In a noodle shop, at a window seat on the second floor, Karl turned his head to look at the growing stream of people on the main street outside. Judging by their dress, they were clearly either rich or noble.
"Lord Karl, there's new information," The jackal beastkin said in a low voice.
"First, what's the situation outside?" Karl frowned. He had been in Sedona City for several days, and his subordinates had all disguised themselves by taking jobs to gather intelligence.
"Those people outside are from the capital. It seems they've all come for Sedona City's goods," The jackal beastkin said grimly.
"Oh? These humans... they're as cunning at business as the Fox tribe," Karl sneered, his voice indifferent. "What have you found out? Have you pinned down Annie's movements?"
"Lord Karl, I have a piece of intel I just picked up." The jackal beastkin glanced around and lowered his voice. "There's an auction tomorrow night. It's said a treasure map from the Valtoria Beastkin Kingdom will be there."
"What? Are you sure there's really a treasure map at the auction tomorrow?" Karl's eyes went wide. His first thought was disbelief. A treasure map of the Valtoria beastkin Kingdom was being auctioned? How was that possible?
"Yes, I just heard it myself. The rumor came from the teahouse," The jackal beastkin affirmed.
"Could it be... that woman Annie... put the treasure map up for auction?" This was the only possibility Karl could think of, and the more he thought, the darker his expression grew. If the map fell into human hands, his chances of completing the mission were slim to none.
"Lord Karl, what do we do now?" The jackal beastkin asked, his head bowed. He felt the mission was about to fail, and thinking of Santner's ferocity, he feared they were in for a hard time.
"Damn it, how could she do this? How could she hand over something belonging to the beastkin to humans?" Karl gritted his teeth, a low growl rumbling in his throat.
The jackal beastkin flinched, glancing nervously at the other patrons looking their way. He quickly whispered, "Lord Karl, we could just... snatch the map."
"Hmph! Idiot." Karl shot him a look, hissing, "You might want to die, but I don't."
In his few days in Sedona City, he'd gathered some intel. The city had at least five or six hundred knights, and a quarter of them were beastkin. That number of knights completely crushed any idea of taking it by force. The disparity in strength was too great; it would be like an egg hitting a rock—suicidal.
"Heh..." The jackal beastkin gave an awkward laugh. He had just blurted it out in the heat of the moment.
"The auction. What time tomorrow?" Karl asked coldly.
"Th-that's not clear yet. Everyone is talking about it, but they're all half-doubting," The jackal beastkin said sheepishly. "However, I heard there will be a notice in tomorrow morning's newspaper, and it's said you'll need an invitation to get in."
"'Heard?' I don't want 'heard.' I want concrete intelligence. You," Karl raised his hand and jabbed the jackal beastkin in the forehead, "Go find out, now."
"Yes, yes!" Cold sweat beaded on jackal beastkin's forehead. He quickly turned and fled.
"Damn it. Do I really have to attend the auction and bid for it?" Karl's expression was grim. He had only brought a few hundred gold coins. He could only hope that no one else took the map seriously.
...
As Raymond passed by the Pearl Pavilion, The shop's name caught his eye. He also saw it was crowded inside and, drawn by curiosity, he walked in.
"Pearl Pavilion? Looks like his lordship wants to buy pearls for Miss again," One of his knights remarked. He knew Viscount Raymond was pursuing a girl who was a distant relative of the First Prince, and she was supposedly very fond of pearls.
"Haha... I got one! I got one! There are pearls!"
Raymond heard the ecstatic shout before he was even fully in the door, making him frown. Why so excited over buying a pearl? He recognized most of the people inside; they were all from the capital and had seen the world. It made no sense for them to act in such an undignified way.
Clop clop clop...
"Huh? Where are the pearls?" After entering, Raymond saw many large wooden barrels and a crowd of people huddled together. He couldn't see any pearls.
"Sir, if you wish to buy finished pearls, you can go to the second floor," An attendant said, stepping forward.
"What are they doing?" Raymond asked, pointing at the crowd from which shouts of both excitement and frustration were emerging.
"Those guests are betting on oysters—betting on pearls, that is," The attendant explained.
"Betting on pearls?" Raymond was stunned. Was that even a thing? Gambling with something as precious as pearls?
"Sir, you'll understand if you go take a look." The attendant gestured. No amount of explaining would make someone understand what an oyster was.
"Oh?" Raymond raised an eyebrow and walked toward the crowd. With his knight clearing a path, he squeezed in and saw a middle-aged man holding a knife. One end of the knife was chained to the table, and in his other hand, he held a black, oval-shaped object.
"Please have one, please have one..." The man muttered, using the knife to pry the black object open.
CRACK...
The entire crowd went silent, staring intently at the oyster.
"Hooo..." The man took a deep breath and yanked the shell apart. Inside, four white pearls lay quietly.
"Hahaha... I got 'em! Four pearls! I've struck it rich, rich!" The man shouted in excitement, waving his hands in the air.
"Th-this... this is where pearls come from?" Raymond was dumbfounded. Such precious things were pried out of that? His entire worldview was shattered. He had always assumed pearls were some kind of ore.
He was just about to ask what the object was called when he overheard a conversation nearby.
"Those pearls are pretty small, probably not worth much. Just a small profit. I heard a few days ago, someone opened a pink pearl, 14 millimeters in size. Now that was a real treasure."
"Really? 14 millimeters? That big?"
"That's what my friend said. There's an auction tomorrow night. I bet it'll show up there. The price will be astronomical."
"You're right. A 14-millimeter pink pearl... so many people are going to be fighting over it."
"..."
Raymond listened quietly from the side. I must attend this auction. If I can win that pink pearl and give it to her, she will surely marry me. And that will bring me closer to the First Prince.
"Well then... time to place a bet." A smile played on Raymond's lips. This betting on pearls was fascinating. How could he not give it a try?
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
300 Power Stones for 1 extra chapter.
5 New reviews for 1 extra chapter.