Chapter 34: Did I say I was going to pay?
With the interlude of the Celestial Dragons ending, Nicholas clearly felt the pace of the auction quicken. In other words, this quarterly Auction House auction was considered a failure.
"Well then, today's item is one of our finale Goods." After Jick finished speaking, he waved his hand towards the Backstage. Before long, a nine-headed beauty walked out from the Backstage, holding a long, rectangular box in her hands.
This should be one of today's finale Goods. "Gentlemen, ladies, the Goods we are about to auction next last appeared at the Sabaody Auction House thirty years ago."
After speaking, the Host excitedly opened the long, rectangular box. Inside were two Swords, a chilling Katana and a Wakizashi.
"That is, the Wind Flower Snow Moon from the Grade Sword Fifty Works." Then the Host took out the Wind Flower Snow Moon from the box and drew each Sword from its scabbard.
Seeing the sharp blades and the blood-colored Cherry Blossom chaotic flower patterns on the spines, coupled with the feeling of the two Swords being drawn, it was as if standing under a Cherry Blossom tree with blood-colored petals falling.
"Grade Swords are rare, especially Sister Swords Grade Swords like these. Everyone knows the value of these Swords. Of course, in the Sword Registry, the price of these Swords is marked at over one hundred and fifty million Beli. However, everyone should understand that the value of Famous Swords cannot be solely based on the Sword Registry. You should know that once a Swordsman with extraordinary Swordsmanship obtains a Famous Sword, the increase in their Strength is no less than the increase a normal Devil Fruit gives to its user. After all, a Sword is a Swordsman's second Life! Therefore, out of respect for Swordsman, we have decided to set the starting auction price for these Swords at two hundred million Beli!"
Swordsman: I f**king f**k you. After the Host finished speaking, cheers erupted from the audience. Of course, this did not include some Swordsman whose pockets were a bit shy.
"Gentlemen, ladies, then the Wind Flower Snow Moon, Grade Sword Fifty Works representing a Swordsman's second Life, the auction begins!" As soon as the Host's voice fell, a chorus of bids rang out from below the stage.
"Two hundred and ten million Beli." "Two hundred and twenty million Beli." "Two hundred and fifty million Beli." Although bids kept coming from below the stage, the price increase was not very large. After all, most of these bidders were poor Swordsman, and the other bidders seemed to be planning to buy them for collection. After all, this thing is quite value-preserving as a collectible.
"Five hundred million." Nicholas raised his hand and directly rounded it up. After Nicholas bid, the enthusiasm of the few poor Swordsman in the venue was as if a basin of water had been poured directly over their heads, or rather, they had been NTR'd to their faces. The Swordsman looked unwilling, but there was nothing they could do. They were really broke, and they had confirmed with their eyes that they couldn't beat this person. Other bidders also gave up directly considering the price of five hundred million, after all, it exceeded their bottom line.
At this moment, the Host on stage was also dumbfounded. Logically speaking, with such a high price and no one continuing to bid below, he should have hammered down and been very happy. After all, an auction starting at two hundred million reaching five hundred million was already considered very successful. However, hearing Nicholas's bid, Jick felt that something was not quite right in his heart.
Seeing that Jick was slow to announce the deal, Nicholas began to lose patience, and at the same time, his Aura slowly released. Feeling the substantial Killing Intent, Jick on the stage subconsciously shivered. Then, seeing Nicholas's impatient gaze, he quickly hammered down and shouted, "Five hundred million Beli, sold! Congratulations to Mr. Nicholas for obtaining these Sister Swords Wind Flower Snow Moon!"
And afterwards, the second-to-last Auction Item, Devil Fruit, appeared. The introduction was Zoan-type Devil Fruit · Bug-Bug Fruit · Maggot Form. Hearing the introduction of the Fruit, Nicholas immediately lost interest. Although after eating this Devil Fruit, as long as it was developed well, it would later evolve into Fly Form, Nicholas really couldn't accept such a heavy-flavored Fruit.
As for the last Auction Item, it was beyond Nicholas's expectations. Originally, he thought that the last item to appear would definitely be something extraordinary, after all, even Grade Swords and Devil Fruit were ranked ahead of it. However, when he saw the two beautiful Mermaid in the huge fish tank rising in the center of the Auction House, Nicholas realized that Mermaid were indeed more valuable than the previous items to some people, especially since this was a mother and daughter Mermaid pair, thinking about it was even more exciting. However, it was obvious that this was something prepared for the Celestial Dragons, and it was difficult for others to be qualified to bid, and in the end, it was directly passed without a sale.
With the last Goods failing to sell, the auction also ended. Buyers who had successfully bid on Goods were led by Staff to the Backstage of the Auction House, where they would complete the transaction of the Goods.
After arriving at the Backstage of the Auction House, Nicholas found that he had been specially taken to a VIP Room. Inside, the fat Host Jick was waiting for him with a smile. Behind him were the Wine and two Swords that he had bid on.
"Mr. Nicholas, hello, my name is Jick. Please come this way. Here are the two items you bid on. Please confirm them first. If there are no problems, we will sell these two Goods to you at 80% of the final transaction price." Jick said in a somewhat ingratiating tone.
Nicholas was a little confused, 20% off? This seemed a bit different from what Beddyk had said about Lehman Brothers. He knew that he had been ripped off when he exchanged Jewelry for Beli, so what was the meaning of this now?
"Oh? 20% off? Why?" The somewhat overweight Jick immediately plastered a smile on his face and said kindly to Nicholas.
"Respected Mr. Nicholas, your infamy is well-known throughout the Grand Line. I believe you also know that whether it's Auction Houses like ours or the industries of those Underworld Forces giants, there are always some Privileges for the Strongest. So, for a big figure like you, of course, we have to give a discount."
After hearing this, Nicholas was speechless for a moment. So, having a bad reputation could also be considered a hidden benefit?
"Mr. Nicholas, please take a look. The two Swords are five hundred million Beli, and the Fine Wine is a total of one hundred million and ten thousand Beli, totaling six hundred million and ten thousand Beli. We'll just round down the ten thousand Beli, making it six hundred million Beli. Calculated at 80% off, that's four hundred and eighty million Beli. Mr. Nicholas, how would you like to pay?" Jick said with a smile.
In the Pirate World, payment methods are also different. Of course, the most common is cash payment, but for some large transactions, cash payment is a bit troublesome. At this time, you can either choose Gold payment, or choose to pay through banks under the World Government, or Money Houses opened by Underworld Forces. Obviously, Nicholas did not intend to use any of these payment methods.
Then, amidst Jick's stiff smile, Nicholas, along with the Fine Wine and Famous Sword, all disappeared before his eyes, leaving only a voice lingering in the VIP Room. "Did I say I was going to pay?" (End of Chapter)