The man was walking really slowly. His steps were also not steady which betrayed just how nervous he was while leading their group away from the auction house.
In the end, he had given himself away before he could have completed his task so the man was as good as dead. It would be better to get all the available information away from him.
“Hey, I want to ask you a question. Are you really from the auction house or are you trying to scam us?”
Rita finally broke down and asked the question. She had realized that the man had led them to the alley to be trapped.
Even now he was positioning himself in such a way to avoid anyone from running past him. His objective seemed to be to hold her and Aurora inside this alley.
“W-What are you trying to say? The auction house’s backdoor is just past this alley. I am not trying to deceive you or anything.”
The man was sweating bullets. The temperature of the night market was not too high and the slightly cool breeze that was flowing through the place kept it cool.
There was no need for the man to sweat this heavily when he had not done any physical activity before. The only other reason had to be because of his nervousness.
“Is the auction house this way? But I can see the main building behind you.”
“T-That is just the main building. The actual boss is waiting for you somewhere else.”.
The man was getting nervous more and more. The more Rita pushed his button, the more his words faltered. He was falling into Rita’s trap.
But Aurora finally decided to take mercy on the man. Seeing his aura fluctuate this much would end up giving her a headache as well.
“If you are going to lie, then lie better. You were trying to get us away from the auction head so that your client could meet them instead of me, right? But it’ll be useless since the auction uses an energy detection method to guarantee full transparency.”
This security measure was one of the reasons Aurora had not been worried about leaving her post.
Even if the auction representative met someone else in her place, the item would not be handed over until Aurora met the representative and proved their identity.
“Oh, and just as a warning. The end is not pleasant for those who try to play the auction house. Your client will likely not live past the next fifteen minutes if they tried to mimic me. It will be better for you to go and help them out.”
The man looked like he did not believe Aurora’s words at first, but then a blood-chilling scream filled the air.
The agony one could feel coming out of that scream was not one people wanted to hear. It also left their guild stunned before he took off.
“What should we do? Should we follow after him? Or, wait here?”
Rita seemed unconcerned by the scream that was disturbing their surroundings. Aurora was sure that Rita found it annoying as well, but she chose not to do anything about it.
“We should start heading back as well. We will be counted out of the bet if we do not show up to collect the prize.”
Despite how fair the auction house was, it was still a business and it very much liked to profit. If Aurora failed to make her full transaction then her claim over the feather would be fortified.
“Awww, do we have to? Somehow I feel like we will get stuck in a very annoying situation if we go back right now.”
Despite Rita’s words, she was the first person to turn around and make her way back. Aurora could only shake her head at the impulsive but familiar action.
The scream did not lighten down even a bit by the time Aurora made her way back to the auction house.
A tall but unfamiliar body lay curled over itself and cradling his injured hand while the other auction employees had it surrounded from all sides.
The voice of the person who had tried to scam them and then led them away came out clear as the day. He sounded desperate for help but it was his companion everyone paid attention to.
“P-Please let us go. W-We did not know the rules and it will not happen again. We will not show our face here ever again.”
The man who had tried leading Aurora and Rita astray was plastered over the unconscious body on the ground. His position was protective but also trying to hide the body beneath him.
Aurora felt curious about their motivation in trying to fool the auction horse but she was not sorry for their end. They had tried to harm her and they were just getting their just-deserts.
“M-Master, hurry up and apologize. We cannot have you die here tonight.”
The servant looked desperate for his master to follow his lead. Fear was audible in his voice and Aurora could see his aura fluctuation between worry and dread. He really felt like he would die today.
But the man whom he was trying to defend was different. His aura was unyielding. It gave off a familiar feeling and Aurora decided to stay away from him for now.
His aura felt like trouble. And the kind that would follow you long after you were out of its reach.
“I r-refuse to. I w-will take that phoenix feather with me at all costs. I will take it back even if I had to kill everyone here right now.”
The man was determined for sure. Anyone could tell that he was at the death’s door but he was still staying stubborn till the end.
The more Aurora watched him struggle, the more she was sure that he was someone whom she knew about. And it was not just his voice that sounded familiar, it was his mannerism as well.
[Notification received.
Natasha: We are done on our side so I will be heading over to your location.]
The message was sent moments before Aurora felt the cold aura approach her. And she was not the only one who did.
For some reason, the cloaks that were given to them could not block out their magical signatures fully and betrayed the real person if someone was sensitive enough to auras.
Thankfully, there were not a lot of people who fitted this criterion. But Natasha’s presence was unusually strong despite her sealed nature. And so was this man in front of her.
Despite having her powers sealed, Natasha had an unremarkable presence that betrayed who she was. And it even made the man who had been yelling only moments earlier stop short in his tantrum.
“Is everything alright? The auction took longer than I thought it would.”
Natasha’s monotonous voice reached Aurora’s ears minutes before she reached the duo. Luckily, she did not seem to be addressing Aurora alone but speaking in a general way.
However, her attention snapped itself to the now frozen man on the ground. The resulting silence was a little heavier than Aurora had expected it to be.
“Hey, you know him?”
Rita finally asked as she pointed to the man. Since the man had stopped protesting, the auction guards quickly captured him and rendered him immobile.
Rita followed the lead Natasha had set and quickly pretended to be a stranger. It was lucky of her to do so since people had started looking their way. They would not be able to stay anonymous if any more people decided to interfere.
That was the perfect time for that man to make a fuss and get the trio into trouble. This was the perfect opportunity as well.
And yet, the man did not make any fuss. He seemed to be thinking something before he made a deep bow in front of Natasha.
“Northern queen, Natasha, please listen to my request. I hope you will consider my position and not deny me this single request.”
The man who had tried deceiving Aurora and Rita looked startled at the sudden turn of events. In fact, he was not the only one.
Everyone except Natasha and the bowing man seemed to be taken aback at the sudden turn of events.
Natasha was not surprised but she did look a little lost for words. She had not expected to be in this situation after all. Her helpless gaze fell onto Aurora and she had no other choice but to agree with what Natasha was asking of her.
“Alright, we will hear that man out. Excuse me, can we get a secure room around here?”
There were too many ears listening to their conversations and talking out in the open was akin to suicide in such a crowded place.
The auction guard passed Aurora a device to prove her identity which she quickly did. And only then were they led to a secure place.
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