After paying a handsome tip, Sherlock learned quite a bit of information regarding the "talent trade market" from the clever waiter.
Although the World Government had strictly banned the slave trade, in reality, this hideous business had always continued in the shadows.
And Hannabal, the Penguin's base in the first half of the Grand Line, was precisely one of those places.
When Sherlock was in the East Blue, he had never come into contact with the slave trade, and as a profiteer who still possessed a shred of conscience, he wasn't particularly interested in such a dark trade either. However, out of curiosity about the unknown, a certain gentleman with glasses still intended to head to the so-called talent trade market to find out what it was all about.
The Carlo Auction House was located on the most expensive street in the wealthy district of the East Island, and it was one of the Oswald Family's many properties on this island.
According to the waiter, this was the largest auction house in Hannabal, as well as the largest slave auction house. Every day, countless slaves were turned into endless Berries here with the final strike of the auctioneer's gavel.
Led by a beautiful maid, Sherlock arrived at his seat. Immediately after, a staff member provided him with an introductory brochure printed with all the items for this auction. Sherlock accepted it but didn't look at it right away; instead, he first quietly surveyed the surrounding environment.
The predecessor of the Carlo Auction House was actually an old theater. Later, after the Oswald Family took control of Hannabal, the highest person-in-charge here, Baso Carlo, ordered the theater to be renovated into an auction house and named it after himself.
Because of this, the interior of the auction house still maintained the layout of a theater. The spotlights aimed at the stage were also the large lamps used in stage plays. The seats in the main hall were sparsely occupied by distinguished guests participating in this trade. Although there were a fair number of people, the venue originally used for performing stage plays still appeared quite empty.
Sherlock observed carefully and found that most of the attendees at the auction were magnificently dressed wealthy merchants, though there was no shortage of nobles from nearby countries.
At this moment, there was still some time before the auction officially began. The guests were conversing in low tones among themselves. From their pleasantly surprised expressions, it wasn't hard to see that the goods being auctioned by the Carlo Auction House this time were highly enticing.
(No wonder the Oswald Family divided the entire island into two zones and strictly prohibited violence on the East Island. It's probably to protect the safety of these cash cows.)
Withdrawing his gaze from elsewhere, Sherlock opened the auction catalog in his hand.
The main auction items in the Carlo Auction House were naturally slaves, but they were not limited to slaves. The tradition here was to first auction some rare treasures as an appetizer, followed by the main course—the slaves.
Sherlock swept his eyes over it quickly. Seeing that the items up for auction were just some unremarkable jewelry or antiques, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. However, when he saw the final rare treasure, he couldn't help but daze slightly.
"The famous sword, Juexi, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords... Isn't this Rovick's sword?"
Back on Skypiea, Sherlock had also learned from the mouths of Nami and the others that he had been rescued by Rovick from the hands of the Heavenly Yaksha, Blackbeard, and the Enemy of Nature. Although it sounded incredible, it had to be said that this guy had saved the Sorcerer's life.
Afterward, this blue-haired traveler had loyally lured away the pursuing Marines, including the White Hunter. If it weren't for Rovick's help, the Straw Hat crew probably wouldn't even have had the chance to ascend to Skypiea.
(Inadvertently, I owe that guy a huge favor...) Sherlock pushed up his glasses, let out a soft chuckle, and quickly pondered in his mind.
The Sorcerer knew Rovick quite well. This guy was a bit of an idiot, somewhat airheaded, and a directionally challenged person on top of that, but as a swordsman, he would definitely not lose his beloved sword. The appraisers at the Carlo Auction House were very professional; this sword was absolutely the genuine article without a doubt.
Therefore, there were only two possibilities for the famous sword, Juexi, to be auctioned here.
The first was that Rovick was dead, and the killer had seized this precious sword as a trophy and brought it here to be auctioned for money.
This possibility wasn't very high. After all, Rovick's strength was quite decent, and a powerhouse capable of taking him down probably wouldn't be so strapped for cash that they would need to put such a famous sword up for auction.
As for the second possibility...
"Note: The original owner hopes to meet with the winning bidder to discuss the famous swords of the world together. Heheh..."
Gazing at this additional condition from the seller, Sherlock revealed an intriguing smile.
(Well, in that case, I'll give you a hand in a little while, just to return your favor.)
Shaking his head, Sherlock continued looking through the information in his hand.
After the famous sword, Juexi, the next items to be auctioned were the slaves. As the largest underground slave trade market in Hannabal, the slaves auctioned by the Carlo Auction House were naturally no ordinary goods.
Aside from a few exceedingly charming female slaves who could sing and dance well, along with rare slaves of other races, almost all the remaining slaves were wanted pirates. The bounties of several pirates reached the tens of millions level, and the pirate captain with the highest bounty even had a staggering 41 million Berries!
Although there were no Marines in the sea area near Hannabal, there was no lack of registered pirates who viewed other pirates as mortal enemies.
With these pirates biting each other dog-eat-dog style and engaging in pirate-on-pirate crime, combined with the Oswald Family's promotion of the slave trade, the Carlo Auction House naturally never had to worry about a lack of pirates to auction off as slaves.
(Although the Penguin's membership system looks like it's a benefit secured for its members, in the end, the one who actually profits the most is the Oswald Family itself.)
Sherlock shifted his gaze down to the very end, and seeing that there wasn't a single shred of information about the final grand finale slave of this auction, he couldn't help but furrow his brows.
This was also one of the customs of the Carlo Auction House. The slave used for the grand finale of each auction was always kept shrouded in mystery without a single piece of information revealed, completely whetting the bidders' appetites. Furthermore, there was no doubt that this finale slave would definitely be the most precious one of that auction.
(But what kind of slave could it be, to have a starting price even higher than 41 million Berries?)
Just as Sherlock fell into deep thought, an unfamiliar male voice came from beside him.
"Huh? This little gentleman with glasses looks quite familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"
Turned around after being approached, Sherlock saw a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes with a small mustache on his upper lip sitting in the seat next to him, looking at him with a smile.
Sherlock quietly sized up the other party, quickly recalling in his mind, and found that he didn't have the slightest impression of this mustachioed man.
(He's probably seen my bounty poster, which is why I look familiar to him,) Sherlock thought to himself.
"Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself."
Being stared at by those black eyes beneath the Sorcerer's lenses, this overly familiar guy didn't show the slightest hint of embarrassment. Instead, he extended his hand with a chuckle: "My name is Jean, a jeweler. If you want to purchase some jewelry, you're welcome to come find me."
It seemed this guy had mistaken Sherlock for some prince or noble from a nearby country and intended to expand his market. After all, the noble and elegant temperament nurtured from childhood on the Sorcerer was simply too deceptive.
"Sherlock, nice to meet you." A certain gentleman with glasses also extended his hand with a smile and gave it a gentle shake. He had encountered far too many overly familiar merchants like Jean back in the East Blue, so he was already long accustomed to it.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two began to chat about this slave auction to pass the time before the auction started. Just looking at how enthusiastically they were conversing, it was hard to imagine that these two were actually meeting for the first time.
Jean was an old customer of this auction house; this wealthy jeweler would buy many slaves for entertainment every time. Moreover, it appeared that he was extremely knowledgeable about every aspect of the Carlo Auction House. Under Sherlock's intentional and unintentional probing, he managed to obtain quite a bit of valuable information.
"Hehe, Sherlock, try and guess what the grand finale item is this time?" Jean said mysteriously.
A strange light flashed in Sherlock's eyes as he pushed up his glasses. "Could it be a female mermaid?"
According to the price list privately set by the slave market, the starting price for a human slave was 500,000 Berries, whereas the starting price for a female mermaid was as high as 70 million Berries.
If it were a female mermaid, her value would absolutely be more than enough to serve as the grand finale of this auction.
"A mermaid? You're dreaming too big."
Jean shook his head. "Mermaids swim far too fast in the sea, and they rarely ever come ashore. I'm afraid only the professional slave-catching squads near the Sabaody Archipelago have a chance of capturing a mermaid."
"Then what exactly is the grand finale item this time?" Sherlock feigned an expression of having his appetite thoroughly whetted.
"Hehehe... This is also a bit of inside information I heard from a friend, but the credibility is extremely high." Jean chuckled again, looked around, and then lowered his voice:
"It's said that the slave used for the grand finale of this auction isn't from another race, but is a human."
"A human?" Sherlock furrowed his brows. Then, he instantly thought of the very last line of that price list for various slave races, and a look of realization dawned on his face.
"Could it be..."
"Exactly!" Jean stroked his small mustache, the smile on his face growing even deeper.
"The slave being auctioned at the very end this time is a Devil Fruit user!"
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