The curiosity in the manager's eyes shined with a need to know. His greed was showing on his face, making his eyes shine.
People like the auction master were one of the easiest to deal with. All Andrew needed to do was show him that he was way above him. The man would fold easily enough.
"Do you want to know what the secret behind this necklace is? I don't mind telling you. But the price might be more than you are willing to pay."
The shopkeeper had been in this business for over three decades now and he had cultivated a sharp instinct. And currently, his instincts were telling him that pushing anymore would cost him more than he was willing to give.
So, he quickly backed on his intentions and waved his hands.
"On a second thought, I am far too ignorant to understand the significance of this artefact even if the young master tells me about it. I will refrain from knowing this time."
The auction master backed down just in time for his employee to come back with the cheque and whisper something in the auction master's ears.
"It seems as if your cheque has been processed, young master. Congratulations on your winning bid. I hope we have a chance to do business in the future with each other as well."
The auction master extended his hand for Andrew to take.
"Likewise, auction master. Please, let me know if you get your hands on something of such value again. I would love to do business with you."
Andrew left the auction house and he carefully placed the artefact he had bought in his inventory. He quickly noticed that he was being followed by some people as soon as he left the auction house.
'These people must be after the incredible artefact I managed to win today. Unfortunately for them, this artifact is only valuable in my hands.'
Andrew approached his car, but there was a weird smell. He smelled it once he got too close. His eyes spotted a blackish liquid leaking from the tank of his car.
Someone was trying to stop him from leaving this auction site.
Andrew allowed himself to be followed for now. He was under no delusion that he would be able to outrun the people coming after him. But defeating them was a different matter altogether.
'Darn it. That spell to sense the presence of others around me would come in handy at this time.'
Unfortunately, all of Andrew's skills had been rewritten so he could not cast them, no matter how much mana he used.
But he still had enough experience to be able to tell that the number was not more than 3.
Andrew started the car for now to see how far he could drive it. Unfortunately, he was only able to drive for about 2 kilometers before his car stopped.
He parked it at the side of the road and got out. The car following him stopped as well and he noticed three people getting out.
Still not wanting to alert these people, Andrew headed toward the market street and pretended to go shopping. His stalkers also followed after him.
But when they entered the alley, they did not see him.
"Huh-? Where did he go—"
Andrew attacked before his three stalkers noticed him. His buffed attack speed allowed him to hit the opponents before they could hit him.
"What…how did he…"
"He was supposed to be a good-for-nothing young master…"
Andrew's opponents had let their guard down and not brought any weapons with them. It gave him a huge advantage against them.
His buffed stats also helped him finish the fight quickly before his opponents knew what was happening. He tied up his attackers before he dragged them deeper into the darkness so that they wouldn't be spotted.
Once they were alone, he finally started his interrogation.
"Are you going to tell me who sent you?"
The baffled attacker looked at Andrew before his eyes hardened.
"Tsk, do you think it is so easy to win my loyalty, kid? I am not going to tell you anything. If you want to know, then you will have to pry the truth out of my mouth."
The stalker insisted on doing things the hard way. That was fine with Andrew.
"Alright, if you want me to beat the truth out of you, then I can definitely do that. But remember, you are the one who asked for it."
Andrew reminded his opponent before he pulled his fist back and smacked his opponent hard.
His opponent had not expected a soft young master like Andrew to actually go ahead and hit him this hard.
"Y-You…"
Blood pooled in the stalker's mouth and he coughed those words out.
"Hmm, are you finally ready to talk now? If not, then I can do even more. Do you want to try me out?"
The stalker gritted his teeth and weighed. However, he failed to consider that he was not the only one who could answer Andrew's questions.
The other two stalkers were starting to wake up as well, and as soon as they noticed what had happened to their leader, their tone shifted into a more fearful one.
"Y-You…what do you want to know? You want to find out who sent us? It was boss Richard Dominus. W-We had nothing to do with all of this. Please, believe us and let us go."
The younger stalker quickly assured Andrew while their leader watched this with gritted teeth. He was sure that they were done for.
"Hmm, so Richard Dominus sent you? And why did he send you after me?"
"T-To get the ancient necklace. He said that if you spent a fortune to buy it, then it must hold a great secret."
A great secret? It did hold a great secret. But not the kind the humans were hoping for at least.
"Well, thank you for telling me all this. Since you told me the truth, I will let you live for now. As for the 'great secret', there is none. I just took a fancy to some pretty jewelry and bought it. That's all."
The stalkers knew that Andrew was bullshitting. What kind of human would be willing to fork out 20 million for just a necklace? And one so old at that?
However, the stalkers also understood that they had lost this round. If they came after Andrew again, then this time they won't get to live.
"Understood. We will tell our boss what you told us."
Their boss was not going to believe them. But this was still better than losing their lives.