**#282. The Hat Beneath the Tree (2)**
—
A heartbeat growing faster and faster.
Ray was certain.
The orange gemstone in the necklace on the auction platform was a fragment of the rainbow.
*Wuuuuung!*
The yellow and green gemstones that had been lying dormant in his chest also resonated strongly.
A wave of overwhelming longing and familiarity surged within him.
…Why?
He couldn’t explain exactly, but it was the same phenomenon that had occurred when he encountered the other two gemstones.
In any case, the objective was clear.
No matter what it took, he had to get his hands on *Tear of Orea* in this auction.
For now, Obsess, seated on the opposite side, didn’t seem to have noticed his presence.
*‘This might lead me to a clue about the Doctor.’*
However, the auction was about to begin, so he couldn’t act rashly.
Ray kept a close watch on the situation, quietly preheating the mana within his body in preparation for any contingency.
“That’s the Tear of Orea…”
“It’s truly beautiful. Its radiance feels like it’s pulling me in.”
“I heard it’s a relic with astounding abilities.”
The people who had been dazed by the necklace’s glow snapped back to their senses and started to speak.
They unconsciously licked their dry lips and swallowed hard.
The auctioneer smiled in satisfaction at the sight and continued.
“We do not know where or how the Tear of Orea, this legendary treasure, was unearthed. Tenenbaum is merely acting as an agent on behalf of the client. But that’s not the important part. What matters is that one among you today will become the owner of this treasure. And there’s something else you’re all truly curious about, isn’t there?”
*Clap!*
With a clap, several assistants approached and stepped up onto the auction platform.
The auctioneer glanced around the room as if posing a question.
“Is it really true that just wearing it makes you immune to all mental-type magic? Can it really purify mental magic cast on someone else? If it can, then up to what level of strength? Before the auction begins, we’ll clear up all those doubts for you.”
The auctioneer looked at his assistants.
“Who should I choose… Melic, would you come forward? Stand right here.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good, we’ll begin right away.”
From the auctioneer’s eyes, flesh-colored mana streamed out like threads and flew through the air, seeping into the assistant’s pupils.
Soon, Melic’s pupils unfocused and his expression went blank—it was clear even from afar.
“Melic is currently under a charm spell. He’s essentially a puppet that moves at my command. Now, here’s a delicious red apple. Would you like to try it?”
“Yes.”
What the auctioneer held was not an apple, but a raw garlic bulb.
Melic accepted it and began to chew without a moment’s hesitation.
*Crunch, crunch.*
The vivid sound made people grimace or flinch.
“Well, that’s quite enough. His mouth is full and the smell is practically radiating. So? Is it tasty?”
“Yes. Very sweet and delicious.”
“Now, we will use the Tear of Orea to break the charm spell on Melic. As you know, charm spells differ in structure and normally can’t be undone unless you are the one who cast them. But with the Tear of Orea, it’s a different story. Bring it here.”
Another assistant took the Tear of Orea from the box and hung it around Melic’s neck.
Soon, the orange gemstone glowed brighter—and in a flash, focus returned to Melic’s eyes.
And then—
“Urgh! Ugh! Blegh!”
Overwhelmed by nausea, he retched, tears and snot streaming down his face.
The mess was quickly cleaned up and the auctioneer resumed speaking.
“With the Tear of Orea, you can dispel mental magic just like this—regardless of its structure. As those paying close attention would have noticed, I made no interference whatsoever just now. This phenomenon occurred entirely thanks to the mysterious power contained within the Tear of Orea.”
*A mysterious power.*
To other mages, it would appear that way—but not to Ray.
He knew the phenomenon had been caused by the extremely high purity of the mana.
*‘The higher the mana’s purity, the denser the elements become.’*
And higher density meant inevitable entanglements or collisions between elements.
In other words, spells could spontaneously ignite on their own.
Most of the orange mana consisted of purification and stabilization elements.
With that in mind, the Tear of Orea’s function became clearer.
The auctioneer had a few more demonstrations performed by the assistants, then said:
“Here we have experiment logs and certificates from the Hazel School, renowned experts in charm magic. But since this is a large investment, you may still have reasonable doubts. You may wonder—weren’t the spells all low-level, which made them easy to break? And you’d be right. It’s a fair thought. That’s why we’ve prepared our final demonstration. Bring it in.”
The assistants magically levitated a large, cloth-covered object onto the platform.
*Thud!*
The cloth was removed, and gasps were heard throughout the hall.
“That’s…”
“Oh my god.”
It was a large, aged iron cage.
On one side crouched a grotesque monster resembling a winged lion, while on the other side sat ragged-looking children with blank expressions.
“Those who know will recognize the creature on the left—it’s a *Manticore* from the wilderness. Known for paralyzing prey with its venomous scorpion tail and devouring them. This one, in particular, has developed a taste for human flesh. It was notorious for attacking explorers. We captured it ourselves.”
The auctioneer added that the Manticore was currently under a top-level charm spell.
“You can’t control such a vicious monster with a half-baked spell. The same goes for the children on the right. They’re under high-level charm spells. Otherwise, they’d be crying, screaming, and making a terrible fuss. Oh, and not to worry—they were brought from outside the wall.”
The auctioneer grinned.
People sighed in relief, as if reassured.
“If they’re from outside the wall, it doesn’t matter.”
“Our school also brings in test subjects from outside now and then. It’s expensive, but worth it.”
“I am curious. I’ve only heard stories about how Manticores hunt.”
Curiosity, excitement, a strange thrill.
Emotions rippled through the crowd like liquid in a bowl.
Philip whispered in a tense voice, unable to take his eyes off the stage.
“Ray… don’t tell me…”
“To complete our final demonstration, we will remove the high-level charm spells on both the Manticore and the children! If we succeed, there can be no doubt about the Tear of Orea’s power!”
The auctioneer’s voice rang out clearly.
Philip’s bad feeling had been spot on.
Ray was already on the verge of lunging forward, all his senses sharpened.
Thoughts of the children in the underpass—those he’d failed to protect from the golems—flashed through his mind.
Then, something strange happened.
*‘Obsess?’*
Across the auction hall, she too was poised to spring from her seat.
Why?
The question rose in his mind.
Ray recalled what he had learned about Obsess in the final forest and could understand her to some extent.
She had kidnapped the children from the Elf village, but never harmed them.
She had even asked him to become *her child.*
This seemed to be due to the overwhelming obsession and possessiveness filling her vessel because of the Doctor’s curse.
*‘…Those emotions might apply to the children in the cage as well.’*
*Step— step—*
As the assistant holding the necklace approached the cage, both Ray and Obsess leaned forward.
Then, they stopped.
Just as the two of them were about to spring—
“Enough.”
The auctioneer stopped them.
He turned back toward the seats and spoke.
“Unfortunately, we’ll be ending the demonstration here. We can’t continue the auction in a scene of bloodshed. Of course, some of you may have been looking forward to it, but we’ll leave the choice to the winning bidder. Whether or not to break the charm spells on the Manticore and the children.”
Sounds of disappointment rose from the crowd.
Philip’s body slumped into his seat with a sigh of relief.
“Phew, that was close. No, wait—if some lunatic wins the bid, who knows what’ll happen next.”
Philip straightened up again, his tension returning.
The auction had already begun and the initial bid of 50 million had soared to 100 million.
“We have 100 million! 100 million! Any higher bids?”
100 million shillings.
A sum a middle-class family couldn’t hope to earn in a lifetime. This auction was on a completely different scale.
Philip, shivering with anticipation, asked Ray:
“Are you going to bid? If so, how much can we go up to?”
“It’s a fragment of the rainbow.”
Philip flinched.
Then, with a smile tugging at his lips, he said,
“So… unlimited, huh.”
“No matter what, we *must* win the bid.”
“Got it.”
Perhaps because the auctioneer had riled up the crowd beforehand, the bidding quickly grew heated.
“220 million!”
“225 million!”
“230 million!”
“220 million! Any more?”
Watching the auction closely, Philip analyzed the flow and energy of the room.
Having participated in dozens of auctions over the past few days, he could roughly estimate the final bid.
*‘At this pace, it’ll break 300 million. I’d say it’ll settle around 350 million.’*
Philip nodded.
He would enter at 300 million.
Then, when the bidders’ psychological resistance rose, he’d raise the bid by a large jump—straight to 330 million.
It was a strategy to make others back off by flaunting the sheer scale of their wealth.
Like an assassin hiding a dagger, Philip calmly waited for the perfect moment.
And finally, the bid hit 300 million.
“We have 300 million shillings!”
“300 million…”
“Damn it, I can’t go any higher!”
As murmurs spread through the crowd, Philip smiled with satisfaction and opened his mouth.
“Three hundred and thirty—”
“Five hundred million.”
Silence fell like a blanket.
Everyone questioned their ears. The shock left them speechless.
*‘Five hundred million?’*
Philip’s mind went blank.
It was an amount he couldn’t comprehend.
What made even less sense was that the voice had come from right beside him.
And what made the *least* sense was that it sounded exactly like Ray’s voice.
Philip’s head creaked as it turned.
“…No way, right?”
“I’m the one who bid.”
“Don’t joke around, Ray. That’s not funny.”
“I don’t make jokes.”
Losing his mind, Philip grabbed Ray by the collar and started shaking him.
“C-cancel it, right now—! You could’ve won with just 300 million shillings!”
“Once a bid is called, it can’t be canceled. And there’s plenty of money in Acrassium.”
“B-but I’m the one who has to pay it back! Sure, I need it, but that’s *way* too much!”
“But I want it quickly.”
As Philip was on the verge of passing out, the crowd slowly regained its senses and murmuring broke out.
“Five hundred million? Are they serious?”
“Hold on, I’ve seen that kid at other auctions. They said he’s Ray from the Imaginus school.”
“Chances are it’s legit. He’s placed ridiculous bids at other auctions and paid for every one of them.”
Just then, a quiet voice spoke up.
“Six hundred million.”
Once again, the hall fell silent.
The one who placed the bid was Obsess.
Ray, who had been locked in a staring contest with her, gave a nod and parted his lips.
“Seven hundr—mmph.”
“No, stop! Don’t say it!”
Philip had clamped his hand over Ray’s mouth.
And in the next moment—
A brown-haired boy and a woman whose brown hair peeked out from beneath her hood locked eyes.
Ah.
In what felt like a moment frozen in time, Philip gaped blankly.
And the instant that fleeting moment ended—
*Crackle!*
The entire auction house was plunged into darkness.
