Transmigrated as a Ghost

With the day already at its end Marcus held off on going to the auction house Thabon had recommended him to and decided to go home first.

It was the last day Lilia was going to be with him before going back to the academy again after the incident with Permafrost.

Now that the criminal organization was gone, and Lilia's dorm had been repaired, it was time for her to get back to her studies.

Arriving back at his estate Marcus was easily let in by those on guard duty, and after returning Blitz to the stable went into his mansion and straight to the kitchen.

Once inside Marcus found three of his maids hard at work and going over to Stella who was the one with the highest cooking skill, pulled out a large cut of meat before placing it on the counter.

"Stella, I specially bought this tenderloin from a high-class butcher. It came off of a rare grade magical beast called a tempest sow and today it is going to be a part of our main course. Feel free to use any of the ingredients we have no matter how expensive, this is going to be a special meal."

After saying that Marcus walked away to find Lilia and Roxene. This meal was a double hitter in that it was meant to reward Roxene for when she protected Grace and Jenna, and also as Lilia's last meal at home for a while.

Going up to Lilia's room Marcus found her reading a book and Roxene was sleeping on her lap.

It was certainly a precious sight to see, well until Roxene woke up and telepathically said, 'I smell something good on you what did you get me.'

Roxene ever the little glutton noticed the lingering smell of the meat still on Marcus.

"Yes, I picked up something special to thank you for the good work you did protecting Grace and Jenna. Though it is also for you too Lilia." 

Smiling Lilia put down her book and said, "Thank you for having something special made. It has been good to be able to stay here for a few weeks but now I am ready to get back to school."

Passing the time, the three of them talked until dinner was ready and coming down everyone was surprised by the feast that had been prepared.

Even Marcus who had told them to pull out all the stops was impressed by the display that his maids had made.

Sitting down and digging in, everyone quickly became engrossed in the delicious food, especially the tenderloin from the tempest sow.

It had a delicious flavor and practically melted in their mouths with its perfect cook and excellent seasoning.

Of course, Marcus had actually paid four hundred gold coins for this tenderloin, so the quality of the meat was to be expected.

However, it was still one of the best, and most expensive meals Marcus had eaten, and with his recent increase in capital he could afford to splurge a bit.

Once they had finished eating their meal, everyone went back to their respective rooms, and for the first time in many weeks Marcus decided to get some sleep.

He had tired himself out fighting Thabon, and he had nothing pressing to do, so now was the perfect time to get some rest.

Soon the next day came, and Marcus said his farewells to Lilia as she headed back to the royal academy, and once she was gone, Marcus made preparation to visit the Peningar Auction House.

"Okay Clara I am ready to go and thank you for acting as my attendant as always."

Bowing her head respectfully, Clara opened the door to the carriage for Marcus, letting him get inside before getting up onto the coachman's stand and shaking the reins to direct Blitz.

The two of them then made their way to the Peningar Auction House which was a large building located in one of the most affluent parts of the inner city.

Of all the auction houses in the city, the Peningar Auction House was certainly one of the top three, and if someone were to say it was the best it would be hard to argue different.

Driving up to the auction house Clara was quickly directed by the staff to an enclosed garage for noble's vehicles. And afterwards the two of them were led to a waiting room and told that a representative of the family that owned the auction house would soon come to appraise the items that Marcus wished to sell.

Naturally Marcus had told them who he was along with handing over the letter from Thabon which is why he was getting a meeting even on such short notice.

However, the person who came to meet him was of a higher station than he thought would be coming and he could tell by the incredibly well-made dress she was wearing as well as a badge that was sewn into it.

Standing up Marcus bowed and said, "I am Baronetess Irene Geist, and it is an honor to meet you Lady Peningar."

"Like wise it is an honor to meet you Lady Geist, and I am Amelia Peningar first daughter of Marquis Rowan Peningar and the current chief executive of the Peningar Auction House."

After the two of them had finished up the normal formalities they both sat down on couches facing each other with a table in the middle.

"Malanda would you please get us both some tea." Amelia said to one of her attendants that had been accompanying her.

At the same time Marcus could only wonder why the boss the auction house had come to see him.

He had expected someone of a high importance but not the person at the top.

Other than her father who was the owner of this auction house, she was the highest authority and with his own territory to manage, it was not like a Marquis was going to always be here.

Soon the tea arrived and after taking a few sips Marcus got right down to business and said, "Thank you for coming to see me Lady Peningar. As I am sure that you read in the letter that my master wrote for me, I have two sets of armor and two weapons that I wish to put up for sale in you upcoming auction."

Nodding her head Amelia took out the letter from a bag at her waist and looked it over one last time before saying, "We are just finishing up the catalog for this year's major auction and normally I would not allow new entries to be submitted at this time. But when I heard that you were the apprentice of the famed Thabon Blazegram I had to come and see you myself. It has been some forty years since he last put up any of his pieces for sale here, but we are happy that he remembered us and is now recommending one of his apprentices to us."

Amelia then picked back up the teacup and took a sip waiting for Marcus to continue the conversation.

"Yes, I am sorry about the late notice, but I am sure you are aware of the recent turmoil caused by the kingdom uprooting the criminal organization calling itself Permafrost. I am afraid to say that I was being targeted by them and until everything blew over, I did not want to leave my estate." Marcus said in an apologetic tone.

"Well, I suppose that is understandable. However, before I allow the items you wish to enter into the auction, I must examine them first. I am sure you understand that this is the highest-class auction we provide so all of the items must meet at least a minimum standard." Amelia said in a businesslike manner.

"Yes, I understand, and I am certain that the armor and weapons I made are certainly up to those standards."

After saying that Marcus proceeded to take out the four items he would be selling, one which was a halberd he had made using ice elemental crystals as its base, and the other weapon which was a spear that had no elemental affinities but was incredibly strong with numerous other enchantments.

However, as Amelia looked around for the sets of armor Marcus was going to show, she was surprised when instead he pulled out two pendants.

"Um excuse me if I am not wrong, the letter said that you would be planning to auction two weapons and two sets of armor. Did you perchance decide against the armor in favor of these pendants?" Amelia asked, with a puzzled expression.

Smirking ever so slightly Marcus said, "No there are two full sets of armor right in front of you. Here let me demonstrate."

Picking up one of the pendants Marcus clicked the button and a set of chainmail came out and snuggly fit itself around Marcus' body.

A shocked expression then came over Amelia's face when she saw this, but she quickly recomposed herself and said, "My this is my first time I have seen armor that is contained in a piece of jewelry. From the last records I looked through I do not believe that this auction house has sold one since twenty or so years ago."

Now it was Marcus' turn to be surprised. He had gotten this formation from Thabon that allowed him to have the armor dwell within an accessory but now he realized that maybe it was pretty rare.

Taking the chainmail off Marcus put it back on the table and Amelia swiftly stood up and grabbed the four items bringing them closer to her.

Marcus could see the excitement of her face as she looked them over and he soon realized that she must also have an item appraisal skill.

Once she was finished with her appraisal, Amelia sat back down and smiled at Marcus before saying, "Yes each of these is first rate mithril works all having been recognized by the system. And seeing as how you are also Thabon Blazegram's apprentice, the Peningar Auction House would be more than happy to auction these items for you."

With a big smile on his face Marcus naturally agreed, and Amelia had the paperwork for the contract brought out.

'Hm twelve percent of the profits go to the auction house. I never had anything much to do with auctions on Earth and this is my first one here, but I think I read somewhere that ten to twenty-five percent was standard, so this is on the low end.'

When he had finished looking over the contract and found nothing shady or abnormal in its Marcus signed right away before handing it back to Amelia who was quite happy at the items he had brought.

They certainly would not be big ticket items, but they were still rare enough that they would sell well and bring a good profit to the auction house.

However, it was garnering a relationship with Marcus that was the big draw. If they could have a forgemaster that could supply such high-level items to them on a regular basis it would surely bring them even greater prestige.

"Lady Irene how about a bottle of wine to celebrate." Amelia said, already having motioned for one of her attendants to bring one even before Marcus consented.

Soon her attendant came back with a glistening white wine that was definitely not cheap.

The attendant then popped open the bottle and poured out two glasses, one for Marcus and one for Amelia.

Not wanting to be rude Marcus graciously accepted the wine and Amelia held up her glass and said, "I would like to thank you for choosing our Peningar Auction House Lady Irene and hope that in the future you would use us again."

Raising his glass as well Marcus then took a drink at the same time as Amelia and enjoyed the sweet taste of the white wine.