Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 125 Clarke's Balance

Imperial Capital - Holy Mayara

After leaving the Royal Academy, Haven had been following Alice around for over two hours. It's safe to say that everyone, from budding young girls to mature and elegant young women, or even gray-haired noblewomen, is completely absorbed in this social activity of strolling around.

In Alice's words, the ladies of the capital spend most of their time partying and shopping. This is a form of cultural exchange and also beneficial to economic development. Only when they buy everything will merchants put their minds to creating more novel things, thus creating more jobs for more people.

After hearing Alice's words, Haven was utterly astonished. Although her reasoning was rather plain, the core ideas were remarkably similar to those in "Capital," an economics book he had read in his previous life. If Alice hadn't genuinely seemed oblivious to his ramblings, Haven would have thought he'd met someone from his hometown.

Havel followed Alice with his arms crossed behind his head. After visiting several shops with specific goals, the two began to wander aimlessly. It must be said that Queen's Road's architecture and shops were indeed diverse. However, Alice didn't buy anything. Instead, she went into each shop and browsed around. If she found something interesting, she would look at it for a while; otherwise, she would just glance at it and leave. She seemed to be in a very good mood, skipping and hopping ahead like a happy little dog.

Just as Haven was getting a little tired from shopping and was about to find a place to rest, she saw a shop with a strange name but an unusually luxurious decor. Although the people coming in and out all looked wealthy and powerful, they were all in a hurry and seemed to be acting suspiciously.

Somewhat puzzled, Haven reached out and grabbed Alice's long red hair, stopping the little girl.

Alice was suddenly and violently pulled to a stop. She turned her head and looked at Haven with dissatisfaction. Feeling Alice's angry gaze, Haven quickly and awkwardly let go of his sinful hand.

He had intended to grab her arm, but the little girl had just hopped forward and he missed. Looking at Alice with a "you'd better give me an explanation" expression, Haven quickly pointed to the shop, trying to change the subject.

"What's that? It doesn't look like a proper place. Shall we go take a look?"

Interrupted by Haven, Alice forgot about the serious disrespect she had just committed and read the sign above the door.

"Clark's Scales? Never heard of it. Haven, do you know where this is?"

Alice felt a little curious as she watched the passersby coming and going so furtively.

"No, I've only been in the capital for a few days, and I haven't really explored much yet. But judging from the name, it should be a place that sells things, since it says scales. Aren't scales usually the signboards of merchants?"

After listening to Haven's explanation, Alice nodded, feeling that it made some sense.

"Let's go take a look. We're a bit tired from walking around. If this place isn't very interesting, we'll find somewhere to eat. Speaking of which, I just saw a few restaurants that looked pretty good."

The two walked over side by side. The servants standing at the door saw a man and a woman coming and quickly went to greet them.

"Distinguished guest, welcome to Clark's Scales. Is this your first time here, or do we have a regular business to attend to?"

Although the two were of noble status, it was their first time traveling alone, and they had no idea what the servants were saying. Haven thought for a moment and then asked:
"First time here, what is this place for? What do you have?"

Upon hearing that it was their first time, and noticing their sophisticated attire, the attendant immediately perked up.

"Distinguished guests, please come inside. Let's go to the VIP lounge and I'll give you a detailed explanation. You've come to the right place. We have everything you could possibly want; if you can imagine it, we can provide it."

Looking at the enthusiastic waiter, Haven felt that the script sounded familiar, but before he could ask for details, Alice pulled him in.

The attendant walked ahead, leading the two and introducing them as he went.

"Distinguished guests, please don't be fooled by our unassuming storefront compared to many shops on Queen Street. Our shop is actually quite impressive. Please allow me to escort you to our VIP room for a brief introduction to our services."

The waiter led the two into a luxurious private room. Upon entering, a snow-white wool carpet covered the entire room. In the center of the room was a table made of ice crystal wood, which was filled with all kinds of fruits. Under the cold air emanating from the ice crystal wood, the fruits looked very fresh, as if they had just been picked.

"Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink? I'll get it for you."

Havel sat on the soft leather sofa and instantly sprawled out in a relaxed pose. After this shopping trip, Havel felt like his feet had gone numb. If he were to count his steps, he would have taken at least 20,000 steps.

"I'm thirsty, do you have Antilandy Dragon Milk? Haven, what would you like to drink?"

Half-lying on the sofa, Haven looked like a salted fish, not wanting to move at all, and casually waved his hand to indicate that he was fine with anything.

The servant cut the fruit into pieces, placed them in front of the two men, bowed, and said:
"Please wait a moment, I'll go prepare it for you. If you have any questions, please press the button on the table."

After the servants left, Haven, who had struggled to sit up, felt a little thirsty. He picked up a small fork and started eating the fruit on the table. The fruit, which looked a bit like a papaya, had an exceptionally rich flavor.

"Hey Haven, this place is pretty good."

With something in his mouth, Haven gave a muffled answer:

"It's really nice. I thought it was a place that sells things. But judging from how the servants were doing just now, it seems more like a high-end club."

A knock came at the door, and the servant from before poked his head in.

"Excuse me, please come in. All of you, please come in."

A waiter pushed in a cart laden with various kinds of drinks, followed by a group of voluptuous women. The waiter placed the Antilandy breast in front of Alice, then looked at Havent, glanced at the drinks menu on the cart, and pointed to the cocktails.

The waiter mixed the drinks while explaining them to the two of them.

"Hello, esteemed guest, I apologize for keeping you waiting. Let me tell you about the services offered by Clark Balance. We offer auctions, roulette games, and mind-body services. Which products would you like to experience later?"

At this moment, Alice, who was sitting next to Haven, pointed to the row of girls and asked.

What are they doing?

"They are your maids who will serve you later; you can have them do anything."

Alice raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding. The servant, thinking Alice was dissatisfied, quickly said...
"Would you like us to get a different batch? Would you like a male one?"

Haven had just taken the cocktail from the waiter and taken a sip when he spat it out.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha"

Alice looked bewildered at Haven, who was laughing so hard, clearly not understanding what Haven was laughing about.

Seeing Alice's still bewildered expression, Haven turned around and whispered a few words in the girl's ear. Alice, who understood what he meant, showed a look of sudden realization, and then her face turned red.

"No, no. Let them out quickly!"

He then glared fiercely at Haven, that despicable guy who just wanted to see him make a fool of himself, how awful.

Seeing Alice's fury, the servant quickly waved for the women to leave.

Faced with Alice's unwavering gaze, Haven scratched his nose guiltily. He realized that this must be the place he had mentioned with Cuban and the others during their gathering. He had always said he would come, but the timing had never worked out. He never expected to stumble upon it by chance today.

"Let's go to the auction, and forget about the rest."

"Okay, no problem, sir. We happen to have a show right now, and I can take you there immediately. Would you like to go now?"

Looking at Alice, who still seemed a bit fierce and angry, I felt it wasn't the right time to eat, so I turned to the servant and said:

"Okay, let's go."

With permission granted, the attendant pressed a button on the table, and several masked attendants quickly entered and orderly carried the items on the table.

Haven and Alice followed the attendants down the elevator to an unknown number of floors. When the elevator doors opened, they found themselves in a more lavishly decorated hall than the one above. Here, Haven even spotted some female beastmen, bunny girls, fox girls, and cat girls, all dressed in very revealing clothing.

The attendant led the two to the front desk of the lobby. After exchanging a few words with the receptionist, the attendant approached Haven.

"I'm so sorry, sir. We need to pay a deposit for entry. Would you like us to process that?"

Upon hearing the receptionist's words, Haven turned to look at Alice, who quickly turned her head away and rolled her eyes at Haven.

How much do you need?

"I'm so sorry, but since this is your first time here, you need to pay a deposit of one thousand gold coins."

After the attendant finished speaking, he bowed even lower. "Wow, that's a really high deposit! Are you selling a divine artifact?"

Hearing that even an entrance ticket was so expensive, Haven couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. But it was just a complaint; after all, it was reasonable for a place like this. He then touched his magic belt.

"Is this ok?"

Will pulled out two Tier 3 magic crystals.

The servant glanced at it, bent over until his waist was parallel to the ground, and reached out his hands to take it.

"Absolutely. Please wait here for a moment, and I will process it for you immediately. I am so sorry."

He backed away, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his arm. He hadn't expected to actually run into two rich people. He'd better serve them well; it seemed he could achieve his goal for the month.

"Hey, you're a princess of the empire, don't you even have any pocket money?"

Looking at Alice, who was pretending to be invisible, Haven reached out and tapped the red-haired girl on the back of the head with his finger.

Alice rubbed her slightly sore head. She turned around, gave Havent a big eye roll, and said dismissively.

"I'm a princess, why would I carry money? Besides, I don't usually have to spend money when I go out to have fun!"

After thinking about it, Haven thought it made sense. After all, as an imperial princess, Alice was known to everyone wherever she went, and no one would dare to ask her for money. Besides, the two of them had sneaked out this time.

According to Alice, normally when she travels, she is always accompanied by a royal griffin squad.

"Besides, didn't you take out all your things and give them to me last time? So what's yours is mine."

Hearing the girl say that, Haven scratched his head in annoyance. You know what, it seems that last time Alice cried endlessly, he actually gave her everything.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. It's all done."

A new servant approached, bowed, and respectfully presented Havel with a black card edged in gold. Havel took it and examined it closely.

"Is this a membership card?"

"Yes, please come this way. This is an anonymous black card. You can use this card to pay for all your expenses. My name is 0924. I will be your personal attendant during the service process. You can tell me if you have any needs."

After saying that, he led Haven and the other person into the room next door, where a teleportation portal stood in the middle of the room.

At the attendant's prompting, they hesitated for a moment before stepping into the portal. After a moment of dizziness, the three of them arrived at a large hall that covered several hundred square meters.

"This way, please. The auction is currently in its middle stage, and your drinks and food will be served to you shortly."

The servant led Havel and Alice to a semi-private booth. Sitting on the sofa, the two curiously looked around.

Almost all the seating is in semi-open booths; if you stand up slightly, you can see the people in the surrounding booths. Directly in front is a huge stage, where the host is standing in front of a table introducing the auction items.

"Our eighteenth item in this auction is the fifth-tier magical herb Death Bell from the Eternal Night Forest. There are five in total. I believe its effects are self-evident. As one of the main ingredients of 'Twilight Slumber,' its value is far more than that. So without further ado, let's begin the bidding."

The starting bid is 1,500 gold coins, and each bid must be at least 500 gold coins higher.

Two thousand five hundred~
Three thousand~
Four thousand~
Four thousand five hundred~

After several rounds of bidding, it was finally won by an old man with gray hair and a gloomy face for four thousand five hundred gold coins.

Looking at the trading scene before him, Haven couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement again. Compared to this, his own entry fee was indeed nothing.

Once the item was finalized, the Death Bell was taken away by the staff.

The next item was brought up for auction, and whispers arose from the crowd. Inside, a cage held an elf.

"0924"

The servant standing to the side immediately knelt down.
"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

Haven looked at the elven man on the stage with a puzzled expression.

"Didn't the elves sign a contract with the Empire? Buying and selling elves should be illegal under Imperial law."

When questioned by Haven, 0924 showed no unusual expression.

“That’s right, sir. He is not a pure-blooded elf. To be precise, the one on stage is a half-elf, who is not protected by elven or imperial laws.”

At this point, Alice chimed in:
"Even if he is a half-elf, he shouldn't be bought and sold anymore. Doesn't the Empire severely crack down on human trafficking?"

Faced with Alice's question, the servant hesitated for a moment, clearly not familiar with the specifics of the expense request, then immediately took a manual from a nearby cabinet, flipped through it, and said:
“That’s right, miss. According to the auction catalog, this half-elf volunteered; his option was to become a drug human.”

"Medicine man?"

The word uttered by the servant clearly touched upon Alice's blind spot, and she turned to stare blankly at Haven.

Seeing Alice's inquisitive eyes, Will once again leaned close to her ear and explained what a "medicine person" was. After listening to Havent's explanation, Alice frowned repeatedly. She hadn't expected such a thing to exist under her father's rule—that someone could buy themselves. This was something Alice, who had grown up knowing that the empire was very powerful and the people lived very prosperous lives, couldn't quite understand.

"Adult male half-elf has conditionally requested an auction."

The Tier 3, Level 34 Gale Swordsman has been confirmed by the auction house as accurate.

Auction requirements: Superior-grade potion, Life Torrent, or 20,000 gold coins.

Willing to be a slave, or a drug user

The starting bid is 10,000 gold coins, and each bid must be at least 1,000 gold coins. You can end the auction if you are willing to pay the discounted potion.

As the elderly man on the auction platform announced the start of the bidding, a chorus of bids erupted from the audience.

"10,000"
13,000
14,000
17,000
19,000

Haven had expected that with such a high price, few would be interested, but the opposite was true; fierce bidding erupted from the crowd. Some nobles and wealthy merchants even gleamed with unusual interest.

The bidding quickly rose to over 20,000, and then a thin middle-aged man won with a high bid of 27,000.

The price of 27,000 was a debt owed by Baron Raven, yet it was casually spent on a half-elf in the capital.

"Next up is lot number twenty-four."

Five children with all four limbs intact. Rest assured, we have complete procedures and formalities to ensure legality and compliance. The starting bid is 500 gold coins per child, and each bid must be at least 50 gold coins.

As the auction for the half-elf was finalized, the steel cage containing the half-elf was pushed down, followed by a much larger wooden cage pushed up with the help of several servants. Inside the wooden cage were several thin human children.

After the auctioneer gave a detailed introduction on stage, the auction hall fell silent for a moment, but the silence did not last long. Soon, it was as if a pot of water was boiling.

"Six hundred"

七百
750

"Four daughters"

A murmur arose from the crowd. Haven straightened up and looked over. In the end, the tall, thin middle-aged man won over the five children for four thousand gold coins.

"Okay~ Let's continue, next is..."

(End of this chapter)