After dealing with the thief, we quickly listed the Gorgon eggs and entered the auction house. Inside, there were rows of seats as far as the eye could see. We were to sit in the lower section, but there was an upper section as well, probably designed for VIPs like royalty or the upper echelons of nobility. The room was dark, so I couldn't make out everyone who was seated, but the stage was what drew my attention the most. I could tell it was clearly designed to be the central attraction, almost like a theater, as you couldn't miss it even if you wanted to.

  Phildina and I sat at the back, as the pce was nearly getting filled, and that's when it started. A light shone on the stage, and a man walked up, welcomed everybody, and started the auction. They sold stat boosters, high-level weapons, and items so rare that even I wanted to participate. If only I had more money... I thought as I watched a Magic Masher get sold off to another fat noble. It was an axe that dealt tremendous damage against mages, who were among the best csses in the game. I could think of so many uses for it, but I was broke, so I couldn't afford it. But I won't be broke for much longer, I thought as he introduced the next item.

  "For our next item, we have..." He widened his eyes in surprise before shouting, "Three Gorgon eggs!" And at once, the atmosphere in the room shifted, and everybody started murmuring. "Unbelievable..." "Three?" "My servant could use a few," I heard a few statements like these, but things wouldn't start moving just yet, so I had to take the first step.

  "Fifteen gold coins!" I shouted and then hid myself from all prying eyes. I didn't have the money, but that was not the pn. I just wanted to kickstart things, y'know? And kickstart things I did.

  "Thirty!" Another person shouted, and the prices only kept going higher and higher. At first, everybody was bidding, but when it passed a certain point, around 200 gold coins, the auction turned into a battle between two nobles.

  "250!"

  "300!"

  "350!"

  "400!"

  It was like music to my ears. We're gonna be rich! I screamed internally, but that was when it unfortunately came to a halt. Apparently, the other noble couldn't bid any higher than that without putting his finances at risk, so I waited expectantly for someone else to continue his legacy. However, no one dared to contest it, so it was sold for 400 gold coins to the noble in question. Whoever it was, I silently thanked him as the auction closed.

  Now, I'll have enough to enact my pn, but I celebrated a bit too early, as when we went to collect the money, the guy on the stage said, "Oh, so you're the one who listed the Gorgon eggs, eh?" He eyed me menacingly, the look in his eyes a mix of lust and greed. It was a dirty look, one that almost made me feel defiled, but he wouldn't stop there.

  "The house takes fifty percent, so that'll leave you with 200 gold coins." F-f-f-f-fifty?! That was completely outrageous! The highest auction house commission I'd ever seen was twenty, but this was more than double! I burned with fury as I stomped up to the stage and grabbed him by the neck. He kicked and punched, but I stood there unmoved as I applied more pressure, slowly choking him as I said,

  "Look, here, Einstein, I can't walk away from this with less than 225 gold coins."

  "W-what's that to me?" He tried to act tough, as he probably thought it'd be humiliating to give in to the demands of a little girl like me, but what was that to me? I didn't give a damn about his reputation, so I tightened my grip on his neck as I drew an arrow from my quiver.

  "I'm fairly good with my hands, so I could easily pick out both of your eyes if I wanted to, but since I'm feeling especially merciful right now, I'll let you choose for yourself: The money or your eyes?"

  "Y-you wouldn't—"

  "Gustav!" The voice of a middle-aged man cut in, so letting him go, I turned to see a fat, bald, middle-aged noble approaching the stage. There was a lecherous glint in his dark brown eyes, and one could tell from the clothes he wore that he was particurly rich and influential. It wouldn't even surprise me if he turned out to be a Count or Marquis.

  "Marquis Dartinius!" I called it!

  "Gustav, it's not good to dare such an individual. She would have actually done it if I hadn't stepped in, and that would have affected our business." Our? He turned to face me and said, "I take it that you're the one who found the Gorgon eggs, right?"

  I wanted to reply, but Phildina, who had been silent until now, stepped in and answered for me, "Our team happened to stumble upon some Gorgon eggs in one of our missions, most of which have been used. These were the st three."

  "Hmm, I see..." He said as he eyed both of us with lustful intent. Then, turning to Gustav, he said, "Give them the money. All of it."

  "Y-yes, sir!" He replied before running off somewhere to retrieve it. At that time, the Marquis turned to face me and said,

  "I've taken a liking to you, little one. What's your name?"

  "Daphne," I answered.

  "Daphne." He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, saying, "It's a nice name. Would working for me interest you, little one? I could pay you far better than any adventurer party out there." I knew he wasn't lying, and from what he'd seen of me, he probably thought I was after the money, but he was wrong.

  "Sorry, I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather work as an adventurer," I answered, trying to be as polite as possible. Gustav returned at that moment carrying a heavy pouch of gold in his right hand, which he handed over to me. I took that as my cue to leave, and on the way out, I asked Phildina, "Why did you step in like that?"

  She answered, "Nothing good ever comes out of that man being too interested in a person." Then, after looking to her left and to her right, she leaned in and whispered, "Some rumor that he's the one controlling the kingdom behind the scenes."

  "So, you wanted to make it out to be a team effort?"

  "Yes, but I seemed to have failed." She said with an exasperated sigh. So, did I happen to catch the eye of the mastermind? Nah. He didn't strike me as such. I could tell he was afraid of something. I could see it in his eyes, but what could scare someone as powerful as him? I wondered as we walked out of the auction house.