I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-105

Ch-105

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“Lord Darkan. This man is not merely my escort.”

“If he is not an escort, then what is he?”

“He is the one most cherished by the Fifth pillar”

“…….”

“If by any chance you lay a hand on him, the Fifth pillar will *never* remain silent.”

“Will not remain silent, you say. Are you implying he would even attack the Darkan Territory?”

“Yes.”

“… How absurd.”

Lord Darkan furrowed his brow.

There is a world of difference between *suspecting* something and *hearing it stated outright* by the opposing side.

Besides, that barbarian-like fellow was someone the Fifth pillar favored?

At least there was some information regarding the White King and the Four pillars, but regarding the Fifth pillar, there was nothing.

Yet this much was clear: he was someone whom even the White King would openly defend.

Lord Darkan turned his head and glanced at his Guardian Knight, Pamel.

Pamel, too, silently shook his head.

*Even Pamel can’t gauge him. It’s certain that man is no ordinary person.*

Not only that.

*He supposedly crushed the Berserker of the Dersian Family.*

The report he had heard was almost unbelievable.

A powerhouse who wielded Skullcrusher—the mark of the greatest warrior among the Giants—and scattered sword aura!

Just as the weapon’s name implied, he had destroyed the Berserker.

Had the Fifth pillar even drawn in the Giants, the strongest race?

If that were the case, then Hudson’s brazen confidence in front of him made sense.

Then Hudson added:

“… Of course, even without the Fifth pillar intervening, punishment would be impossible.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is no being in this world capable of harming him.”

“……”

Was it bluff?

But Hudson *did* say that man was cherished by the Fifth pillar.

Which meant even the Fifth pillar himself could not harm him.

In other words—

*No way… Are you saying that man **is** the Fifth Lord?*

…He didn’t know.

He didn’t know, but one thing was certain: provoking him now would only lead to trouble.

“Hm. In any case, there is no justification for punishment. It’s clear that Lady Dersian was the one who struck first.”

“M-My lord!!”

“Lady Dersian. This is not a place that exists to cover up the mistakes you have committed. On the contrary—seeking me out to conceal your own wrongdoing means you have no regard whatsoever for my honor, does it not?”

“You—you know I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Not like that, you say? You still feel wronged, it seems. Very well then. I shall hold a public trial.”

“……!!!”

“To think you took the Lord of Darkan so lightly that you dare commit such a thing? To tell lies to one as honorable as I? Fine. I will consider this the will of the Dersian Family.”

“N-No! Never! I—I just…!”

A public trial.

If a trial were held, every citizen of the territory and every elder of the Dersian Family would witness it.

This was a warning from Lord Darkan to the Dersian Family.

Lady Dersian trembled, horrified—she had never imagined he would come down so hard.

“And furthermore, until the trial convenes, Isabella, you will be detained. I will notify your family of the same.”

He no longer used her family name.

Knowing full well what that meant, Lady Dersian’s face turned deathly pale.

“M-My lord!”

“Take her away, at once.”

“P-Please!!”

Dragged by the soldiers, the young lady of the Dersian Family was hauled out.

Even as she was dragged away, she cried out indignantly, but the lord dismissed it without a thought.

“……Will this suffice?”

Lord Darkan looked *not* at Hudson, but at *me*.

This was his way of going to the extreme for our sake.

But I shook my head.

“I will accept nothing less than her kneeling before me in person and apologizing.”

“… Very well. So be it.”

Before long, the Dersian young lady, who had been dragged out, was brought before me in a pitiful state.

Her makeup—smeared, messed up—clearly from crying in panic.

Of course, she had never imagined the Lord of Darkan would refuse to take her side.

And had she known we came from the Labyrinth City, she would never have tried to force the issue like this.

Now that Lord Darkan had turned away from her, if she wished to avoid a major scandal, she had no choice but to kneel and apologize before everyone.

“I—I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”

Drip, drip.

Tears fell to the floor as Lady Dersian continued:

“I must have lost my mind for a moment. P-Please… please forgive me…”

*

*

Though I had received her apology, I had no intention of forgiving her so lightly.

The true lesson had not even begun.

“The Special Auction will now begin!”

A vast dome-shaped auction hall, filled with countless nobles.

At last, the Special Auction began.

*

*

**The Dersian Young Lady – humiliation**

An utter disgrace.

Humiliation.

She had never felt such insult or contempt in her entire life.

But she had no choice.

She absolutely *had* to make this Special Auction a success.

—*Isabella. As the representative of the Dersian Family, collaborate with Lord Darkan and ensure the Special Auction succeeds. Show us your capability.*

A perfect chance to prove herself to the family.

Depending on the results of this auction, her standing within the Dersian Family would be decided.

And it wasn’t just about focusing on the auction.

*I have to be the protagonist.*

The Special Auction, held over fifteen days, was an extension of the Empire’s social season.

It was a stage where the gold-laden “Imperial Nobles” and the “City Lords” recognized by the outside world competed by throwing money at one another.

It was also a place to deepen ties with rivals and pave the way for greater leaps forward.

In short—be the protagonist, and return with allies.

If she wished to win the succession struggle outright, external forces were essential.

Purchasing unique items with an impeccable eye also served the same purpose.

*…I cannot oppose Lord Darkan now.*

The Dersian and Darkan families had a long-standing relationship.

Yet this time, Lord Darkan had drawn a clear line.

She was not the head of the Dersian Family—merely a representative—and to him, she was of no importance.

If she did not want to suffer humiliation in a public trial, she had to kneel.

Had she refused, she would have been forcibly returned to the Dersian estate.

Another heir would have been tasked with running the auction, while she would rot away uselessly in a back room.

She could not allow that.

She *absolutely* had to prevent it.

Thus she knelt. She begged.

*Delegates from the Labyrinth? They’re just monsters. Monsters have no money anyway.*

As the auction began, Lady Dersian regained her composure.

The curtain finally rose on the Special Auction.

Those without money could only sit back and watch.

What money could monsters from the labyrinth possibly have?

And the first night was the most important of all.

A time to gauge and measure each other.

She would show them what true “money power” looked like.

She would carve the dignity of the Dersian Family—and her own place—into everyone’s eyes.

*

*

Inside the dome-shaped hall, around five hundred people were seated.

The left side belonged to the masked nobles of the Empire and their escorts.

The right side was filled with guests invited from outside.

Perfectly divided, as if even sharing the same space was intolerable.

Hudson, Balte, and I sat on the right—the seat of outsiders.

Even though the lord himself had invited us, the seating arrangement was beyond his control.

*City rulers. Or masters of large forces.*

I slowly examined the “outsiders.”

Roughly a hundred, excluding their guards.

All of them were city rulers or held positions equivalent to such power.

‘I’ve seen a few of them in passing during “Darkan’s Afternoon,” but most are new.’

*There are players among them.*

I was certain.

Some were players pretending not to be.

But who?

Which player was pretending to be a Pangaenian?

*The Empire knows the existence of players.*

Knows, and rejects them openly.

When I played as Wilhelm, I could form no ties with the Empire for that very reason.

Even when the Great Expedition was declared, the Empire did not participate—despite support coming from the Goddess Church and almost every major power.

Why?

The expedition was Wilhelm’s endeavor.

They must have judged that Wilhelm was not a Pangaenian.

For that one reason alone, the Empire provided zero support in an expedition to conquer the demon realm.

Their rejection of players was absolute.

Yet a player entered the Empire?

*They would try to kill them.*

They would never leave them alone.

Whether by using the Reaper Cult or outright assassination.

It was no coincidence the main temple of the Reaper Cult lay within the Empire.

Perhaps—

*Those who can identify players are also present. They may even be here among us.*

A gathering of so many outsiders.

Naturally, someone would try to filter them.

Even though investigations were done beforehand, the Empire was notorious for its thoroughness.

I could not lower my guard.

This place was poison for players.

And yet, despite that, I was certain players were among the crowd.

*…If Hudson’s intel is correct, then Master is here.*

At least one.

Or more than two.

Master—and players under him—were present in this hall.

Hudson had traced the distribution of relics sold in the “Ruins City,” the Master’s base.

Most were consumed by the Golden City, Arcana—so there wasn’t much to investigate.

But he discovered this:

The Master was blatantly gathering gold.

Even slashing prices, he was rushing sales—deliberately setting due dates *right before* the Special Auction.

*Most likely, those two.*

And the Master’s face had already been revealed multiple times.

Every other “descended form” of the Seven Heroes—aside from me—had been exposed.

Although the mask made precise identification difficult, there was one thing they could not hide:

**【★★】**

A two-star Transcendent.

And the woman beside him—

**【★】**

A one-star Transcendent.

True Transcendent beings who had officially consumed the Goddess’s Stars.

Both were players.

*The Master still hasn’t identified me.*

But I had identified *him*.

Knowing first and knowing later were worlds apart.

It meant I could strike first.

One of the speakers for this auction—the Master—was present.

The Master.

What should I do about him?

*If only Serengeti were here…*

Had Serengeti been with me, we could have attempted assassination through ambush and isolated attacks.

Together, we could have handled even a two-star Transcendent.

But Serengeti was not here.

I could not kill the Master alone easily.

I shook my head.

Not that I had no options.

*If I feed the materials to forge the Radiant Throne of Light, I could manage.*

There were many routes.

This was a Special Auction selling top-grade items, and I had more than enough money to buy the materials.

In any case—

*If the Master is here, it means there may be more players lurking as well.*

I did not think those two were the only ones.

There were certainly more.

Players who even other players wouldn’t recognize.

Someone perfectly disguised as a Pangaenian would be hiding among them.

And just as it was important to take down the Master, it was equally crucial to identify *those* players without exposing my own identity.

“Honored guests, allow us to present the very first auction item! A child of the ‘Cold Flame Race’—a legendary race whose flames once burned eternally across the old northern lands!”

As the auctioneer—dressed in formal robes—bowed and made the introduction, attendants carried in a glass container.

Inside it sat a child with a neutral appearance, blue flames burning atop their head, curled up with knees pulled to their chest.

Their entire body was covered in bruises, as if they had been beaten.

Blood trickled continuously from their scalp.

Even though the child was being presented as an item for sale, they hadn’t bothered to clean them at all.

I quietly tapped Hudson’s back where no one could see.

—*Do not react. Under any circumstances.*

This was the Empire, and everyone gathered here belonged to the type that considered slaves completely normal.

In Pangaenia, slavery was more common than one might expect.

Yet the only people who pitied slaves were players.

Earthlings.

So then, what was the point of putting out a slave who was already severely injured from the start?

The auctioneer scanned the hall with sharp eyes.

Especially the section where the “outsiders” sat.

*So the auctioneer is the Player-Identifier?*

“The starting bid is one million gold! We will begin at one million. Bidding will proceed in units of five hundred thousand gold. Honored guests wishing to bid, please unfold the ‘fan’ you were given beforehand!”

The hall fell silent.

A slave as the first auction item.

Even if they came from a so-called legendary race, the condition was terrible.

They would need feeding, rest, training—no one could be sure if they were even worth the cost.

“The Cold Flame Race?”

“What legendary race? That’s just trash.”

“They’re weak-bodied. Isn’t that thing mute too?”

“I’ve never seen one survive more than a year after purchase.”

No matter how much money you threw around, without discerning taste, others would look down on you.

Contrary to the auctioneer’s grand introduction, public perception of the “Cold Flame Race” was abysmal.

Just then, Hudson opened his fan for the first time.

“Bidder number 55! A bid of one million gold!”

Number 55 was the number assigned to Hudson.

Was he buying because he pitied the child?

No—nothing like that.

 

 

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