Chapter 32 Auction House
Soon, Nicholas, led by Beddyk, exchanged the treasure in his hands for Beli.
Afterward, the group swaggered into a bar full of Pirates, openly carrying several boxes of money.
After entering, Nicholas noticed that most of the Pirates didn't react much to his presence. Some even looked eager to try something.
There's a saying: "Before drinking, I belong to the world; after drinking, the world belongs to me."
Moreover, these Pirates looked like rookies, mostly self-taught ones, planning to head to the New World without any preparation.
"Give us each a glass of your Specialty Wine, and also a glass of Milk."
Nicholas didn't have much expectation for the bar's other drinks. He usually came to bars specifically for their specialties, hoping to find a hidden gem.
After all, as the foundation of a bar's reputation, Specialty Wine is definitely their trump card.
Soon, the bartender at the bar counter served several glasses of purplish-red liquor. Nicholas could tell just by smelling it that it was definitely very strong.
"Customer, our boss says this liquor is on him."
Hearing the bartender's words, Nicholas turned his head and saw a burly man raising his Wine Glass towards him in a friendly gesture.
Nicholas also raised his Wine Glass in response. It seemed the boss recognized him, hoping that if anyone caused trouble, he would be lenient and take it outside the Bar.
Of course, the boss wouldn't be like this to just anyone. After all, those who dare to open a shop in a place like this must have some backing.
Nicholas picked up his Wine Glass and took a big gulp directly.
"Ha, not bad."
Immediately, Nicholas began to gulp down the bar's 'Blood and Fire', and behind him, the Pirates' chatter gradually started.
"Have you heard? The Lehman Brothers Auction House got a large batch of good Weapons. It's said there are two Grade Swords inside, which are quite precious and rarely seen normally."
"Really? They must be worth a lot of money, right?"
"Hahaha, worth a lot of money? That depends on who's bidding. If it's those Swordsmen, the price will definitely far exceed expectations. After all, a good Sword is equivalent to Life for a Swordsman.
And the most important thing is, I heard that there's a Devil Fruit at this Auction House. But the real highlight is the five-hundred-year-old Fine Wine they salvaged from a Sunken Ship in a Sea Area of East Blue."
A wave of commotion immediately erupted from the surrounding Pirates.
"Don't joke around, who would spend so much Beli to buy liquor?"
"Yeah, even five-hundred-year-old Fine Wine isn't worth that much, right?"
The Pirate who revealed the News sneered at the surprised reactions of the surrounding Pirates.
"Hmph, you poor bastards, how could you understand those noble masters? What's a sky-high price for us is just pocket money for them. Not to mention, I heard that some Celestial Dragons even use pear wine to wash their feet, just because the wine has the fragrance of pears. The Auction House starts this afternoon, but we don't have a chance to participate. Just the Entrance Fee requires one hundred million Beli."
This Pirate shook his head regretfully as he spoke and took a sip of liquor. After all, for him, one hundred million Beli wouldn't even be enough to exchange for Bounty at the Marine Bounty station in Sabaody Archipelago.
Just then, he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder from behind.
He was about to get angry, but after seeing who was behind him, he immediately shut up. After all, Vistad's physique, along with the Axe and Shield on his back, were quite intimidating.
"Sir, what can I do for you?"
"That Auction House, what time exactly does it start? And are you sure there are two Grade Swords, a Devil Fruit, and Fine Wine salvaged from a Sunken Ship?"
The one speaking was Nicholas. He was attracted by the Devil Fruit. After all, having just obtained a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and the information recorded in it, he naturally wanted to study it. As for the Grade Swords, he wanted to see if there were any suitable for Katie.
And also, that batch of Fine Wine would be good to give to Shaki as a favor later.
As for the Beli for the auction, it was nothing to Nicholas. Anyway, he didn't plan to pay.
Moreover, those who run Auction Houses here are not good people. After all, this place is considered the largest Slave trading market in the entire Pirate World.
"Yes, yes, sir, I'm very sure. Because these are all things advertised in their Auction Catalog. As for the Auction House, it will probably start in about three hours."
"Thanks for the Intelligence." After saying this, Nicholas finished the remaining liquor in his Wine Glass in one gulp and walked out.
And Bell-lin and the others also followed directly.
Afterward, Nicholas directly told Vistad, Bell-lin, and the others to return to the ship and head to the previously agreed location, while he was going to take a look around the Auction House.
At the entrance of the Lehman Brothers Auction House, Nicholas kicked the doorman at the Auction House entrance flying.
This doorman actually told Nicholas that to enter the Auction House, he had to produce an Entrance Fee of one hundred million Beli, and that the Auction House was about to start and it was already too late to enter.
So Nicholas directly kicked the doorman flying and then swaggered inside.
After Nicholas kicked the doorman flying, the people at the 'Lehman Brothers' Auction House immediately noticed Nicholas. Then, the person in charge, being very perceptive, found a beautiful hostess to lead Nicholas to the VIP Seats to sit down.
This surprised Nicholas a bit. He originally thought the other party would send out thugs, but he didn't expect them to be so understanding, making Nicholas feel a little embarrassed to directly take action.
After entering the Auction House, Nicholas found that the Arena here was exceptionally huge, and the place was already full of people.
Just as Nicholas was pondering whether to only rob what he wanted or take everything, he suddenly noticed a familiar person in the VIP Seats not far away.
Wearing a conspicuous transparent bubble on his head, and a white robe with some luxurious decorations.
Isn't that the old man from the Celestial Dragons trio who was beaten up by Luffy and his crew?
Soon, on the High Platform in front, accompanied by dazzling lights and upbeat music with dancing girls...
...a chubby, jewel-covered host emerged from behind the curtain. Although this chubby man looked full of energy, he could even keep up with the girls' pace and make dance moves.
"Gentlemen, ladies, good afternoon everyone, I am your favorite Jick."
"This Auction House is our Lehman Auction House's quarterly Auction House. To successfully hold this Auction House, we specially spent a lot of effort to get some precious Auction Items, just to make this Auction House a complete success."
"Everyone has heard about it, right? That batch of precious liquor."
"But what I want to tell you is that those liquors can only rank third today."
"Are you all starting to look forward to it? I declare, today's Auction House begins!"
The host then raised his hand to signal, and immediately several people walked out from backstage, carrying a large box onto the stage.
"So, let's start with today's appetizer, a full set of Shellfish from Sky Island."
As soon as the host finished speaking, the Staff behind him opened the exquisite box, and various Shellfish were displayed in front of people.
"Here we have Slash Shells, Sound Shells, Visual Shells, and other Shellfish, everything is complete, and these are from the legendary Sky Island, oh."
"Starting bid is seven million Beli, auction starts now."
After seeing these Shellfish appear, the Arena below erupted in an uproar.
"Really? Sky Island really exists?"
"Yeah, these Shellfish that are said to only be produced on Sky Island really exist?"
Bidding voices began to erupt continuously in the Arena. Before long, these shellfish, which are very common in Sky Island, were actually sold for a price of twenty million.
Seeing these Shellfish, Nicholas also fell into contemplation. He knew there were many Sky Islands, but the fact that the Lehman Auction House could get these Sky Island Shellfish meant they had a way to contact Sky Island.
In this case, doesn't it mean that there might be another Grand Line in the White Sea? And even Laugh Tale might not be in the Blue Sea, but in the White Sea?
However, Nicholas quickly threw these questions out of his mind. After all, he couldn't consider such things at the moment.
The first Auction Item was shellfish from Sky Island. This made Nicholas even more curious about the finale Auction Item and the highlight Auction Item of the Auction House.
(End of Chapter)