Chapter 206: Counterpart (V)

While Louis stared intently at the painting, the auctioneer continued her explanation.

“Lucia Bunt, the greatest diva of her time and an artist praised by all. It is believed that Carrie Bunt, head of the Bunt family at the time, bought the Siren’s Tears for his beloved wife and muse, Lucia Bunt. Please look here.”

The auctioneer pointed to Lucia’s neck in the painting.

A blue jewel necklace adorned Lucia’s neck, who was gently smiling.

A larger image projected behind the auctioneer.

“As you can see, this is the same necklace currently up for auction as the one worn by Lucia Bunt.”

The video switched to a close-up of the necklace on display.

“Originally, our auction house planned to sell the necklace and painting separately. However, the seller entrusted us with the request that both items be transferred to the same buyer. This is why we’ve organized this special auction.”

The auctioneer continued to share various stories about the Siren’s necklace and painting.

Meanwhile, Louis ignored such tales and focused only on Carry and Lucia within the painting.

Carry, you sly dog…

His lips formed a smile as he thought:

I’ve succeeded…

Carry’s persistent advances had led to this result: a couple exchanging loving glances. Although it was an old painting, one could still feel the deep affection between them.

As the one who had offered advice, Louis couldn’t help but feel overjoyed that he and Carrie had finally reaped the fruits of their long-standing love after 250 years.

Well, that’s all well and good…

With a contented smile, Louis’s gaze fell upon the item up for auction: Tears of Siren.

Hmm, could this be a counterfeit?

According to the auctioneer, there were two main pieces of evidence supporting the claim that this necklace was indeed Tears of Siren:

Firstly, the last owner, Carrie Bunt, had gifted it to Lucia Bunt.

Secondly, they had an authenticity certificate issued by Carrie Bunt himself.

Louis vividly recalled what Carrie had told him at the time. He claimed the necklace had been authenticated by the world’s leading authority on such matters—and he was referring to the very necklace Louis now possessed.

So, what was this necklace up for auction, then?

A hypothesis crossed Louis’s mind.

What if he came back with a similar necklace and lied to Lucia?

Could that have led to the misunderstanding that this was a Siren’s Tear?

It’s entirely possible.

This increased the likelihood that the necklace at the auction was a counterfeit.

Still, I’ll have to get my hands on it first.

Even if the necklace was fake, he had to keep an open mind for any possibility. Even if it was definitely a fake, Louis still wanted to participate in this auction.

There was something he desired more than the necklace: the portraits of Lucia and Carrie.

It’s comforting to see you again, even like this, Lucia, Carrie.

As Louis gazed at their portraits once more, the auction began.

“The starting bid is 500 gold. Bids will increase by 50 gold thereafter.”

As soon as the auction began, the bids started soaring.

“550, 600, 650, 700… From now on, we’ll be increasing bids by 100 gold.”

Despite the staggering amounts, wealthy bidders kept pushing the price higher. The necklace known as the Tears of a Siren was undoubtedly valuable, but even the accompanying painting was a work of great artistic merit. The fact that they could acquire both items in one fell swoop prompted the wealthy to open their purses without hesitation.

In no time, the combined price of the two items had already surpassed 1,500 gold.

“Woah…”

Tania’s jaw dropped at the fact that someone would spend a whopping 1,500 gold on a necklace and a painting alone.

As the price for the necklace reached 1,700 gold and bids began to gradually fade,

“Guest 245 bids 1,800 gold!”

Louis raised his bid card.

Tania stared at Louis in disbelief.

“M-Mr. H?” she stammered.

Tania was well aware of Louis’s stinginess from their time together. The thought of him spending 1,800 gold shocked her.

However, the real battle was only about to begin.

“Customer 89 bids 1,900 gold!”

“245, 2,000 gold!”

“89, 2,100 gold!”

“245, 2,200 gold!”

“89, 2,300 gold!”

“245, 2,400 gold!”

Customers 89 and Louis continued raising their bid cards relentlessly.

Just as Louis called out “2,600 gold!”,

“4,000 gold,” a deep voice resonated throughout the auction house.

“Customer 89, 4,000 gold!” the auctioneer announced.

The auctioneer’s voice trembled as the price unexpectedly surged.

Louis’s eyes shot towards the source of the sound.

Though he couldn’t see the speaker, the provocateur’s challenge rang clear in the voice from moments ago: If you want to keep bidding, be my guest.

Oh, really?

Are they daring me to top that?

Louis wasn’t one to shy away from a forthcoming fight, especially considering his identity. He was likely the richest individual on the Winter Continent.

Alright then, let’s join the money-talking club.

If it’s time to spend, he’d go all out!

With that decision made, Louis raised his bid sign and declared:

“Five thousand.”

”…?!”

A ripple of astonishment spread through the crowd.

Louis savored the shocked look directed towards him from the auctioneer.

This is it… the true taste of capitalism!

No wonder the wealthy elite splash out their money like this!

Furthermore, the fact that number 89 showed no reaction for a while intensified Louis’s pleasure several times over.

“Five thousand! Five thousand gold! Do I hear any other offers?”

Silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity.

Louis beamed a rotten smile in the direction of participant 89.

Heh.

A perfect victory smile.

It was too bad that Louis couldn’t show this expression to 89.

“Five thousand, five thousand, five thousand! Congratulations! The Tears of Siren and Bunt’s portrait have been sold to customer number 245!”

Once the record-breaking price was settled, the auctioneer slapped his hands together with glee.

“W-wow…” Tanya gazed at Louis with eyes full of admiration and awe.

Louis affected a mock arrogant look. “This is how you spend money. You pinch pennies, then splurge!”

“Yes!”

Tania nodded enthusiastically.

Soon, people entered Louis’s room.

Leading them was a bald man who deeply bowed upon seeing Louis.

“I congratulate you on acquiring such fine items, esteemed customer.”

The auction house manager continued to bow repeatedly towards Louis.

Meanwhile, as people wearing white gloves carefully placed the items down and left, the bald manager cautiously asked:

“If you could tell me where to deliver these, I’d be happy to transport them safely to your home.”

“Of course, it wouldn’t be free, would it?”

“Haha, just a small fee for my trouble…”

“That’s quite alright.”

With those words, Louis began placing the items into his pocket dimension.

In an instant, several picture frames disappeared, and a large bundle dropped onto the empty space.

Louis nodded towards the manager. “Check this out.”

Jingling.

It was a sack containing a hefty five thousand gold pieces. The manager had been taken aback when items suddenly vanished and this bag of money fell from nowhere. He quickly composed his face and signaled to his subordinates nearby. They grumbled as they carried the bag away, returning shortly after. Upon hearing the assistant’s whisper, the manager smiled and bowed to Louis.

“Verification complete. It’s indeed five thousand gold pieces.”

“Quick work.”

“Haha, swift! Accurate! We can’t keep our esteemed customers waiting, you know. This is one of the outstanding features of our auction house…”

Seeing that the conversation might drag on, Louis raised his hand and cut the manager off.

“Ah, forget it. Let me ask you just one thing.”

“Yes! What would you like to know?”

“The items I’ve purchased… where did they come from?”

”…” The manager’s face turned perplexed at Louis’s question.

”…Our auction house policy prohibits us from disclosing information about the consignors. I’m sorry.”

“Oh?” Louis looked slightly disappointed.

But that was all. He had already acquired the items he wanted. Where they came from didn’t really matter.

He sprang to his feet.

“I’m done bidding, so I can leave now, right?”

“W-Wait, are you leaving already? There are still many valuable items coming up for auction…”

“I’m good.”

As the auctioneer, I desperately wanted to rein in Louis, who was spending 5,000 gold as if it were water. But try as I might, I couldn’t keep up with him once he’d finished his business.

“P-please come again! I would be thrilled if you use Demonia Auction House in the future!” I accompanied Louis all the way to the entrance, giving him what must have seemed like an overly elaborate farewell.

That evening, after returning to our lodgings with such an enthusiastic send-off…

“Louis! We’re back!”

“There was so much good food for sale near the auction house!”

“Look, sir! I’ve never seen this before!”

The twins and Kendrick came bursting through the door, their arms laden with all manner of treats. It was obvious they had spent too much, and Louis’s face creased at the sight.

“How did you…?! Spend your money carefully! Does money grow on trees or something?!”

Having briefly savored the true essence of capitalism, Louis had once again become the stingy, money-loving man he was before.

Two days later.

After enjoying the Wishing Festival for the remaining day, Louis and his companions boarded the passenger ship bound for the Autumn Continent as planned.

So it had been three hours since the passenger ship heading for the Autumn Continent had left Luftshafen Port.

The smell of the briny sea wafted through the air, while the sun shone down from above.

On the deck, Louis was examining the necklace he had purchased several days ago.

Hmm… There doesn’t seem to be anything special about this one either…

The newly acquired Tear of Siren didn’t appear to have any unique qualities compared to the previous ones.

It seems my hypothesis is correct.

Included with the purchased Tear of Siren was an appraisal report from 250 years ago. Due to its age, much of the writing on the report had faded away. Based on this, there was an even greater possibility that this Tear of Siren might be counterfeit.

As a result, Louis’s insides began to boil with frustration.

“…How much money have I wasted on this Carrie bastard…?”

Although the new Tears of Siren necklace was quite decent, it certainly wasn’t worth five thousand gold. If not for the portraits of Lucia and Carrie that came with it, he would have been cursing and throwing tantrums for days over losing so much money.

After examining the necklace further, Louis sighed and put it back into his pocket dimension.

“I can only hope that at least one of them is genuine…”

As he muttered this,

Gooookk-

Uwaaagh-

Eeeookk -

A dirty trio of sounds assaulted his ears. Louis shook his head as he turned towards the source of the noise.

This looks familiar… It’s exactly how I’ve seen it somewhere before.

No, to be precise, it was a bit different from the past. Back then, it had been Pablo alone, but now there were three of them.

“Urrk… Uwaaagh!”

“Hey, you, Baldie… Go over there and puke… Your gagging is making me… Uw… Heaagh.”

“B-both of you, be quiet… Uwargh!”

It didn’t take long for the Flame siblings and Lavina to reach that sorry state. Unlike the calm harbor they were accustomed to, the ship’s journey through rough waves was akin to a roller coaster ride. It was no wonder the contents of their stomachs had been churned up so violently.

In that moment, two shadows swept past Louis.

Sssshhh!

“Ehhahaha!”

“Yahaha!”

The shadows were none other than the twins. They were cartwheeling around like lunatics, reminiscing about their past adventures.

In this chaotic mess, Louis could only trust one person: Fin.

“Fin… doesn’t it seem like we always end up in this state whenever we get on a boat?”

”…I think so too.”

Fin nodded awkwardly at Louis’s voice, which was laced with exasperation.

As Louis and Fin watched the twins’ figures recede into the distance, another series of loud noises cut through the air:

“Hoook!”

“Hieeee!”

“Graaaah!”

“Wutttt!”

A dirty quartet mingled with the sound of the waves. Louis’s head, which had been idly shaking back and forth, froze mid-sway.

Wait a second… A quartet? Why is there one more?

Are my ears malfunctioning?

Louis’s eyes turned towards the source of the filthy quadruple tune.

”…What is that?”

Fortunately, Louis’s hearing was perfectly fine. There had been another addition to the group of Flame siblings and Lavina clinging to the railing.

“Gaaargh! Uwaaargh!”

This new member let out an even more robust retching sound before collapsing against the railing. Louis’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of him.

“Hmm…?”

The face of the man sprawled on the ground after sliding down from the railing was familiar. It wasn’t difficult to recall who he was. How could Louis forget about that distinctive character?

A quiet mutter escaped Louis’s lips.

”…Isn’t that Squint?”

The unexpected participant in this impromptu vomiting concert was none other than the legendary squint-eyed character who had collided with Tania just days ago.