The Girls Are All Coveting Me-Chapter 407 - 343: Have You Been Reading Too Many Novels?!
Aisha thought Chloe made a lot of sense.
Although most of the strong in The Stars belong to specific factions, there’s still a small group of them who are more like freelancers.
Looking at the situation with the folks from the Extreme Association, it’s perfectly normal for them to communicate with most factions without aligning with any.
"So, which factions are you planning to collaborate with?"
A tired Aisha leaned against Chloe and asked.
Chloe held her and said, "You usually don’t care about these things. Why are you specifically asking this time?"
After a moment of silence, Aisha said, "I need to know which factions you are choosing to collaborate with, so I can associate myself appropriately."
"Huh? You’re associated with the military, so we won’t even be in the same camp. Do you need to choose specially?"
"Of course, I do. That way, I know which groups I can pick that have closer ties with the factions you’re collaborating with."
Aisha bashfully pressed down on the edge of her dress and said, "This way, even if it’s just work, we can have more chances to meet."
Chloe smiled knowingly.
...
Location: Fantasy Association
"Have you filtered out the suitable factions yet?"
"I heard the Elf Hall sent an invitation too."
"Huh? Didn’t the Elf Hall stop interacting externally after a major reduction following the Elf Three Kingdoms?"
"What about the Dragon Empire? Those dragon families are still rich."
"Let’s pass on the Late Bell Church. In the past few hundred years, they seem to have been in contact with Necromancers quite a bit."
In the small room of the association.
Chloe and Fratiss sat together, staring at the mountain of invitations piled in front of them.
Laura, with a mischievous glint, said, "This must be the first time you’ve been harassed by so many factions. Considering your stance, many factions sent invitations just to mess with you."
Miseria seemed both exasperated and amused.
The impact of ascending to demigod was greater than he had imagined.
Especially... when the corpse of the White Bone Dragon Lord started being showcased on the bidding tables, all the prominent factions on the continent turned their eyes to this group of people.
Saints are one thing, but a White Bone Dragon Lord?
Although the most valuable Extraordinary Traits have been extracted, the corpse can still be crafted into numerous high-quality weapons and Magic Potions.
The Extreme Association kept part of the resources, intending to auction off the rest wide-open.
The experts at the auction have a keen eye.
In those old internet novels, there’s often a plot where [an auction house puts unidentified goods for cheap, letting the protagonist snag a bargain].
But realistically, items deemed cheap or unable to be authenticated aren’t even qualified for high-level auctions.
Do they think the professionals in this field are just loafing around?
Fratiss snorted slightly and said, "I thought we’d face some disdain when taking these things to the auction house."
Miseria said, both amused and annoyed, "A bunch of demigods and legends walking into an auction house with resources, if the manager doesn’t come down to serve you tea, it’s their service that’s lacking. What were you thinking?"
Fratiss grinned and said, "Isn’t it common in novels where a down-and-out knight protagonist takes something to the auction and gets mocked by the appraiser?"
Laura said helplessly, "That’s like saying a jewelry store clerk looks down on a customer for dressing poorly... what’s the difference?"
"Huh, so that doesn’t exist in real life?"
"Not exactly, but in most cases, if a clerk dares to act like that, it’s lucky if the store manager doesn’t come up and slap them."
"Not in line with my stereotype of a jewelry store."
Laura glanced at Miseria and said, "I remember Miseria once worked as a manager at her family’s main jewelry store. You could ask her."
Curiously, Fratiss looked at senior Miseria: "Senior, you actually went to work as a manager?"
"Family arrangement, just to give me a better understanding of the family business."
"Oh?! So I’ve heard in novels where the protagonist gets a gold piece, tries to sell it at a jewelry store, and gets underpaid because of no proof. Is that true?"
"Read too many novels? Full price sale," Miseria said helplessly, "Considering the empire’s millennia, let alone gold, any resources with verified origins are not even 1% of the total."
"Hiss, so if I pick up gold on the street and sell it, could I make a fortune?"
"Yes."
"Direct market price purchase?"
"Yeah, and by the way, that novel trope of [getting underpaid for excessive gold] is pure fiction. As long as you don’t sell too much at once, nothing’s going to happen."
"..."
"Just my family’s jewelry store alone has two production lines. Who cares about the legality of your gold? In reality, once they get these items, they just throw them in the production line, melt it down, and it’s new gold."
"..."
"If there’s really an extraordinary amount of gold, that’s another story."
"Huh? Would there be problems?"
"Yes, the higher-ups would personally invite you to contribute to the national gold reserves; there’s never too much. In such cases, you might even have the chance to negotiate terms with the authorities."
"...So that’s the kind of problem you’d cause."
Miseria shrugged and said, "So read fewer novels. A regular middle-aged woman might pull out a two- or three-pound gold bar from her pocket.
Under normal circumstances, the counter staff would carefully serve them, let alone when we’re heading to auction level."
Chloe laughed.
That’s reality.
Where’s all this malice coming from?
Is money not appealing? Is earning money too easy?
The auction and jewelry store scenarios aren’t that different from what he knew in his previous life.
He had a friend in this line of work who playfully joked:
"I used to find the face-slapping tropes in novels exciting, but after actually working in this field, I realized those plots are truly foolish."
What a pity.
It’s indeed regrettable not to witness such a classic face-slapping scenario in real life.
Chloe asked, "Where’s Lilith?"
Miseria replied, "She has matters to attend to today; it seems there’s some work to handle on the Mayer Trading Company’s end."
"If someone from the auction house comes to the Fantasy Association later, remember to let the members grant them access."
"Coming directly, huh..." Miseria exclaimed in awe, "Usually, if the auction house wanted to discuss details, my parents would have to step in."
"That’s because your parents were strong back then," Chloe replied blandly, "But now, those who hold authority and power have become us."
"That’s true."
...
Downstairs at the Fantasy Association.
The continent’s top auction house, the local head of the Wilman Auction House, hurriedly arrived with his subordinates.
"It’s unbelievable that so many young prodigies, whom we’ve never seen before, suddenly appeared,"
remarked a puzzled subordinate standing beside the head.
Charlie Wilman, the head who specifically came for this event, is a direct descendant of the Wilman Family.
Recalling the previous commotion that shook the entire auction house, he shook his head:
"Once downstairs, if the hosts don’t invite us up, just wait."
He had once seen the members of that squad.
The leader was a demigod.
While the others were unaware of the details, he had heard some things.
About six months ago, the Mayer Trading Company handled some extraordinary traits of demigods, causing quite a stir.
Someone had investigated the source of those extraordinary traits.
And upon investigation, they were quite taken aback.
Those demigods were wiped out by a student from the Ethereal Emblem.
Of course, Charlie knew that under normal circumstances, a student couldn’t possibly wield demigod power.
But there are always some unique exceptions.
Like a Divine Substitute [Chosen One], a Divine Favored [Divine Favored], or a Great Clan Inheritor possessing a weapon sealed with the power of a top-tier elite...
Though such figures can be counted across the continent on one’s fingers, reports of their activities occasionally surface.
Charlie also assumed that this boy named Chloe was similarly a prodigy nurtured by some top-tier power.
Perhaps by relying on external forces, he possessed the ability to kill a demigod, but it ultimately wasn’t a power inherent to himself.
--Until he personally witnessed a group of young men and women exuding the aura of demigods and legends.
At that moment, he felt as if his worldview had been upended.
A subordinate whispered, "If they refuse to summon us, are we just going to wait down here indefinitely?"
"Wait."
For a demigod, a single cultivation session lasting days, even years, is quite normal.
If attempting a full breakthrough, they might not be seen for decades or even centuries.
However, since they intend to sell a Saint’s remains, they naturally wouldn’t close off for an extended period.
At most, we’ll just wait a few days.
Charlie recalled the events from two days ago.
...
Returning to two days ago.
Location: Wilman Auction House - Eastern Division
"You’ve got to be joking."
Charlie murmured as he looked at the intelligence in front of him.
Headquarters sent him information stating that the Princess Swordswoman from the Locke Empire was attacked by a Saint Class White Bone Dragon Lord in the Abyss of Woe.
Reportedly, the Princess Swordswoman was forced to use her Divine Artifact [Sky-splitting Blade] to evade attacks in the Maze, even revealing demigod strength couldn’t save her.
He’s a professional at appraising treasures.
The fact that the Princess Swordswoman had already ascended to demigod status caused a sensation throughout the entire Locke Empire.
But Charlie knew that it was nothing short of a miracle that the Princess Swordswoman survived.
After all, according to the intelligence, it was a Saint pursuing her.
That’s a truly top-tier force on the continent, capable of shattering the void effortlessly.
If using full force on the continent, devastation would surely follow in their wake.
Even the Princess Swordswoman shouldn’t have been able to escape such a powerful foe’s encirclement.
But... the Princess Swordswoman did manage to escape.
Information in Charlie’s hands indicated she received aid from a young demigod squad.
Heaven help us, a demigod fighting a Saint?
A stalemate would be one thing, but actually defeating a Saint?
Even a demigod wielding Saint Realm powers would find it immensely challenging!
This battle caused an uproar.
The Locke Empire strongly condemned the actions of the Void Erosion Sect and began rallying forces to intensify their efforts to root out the sect.
In no time, numerous hidden sect members were exposed, and the gallows at the execution ground saw repeated use.
"A Saint Class extraordinary trait, huh? It was last auctioned 130 years ago, and obtaining such a trait was done outside of The Stars."
