Nanomancer Rising: Divine Alchemist Reborn as Academy's Worst Teacher
Chapter 99: Auctions in the west wing

Chapter 99: Auctions in the west wing

Whether Celeste fancied girls more than she did men was ultimately not Theo’s business. And since it was nothing more than a momentary curiosity, he opted not to investigate or even do as little as to ask about it.

Instead, he focused on the moment and all the small pleasures that came with it, even if they were as simple as enjoying the moment when, for the second time since he entered the building, its interior drastically changed.

"They really went all in with the interior design, didn’t they?" Amazed by all that he could see around him, Theo couldn’t help but externalize his feeling.

Because even in what was clearly considered to be the worst wing out of them all in the whole of the building, not only was it decorated with sublime taste and without missing a spot, it also had its own distinctive feeling to the whole of its interior decorations.

The general luxury that Theo could see all around the main hall had now turned to just an elegant, homey feeling with gold accents replaced by warm-colored wood and the lines of tasteful artwork now replaced with fresh flowers and other arrangements that could be considered cheap if not for how perfectly they fit the vibe of the place.

On its own, the western wing was built like a huge auditorium, stretching three times as long as it was wide, with a sizeable stage in the middle surrounded by half-circles of seats where each row of the seats was just a little bit higher than the ones in front of them and a bit lower than the ones behind.

’It looks like a small amphitheatre,’ Theo thought, quickly drawing a comparison to the design of the place to the designs that almost matched the whole line of the designs created by the ancient Roman Empire and then replicated through the ages in all shapes and forms.

Not unlike an amphitheatre, the hall was full of people that, contrary to what the clerk from before clearly tried to achieve, were more interested in the actual trade than the questionable perks that came from joining the eastern or the northern auction wings of the building.

This crowd barely managed to fill around half out of the available seats, yet what they lacked in numbers they more than overdid in activity, making the whole place feel a lot busier than it really was.

"Ten kilo batch of the Starlight herb going once, going twice..." the presenter standing at the stage called out, dragging the very last bit of his call before smashing a gavel against a special stand with a shout, "and sold! Ten kilo batch of the Starlight herb goes for fifteen gold for the Umpire Merchant Association!"

Save for the presenter’s enthusiasm, there was no one here celebrating their victory in the auction that just ended.

They were here to procure basic resources in bulk, not to have fun at the expense of paying an exorbitant amount for what they could easily obtain for much cheaper.

In other words, here, in the western wing of the auction house, it was all about business, while leaving all the fun and giggles to the eastern and northern wings respectively.

"The next item on the list, five kilo batch of the Virgin Tear reagent!" the presenter continued without even a moment of break, pulling down a decorative rug that covered a small, glass box with a bottle of a blue liquid inside of it.

Quite obviously, the bottle itself was nowhere near as heavy as the announcer stated, most likely serving more as an example of the product for sale than the entirety of the batch currently under auction.

And by the time Theo’s group managed to find a set of four free seats in the row to sit down together, the auction was already well on its way.

"Jiangu Group, three gold coins!"

"Umpire Merchant Associ... Jiangu G... Kudran Twins, going for four and a half gold!"

Within a single shout of the announcer, the price already raised by a total of three iterations of half a golden coin.

’It’s a five kilo batch, and they are still on the level of a fraction of what the vice-headmaster paid for just a single bottle of my brew?’ Theo thought, taking a mental note of all the prices thrown around to get a better understanding of the market.

By the time he managed to put his focus back on the ongoing auction, however, it had already come to its conclusion.

"Virgin Tear reagent goes to Jiangu Group for five and a half gold coins!" he shouted, while a group of sweaty assistants in simple, plain clothes rushed to remove the glass case with the bottle of blue liquid on display, replacing it with another case still covered with a piece of cloth.

To a certain degree, this place clearly cultivated the very same traditions and style that were the cores of the spirit of the auction, refusing to let go of the local part of the decorum for the sake of efficiency that triumphed in nearly every other aspect of the auction.

’Maybe it’s a pride thing or something?’ Theo thought, only to watch how the announcer pulled down a rug and revealed the content of the next glass case... right as Theo suddenly felt a powerful tug towards it.

"From the Mage School of Alchemy, a low-grade materia prima, sold in batches of ten liters each with middle and high grade to follow," the announcer... well, announced, before raising his gavel, ready for the auction. "The calling price is one gold per batch! Anyone willing? Anyone raising?"

Just like before, from the very start of the auction, a competition began. And now, along with the three groups that Theo witnessed compete for the materials before, two more joined the fray.

"Private merchant Nezakiel, two gold per batch going once..."

"Jiangu Group, two and a half gold per batch!"

"Umpire Merchant Association with the bid for three and a half gold coins!" the excitement in the announcer’s voice started to slowly grow.

’What is he, getting a commission out of every sale?’ Theo thought, shaking his head before half-turning towards Tesh who — by the way — still refused to let go of his arm. "How do we stand with funds?"

Watching the ongoing auction with livid interest, Tesh struggled to turn her eyes away from the stage for a moment. Yet, as she realized who was asking the question, she tore her sights from the ongoing auction only to then look up while her hand involuntarily moved up to rub her chin as she thought.

"In terms of the raw gold we already procured, around four hundred?" she tried to guess. "But if we add up all the valuables that we still have yet to sell and then all the other assets that might take a while for us to liquidate, I would estimate the total monetary value of it all to reach somewhere between three and four thousand gold coins," she dutifully reported, bringing up the numbers that would make any person faint with an absolute calmness, as if she was discussing the prices on yesterday’s market, not a treasury that could make some nobles go green from envy.

"Is that so?" Theo muttered, turning his back to the auction.

By now, the price for the batch had already reached as high as seven golden coins, making it harder and harder to join the further the competition went, especially when the announcer already brought his gavel up to strike it down and, with it, seal the fate of the auction.

Or so he would do, if not for a small flash on his personal desk indicating both another bid and the specific seat that it came from.

For a moment, the announcer turned silent before turning his eyes exactly to where Theo stood.

"An unregistered newcomer, ten gold coins per batch! Going once, going twice..." and, after a short moment of stall, "going thrice!"

Bang!

The man struck his gavel down on a specially prepared stand sitting atop his standing desk.

"Sold!"

For a moment, Theo relished in the joy of winning the bidding war.

Only for a moment, though, for before he could even calm himself down or look back on his seemingly random desire to get his hand on this weird, murky liquid in a bottle... the presenter already moved on to the even more interesting item.

"From the Mage school of the alchemy, a mid-grade materia prima, sold in batches of five liters each!"