"A lady bid 4,514,145 dollars! Any higher?"
No answer came so the man said. "Sold!"
While many would simply brush off this number as a joke by one of the invitees, Kai didn't think so at all. The reason for that was because this number was something he would never forget.
It's something related to his childhood, said to him by the same person he came here looking for. Quickly recovering from the surprise, he looked around the place, searching for the one who did the bid. However, he couldn't immediately find them.
The way someone could bid is through a small tablet assigned for each chair. That way, it won't be easy for people to identify who bought what.
'Tsk, I should've kept an eye on the people present. I was too occupied with the VIP room.' He thought as he decided to leave discovering who got it till after the event.
He can't just use Origin here as he could easily identify at least a dozen people who were Origin Users within the crowd.
Items continued to roll in for an hour or so. Kai didn't find any of them interesting. He simply wasn't interested in antiques and such things. All he cared about was to find who got that Rainbow pottery. On the other hand, Kaya seemed to have found some things she wanted as she bid on 3 items and got all three of them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's been exactly 2 hours since the auction started and I must say, this is already a major success. However, sadly, we are almost at the end. The only item left is the one I previously mentioned before the start. We shall officially reveal what it is after a small 5-minute break. If anyone wants to receive their items, please move to the backstage." The man bowed before he walked away, letting the hall illuminate.
"I'm glad we came here, Kai. I got myself some good stuff." Kaya said as she looked back. However, Kai seemed to be lost in thought as he didn't respond. "Kai? Is everything okay, my love?" She asked.
"Hm?" The latter seemed to finally notice her as he shook his head. "Nothing. Let's leave the room."
The two stood up and left, with Kai walking behind Kaya. His eyes wandered around the place until it fell on the group of people approaching backstage.
"Leave first. I will be back in a second." He said as he turned around and walked after the group.
Behind the stage was a door that led to the room where all the items were stored. There, two men were receiving the proof of bid and then handing out the items. Kai stood far away, watching carefully.
"The Teapot of Rainbows. Who is the buyer?"
"Me." The one who stepped forward was surprisingly Rosa Colbert.
Kai looked at her silently, trying to understand what was going on. He was certain she didn't choose that number randomly. The chances of that happening are near zero if not zero.
After receiving the pot, Rosa walked away happily. Kai sighed and followed after her secretly. The two left the hall and came back to the main lounge where Rosa sat down with a drink to rest.
He stood slightly far away as he waited. A few moments later, her phone rang. So, she put down the cup and picked up the phone.
"Where are you? I thought you said you would follow me after you finish some business, Claire! Geez, I was left alone here, talking to some weirdos." Rosa said with a tired expression.
'Claire?' Kai's eyes squinted as he listened quietly.
A few seconds passed without a single response from this woman named Claire. But, eventually, a response came.
"Did you get it?" Even from afar, Kai could hear the deathly cold and almost apathetic tone of the person on the phone. It was different from Kaya and Eva's coldness which was simply pure presence and power. This coldness was soulless as if a robot was talking. Very similar to Kai's coldness albeit a little more… sad?
Kai felt as if the world stopped for a split second before everything returned to motion. A myriad of emotions flashed in his eyes. Anger, coldness, and indifference, all clashed together for dominance in his head. But, Kai instantly regained his composure.
'As I thought… She would never miss such an auction.' He thought to himself.
All these years, he tried to simply forget the matter. However, the moment he saw the auction a few hours ago, he couldn't hold himself from simply coming to check.
He knew that voice very well and yet he never thought hearing it again would really threaten to make him lose control for a second. The sheer hatred he carried for that person was just running too deep in him.
"Yes, I did. You already knew that it was going to be sold here. Why didn't you just come and get it yourself?"
Claire didn't reply immediately as if she was a faulty computer, taking seconds to load. "Did you bid how I asked?"
"Sigh, yes, I did. I must say, though. You have a particular liking for that number. You always start bidding with it."
"Good. See you later."
"Hey, wait!"
Before Rosa could add another word, the call was ended abruptly.
"Sigh, that girl is going to be the death of me one day. Hm?" Rosa felt a small breeze of cold air brush against her face. Looking up, she couldn't see anyone.
"I thought I felt someone behind me."
***
"Where did you go, Kai? The auction is about to continue?" Kaya asked when she noticed Kai walking back to his seat.
"... I went to check something." He replied plainly.
Kaya sensed the weird change in his tone but didn't try to ask any further. She will have time to ask later. Now, it was time to focus on the last item.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. The moment you've all been waiting for. Our last item is something that was given to us by an anonymous person who likes to keep their identity hidden. We have checked its authenticity and the result was amazing. The item is a map of the world."
Everyone looked confused when they heard the words. A map? That's it?
"However, it's not any map, ladies and gentlemen. It's a lost map drawn by Sarin, The legendary Explorer."
The moment Kai heard the name 'Sarin', he looked up. That man lived a very long time, in the era of the progenitor himself, and was renowned for discovering almost 50% of the world alone.
He had drawn countless maps of the world and helped shape the world as it is now. Without his work, many nations would've never existed, continents would've never been discovered and even places like the Frozen Plains would've been left unknown.
As Kai was remembering those details, the cart with the map on it finally appeared on the stage. It was put inside a bullet-proof glass as if it were the most precious item in the world. However, that glass didn't stop Kia from sensing it.
'... Origin?'
It wasn't only Kai that was confused, the other Origin Users hidden within the room also noticed it. The map had Origin oozing out of it.