The Extra Villain: I Made a Contract With The Dragon Empress!-Chapter 323: Gustav Alveron

"You’re welcome, Head of the Arden Family," replied a tall man wearing a black mask. "We’re honored by your invitation."

The others quickly followed suit, and the hall filled with voices of praise.

Merlin glanced at Graham and couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. Maybe it was just his imagination, but everyone seemed to hold him in extremely high regard.

He knew Graham was the head of the Arden family, but the respect shown by the experts here felt excessive.

Of course, only those at the Second Spirit Core level or its equivalent showed such respect.

Those as strong as Linda merely offered perfunctory greetings, as if still clinging to their arrogance.

"I organized this party not only to get to know all of you but also to help you build relationships with one another. Later, there will also be an interesting auction. I’m curious... are you interested?"

Graham smiled faintly as he swept his calm gaze across them.

"An auction?" Everyone was surprised. They hadn’t known the party would include one.

It should be noted that an auction was an exceptional event. Many of the items up for sale were valuable.

Of course, it all depended on the scale of the auction itself.

Usually, only auctions held by large trading houses—like the Beethovens or others—offered plenty of fine items.

And now, the Arden family was hosting one as well, which naturally caught everyone’s attention.

All the items up for sale were undoubtedly very valuable.

"I’m interested, Lord Arden," said a fat man, his cheerful face hidden behind his mask.

"Me too!"

"Tsk! It seems I’ll be seeing many valuable things later."

Many voiced their agreement, leaving the others with no choice but to follow suit.

"I’m pleased with your response. Don’t worry, the auction was being prepared. Please enjoy the food we’ve served first. I hope you like it."

After saying that, Graham bowed his head slightly, then turned and walked away.

The sound of music echoed from the far end of the hall before slowly spreading to every corner.

People began taking food and enjoying it while chatting casually with one another.

"Let’s have dinner," Linda said.

Merlin nodded. The two of them split up and took the food they liked.

Merlin’s gaze swept over the dishes on display, then immediately landed on something he had never expected to see—spicy noodles.

Out of curiosity, he walked over and was stunned by what he saw.

"Yakisoba!? Damn! Am I seeing things?"

He rubbed his eyes and examined the dish closely. It was indeed yakisoba—one of Japan’s signature dishes.

"This..." Merlin stammered, unsure how to react.

He had never expected to see yakisoba there. It should have been impossible.

After a long silence, Merlin took a deep breath to calm himself and picked up the dish.

He tasted it and was surprised by how delicious it was.

’Even though it’s not as good as the one from my world, this tastes pretty good,’ he muttered, staring intently at the yakisoba.

He had previously found taiyaki in the capital of the Aldoria Kingdom and later discovered a couple-themed café in the city of Brindel.

And now, finding yakisoba at this party left Merlin at a loss for words.

"Could my guess all this time have been right?" His brows furrowed.

His boldest theory was that other Japanese people besides him existed in this world.

If he had been only fifty percent certain before, that certainty had now risen to ninety percent.

It was far too astonishing to be mere coincidence.

Just then, he heard footsteps behind him, followed by a man’s playful voice.

"You look young, but I can’t see into your true self. Kid, you’re truly amazing."

Merlin was startled and turned around. A man was walking toward him with a leisurely stride.

He wasn’t particularly tall—only about Merlin’s height—but his presence radiated an aura that even Merlin dared not underestimate.

"Open his status panel," Merlin whispered.

[Status Panel]

Name: Gustav Alveron

Age: 60

Status: Father of the Protagonist, the Forgotten Wanderer

Talent: S-Rank

Guardian Spirit: Blood-scaled Snake (★★★★)

Rank: First Spirit Core

Bloodline: ???

Favorability: -20

When he saw it, his eyes widened in shock, and his breathing grew heavy.

’Gustav Alveron? How is that possible?’

Gustav Alveron was an incredibly powerful individual. It wasn’t unusual for people to compare him to his master, Linda.

However, it wasn’t only his strength that was astonishing but also his status as the father of the protagonist, Abel Alveron.

Yes, the protagonist had a powerful father backing him.

Yet, like most protagonists in fantasy novels, Abel hadn’t known Gustav’s true identity until the latest volume—before Merlin’s death.

Gustav only watched over Abel from the shadows and never revealed himself directly. Occasionally, he stepped in when Abel was in trouble.

He had never expected to run into this man right here at this party.

’System, is he really Gustav—the protagonist’s father?’ Merlin asked hesitantly.

He had to confirm this with the system.

"[Correct, Master. He is the father of the protagonist, Abel,]" the system confirmed.

Merlin’s expression darkened. At first, he had thought Abel wouldn’t appear again since he had taken over the protagonist’s status.

However, it seemed that wasn’t the case. Abel was still in this world, and his whereabouts were unknown.

What Merlin feared was that Abel’s appearance would ruin all the plans he had meticulously laid out—one of them involving the heroines.

He didn’t want those he had conquered to fall in love with Abel instead. Although the possibility was small, he dared not take the risk.

"[Don’t worry, Master. Those you’ve conquered won’t turn away—even if Abel appears. You can be sure of that,]" the system said in a soothing tone.

Merlin felt relieved and smiled faintly.

"Thank you."

"Kid, why are you spacing out?" Gustav’s voice snapped him out of his reverie.

Merlin took a deep breath and looked at him calmly before replying, "Sorry, my mind’s been elsewhere. By the way, what did you mean by what you said earlier?"

As he spoke, he lifted the yakisoba and ate it in front of Gustav.

Gustav wasn’t offended at all and simply gave a small smile.

"I can’t see you with my eyes. This is really strange. In reality, you’re no older than fifteen, aren’t you?"

Merlin’s body froze, but only for a moment. He continued eating and replied, "It’s rude to reveal someone else’s identity at this party. I hope you know that."

He neither confirmed nor denied it, instead responding with sharp words.

Gustav’s smile vanished, but it returned the very next second.

Without saying another word, he turned and walked away. But suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and glanced at Merlin over his shoulder.

"Sometimes, taking what isn’t yours can lead to disaster. I hope you understand."

After that, he averted his gaze and headed toward the center of the hall.

Merlin wasn’t affected by his words at all. He didn’t fully grasp the meaning, but it was likely related to something concerning luck.

Ever since he had taken Abel’s place as the protagonist and obtained the dragon’s luck from Calystron, he had become sensitive to many things, including the intentions of others.

The ancestor of the Tharot family, Crystal Tharot, had once said that he carried a huge golden light within him.

That light was likely the luck the system had referred to before.

Therefore, he suspected Gustav could sense it and had said it to provoke a reaction from him.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be swayed. Merlin glanced at Gustav’s status panel and saw that his affection was at -20. That meant the man had indeed approached him with ill intent.

"What are you eating, Merlin?"

A curious voice came from behind him. Merlin turned and saw Linda walking toward him, holding a plate of chocolate cake.

"I’m trying some food I’ve never had before," he said casually. "Want to try it?"

Merlin held out the plate of yakisoba to her. Linda looked at the food curiously, then nodded.

"That looks really interesting. Please feed me."

Merlin twirled the noodles with his fork and fed her a bite.

Linda ate it, chewing for a moment before swallowing.

"It tastes delicious," she praised. "What’s the name of this dish? And where is it from?"

"It’s called yakisoba. I don’t know where it’s from—most likely the eastern continent," Merlin explained, shrouded in a lie.

"I see..." Linda nodded as if she understood. "Oh, right, the auction is about to start. Let’s go inside."

Merlin said nothing. Together, they walked toward the hall prepared for the auction.

...

"Are the items ready?" Graham asked indifferently.

Arkas turned toward him, then bowed his head respectfully.

"They are, my lord. Would you like to inspect them?"

Graham nodded. Accompanied by Arkas, he walked toward the room behind the stage.

The room was huge and spacious, filled with various items ready for auction.

But on the right side stood a cage about a meter tall. Inside was a little girl with a strange appearance.

She had a human body but also a fox’s tail and a pair of fox ears on her head.

She wore a white dress that looked worn and tattered. She was asleep in a curled-up position, as if terrified and uncomfortable.

"Is that the main item to be auctioned?"

"That’s right, my lord. She is the princess of the fox clan. As you commanded, we will use her as a bargaining chip to obtain the items we desire from our guests."

A faint smile played on Arkas’s lips.

Graham smiled as well, his gaze fixed on the little fox girl.

"I’m sure they’ll love her. After all, that girl is truly extraordinary—especially her ability to heal all wounds, even severe ones, simply by sleeping with her. For those with deep, incurable injuries, I’m certain they’ll be fighting over her... hehehe..."