Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 378 - 4 Merle and Jones Auction House_1

Chapter 378: Chapter 4 Merle and Jones Auction House_1

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The first rain of 3692 in the City of Knowledge arrived silently at dusk on February 32nd.

The winter’s cold wind was still running rampant across the land, but some stubborn weeds had already sprouted new buds in the desperate cold. In the city, a hint of spring, evident on the bare branches, allowed people to sense a touch of spring, even in the cold wind.

The weather was still cold, and people wrapped in thick coats shuffled down the streets. After a day of work, they braved the cold as they hurried home. In such gloomy weather, warming up by the fireplace and enjoying a piping hot dinner was the greatest joy in the lives of these ordinary folks. However, professionals, with physical fitness far beyond that of ordinary people, were different. Even in such cold seasons, professionals still wore thin clothes covered by their usual equipment, moving back and forth between streets, continuously receiving admiring glances from the ordinary people around them.

The sky was gloomy, and low clouds blocked the evening sun. Tiny snowflakes fluttered down in the dim light, landing on people’s heads and shoulders, where they quickly melted into steam from the body heat. But soon, the snow turned into rain, the falling flakes became smaller and eventually turned into icy raindrops that fell heavily from the sky, making the ground slippery.

Yet, even in such weather, the business district of the City of Knowledge was still bustling. Tourists wandered around the business district, shopping, merchant caravans delivered their goods, local residents purchased necessary items, and professionals splurged gold coins to enhance their abilities. In short, the weather might be cold, but the atmosphere in the business district was always as hot as fire.

The irregularly shaped business district buzzed the further into it you went. The shops on the central streets often remained open until after midnight, and taverns were brightly lit all night. However, several large buildings in the central streets would typically close after dusk and only postpone their closure for a few days each month. The Merle and Jones Auction House was one of these places.

Today was the day of the monthly auction at Merle and Jones Auction House, one of the few days each month they postponed closing. As per the convention, at the beginning of each month, the auction house would publish the monthly auction catalogue in a special newspaper, distributing it among hundreds of thousands of people around the city. Besides, the auction house would create an additional and more detailed introduction to deliver free to some special customers, who apart from city’s wealthy and famous, included Upper Rank adventurers, Upper Rank mages from Mage Guild, as well as six major Guild affiliates and various temples. In short, the auction house aimed to use this as an advertisement and attract as many customers as possible to the auction, generating more fame and higher commissions.

Of course, the monthly auction couldn’t compare with the annual New Year auction in terms of types, quantities or rarity of auction items. However, the auction house’s reputation was such that when people from all over the continent wanted to auction rare items, their first choice is often the City of Knowledge’s Auction House. Therefore, many unique auction items would attract fans from all over the city and even the world every month.

At seven in the evening, just as the two-hour auction was about to start, the front entrance of the auction house gradually emptied. Only a few latecomers rushed into the auction house, afraid of missing their desired items. To prolong participants’ stay, and prevent many clients from estimating time based on the auction sequence and only appearing when their wanted item was up for sale, the auction house employed a shameless tactic. The auction order for the first two or three dozen items was entirely random apart from the final ten valuable items. Nobody knew when which item would appear, forcing most participants to stay in the auction house. Although this method was indeed shameless, it worked. Many clients often decided to participate impulsively at the last minute and naturally drove the auction price higher.

As the bell rang in anticipation of the monthly auction, two horse-drawn carriages slowly pulled up in front of the auction house. Lina and Vivian each escorted a small girl wrapped in thick coats and hats, with their faces hidden, off the carriage. From the carriage behind, Catherine and Mr. Pannis, along with two maids, also alighted. The group of eight looked around briefly at the entrance before entering the building.

"Miss Lina." The little girl holding Lina’s hand was Michelle, lively and active in nature, it was her first time visiting such a place. "Does this auction house really have everything?" she asked, curiosity piqued by every peculiar ornament they passed.

"If only it really had everything." Lina shook her head. "It just has more strange things than usual. It doesn’t have everything. Many things that have disappeared from the world, or things people don’t want to sell, can’t be found here."

"Oh." Michelle nodded, not quite grasping the concept. "So, the things here must be very expensive. Can Ansha and I afford them?"

"Ha ha." Lina laughed lightly, continuing to shake her head. "Not necessarily. If no one else at the auction is willing to buy them, you can buy them at a very low price. However, if someone else wants to compete with you, then the price can become incredibly high. Now, let’s stop running around and go in."

Upon entering the first auction hall of the auction house, the auction had indeed already officially begun.

Contrary to what many people imagined, the first auction hall was not buzzing with the noise of people’s conversations. Instead, it was very quiet. Guests dressed neatly, sitting in their seats, were attentively listening to detailed introductions of the items by the auctioneer. The second floor of the auction hall had a semi-circular platform, with twenty private rooms built on top for major clients with sufficient funds; other people needed to verify their financial capability in advance before they could use one. As for the benefits of these rooms, not only did they offer a private space, but also when guests showed interest or raised questions about a certain item for personal examination, regular guests were only allowed to examine the item from a meter away on stage, while clients in the private rooms could have the items delivered to them directly by the auctioneer’s assistant for further inspection. Additionally, during an auction session, clients in the private rooms could request three pauses, each no longer than five minutes, with a total pause time not exceeding ten minutes. It was a significant convenience for participants. They could utilize this time to weigh the pros and cons carefully to make their decision, or borrow money from friends nearby if they ran short of funds.

Given the Adventure Team’s substantial fund this time, Catherine had reserved a private room and completed the necessary financial verification in the afternoon. Hence, upon arrival, the group didn’t stay on the first floor but went straight to their private room on the second floor, led by the attendant. A few curious glances from various private rooms scanned over the eight-person group before quickly retracting, registering no particular interest in them.

"We’re a bit late, what a pity." Vivian, who was most interested in the auction, expressed her regret, "I wonder what lot it is now."

"It’s the third one." Pannis answered: "Two have already been auctioned off."

"How do you know?" Lina asked curiously, "Isn’t the auction order random?"

"Of course, I heard it." Pannis pointed to his ear, "The auction hall has great sound insulation, but you can still hear some things."

"Two have been auctioned off?" Vivian asked anxiously, "Do you know what they are?"

"Don’t worry, they’re not the ones you want. Not important at all," Pannis said casually, "So, this is our private room, right?"

"Thank you," Catherine nodded and smiled to the attendant who showed them the way, then walked into the private room. To the maid sisters, she explained, "Don’t feel anxious. I know you have witnessed many powerful individuals on our way here, but while we’re here, they won’t bother you unnecessarily, and they definitely won’t just aim to kill you for fun. So there’s absolutely no need to avoid them like you would do in the City of Innocence. Merely treat them as ordinary conversation partners. Of course, I don’t expect you to change your habits immediately, so it’d be better now to just ignore them."

"Yes, Master." The two maids dutifully wiped the table and chairs in the private room, placed the snacks and beverages provided by the auction house at a convenient location, and took their place behind Catherine, standing by for their masters’ orders.

"Knock, knock." Before they had a chance to settle in, a knock came from the door of their room.

This was a tradition inherited from the theater and counted as one of the benefits of using private rooms. During a theater performance, at the intermission or during scenes that did not capture their interest, guests often took the opportunity to visit their friends in private rooms nearby. Thus, turning the private room into a social place. However, some reckless individuals also converted these private rooms into other especial sort of social places. But such behaviors were not common.

"Hello there," Pansy briskly walked to the door and gently opened it. Upon seeing the person outside, Pansy felt an oppressing force. This was the natural pressure exerted by the strong onto the weak. The pressure made Pansy uncomfortable, her instincts urging her to evade, but remembering Catherine’s words, she courageously asked, "May I help you?"

"Eh? Who are you? I haven’t seen you before." A crisp and pleasant voice sounded from outside the room. It had a tantalizing effect on the listener, provoking feelings akin to a beautiful piece of music, "Wow, Mr. Pannis, you’ve finally returned. Uh, and big sister Lina and the dummy too, welcome back." (An exciting event has dropped from the sky; the winner gets a cool phone! Follow~the/Chinese official account (WeChat>Add Friends>Add Official Accounts>Enter qdread), and participate right away! Everyone has a chance to win, so immediately follow qdread’s official WeChat account!) (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to come to qidian.com to vote, recommend, or subscribe. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)