The auction on the first floor of the Drunken Night continued. Time slowly ticked by to nine-thirty; the auction had already been going on for an hour and a half.
"Next is the thirtieth auction item: an invitation to have dinner with the Lord of Sedona City, His Excellency Lucas."
The corner of Dahlia's mouth turned up slightly. She glanced at Lucas and chuckled, "You will not be disappointed with dinner at the castle—it features the most delicious food in the world. Furthermore, you all know that Lord Lucas is known as a genius. For anyone wishing to get in touch with His Excellency, you must seize this chance. The starting bid: ten gold coins."
She had never expected Lucas to auction off something like a dinner engagement and was thoroughly surprised. But if she had the choice, she would absolutely bid on this invitation herself.
"What? An invitation to have dinner with Lucas?"
"Pfft... Are you kidding me? Who does he think he is? A Grand Duke?"
"Utterly ridiculous. Isn't he just a Baron? He thinks way too highly of himself. A dinner invitation? Even if he sent me an invitation, I wouldn't necessarily go."
"And for ten gold coins? Why doesn't he just go rob someone? Nobody bid on it! Let's watch him humiliate himself. This is the best joke I've heard all day."
"..."
The crowd below erupted in discussion. The vast majority sneered, thinking Lucas was far too full of himself to auction off a dinner invitation.
"Heh... Bryan, is this the brilliant Lucas... Lord... you were talking about?" The Sakura City Lord mocked, deliberately dragging out the word Lord.
"Father." Bryan's face was stern as he said seriously, "If it weren't so expensive, I would absolutely be the first one to bid."
"Are you stupid?" The Sakura City Lord was stunned, then said angrily, "It's just one dinner! I've had dinner with him before, and I didn't think it was anything special."
He had completely forgotten his own country bumpkin behavior during that dinner—grabbing fish with his hands and hoarding his cookies like a protective animal.
"Father, you... please keep your voice down." Bryan opened his mouth but could only sigh helplessly. His father was too self-important; he would never listen to his advice.
"Just wait and watch the joke unfold." The Sakura City Lord, remembering the viscount who had just been dragged out, didn't dare say anything more.
He stared smugly at Lucas's back. He was finally going to see him made a fool of. He had been so jealous of Lucas earning all that gold from the auction; his heart had felt heavy with it. Now, he finally felt relieved.
"..."
"Master? I'll go cut their tongues out." Mina gritted her silver teeth, her cat ears twitching as if trying to shake off the mocking voices. She couldn't stand hearing anyone belittle her Master. Especially the Sakura City Lord's words. He hadn't bothered to conceal them at all, and his voice was so loud that her sensitive hearing picked up every word.
"There's no hurry. Their worldview is just that limited." Lucas's expression was calm as he lifted his teacup for a sip. The yapping of these weaklings almost made him laugh.
"Mina, just wait. This is about to turn around," Annie said with a sneer. Anyone who wasn't an idiot and had seen Sedona City over the past few days would want a chance to meet the Master and talk business.
Sure enough, in the very next second.
"I bid twenty gold coins!" Pichu stood up and said in a deep voice. He had been trying to get a meeting with Lucas for a long time. A man who had built a fortune of over ten thousand gold coins did not have the same limited vision as ordinary people.
But Lucas simply wouldn't see him, or anyone else, which left him helpless. He had also made inquiries—it seemed that not a single merchant had managed to have dinner with Lucas.
He wanted to discuss the linen business with Lucas, the tea business, and the ceramics business. There was simply too much to discuss. This invitation was a godsend.
"Twenty-one gold coins." Kevin raised his hand. He wanted a chance to privately negotiate for the perfume recipe with Lucas.
"Twenty-two gold coins!" Patrick called out, his face dark. He wouldn't be bidding at all if it wasn't for the perfume recipe.
"Twenty-three gold coins." Raymond's expression was just as sour.
"Twenty-four gold coins!" Shouted another merchant. There were quite a few merchants present with real foresight.
"..." Several other nobles and merchants also began to bid.
"Thirty-two gold coins!" Pichu immediately raised his bid. This was his chance.
"Thirty-three gold coins," Scott called out coldly. Many people had dropped out by this point, feeling that even for a conversation with Lucas, anything over thirty gold coins was a bit too expensive.
"Thirty-five gold coins." Pichu raised his bid steadily, his tone making it clear he would not give up until he had it.
"Hmph!" Scott shot Pichu a gloomy glare and gave up.
"Thank you for yielding," Pichu said with a smile. The price was much lower than he had anticipated; he'd thought it would take at least fifty gold coins to secure the invitation.
"This... How is this possible? Are they idiots? Spending thirty-five gold coins on a dinner invitation?" The Sakura City Lord was dumbfounded. He felt a stinging pain in his cheek.
It wasn't just the Sakura City Lord; everyone was dumbfounded. A mere baron's dinner invitation had actually sold for thirty-five gold coins. This completely shattered their worldview. Was he a prince? Or some great noble?
They knew that if this news got out, Lucas would become famous overnight—and for all the right reasons.
"Sigh." Bryan let out a breath. Foresight really was crucial. He was just glad he had left Sakura City.
"Congratulations to this gentleman for winning the invitation to dine with His Excellency Lucas!" Dahlia announced, her face wreathed in smiles.
The invitation was immediately delivered into Pichu's hands. He felt that this invitation was his single greatest gain of the entire evening.
"Phew..." Dahlia let out a small breath of relief. The thirtieth auction item was finished, which meant she could finally take a break.
There had been thirty items of all various kinds, and it could be said that more than half of them were things Lucas had brought from Earth.
"Next is the thirty-first auction item. This item is rather special, and it requires a different person to host."
Dahlia scanned the crowd below, her eyes landing on Elisa. She smiled lightly. "Please welcome Miss Elisa, who will be hosting this next auction item for everyone."
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