Chapter 169: The Auction

"I will still urge you, William, to leave her with me for two more days. I can train her into an obedient slave, ready to serve her master at a single call." He called to the hooded man who still stood at the entrance. The man named William shook his head. "Not possible. You already know how much of a value drop a noblewomen experiences, with every day she spends in our 'care'. 4 days was already my limit. The wealthy will just lose any leftover interest in her if they get to know I let her get trained under you." The other man gritted his teeth. That was his sore point. Everyone loved his trained slaves until they are commoners but no one wanted a trained noble, all of them want the pure maidens once it comes to a noble slave.

"Sure, but I still don't get why you have to sell her in this town. You can easily get double the amount from here if you auction her in the capital or a big city." The hooded guy explained patiently. "We have been victims of our own success. In the past few years, our business boomed quite a bit but that means people already are satisfied with the slaves we provided and now they don't want to spend extra for a new woman."

"Also in her case, she had been working as a prostitute in the capital for a while now. So you tell me why will you pay for something you already tasted a few times." The other guy nodded in understanding. "I guess it makes sense then." He turned around to address his men. "Get her cleaned up thoroughly. Let her get a good sleep tonight. I want her in perfect condition for tomorrow's auction."

**Next Day**

Emily had been sunbathing during the afternoon hours in her garden when she sensed a familiar soul approaching her and her face picked up a smile. "You look rather depressed child? Is something the matter?" She didn't even turn around to look at Ryu's face, before making the judgment but he wasn't surprised. Inviting himself in, he sat beside the older woman. "How strong is this Dark Wings organization, grandma? And how come they can pick up any woman in the empire without any consequences?"

This organization had come up to him enough times to make him curious as to how they can do things with so much impunity, without anyone challenging them to it. Ryu had not come alone. Dorothea had nagged him to bring him out, so they went out together. Today was the day of the auction and he had already gotten hold of the funds. Still, he was not so foolish as to bring such a large amount of resources in a shady business house like Dark Wings. He needed Emily to attend the auction with them. Otherwise, who can stop anyone from robbing two Junior realm brats? That's the whole reason he had visited her.

"Hmm.. you are too young to completely understand them and their functioning. Just know this, they are not something that even a single human empire can deal with. What happened, did you have some business with them?" Ryu had suspected as much. How else can they lay their claims over every widow, in the whole empire?

"It's actually like this..." He narrated the whole story and Emily had to sit back up since the story took some serious undertones. "Hmm.. well it's not the first time something like this happened, neither will this be last." She was talking about Emma's brother-in-law betraying her and leading her into the den of the wolves.

"So do you want grandma to arrange for the funds?" She asked with a smile. But Ryu shook his head, stupefying her. "I already got the funds here. I just want you to be my bodyguard hehe.." He pointed to the small ring on his finger. Emily was not expecting the boy to manage to collect such a huge amount to help his friend. He wanted to ask him about it but in the end, restrained her curiosity.

"Haha.. sure then. It's good that you don't want your grandma to pay up since I have been pretty much bankrupt for decades." Ryu knew she was messing with her. Although she had retired from her mage work just a few years after her husband's death still, she had once been one of the top powerhouses of the empire. She is the last person who will lack resources here. Still, he understood her logic. She didn't want her family to be dependent on her wealth, they will have to fend for themselves. "Then, I should thank you, grandma. Should we leave then?"

"Okay, and is Mrs. Dorothea going with us too?" The brown-haired lady had been a quiet listener all this while but she promptly responded with a bowed head. "If it's not too much to ask, then please bring this junior along too, Mrs. Emily." Ryu put his hands around her waist, pulling her into a tight hug. "Of course granny, Mrs. Dorothea is my little slave here. How can she not follow behind her master?" He laughed out loud saying that, leaving a furiously blushing Dorothea in his arms. She pinched her waist but Ryu kept laughing, ignoring the pain.

Emily smiled looking at the playful couple. The last time she had met with this woman at Ruby's place, although she maintained a happy appearance outside, she can't hide the gloom she had in her heart. A feeling that Emily was all too familiar with to be mistaken about it. But looking at her now, she had completely transformed from inside out. Even her body looked less fragile than last time. She turned her gaze towards the green-eyed boy, still busy teasing the woman in his arms, before smiling and moving away. "Follow me then."

***

On their way, they met up with Jake, and together they left for the local Dark Wings branch. Jake was concerned when he had met them but Ryu pointed towards the ring with his finger, telling him that everything was fine. They had roughly estimated that Emma's price won't go above 100 Yuvas. But if something like that happened he will have to inadvertently depend on Emily to take it from there. That was the other benefit of getting her to accompany them. Jake had already brought the two tickets for the auction and they only had to get two more for Dorothea and the Grand mage. Which they got without any fuss when the woman at the counter recognized the white-haired woman.

"Please follow behind me, patrons. I will bring you to the auction house." She was the same maid that guided them last time. All four of them followed her around as she brought them to a grand entrance. The maid opened the door for them. "Please come in." They followed her inside to find a large hall with multiple dining tables and chairs. The hall was rather luxurious.

"Here, young masters and mistress!" She showed them the way and brought them to their seats. All of them took their seats. "Do you want me to bring some refreshments?" Ryu waved his hand. "Thanks. We won't be requiring that." She nodded. "Okay, then would you like to have me here?" Her hand landed on Ryu's thighs, tracing circles and making her intentions clear. He raised his eyebrows before responding carelessly "Your wish, lady." His gaze wandered around to see everyone's subtle gazes scanning them. It wasn't long before some murmurings began as it was a rarity to have a grand magus attend a slave auction.

Ryu was still looking around when the maid decided to settle in his lap. He didn't know if he should laugh or cry when he saw the fireworks between the maid and Dorothea. 'We are on a serious business here, ladies!' He chose to ignore them and tried searching if they could find Emma anywhere. There were a few slaves that were definitely for sale on the stage but they can't find Emma anywhere.

"I can't find her." Ryu put his hands on Jake's shoulder. "Don't worry. I don't think that guy would have lied to you. It makes sense if you think about it. Your mother belongs to a branch noble family, they won't put her on display like other slaves." Jake nodded in understanding.

Emily didn't say anything but in her heart, she was very gratified. Her grandson had turned out to be a kind soul. Now she can't help but blame herself that she didn't take more interest in him while he grew up. Till now he had been handling the situation on his own. He arranged the funds, pacified his friend, and even got her to guard them. He managed everything perfectly. She can't wait for him to grow up.

Ryu can see everyone around them, trying to get closer to Emily but none of them can gather enough courage to initiate a conversation with her. Her aura was so great that all of them can feel a physical pressure, keeping them away.

"Do you mind if I ask how old you are, young master?" The maid's hands roamed all over Ryu's chest. "Why does that matter?" She intentionally bent down to make sure he had an uninterrupted view of the valley between the mountains on her chest. He had to agree that she was very good at seduction. "It's because I can feel a large serpent under my butt hehe... I am just astounded at the size, young master." Every move of her was making his body squirm and predictably the monster in his pants was not satisfied, being tied down any longer.

The woman in his lap can feel the rapidly developing tent in his pant. She didn't even ask anything before sliding down and getting on her knees, with her face on his crotch. She delicately traced the shape of the cock as her eyes began widening with every passing second. It took her many minutes to get her emotions in check. What was this thing? Did this belong to a human? She had found the boy rather handsome, on top of that he seemed to be from a wealthy family. What else can she want from a possible customer? But coming to this point she can't help but hesitate if she was capable enough to handle this thing.

"What happened? Please go on ahead a do your thing." It was Ryu's time to tease the woman. She nodded before slowly lowering his pants to reveal the scary-looking beast. Veins crisscrossed all over its surface and it was coming to life right in front of her eyes.

While the maid was busy analyzing her client, Ryu turned towards the woman who was staring at her with anger in her eyes. He can only shrug his shoulders making her pout and show her disapproval. Dorothea had grown even closer to him in the past few days, especially after he took her as his cultivation maid. Though he had not gotten any benefits out of her right now but he can feel their connection getting stronger and once her cultivation reaches at least around his level, he will start receiving a part of her cultivation to boost his own.

The slave spell had enhanced her constitution and she will be able to cultivate many times faster than a normal human. It was just that the cost it claimed was not what every other human will be willing to pay. Apart from getting enslaved all your for all your life, you can never grow more powerful than your master. That is however much Dorothea can try, she will not be able to surpass the cultivation of the first level of the Junior realm. Not everyone will be willing to live this life of servitude.

Looking down, it seems the maid had familiarised herself enough with his member and carefully holding it up with both her small hands, placed the head in her mouth. She was under the table so apart from Dorothea, who was sitting next to Ryu, none of the other participants of the auction can see what was going on.