Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"The next item on our bid is a stalk of five Simbelmyne flowers. For those of you who don't know, the description of this precious herb should be updated on your spectral screens.

This is a transcendent-grade treasure. It is a sought-after herb by many alchemy and potion manufacturing labs. Instead of selling it through the usual demand chain, we have brought this stalk into the open sale as a way to show commitment toward our patrons.

A bid for the five Simbelmyne flowers begins at 35K Extols. The patrons are allowed to raise the bid as and when they see fit, as set by the rules mentioned earlier."

The brunette host announced the bid Eren was waiting on. Even Layla couldn't keep quiet in her pendant abode. After analyzing that the chamber was secure and that only Dianna who had been branded by Eren was with him, the young witch appeared out in the open.

"Who the fuck…!"

"Calm down, Dianna. She's one of us."

Eren calmed Dianna down before she could create a fuss seeing Layla appearing in the chamber out of nowhere. He also used his mark to pacify her by mentally establishing a connection with her.

"Eren… is she your daughter?"

Diana looked at the cute teen girl while asking the question. She was wary of her because she couldn't sense her rank. She could not confirm that the young girl was a mortal either. The fear of the unknown was an instinct.

Eren laughed out loud before he made it clear.

"Hahaha! No. But I can only hope she calls me "Daddy" one day, Hehe!

Anyway. My point is, don't worry about her."

While looking at the back of Layla, Eren reassured Dianna. The young witch was busy staring at the screen and confirming the state of the flower. She had confirmed that the flowers were in just the right condition for their need. Now she just needed to immerse them in the right potion to preserve them.

Dianna found relief when she confirmed that Eren hadn't branded an early teenager like her. She then mirthlessly laughed at herself for setting boundaries for Eren like his wife.

'But…. This is no ordinary girl. Even though I can't sense her ranking status, I can feel a subtle pressure. As if she is a walking potion-bomb.'

Dianna thought to herself and observed Layla with keen eyes. She then looked at Eren to explain her identity to her.

The butcher felt Dianna's thoughts and smiled at her mildly. He raised his hand in her direction and held hers in his. 'Later.' He mentally sent her the message he wanted to convey to her.

The young witch was wearing a dark green dress with her signature witch hat that was also of the same color. Layla looked charming and bursting with youth when she appeared and made her presence known to Dianna.

"Eren, I'd have indulged in our routine spat with you. But now is not the time. Look, the bid has already reached 48K Extols. You know we HAVE to get these flowers, you know that right?"

Layla said earnestly after she looked back at Eren who was still seated on his comfy sofa chair behind her. Layla didn't pay attention to Dianna or her question and walked toward Eren. Seeing that there was no other place to sit, she stuck her tongue out to Eren before sitting on his lap.

Eren didn't mind and let her sit as he finished up his smoke. He then looked at Dianna who was looking at him suspiciously before smiling mirthlessly.

"This is not what it looks like. She just pretends to be naive."

Eren pulled Layla's cheeks as he spoke. He then picked up the array disk that was on the coffee table in front of him. He imbued it with his mana and operated on it.

"VIP chamber 9 has put forward the amount of 55K Extols for the flowers."

A spectral screen could be seen appearing right in the middle of the stage. It was visible to all the patrons participating in the bid. It was refreshed and showed the entry of VIP chamber 9 and the bid amount that was pitched by its occupant, which was Eren.

"55K won't cut it, Eren. Bid for a higher amount. Scare your competition off."

Layla said while adjusting herself on Eren's lap. The latter shook his head in denial before speaking up.

"The ones who are bidding work for potioning labs or well-established alchemy masters. Or work as apprentices under potioners. Even if that host says that she has kept the stalk away from those potion labs by selling them here, all the auction is doing right now is skipping a fixed price range offered by the demand and supply chains that are connected to such labs and potioners.

By doing that, it is trying to get a better deal out of the existing and upcoming stalks of herbs the House Remus has in store for them. This is yet another market strategy to drive up prices. Those bidders that you see are not as interested in raising the price as you think they are. But they have deep pockets to match my bid just fine."

Layla was about to ask him something. But Eren knew what she and Dianna were thinking and answered the questions that had been raised in their minds soon enough.

"I'm bidding knowing all this because it'd be fun to make those rich bastards spend more. Also, I can't reserve a private chamber with 10K Extols and not participate at all. That would look suspicious. So I'll just bid on everything else to mess with them.

After the auction for transcendent-grade items is completed, it will sell the old items it has in stock in lots. Dianna says that instead of the individual items, it'll be mystery boxes that will be auctioned off, which will contain various useful and useless things. Kind of like a flea market for the rich. I'll buy something cheap that catches my eye at that time."

Eren said as he looked intently at the screen. His bid amount was topped by another bidder. But he only added 2K to Eren's offer. The butcher smiled when his predictions turned out to be true.

Layla twitched her nose and muttered in displeasure.

"This is not even that rare of an herb. Why are they engaging in petty fights like these by bidding so low?"

Then she looked at Eren and asked in frustration. As if all of her fantasies were getting crushed by Eren's prudence all the time.

"I don't know why you want to play so safe when you have so many trump cards. Why do you have to be so sneaky all the time? Can't you just come out in the open and demand what's yours?

My suggestions still stand. Drop a bid amount of 80K to shock all the bidders out there. Then they'd think you are some kind of bigshot and let you have the flower.

But then they'd try to ambush you and try their luck at getting their hands on the flower for free by killing you. But you'd be…"

Layla narrated her thoughts as if she could see the future unfold before her eyes. By this time, the highest bid for the flowers had risen only to 55K.

Eren chuckled heartily as he interrupted Layla before she could continue with her fantasies.

"Maybe you have read too many fantasies, Layla. Or maybe, there would indeed be an ambush set in place for those who take up all those transcendent-grade items for themselves. Cliched stories are based on real human emotions that are cranked up to max after all.

In either case, you are still confused about the side I'm on in these stories, real or fantastical. I'll not be the one defending the items that I bought with my own money in this case."

Eren said and picked Layla up from his lap and made her stand up. He then got up and walked towards the spectral screen. As he watched the product details and bid amount update, he narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly.

"Because I'm the one who robs."