Chapter 199: Visit to the Tarala Kingdoms Auction Den! (1/2)
Right after passing through the Auction Den's gate, a lady approached Pedro and said, ”Young Sir, Welcome to Duke Albert's Auction Den! I am Weesse, an Auction Guide prepared by the Auction Master. Seeing you, respected sir, for the first time… Can I assume that you are new to this Auction Den?”
”Y-Yes, I am!” Pedro can't help but force out a smile to her in response. Then, he scratched the back of his head as Weese clapped her hands and smiled back at him.
”There's need to worry, Young Sire! I would accompany you on your visit.” She said, ”But before anything else… I would like to kindly remind young sire about some rules being strictly implemented inside this Auction Den. There are only three major rules being implemented. Firstly, fighting is strictly prohibited inside the Auction Den! If you are caught violating this rule, the punishment would be given depending on the damage that would be made because of the fight. It would range from being blacklisted from this Auction Den to simply paying fines costing as high as one hundred gold coins... Second, if one is caught stealing inside the Auction Den, they would be severely punished to the point that even public execution is possible. And lastly, the Auction Den would take two percent on each good sold as a transaction fee.”
Pedro simply listened casually to the Auction Guide, whilst nodding his head a couple of times from time to time. That said, he can't help himself but to chuckled and said, 'I know these rules! Or should I say traps? It might seem that there were only a few rules. But these three major rules are just the generalized version of the rule inside this Auction then… For example, the prohibition of fighting in this area… What if I was the one being attack and just retaliated or protected myself in response? There was still a possibility that they would punish me even if I am not the culprit.'
'In any case… This Auction Den's really wanted to only keep things about businesses as much as possible. This was true to any Auction Den located in the Human Kingdoms all over the world,' Pedro thought as Auction Guide Weese forced out a smile towards after staring back at her—seemingly at loss for words.
”Do you have a problem with the rules, Young Sire?” Auction Guide Weese asked.
Pedro simply shook his head and said, ”Forgive me, Weese? I just can't help but doze off out of excitement and anticipation to what this Auction Den could offer. As for the rules, I have no problems with them. However, in the event of someone attacking me without second thoughts, can I assume that you have deployed strong knights or soldiers which I could depend my safety upon, during my stay in this place.”
”Of course, Young Sire!” Auction Guide Weese said, ”Duke Albert's personal Army is even scattered all over the place to ensure the safety of everyone else. Besides… No one would dare cause trouble to Duke Albert's Territory. Duke Albert is a close friend of the King himself after all!”
”I see… That's reassuring!” Pedro nodded in satisfaction. ”Anyway… I completely understand the rules that you said. Can you tell me more about this Auction Den? Do you have any suggestions on how I could enjoy my visit here?”
”As you wish, Young Sire!” Auction Guide Weese said, bowing respectfully towards Pedro. Then, she said, ”This Auction Den consists of three areas! Namely, the Risk Auction Area, the Minor Auction Area, and the Grand Auction Area!”
Auction Guide Weese pointed to the stalls near them and said, ”Everything located outside the Auction Mansion is under the Risk Auction Area. It was called the Risk Auction Area because the authenticity of the items or goods sold in this area is not checked by the Auction Manager, thus leaving the final validation of the authenticity of the goods to the buyer. That said, Prices in this area are way cheaper compared to the ones sold at the Minor Auction Area and the Grand Auction Area.”
Pedro simply nodded in response. At this moment, he and Auction Guide Weese had started walking around looking at some stalls—checking if there were some goods that would be caught his interest. Then, he glanced to Auction Guide Weese and asked, ”Can I know if I can verify the authenticity of the goods by myself?”
”Yes, you can, young sir!”
”What if I break it?” Pedro asked with a frown on his face. ”For example, what if I swung a sword and for some reason, it broke. Am I required to pay for it and complete the purchase or not?”
”Unfortunately… For that case, young sire… You would have to pay for the item's buyout price.”
”It's truly unfortunate,” Pedro said whilst calmly glancing around checking stall after stalls.
At this moment, Auction Guide Weese realized that Pedro seemed like he was familiar to Auction Dens and was just asking out some rules that often vary depending on which Kingdom he was present. Thus, she can't help but glance towards Pedro and ask, ”Perhaps you have been into Auction Dens in other Kingdoms, young sire?”
Pedro glanced towards her for a few seconds in response. Then, he averted his gaze back to the items or goods being sold in stalls and said, ”Yes… Is there a problem with that?”
”N-No! There's no problem with it, young sir!” Auction Guide Weese forced out a smile as beads of sweat started to appear on her face, ”It's just that I am curious to what you are looking for… So that I could recommend to you some stalls!”