The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

The drugged rabbitfolk looked around with a dazed look on her face, wondering where she was and why she only appeared to be wearing rags. She was also receiving countless unpleasant stares from humans.

Her eyes were glazed over, her expression blank. Even her long ears were limp and lifeless. She looked exhausted. They had applied make-up on the girl’s face to make her look pretty, but Davey thought they had been decorating the dying and had been forcing them to look presentable.

The rabbitfolk girl was a part of the rabbit tribe, a minority that lived in the grand canyon between the central and southern part of the continent. They were a small tribe that hid themselves from the world. And according to the United Nation’s Bill proposed by the Pallan Empire, the continent’s most dominant empire, the rabbitfolk was a protected species that should never be enslaved. This applied to legal and illegal trades.

As such, the presence of this rabbitfolk girl meant that this auction was both secret and illegal. With the organizers being this crazy, it was only natural for them to willingly and fearlessly sell the elf who had been taken from the Heins Territory as a slave.

“A… A thousand! Sold for a thousand gold coins! Our rabbitfolk virgin is sold for a thousand gold coins to our guest at seat number 32!”

Once the gavel struck the stand, two scary-looking men appeared from behind the stage. The burly men covered the rabbitfolk girl with a blanket and dragged her back into the darkness.

“Now, now. I believe everyone is aware that you will only get your hands on our merchandise after making full payment, once this auction is over. I know that it’s quite hard to wait, but please hang on your seats tightly and wait just a bit more.”

Davey remained silent.

“Well then! Here’s our next merchandise! I know that everyone has long been waiting for this very moment! So, without further ado, let us all see it for ourselves!”

Unlike the slaves who could be bought in the legal slave market, the slaves being sold here were a part of the minority races. Even those who had been declared as a protected species in the entire continent could be found. Most of the secret auctions held in the Boltis Kingdom sold merchandise like these.

They even had noble girls and boys who had been secretly sold to slavery after their families were embroiled in a political war. And of course, they also had other races among their products. The prices were so high that one could only click their tongue at it. However, everyone would also go crazy over such rare merchandise that appeared in the legal slave market.

“Three hundred gold coins! Going once?!” The host cried out fiercely.

Davey calmly picked up the sign next to him again.

“Five hundred! Five hundred! Going once?!”

Davey had been at the auction for the past hour. During that short time, he had bought slaves like crazy, causing the people around him to gape in astonishment. Of course, he wasn’t just spending one or two cents per purchase, and he would be spending a lot more money the more he bought. However, Davey did not care.

As Davey monopolized the bids, the surrounding gazes on him began to change. They all felt like this was a strange situation.

Illegal auctions of this nature were sought after by the rich and the powerful. In other words, the ones who were participating here were those who could easily and secretly clean up whatever problem came their way. Due to that reason, they seldom had a need to bluff their way into these secret auction houses.

Aside from the stinging gazes, Davey could see some huge and burly men approaching from afar. He quietly took out a sparkling jewel from his pockets and threw it on the ground, then said, “That’s authentic. I have more money than you can imagine. If you’re done confirming my wealth then get lost. If you try to annoy me one more time, I will make sure to catch all of you bastards and throw you in boiling water.”

After listening to that short and intimidating speech, the burly men wore stiff expressions on their faces. They could see Davey, who was pretending to be a very rich yet trashy and scary guy, shouting crazily.

One of the men picked up the jewel, bowed politely, and handed it back. “Please excuse us. I hope you have a good time.”

Davey ignored the men who walked away after apologizing. Then, he raised the sign next to him without any hesitation.

“Eight… Eight hundred gold coins!!! Sold for eight hundred gold coins!” The host shouted loudly.

Even the host was shocked by Davey’s crazy behavior of buying the merchandise at almost twice the average market price. Still, men like him tended to play up the sales, so they could get more money.

“Well, then! There’s only one last item left for this auction. I’m sure you have already heard of the rumors. Legend has it that there’s no other race in this world that can match their beauty! I can’t believe that they truly exist in this world! Our next merchandise is none other than an elf!”

At the same time, a blonde girl wearing the same ragged and skimpy clothes as the rabbitfolk slowly walked out from behind the stage. Right behind her were two very frightened girls holding the large cotton veil that was covering most of the elven girl’s face.

—They are the three girls who have been taken from the Heins Territory.

Davey nodded quietly at Perserque’s words.

“Oh… Ooooh!”

“She’s really an elf!”

The elves had not yet completely shown themselves to the world. On top of that, both the Divine Tree’s Sacred Land and the Moon Forest were protected, so it was very rare for them to end up in such a slave auction.

This was the very first time that an elven girl had appeared in an auction house. That was why it was only natural for everyone present to become especially greedy.

“It is said that elves do not grow old! On top of that, their lifespan is twice the average human’s lifespan! Nothing to worry about them dying prematurely! And the magic tool that’s hanging around the neck of this elven girl is none other than an artifact that hides one’s race! The moment you win the bid, we can set an illusion and follow the image that her new owner desires. With this, no one would be able to recognize her at all!”

It was a magic artifact that would create a layer of illusion, which would disguise the elf’s ears and have them look human on the outside. And that was not all…

“And you don’t have to worry about them rebelling against you! The artifact on her neck is a very expensive artifact, even capable of suppressing one’s mind and reason!”

“Stop the nonsense! Hurry up and take off the veil covering her face!!!” An impatient masked man shouted fiercely.

A commotion started because a lot of people sympathized with the masked man. Unlike the other species which they could see from time to time in the market, this was their first time seeing an elf.

Because of the commotion caused by the overly excited and crazy crowd, the host began to sweat like crazy. With eyes darting all over the place, he said, “Yes! Then, without further ado, we’ll take the veil off right away! Hey!”

Trembling, the girls had fearful gazes. They slowly took off the veil covering the elf’s face at the behest of the growling host.

What greeted the auction house was a very beautiful girl with a blank look on her face.

“Oooh!”

“My goodness… I must buy her!”

A bitter aftertaste started to linger in Davey’s mouth when he heard the shouts of the people in the auction house. Davey could see the two girls trembling even more. It was clear that they were overwhelmed by the crazed reaction of the people around them. However, the elven girl just stood blankly in the middle of the stage.

“Our merchandise is a virgin! If you buy this elven girl, I will make you a deal and give you those two slaves for free! Without further ado, let’s get started! The starting bid is 1,000 gold coins!”

The crowd momentarily fell silent before everyone began shouting prices out loud. The price increased at a crazy rate.

“One thousand and one hundred! One thousand and one hundred, going once!”

“One thousand and one hundred fifty! One thousand and one hundred fifty!”

As the prices went up, the auction house became increasingly noisy. Everyone was like impatient customers at a fish market, shouting noisily and creating a ruckus. Then, at that moment…

“Two… Two thousand!!! Two thousand!!! Two thousand! Going once?!”

—Davey!

“…”

Perserque shouted impatiently at Davey, because a crazy rich man had just calmly thrown a huge sum of money to buy the elf.

Davey did not come out here to save all the girls in this auction house, only those three girls on stage right now. However, if he made a fuss here, then the purpose of watching and participating in the entire auction would lose its meaning. Of course, even if he did make a fuss, he would most definitely be able to save those three girls.

Davey looked at the masked man who had raised the bid to two thousand. He quietly picked up the sign next to him.

“Two… Two thousand and one hundred! Going once?!”

The moment Davey raised the bid to two thousand and one hundred, the opponent quickly raised it to 2,200. To counter that, Davey threw out a bid for three thousand as if he was already sick of this act.

“Three… Three thousand!!! Three thousand! Going once?! Going twice?!”

When the masked man turned to look at Davey before calmly raising the sign beside him, Davey had to wonder if the man was growing annoyed by his behavior.

“Three thousand and five hundred!!!”

Davey could tell that the man was nuts. He did not know what the man had to do with the underworld, but it was foolish of the man to compare the depth of his pocket with Davey. After all, Davey wasn’t betting anything.

Needless to say, Davey had no reason to stop the man. He also did not have any reason to stop what he was doing.

The bid went up to three thousand, four thousand, five thousand… As the price reached five thousand and five hundred, the audience could only watch everything with gaping mouths. Some even looked at the two men as if they had totally lost their minds. After all, five thousand and five hundred gold coins was a tremendous amount of money.

“…”

“Six… Six thousand!!! Going once?!”

Davey clicked his tongue at the host’s loud cry before lifting his sign once again.

“Ten… Ten thousand!!! Ten thousand gold coins, going once?!”

Frightened and shocked gasps rang out across the auction house.

Davey, however, kept his upright posture. He looked disinterested and nonchalant about the entire affair.

“That… That’s truly amazing. Ten thousand gold coins!!! Going once? Going twice?!”

At the host’s cry, the masked man stared at Davey for a very long time. But in the end, he could only click his tongue in annoyance as he covered the sign beside him with his hands.

“Sold!!! The elven girl is sold for ten thousand gold coins!!!” The host said.

Just like that, Davey had saved the people he had come here for.

***

For such secret auctions, the guest’s identity had to be cleared by the organization. Now that the auction had come to an end, Davey only had to bring back the illegal slaves who were supposedly going to be sold to him.

Davey had done a very daring act, an act that could draw the ire of many guests who attended the auction and turn them into his enemies. Of course, that would be dangerous. After all, they were people who could find out his personal information if they wanted to.

However, they would never be able to determine Davey’s identity even until their deaths, so it did not really matter if they tried to dig up his information.

Still wearing his mask, Davey walked deeper into the auction house under the guidance of the organizers. There, he met a very unexpected person.

“I won’t say this again. Hand him over to me.”

“Bu… But, sir. Our black market has its own rules…”

“You dare ignore my words? Bastard, do you not know who I am?!”

As the masked man threatened, two more masked men appeared behind him with their hands gripping the hilts of their swords tightly.

The man in front of Davey shuddered at the threat. He yelled, “But… But there’s nothing I can do about it! If we break the rules of this place, then we will lose the trust of our patrons!”

“That’s none of my business. How dare trash like you talk about trust! You make dirty money! Perhaps you want me to reveal this auction to the world?”

The monocle-wearing man turned stiff at the blatant threat. “It’s… It’s better for you to negotiate with the person who has won the bid…”

“That’s better,” the man murmured as he turned to look at Davey.

The man was the very same man who had tried to buy the elven girl.

“Insolent,” the man said harshly once the men who had guided Davey here took a step back. He then growled, “Bastard… How dare you think that you can live and breathe safely when you’ve disrupted my plans?”

Davey just looked at the man calmly. Looking more relaxed than before, he scoffed. “Dare? It seems like the archbishop doesn’t have anything to fear these days, huh?”

Hearing Davey’s provocation, the masked man appeared to be shocked beneath his mask. Davey could not really see the man’s expression, but he could easily see the shock in the man’s gaze.

The men behind the archbishop immediately unsheathed their swords and pointed their blades at Davey’s neck.

“I won’t say anything anymore. Hand over the elf that you’ve just bought. If you give it to me now, with my generosity, I will…”

“Generosity my ass! Do you think I will fall for that? Crazy bastard.”

[Devil Ylgr’s Crowd Suppression]

[Inferior Shin-kick]

“Keheok?!”

Davey interrupted the man and kicked him on the shin without any hesitation. Before the man could collapse onto the ground, Davey snatched him by the collar and said slowly, “Live quietly like a mouse. Of course, that’s only if you don’t want your identity and the things that you have done here to be exposed in your workplace.”

Well, it was more of a nation than a workplace. The only problem was that Davey sat in a considerably high position in that man’s nation. Of course, Davey did not mention that part.

The man was thoroughly shaken by Davey’s threat. He was afraid that his identity had been exposed.

Of course, Davey did not have any concrete evidence to identify the man. However, he was in sole possession of a power that could give him a person’s simple information regardless of whatever disguise they wore.

—Just because they’re wearing white doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily living a clean and good life.

The man’s eyes widened after Davey’s threat finally registered in his head. He muttered, “Bastard… You bastard… How dare you do that to me…”

“And you should stop using the word ‘dare’.”

“…”

“It makes you sound vulgar and crude.”

The men, who were left in a daze from Davey’s sudden suppression, finally broke free at this moment. They tried to strike Davey’s neck with their swords.

“Kghhk… Urk…”

Before they could even reach Davey, the two men had already collapsed on the ground. They choked, gasping for their breaths.

“Do you have any other business with me?” Davey asked the man, who was kneeling down on one knee and gasping in pain.

With a frown, the man tried to stand up. He shouted at Davey, “I… I will never forget this humiliation!!!”

The masked man then ran away and disappeared from sight.

Davey ignored the men, leaving them behind.

“The slaves?”

“Ah… Ah! Yes! I will show them to you!”

“Not a single one is missing, I presume?”

“Of course! All fifteen of the slaves that you have purchased have already been groomed and are waiting on standby!”

“They should not have a single injury on their body. I believe you said that you do not tolerate any single mark on your slaves’ bodies,” Davey said in a low voice.

The monocle-wearing man had shivers running down his spine. He was especially nervous after having witnessed the earlier scene.

The previous confrontation would have made anybody nervous, after all.

“Our black market is known for our credibility! Whenever or wherever we are, you can trust the quality of our goods!”

Davey nodded. As long as everything was secured, then there wouldn’t be any problems. The only thing that Davey needed to do was to fetch the slaves and bring them home. Of course, he had to punish those who had dared to kidnap and sell the residents of his Heins Territory.

But then…

It had to be known that variables could appear and alter the course of events at any time.

“It’s… It’s a surprise attack!”

The underground passage suddenly began to shake and tremble.

“What’s going on?!! Report it to me, now!!!” The man with the monocle, who was guiding Davey to the place where the slaves had been hidden, grabbed one of the nearby men and shouted angrily.

The monocle-wearing man was a prime example of those who were strong against the weak and weak against the strong. However, Davey did not care.

“Th-That’s… There’s a surprise attack!”

“Do you think I’m asking you because I don’t know that?! This shithead! I’m asking you which fearless bastard dared to do something like this at such a critical moment?!”

“Ah!” The large man’s eyes widened in realization. He yelled, “Ah, that’s it! I’m pretty sure they’re the group of people who appeared recently and called themselves Warriors! The human at the vanguard is holding a silver greatsword!”

Davey’s footsteps stopped at the man’s cry.