Tonight, Richard slept very soundly.

Even so, he woke up quite early, finding his body feeling very light.

Phew!

He sat up and let out a breath.

Crack! Crack!

He then stretched his body and his bones creaked loudly.

Of course, the next thing he did was spread his waves again.

Gray and Laura were still fast asleep, embracing each other as if they could not be separated.

Just like that no longer bothered Richard. He could focus on observing the people who were watching him.

This morning, he found even more people who seemed to be keeping an eye on his room.

After all, his window was open, and as he sat there, his figure could be directly seen by the people outside who were seriously observing him.

Richard simply pretended not to notice, casually standing in front of that window, but his waves continued to spread.

He even pushed them further, to the limit he could reach, and in fact he could reach almost two-thirds of the city.

"Ohhh…" Suddenly, his expression turned strange.

On the river bridge encircling the city, he spotted a very familiar figure he knew well — Olivia.

She was walking with people whose heads were covered by hoods, but what she wore was not the Phantom Robe, just an ordinary cloak.

'Is she also planning to watch the tournament?' Richard wondered.

Of course, he didn't really care about her.

If this time she dared to misbehave again, he would beat her up immediately.

Richard began thinking about what activities he would do today.

His enthusiasm for training was not very high since the distance from actual progress was still far.

He preferred to do activities, and better if they were ones that could bring him benefits, such as fighting in the Monster World.

Though he had not yet decided, he first took a bath, then put on fairly comfortable clothes before leaving his room.

After that, he went down to the first floor, greeted warmly by the servants.

He then went to one of the restaurants not far from the inn.

Even the waiters of that restaurant seemed to know who he was. They greeted him warmly, invited him to sit at the best seat, and also gave him free food, saying it was a gift from their boss who admired his talent.

Of course, he did not refuse since it was given.

He ordered roasted lamb and sweet warm tea from them.

And they brought it to him quickly.

The lamb was even cut into small pieces so he only needed to eat it with a fork.

It had a mixture of sweet and salty, plus very savory. Richard could taste many layers of spices blending together.

'A beautiful breakfast. I hope no one suddenly shows up and sits in front of me spouting nonsense,' he thought.

He only wanted to be alone without any disturbance.

If someone disturbed him, who knew whether he could be patient enough not to scold that person.

To his surprise, someone really did come, a neatly dressed man in his twenties.

However, he didn't sit down.

He only placed a silver paper that looked like an invitation on Richard's table.

"Young Master Richard, tonight our Golden Leaf Auction House will hold an auction, and we invite you to attend. For you, we will give a 25% discount on every item you bid on," the man said.

"Ohh…"

Richard certainly wasn't angry since this couldn't be considered a disturbance.

He took the invitation and looked at it, finding that it even contained special words and the promise of a 25% discount.

Though he had never heard of the Golden Leaf Auction House, just from the invitation that bore a symbol radiating such a powerful aura, he couldn't help but suspect that this Auction House might be the biggest in the capital.

In the capital, the largest businesses tended to belong either to the kingdom itself or to outside enterprises with extremely wide networks.

Since this Auction House did not use the word "star," it was clearly not owned by the kingdom.

It could only be an outside business.

And businesses that reached many territories could only belong to very powerful factions or individuals who were feared.

Richard began nodding.

"I will come," he said.

What he lacked the least was Nature Spirits. Of course, he wanted to use them to buy something.

"In that case, I will take my leave first, Young Master Richard. We look forward greatly to your arrival," the man said before walking away.

'Right before the tournament, this must be a major auction,' Richard thought.

He put the invitation away then continued eating.

One plate was finished quickly, and surprisingly he wasn't satisfied. He eventually ordered another plate of roasted lamb.

After that, he still lingered in the restaurant, enjoying his warm tea.

One hour, two hours, he didn't feel bored sitting there watching people pass by.

Unexpectedly, Gray and Laura suddenly appeared at the restaurant entrance, looking like they had just finished bathing and were here for breakfast.

They were wearing their academy uniforms, clearly to show their identity.

If one observed closely, their legs looked tired as they walked. Clearly this morning too, they had indulged themselves again.

As they looked into the restaurant, they naturally saw Richard, making them freeze for a moment.

Gray then smiled before happily walking toward him.

"Richard, I didn't expect we'd meet here. Back in Apple Town, I still wasn't sure whether the person entering that secret place was you, but here, I heard something even more shocking. You're truly the greatest maker of surprises I've ever met," he said.

Laura, who followed behind, did not speak, but her gaze looked unsettled, as if she still couldn't believe that this boy was the one she once kidnapped.

"May we sit here?" asked Gray.

"Yes," Richard answered, not feeling particularly bothered.

They were acquaintances, after all, and Gray didn't have a personality he disliked.

Gray immediately sat down, pulling Laura's hand to sit beside him.

After that, he began ordering food, even offering Richard some, but the latter told him that he could eat for free in this restaurant, leaving Gray speechless.

"By the way, Richard, tonight there's going to be a big auction. I got an invitation as a tournament participant and can bring a few friends. Are you interested in coming along?" Gray asked again.

"You're not talking about this invitation, are you?" Richard replied while showing his invitation, once again leaving Gray speechless.

On the other hand, Laura showed an expression of amazement as she read the words on the invitation.

"You're getting a 25% discount from them? Seriously, is this real?" she said.

"That's what they told me…" Richard nodded.

"By the way, what's the background of this auction house?" he asked Laura.

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