“Hah? Did I hear that wrong?”

  On this bright winter morning, Alex delivered news that was thoroughly unpleasant.

  What he told me was completely outside my calculations. Who would have thought that the “Main Protagonist” was in this city—and even participating in the Southern Duke’s sword tournament?

  After submitting his registration form yesterday, the preliminary selection round had already taken place.

  Thousands of participants from all walks of life were rigorously screened by Duke Valerius’ elite knights. Out of those thousands, only forty remained eligible to enter the main tournament tomorrow.

  And among those forty names…

  One made my head throb.

  Elvan.

  “Damn…” I muttered under my breath.

  As far as I remembered from this otome game series, the first year at the Imperial Academy was supposed to be pure character introduction. From spring through winter before the second year, the plot typically focused only on minor conflicts.

  In the original scenario, during winter break like this, the protagonist should have returned to their hometown to help the Asteria family with farming.

  I let out a long breath, trying to reconstruct the game’s early setting.

  This game had a unique feature: players could choose to play as either the female protagonist or the male protagonist.

  In my previous life, I was just a casual player who preferred playing the male route—Elvan. I was never the type to diligently explore every romantic route by choosing the female protagonist, Elaine.

  Based on my limited knowledge of Elaine’s route, her first encounter with the Prince occurred in the month of Marz, at the beginning of spring. I—Rey Lucien, the scumbag villain—was supposed to bully another student. Elaine would step in to protect them. The Prince, witnessing her courage, would fall in love.

  But reality now…

  The female protagonist’s position had already been “stolen” by someone else—Erica.

  Ever since I regained the memories of my past life, I had decided not to concern myself with Elaine’s route. I considered it broken.

  I had assumed the only protagonist still following the original path was Elvan—Elaine’s twin brother. His route focused on Action-RPG combat and epic adventure. That was precisely why I’d been drawn to the game in the first place.

  Yet who could have imagined the story would veer this far off course?

  At a time like this, Elvan and Elaine should have been busy farming in their village—not showing off their strength in the Southern Duke’s sword tournament.

  “Haaa… this is going to get much more complicated,” I muttered, massaging my temples as a dull headache formed.

  After hearing Alex’s report, I immediately headed toward the location Apolo had identified.

  Len and Chorma accompanied me—though strangely, Chorma now seemed far more attached to Len than to me.

  As for Alex, I left him at the inn. He needed light physical training to maintain his condition before the tournament began tomorrow.

  “Rey, where exactly are we going?” Len asked curiously along the way.

  “Hmm. A brothel,” I replied flatly.

  Len stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened as though I had suddenly grown a second head.

  “Wait—hold on. I know you’re a top-class perverted bastard, but who would’ve thought you’d actually go to a place like that at dawn?!” she burst out.

  I ignored her lengthy complaints and continued walking.

  Eventually, we arrived at a building with striking decorations. A burly guard stood firmly at the entrance.

  “You… you’re not seriously planning to go inside, right?” Len asked in horror.

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  I stepped forward without hesitation.

  “If you don’t want to come, I’ll leave you outside alone,” I said casually.

  “W-what?! Damn it, fine!”

  Red-faced with embarrassment and irritation, Len reluctantly followed me in, clutching Chorma tightly in her arms.

  The moment we crossed the entrance, an overwhelming scent of perfume and red velvet décor greeted us. Several lightly dressed young women were lounging inside.

  One of them—apparently the manager—approached with a teasing smile.

  “Oh my… it seems we’ve received a Young Master who even brought his own partner,” she said, glancing at Len with a measuring look. “But I’m sorry, Young Master, we don’t provide rooms for couples. However, if you’d like to enjoy the company of our lovely girls, we’d gladly offer you services you’ve never experienced before.”

  “I’m here to sell a rare item,” I said bluntly.

  She laughed mockingly. “Young Master, I believe you’re mistaken. Does this place look like a general store to you?”

  “Stop pretending,” I cut in coolly, locking eyes with her. “You think I don’t know what business you truly run behind these curtains?”

  Her smile vanished instantly. Her gaze sharpened.

  “And where did you obtain that information?”

  “Trying to pry into a noble’s secrets is not a wise decision,” I replied firmly.

  She fell silent for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle.

  “Hoho… you’re quite interesting. Very well. Please follow me.”

  We were led through a neatly concealed back corridor. Len, visibly uncomfortable, gripped my sleeve tightly.

  “Hey… how do you even know about places like this?” she whispered.

  “I have an extensive information network,” I answered briefly.

  Previously, I had instructed Apolo to scan every corner of the city for brothels bearing a specific eagle carving. They were members of an underground organization known as the Eagles.

  In Elvan’s future route, they would either become formidable enemies or powerful allies. Beyond entertainment and gambling, the Eagles were actually the most prestigious secret auction organizers.

  As long as they avoided illegal drugs or slavery, the Duke ignored them. They were clever enough to register their business officially and pay taxes diligently.

  Winning the sword tournament was only one part of my plan.

  The crucial element needed to save House Lucien from the monster invasion was massive funding.

  Money was everything.

  And that was why I was forced to auction one of the items from my Cosmic Pocket.

  We eventually arrived at a soundproof negotiation room.

  “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Salia, manager of the Southern branch of the Eagles. Now then—what item do you wish to offer? I hope it matches your reputation, Young Master Rey Lucien.”

  I wasn’t surprised she knew my name. An organization like this would certainly maintain up-to-date intelligence.

  “Before we begin negotiations, how about some tea? My throat is rather dry,” I said casually.

  Salia exhaled softly but signaled for high-quality tea to be brought.

  Once it was served, I reached into my storage artifact and produced a 40-centimeter wooden box. It looked old and dusty as I placed it on the table.

  “I want to auction this. Give me an estimated opening price.”

  Salia frowned skeptically at the aged box.

  But the moment she opened it, her pupils shrank.

  She froze.

  “Such exquisite craftsmanship… This is the first time I’ve seen a blade like this. I don’t sense any mana flow within it. Call the appraiser.”

  Inside the box lay a 30-centimeter survival knife.

  Its dark silver blade gleamed sharply, as if capable of splitting light itself. Precise geometric engravings gave it a luxurious yet functional impression.

  To them, it might appear to be a rare artifact.

  To me, it was merely a standard collection piece from my Cosmic Pocket.

  I still had a dozen more.

  In this world, where metallurgical knowledge remained primitive, no one could replicate chromium-vanadium alloying—let alone vacuum forging techniques that produced such molecular density.

  A thin elderly man with thick-lensed glasses emerged from behind a curtain.

  He wore white gloves and lifted the knife with trembling hands.

  He took the hardest testing stone used for knight swords—and with a single gentle touch, without force, the stone split cleanly in two.

  “I-Impossible…” he whispered hoarsely.

  He examined the blade surface closely, searching for pores or hammer marks.

  There were none.

  “The surface… it’s impossibly smooth. Like liquid mirror. No iron folds, no carbon irregularities. How can a metal be this pure and this hard? And this material…” He tapped it lightly, producing a long, resonant chime. “This is not common steel. Not Adamantine. Not Orichalcum. What metal is this?! Its weight, its balance… it defies everything I’ve learned in a lifetime of forging!”

  He looked at me as if I had handed him a fragment of a fallen star.

  “Young Master… this was not forged by human hands on this continent. Whoever crafted it has surpassed the limits of our magical logic.”

  Salia’s gaze turned far more cautious.

  “This… approaches legendary-class quality,” the old man murmured. “Call in an aura user!”

  Soon, a muscular guard entered.

  “You’re a first-tier aura user, correct? Channel your aura into this weapon.”

  The guard gripped the survival knife.

  As he infused his energy, something unusual occurred.

  Instead of aura flaring visibly around the blade as it would with ordinary steel, the energy was completely absorbed into the metal. Only the faintest shimmer appeared—barely perceptible.

  The guard’s eyes widened.

  He pushed more aura into it.

  The result remained the same.

  It was as though the blade possessed limitless capacity to compress energy internally.

  “Remarkable…” the old appraiser breathed. “It absorbs aura down to the molecular core and conceals it perfectly. Ordinary weapons allow aura to overflow at the surface—easily detected by opponents. But with this… a knight could hide their full power until the strike lands. This is the perfect assassin’s weapon.”

  He stroked the blade reverently.

  “In terms of aura and mana conductivity, it rivals Orichalcum forged by the elder dwarves of the Western Kingdom. In pure sharpness and structural endurance, it surpasses them.”

  I couldn’t help the faint curve at the corner of my lips.

  The metallurgy of my former world was truly unfair here.

  I turned to Salia, who was still staring at the blade.

  “So… Salia,” I said calmly, wearing a confident smile, “after that demonstration—what would you estimate as the opening bid for this item?”