Rising up from a Nobleman to Intergalactic Warlord!!

Reaching the front of the queue, the man at the front door recognized me from our brief meeting the other day. Surprised to see me, given the short window of time I had to raise the funds, he inquired if I truly had the money to enter.

"I know you want to save your friend, but I cannot let you enter without payment. Do you have the million dia entry fee?", he inquired.

"I do, though it is in the form of gold coins.", I replied, handing him a bag of coins worth a million dia, "Do I have to pay for my bodyguards and Lucoa?"

Taking a second to count the coins, I could see the shocked expression he was trying to hide in his eyes. Quickly returning to reality, the man asked me to repeat my question to him again.

"Do I need to pay for my bodyguards and Lucoa to enter?", I repeated.

"Oh, no they can enter for free. Potential buyers are the only ones required to pay.", he replied, depositing the bag of coins with the others before retrieving a few items for me, "Here is your bidding sign with your buyer number. I assume you understand the bidding process so I will not bore you with a refresher. Take a seat at any open table in the auction house, we will start the auction shortly."

Nodding my head, we entered the auction house and immediately felt the oppressive atmosphere. Having the day's slaves spread out among several dozen cages, all of the slaves were backed as far away from the front of the cage as humanly possible. Cowering in fear as their potential owners spoke about what would become of them, my gut instinct was to slaughter all of these scumbags and save us all a lot of trouble.

'These are living, breathing people, not cattle!', I thought, trembling with anger.

"Leon, please do not do anything rash.", Lucoa pleaded, sensing the anger swelling inside me, "Focus on Roxanne and the other children from your territory. While I am certain you could buy everyone's freedom, you do not know their situation back home. They may have no jobs, home, or family to return to, you would just be buying a few more months of freedom for them before they return here."

Understanding Lucoa's point, I still did not like the idea of leaving these mostly innocent people in the hands of the predatory elite. Swallowing my anger to save Roxanne and the others, I scanned the room looking for where they were at. Spotting them toward the middle right of the room, Zola and Rutart were already gawking at Roxanne. Marching toward them, I barely managed to make out what Rutart was saying over the noisy room.

"You should get used to staying on your knees, bitch. After I buy you, you will be there quite frequently. I will even have you service me in front of that bastard Leon!", Rutart laughed.

"I would not be so sure of that, you cowardly bastard.", I chimed in, wearing a smirk, "Roxanne and the other children you stole from their homes are coming back with me. Do not bother trying to act like you are an innocent party in all of this, your idiot mother did not come up with this idea on her own. I have seen the way you ogle Roxanne every time you came to visit. If it were up to me I would have ripped your eyes out and stuffed them down your throat. Fortunately for you, I staved my hand for my father's sake but that changes today. After I free them, if you dare set foot on our island, I will bury you six feet under."

"How dare you speak to me that way!", Rutart snapped, turning his attention to me, "What makes you think you can…wait, where did those women come from?! Mother, why does this worm have five busty women with him!!"

Glancing up at Zola, she did not register our conversation or even realize I was present. Staring off into space, it appeared she had a concussion from the blow I gave her before I left. Tugging on her sleeve to drag her back to reality, Zola asked him what he wanted.

"Did you see another slave you wanted?", Zola inquired.

"Mother, have you not been paying attention to what Leon or I said?!", Rutart asked, confused by his mother's recent changes.

"No…I am sorry…?", she replied, unsure of herself, "Either way it does not matter, his idiot father could not have come up with the money to purchase anyone here. We should find a table, the auction is starting soon."

"But Mother!!", Rutart protested, as she dragged him away.

Stunned by Zola's lack of anger and foul-mouthing me, Lucoa inquired if I had cast some spell on her. Cracking a smile, I shrugged and admitted I had no idea what was wrong with her. Reading between the lines, she grinned ear to ear with happiness as she enjoyed the shell of a person she had become.

"Roxanne, just hang in there a little longer. We will be heading home soon!", I told her, "I cleared the Flying Dutchman's Labyrinth and brought back more money than we could ever spend. After today, your family will be well taken care of and we can be together again."

Looking up at me, my beaten and battered love looked up at me in surprise. Having written off my words days ago as a promise I could not keep, she could not believe I had cleared a Rank 5 dungeon alone. Backing me up, Lucoa spoke up and confirmed that I was telling the truth.

"You have to see it, Roxanne. Leon brought back a massive ship, one bigger than I have ever seen before!!", Lucoa explained, "These robots with us are part of the ship too!!"

Having them remove their faceplates for her, Roxanne stared in amazement at me. Watching tears begin to form in her eyes, she hung her head in shame and began to cry.

"Why…why would you risk your life for mine? I am a stupid, unworthy commoner with no future ahead of me. You could be a legendary adventurer, make all the money you want, and have all the women you could desire…what makes me so special?", she cried, "I am just a slave now, I cannot stand by your side anymore! Having me around will only cause problems and people will criticize you over me!"

"I do not care what other people think, fuck them. Their opinions do not matter to me, the only ones I care about are Lucoa and you. As long as you two are with me, I do not care what other people think.", I told her, extending my hand to her, "I have a dream of traveling the stars to find new adventures, and in that dream, both of you are by my side. Come hell or high water, I want you to be with me forever."

"Leon, you are such a lady killer!!", Lucoa said, smacking me on the back, "You have to give a girl some warning before you say things like that. My poor heart almost stopped with that love confession of yours. I supposed I can accompany you too till I die…"

"Okay…you win…", Roxanne sniffled, wiping the tears from her face, "I cannot be your wife, but I…I can still be your partner."

'I seriously do not care about my reputation. The idiots in this world are ants in the grand scheme of things. All I want is to travel the stars with the people I care about and enjoy life together.', I thought.

Before we could talk further, the auctioneer stepped up to the podium. Taking a seat at a table close by, the first cage full of slaves were dragged on stage. Tuning out what was happening, to prevent myself from flying off the handle, I sat patiently waiting for the people from my territory and Roxanne to appear on stage.

—Thirty Minutes Later—

"...lastly we have a group of slaves from the Bartfort Barony.", the auctioneer shouted, immediately gaining my full attention.

Escorting Roxanne and the others in her cage to the stage, they pushed a three year old girl up in front of everyone. Clutching her ragged shirt tightly, the lustful, hungry eyes of some bidders sent her into a panic. Attempting to flee, two of the workers seized her before she could get far. Locking her chains to the floor, the girl curled up into a ball crying for her parents to save her.

"The bidding will start at one hundred thousand.", the auctioneer said.

Having heard what these disgusting pigs wanted to do with her and the others, I decided to play hardball with them. Instead of slowly knocking people down by raising the bid, I went well over their heads with my first offer.

"One million dia!!", I proclaimed, raising my sign, 'Outside of Roxanne, no one is going to pay anywhere near one million for any of the remaining kids.'

Those about to start bidding quickly put their signs down and looked back at me in shock. Deciding to put even more pressure on them, I made my position clear to avoid wasting everyone's time.

"Furthermore, in the interest of saving everyone some time, I place a starting bid of one million dia on all the children from the Bartfort Barony.", I stated, giving the other bidders a death glare.

"You…you cannot do that!!", an older viscount said, before looking at the auctioneer, "He cannot do that, right?"

"Well I…I…", the auctioneer said, having never been placed in this situation before, "Sir Offrey, how would you like us to proceed?"

Leaning over to whisper in my ear, Lucoa informed me that Earl Offrey was one of the owners of the Desmond Slave Trading Company. Having looked into this place while I was away, she discovered a lot of shady dealings involving the Offrey Household. Having purchased the noble title from the impoverished household a few generations ago, none of the proper nobles liked them. To smooth things over, Offrey's only daughter, Stephanie Fou Offrey, was set to marry Brad Fou Field, the heir to an esteemed Marquess family and one of the First Prince's best friends.

"There are many bad rumors about their household ranging from bribery to outright treason. No one has been able to confirm it one hundred percent, but their dealings with the Principality of Fanoss are suspicious. When the old Offreys were in power, their household never had good relationships with the principality. After the new Offreys took over, relations suddenly began improving at an unusually high pace.", Lucoa whispered, as Earl Offrey turned to look at me, "Right now, many nobles believe they are selling national secrets and treasures to the principality in preparation for an impending war."

"Young man, do you have proof that you can cover such a large standing bid? We have over three hundred children from the Bartfort Barony on auction today. I am not saying it is impossible, but you certainly do not look well-off enough to afford that amount."

"I understand, allow me to alleviate your concerns.", I said, pulling two medium-sized chests of gold bars out of my Item Box, "I assume this is sufficient enough to show I am good for it?"

Motioning for one of his employees to confirm they were real, the employee disappeared into the backroom for a moment and returned with a magical identification tool. Checking all the bars for their purity and weight, when he was certain everything checked out, he looked back at the Earl with the results.

"Sir, all of these bars are ninety-seven percent pure gold bars. At the going market rate, there is over five hundred million dia here.", the employee informed him.

"My apologies for calling your ability to pay into question.", Earl Offrey said, realizing I had deep pockets, "Since he has all the funds here with him, I will allow his bids to stand."

"Understood, with that in mind, the bid is now one million. Are there any takers for 1.1 million?", the auctioneer asked, already certain no one would take it.

"That amount is too steep for any of us. I believe I speak for everyone when I say the boy can have them all for three hundred million. If he wants to squander his money, who are we to stop him.", one of the older bidders spoke up.

Nodding their heads and voicing their agreement, surprisingly most of the bidders took my gesture in stride. Believing that I was trying to spare them the humiliation of losing bids one by one, it was much easier for them to swallow when I did it all at once. Like the first man said, it was just me squandering money so they could live with that.

"Hold on a minute, fatass!!", Rutart said, seething with anger, "I want to bid on the fluffy-eared dog girl. I bid 1.2 million on her!!"

Having not heard the employee announce that I was sitting on five hundred million, Rutart believed he still stood a chance to outbid me. Scowling at Rutart, the idiot did not realize he called a Viscount a fatass in his blind rage toward me.

"That is a terrible thing to say to a man above your station!", I scolded him, hiding my mocking tone beneath a scowl, "I raise my bid to ten million."

"Twenty million!!", Rutart shouted, refusing to apologize to the nobleman or yield to me.

"Hold on a moment…", Earl Offrey said, holding his temper back, "Young man, I know your mother put a cap on what she was willing to pay. Your cap is five million, do you have an additional fifteen million to cover your bid?"

Looking up at him, Rutart did not hesitate to lay into Earl Offrey. Wrongly assuming he was beneath our station as just another merchant, he let the pretentious tone his mother struck with my father seep into his words. Letting him dig his own grave, I sat back and watched it all unfold.

"Who the hell do you think you are, merchant?! I am the heir to the Bartfort Barony, Rutart Fou Bartfort. How dare you question if I have the funds or not! You should be grateful that my household comes to this hovel to purchase low-quality slaves from you!!", Rutart berated him.

'Well, someone else might put him six feet under before I do.', I thought, 'After this shitshow and the cowardice my father has shown, I better consider changing my name. If the Crown allows it, I will change it to Victor Von Stark since I have earned an Honorary Noble Title. Since I will not have any land to my name, they will probably allow it given my achievements.'

"A merchant, am I? I am Earl Offrey, you wretched child.", the Earl growled, unable to stand the disrespect Rutart showed him, "Get this brat and his mother out of here immediately! They are banned from our store and all of our associate locations!"

"Sir!!", the guards acknowledged, seizing the two of them.

"DAMN YOU LEON!! YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE!! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!", Rutart howled like a madman.

'Bye-bye, you fucking moron.', I thought, watching them drag their asses out the door.

As Rutart's bids were no longer valid, Roxanne's price returned to my initial one million dia bid. Having already waived their interest in bidding against me, the auctioneer slammed his gavel and handed over all the slaves from the Bartfort Territory. Paying the amount due to the staff, they officially transferred ownership to me and left us on the auction house floor.

"Hey, it is Leon!!", a few of the kids shouted, recognizing me from around the town, "You were the one who bought us?!"

"Yes, I am so sorry that all of you had to endure this traumatic experience. Words cannot begin how upset I am that you were caught up in an ongoing dispute between Rutart and me. All of you were innocent bystanders in that bastard's campaign against me. You have my word that I will take you back home and reunite you with all your families.", I swore to them, "Your families and you will not have to suffer Zola or Rutart's wrath any longer. I will personally deal with both of them so this never happens again!"

Stepping aside so Roxanne could pass through, she immediately ran over and hugged me tightly. Bawling her eyes on the spot, the brave face she had put on for me crumbled as all her pent-up frustration and fear came pouring out. Holding her tightly till she calmed down, Lucoa handed her the necklace I made back with a smile.

"Never give something so precious away again.", Lucoa remarked, "Poor Leon almost killed his father when he heard what happened. I have never been so terrified in my entire life! He nearly snapped his father's neck, defeated the Adventurer's Guildmaster, and cleared the Flying Dutchman's dungeon in under six days for you. Leon is a man on a mission when it comes to you, do not take that for granted."

"I know that now…", Roxanne replied, putting her necklace back on.

"I will do whatever it takes for those important to me, not just Roxanne.", I corrected Lucoa, elbowing her in the side, "Come on, I want to have a warm meal and a nice bath after all the work I have put in."

"Oh, Roxanne, to reward him we should help bathe him!", Lucoa suggested.

"Lucoa!", I protested, "You keep making these comments, but I am only twelve years old!! Just wait till I am sixteen, I promise I will be more than happy to take part in your ecchi plans."

Rolling her eyes, Lucoa began to laugh and agreed to my request. Promptly leaving the auction house, as I walked out the door, Rutart charged at me ready to fight. Throwing a punch at my face, I side-stepped his negligible attack, stuck my leg out, and tripped him. Falling flat on his face, Rutart quickly picked himself up and uttered the words I had been waiting for.

"You ungrateful bastard!! That is it!!", Rutart shouted, loud enough to draw the attention of everyone around us, "I challenge you to a duel to the death!! After I kill you, I will take your women and plow them over your grave!!"

"Am I correct in assuming that everyone heard that?", I asked, looking at the nobleman and guards nearby.

Nodding their heads, everyone acknowledged they heard his request for a duel to the death.

"Alright, Rutart, since you have a death wish…who am I to deny you a quick death.", I remarked, with a sinister smile, "How about tomorrow at noon? We can settle this in the Academy's Arena."

"Fine by me…", Rutart said, uneasy about my expression.

"Just know, neither Zola nor Balcus are going to save you from me now. Once you set foot in the arena, you are a dead man walking.", I said, in a dark tone.

Leaving things at that, I took my group into the capital to find lodging for everyone.