Inside an upright, oval glass tank filled with pale blue seawater, a mermaid floated quietly, facing the audience. Its eyes were gently closed, and its light-blue tail drifted softly in the water.

Bubbles popped softly in the tank, making the mermaid look all the more beautiful and dreamlike.

The moment the mermaid appeared, it felt as though all the women in the audience had been whisked away into a fairytale.

Every Beastman held their breath—

The Elk Host held the microphone, his face beaming with an enthusiastic smile.

"My beautiful ladies, this auction is for an item of extreme rarity, so we’ll be doing things a little differently—"

"Instead of bidding with gold as we’ve done previously."

"Each bidder may offer one or more treasures. Whoever presents the offer with the highest total value will win this mermaid."

"Starting now, any bidders who have decided may raise their paddles."

The moment the host finished speaking, a buzz of conversation filled the hall.

No one had expected a barter-based auction today. It felt much more novel than the usual proceedings.

But it made sense—

This mermaid could be considered a priceless treasure, and its value was difficult to measure in gold.

Many of the ladies eagerly raised their paddles.

As the host called on them, they placed the treasures they had on their person onto a tray.

All sorts of rare bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings, and so on.

By the second round, the items offered had become significantly more valuable.

There was exceedingly rare agate from the Deep Sea.

There were shards of jade crystal from the highest snowy peaks.

There was a masterwork sword forged in ninefold flames.

But the item that amazed the Beastmen most came from the young lady of the Fox Clan from the Divine City. She had brought an Ancient Scroll. Contained within it was a landscape painting constructed from Magic Power. When the auction hall lights were dimmed and the scroll was unrolled, it shimmered with a brilliant light, bringing the painted wonderland to life before their very eyes.

"What a beautiful heirloom painting..."

"As expected of the Fox Clan’s young lady. So generous right from the start."

"This has to be the most valuable offering tonight, right?"

"Miss Vivian seems determined to win this mermaid~ We should probably stay out of her way, lest we displease her."

Sitting in the front row, Yu Zhizhi looked down at the glittering gemstones in her red backpack, a troubled expression on her face.

Luther noticed her expression and asked in a low voice, "What’s wrong, Ms. Zhi Zhi?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"...I, I don’t think I have anything to trade."

’She had brought these "gemstones" intending to spend them like gold.’

’But the auction house had changed the rules.’

’And now, Yu Zhizhi couldn’t find a single "rare treasure" on her person.’

Besides—

’For this trip, she had only planned for daily expenses and hadn’t brought many gemstones—only twenty or so.’

’They were all just decorations from her cage, things she usually kept on a tray by her pillow to look at.’

’Yu Zhizhi never thought her fourth target would appear at an auction.’

Luther saw the young woman hugging her backpack with her head down, looking quite upset. After a moment’s thought, he said softly,

"Why don’t you give it a try first? If it doesn’t work out, we can wait for Miss Vivian to buy the mermaid, then go discuss it with her. See if she’ll agree to lend it to you for a few days."

"...Huh?"

’Lend it for a few days?’

Yu Zhizhi’s mind went blank for a moment.

’Is that even an option?’

Luther smiled faintly. "Our commander is on speaking terms with Miss Vivian. I’m sure he’d be willing to help negotiate on your behalf."

"Then... I’ll raise my paddle first." Yu Zhizhi mustered her courage and lifted the paddle in her hand.

’Win or lose, I have to try.’

’If I fail, I’ll figure something else out.’

The Elk Host said with a smile, "We invite this lady to place her items on the tray."

All eyes in the room focused on her.

Every Beastman was watching the young woman from the Rabbit Clan in the front row. After the Fox Clan’s lady had made her bid, no one else had dared to compete.

’Just who is this young rabbit, anyway?’

Yu Zhizhi saw the male Beastman walk up to her with the tray. She lifted her backpack and poured all the gemstones out with a loud CLATTER.

With a series of sharp clinks and clatters, the crowd watched as the young rabbit poured out a pile of sparkling things, like spilling a bag of beans.

Vivian of the Fox Clan, seated a few seats away from her, couldn’t help but turn her head to look.

The male Beastman carried the tray to the stage.

As was customary, the host began to present the items to the guests.

He had just picked one up when his expression suddenly froze.

"This is..."

Huh?

Everyone in the audience stared intently, eager to see what kind of treasure this young rabbit who dared to challenge Miss Vivian had brought.

"Broken Dream?!" the host exclaimed. "This is an Ice Blue Gemstone with a thirty-thousand-year history, from the Beast God’s Homeland! Legend says that the Beast God’s sword was once inlaid with twenty Ice Blue Gemstones, which later generations named—Broken Dream!"

The Elk Host carefully picked up the Ice Blue Gemstones from the tray and counted them. There were a full seven of them!

’For real?!’

Many of the Beastmen in the hall looked astonished. These were the Ice Blue Gemstones that had adorned the Beast God’s own sword! It was common knowledge that the sword itself had been lost to time; only the Broken Dreams remained!

A slightly dazed look appeared on Yu Zhizhi’s face. She sat in her chair, not moving for a long moment.

’...She had no idea.’

’In fact, she had so many little shiny things that she couldn’t even remember when the Duke had given her these particular gemstones.’

’After all, she couldn’t eat them, so she’d just set them aside as decorations.’

’If she hadn’t been escaping, she never would have brought them along.’

When the Elk Host looked at Yu Zhizhi again, his attitude was one of utmost respect.

The value of seven Broken Dreams was more than enough to surpass the Ancient Scroll. On the Beast World Planet, the Beast God was the most supreme existence.

And besides these seven Ice Blue Gemstones, there were also three Rubies and fourteen green gemstones.

They were all extremely rare gems. Exchanged for gold, they would be enough for an ordinary Beastman to live comfortably for their entire life on the Beast World Planet.

The male Elk bowed and said, "Esteemed Rabbit Clan Lady, these seven Broken Dreams alone are more than sufficient. Please, take back the remaining gemstones."

"...Oh." Yu Zhizhi nodded, still in a daze.

This time, the Elk Host personally returned the remaining gemstones.

He approached the young rabbit lady, feeling nervous for the first time. "I was not aware of which noble family’s lady was gracing us with her presence. Any inadequacy in the Lost Tower’s hospitality is our failing."

From the side, Luther spoke calmly, "There is no need to inquire further."

The male Elk came to a sudden understanding. "O-Of course!"

Many noble ladies from the Moon Rising Empire had come for this mermaid, but only this young Rabbit Clan woman before him was being personally escorted by Lord Luther of the Guard Team.

Her status had to be extraordinarily noble.

’The male Elk suspected she was from one of the Empire’s highest noble families! Only then would she use seven Broken Dreams to buy a mermaid without a second thought!’

—An ordinary noble could never afford such an extravagant act.

All the Beastmen in the hall were still reeling from the appearance of the "seven Broken Dreams," which the young woman had tossed out so casually.

The way she had poured them onto the tray was like she was dumping out pebbles she’d picked up from the side of the road. There wasn’t the slightest hint of regret on her face.

Vivian looked at Yu Zhizhi with a complicated expression. The mermaid belonged to her now—

’I wonder what I could offer to convince her to lend me the mermaid for a few days?’

Yu Zhizhi had won ownership of the mermaid.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, she lifted the hem of her dress with both hands, ascended the steps, and slowly walked toward the oval Water Cage.

"Wait!—"

Suddenly, Yu Zhizhi heard someone shout from the crowd.