The next goods brought out for auction were members of the Order.
Even if they belonged to the Order, this was the Demon Realm Trading Company.
It did not matter what group a slave being sold belonged to.
They received no special treatment for being priests. Like the other slaves, their hands and feet were bound in iron chains.
That, at least, should have been normal.
But something unexpected happened.
The iron chains restraining them came undone far too easily.
Now that they had suddenly been set free, what choices could they have?
Naturally, they kicked off from where they stood and ran.
“…?”
The problem was that their action was not a choice to flee.
As if they had made a promise beforehand, all of them began charging toward me.
Each of their hands was imbued with divine power, a clear intent to attack.
Why this had happened, and why they were attacking me, were matters to think about later.
I, too, immediately activated a skill and responded to the attack.
“Sacred Shield!”
A barrier made of light spread out from my hand.
The barrier shining with divine power blocked the priest’s attack.
Boom—
“H-how are y-you using the Goddess’s power…!”
When her attack was blocked, the priestess was horrified.
She was so flustered that she even stammered.
No, more than the fact that her attack had been blocked, she seemed shocked that I was using a skill of the Order.
‘So she recognizes the Order’s power.’
Well, the “Sacred Shield” I had just used was indeed a skill of the Order.
It was an ability I had actually obtained from a holy knight of the Order who had been offered as a sacrifice.
It would not be strange for a priestess of the same Order as a holy knight to recognize it.
But that raised another question.
First of all, I was not a believer of the Order.
When I had first been summoned to the Eldorad Continent, I had received basic education from the White Order, but that was all.
There was bound to be a distinction between me and the believers who had entrusted themselves to the Order from the beginning.
To begin with, I was an outsider to them.
And as an Earthling, I had no faith in the goddess of this place either.
Moreover, without a status window, I had been unable to possess not only the Order’s skills or traits, but even divine power itself.
Then what was my current power?
I was merely using, exactly as it was, an ability I had obtained from someone offered as a sacrifice.
‘Even if the caster of the skill is different, the source of the power is the same?’
Otherwise, she would not have called my skill the Goddess’s power after seeing it.
‘Then Maru’s case makes sense too.’
Maru had become a skeleton holy knight by combining the “Goddess’s Faith” trait.
A skeleton was an undead monster.
It was a special case in which an undead monster, whose attribute was opposed to divine power, came to possess divine power.
On top of that, the holy knights who had been hostile began to follow Maru.
Then another question arose here.
Though Maru was undead, he had accepted divine power, an opposing attribute.
Then would the reverse also be possible?
‘What would happen if a member of the Order obtained the power of darkness?’
It did not necessarily have to be the power of darkness.
What if they obtained the power of beings the Order denied?
In truth, the Eldorad Continent had many religions, just like Earth.
Besides the White Order, there were various gods people believed in.
However, on the continent, the power of the White Order was absolute.
The White Order denied the very existence of any gods other than the goddess they served.
That was also the very first thing I had learned from the Order.
But the continent was vast.
Somewhere out there, there were many groups who served gods of their own.
Of course, the Order designated them as heretics and took the lead in subjugating them before anyone else.
Black mages were one such example.
Black mages served not the Goddess, but a Demon God, and in the end, by now, their forces had been drastically reduced.
“Hmm….”
Was the matter of black mages too extreme an example?
In any case, what would happen if, contrary to Maru’s and my cases, a member of the Order obtained some other power?
Would opposing powers coexist, as they did in Maru and me?
Or would they lose their original power because they had served a god other than the Goddess?
‘I am curious.’
The hunters currently on Earth could be said to receive help from the system known as the status window.
The same went for me.
In a similar way, members of the White Order believed they received their power from the Goddess.
Let’s assume that receiving power from the Goddess was true.
In that situation, what would happen if they betrayed the Goddess?
‘I’ll need to look into it.’
Where exactly was the source from which the current power arose?
Perhaps this would bring me closer to the answer to that question.
But perhaps because I had remained silent without a word, the priestess who had attacked me opened her mouth again.
“As expected, you cannot answer. You apostate who abandoned the Order….”
“?”
What was she talking about?
An apostate?
“No, I—”
Just as I was about to speak at once.
“Ugh!”
A groan came from behind.
The Trading Company guards who had appeared at some point had dealt with the situation.
All of those who had been holy knight trainees had their throats cut.
It was, no matter who looked at it, a clean death.
Now only two members of the Order remained.
One priestess in front of me, and one priest collapsed on the floor.
The one collapsed on the floor had been in poor condition to begin with.
He might have been lucky until now, but now it was only a matter of time.
Because the Trading Company guards were advancing little by little toward the priest.
But I sensed something off in their actions.
‘Ha, look at these bastards.’
This was an incident that had occurred during the auction.
How badly had they managed the slaves for something like this to happen?
On top of that, there were other people here besides me.
At a time when even investigating why such an incident had occurred would not have been enough, they instead seemed to be trying to erase the evidence themselves.
It was strange enough that the members of the Order had suddenly charged this way, but the Trading Company’s response was even stranger.
“Arch Lich, bring me the priest collapsed on the floor.”
At my command, the Arch Lich immediately grabbed another skeleton beside him and lifted it up.
Using the skeleton he had grabbed as a shield, he presented it toward the guards.
The guards, who had seen a skeleton explode just moments earlier, stopped in place when the Arch Lich stepped forward.
Fear that they might be caught in an explosion blocked their advance.
In this standoff, the Arch Lich, still holding the trembling skeleton, seized the priest who had collapsed on the floor.
‘He really doesn’t seem to be in good condition.’
He had already been covered in bandages from the moment he stepped onto the stage.
It seemed he had overexerted himself despite his poor condition and collapsed on the floor.
Thanks to that, he had not immediately met his death like the others, so should I call that fortunate?
In any case, while the Arch Lich bought time, I also pulled the hand of the priestess before me.
Then I whispered to her.
“If you don’t want to die here, stay still.”
After saying that, I used a skill on the other priest the Arch Lich had dragged over.
‘Goddess’s Healing.’
Although “Goddess’s Healing” was only an E-rank skill due to my divine power rank, its effect was tremendous.
Once again, light spread from my hand.
But it was different in nature from the “Sacred Shield” skill from earlier.
An extraordinarily brilliant light illuminated the place.
It felt as though it was filled with vitality.
Most of all, the face of the priest whose entire body was wrapped in bandages relaxed.
The scratches on his face and arms slowly disappeared, and the wounds on his body began to heal slightly as well.
Of course, because the rank was low, complete healing was impossible, but he was far better than before.
When I healed the priest with the skill, the priestess who had attacked me stared with astonished eyes.
“Who… exactly are you…?”
Perhaps realizing that I was not a dangerous being, she seemed to have something she wanted to say.
“They were the ones who started this—”
But now was not the time to listen to her.
I covered her mouth.
Right now, staying still was what would help me.
As I roughly calmed her down and looked around, a figure revealed herself.
“Haha, I am Serinu, the one overseeing this banquet.”
Had the person in charge finally appeared?
“Everything that has happened this time is due to my negligence. In the name of the Trading Company, I promise a thorough investigation and compensation.”
I simply stared at her bluntly.
‘How shameless.’
It was something anyone could infer even without her saying it.
So compensation was only natural.
Because of whom had this situation happened?
Even if the manager who introduced herself as Serinu said she would compensate me, demanding too much would instead backfire.
Did they not say that even a rat cornered in a crisis would bite a cat?
‘Let’s ask for an appropriate amount. Appropriate.’
At least “for now,” I intended only to test the waters moderately.
From another perspective, my subordinates and I were practically trapped here at the moment.
Once we got out of here, I could formally raise an objection through Celia.
‘I’m going to get even busier.’
Having thought that far, I opened my mouth toward Serinu.
* * *
Serinu, who had been watching the situation from above, moved in a hurry.
The situation was flowing in a completely different direction from what she had expected.
“…….”
Where had it gone wrong?
At first, she had certainly only intended to strike a blow against the other party.
She had pictured a scene in which the Trading Company would immediately intervene once the slaves attacked them.
Originally, all the slaves should have died and disappeared.
Then the evidence would disappear as well, the Trading Company’s strength would be displayed, and she would be able to seize the initiative.
But reality was different.
The black mask blocked the priestess’s attack far too easily.
Even though those slaves had taken potions that greatly increased their divine power.
She had expected the opponent to be at least a little flustered….
Thanks to that, there had been a problem with the response of the Trading Company guards as well.
They should have killed the slaves in no time, but they were shaken by the power of the black mask.
In the end, those variables piled up and led to the current result.
“Hah, to think there was a type of power I didn’t know about….”
The Trading Company possessed all sorts of information.
Yet even to Serinu, who belonged to such a Trading Company, the power of the black mask was a type she had never seen before.
‘It’s like the power of the White Order, and yet different….’
Outwardly, it was a power that seemed the same as the Order’s sanctity.
But it did not feel completely identical.
She did not know why, but that was what she felt.
The even more frightening fact was that she could not grasp exactly what that power was.
It felt as though she were facing an unknown being.
How did he possess such power?
Where had a being with such power appeared from?
At least, from the incident just now, she had learned one thing.
‘The Arch Lich obeys the black mask.’
Was the master of the dungeon actually not the Arch Lich, but the black mask?
Or perhaps the Arch Lich was included among the forces of the black mask.
But either way, after this incident, the Trading Company would have no choice but to change.
Because through this banquet, they had confirmed that there was a serious hole in the Trading Company’s intelligence network.
Serinu turned her thoughts over as she headed down.
Whatever the case, she needed to step forward herself and settle the current situation.
“Haha, I am Serinu, the one overseeing this banquet.”
Serinu forced a smile and stood before the black mask.
“Everything that has happened this time is due to my negligence. In the name of the Trading Company, I promise a thorough investigation and compensation.”
Serinu bowed her waist and watched the other party’s reaction.
To begin with, the other party was wearing a black mask, so she could not read his expression.
Normally, she would have pushed hard, but the other party’s aura was far too ominous for that.
Even now, the pressure he emitted was no trifling matter.
On top of that, had she not confirmed it herself just moments ago?
The power of that black mask.
His identity, his power—everything about him was unknown.
At times like this, it was right to take a humble stance until she understood the opponent.
But even so, it was important to obtain information.
“I offer my sincerest apology. How shall we deliver the compensation to you later?”
Compensation for this incident.
Depending on where he told her to send it, she would gain a hint about the relationship between the Arch Lich and the black mask.
Serinu kept her head bowed and waited only for the other party’s answer.
A brief silence flowed by, and at last, the black mask opened his mouth.
“These will do as compensation.”
The black mask pointed by hand at the targets of the compensation.
Of course, Serinu immediately focused on the other party’s hands, but they were wearing black gloves, making it impossible to confirm their race.
‘Thorough.’
A truly thorough being.
At least he had to be satisfied with hearing their voice for the first time.
The voice behind the black mask was close to that of a young man.
But a voice alone was not enough to identify what the other party was.
In fact, even the vampire Baalcherit had a youthful voice, yet was he not a being who had lived for ages?
With no other choice, Serinu checked the targets the black mask had indicated with their hand.
“……”
The beings the black mask had pointed to were the priests who had just been brought out as merchandise.
And at the same time.
“…You mean the elf?”
The elf bound on the stage was also included among the targets the black mask had indicated.
Serinu’s expression darkened.
Well, he could understand wanting the priests who had attacked him.
However, for Serinu, handing over the priests the black mask wanted was impossible.
Had they not staged the current situation using those priests in the first place?
‘I should have killed the priests earlier, no matter what….’
Even if it meant obediently handing over the elf instead, killing the priests would have been the right choice.
What if the priests opened their useless mouths and the circumstances behind this incident became known?
That would never be a good thing.
“Haha… Um…”
Serinu continued, laughing obsequiously.
“Of course, this is our fault, so we will give you the elf. But as for the priests—”
But Serinu’s words did not continue to the end.
“I know everything. Is it not merely a child’s prank?”
The black mask spoke as if it were nothing.
“Haha… I see.”
Serinu broke out in a cold sweat as he maintained as bright an expression as he could.
The black mask knew everything.
What else could that mean?
It was practically a declaration that they already knew the merchant company was behind this entire situation.
And that confidence, dismissing whatever the merchant company had done as nothing more than a child’s prank.
It was not baseless confidence.
Serinu had seen it clearly himself, so he knew the black mask’s words were no empty boast.
It was humiliating, but since the fault was undeniably theirs, he had no choice but to remain still.
Even so, it was difficult to keep ignoring the other party’s demands here.
Now that everything had been exposed anyway, it seemed there would be no issue with handing over the priests.
For the moment, complying with the other party’s words was the correct course of action.
“Understood. We will hand over the two priests and the elf.”
They were priests he had intended to kill anyway.
And even if elves were rare, they were not a race the merchant company could not obtain at all if it set its mind to it.
Seen that way, it would not be such a great loss from the merchant company’s perspective.
“No.”
Hm?
Serinu looked at the black mask with a puzzled expression.
But an unexpected answer came from the black mask’s mouth.
“Everything, including the merchandise that will appear in this auction.”
The gesture of the black mask’s pointing hand was only beginning.
“I want all of it.”