Frontiers ~Chronicles of Bucket-san’s Detailed Pioneering~ - Chapter 76 – That’s because she didn’t negotiate properly

As usual, I stopped by the workshop first to greet master Merget and the other disciples. After giving them the souvenirs, the middle-aged attendant of Mr. Kederick took me to the waiting room.

It seems like the people at the workshop are usually too embarrassed to go into sweets shops, so they always end up being very happy when I bring the sweets made by Lulu.

The smiths here at the Kederick Workshop are all muscular men, so I guess that’s why they feel embarrassed about entering Lulu’s store? Well, I feel like they should just go and buy the sweets anyways if they like them so much, but it seems like the hearts of men are complicated.

I truly had no idea…

In any case, Mr. Kederick arrived shortly after I started drinking the tea that his attendant served me.

As usual, he seems to be quite busy, but I’m glad that he took the time to meet me… Though well, I did make an appointment in advance, so it’s only natural that he’d be available.

“I never thought you could prepare it in such a short amount of time.

“It would be a lie if I said that I didn’t expect you to eventually make it, but I thought that it couldn’t be helped if you couldn’t get an item done in time.

“Well then, please show me the sword. I’ll see if it is good enough to be showcased by the Kederick Store.” Mr. Kederick said.

“Here, please take a look.” I showed him the sword.

“Oh? A weapon with an attribute? Did you use a Lich Bone on it?

“The results don’t seem to be bad. It has three Options, so I can ignore the fact that it isn’t an Original.

“If it had just two Options though, then it wouldn’t be good enough to be auctioned.” Mr. Kederick stated.

It seems to have passed… Though two Options wasn’t enough after all. It’s good that I kept trying until I got another weapon with three Options in it.

He was also able to instantly guess what material I used on it… As expected of the chairman of a large store.

“It’s alright to sell an item with three Options even if the Options themselves aren’t good?” I decided to ask.

“It would be troublesome if the Options were terrible, but if it’s like this, then there is no problem.

“Moreover, some people just like collecting items with three Options on them, so the item doesn’t need to be incredible at battle to be worthwhile.” Mr. Kederick explained.

“I see… I suppose it’s not just Pioneers who will be participating on the auction, so it makes sense some people will want it just for the sake of a collection.” I replied.

“Furthermore, items with high practical use tend to go for extremely high prices, so collectors usually prefer the items that aren’t necessarily ideal.” Mr. Kederick stated.

“I see, so the budget also matters then…” I muttered.

After that, Mr. Kederick also explained the rules that an exhibitor at the auction must follow, as well as the rules for bidding in the auction.

However, all things related to the seller will be handled by the Kederick store this time around, so I’ll just participate as a bidder.

And of course, as Frontiers is a game, there are systems in place that make things easier for everyone at auctions.

Due to that, even if it’s your first time going to an auction, it’s still quite easy to participate.

“Then, let me retroactively issue a proper quest for this.

“As you have already cleared the request, please accept its reward.

“Also, will you try bidding at the auction? I’ll handle everything on the seller end, so I hope you can enjoy it to your heart’s content.” Mr. Kederick told me.

“Yes, thank you!” I replied.

I didn’t know it was possible to make a quest for something after it was already delivered, but it seems like it is possible to retroactively give a quest for an already finished request.

And I was a bit surprised by the reward… It was 30 Skill Points! Did he know I was lacking Skill Points!? How large is the information network of chairmen of large stores!?

… Wait, no, it may be simpler than that… Basically all player Pioneers should be suffering from a shortage of Skill Points, so it’s not that hard for him to decide that this would be an ideal reward.

In any case, I’m very grateful to it.

Furthermore, after the Dark Short Sword is sold, and the appropriate fees are paid to the auction management side and to the Kederick Store, which will amount to roughly 20% of its price, the rest of the profits will go to me!

I’m looking forward to seeing how much it will cost.

******

I left the Kederick store.

Mr. Kederick seemed to be busy, as he immediately left as soon as our talk was over.

I also had no particular reason to remain there, so I just greeted master Merget and the other disciples again before leaving.

This was the end of the big request.

I also had no other NPC quests to clear, and while it was close to the end of the event, it was an event that had nothing to do with me, so I didn’t have any last spurts to do.

The auction is right around the corner, so let’s spend the remaining time as usual. Making steel gear, reading books to learn new recipes and drawing my beloved Magical Formations.

Well, that and some other things, like making dolls and participating on collection tours.

Still, I feel like time will pass in the blink of an eye.

Ah, but before doing any of that, I should go visit Lolita. The auction is sponsored by the country, so they have a dress code I have to adhere to.

If I dressed in my usual way, I’d be denied entrance… Though my trademark Bucket Helm seems to be allowed.

There are also people who seem to go with masks to the auction. Apparently this is to let anyone enjoy the auction regardless of status.

After all, a person on a lower position may hesitate on competing with someone on the higher echelons of society if their identity is known.

Though well, that has nothing to do with us, Pioneers.

******

<A new area in the Kingdom of Zabrina has been unlocked. The City Buried in the Sand is now available.>

On my way to Lolita’s store, this Goddess’ Announcement was suddenly released.

We’re close to the end of the event, so I guess this is the result of people being on their last spurts?

Of course, I immediately called Hime to see if this was her doing, but it seems like this was not the case.

However, she seems to be close to unlocking a different area… Seems like this event is really getting a lot of areas unlocked, isn’t it?

And of course, I’m very happy that more materials are becoming available with this. Though I prefer it when higher rank versions of existing materials become available instead.

With this, it may be possible to start making higher rank steel gear soon… Though well, I need to wait for a while until the information on the new area becomes available.

Then, let us not waste any time until then and order a dress from Lolita!

I contacted her in advance and she was quite enthusiastic about it. While Hime regularly orders clothes from Lolita, this was my first time making an order.

I mean, I can make my own clothes to some extent, but I don’t really make that many, so it’s better to order a dress from Lolita for this kind of formal occasion.

However, if I leave everything to her the result will be a super frilly dress, so I’ll have to stop her from doing this kind of thing.

She has a strong will though, so I’ll need to stay firm or I’ll lose.

This was supposed to be just ordering a dress, but I feel like it will be more like a boss battle.

Now, let’s do it! I’ll defeat Lolita!

Wait, no, I’ll order a dress. I’ll order a dress.

******

Time passed by quickly. There were now only a few hours left in the event, and the country-sponsored auction will announce its closure.

In the end, three whole areas ended up being unlocked during this last spurt. Everyone really tried their best.

And of course, Hime and the Kikoridottokoru clan unlocked one of those three.

Last I checked, Hime was also far ahead at the top of the rankings too, so she’ll probably win the event.

However, two days in real time before the closure of the event, the position of the top 10 players became hidden in the leaderboards, so we won’t have a way of knowing until the very end.

Also, Mika and her Mist Knights were the first to clear the Eku Labyrinth.

Seems like a considerable amount of time was spent on the last floor of the dungeon, but the boss fight at the end was just a larger than average number of strengthened small fries, so it was cleared with relative ease.

Though well, they were not only stronger than normal, but their numbers were also larger than normal, so it was still a proper boss fight alright.

Still, Mika praised me for the Mysterious Sword and the Dark Short Sword with three Options, as she said those two were a big part of the reason to why they were able to easily clear the boss.

Well, those two are definitely the strongest weapons we know of at the moment… Moreover, Mika is their user. A person who is good enough at sword-fighting that even adults acknowledge her skill.

Being one of the few player Pioneers who can fight enemies without the game’s assistance while also having two top-level weapons will certainly lead to her having incredible results.

Of course, she isn’t at the level of the strong NPC Pioneers yet, but she’ll quickly catch up to them at this rhythm!

And now, those two are with me in a carriage that is going towards the auction site.

All three of us are wearing dresses made by Lolita.

As a result of my hard negotiations, my dress is a bit plainer than the other two.

Hime is very happy with her incredibly frilly dress, but Mika looks embarrassed to be wearing hers… That’s because she didn’t negotiate properly.

And the reason those two are here is to, of course, participate in the auction.

They’re both top-level fight-focused Pioneers, so they naturally reached rank 5* on the Guild, which means they can participate in the auction.

Unfortunately, I’m the only person on Works on rank 5*, so the other members can’t participate.

Or rather, I’m still the only craft-focused Pioneer at 5*.

I mean, maybe there are some others that reached the 5* rank and didn’t post about it on the forums, but as far as the information I can get goes, I’m the only one.

That’s why only the three of us are going to participate on the auction.

We did promise souvenirs to everyone who couldn’t participate though, so we’ll do our best to get some good items from bidding!

Though the people of Works said they’d be fine with something as simple as a pamphlet of the auction for their souvenir.

In any case, it was now time for the last big event of this month! The auction that is only available to Pioneers who reached the 5* rank!