How To Beat the System

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  Gift, gift, gift. That was the only thing in Wisteria's mind. She hurriedly looked through the stalls and still couldn't find the perfect present her Wisp would love.

Since Silky's birthday was coming up in the spring, Wisteria had gotten permission once again from Delilah to go out with Matteus and see what types of things Silky might like.

There were pink clothing that she stumbled upon, but her disappointment grew each time she found them to be quite plain. Matteus has tried to help for about an hour, but the blonde would usually tell him to toss them back or flat out reject it.

In fact, she was too busy preparing Silky's birthday that she had completely forgotten about Septimus and Zeena. The only times she interacted was giving them small offerings, but they really didn't count as talking.

Septimus, even though he felt elated by her offerings, felt somewhat depressed and uncomfortable by not having Wisteria around. He grew a little too bored and decided to come above the surface and spend the day with her, only to be turned down in a hasty manner and was sent away to do his work.

Unfortunately, Matteus could feel his brooding moods miles away. It caused him to shiver once in a while from disgust.

"How about this, mistress?" The demon held a sparkling ruby necklace. "I can feel that it's been charmed for luck. The price is a little high, but we have just enough money to pay for it."

"Not good enough."

"Again? Human, it's been about two hours now." Matteus sighed and placed it back gently. "If you're searching for something of higher value then why not visit an auction?"

"Auction?" She turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

"There's several places around here that lead to secret auctions, selling off the most valuable possessions. Weapons, magical clothing, charmed jewelry—anything really. Does mistress wish to partake in them?" Wisteria's eyes sparkled in excitement. Although she was shopping for her Wisp, she really wanted to see magical objects and try to snatch them up. With the Death God's coins, she was sure that they wouldn't have a problem.

Stiffly, the demon saw the greed rise even higher in his master's eyes. Although he was very fond of her, he wished that the girl would think of the downsides of going to these auctions. She would spend all of their money away, but perhaps this was also his fault for bringing them up in the first place. He could only clench his jaw and imagine the long hours to come.

"Where exactly do we go?"

"A bit closer to the main platform." He responded, taking her hand in his.

"Main platform? What's that?"

"Right now we're really only on the outskirts of the kingdom, so the best auctions are always hidden right in the center of the domain." Matteus quickly transported the two of them into a different section of the nation. They landed discreetly in shadows, right in the corners of high buildings. But once Wisteria stepped out she found many more people around her.

There were less stalls around and more shops and houses. There were beautiful gardens behind the buildings and a very large fountain with moving statues right in the middle of the street. The people wore fancier clothing, they had a different atmosphere around them. They seemed like old aristocrats. Wisteria was slightly glad that her diamond embedded cloak was given from Septimus, otherwise she might stand out awkwardly from the people.

Matteus, on the other hand, fit right in. She understood very well how charming the demon looked, so it didn't take much before girls whispered and pointed their fingers at him. He gave a brief glance, uninterested.