The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 133

Adelian. A city bustling with trade, especially in the northeast part. This was all because of the warp gate located there, a magical doorway that brought goods and people from far away. Many thought the Adelian family, who controlled much of the city, were the richest in the northeast. But the warp gate also meant huge taxes paid to the central government. So, even though they made a lot of money, it was different from someone like Dimitri, who built his wealth through his own clever ideas and skills.

Adelian was crowded and noisy. Lucas pulled his robe lower to hide his face as he walked quickly towards the auction house. Inside, the air buzzed with voices. He took a ticket. “Waiting number 23, please,” he said to the person behind the counter.

“Yes,” came the reply.

Lucas glanced at the long line of people waiting. The Adelian auction house was famous for being fair and trustworthy. People came from all over to sell their valuable items here, even if it was a long journey.

Lucas was number 23 in line. He tried to ignore the curious looks from others as he finally entered the appraisal room. When asked, he carefully placed the sword on the table for the employee to check.

“Let me take a look,” the employee said. He put on clean white gloves. Carefully, he picked up the sword. He held it under a lamp that glowed with magic.

‘Hmm,’ he thought, his eyes widening slightly.

The magical lamp shone in different colors to show how good an item was. This sword gave off a soft blue light – a sign of high quality.

But it was more than just the light. There was something special about the sword. This employee had seen hundreds, maybe thousands, of swords in his time at the auction house. But this one felt different. It had a powerful presence that was hard to ignore. He knew instantly this was something very unusual.

The employee looked up. “How do you want to sell this sword at auction?” he asked.

“I want to use the ‘free competition’ method, and I want to stay anonymous,” Lucas replied.

“Just so you know,” the employee explained, “with ‘free competition,’ there’s no set starting price. It could sell for a lot, or maybe not as much as you hope. And we also take a 10% fee. Is that okay?”

“Yes,” Lucas said simply.

‘Free competition,’ the employee thought. That was the most exciting kind of auction. Because the sword seemed so special, he knew they needed to get the best possible price.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m skilled enough to properly judge this sword,” the employee admitted. “To get a really high price in a free competition auction, we need to show everyone how incredible it is. I’ll call for an expert who can give us a more detailed appraisal.”

Soon, a more important-looking man arrived. He had a shiny bald head and a wide smile. He held out his hand. “I’m Morris,” he said cheerfully, “the manager of the Adelian auction house.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lucas replied.

They shook hands quickly. Morris didn’t waste time. He turned to another man who had come in with him, a serious-looking expert with glasses. “Take a look at this sword,” Morris instructed.

“Understood,” the expert said quietly. He sat down and began to examine the sword closely, turning it over and looking at it from every angle. After a few moments, he spoke, agreeing with the first employee.

“Yes, this is definitely a high-quality sword. It’s strong and very sharp. Swords made this well are rare. And the balance is perfect – it feels like it was made by a true master craftsman. A sword like this would usually sell for at least 30 gold coins. That’s a lot of money, of course, but finding a craftsman who can make a sword like this takes a long time and effort.”

30 gold coins. That was a lot of money. To understand how much, think of it this way: a normal family of four could live for a whole year on just 1 gold coin. So, this sword was worth enough to support over a hundred families!

But the expert knew that was just a normal price for a good sword. If people really wanted it and started bidding against each other, it might sell for 40 gold, maybe even more.

“Now, for the mana test,” the expert announced. This was a very important part of judging a sword. How a sword reacted to magic could tell you if it was just for ordinary fighters, or for powerful aura swordsmen who used magic in their attacks.

Mana reaction was measured in levels, from 1 to 10. Only a sword that reached level 3 or higher could truly be called a ‘master sword.’

*Oooong…* The expert gently pushed magic into the sword.

Suddenly, his eyes went wide. He gasped, taking a step back.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed, his voice full of surprise.

The sword was drinking in the magic. It wasn’t just accepting it; it was *devouring* it, like someone incredibly thirsty. Most swords would resist magic, some might even break if you put too much in. But this sword welcomed it.

And then, something even more amazing happened. The magic wasn’t just absorbed; it was getting stronger, amplified inside the sword. The sword was making the magic *more* powerful.

‘This is unbelievable!’ the expert thought, his hands trembling slightly. He had been appraising swords for decades. He had seen amazing things, but never, ever anything like this.

“What is it? What’s happening?” Morris asked, his voice tight with worry. He looked nervously at the expert’s face.

The expert looked up at Morris, his eyes shining with excitement. He spoke loudly, almost shouting, as if he wanted everyone in the room, including Lucas, to hear.

“Mr. Morris! The mana reaction is… it’s off the charts! It’s a 10! No, levels don’t even matter anymore! This sword doesn’t just accept magic, it loves it! And it makes the magic stronger! But the most incredible thing is… this isn’t a magic artifact! No wizard’s spell has been put on this sword. It’s just… naturally perfect with magic!”

Morris stared, his mouth slightly open. He was speechless.

Level 10. In all the years the Adelian auction house had been open, they had never seen a level 10 mana reaction. Never.

That evening, the Adelian auction house was packed. More people than usual pushed through the doors, their eyes darting around, looking at each other with suspicion.

‘Everyone knows,’ someone thought in the crowd. ‘Word has spread about something special. Everyone is here for it.’

Before the auction even started, Morris had been busy. He had whispered to important customers, hinted to wealthy merchants, and even let slip a few exciting details to the gossip writers in town. He knew that to get the best price for this incredible sword, he needed a full house.

As people settled into their seats, a hush fell over the room. Morris stepped onto the stage, a spotlight shining on his bald head. He smiled broadly.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” he announced, his voice booming through the hall. “Tonight, you are in for a treat! I swear to you, on my reputation, we have never, ever seen an item like this in the history of the Adelian auction house! To give you just a taste of what we have… it’s a master sword for aura swordsmen. Imagine a sword so powerful, it could let a 1-star swordsman beat someone with twice their skill! A truly monstrous weapon!”

A gasp rippled through the crowd. People whispered to each other, their eyes wide with disbelief and excitement.

The difference between stars…

Everyone knew a weak swordsman couldn’t beat a strong one. That was just how things were. But then, someone named Maurice said something surprising about a sword.

The rumor spread quickly.

The secret information was only for a few important people. But somehow, people who were good at finding secrets heard about it and came to the auction house.

This auction…

The guests were very impressive. Important people from everywhere were there.

As the staff let people in, they checked who they were and tried not to look surprised.

…There were important people from here and rich business people from the capital. Even Marquis Valentino, who people say is the richest man in the Cairo Kingdom, came to the auction. He made a lot of money by trading things across the whole continent. He didn’t take sides in politics, but everyone knew he loved auctions. When he wanted something, he would fight to get it, no matter who else was bidding.

Marquis Valentino.

He was a very important person at the Adelian Auction House.

People whispered about him because he would spend hundreds of gold coins each time he came.

It was clear.

People who didn’t know much about the auction realized it must be special just because Marquis Valentino was there.

Someone that important must have heard some good news about this auction.

It meant the auction house had told him something, and he was confident as he walked in.

And after that…

Famous people kept arriving, one after another.

The Adelian Auction House was becoming very exciting, even before the auction started.

The auction began.

The items were good.

The items were good quality, like the auction house was known for, but people weren’t very interested.

The reason was simple.

They only cared about the item Maurice had talked about. They didn’t want to bid too much on other things because they wanted to save their money for it.

It wasn’t a good day for the people selling those other items.

When a really amazing item was coming up, the bids for everything else were lower than usual.

It was quiet now, but everyone knew something big was about to happen.

The atmosphere felt heavy.

After the auction had been going on for a while, the host smiled and said.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. Now, it’s time for the main event: the famous sword, Blaze!”

Whoosh!

He pulled off the cloth.

Right away, a bright light shone on Blaze, showing its smooth shape.

The host said, “This sword, Blaze, is very strong. It even showed a blue light in our strength test! But that’s not the most amazing thing about it. Blaze has a special ability called ‘mana reaction.’ About a year ago, a sword called Needle showed a mana reaction of 7 and was sold for 300 gold, which was a lot of money. Just having a good mana reaction is already a great thing for a sword.”

300 gold.

That’s more money than some small families ever see.

To get a single sword, the rich people from the capital were willing to spend enough money to feed twelve hundred people for a year.

Magic items can be powerful. But this sword was special because it was a *pure* sword. It could take in the power of a warrior’s aura.

People started to raise their hands.

As people began to bid, the host described the action.

“Number 12 is bidding 10 gold, number 29 is bidding 20 gold, number 18 is bidding 30 gold… From now on, we will raise the price by 50 gold each time. Number 39 is bidding 100 gold, number 41 is bidding 150 gold, and number 12 has doubled the price to 300 gold!”

It was more than Needle.

That was expected.

Now that someone had made a good bid, everyone knew the price would go higher than 300 gold.

“From now on, we will raise the price by 100 gold each time.”

The price went up quickly.

People’s hearts were beating fast.

100 gold each time.

That was a lot of money, even for rich people.

It wasn’t that spending hundreds of gold would cause them to go broke, but spending that much on a sword was a big decision.

Plus, it seemed like the price would go much higher than just a few hundred gold.

As the price passed 500 gold, people started to hesitate.

Finally…

“Number 12 is bidding 600 gold!”

“Wow.”

“…600 gold.”

People were surprised.

600 gold.

That was a huge amount of money.

It was enough to feed 2400 people for a year, and most families could only dream of having that much.

Number 12 was a well-known person at the auction house.

Even for him, spending that much money was a big deal, but he had decided to win the bid as soon as he heard about Blaze.

Just then…

Someone who had been watching quietly gave a signal, and the host’s eyes opened wide.

“Aaaaah! Number 53 has doubled the price to 1200 gold! This is the highest bid we’ve ever had at the Adelian Auction House!”

Right away…

Everyone looked to see who number 53 was, and they were shocked.

‘Marquis Valentino.’

The Cairo’s richest man.

He had made it clear he was going to get that sword.