My Disciples Think I’m Strong

I descend the stairs leading underground. Beyond the stairs was a massive open gate.

Once I stepped through, a space even larger than the tavern appeared.
It felt like a university’s combined lecture hall, large enough to accommodate hundreds of people at once.

I took a seat in an inconspicuous corner close to the podium.
The tanned, blond man was confidently heading towards the very front row.

“Hey, move.”
“What? I came first.”
“Are you trying to argue priority with me right now?”

The tanned man’s muscles bulged. As his blatant Intimidation emanated, gazes naturally turned towards him.

“No… S, sorry.”

In the end, the man who had been seated had no choice but to apologize and give up his seat.

It was pitiful, but that was the wise choice.
No matter how unarmed, he was no match for an S-rank adventurer in a fistfight.

After claiming his seat, the tanned man crossed his legs arrogantly and held his head high.

“Now, let’s see some tasty slaves.”

The people around him held their breath at his blatant attitude.

It was an unpleasant sight to openly display such vulgarity.
With someone like him leading the adventurers, it was no wonder their reputation as a whole suffered.
Of course, it didn’t concern me since I had no intention of becoming an adventurer.

Once everyone was seated, the doors closed.
The illumination magic from the ceiling dimmed slightly, and the podium brightened. There, a goblin mask with two horns stood.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen.”

The man who had ascended the podium shouted in front of the magic amplifier. The distinctive goblin horns glistened in the light.

“First, I would like to sincerely thank you all for participating in the 3rd Slave Auction.”

The man stepped forward, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed his waist. The polite greeting prompted applause from the audience.
I glanced around and clapped a few times as well.

“Now, with the greetings out of the way! I’ll skip the preamble. Your time is precious, as you all lead busy lives. I, the auctioneer, will take care of you.”

The auctioneer snapped his fingers and grinned.

“But before we start! The bidding process is likely already known to you, but in case there are newcomers, allow me to explain it one more time!”

As he was about to step onto the podium, he changed direction and raised his index finger. What a milker.

“The auction process is simple. You simply hold up the numbered placard you currently possess and state the price. The slave will be awarded to the highest bidder among you. Simple, right? Ah, and for the first bid, you must state a price higher than the minimum I announce. I’m sure you’re all aware of such basic etiquette! Hahaha!”

His laughter resounded shamelessly.

“Additionally, if any slaves remain unsold after one round of auctions, those interested will gather again for a second round. You can assume there are two chances in total.”

He raised his V-shaped fingers high, then swayed them back and forth as he spoke.

“But of course, high-quality slaves tend to be taken in the first round, so it’s advisable to bid carefully while considering your budget.”

After finishing his explanation, the man circled around and strode purposefully towards the podium in the corner.

“Now, then! Let me introduce the first slave!”

In his hand was a small wooden mallet.
He had the demeanor of a judge, but what was about to transpire here was human trafficking, something absolutely forbidden in modern times.

“Come on out!”

At his call, a curtain was drawn back, revealing a burly figure inside an iron cage. The figure had restraints on its limbs and a muzzle over its mouth.

“Mmph! Mmmmph!”

Despite its struggles, the restraints and muzzle held it firmly in place.

“The first slave is a male Wolfkin! Estimated to be twenty years old. During the subjugation of the Demi-human village, even the Imperial Knights had a hard time against this Wolfkin’s formidable physical abilities and mana. You can’t imagine how much trouble we went through to acquire this slave!”

Though in a man’s form, he had the distinctive beast ears and tail of the Wolfkin race. With navy-blue hair and a sturdy muscular build, sighs could be heard from the women.

“He’s quite good-looking, isn’t he?”
“They say Wolfkin have huge cocks too?”
“And long tongues that are great for foreplay.”

Ugh, so many insane women.
I frowned at their shameless flirtatious comments, prompting the auctioneer to shout.

“Now! The minimum bid for this slave starts at 100 gold! Bidders, please begin the auction!”
“110 gold!”
“120 gold!”

The competition began.

“150 gold!”
“That’s right! You won’t find such a Wolfkin just anywhere! If you miss this opportunity, you may regret it!”

“200 gold!”

In an instant, the price had doubled the minimum bid. But the bidding didn’t stop there as the amount continued to soar.

“320 gold!”
“…320 gold! Any more bids besides 320 gold?!”

The auctioneer tried to stoke the competition, but everyone hesitated.
It seemed they didn’t want to spend all their money here, unsure of what other slaves might appear.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Sold for 320 gold! Bidder #41, you can take the slave immediately. But will you end the auction and pay now? Or would you like to continue bidding?”
“Of course I’ll continue. Do you think that’s all the money I have?”

Bidder #41 declared confidently. The auctioneer’s smile widened to his cheeks.

“Very well! We will hold onto this slave for now!”

Hmm. As expected.
The first male Wolfkin being sold for 320 gold matched how it progressed in the game.

The curtain lowered, then rose again shortly after.
This time, there was no cage. A crouching blond girl was revealed. Though her clothes were rags, her face, hair, and skin were neatly groomed.
She had restraints on her neck and limbs, just like the previous slave.

“This slave was born into the nobility of the neighboring Aium Kingdom, but became a slave under the charge of treason. She has just become an adult and possesses a voluptuous, sensual figure. The minimum bid will start at 150 gold!”

This information also matched what I knew.
In the neighboring Aium Kingdom of the Pretium Empire, there was a noble who had acted as a proxy for the demons.
Although they had been coerced by the demons, the end result was undeniable treason, so their family was annihilated.

And this girl would eventually turn to the demons’ side to exact revenge on the kingdom that had destroyed her family.

Who could have guessed that a character first introduced at a slave auction would later become the Demons’ Vice-Commander?

If I bought and kept her by my side now, I might be able to prevent her from becoming the Demons’ Vice-Commander…

But what was important right now was the third hero.
If I couldn’t save her, nothing else mattered. I had no choice but to try and save money.

If no one bought her after one round, then I would have to take her in.
Of course, if things progressed according to the information I knew, that wouldn’t happen.

Just as I was licking my lips in anticipation, the auction began.

“Oho, that one’s not too bad.”

The tanned man licked his lips hungrily.
Already excited, he raised his #21 placard to fully participate in the auction.

“400 gold.”

He stated the price while holding up his placard.
Murmurs arose at the tanned man’s aggressive opening bid.

He was someone mired in vanity.
For me, it was a display of having more money than most nobles, but at the auction, it was essentially a pointless act.

Yes, participate as much as you want. I need you to participate so I can save the third hero.

As an S-rank adventurer, he had far more funds than me.
He possessed an amount that 1,300 gold couldn’t even touch.

But no matter how high-ranked an S-rank adventurer was, there were limits to their funds.
In the game, this guy ended up spending all his money buying other slaves, eventually running out of funds and having no choice but to let the third hero go to the player.

I’m truly grateful to the scenario writer who gave him such a simple-minded personality focused solely on acquiring women.

“400 gold! Any other bids?”
“Tch… He’s spending money so recklessly already…”

The nobles backed down.

Bang! Bang! Bang!
The auctioneer struck the podium with his wooden mallet to declare the sale.

“Sold for 400 gold!”

The noble girl went to him.

“Bidder #21, you can take the slave immediately—”
“Do I look like I only have that much money? Continue the auction!”

Even through the mask, everyone there would have recognized who he was.
A man with that physique, behaving so arrogantly, was one of the few in the Empire.

“Understood! We’ll prepare the next slave!”

In any case, there was no stopping her from joining the demons’ side now. But since this was the original progression of the episode, I had no choice but to accept it.

Next, an elf woman appeared.
For a moment, I thought it might be her, but it wasn’t.

The appearance of the elf prompted cheers from the male nobles.

With a beautifully enchanting appearance that could captivate anyone, she had a quintessential slender figure. Her large breasts made her the perfect ideal of female beauty.

Befitting her elf beauty, the minimum bid started at 300 gold, and the competition among the men drove the price up mercilessly.

“890 gold!”

At the tanned man’s declaration, the other men fell silent.
And so, a second slave went to the tanned man. Was he planning to build a slave harem?

The subsequent auctions became increasingly heated, and even the hesitant nobles began bidding boldly.

This continued until the eleventh slave.

“The next one is also an elf! She’s only ten years old, but I dare say her appearance surpasses any slave here!”
“Ten years old… Isn’t that too young?”
“It might be a hassle to raise her too.”

For the nobles, the purpose of slaves was simple.
They were mere outlets for their desires, trash cans for their lust.

When stressed, they would beat and rape slaves to vent their urges. And if the slaves broke in any way, they would immediately discard them like objects.

That was how nobles used slaves.
For such nobles, a young slave would seem worthless to invest in.
A slave that would break quickly would be seen as unsightly.

However, that mentality worked in my favor.
Not only would it greatly reduce the competition, but I would have a higher chance of purchasing her while spending as little money as possible.

“Now, let’s unveil her!”

The curtain was drawn back, revealing a blond elf girl with lifeless eyes inside the cage.

She had a sufficiently clean appearance, but her body was emaciated to the point of looking frail, as if she might break with the slightest touch.
Her gaze and demeanor couldn’t hide a sense of being devoid of spirit.

Yet despite her haggard state, her beauty still shone through.

Was she really the pinnacle of beauty in this world’s elves?
Even when I played the game, I thought her illustration alone was a true work of art, down to the finest detail.

“Wow… Her face is insane, isn’t it?”
“If we fatten her up, she might make a decent signboard girl.”
“It’ll be fun when she becomes an adult.”

Comments from the nobles.
While most women felt jealousy, they still acknowledged her beauty.

“Now then, let’s start the bidding at a minimum of 300 gold!”
“Five hundred.”

The tanned man called out. The nobles murmured.
Was the man who had already spent nearly three thousand gold on slaves really bidding five hundred gold right away?
But this was likely just a show, an attempt to seize the momentum.

“500 gold! Any other bids?”
“520 gold.”

The man sitting next to me raised his placard and called out. The tanned man glared at him with displeasure.
I remained still. I needed to see how high the bidding would go.

“530 gold!”
“540 gold!”
“600 gold!”

Once the flames were lit, the bidding skyrocketed insanely.

“Fuck! One thousand gold!”

The tanned man shouted as if telling everyone else to back off.

Four digits.
This was starting to make me tense.

One thousand gold for a young slave.
It was absurd. What could possibly be going through their minds to bid such an amount? Did their brains really only function below the belt?

“Any bids besides one thousand gold?”

The other bidders hesitated.
One thousand gold was an amount even indulgent nobles would find burdensome.
They might even have to forfeit participating in subsequent slave auctions.
Would any of them really pay such an exorbitant sum for this child?

Doubtful.
The fact that she was a ‘hero’ was information only I, the ‘player,’ could know.

Silence fell. A heavy stillness lingered in the auction hall.

“No other bids? Then—”

Just as the auctioneer was about to raise his wooden mallet, and a smile was forming on the tanned man’s face, I raised my #87 placard.

“One thousand, one hundred gold.”
“!”

Despite the already high bid, my addition of another hundred gold coins caused a stir in the auction hall once more.