Dungeon Defense (WN)

Chapter 24: Human Hunting (5)

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There was a row of carriages situated in front of the auction house’s entrance. This auction house used to be a theater that was renowned for its opera performances. After the theater went out of business due to a recession, they say that wealthy merchants bought the place out and renovated it into an auction house. The carters in front of the auction were smoking cigars and holding a show about whose carriage was more expensive and beautiful.

Lapis and I entered a costume rental shop. It was a rule in this slave market to be disguised at all times in order for everyone to remain anonymous. After some painstaking deliberation, I finally chose a bright yellow dress. I put on a blonde wig and painted my face white. A monster-like girl stared back at me when I looked in a mirror. Even my mother wouldn’t be able to recognize me. I strangely felt content about my appearance that I even put paddings on my chest. Perfect.

“Sir Dantalian, are you ready……?”

Lapis was just wearing a black cat mask. Her eyes opened wide when she saw me exit the dressing room. Her blue eyes hastily examined me from top to bottom.

“What……is that look……?”

Her mouth twitched. I hid my mouth behind a fan and chuckled.

“Oh dear. Your Ladyship Lazuli, have you been in good health?”

“……Uu!”

“The weather is quite hot today. I do hope that you are able to maintain your state of health, hoho.”

“Uu!”

Lapis quickly covered her mouth with her hands. The corners of her eyes were becoming wet. She was holding back her laughter. There’s no way that I wouldn’t become excited. I was about to witness the girl who has constantly been emotionless 24/7 burst out in laughter. However, contrary to my expectations, Lapis was impregnable. She roughly cleared her throat a couple of times before she resumed her usual courteous expression. How unfortunate.

“Haa……Sir Dantalian, please act according to your status.”

“Oh dear. As the madam of the Dantalian estate, I can confidently say that there is nothing that I am lacking in. If my conduct does not seem satisfactory in Your Ladyship’s eyes, then, by all means, please critique me without reserve. Hohoho!”

“Uu! ……No, thank you. I have already become accustomed to Sir Dantalian’s eccentricity.”

Wait, I suddenly had a fantastic idea. Wouldn’t I be able to act more perfectly like a noblewoman if I use the <Acting> skill in this state?

It was quite a fantastical idea. The very fact that my head was able to have such an entrancing idea was undoubtedly a miracle in itself. I immediately activated <Acting>. Promptly after, I received the notifications that told me that I had activated the skill successfully. I’m not sure if it was because of the effectiveness of the skill, but even my voice sounded as if it was one pitch higher.

“Hohoho! I will definitely get my hands on the treasure today―!”

I laughed with my mouth hidden behind my fan.

“…….”

The look Lapis gave me was, well, how should I put it? It was a beautiful cocktail of irritation and chaos. Considering how Lapis was able to display this kind of emotion with her emotionless face, Lapis was truly a woman with a thousand masks.

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The two of us boldly entered through the entrance of the auction house using the invitation that Jack had given me. A bizarre world was spread out before us in the open hall. Two men wearing clown outfits were chatting near the entrance.

“That fellow’s thesis is only arrogant!”

“I wonder. At the very least, it doesn’t imitate Plato. I think Frederick…….”

“Damn romanticism, it’s because of this that…….”

On stage, a conductor dressed as a peacock played an orchestra. Violinists dressed as a hippo, a dairy cow, a demon, and a dwarf played their violins, however, because there were over 500 people chatting in the auditorium, their music was hardly audible. The guests were dressed up in all sorts of different costumes. Lapis and I made our way through the crowd and headed to the center of the auditorium. There weren’t any chairs, so we had to stand.

Lapis didn’t seem to like places with a lot of people as she scowled slightly.

“This reminds me of the Infernal Hell of the demon world.”

“There’s a Hell in the demon world, too?”

“Sir Dantalian, you truly are ignorant of the demon world. The term Hell is obviously nothing more than a nickname. It is simply what we call the places where even demons struggle to survive. There are a total of 26 Hells. Generally, they refer to the demons that rule these Hells as archdukes who are comparable to Demon Lords.”

Aha, it seems that in the demon world, your status is determined according to the territory you rule. In Dungeon Attack, demons calling themselves barons and counts would often appear, but I had no idea what the standard was. I thought that a Demon Lord had promoted them or something, but it seems they actually have their own system.

“In the demon world, Sir Dantalian is around the rank of a chevalier. Your main ability may be lacking, but this is considering the fact that you have a unit of monsters under your wing.”

“A chevalier? Was there something like that?”

“It is a position that is lower than that of a knight. It is at the level of being better than nothing.”

“…….”

Lapis is bullying me…….

Shortly after, the orchestra finished their performance and exited the stage. A gentleman in a suit stepped out. The man seemed to be accustomed to these sorts of noisy situations as he managed to quiet everyone down with ease. The chatter didn’t disappear completely, but it was lowered to the point of whispering. After confirming this, the host’s voice, which must have probably borrowed the power of a magic tool, resonated throughout the entire auditorium. Lapis whispered to me that the monocle the man was wearing also had the ability to enhance his vision.

“Thank you for your cooperation! Now then, allow me to sincerely welcome all of our esteemed guests for coming to the Opera De Pavia Auction House! Today we have prepared a total of 55 merchandises. If everything proceeds as usual, then today’s auction will last for about 4 hours. Is there anything more to say? Let us immediately begin the auction. The first product to start off today’s auction is!”

The host stretched his arms out to the right side of the stage. A girl wearing nothing but a thin rag stumbled forward.

“From the land of the north, a snow elf brought from the Kingdom of Moscow! Now then, please have a look at her pure white skin. It is so clear that it almost looks as if you’re staring at a hundred years of snow. The asking price of a normal elf would easily go for 500 gold, but she’s from a snow tribe which is known to be rare. Everyone must have only come in contact with tan-skinned elves up to this point. It is highly unlikely that you would have ever had a chance to see an elf with such snow white skin. All right, our first piece of merchandise today is a snow elf. We’ll begin at 100 gold!”

The slave auction began. Several people showed their intention of buying by raising a board with a number on it. Despite how expansive the auditorium was, the host surprisingly managed to keep his eyes on everyone. He energetically shouted, “Yes, number 537, 150 gold! Number 76, 200 gold!”. It seems he also knows how to read lips. A variety of skills are naturally required to be a host in an auction of this size.

Thanks to the host’s eloquence, the snow elf was sold at a large price of 700 gold. While the elf’s price was curving upwards, the elf in question had been staring at the floor the entire time. I realized for the first time that I could also feel the emotions of subspecies and not only monsters. The girl was in utter despair. Although she would occasionally feel a wave of homesickness, it would soon vanish without a trace. The girl was deliberating whether she should commit suicide or not. If the noble who purchased her isn’t a good person, then they’re going to have wasted 700 gold.

“700 gold! A bid of 700 gold! Is anyone willing to go higher? Dear Lord! I can personally guarantee with my 30 years of experience as an auctioneer, that the price for the first item has never exceeded 500 gold before. We’d like to sincerely thank the 700 gold bidder! Let us promptly move to the next item.”

One by one, slaves came and exited the stage. I was able to have a look at all of the races I wasn’t able to see before after falling into this world. Lycans, beastmen, tiger people, sirens, mermaids……. As the auction continued to proceed, I felt my hand clenching up. The muddy despair that was being harbored within all of the subspecies gradually dyed my heart black. Even the physical pain that some of them were currently feeling was transferred to me slightly. The back of one of the girls from the beastmen tribe was completely torn.

“……Your Highness Dantalian.”

Lapis quietly called out to me. I promptly regained my senses.

“Oh dear. Ohoho. It seems I dozed off for a second.”

“……Haa.”

Lapis took out a handkerchief from her pocket. She then began to slowly rub it against the corner of my mouth. I was confused by the abrupt situation, but the confusion turned into shock once I saw the handkerchief become stained in blood.

“Huh? Why is there blood?”

“You bit your lip too hard.”

Lapis let out a sigh.

“I had a feeling, but it appears that you genuinely did not notice.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize…….”

“It is quite difficult to witness the way lowly humans carelessly treat other subspecies, however, being excessively empathetic is not wise. The understanding shared between the womenfolk in shopping districts and the verdict made by judges in the court of law, these things do not befit a king. A king must understand and make a verdict.”

I nodded. Lapis’ advice would always become my flesh and blood. A second ago, I was involuntarily beginning to despise humans. I wanted to hastily invade a human kingdom and slaughter everyone. Was this where the absolute hostility towards humans harbored by Demon Lords came from? Nevertheless, dying and killing were incidents that happened normally in all races. Even the monsters which I sympathize with the most right now have massacred countless humans.

“……Yeah. Thanks.”

“Think nothing of it.”

I composed myself. I calmly took in the subspecies’ emotions to a certain degree. Although I couldn’t stop their emotions from being transferred to me, I could distance myself and spectate the situation as if I were watching a movie. If I put it like this, the current situation suddenly becomes intriguing. The very fact that I could feel the emotions of others was interesting. A certain beastmen girl was a highlight as she proudly displayed herself to the humans as if she were a model. She most likely has a personality that allows her to show off no matter how hopeless the situation is.

Finally, the ‘item’ I was aiming for came up to be bid upon.

“The next slave we wish to introduce to you today is, surprisingly, the second successor of the House of Farnese that boasted immense authority within the Kingdom of Sardinia!”

Those words stirred the auditorium. A blonde girl walked to the center of the stage. She looked around the opera auditorium as if she were searching for someone. However, she seemed to grow tired of it because of how many people there were as her face became pale.

“It seems that even the lowly Farnese family has come to an end.”

“Who could have predicted that they would lose so miserably in the National Flower War…….”

“I often heard about the appearance of the successor, but I would have never guessed that the second heir would also be this pretty.”

The war which caused the House of Farnese to fall was apparently quite famous. The people around us kept talking about the war as they glanced at Laura. Some people were probably staring lustfully at her just ripened skin. Laura clenched her jaw and raised her chin upright. I couldn’t read her mind, but I could clearly tell what was going through her head. She was scared, but she couldn’t lose her noble-like attitude.

“Her Ladyship, Duchess Laura De Farnese!”

People applauded for now. This was undoubtedly more ridiculing for Laura. She was now tightly gripping the ends of her rags with both of her hands. I fixed my gaze on the stage like a spectator who was watching the most interesting scene of a movie.

Now then, what will you do, Laura De Farnese?

If she doesn’t act on her own free will, then I intended to forcefully steal her away anyway, but, if possible, I wanted to also show an elegant and amazing performance.

“Pardon me, but this item will start off at a higher price. We have no doubts that this item will reach the highest price in the history of this auction. 500 gold! We will start the bid at 500 gold! My word! 6 people raised their hands as soon as I announced the starting bid. I apologize, but the bid will begin with guest number 213 as they had raised their hand first. Number 231, 550 gold! Yes, number 567, 600 gold! Number 12, 650 gold!”

The price continued to increase without showing any signs of stopping anytime soon. Laura’s small shoulders trembled each time it did. She lowered her head which she had been holding up until now. She’s sensitive to the gazes of other people. The hundreds of gazes that were treating her like a slave, like merchandise⎯⎯⎯how long can she endure this for? When will her certainty as a prideful human falter? As I felt my heart race, I continued to stare at Laura’s face.

“Number 64, 1650 gold! Dear Lord! Oh my God! We’ve already reached the highest recorded bid!”

At that moment, the girl lifted her head. Her lips moved a little.

“Number 790, 1700 gold!”

I couldn’t hear her because of the distance between us, but she definitely said it properly.

“Number 1101, 1750 gold!”

⎯⎯⎯Dantalian.

The corners of my mouth curled upwards.

“Lapis, let us sound the salute.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Lapis took out out a scroll from her hood before tossing it up in the air and muttering an incantation in a quiet voice.

“Arcessitus.”

A magic circle that was approximately 30 meters wide appeared directly above the guests. A beautiful, light pink glow flowed out from the magic circle. The guests who were focused on the stage looked up at the sudden light.

“Hm? It’s a magic circle.”

“Is the host holding an event?”

“I don’t know of a race that has a light pink color…….”

As the guests buzzed, Lapis and I used this opportunity to hastily make our way to the stage. Only the auctioneer remained calmed despite the confusion and continued the auction. Quite the professional mindset he has there. Beside him, Laura gazed up at the magic circle with blank eyes.

People began to scream at a certain point. A large thud resonated at the same time as the scream before the entire building shook as if an earthquake had struck it. When I turned around, 10 golems had crushed a section of the auditorium under their feet. They had landed after being summoned in the middle of the air. The golems were confused by the sudden appearance of humans and the fairies giggled as they thought a ball was being held. However, once I mentally gave them a stern order, they all began to emit a crimson blaze of murderous intent.

‘Kill them however you wish.’

A man’s cape fluttered in the wind as he was sent flying due to one of the golems’ fist. He collided against the wall that was being used as the stage’s background before falling to the stage itself. The auctioneer knelt down and screamed in fear of being hit by the man’s body. His magically enhanced voiced resonated throughout the theater so powerfully that some people’s eardrums almost tore.

It was the beginning of a slaughter.

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TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter. This week is going to be rather hectic since I have 2 reports, 2 presentations, and 1 assignment to finish by the end of the week. I apologize if I’m unable to focus that much on translating for the next few days. I’ll still try to get a fair bit done, though. Or maybe I’ll manage to keep up my usual pace. Who knows. I actually finished translating this chapter a few days ago, but I kept forgetting to upload it because of how swamped I was with assignments.

In any case, I’ll see you guys in the next release.