Reincarnated as the Final Villain's Vessel

Emeris and I arrived and joined the other eight a short distance from the auction building.

Ivan placed his hand under his chin as if stroking a nonexistent beard, narrowing his eyes at me. ”Hmm... Caius, I didn’t expect you to be like this, at least not this quickly... you know, you’re always indifferent and ignore us, so I thought you’d be very late when it came to relationships, maybe... but don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you, or for both of you... as you know...”

I sighed as Ivan started talking. ”Can you put a strip over his mouth?”

Emeris smiled. ”I can.”

The next moment, just as before, a strip of blue light formed over Ivan’s mouth, stopping the stream of words pouring out. As a result, his muffled pleas began as he tried to pull it off his face to no avail.

Seeing that, Naira smiled mockingly and slapped his back hard. ”Look how great you look with that blue strip, just like an obedient animal.”

The latter frowned and gestured to Emeris to remove it, but she only smiled while Valia nodded. ”Don’t listen to his deceitful pleas.”

This gathering and the noise we made drew the attention of the passersby and also the two guards at the entrance to the auction garden. Ignoring that, I stepped toward the large building. ”Come on, let’s go. You don’t want to be any later, right?”

With that, the ten of us walked toward the place while Emeris removed the restraint from Ivan’s mouth, and he let out a long breath. ”Haaah...”

He approached the silent Jin and placed a hand on his shoulder. ”See, Jin, how cruel women are? So as advice from me, don’t trust your girlfriend too much.”

The latter was surprised, an expression of confusion appearing on his face. ”Ah... what... what does that have to do with anything now?”

There he was, rambling about other things now. Maybe it would’ve been better to keep the strip over his mouth.

...

The sound of shoes striking the marble floor echoed as we walked through a wide corridor.

Ahead of us was a man wearing a neat black suit, leading the way after we entered this place.

Well, all I had to do was show my card to the guards outside before someone came to guide us here.

After a few more meters, he stopped at a set of double doors and opened them for us. ”Please, come in.”

I entered first and the others followed me silently. Well, except for Ivan, who made a comment every few seconds. ”Wow... this place is much more luxurious than my house... what about your house, Garon?”

The latter shrugged his massive shoulders, clearly showing his desire to remain silent. ”Doesn’t matter.”

I entered the room, which looked like an ordinary waiting room, before the man spoke again. ”The Marquis will come to see you shortly.”

With that, he closed the door, leaving us alone there. Without thinking, I walked over and sat on one of the couches before checking the time... it was almost three in the afternoon.

While the others wandered around the room and some of them sat down, I sensed everything within this building.

From the magical devices installed at every window and entrance to the people here, of whom there were only fourteen.

Four were Rank 3, three were Rank 4, and the rest were below that except for one person at Rank 5, who I assumed was the Marquis.

Speaking of that, Emeris and I were Advanced Rank 3, while Ivan and Garon were Beginner, and the rest were Advanced Rank 2 or lower.

While I was thinking, the sound of glass shattering echoed through the room, followed by Ivan’s voice. ”Oops... I didn’t mean to do that.”

I turned my head to see the shards of something scattered across the floor, and before he could do anything, Valia was already scolding him. ”Damn it, do you need to cause trouble every time...”

”Annoying children.” Garon let out a deep breath.

At the same time, I sensed two people arrive behind the door before it opened the next moment, allowing them to enter.

The first to enter was the Rank 5 man. He looked to be in his early forties, with dark eyes and dark hair streaked with a few strands of gray and combed back with flawless precision.

He wore a beautiful black suit that wasn’t lacking in signs of wealth, with those golden embroideries and his family’s emblem on his wrist.

Of course, it was Marquis Valemont.

The other was also a man in his forties, with short brown hair and wearing a gray outfit that looked like light armor, adding to the sharpness of his stern features.

The Marquis wore a calm and controlled smile as he approached us. ”Welcome, students. I’m glad you finally arrived, though I expected it to be much earlier.”

At the same time, his eyes caught sight of Ivan trying to cover the glass on the floor, but he didn’t comment on it.

I put an apologetic smile on my face as I took charge. ”We’re sorry for being late. A small problem happened on the way here, but that didn’t stop us from making it here in the end.”

The others kept their mouths shut and nodded along with my lie.

But the Marquis didn’t care and stepped forward, sitting on the couch opposite me while the other man remained standing silently.

A faint smile rested on his face as he stared at Emeris and me. ”I don’t mean to flatter you, but it’s unusual to see two people your age who have reached this level... the future of the Axis must be interesting.”

There he goes, starting with flattery. I don’t like this kind of behavior.

But I smiled and went along with it. ”Thank you, Lord Valimont. Can you tell us now what we need to do and the rest of the details?”

”Quick and direct.” He said that while looking at the others, who remained silent, before glancing at the man who had come with him.

”As for that, Raph will take care of giving you instructions and teaching you the basics of this work over the next two days before the auction begins.”

He glanced at the watch on his wrist as he continued. ”This will be good practical experience for you, and I promise I won’t be stingy with the evaluation I’ll send to the Axis if things go well.”

At those words, Ivan smiled and approached the couch after he finished hiding the broken glass. ”We truly appreciate that, Marquis Valimont.”

He looked respectful and polite... so in the end, he could speak like this. How wonderful.

The Marquis nodded at his words with a small smile. ”It’s the least I can offer a group of unique talents like you.”

His gaze stopped on me for a moment, then without dragging things out any longer, he rose from his seat and nodded to us. ”Now excuse me, I have some work to take care of, and Raph will handle things with you.”

Our gazes met one last time as I nodded to him before he turned and left, leaving us with the man called Raph, who seemed to be at the peak of Rank 4.

With the Marquis gone, Raph swept us with a stern gaze as if we were about to join the ranks of the army, before speaking for the first time.

”Why don’t I take you on a tour around the place?”