Chapter 216 End of First Day
It didn't take long for a knock to reach Jack's door, but this time a voice was heard too.
"Thank you for your generous offer, Master. Would it be alright for us to meet our kind benefactor? We'll maintain the utmost secrecy, of course."
The only thing that the people outside heard was the sound of a knock on the small door to the side. They quickly understood and made the exchange as usual.
Both of the head managers from Golden Haven and Celestial Crane left with sad faces.
They asked the manager from the Fat Goose to take lead them to the room, but he rejected them. He said that person was a friend of the owner, Argyle, and that he kept everything completely secret.
Of course, the manger never mentioned that he also knew who he was, but that didn't matter.
Now, both managers returned to the owners of their respective auction houses and informed them about their findings and their rejection.
The owners were startled to hear that Argyle knew that person personally but wouldn't reveal anything, even to the fellow auction houses which were all known for their secrecy.
Kaldor stormed off. He began his search for Argyle and more information on the mystery man. Determined to not let Argyle monopolize such an extravagant spender, Kaldor had his other men help him search for Argyle and contact him if they spotted him.
Hurmot, the owner of the Celestial Crane, laughed to himself.
Unlike Kaldor, Hurmot's relationship with Argyle was much better as he had helped teach Argyle how to run an auction house, for a very high price of course. But this allowed him to know Argyle's way of handling things.
After almost an hour passed, the auction finally restarted and Kaldor was dejected. He failed to find Argyle even when he extended the wait time.
"Next, we'll start selling a few lv. 40 holy weapons." Unfazed by her boss's bad mood, the beautiful woman on stage got things rolling without a hitch.
Four different lv. 40 holy items were sold, but Jack didn't so much as look at them.
At the moment, he had no need for such items and he wouldn't for a while. Plus, he had a few already so it wasn't his biggest priority.
And if Jack could find a way to craft his own, then he wouldn't need to bother buying any ever again. If anything, he might a sell a few if a need for more money ever came up after he revamped the Leisure Guild.
The same thing happened when the lv. 45 items came out.
That aggressive young man that had amazed everyone with his wealth and attitude never said a word after he won the katanas. But it didn't make sense to most people since those items were clearly more valuable and Jack could definitely afford them.
Some of the royals were trying to figure Jack out as well. They assumed that he was probably around lv. 35 and possibly equipping a party, which sounded terrifying to face for anyone not over lv. 45.
However, other than that, they were all left in the dark, eager to see what else Jack would purchase.
"With that, we'll take the evening break and allow you all to take a quick rest or share a meal. We'll reconvene at daybreak. And thank you for coming," announced the woman on stage as she disappeared behind the closing curtain.
The doors to the main hall stayed closed, only letting those from the auction houses enter or leave.
For that reason, most people started retrieving all sorts of things from their storages, mainly things like tables, chairs, and food.
Jack's party was already finishing the final preparations of a great feast, which Marisha was cooking for them with the other women helping. Lina also lent a hand, trying her best to imitate Maura.
"Hey Argyle, I have a question for you. Do you know any unaffiliated lv. 70 experts?"
Jack's question startled not only Argyle but Rydel and Maynard who were nearby and joined the conversation early.
Squinting his eyes, Argyle stared at Jack. "Why on earth are you looking for such an expert?"
"Everything will make sense eventually, but for now I just need to find an unaffiliated lv. 70 expert," replied Jack, shrugging his shoulders.
"Are you going to try and convince an unaffiliated lv. 70 to join you and the Leisure Guild? Do you realize how hard that is?"
"I've got an idea, but it needs to happen anyway. So, do you know any or not?"
Ruffling his fingers through his hair, Argyle sighed. "To be honest, I don't. I'm one of the younger lv. 70's and don't know most of the others."
Just then, a knock was heard at the door.
Jack got up and neared the door. This time, he tapped a small stone on the door frame, allowing the entire door to become see-through like the wall facing the stage.
On the other side, there was an old man with a long gray bird. He was well-groomed and well-dressed, showing that he came from some kind of status.
"Hurmot?" Argyle noticed the man and instantly recognized him.
"Knock, knock, knock," Hurmot knocked again, patiently waiting outside the door.
"You know him?" asked Jack.
"Yeah, he's the man who owns the Celestial Crane Auction House. I had paid him to become my mentor and I learned how to run this place from him," admitted Argyle. "But I don't get why he would come here personally, not after we already turned down his manager."
Suddenly, a voice went off inside Argyle's head. "Argyle, are you going to let me in or not?"
Argyle grabbed his purple contact crystal and looked at Jack. "What do you want to do? Should we let him in or not? He just contacted me, asking to open the door."
Jack laughed, surprised that Hurmot was able to deduce that Argyle was hiding in Jack's room. "Argyle, do you trust him?"
"Of everyone in Federal City, I feel he's the most trustworthy and the man who knows the most secrets or people," answered Argyle, not holding back any praise.
With a shrug of his shoulders, Jack unlocked the door and held it open.
Hurmot smiled, gladly walking in and letting the door lock behind him. "So you were hiding in here… How come you never told me about such an amazing benefactor? Were you not willing to share?"
Argyle opened his mouth, but Jack spoke up first. "It's because he promised not to rat out his son-in-law."
"Son-in-law?!" Looking at the young man beside him, Hurmot easily recognized him as the young man whose wedding Hurmot recently attended. "Argyle… Don't tell me that you're just buying all of this and gifting them to the boy?"
Breaking out in laughter, Argyle held his stomach. It took him a moment to recompose himself.
"Hurmot, trust me, I haven't lent him a single coin. In fact, I only met Jack after he robbed me of the cloak we sold a few months ago."
"I was that mysterious buyer who offered a lv. 65 weapon for the cloak, which you happily accepted," Jack chuckled as he corrected Argyle and stuck out his hand to Hurmot. "You're Hurmot, right? It's a pleasure to meet."
"Likewise." Hurmot firmly shook Jack's hand and stared deeply into the young hero's eyes.
"Know matter what you try, you won't be able to see through me this time, Hurmot. Sorry to disappoint you," Jack joked with the old man, understanding what he was trying to do. "But Argyle was right, I'm the one who purchased everything and I arguably have more wealthy than him."
"Those are boastful words for a--"
A staff suddenly appeared in Jack's hand as Jack smiled. "Really? Then how could I possibly own this peak-tier lv. 70 cobra staff?"
"That's…"
Putting it away immediately, Jack continued, "Since we have some time to chat, I'd love to ask you some questions that I think only you can answer. And then maybe I can exchange that staff and some of my own information in return. Something tells me that you might be interested."
Hurmot shook his head, struggling to wrap his head around the situation.
He had assumed that some unaffiliated lv. 70 had finally come out of hiding, but this was even more shocking.
"Who are you really?" asked Hurmot.
"That depends, are you willing to answer any questions I have? I'm only asking for a fair exchange," reasoned Jack. "And if you believe that I have such valuable information, you can ask Argyle if I'm lying or underestimating myself."
Doing just that, Hurmot asked, "Argyle, who on earth is he?"
"He may arguably be one of the most knowledgable people in all of Kartonia, if not the most knowledgable," stated Argyle. "And if you don't believe me, you can ask Tralon, who will personally vouch for Jack."
Not hesitating, Hurmot took out his purple contact crystal and tested that.
When Tralon answered and restated exactly what Argyle had said, Hurmot was at a loss for words. Turning to Jack, he nodded. "I agree. If both of them say so, then I have no reason to doubt you. I'll tell you anything."
"Great!"