Chapter Sixty-Two: Gauging People’s Hearts

“Duo Duo, one hundred thousand.”

“Alright.”

The white-feathered girl was just about to lift her pen to write down the number when Philena’s hand abruptly stopped her.

“Please wait a moment, Miss Vilyric. This method of increasing the bid could easily create a confrontational mindset in the other party. My suggestion is…”

“There’s no need to worry, Miss Philena. After all, I insisted on buying this myself, so Liliya doesn’t need to help pay. How about this?”

Vilyric thought the other party was dissatisfied because she was so irresponsibly squandering money, but Philena quickly shook her head at that notion.

“You misunderstand. I’m not trying to stop you from buying. It’s just that doubling the bid in one fell swoop may sufficiently intimidate the crowd in a competitive environment. But right now, it’s one-on-one, and we don’t know how much budget the other party has. There’s no need to make things awkward for both sides, right?”

“Oh?”

After a moment’s thought, the Priestess felt Philena made a valid point. She didn’t have much expertise in this matter, so she decided to heed the opinion of Miss Envoy Group Leader, who was better at politics and negotiations.

“Then what do you think is the best course of action? I absolutely must acquire this book.”

The serious girl slightly nodded.

“Understood. In that case, Miss Duo Duo, let’s quote fifty thousand.”

“Okay… Huh? How much did you say?!”

The receptionist girl of the white feathers instinctively agreed, then suddenly turned around in shock, confirming it for the second time.

“I said five hundred thousand, five hundred thousand common gold coins of the Kingdom of Azure. Is there a problem? Or is there a limit to how much you can increase the price here?”

Seeing the coolly composed girl in the hood casually declare such a jaw-dropping figure, it was no surprise that even Vilyric and the Giant Dragon beside her were taken aback.

She thought Philena would gradually increase the price to probe the other party’s bottom line but didn’t expect this audacious move to increase it tenfold outright!?

However, since it was stated that Philena would handle the situation, the Priestess wouldn’t change her mind or interfere with Philena’s actions. Let her play the way she wants; even without reimbursement from Your Majesty, gold coins were just meaningless numbers to Vilyric.

Especially now that she realized the value of high-level equipment in this world.

“No, no, no, of course there’s no limit to increasing the price…”

Despite being well-trained and having seen plenty of storms, the girl named Duo Duo was still startled by this extravagant conduct. After confirming it a few times, she dared to write the number on the bidding board.

Thus, under everyone’s gaze, a zero was added right behind the 50,000 on the display.

“Oh! The distinguished guests in Box 73 bid again! They have quoted… Wait? Five, five hundred thousand?!”

The auctioneer, Xiao Mo, was just about to hype up the atmosphere again, but upon seeing the change in numbers, she froze in shock, her sweet smile turning into an awkward expression.

She even waved over a staff member standing nearby and whispered a few words, likely asking them to check if there was an issue with the bidding system.

This was quite normal.

Although 500,000 gold coins was only mid-range among the final transaction prices for all goods, it was worth noting that the blank book had previously been unsold several times with a bottom price of only 10,000 gold coins.

If it could be understood before as two party fools jacking up the price, this sudden tenfold increase was indeed peculiar from any angle.

However, no matter how Xiao Mo or other customers thought or guessed, the fact was, after this astronomical price was quoted, no one else dared to have the courage or intention to continue raising the bid.

Including the three beastmen in Box 76, who had been competing with Vilyric.

In the end, this blank book was sold at an astonishing price of 500,000 gold coins, struck down by Xiao Mo, who was still in disbelief.

Inside the room, Philena visibly breathed a sigh of relief, a faint smile appearing on her serious face.

“Mission accomplished; it seems the other party wasn’t dead set on snatching this item from us.”

While the Little Dragon Daughter looked quite confused, seemingly puzzled as to why this odd human was smiling after spending such a huge sum, Vilyric gradually began to understand.

She returned the smile.

“I see, no wonder you’re the Envoy Group Leader that Liliya highly recommended. I’ve learned something, Miss Philena.”

Even though it seemed like a lot of money was wasted, Philena could be said to have acquired the item Vilyric needed at the smallest cost she could afford at that moment.

The reasoning wasn’t complicated.

This blank book didn’t have an accurate value standard.

This led to its price being inflated infinitely.

After all, if it truly were a magic book concealing ancient forgotten spells or some other great secret, as Xiao Mo claimed, who wouldn’t be willing to buy it for 500,000 gold coins, or even 5 million?

At first, others might think it was just two brainless fools being toyed with at the auction house.

But the more intense and prolonged the competition between the two parties became, showing an excessive intent to fight over it, the more likely it was that onlookers would start to doubt the value of this seemingly useless item, possibly even devolving into a bidding war with malicious intent.

On the other hand, there was also the so-called feeling of competition, or in other words, “getting carried away.”

Though the opponent had only bid 50,000 gold coins initially, if Vilyric had employed her method of increasing the bid, it wouldn’t take long before the price would reach or exceed 500,000.

Given the purchasing power displayed by these customers earlier in the auction, in a heated exchange, tens or even hundreds of thousands of gold coins was really nothing to scoff at.

That’s why Philena chose to pour in heavy bids right away, aiming to intimidate all present, including the auction house itself, before the situation became too tumultuous.

Simultaneously, this move demonstrated to competitors that they had ample budget, implying, “I have money! I just want to buy it for fun! Who do you think you are to compete with me?”

In this way, they were not making their intentions too obvious; instead, it would lead others to think, “Isn’t this guy just a foolish newly-rich man? Who raises the price like that?”

Nobody would want to compete with a fool who has more money than sense over something without a clear use, especially when it came to malicious price hikes. Who knows if the one suddenly quoting 500,000 was actually crazy? What if you raised the price again and they just decided they didn’t want it anymore?

In conclusion, this unreasonable behavior made everyone feel uncertain, unable to grasp the thoughts of that bidder. As long as the bidder wasn’t dead set on acquiring it, most likely they wouldn’t continue to raise the price.

Evidently, Philena’s strategy was successful.

Facing the Priestess’s generous praise, the Envoy Group Leader remained unfazed, as if this kind of thing wasn’t new to her.

“You flatter me; it’s just a little clever trick to gauge people’s hearts. It’s suitable for occasional use but not for great occasions. In this world, the most important thing is still absolute strength and power, both for nations and individuals alike, isn’t it?”

   

---