Chapter 31: The Auction of a Human Youth

Under the gaze of the crowd, a human youth lay inside the golden birdcage. He seemed to have just been asleep, but now, startled by the glaring light on stage, he looked up in a daze and rubbed his eyes.

His skin was so pale under the light it appeared almost translucent, and his golden hair seemed to emit its own glow. When his azure eyes took in the surroundings, fear instantly crept into them. He hugged the blanket beside him tightly, his slender frame trembling as if a slight force would break it.

The audience was stunned. They could hardly believe that the figure on stage was human. Such a delicate, beautiful youth was an extreme rarity in the demon realm.

Even succubi, who made a living by seducing others, carried an innate allure no matter how fragile they pretended to be. But this human youth was different—he naturally exuded helplessness and fear, like a weak kitten, pitiable and adorable.

The fury that had gripped the crowd vanished in an instant. They had been enraged by the auction of a human, but now, seeing the human’s appearance, they couldn’t bring themselves to utter a single complaint.

“I’ll pay ten thousand demon crystals!” a young demon in the front row blurted out, unable to contain himself.

The audience gasped. Ten thousand demon crystals was a fortune in the demon realm—enough to provide a common family with a lifetime of comfort in any other city. Even in the capital, it was a staggering sum. No one expected such a high opening bid.

“I’ll pay twenty thousand!”

“Thirty thousand!”

“Thirty-one thousand!”

…

But in the capital, there were plenty with deep pockets. Many didn’t even bat an eye at ten thousand demon crystals, and a fierce bidding war soon erupted.

“A bunch of poor wretches—you think such paltry sums can buy this precious human? I’ll pay one hundred thousand!” A somewhat willful female voice suddenly rang out from an upper box.

The crowd held its breath.

“That’s the eldest daughter of the Oster family!”

“I hear she’s the sole heir of the family, incredibly powerful, and considered a candidate for the future queen.”

“To think she’d openly bid for this human here—she must not care about the position of queen at all!”

The ordinary nobles, even if unwilling, had no choice but to abandon the bidding. One hundred thousand demon crystals was far beyond their means. But more than the money, they dared not compete with such high-ranking aristocrats of the empire—it would be suicide.

…

“My lady, is this really wise? I hear His Highness the Elder Prince has also come to this auction,” a servant in the box said with a grim expression. “He’s just a human. Why must you…”

“Shut up!” The beautiful woman with fiery red hair shot him a cold glare, then fixed a burning gaze on the youth on stage. “What do I care about being queen? I’ve finally found my true love.”

Cold sweat broke out on the servant’s forehead. He thought that human was doomed—the Elder Prince would surely have him killed. After all, it was an unspoken rule in the demon realm that the eldest daughter of the Oster family was the Elder Prince’s future wife. And now she was pulling such a stunt.

…

The crowd held its breath again.

“That’s the eldest son of the Brent family!”

“Isn’t he a pureblood vampire who’s always disdained the matches his family arranged for him, to the point he’s never even had a fling? And now he’s—”

“Incredible. Only the eldest son of the Brent family would dare compete with the eldest daughter of the Oster family…”

Inside the Oster box, the eldest daughter smashed the table with her fist, her eyes blazing with anger. “Damn it! How dare he fight me for it? As if I’m short on demon crystals!”

“My lady, please calm down! Spending two hundred thousand demon crystals on a mere human is—”

“I’ll pay three hundred thousand!” The Oster heiress’s furious voice rang through the hall.

That figure was astonishing. The previous pureblood succubus had sold for only one hundred ninety thousand demon crystals. This human was far surpassing her.

The auction officials, who had been grim-faced, thinking the auction was ruined, were now frozen in shock.

“Three hundred fifty thousand.” A new price was called out.

“My lord, what exactly attracts you to this human?” a servant beside him asked respectfully.

“He’s no ordinary human,” the youth replied, a fervent glint in his eyes. “I have a feeling he’s my destined partner. I won’t let that woman have him this time!”

“Five hundred thousand!”

The price skyrocketed as the two heirs of the leading families shouted their bids, leaving all other guests utterly bewildered. They never imagined things would escalate like this.

The auction organizers were so excited they almost had heart attacks. If such a price was finalized, it would exceed the total profits of the last several decades combined.

Sitting in the cage, Song Ze was equally stunned.

He never expected that after just a nap, he’d end up here being auctioned… Song Ze was terrified. He thought he was as good as dead.

After all, what good was a human to auction? Sold to these demons, he’d surely be killed!

But then the demons began bidding passionately, and the price climbed to an astonishing level. Even though he’d never been to the demon realm before, as someone who’d played games, he understood the value of demon crystals… Five hundred thousand? That was the entire wealth of a major family!

And weren’t the two bidders from the most powerful families in the demon realm? In the game, these two were major villain bosses. You had to grind for half a year to even have a chance of killing them. And now they were actively participating in an auction for him?

The whole situation felt surreal to Song Ze. He genuinely began to fear that being bought by either of them would lead to a bad ending! He trembled even more.

To the audience, this pitiful display only made them feel sorrier for him. They thought the bidding scared him. Unfortunately, few dared to oppose the two bidders.

“One million demon crystals.” A cold voice suddenly spoke.

The audience gasped. Even the bidders fell silent in shock.

Everyone in the capital knew that voice. It was… the Elder Prince.

“His Highness the Elder Prince?!”

“Wasn’t it said that His Highness the Elder Prince was extremely picky…? And now he…”

“I’ve heard His Highness is incredibly cruel, that he loves to capture slaves and torture them to death. This human is probably…”

Murmurs rippled through the audience before quickly dying down. After all, no one dared to discuss the Elder Prince’s habits openly—getting caught would spell trouble.

Moreover, in the demon realm, where the strong preyed on the weak, no one would condemn a powerful figure’s actions. They would only blame the weak.

But this time, the crowd couldn’t help feeling pity for the human youth on stage. Such a fragile, lovely boy—it would be a waste for him to die like this.

The eldest daughter of the Oster family looked terrible. She desperately wanted to prevent Song Ze from falling into the Elder Prince’s hands, but she couldn’t say a word. To openly compete with the Elder Prince would be a blatant challenge, even worse than breaking their unspoken engagement.

Still, she thought, the Elder Prince would soon tire of him. Then she could find a way to save the human’s life.

The eldest son of the Brent family had the same thought and also fell silent.

No one dared to oppose the Elder Prince now. They weren’t tired of living yet.

Song Ze, in the cage, was utterly dumbfounded.

What? The Elder Prince was the one buying him?

In the game, this Elder Prince had always been hostile to the protagonist, constantly capturing and tormenting him. If not for the demon princess secretly sending the protagonist away, the story would have ended badly long ago!

And this Elder Prince was a boss-level figure, finally killed by the upgraded protagonist. And now he was buying Song Ze…

Song Ze felt death was imminent. His head spun. He couldn’t imagine what kind of treatment awaited him!

The Elder Prince must have seen at a glance that he was the human hero and bought him to kill him!

What other reason could there be? That he liked him?

Song Ze had never doubted the sexuality of any male characters in this world besides the four romance targets. In the game, those male characters were just normal males. How could they have any interest in him… except to kill him or be his best buddy?

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