What on Earth Is Going On?
What is this?
Irene’s head snapped up in surprise as she stared at her hand.
Had she accidentally grabbed the hand of some child wandering by? But no one stood beside her at all.
Yet the tight pressure around her fingers remained unmistakable.
Irene lifted her hand and inspected it. There, on her finger, sat the ring she had been given by her husband.
For a moment she thought she might be mistaken. She blinked slowly.
“Ah!”
This time the squeeze was painful. Her finger felt as if it were being crushed by a force that refused to let go.
It was no illusion. The ring had seized her finger on its own.
“Irene? What’s wrong?”
“N-no, the ring. This is…”
But the ring wasn’t flashing or glowing. No matter how loudly she explained that it was tightening her finger, Reina could do nothing to help.
‘Why is this happening so suddenly?’
The ring’s strange movements had never been explained. What on earth was going on?
“Well, then, another delightful surprise for those who left empty-handed! We’re now running an emotionless auction!”
The auctioneer’s voice boomed through the open door. At once the ring tightened again, almost as if it were reacting to the announcement.
‘What in the world is this?’
At least the ring didn’t seem to be acting with malice. If it did, it would have already sliced her fingers off long ago.
Meanwhile, several reward crates were carried onto the stage by staff members.
The tighter the reaction grew, the more fiercely the ring squeezed Irene’s fingers.
“Irene?”
“Uh… I think I should take a look at a few more auctions first.”
“Really? Then I’ll join you! Felix, could you handle the remaining paperwork for me?”
“Of course.”
Reina handed Felix a stack of forms and took Irene’s arm, guiding her back into the auction hall.
An artifact that moved on its own, as if alive, and used her will as a vessel. The sight made Irene’s heart flutter with a strange excitement.
Just what was the ring trying to say?
“I was so tense earlier that I couldn’t even watch the transparent ring properly. I’m glad I decided to join after all.”
Reina, oblivious to Irene’s anxiety, chattered happily about how wonderful it was to enjoy the auction together.
The two women found seats in the now-empty row and began to watch.
Everyone who had come only for the transparent ring had already left.
Yet more than half the remaining bidders still sat in place, waiting for something better.
Twenty-five reward crates rested on the table on the stage. Each bore a number, and the auctioneer began calling them out in rapid succession.
“All right, let’s begin with crate number one!”
Crate one was a tiny, ancient wooden box that looked as if it had been salvaged from the lowest-tier dungeon.
Opening it would surely bring nothing but trash.
“Starting at one gold! Who will give me one? Two gold! Two gold! Anyone higher? Three gold!”
No one raised a hand for three gold or more. Everyone knew these crates were nothing but trash.
“Sold! Crate one goes to three gold!”
Unlike the expensive items sold earlier, this crate was handed straight to the bidder.
The staff received the payment first and reminded the buyer that refunds were no longer possible, then placed the crate beside the man’s son.
A toy for a child who had paid three gold. That was all the crate was worth.
The boy opened it eagerly, only to find a silver twig clinging to a dried leaf.
That twig, too, must have come from some impossible tree in this world.
But to the child it meant nothing.
“Eeeeh, you got me again, Dad!”
The boy pouted, and the auctioneer urged him to buy more expensive things next.
The next few crates sold quickly, but several of them were so worn out that no one bid on them at all.
Especially when a crate full of pebbles appeared right after a fine one had sold. The bidders grew cautious.
Throughout it all, the ring kept shrinking and stretching Irene’s fingers.
“Next up is crate number fifteen!”
The moment the auctioneer announced it, Irene’s body jerked in surprise.
The ring had suddenly grown stronger, as if urging her to bid.
‘What is this?’
Why was the ring causing such a fuss?
“This one looks decent. Let’s give it a little shake for you!”
The staff shook the crate. A clattering sound echoed inside.
It was impossible to know what made that noise, but something heavy was definitely inside.
“Starting at ten gold! Every time someone bids, we’ll add five more! Begin!”
A moment ago everything had started at one gold and risen slowly. Now the auctioneer jumped straight to a higher price.
The bidders who had grown tired of the slow pace suddenly perked up again.
“Fifteen gold! Twenty gold! Twenty-five gold!”
The promise of something valuable sparked fresh interest, and the price climbed rapidly.
And with every rise the ring squeezed Irene’s fingers tighter, as if shouting, “Buy it!”
After a while most people decided the crate was too expensive and left.
Yet the two women never gave up, raising the price without hesitation.
“One hundred fifty gold! One hundred fifty-five gold! From now on we’ll go up by ten each time!”
The auctioneer, sensing the women would continue, raised the stakes even higher.
Irene swallowed a sigh. There was no doubt she had to buy it.
But she had no money.
“Two hundred fifty gold!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Irene poked Reina’s arm with her free hand.
“Reina, I’m sorry, but could you lend me some money?”
“Of course! How much do you need?”
“Enough to buy that crate. I’ll repay you the moment my artifact sales money arrives.”
“Don’t worry! I have savings too. This won’t be a problem!”
Irene finally relaxed. Reina had promised to lend her the money.
She waited for the two women to finish their duel.
The price had already passed five hundred gold when one side began to hesitate.
The other side raised her hand in confident victory.
“Five hundred forty.”
Irene spoke the number and raised her hand.
The auctioneer grew even more excited at the new bidder.
The woman who had been ready to buy was glaring at Irene before raising her hand herself.
The price kept climbing.
“One thousand!”
The woman shouted, eyes bright with determination.
Irene took a moment to think.
‘A thousand gold for a crate whose contents she doesn’t even know.’
The money from the soul stone was barely five thousand gold. Spending that much on an unknown crate… was it right?
Just stay quiet and keep the money…
“Ugh.”
The moment she thought that, the ring clamped her fingers painfully tight.
‘Could it really be alive?’
There was no other way it could be forcing her will like this.
“I’ll buy it. I’m buying.”
Irene muttered to herself and raised her hand again, swallowing another sigh.
Whatever happened, she had to buy it, no matter what the ring wanted.
* * *
In the end the crate sold for fifteen hundred fifty gold.
Reina, who had initially urged her to buy, asked several times whether she really meant it when the price climbed so high.
After paying the bill, the staff handed the crate to Irene.
“Open it. Quickly.”
Reina urged her. The people nearby slid closer, eager to see what would come out of the crate.
The most curious person of all was Irene herself.
‘What on earth is inside that made the ring react like this?’
The idea that the ring had a will was amazing enough, but first she had to know what was inside the crate.
Irene swallowed hard and slowly lifted the lid.
The box creaked open.
The moment the interior was revealed, Irene froze.
“A sword?”
Inside lay a single, worn sword covered in dents and scars.
The sight sent an instinctual warning through her body.
This was just as difficult to value as her own ring. An incredible artifact.