The Support Ate it All

After the two volumes of the strategy guide were sold, the remaining students began to participate in the auction with even greater enthusiasm.

Until then, they had been holding onto their points, thinking they might have a chance at something big. But now, there was no longer any reason to hold back.

Various items found new owners.

"Sold for 380,000 points!"

"Sold! Congratulations!"

"260,000 points! Any more bids? Three, two…"

For a while, only items meant for martial artists or thief-types that were totally unrelated to us kept appearing one after another.

Then, it was finally the mages' turn again, and the host introduced a skill book, a robe, and a wand.

Next up on the display was a fluffy tail that remained completely unscathed despite being engulfed in intense flames.

In addition, when used by someone who mainly deals with fire like a martial artist trained in Flame Arts or a Ruby Tower mage, it triggers random additional effects.

Typical examples include gaining a new skill or trait, increasing one's rank, or having mana flood into one's core.

Apparently, Hong Yeon-hwa was well aware of that, as she hadn't taken her eyes off the Fire Fox's tail for even a second since it was introduced.

Her face practically screamed, "I want it," "I really want it," "I seriously, desperately want it."

Finally, the host wrapped up the explanation and the bidding began.

"Then we'll start at 30,000 points!"

One by one, participants began raising their signs.

Unable to resist the temptation, Hong Yeon-hwa slowly reached for her sign…only to hesitate at the last second and glance over her shoulder.

There, Hong Ye-hwa was glaring at her younger sister with icy eyes wide open.

I caught the scene with a sidelong glance and asked,

"She's not going to let you, is she?"

"Mhmm…"

She had already spent 350,000 points to win the Orb of Severe Cold.

Though she'd be able to recoup a fair amount of that later by sharing it with the Sapphire Magic Tower, it was still an enormous amount for a first-year student to spend.

And now she was thinking of bidding on the Fire Fox's tail too?

Forget getting permission. Even asking about it might just intensify the (one-sided) sisterly clash.

Hong Yeon-hwa added in a dejected tone,

"And… I don't have enough anyway…"

Given that most of today's auction items were going for 300,000 to 400,000 points, she assumed this one would be similar. With only 200,000 points in her possession, she didn't stand a chance.

But I had a slightly different take on it.

I don't think it'll go that high.

I glanced over at the host to confirm.

"120,000 points!"

"125,000."

"135,000."

As I expected, the bidding was quickly losing momentum.

There wasn't much competition, and even those still bidding were raising in small increments like 5,000 or 10,000 at most.

The randomness of the effect is probably the main issue.

The Fire Fox's tail guarantees some kind of benefit when used.

The problem is whether that benefit is actually worth hundreds of thousands of points.

Take learning a new skill or trait, for example.

Even within the fire attribute, there were many branching builds. So if you end up with one that doesn't match your style, it'll just sit unused.

This was especially true for upperclassmen who had already developed their skill sets.

Because of that, the final bid was much lower than Hong Yeon-hwa had expected.

"160,000 points! Any more bids?"

"……!"

Hong Yeon-hwa's pupils wavered with indecision.

She must have calculated that all it would take now was one or two more bids.

But wary of her older sister's reaction, Hong Yeon-hwa kept grabbing the sign and then setting it back down, over and over again.

It would've been better if things ended there, but then the host called out the next bid.

"165,000! If there are no more bids, we'll close it out."

"……!"

Hong Yeon-hwa's pupils trembled even harder.

She must have sensed that the time had truly come to make a decision.

At that moment, Seo Ye-in who was fast asleep with her head down tossed and turned a little and mumbled like she was talking in her sleep:

"Forgiveness… is easier than permission…"

"Is… is that true…?"

Hong Yeon-hwa was clearly tempted.

She looked at me, silently asking for my approval.

"Well, she's not wrong…"

I began, but before I could even finish the sentence, she shot her "5,000" sign high into the air.

With the countdown already underway, she didn't have the luxury of hesitation.

"I-I'll bid!"

"170,000 points!"

Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes darted around nervously.

Her face was a storm of emotions.

If I had to guess:

I did it in the heat of the moment—no, no, this was something I had to do. But what if someone else bids now? Actually, I kind of hope they do. Like, push it up to 300,000 or something. But I still want it…

Fortunately or unfortunately, no more signs were raised.

The host began the final countdown.

"Three, two, one… Sold! Congratulations!"

Hong Yeon-hwa's face lit up…then immediately went pale.

Because of the overwhelming killing intent shooting into her back.

On top of that, message notifications were popping up nonstop.

Hong Yeon-hwa stared desperately straight ahead.

***

The auction continued afterward, and soon, even the last item found a new owner.

The host then began the closing remarks.

"Once again, we'd like to thank everyone for joining us today—"

I watched, quite satisfied with how everything had gone.

Managed to snag quite a bit.

One of my top priorities, which was the A-rank herb selection ticket, was won for 340,000 points.

Most people assumed the herb selection ticket was basically the same as an elixir selection ticket, so I had expected it to go for somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000. But demand was strong enough that I had to spend a little more than planned.

With the leftover points, I picked up,

[Great Elixir Pill (A)]

You gotta consume any decent elixir that shows up on your radar.

That way, I can raise my [Core] rank quickly, learn Blink, and protect world peace, right?

The goal was to reach A-rank by the end of the second semester, and S-rank sometime during the next school year.

Raising the ranks of other skills or traits might take more time, but I was confident that raising Core was well within reach.

I also secured a [Crafting VIP Ticket].

The more of those, the better. It shortens the waiting time after all.

And I got quite a few requests I'll be submitting soon anyway.

Soon after, the host, having finished the closing remarks, gave a deep bow.

"—We wish you all a pleasant evening. Thank you."

Even then, I had to wake the sloth who was still slumped over the table, and we left the auction hall together.

But Hong Yeon-hwa looked visibly uneasy. She fidgeted with her fingers, then finally opened her mouth.

"Um, so…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Do, do you maybe… want to hang out a little longer… before we go?"

First sitting down beside me out of nowhere, and now this. She was being unusually forward today.

Of course, I figured her wanting to hang out now probably had an ulterior motive.

Most likely, she wanted to delay or avoid a dreadful future awaiting her.

But before she could get anywhere with that, a pale hand appeared out of nowhere and landed squarely on her shoulder.

Naturally, the hand belonged to Hong Ye-hwa.

She had spotted her sister with hawk-like eyes and even used Blink to approach.

She spoke with a warm, gentle voice.

"You've played enough for today. It's late…let's go get some rest."

"N-no… I-I-I-I can still… play a little more…"

Hong Yeon-hwa started trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Not that it made a difference. Hong Ye-hwa turned to me and offered a soft smile.

"We'll head back first. Rest well."

"Yes, senior."

I gave her a respectful nod in reply.

Hong Yeon-hwa kept shooting me pitiful glances, but all Seo Ye-in and I did was give her a little wave goodbye.

Can't meddle in someone else's family affairs.

Especially when she'd practically blown up their household finances.

Everyone has to take responsibility for their own actions…and pay the price.

I remembered what I was going to say earlier.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

It's true, sure…but only in a relative sense.

Whether Hong Yeon-hwa would actually be forgiven easily, and what she might have to go through in the meantime… I had no way of knowing.

***

The Thieves Club.

Shin Byeong-cheol opened the door and walked in, before speaking in a feeble voice.

"Noona, I'm back…"

"Whoa, what happened to your hair?"

Dang Gyu-young flinched for a moment. Shin Byeong-cheol's hair was now so short it was practically bald.

He replied, even more disheartened than before.

"It shrank…"

"How does hair shrink? I thought you shaved it."

"I took the wrong medicine."

"Ugh, I told you not to just eat whatever you find."

Most likely, it came from a place like the Alchemy Club.

They weren't running a charity either, so sometimes they hand out samples just to conduct human trials under the pretense of testing.

Whatever it was, it looked like a failure.

Dang Gyu-young offered some polite consolation.

"Don't worry too much. It'll grow back."

"…You think so?"

"Yeah, probably."

Though maybe not.

Or it might even have long-term side effects.

But that wasn't something she needed to worry about.

There was something else that required her attention.

As soon as Dang Gyu-young reached out as if expecting something, Shin Byeong-cheol snapped back to focus and searched through his inventory.

Then he pulled out a small paper envelope and handed it to her.

"I delivered it and brought it back."

"You did well. Thanks."

"Then I'll head out now."

"Alright, get some rest."

Shin Byeong-cheol left the clubroom.

Only after his footsteps had faded into the distance did Dang Gyu-young begin to open the envelope.

She had been pretending not to care, but in truth, she was quite curious about the fortune.

Especially since the fortune teller had a reputation for being eerily accurate.

Eventually, a single card fell into Dang Gyu-young's hand.

There was an illustration of students in graduation gowns tossing their caps high into the sky.

[Graduation Ceremony]

"……"

Dang Gyu-young's expression darkened slightly.

The fortune teller had pinpointed one of her deepest concerns with uncanny precision.

A future she couldn't possibly avoid.

But the fortune didn't seem to end there.

Inside the envelope was also a small slip of paper, on which a single sentence was written:

[Not the end, but the beginning]

"…Just as I thought."

A satisfied smile formed on Dang Gyu-young's lips.