God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 104: Episode 20 _ The Sin of Loving More(7)

11.

It was an auction where the pain of clutching his still-throbbing solar plexus felt worth it!

Perhaps thanks to clearly imprinting the position the Leather Armor Set would hold in the nobles’ minds, the auction, which started at 1,000 gold—$120,000 in cash—soared to 1,500 gold in an instant.

"Now. Just the pure production required 1,500 enhancement stones and 2,000 gold in enhancement costs! But does investing that amount mean you can produce it? Absolutely not! An attempt and result that only the successor of the Legendary Enhancement Master of Legends can achieve! Will you still spare your money?"

Adding fuel to the fire with a scam he wasn’t even satisfied with!

It was unverifiable confidence, but perhaps due to Han Simin’s words, which gave trust to the nobles even as he threw his own body at a monster, the price began to rise faster and more broadly.

"1,550 gold! Yes, 1,600 gold has come out!"

"1,700 gold. The heat is intense. My goodness. It’s still at a level where I can’t even break even, but why is my heart racing so much? I think it’s because it’s an auction with people who recognize the value of the armor."

"1,800 gold! Wow. As expected of nobles who throw their weight around in each kingdom, the value of a spare life is quite high. A lowly Viscount like me probably wouldn’t have even made it this far!"

He subtly lowered himself while touching the nobles’ pride.

It was a remark that insulted the nobles of Viscount rank or lower mixed in here, but they probably wouldn’t mind much.

Because they were confident.

Although their rank was low, their money was second to no noble!

’Also, I will show you that I am a different Viscount from you bastards!’

It was a remark encouraging them to look down on him, and in reality, they might unconsciously do so, but Han Simin didn’t care.

It didn’t matter.

He said it so they would do exactly that.

Honor and pride?

If the auction price rose by even 500 gold, he could throw those away anytime.

When did pride ever feed him!

If he took the substance, walked the path he wanted, and succeeded, whatever anyone said would eventually just become an inferiority complex or jealousy.

In the end, Han Simin could laugh at his opponents without even responding.

"2,000 gold!"

Besides, wasn’t the change actually visible!

It was like adding MSG to a dish, so to speak.

Natural food that is good for the body and health is obviously better, but if you sell to many people right now, even while getting cursed at for putting in lots of MSG, you don’t need an explanation to know how the size of the store will differ later.

Sometimes, natural food specialty stores do better, but that is a truly special case!

Han Simin was a man capable of distinguishing such situations and changing his business item.

"2,200 gold! 2,500 gold! 2,800 gold!"

The auction price kept rising.

Seeing it go up by hundreds without hesitation, it seemed they hadn’t reached the limit the nobles had in mind yet.

Perhaps due to the performance they just saw, their limit had increased compared to the amount they thought of coming in, so the speed was picking up to skip the intermediate process.

’Probably around 5,000 gold.’

Originally, it would have been around 3,000 gold.

No matter how good the equipment was, $300,000 was not an amount easily seen here or in reality.

Ideally, he wanted to sell it for billions like the skill book, but what could he do?

It was an auction. At the same time, the item on the block was a common leather armor set found in any castle’s armor shop.

If it weren’t +15, the price would be unimaginable.

"Phew."

Still, a shame was a shame, especially considering it cost less than 150 gold to make.

"The current bid is 4,000 gold! 4,050 gold! 4,070 gold!"

The bid increments were shrinking.

If the minimum increment had been set to 100 gold from the start, things might have been different. But since it was set to 10, the excitement was inevitably dying down.

It might not even reach the expected 5,000 gold.

Just as he was resigning himself to that fact, a familiar face appeared in Simin’s view.

’...The Emperor?’

Sitting in the back, legs crossed, watching with interest—the Emperor of the Empire!

He had graced this place with his presence.

* * *

The Emperor, who had summoned a mage from the Magic Tower to transport him to the Rich Territory via a teleportation circle, simply watched the auction with interest.

The performance was bold from the start, and the atmosphere was overheating because of it.

’He’s quite something.’

A con artist who knew how to strike at the heart of the matter.

And he possessed the power to persuade people to shift their perspectives.

The proceedings were interesting enough to make even the Emperor, who had decided only to watch until the end, feel the urge to actively participate.

It wasn’t professional, but that made it all the more entertaining.

How many layers of that adventurer’s skin would one have to peel back to see his true colors?

He was curious.

He felt an itch to bid and drive the price up to the very end, but he held back.

Since he had come for the princess’s gift anyway, that item was effectively his.

There was no need to step in hastily, dampen the spirits of other bidders, and lower the value of the item.

Of course, the masses would ultimately judge the item’s value based only on the winning bid. However, that was only true for the mediocre classes who relied on hearsay. The top-tier nobles who truly moved the continent would be more interested in how high the price soared due to the competition.

Because of that, there was a part of him that actually wanted to lower its value.

If he hadn’t chosen it as the princess’s gift, he probably would have done so out of spite.

After all, Simin’s intentions were clearly visible to the Emperor, even if not to others.

An enhancement master who seemed capable of churning these out continuously.

Yet, he was selling only one set.

Why?

The answer came easily without much thought.

Furthermore, this first button was the easiest step in tangling up the path ahead.

’What a pity.’

If he had ruined it, the look on his son-in-law’s face would have been worth seeing.

Shaking his head, he leisurely scanned the auction as it neared its conclusion.

Still, the Emperor, who coldly judged that ruining Simin—his only son-in-law and political partner—would do him no good, was here today in a support role.

Suddenly, his eyes met Simin’s.

A warm smile formed on the cruel tyrant’s face.

To the Emperor, who had lived a boring life amidst blood and politics, this love-hate adventurer was giving him the joy of a bickering life these days.

’I will show you today.’

’Exactly what kind of person I am.’

When the bidding stalled at the 4,500 gold mark, only then did he lift the bidding paddle in front of him.

And he spoke.

The price of the princess’s life, as he thought of it.

And the sincerity he could show to the son-in-law whom his only Princess was interested in.

"30,000 gold."

Everyone’s gaze was overwhelmed by the solemn voice and naturally turned to its source.

The moment they heard the amount that poured cold water over the room and saw the face of the man who spoke it, the nobles felt all thoughts of the leather armor set—which had filled their heads with dreams of blocking monster attacks—fly away.

Why had no one known?

"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty."

"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty."

Throwing aside whatever arrogance they had been showing off, they immediately prostrated themselves on the floor.

Though their kingdoms and ranks were different, there were only two absolute beings on the continent.

Before God and the Emperor, one bows their head and kneels.

In effect, the auction was as good as over.

Who would pay more than 30,000 gold in cash to buy an extra life?

Who would dare challenge the Emperor’s item?

Simin, the only one in the auction house who hadn’t bowed his head, grumbled.

"Tch. If he was going to buy it, he should have coughed up at least 50,000 gold."

Human greed has no end, and Simin’s target was higher than where God resided.

12.

Simin’s expression as he handed over the leather armor set wasn’t very good.

"You’re not planning to wear that yourself, are you, Your Majesty?"

He glanced at him slyly.

For Simin, who harbored thoughts of ruling the continent someday, he wondered if it was okay to hand such a cheat item to the Emperor.

Even without this, the Emperor was sufficiently strong, and the Imperial Knights surrounding them were also at a level where no one dared to approach them yet, but he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

No matter how insurmountable the dragon, the final boss of the game, might be, there was no guy who would hand over items to make it stronger with his own hands.

"Isn’t that up to me, since I paid for it?"

"Well. That is true. But even if it’s Mythic-grade equipment made by my own hands, it’s still a leather armor set. The class is a bit... lacking for Your Majesty to wear..."

"It’s no use trying to do business that way."

"No, still, you are the ruler of the continent. Now that a Legendary Enhancement Master has appeared, why don’t you find a place to use him properly?"

"And who would benefit from that?"

Simin remained silent.

Yes, yes. Of course, you would say that.

Anyway, it didn’t seem like he was going to wear it himself, so Simin handed it over with a little relief.

He couldn’t exactly refuse to give it after accepting the massive sum of 30,000 gold just because he was anxious.

"By the way, what brings you here? I thought if it was my business, you’d start by interfering."

Simin, who had achieved more than he expected thanks to the Emperor anyway, asked without being able to hide the corners of his mouth turning up.

When he discovered the Emperor, he had wondered ’No way’, but to think he really bought it.

"Be grateful to the princess. And her coming-of-age ceremony is in a month, so don’t forget to attend."

"Whoa. Is that why you bought it?"

"Is there any other reason for me to pay as much as 30,000 gold to buy leather armor?"

"That’s true."

He nodded at the reasonable explanation.

A special gift for a special day!

A Mythic-grade leather armor set, the only one on the continent, as a once-in-a-lifetime coming-of-age gift for the one and only Princess in the world!

Of course, that +15 armor set wasn’t the only one.

The Emperor, who was confirming that with his eyes, requested earnestly.

"I’m saying this just in case, but Mythic-grade equipment is..."

"Don’t worry. You bought it understanding my thoughts, didn’t you? A masterpiece for the top 0.01%. This is the catalog of items I will put up for auction. I don’t want to disappoint the princess either."

Simin offered no reply.

For the first time in a long while, the two men agreed on one woman.

The Emperor handed the leather armor set he received to his escort knight, and Simin shouldered the leather bag full of gold.

"Phew."

"Are you going to use that money for the territory?"

"Huh? Why?"

The Emperor asked Simin, who was about to leave the auction house with a happy expression.

He was suddenly curious.

Where did the money earned by adventurers go?

Most other adventurers were just struggling to eat one meal after falling onto the continent, but the Simin he knew was a man who raked in money by the truckload.

The Legendary Enhancement Master from hundreds of years ago was the same.

But when looking at him, it didn’t seem like he had that much money.

Every time he came, he sang songs about money and even ripped off armor.

"Just curious."

"There are things my father-in-law is curious about, too. That’s fascinating."

The Emperor fell silent.

Simin smirked and answered.

They weren’t that close, and there was no reason to answer, but today was the day he got a massive sum of 30,000 gold.

Might as well be generous.

"This is a secret."

The air grew heavy with silence.

At the serious atmosphere, the escort knights stepped back.

Simin approached the Emperor and whispered.

"It’s a secret."

* * *