Novel The Max Level Hero has Returned! - Chapter 262

Chapter 262

91. Illegal Auction House

Even a noble would struggle to meet with the high-ranking members of a large information guild. However, they realized that making contact with Davey would bring them a lot of benefits. That was why they had immediately responded and agreed to establish a connection with him. Even the king of a small kingdom could not meet with any of them so easily.

—Aren’t you scamming them? You said that it’s an imitation.

‘They wouldn’t know. The real thing has not seen the light of the sun.’

In the first place, the Laticia Kingdom’s legacy and inheritance had gained its tremendous value from being the only one left. It was safe to say that no one in this world could distinguish the jewel that Davey had taken out from the original.

They could only identify the authenticity of the jewel with its age. However, as long as Davey used another jewel from the same era or perhaps even older than that, then there was no way for others to find out. Well, the real thing had no chance of showing itself to the world, so Davey had nothing to worry about.

There was a saying that went:

If you don’t get caught then it’s a skill.

And Davey believed in that wholeheartedly.

—If no one’s watching then it’s an assassi…

‘That’s it.’

It was a bit ironic, but Hermesia herself had taught that to Davey.

“Rinne, question. No matter how much Rinne calculated, Rinne cannot comprehend why there’s a need to mobilize all three of the information guilds. Rinne requests an explanation.”

Rinne did not hear all of the conversation that Davey had previously had, so she was curious as to why he had done this. In fact, she was the one who could understand common sense the quickest among them all.

“The answer to why I chose all three is simple, Rinne.”

Rinne tilted her head with a blank expression.

“People in the underworld tend to pay a lot of attention to rumors.”

The seigneur was willing to do whatever it took for the sake of just one of his citizens. With this information spreading out, Davey would certainly be able to gain a lot of things.

“Isn’t that just simple calculation?”

“No. It’s a promise for protection. If they promise to protect us, then we will protect them.”

That would happen for as long as Davey was alive.

As expected of the best information guild, Echo was able to bring the necessary information that Davey had requested for the fastest out of the three guilds.

Amazed, Davey murmured to himself, “It seems like the guild that Aina belonged to is much greater than expected.”

Although she was currently under a fixed contract with Davey, Aina Helishana had originally been an active member of Echo Guild. Since Echo Guild had a very capable and skilled assassin among them, it meant that they were not an ordinary information guild.

“Boltis Kingdom? It seems like the kingdom being so arrogant and snobbish about finding honor through their swords has fallen to a new low.”

They were talking about the Boltis Kingdom, a kingdom that had surely made its mark in Davey’s memories.

The Boltis Kingdom was Rowane Kingdom’s neighboring country. Aside from being located not too far away, it had long been fighting a war of nerves with them. It was a nation that respected the way of the sword and had once been called the Kingdom of Knights. However, as far as Davey could remember, the Boltis Kingdom was just a weak kingdom that did not even have the power to keep the Rowane Kingdom in check.

Why? It was because of Baltian de Boltis, the Boltis Kingdom’s Seventh Prince who had lost his mind and had signed a contract with the vampires. In a place where many royals as well as the main figures of each nation had been gathered, he had almost turned into a monster and had killed countless people.

For that reason, the Boltis Kingdom had to offer compensation to each and every single nation present. They had to pay such a big price that it was highly likely for the kingdom to be in debt.

Once, it had been the nation keeping the Rowane Kingdom in check. However, the Rowane Kingdom had grown and developed sharply after the incident with the Duchy of Felicity. It was also because of that incident that the Boltis Kingdom had experienced a noticeable decline in their worth. All because of that very same prince.

Since they had fallen to that point, it was very easy for Davey to clearly assess the situation. They had definitely set up an illegal slave auction. Although setting up an illegal slave auction would require capital, it would also help the poor Boltis Kingdom rake in a lot of money too.

—Davey. I’d rather we spend money to coax the other country’s royal family and nobles to save our residents without any problems.

“That’s also possible.”

—They won’t be able to turn down your offer.

Just like what Perserque said, Davey could stick to negotiations and deal with it in an easy manner. He didn’t have to take the violent route.

“Well then, let’s try it once.”

Davey decided to talk it out first. If that failed, then he would personally handle matters himself.

With that thought in mind, Davey wrote two letters. One would be sent straight to Boltis Kingdom, and the other was a report that would be sent to the Rowane Kingdom’s royal family.

***

The Boltis Kingdom was severely strapped for money. There was also no telling how much money their royal family was receiving from the illegal slave auctions. However, there was one thing that Davey was certain of.

[We are unaware of any of your claims. If there truly is an illegal auction happening in our lands, then we would have already caught them ourselves. If you wish to undermine the prestige of our kingdom by spreading these false rumors then we advise you to quit right away.]

The Boltis Kingdom chose to deny the rumors, even though they couldn’t possibly be unaware of who and what Davey was capable of. They were the closest country to the Rowane Kingdom, so they would have heard rumors.

However, even if they were aware of such matters, they would not be able to escape criticisms of a political nature the moment they admit to being aware of the illegal slave auctions that were being held in their lands.

The Boltis Kingdom was already neck deep in debt from paying compensation to other nations. In the past, even the commoners had declared that the Boltis Kingdom was a very good nation to live in because of their holy army.

Unfortunately, the Boltis Kingdom of today was willingly raising the taxes to rake in more money from commoners to pay off the large amounts of money that they needed to deal with the aftermath of that incident. As the public’s resentment grew, their criticisms also became brutal.

So, at a time when they were trying to compensate the other nations as much as they could, what would happen if the Boltis Kingdom received harsh criticism from abroad? The answer to that was obvious.

They would just say that they should have stepped forward to deal with it from the very beginning. That was assuming they knew about what was going on. It would not be a big problem for the Boltis Kingdom to take on the victim’s role.

However, the Boltis Kingdom could not give up on their pride. They also couldn’t let go of the dirty money that was constantly flowing into their pockets…

Davey slowly got up from his seat. He said matter-of-factly, “Since you don’t want to make a move over there, then…”

Davey had to personally go and pick up his own people. Doing an on-site arrest could give him the best results.

***

Davey entered the Boltis Kingdom very easily.

However, since the Boltis Kingdom was backing the auction house itself, there were concerns and fear of its collapse if Davey were to suddenly appear in their kingdom.

“What do you think? Isn’t this very effective?”

—Too small.

Perserque, who liked bigger and stronger physiques, did not like how Davey had morphed into a smaller version of himself as a disguise.

“Do you want me to change to a more muscular one?

—You know, I shouldn’t need to tell you this, but you should change into something that’s not too eye-catching. Also, I don’t really like some random muscular body anymore.

“Well, what should be a good one to change into then?”

—If it’s your original body then…

Heup!

Perserque’s eyes widened in shock when she heard Davey’s cough. Then, she quickly disappeared from sight.

After that slight slip-up, Davey began to walk again albeit with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face.

The Boltis Kingdom was in a very depressed mood. In the midst of this depressing air, the carriages that the nobles owned would sometimes pass by, looking all luxurious and extravagant… It was clear that the ones suffering from Seventh Prince Baltian de Boltis’ mistakes were not the nobles or the royal family but the commoners.

Of course, the kingdom’s misdeeds and tyranny did not really interest Davey. The people of Boltis Kingdom were also poor and pitiful, but they weren’t the ones that Davey had come here to save.

Davey had come here to fetch the three Heins Territory residents who had been taken away to be sold in an illegal auction in this dark and evil country.

Fortunately, one of the residents was an elf. Since an elf was considered a very valuable item in this slave auction, it seemed like the underworld organizers of this auction did not recklessly dispose of the three of them. They had originally been supposed to be separated so that there would be no traces left, but they had gotten lucky with that.

The Boltis Kingdom was known for operating plenty of arenas, which was what they used as a cover to hold such illegal auctions in secret.

“Hmm? What the hell? Brat, this is not a place for someone who smells milk like you.”

Of course, not everyone could enter the secret auction house. Secret invitations had probably been sent to those who had large amounts of funds.

Davey had often seen such auction hours in the movies in his previous life. Two rugged and burly men guarded the entrance, stopping him from entering the basement.

“Huh? What’s the matter with you, punk? This is no place for a brat like you. Get lost.”

Since he had come alone, with only Perserque accompanying him, Davey looked like a small lonely boy in the eyes of the two men. All they could see was a weak and ordinary little boy.

“Why can’t I enter? I’m sure they said that the arena would be open today.”

The arena was surprisingly one of the Boltis Kingdom’s secret attractions. In the past, commoners would enter these arenas and bet their money.

“The arena is not open today. If you want to see something like that, go to North Street. You don’t belong here.”

“Then, are you saying that they won’t do it here?”

“They, they won’t do it here!!!”

Davey closed his eyes and nodded at the man who had shouted in irritation. Then, he opened his eyes to look right at the two men. “You haven’t seen me come here.”

Vwoooooong—

Upon Davey’s command, both men frowned. They tried to say something, but their eyes soon glazed over and their expressions turned blank. “We…understand.”

This result was unsurprising, especially since the men were ordinary people with no resistance to these kinds of things.

With the gatekeepers out of commission due to his hypnosis, Davey wore the mask that he had prepared beforehand to cover his face. He then wrapped himself with a cape before passing them by and going underground.

It was terribly quiet for an arena. The silence was understandable if nothing was going on, but Davey already knew that a lot of people were coming and going from the basement. In fact, he stepped foot inside and could already see quite a few people sitting in the vast auditorium underground. Most of these people had covered themselves with a mask and a cloak, just like what Davey had done, to hide their identity.

Davey sat on an empty seat at the back of the auditorium before silently looking around. He could see that the auction was already well underway, selling slaves illegally and not rare jewels.

Some nations made it legal to buy and sell slaves. Those nations had given formal approval for slave traders to roam their streets. In these cases, the slaves being sold had willingly become slaves. This was because most of them had failed to gather enough money and could only write a memorandum that they were willing to become slaves to repay their debts.

As for the ones who had been enslaved for punishment, they were usually sent to work at labor sites under the nation’s jurisdiction. As for such slaves, they were rarely seen in the market.

Both kinds of slaves could potentially hurt people once they were sold, so there were restrictions placed upon them. They could only live with their owners. At the very least, they were also being granted human rights. Their owners would be asked to sign an agreement that they would be responsible for the lives of their slaves and that they would act humanely toward their purchased slaves.

‘But this place is different. They do not have such restrictions.’

The slaves sold in this illegal auction could be used for illegal experiments, sexual acts, and everything that was dirty and ugly. Those who had been caught and had been sold into slavery unwillingly would naturally reject their master. However, the organizers were very careful and meticulous. They had shackled most of their slaves, so they couldn’t rebel and could easily be sold in secret.

And right now, these illegal slaves were being sold one after another inside this arena.

“Our next merchandise is a rabbitfolk who we have caught from the Southern Plains. They are an extremely rare species among the beastfolk. Our merchandise has good leg strength, so you can definitely use them as an errand girl. Of course, you don’t have to worry about our merchandise running away since we’re already done with their education and have properly placed restrictions on them,” the masked host murmured lowly as he pulled the fabric that covered the podium behind him to reveal…

A small girl dressed in translucent clothing. She was essentially dressed in rags, because she had not enough clothing to cover most of her body. On top of that, there was no light in her eyes. Perhaps she was heavily drugged.

—How can they do something like this?

‘Humans are beings who cannot live without any enemies. There’s nothing you can do with it.’

Davey gave Perserque an answer while sitting cross-legged on his seat. He watched everything unfold silently.

“The rabbitfolk can get quite racy and lustful. Our merchandise is a very flawless item and can be used as a sex slave. Especially since this girl is a virgin.”

Someone who treated living beings as commodities would naturally be in places like this.

“If you don’t care about that, then… They have low magic resistance, so they can be good for experiments too.”

Another person who had a god-complex and was willing to use another being for their experiments would be here too.

“If not that, then I can tell you that these legs are also very popular with gourmands. Ah! That’s what I’m talking about. 300 gold coins right there! 300 gold coins, going once? 400 gold coins! Going once?”

There was also a psychopath who had buried their humanity and was willing to eat another race. Perhaps they would even willingly eat the same race as themselves.

Just like how Perserque had reacted earlier, there was no way that one would be able to avoid being nauseous in such places.

—Can’t we just flip everything over? Can’t we do that?

Davey’s eyes narrowed when he heard Perserque urging him like that. Was the experience so unpleasant for her? He looked down at Perserque, who was crying and tugging at his arms.

—I’m sorry but…seeing this kind of thing is making me feel…

Thinking that perhaps something similar had happened to Perserque in the past, Davey nodded quietly at her strange dissatisfaction with the auction house.

‘You’re angry?’

—

Davey… Do it for me, please…

‘I know. You don’t have to beg. You want me to save her?’

—…

That’s right. I really hate slave auctions… It’s making me feel unpleasant. I might have a bad memory that’s associated with such a place.

Perserque was…Sword God Ares’ adopted daughter, and she had met Ares through…

Davey initially did not want to care about anything except for the residents of the Heins Territory. However, since Perserque had expressed her thoughts, he was willing to spend some money to save the others. Anyway, he had greatly profited from one of the vampires’ home base.

Davey, who was sitting leisurely with his legs crossed, lifted the sign next to him. No one would blame him if he was the only person who ended up buying all of the goods in the auction house.

In such a place, the rich always came first. Even the organizers worked for the rich.

And since Davey was not going to cause a fuss right away, then he would just lower their guard and allow them to get caught up in his auction bids. In that way, he would completely blind them from what was about to happen next.

“A… A thousand! Going once?!”

This amount would be roughly a hundred million won in Davey’s previous life.

Davey was not a soft-hearted person who did not know the ways of the world like his teacher. The moment he made a fuss here, these people, the very same people who had planned dozens of ways to escape, would quickly gather their merchandise before scattering and disappearing. If that happened, Davey would find it hard to find everyone.

However, if Davey bought all of the merchandise, then there was only one thing left for them to run away with. And that would be none other than the money that they had gotten from Davey.

Since Davey had decided to do this, he would save not just one but all of them. He would not do it like his teacher, who had only saved one.