It seems that there were many people who could not participate in the auction because they failed to collect information or had other commitments, and those who could not win the dragon materials were very disappointed.

　I'm sure that even if they had gotten wind of the information, they would not have been able to participate in the bidding, because the high prices were quickly raised by the astute and noblemen who had excellent information networks.

　In fact, the most valuable part of the dragon material, the magical stone, was sold by Viscount Grimoire for 30,000 gold coins.
　I wonder why he paid such a large sum of money for it.
　Although, I like to see my customers bidding, but I didn't bother to look into it because I'm not interested in its use.

　The auction didn't end there, though the other material was quite expensive as well.
　On the same day, two Evil Boars were sold at auction.
　I don't know how they did it, but they were in almost undamaged condition.

　The unprecedentedly good quality of the animals made the auction even more heated, and 20 white gold coins were issued.
And the amount of money sold in that month's auction was the highest ever.

It wasn't just the auctions that had happened.

Cursed Vipers, Blade Wolves, and Elderplants, which were rare or difficult to defeat, were on the market.
Of course they were few in number, but even so, there was no doubt that they were rarely found materials, and merchants, renowned wizards, and even the blacksmiths of large workshops were in a tizzy.

''I didn't expect such a rare material to turn up in such a short period of time...''

　Something is happening.
　I can't help but think so, and the incidents have been happening so often these days.

　There was the incident of a man who was attacked by a dragon when he was traveling in secret.
　And there was an unconfirmed case of a magical person appearing.

Furthermore, the development of the roadway that crosses that monster forest.
It was a shock to all of us in the logistics industry.

　Rumor has it that it was a mere adventurer who accomplished this, but that can't be true.
　A mere adventurer would not be able to do such a thing.
　If such a thing were possible, the same thing would have been done in the state business.

It's probably a military experiment by some state.

　It makes sense if you think that he is just an adventurer, experimenting with some kind of magic item.
　Perhaps the dragon and Evilboa are the result of those experiments.

　I don't know how perfect they are, but if these experiments have reached the practical stage, the military balance of the surrounding nations will change dramatically.

"And that's not all, the series of events that have been going on lately, although they may seem unrelated at first glance, I have a feeling that they are connected somehow...

　Massive outbreaks of demons around King's Landing, the arrival of S-ranked adventurers, and........

''A demon repellent potion?''

　This was another unprecedented event.
　The potion developed in a village to ward off demons was effective in driving away demons without the use of ward magic.
　Many people from not only our country but also neighboring countries have come to seek these potion to ward off demons.

''Too many events are moving too much,''

　That's why I'm convinced.
　That the commotion is not over yet.

"" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "

　I was lost in thought when the cheers of the guests called me back.
　I looked at the wood from the Ancient Plant, one of the main attractions of this event, and saw that it had been sold.

''Oh, so it's Lord Argyle of the military service faction who made the highest bid.

　The fact that he won the bid, who is not usually interested in auctions, means that he intends to use the Ancient Plant's materials in the military.
　I've heard that he was very disappointed that he wasn't informed of his top secret mission in the case of the dragon the other day.
　He would use it to increase his own voice.
　However, when it comes to the use of the wood, is it for the construction of something?

Oh, yeah, the ocean.

　I chuckle, sensing Lord Argyle's purpose.

'Hopefully, there will be a new S-rank on display in the hall.

　Then, as I had predicted, the wood of the Ancient Plant was bought up by Lord Argyle's children's men.

　◆

This is the winning bid for the Ancient Plant, Kaiserhawk, and the Shadow Fox.

　He received the winning bid for the items in the auction from the person at the counter.

''There are 40 white gold coins for the Ancient Plant, 35 white gold coins for the Kaiserhawk, and 1500 gold coins for the Shadow Fox's magic stone.

'Wow, that's a lot of money...'

　I'm starting to go numb.

"What?　White?　What's white?

　Liliera-san is looking at us with a scowling face.

''Oh, you don't know about the white gold coins, Liliera-san?

I don't know. What's that?

'Gyro-kun didn't know about it either, and I'm surprised that many people don't know about it?

A white gold coin is a gold coin used primarily in commercial transactions, when the amount of money is too great.

　The person at the counter politely explains to Liliera-san.

''Huh, I didn't know there was such a thing.......you mean, if the amount of money gets too big!　How much is one piece of that worth?

10,000 gold coins.

"10,000 gold coinsiiiiiiii?

　Wow, you guys are full of surprises.

Well, what do you have to do with that much money?

　You'll be able to get a good idea of what to do with that much money.
What do you think?

'Yes!　If I had that much, I could live with it for the rest of my life!

　I don't know if I can play for a living.

Then why don't you make a deposit at the Guild Bank?

　The person at the teller's desk proceeds to make the deposit without hesitation.

'No, I have a magic bag for you.

I'm sorry to hear that.

　Thank you for your sales pitch.

So what do you want to do with all that money?　Are you starting a business?

　Business....well, honestly, even if I did business with you, I'd be cheated by the wrong people.

In that case, why don't you buy a house of your own?

　The person at the window advises me, "I'm sorry.

'Is it home?'

''Yes. Many high-ranking adventurers have a home as their base of operations. It's a place to store their belongings, a waiting place for party members, and most importantly, a tangible asset.

　Okay, so it's home. It would certainly be useful to have something like that.

'Good!　I feel like I'm making money when I have a house!

'Yes, because it's generally accepted that the leading parties have their own hiding places.

　I see, so many people want a home in the sense of showing off their activities as adventurers.

''Especially since Lex-san's promotion to S-ranked demon was approved after defeating two S-ranked demons, I thought it would be even better to have a hiding place.

What?

'Congratulations on your promotion to S-Level, Mr. Lex.

　The receptionist plainly declares the promotion to S rank.

''That's great!　I've really been promoted to an S rating!　Congratulations, Mr. Lex!

　Liliera congratulates me on my promotion.

'Oh, thank you,'

　But still, that was really easy to say.

''Hahaha!　I heard that, Mr. Lex!　I hear you've finally been promoted to an S rank!

　And the one who came from the side was Roddy-san, an S-ranked adventurer.

''Mr. Roddy!''

"Congratulations on your promotion to S-Level, Lex.

Oh, thank you.

''Hmph, so now we're equal in rank. Hahaha, we won't lose in the next request!

　And with all he wanted to say, Roddy-san went.

''I mean, I'm not going to compete with your next request!

　But Mr. Roddy left the guild with a good mood and a laugh.

''Hmm, what was that about?''

'Hey, hey, let's celebrate your promotion to S-rank!

　Liliella grabs my arm and pulls me to her.

'Are you celebrating?'

Yes, let's have a good one!

Coo!

　The word "good food" is a mofo response to the word "good food".

'Oh man, you're a cash fellow.

　I think as I'm dragged to the store that Liliella recommended.
　My own house, huh?

　Certainly, with something like that, when the need arises, you can lock yourself in.
　And if it's your own house, you can do all sorts of preparations that you can't do at the inn.

Yes, it's a good place to live.

'What?　What?

I thought it would be a good idea to build a house.

'I'm with you, we might have more friends, and it's hard to travel with more luggage.

Yeah.

So what kind of house would you like?　I've heard that if a house is in a good location, you should look for a used one?　If you want the perfect house, it's new construction, but it's going to take a long time to build.

　Liliera asks me what ideals I want in a house.

'Well it's a good time to build a new house.

　I build in my brain the design and function of the house I'm going to live in.

''That's not the case for someone with ten thousand gold coins. If you have that many, you could hire a top-notch carpenter!

'What?　Carpenter?

'What?　If you're building a house, you need a carpenter, right?

'What?　A house is something you build yourself, right?

What?

What?

　We stare at each other in silence.

"...what are you going to make?

Home?

It's home, right?　Really?

Yes, really.

Are you sure it's a normal house?

Of course it's a normal house, right?

'Really, it's just a normal, common sense house with no weird features!

　Liliera-san asked me for some reason with a serious face.

　It's a normal house, of course it's a normal house.
　Yes, it's a normal house.
　Well, I'm going to include a celebration of my promotion to S-rank, so I'm going to build a house that's a little bit more expensive!

　Ah, yes. It's been a while since I've seen you all.