With Kurama successfully acquiring the class crystal for a whopping twenty-five diamond coins, equivalent to two thousand five hundred platinum coins, the auction continued on without a hiccup. The auctioneer, a master of the craft, displayed and sold off several more items, and while I personally wouldn't compare any of them to the class crystal, they were all incredibly rare.
One of the items even ended up being a seed of a lesser world-tree, which was shocking, as I'd suspect only the Dryad Kingdom would have access to them, and considering how their Kingdom is basically always on lockdown, I find it hard that they'd just sell something so incredible. Booth Ten acquired it for eight diamond coins.
Another item was a pound of pulsar, the metal of the gods; again, I was clueless about how they got their hands on it. Though while it was exceedingly rare, it was just pulsar, not unalloyed pulsar; it was mixed with various other minerals, so it wasn't tempting to us.
"Alex! Alex, can you get that for me! I can use it to coat my shields!" Reaching across the seats, Yuki grabbed my thigh, shaking my leg with a pleading expression. "Why? It's basically trash." Shaking her head in disappointment, Vanye folded her arms and crossed her legs, gazing down at the pulsar everyone else was fighting for with a bland expression.
"Yeah, I have to agree with Vanye, Yuki, pulsar isn't that good. We should just wait until we get our hands on unalloyed pulsar; that way, we can get a shield crafted for you. It'll be much better that way." Gently patting Yuki's hand, she pouted, gazing between Vanye and me with a betrayed look. "It's only trash to you two because you've got weapons of unalloyed pulsar."
I couldn't say anything and just sheepishly smiled while Yuki folded her arms, refusing to look at Vanye or me. "Sold! To both #7 for 14.78 Diamond Coins!" Seeing how much it went for, I shook my head; even if I wanted to buy it for Yuki, it wasn't worth it. 'Paying that much for an inferior version? What a waste.' 'Sister, I think Master is taking us for granted.' 'Hmm, it does sound like it.'
Rolling my eyes at Trina and Zartha, I checked the time on my pocket watch. 'Damn, two hours already?' Yawning, I put the watch back and stood up, stretching as my body felt like it was getting stiff.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, with that, we've come to our final item, and I'm sure you are completely awed, so much so I'd stake my very life on it." At the auctioneer's words, I froze slightly before smiling, my heart beating in excitement as it was finally time for our items to make the stage. "Lazuli, Jasmine, it's our turn!" I nearly jumped in joy as I glanced back at the two of them before stepping close, practically pressing my face against the window.
"Fufu, look at how excited he is. He's like a child in a grown man's body." "It's adorable." "Hehe, it truly is." While Jasmine and Lazuli spoke amongst themselves, I watched as ten podiums with tarps were rolled onto the stage, causing the attendees to murmur.
"I know what I said earlier, this is our final item, but they are selling ten of them tonight… These are Televisions, or TVs for short, produced by the newly founded company, Vertainment!" "Heh, I love this auctioneer." While the auctioneer enthusiastically mentioned the company, I could hear numerous people doubtfully murmur, but I wasn't worried; it was normal to doubt a new company.
"Now, to clear you doubtful guests, allow me to show you the wonder of TVs!" Approaching the podium, he removed a tarp, revealing an expertly crafted wooden box with a twenty-seven-inch screen. "This item, known as a remote, comes with the TV; they're a set pair." Grabbing the metal remote, he held it up for everyone to see.
Coming to a halt at the edge of the stage, he scanned the crowd before smirking. "Behold, you all will be the first to witness a new age of etertainment!" Clicking the power button, the TV turned on, displaying the play 'Tale of the Heroic Knight.' To the audience.
"There was once an evil mage, known as the black wizard…" The narrator's voice resounded outwards, echoing off the walls and entering everyone's ears, instantly silencing whatever murmurs that had persisted.
As the play continued, I watched the audience's reaction; even though I was all the way up here, I could see their expressions so clearly. First came confusion, quickly followed by realization and awe, as a few minutes passed.
"Oh, perhaps you all might not like it… How about this one?" Flashing the audience a smirk, the auctioneer switched the channel, displaying another play; after a few minutes had passed, he changed it once again, then again, and again, and again. Slowly, the awe was being replaced with an intense focus by every audience member, save for the TV. There wasn't a single sound in the auction house.
Eventually, after a whopping thirty minutes, the auctioneer, who had also gotten absorbed, turned the TV off. "Apologies, I didn't intend for it to last so long." He awkwardly smiled while gazing at the dead-silent audience.
"Bidding will start at 10 platinum coins, with a minimal increase of 2 platinum coins. As there are ten TVs, there will be ten bids… Let the bidding begin!" As the auctioneer finished speaking, there wasn't any shouting, just silence, a sight that made me grin, as I could tell, it was merely the calm before the storm.
"1 Diamond coin." The first to break the silence was booth one, and his voice served to act as the catalyst to start the most aggressive auction I've ever witnessed, not like I've been to many.
"10 diamond coin!" "20 diamond coin!" "30!" "40" "5-50, 55, 60, s-slow down a little, I can't speak fast enough! #32 for 65 diamond c–Booth #3 for 70 diamond coins! #76 for 72 diamond coins. N-never mind, booth #10 for 75 diamond coins." Seeing the auctioneer momentarily lose his cool before returning to his job, shouting numbers left and right, my whole body shook in utter joy.
"Hehehehehehehehe." I knew this business would be wildly successful; I knew it would be, I mean, I had firsthand experience with how successful TV compainers were back on Earth; however, knowing how successful you'd be and finally reaching that success were vastly different.
"YES! HAHAHA, WE DID IT!" Shouting with all my might, ignoring the battle for the first ever sold TV, I scooped Lazuli and Jasmine in each of my arms and jumped in circles. "Hahaha! We did it! We did it! We did it!" Kissing the two of them, I ran circles around the booth, while the two of them clutched my neck. "Haa, god, he's so loveable." Whispering, Jasmine returned the kiss. "Hug me tighter." Lazuli nuzzled her head into my neck, while I hugged them both tighter.
"Guys, they're about to finish." Hearing Chloe, I stopped and ran to the window, listening to the final bids before it ended with booth one winning and buying the first-ever TV.
"To the good sir in Booth #1! For a whopping 125.67 Diamond coins, you are now the proud owner of the first ever Television!" As the auctioneer joyfully shouted, I stared breathlessly at the first TV being wheeled off the stage. '125. 125. 125. 125.' The numbers just kept repeating in my mind. Even with the ten percent commission fee of the Tiba Auction house, I'd still be left with over one hundred diamond coins.'
With that amount of money, I'd be able to easily pay off my debts. 'Wait, half goes to the Kingdom, so I'd be left with about 56 Diamond Coins. After debts, I'd still have a few Diamond Coins left over!' Even after paying everything, we'd still have plenty of money for ourselves, and now, with an actual income, I'd be able to truly develop the Vestalis House.
"Haa, life feels great." Heaving a deep, pleased sigh, I sat down in my seat, Lazuli sitting on the armrest while Jasmine took my lap. With the first TV sold, the next nine were purchased one after another, and while their prices didn't reach the level of the first one, they were all sold comfortably within the 80 range.
"Sold! #69, for 85 Diamond Coins!" Listening to the final call of the night, I leaned back in my seat, gazing at the ceiling with a faint smile. "C'mon, let's go get our items." As the rush of adrenaline slowly receded, I stood up from my seat.
"Mhm, what happened? We're leaving already?" Talis, who had been surprisingly quiet the whole time, stood up, stretching. "Yep, the auction is finished, dear." "Huh, didn't we just get here though?" "You slept through it." 'Oh, that's why she was quiet. Lucky us.' Shifting my gaze, I approached the door, which Mavis opened, and exited the booth, heading to the back to retrieve our items.