The servant led them to a room on the second floor and gestured for them to enter with a practiced bow. There were dozens of similar rooms on either side, most likely each meant for a group of distinguished guests.

“Your lounge, honored guests,” the man said.

Aisha entered without a second thought, but Zeke paused. For a moment, he thought he heard something peculiar in the man’s tone, but when he checked his expression, he found nothing amiss. The servant still had his head bowed and seemed like the very picture of professionalism. Zeke frowned but nonetheless led his three guards into the room.

He scanned their room. Though relatively small, spanning only a couple of steps, its full-height window at the front created an illusion of spaciousness. From there, guests seated below and the stage at the hall's front were clearly visible. A segmented red couch, wide enough for five people, stood at its center, offering comfortable seating.

Ash entered the room last, and as the servant closed the door behind them, the noisy corridor behind them was immediately silenced. Zeke also realized that he couldn't sense anything happening beyond the room's walls. Not even his spatial perception could penetrate the magical isolation surrounding the lounge. This feature was most likely meant to protect its inhabitants from prying eyes, but the limitation went both ways. Zeke would not be able to sense anything going on outside, either.

Aisha had already settled into the leftmost seat on the couch, gesturing for Zeke to join her, which he did after another quick scan of the room. Neither he nor Akasha found anything suspicious. However, this wasn't unexpected; the Treasure Pavilion had a reputation to uphold, and with their clientele, they wouldn't last long if they were caught spying on their guests.

He sat down next to Aisha and noticed that his guards positioned themselves behind the couch. He raised a questioning brow. “What are you doing?”

Vulcanos peeked at Aisha before belatedly answering the question. “We are doing our job, Master.”

Zeke, noticing what was going on, rolled his eyes at them. “Stop this nonsense and sit down.”

After exchanging a glance, the Chimeroi followed his instructions and sat on the remaining three spots.

Aisha looked curiously at him, an impish grin on her lips. “You are getting along well with your Slaves,” she said.

Zeke waved her off. “I don’t like that word very much.”

“Oh, but is it not what they are?” she asked.

Even though she had clearly been teasing him, Zeke considered her question in earnest. Sure, he had bought them with gold, but he would like to think their bond had evolved after all they’d been through together. “I would rather you’d call them my followers,” he said eventually.

Aisha seemed surprised by this answer. “Followers?” she asked. “What’s the difference?”

This time, he had an answer ready. “It means that I’ll treat them the same as anybody else working for me.”

Aisha rolled her eyes. “Does that mean you pay them a salary?”

“I will eventually,” Zeke said confidently.

“You will?” Vulcanos asked, baffled.

Zeke turned to look at him. “Why are you so surprised? Am I not paying the others as well?”

Vulcanos scrunched up his face, a clear sign that he was deep in thought. “Why not pay us now, then?”

Zeke smiled. “I first need to recoup the money I spent on you. Otherwise, I would make a massive loss. After that, you’ll get a salary.“

All three perked up. “How much did you pay for me?” Ash wanted to know. Zeke wasn’t surprised that he didn’t know. After all, it wouldn’t usually have mattered.

“1900 gold,” Zeke said. “I am paying you each ten gold per month, by the way.”

Ash’s face scrunched up. "Wouldn’t it take me years before I receive a salary, then?”

Zeke nodded. “Over a decade, even. But you really can’t complain. I am already paying you above the market rate. Besides… you were the cheapest of the three of you.” He pointed at Vulcanos next. “I paid 2200 gold for you.” Then, he pointed at Gravitas. “For you, I paid 4100 gold.”

Gravitas's eyes widened at the realization that she had cost more than twice as much as Ash. That meant it would take more than twenty years to repay that debt. "I wish you hadn’t even brought this up," she mumbled. "Am I even going to live that long?"

Aisha watched their back-and-forth, her eyes growing wide. Initially, she hadn’t thought that Zeke was serious, but the natural way their group interacted convinced her otherwise. It was clear that this wasn’t just a show they put on. If anything, their earlier servile behavior had been the act.

Their banter was only interrupted when an old man stepped on stage and cleared his throat. “Good evening,” he said with a light bow. His voice was amplified and carried effortlessly. Even in their room, they heard him loud and clear.

“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed lords and ladies, welcome to the 32nd Grand Auction of the Treasure Pavilion,” the man continued. “Tonight, we’ll present you with treasures of untold wealth, artifacts steeped in legend, and relics of ancient power. Tonight, we embark on a journey through time and space as we unveil the finest offerings from across the known world...”

While the man droned on, Aisha nudged Zeke’s side. “That is Veer Varun, patriarch of the Varun family and arguably the richest man in the country.”

Zeke took a second look at the old man. Veer had dark, wrinkly skin, and his hunched-back and slouched posture made him look like he already had one foot in the grave. Only his eyes remained sharp and alert, allowing a glimpse of the majesty this man must have commanded in his younger years.

Zeke wondered if the patriarch would serve as their host tonight, but the old man left the stage after his opening words and was replaced by a woman wearing a revealing dress. Zeke recognized her immediately as Priya Varun, the woman who had guided him during his last visit.

“Honored guests,” she said with a beaming smile, “my name is Priya, and I will be your host tonight.”The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

In their lounge, nothing but her voice could be heard, but from what he could see, many of the guests cheered and clapped, with some even going as far as standing up. It seemed Priya was fairly popular.

“Without further ado, let me present the first item of the day.” As she spoke, another woman rolled in a trolley covered with white, silken cloth. Without hesitation, Priya grabbed the edge of the fabric and pulled it off with a flourish, revealing the first item. “A sand-pearl necklace!" she announced energetically.

Zeke scanned the item. It was a piece of jewelry made of four red pearls tied together by a golden string. It was clearly meant to be worn, but from this distance, he could not recognize anything special about it.

“As many of you undoubtedly know, the Varun family produces the sand-pearl necklaces. Currently, variants with one to three pearls are for sale at any of our branch stores. However, what I am presenting to you tonight is a new version.”

Zeke rolled his eyes. It seemed the Varun family had used this opportunity to shamelessly promote their new product. “What are those necklaces for, anyway?” he asked Aisha, who appeared far more excited about the item than he was.

“Each of the pearls is made to navigate the desert,” she explained, piquing Zeke's interest. “When infused with mana, each pearl will display an arrow. The first pearl will always point toward the north, the second will point toward the closest city, and the third will always point toward the capital.”

Zeke frowned. “That’s it?”

Aisha glanced at him. “All caravans and most travelers carry such a necklace. Without it, traversing the desert is akin to suicide.”

Their talk was interrupted when Priya finally revealed what the last pearl could do. “…the fourth pearl will permit you to easily find the closest caravan stop, allowing for even safer travels through the desert. Now, the bidding begins at 100 gold, and every bid must be at least 50 gold more…”

Zeke ignored the bidding, choosing to contemplate the product instead. Was that really something special? Well, certainly not the first part. Making an enchantment that would always point north didn’t sound that difficult. Wouldn’t he just need to use a simple Metal Magic spell to magnetize the arrow and have it align itself with the magnetic north?

The pearl that always pointed toward the capital was easy as well. He would merely need to create a beacon, like the one he used for his Space Magic, and have the arrow point toward its location. The other two pearls were a bit trickier. For those, he would need to create a beacon in each oasis and rest stop and have the enchantment point toward the strongest signal.

Having studied similar enchantments for the Gondola's navigation apparatus, Zeke already knew most of the required Runes. In fact, he might even be able to create a similar product on the spot.

“Akasha?”

[Answer]

Calculating… 10%… 60%… 100%. Prototype complete.