Paranoia

In the auction room, the jaws all hit the floor. In a matter of something under an hour, these people are putting out numbers that are incomprehensible.

If these bidders had more childish voices and if you didn't see their faces, you could assume they were children playing pretend auction with a bunch of fake money. However, this is real.

If one of the families stopped bidding, the other family would have to pay over half a billion. Most likely, there are hidden costs in that as well, pushing up to near a billion.

And this is the reality of auctions. Most of the people don't know that on top of this insane price, there are more insane prices. It's a scam at its finest hidden in the wooden horse of tradition.

After a couple minutes of "deliberation", Rosé finally answers back to the bid of the Bassets.

"760 million..."

This deliberation was on purpose so that Rosé doesn't look like she has prepared for this. Well, she hasn't, but I have. I already know this man's likely budget for the horns; infinite.

Okay, that's a stretch, but a billion seems very likely. I see no other reason why this guy would want the demon horns other than to live longer.

He is 900 years old and he happened to win the previous demon horns. Is it a coincidence or not? Definitely not. Things like that don't happen in real life.

You don't just gain an extra millennia of life for fucks sake. The horns have to do something. I don't know which is the problem, but it's something that I can figure out.

If I can't, then too bad. At least my enemies won't have it as that's the important thing. If you are slow, be quicker than someone else and they get caught. Just be better than your peers and you'll be a-okay.

"Well then! Thats 760 million! Is there any bids? Lets ask for.....765 million? 765 is the asking"

".....here. 765 million"

'Oh, seems like he's slowing down'

To be honest, this is just a waiting game. I know the outcome of this and it's that I win. There isn't a way that I lose this altercation. This man is the wealthiest man in Calko.

He is 900 something years old and obviously, he wants to live longer to spend it. Why wont he spend a billion gold so he can enjoy a hundred billion more? It's a simple investment, but he wants it for basically free.

These horns are very differently valued depending on the eye layer upon them. An old wealthy man may value them at a billion gold, but a regular, working-class man would see them as useless.

Who the fuck would want to live longer in a shithole of a class that is the middle class? Not anyone, that's for sure. At least not any sane person.

"770 million"

Rosé raises her paddle once more under my instructions and I could see the pruny and dried lips of the Basset family head squeeze even more. From a raisin, it became a wrinklier version of a raisin.

If you dried out a raisin, that's his lips right now. He looks intensely displeased. So displeased in fact that he just smacked a waitress in frustration.

What could she do? Retaliate? Hell no. She just stood there and even presented her cheek further out for him to hit harder. This is the proper attitude for the highest of the high class.

If you are about to be stepped on by a billionaire, you better try enjoying it since they won't allow any defiance.

There are some "nice billionaires" who might exist, but they are either extremely or not even billionaires. They are the people who rose from the slums most likely and made a name for themselves.

If they chose to treat middle class and poor classes as actual people and not tools for growth, they are ousted from the circles and are forced to wander, basically stripping them of their political power and ruining their business' long term future.

"790 million!"

Rosé once again raises her paddle after an hour of deliberation and the auctioneer, Frank, decided to call it a day for now. Should this continue, some of them might make unsavory decisions in the heat of the moment.

At that time, it's too late. Even if it came from the mouth of the billionaire, Frank and the other officials will get penalized for that. If a billionaire said something bad, then he didn't say it.

It's as simple as that. You could say the harshest things to a person and then murder their family and if you're a billionaire, then you didn't murder them at all.

The power of power is immense.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen. This was a great session that I loved hosting. Tomorrow, we will continue with the bidding of lot #69 and I wish you the-"

"Tsk, 830 million!"

As Frank was about to leave stage to celebrate this momentous commission by hooking up with some hookers and prostitutes, the Basset family head called out another bet.

This worried Frank, but it was before the announcement was finished so they can't hold accountable...right?

So, Frank quickly finishes his job and rushes out. Meanwhile, Rosé and I are slowly walking out of the smaller wooden door by the side that is only for the blue paddled people, or a rich people tunnel.

This lead directly to the lobby from stairs and from there, you step on a magic circle that would teleport you to your room immediately.

"Phewwwwww, that was rough. Hey! Really? You are going to make me die before I even reach 40! I swear to God, who gave me the idea to let you bet with around 800 million gold!"

"Well, I gave you the idea. It's a good idea by the way. Don't worry about us winning the bid since we won't, all we need to do is drive up the price"

Rosé tilts her head in a confusing manner and puts her finger on her chin cutely. She tries thinking and thinking of reasons for this, but nothing pops up.

She finally drops her façade and asks what she's been dying to know.

"I get that he will lose more money with driving prices, but won't that get Whittaker more money?"

"That's the point, Rosé my dearest"

At this point, I was caressing under her chin while sipping occasionally from my glass filled with exotic fruit juice. She closed her eyes half in embarrassment and half in enjoyment as she let out a refreshed sigh after sipping some beverage.

I turn my eyes over to her and start thinking about this woman.

'...she and I are kinda similar except I'm a bit smarter I'm guessing. Maybe it's the education'

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(A.N) yo! Another chappy for you beautiful and wonderful readers and I hope that you enjoyed this one and that you had an amazing day and that tomorrow will be even better!

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