Both of them stopped at several stores while talking about different things. Well, it cannot be considered a proper conversation as Gideon did the most talking and Estella just gave short replies from time to time.
It might be just walking but Gideon felt like they were on a date, although he wouldn't reveal his thoughts.
Nearly 45 minutes later, they finally stopped at the end of the Black market zone. It was another run-down store without any people.
Gideon wondered out loud, "does this store also sell cursed items?"
Estella shook her head and replied, "No. It's just an old store that sells antique items."
"It looks like you really antique items," commented Gideon letting out a grin. He wasn't wrong though. She did buy so many of them during the past hour. Gideon was happy that he gets to see Estella's different side from the one she behaves usually.
"If only she tries to talk cute, it will be great," He couldn't help but fantasize about her talking like an anime character.
As his ears flushed in red while his fingers are twitching in excitement, Estella gave an elbow strike to his abdomen, "What are you thinking, you pervert?"
"Pervert?" Gideon felt like his chest was pierced by an invisible arrow. He quickly calmed himself and cleared his throat, "nothing, let's go."
Both of them walked towards the store named Origin. It is stated since 1951 of the 11th Epoch on the sign board. So, it's like the store has only been here for 43 years. Gideon mumbled, "It seems the business is going well here. She might get scammed."
Estella was nearby and heard it clearly. Without turning around, she stated, "I dare him to scam me and live to tell the tale."
Gideon didn't say anything as he was aware of her personality. He followed her as she walked into the store.
It was rather a simple store, appearing like any other one in the market. There are items displayed on the wall behind the long wooden desk that separate the customers and the owner. Gideon observed them and felt like they don't look impressive.
On the other hand, Estella wasn't even sparing a glance at those displayed items and directly talked to the owner who appeared to be busy with the customers. There are like a dozen items on the desk.
"I heard that a certain pendent found its way here," said Estella, interrupting his business.
As soon as the words escaped her mouth, the two customers glanced at each other and then, nodded slightly to the owner as if they gave some sort of signal to him.
The owner of the store appeared like a young man in his 30s. Considering his soul power appears to be only at rank 2, it might be his real age.
He ignored the customers and gave attention to the heiress of the Moon Clan. Letting out a smile, "Do you wish to buy it?"
"Obviously, or else, why would I be here?" Estella snorted in response.
The young man kept his smile and raised his index finger. Gideon thought that it is 10 million or maybe 100 million but the owner shocked him as he quote the price, "1 Billion. No bargain."
"Billion!" Gideon cried out loudly while Estella furrowed her brows. Strangely, the two customers didn't change their expressions.
Gideon then asked, "Ella, what kind of object is that it costs that high?"
"It's the Pendant of Selene," replied Estella. She then took a glance at the young man and added, "But, I'm not sure about its authenticity."
The young owner then explained, "According to the seller, this pendant has a fascinating history. It was originally created by Zeus for one of his lovers, Selene, the Moon Goddess during their relationship.
Later, Selene fell in love with a mortal man named Endymion and even married him. Unfortunately, he couldn't live longer than 80-odd years. After all, this was the time before the age of Arcana.
Eventually, it was buried along with Endymion after he died due to old age. No one knows how powerful the object is but considering it belongs to a Divine being, its price can't be low."
"I see," Gideon was satisfied by the reply and nodded.
On the other hand, Estella doesn't appear to be impressed.
From the start, she never had the expectations of acquiring the real thing because the elders of the clan have already confirmed its price.
Unfortunately for them, only Leviathan, who met the Moon Goddess in person when it was a Celestial grade beast in a past life, can authenticate it by tracing that divine energy of Moon Goddess left on the pendant.
That means Estella is necessary. The problem occurred when the elders told her that it was sold for only 1 Billion credits, which is way below their expectations. If it was a real one, it shouldn't be less than 10 billion.
Of course, 1 billion is also not a small amount. They cannot just pay such an amount for a fake. It is why Estella's presence is necessary.
And Estella, who wasn't that excited to buy the object, just said, "Show it."
"Alright," He nodded.
The owner took out a red-colored brocade box and carefully placed it on the desk. Surprisingly, he wasn't a little bit cautious. After all, he is a 2-star Arcana Master and the customers are far more powerful than him.
What if they stole him or worse, kill him and take the precious object by force? Gideon couldn't help but be taken aback by the owner's behavior.
Unfortunately, Estella didn't possess such awareness. She just wants to verify it and be done with the task as fast as possible.
But what if it turns out to be real? Even then, it doesn't matter to her because she can't have it. The other items were bought with her saved pocket money but this one was paid for by the clan funds.
"Here it is…"
Soon, the young owner opened the brocade box, revealing a pendant inside.
The chain was made of pure platinum or silver but the pendant itself is in the form of a full moon made from black colored metal (adamantine?). Well, more than a moon, it appears like a thick and large ring for it was hollow inside. Thankfully, the hollow space was filled with a yellow colored gem. It was glowing brightly as if it contained some divine power.
At a glance, because of the mismatched color combination of silver/platinum-black-yellow, the pendant looked anything but attractive. Well, atleast for the mortals and low-rank Arcana Masters.
But, for people like Gideon and Estella, it was a tremendous attraction, especially the gem. Even those two mysterious customers couldn't help but glance at the pendant with greedy looks.
"This…"
It made Gideon remember the Jewel of Life that he witnessed during the royal feast auction, which happened after the Champions League. As he enhanced his senses, he felt a tremendous amount of energy within the gemstone that almost suffocated him. He was forced to stop sensing it. Estella was almost in the same condition as him.
Meanwhile, the Leviathan, which was sleeping inside Estella's mindscape, suddenly opened its eyes and let out a roar.
Estella's eyes widened in shock. Sensing how the beast was going crazy, wanting to devour the object, she assumed that it is a real deal. At the same time, she couldn't keep her eyes off the gemstone embedded inside the pendant.
The young man closed the lid and let out a smirk, "Now, does the customer believe its authenticity. Or would you like to take a closer look? You can feel it and check it yourself. Once the transaction went through, I won't be refunding the money at any cost."
He opened the lid of the box once again to tempt her.
Just as he expected, Estella, who was attracted by the gemstone, stretched her arms and touched the gemstone before trying to pick up the pendant. However, the moment she touched the chain, strange energy invaded her body before transforming into a mystic seal and attacking her soul orb.
"Argh…" Estella shrieked in pain, all of a sudden, and collapsed on the ground. The chain was about to fall on the ground but was caught with a thread of soul energy by one of the mysterious customers who returned it to the brocade box.
Everything just happened in an instant.
"Ella!" Gideon hurriedly picked her up with a look of worry on his face. It was then something clicked in his mind and he raised his head to find those two customers along with the owner were smiling big.
"He's at rank-5 and will be useful for energy extraction. Capture him too." The supposedly weakling owner ordered the two customers.
"A trap? Who the hell are you?"
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