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There are movements in the gallery, the guests are making noises. They seem to be very much interested in the white-haired girl.

And that is when pitching ended.

“The auction will begin after a 30-minute break!”

The emcee signals for a break. In thirty minutes, the fate of that girl will be decided. My heart aches.

At this rate, she will…

No, don’t think about it. E-, either way, she’s not Timu. Thank goodness, really. A sigh of relief escapes me.

“Isn’t that great, Tilea?”
“Yes. My heart was pounding out of my chest.”
“Haha. Let’s go home, then.”
“Yeah.”

Now that I know the rumor about the beautiful silver-haired girl is not about Timu, I don’t need to linger in a place like this. Let’s just go home and prepare for dinner.

…
……
……….

My eyes just met her. She’s about Timu’s age, isn’t she? That fallen nobleman’s daughter too. How awful, girls her age being slaves.

I wonder what will happen to these girls after this? If only it’s some good person who ends up buying them…

I look around at the customers at the auction hall, her potential future masters. There are a total of a dozen or so men lining up in a row, their lustful gazes licking on the girl all over. Vulgar, perverse laughter, glazed eyes. None of them look like they care about those girls.

S̲h̲i̲t̲, it’s one of these people?!

B-, but, it’s got nothing to do with me. Yeah, if I had the power, I might be able to save these girls from their clutches. But still, there are limits to things. It’s simply impossible to offer your hand to absolutely everyone.

Uugh… Even then, even though I know that…

“Mister Bizef, what is going to happen to those kids?”
“W-, well…”
“Do, do you think they’ll be happy?”
“It’s hard to say. Usually, they treat slaves as objects, after all.”
“Can’t we help them, somehow? Maybe sneak them out?”
“Tilea. That is one expressway to make you be hunted by people from the underworld for the rest of your life. They won’t leave any stone unturned to find you.”

Loser (Bizef) spoke grimly. I could feel the gravity of the situation.

“Then just make sure they don’t know it’s us who—”
“Tilea, listen to me. These people are experts in what they do. We cannot fight them out of nowhere.”
“So it is difficult.”
“It is. Forget even the thoughts about it.”
“Uuh…but,”

“Tilea, people from the underworld are dangerous. Especially the people in charge of the Eville District nowadays. They easily usurped the district’s top bosses, now ruling the area by fear.”
“Such terrifying people exist?”
“Yes, and I’m sure of it. I got it from a reliable informant. I hear these people take turns auditing each section of the district weekly, and they’re all villains, some of them are even notorious dastards.”
“So if the words reached them, we’d be in a world of pain?”
“Of course, I’ll protect you to the best I can, Tilea. But, I heard that they even have a Dark Emperor who moves such dangerous people as if they were mere pawns.”

That sounds much more dangerous than I expected. Any misstep and I’d have my feet cemented and thrown to the seas.

“Who is this Dark Emperor?”
“Thing is, no one knows, not their face, not their name, or their age, or where they are. The only thing we know about them is that they’re a really, really scary guy. Seeing everything they’ve done, they have to be. That is why, it is best to avoid antagonizing them and their people.”
“B-, but then, what do we do?”

“Well, the only thing we can do is to win the auction. Then again, the white-haired girl is the auction’s featured item. How much money do you think you can bid where all sorts of VIPs gather? Not to mention, we don’t have enough time before the auction resumes.”
“I have some money myself, and I know someone I can borrow some from.”
“Tilea. Listen to me, okay? Just trying to participate in such a high bid rate auction would cost millions of golds at minimum, trying to win the auction would cost at least dozens of times that…”

“Th-, that much…”
“Even if you did have the money to win the bid, there are still problems.”
“What problems?”
“First off, you would incur resentment from anyone who lost the bid. Next, there are some bad guys who specialize in snatching the goods you already won. Lastly, they might target not just you, Tilea, but also your sister, Timu.”

Loser (Bizef) shows me an unpleasant face. He’s right. I am being hypocritical. I can’t possibly endanger my own precious family member by acting on behalf of a kid I have no connection to.

“M-, my eyes met her. She screamed to me ‘help me!’ I could feel it. A-, a kid, as young as Timu is-, is going to…”
“You’re so kind, Tilea.”
“Huu I’m not kind. I feel sorry for that girl, but I can’t do anything.”
“You don’t need to feel bad, Tilea. There are so many things in this world that are simply beyond your ability. You just have to do your best for the things that you can do.”

He makes a good point. There’s a limit to everything. But then, I still have the means to save her. What I don’t have is courage. I don’t want to be targeted by the dark mafia.

While I was torn inside,

“Uhya hya hya. That slave sure is making me hard.”

I heard one of the most vulgar voices in the gallery.

“Tsk. That son of a b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ is still in the royal capital?!”
“Who is it, Mister Bizef?”
“That’s Bowzen McCoy, a moneylender.”
“Moneylender?”
“Yeah, a real son of a b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲. He’s made countless good men cry with his business. He’s also notorious for his itch for women. I’ve heard rumors about him buying slaves to destroy them.”
“Kgh, so this time…”
“Yeah, I bet he’s here to buy her too. He’s got enough money for that.”

Unbelievable! So a fiend like that still exists in this world?! The girl’s sad face appeared in my mind again.

But…

I-, I’m sorry. As the older sister, I can’t possibly endanger my own little sister.

I-, I’m really sorry. I’m sorry I’m so pathetic—

“How many days will it last this time?”
“Sir Bowzen, didn’t you just break the last one for overdoing it?”
“Tools are meant to be broken.”
“Well, you make a point. I’m sure those tools are happy to be broken by you, Sir Bowzen.”
“Obviously. It’s not the heavens who decide the life of a tool. I decide it.”

Something inside me snapped.

Nope, no way. Just the thought of a girl her age being bought by that garbage rotten to the core makes my gut churn.

Timu, forgive me. I may put you in danger.

But, you know what, your sister can’t possibly go home and live a carefree life, not after knowing this. Sure, I am timid and a coward, but there are things I can’t compromise on.

I have to save her. Looking back, I’m sure I already made that decision when my eyes met her. Her image and Timu’s image overlapped to me, I can’t turn my eyes away anymore. I just can’t accept the idea of a kid like Timu becoming a slave, not even if I died. I will definitely save her.

“Mister Bizef. I have to save her, after all. I just can’t turn a blind eye to her.”
“Yeah, I can’t stand that b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ either. But, we need a lot of money to win the bid from him.”
“It’s okay. I know just the guy.”

So what if he’s rich, I also know someone who’s super ultra-rich.

Orty, you’re up. You’re in charge of this auction. Make sure Bowzen tastes defeat.