[Nightmare]

Charlotte was grinning in delight.

She was tallying the amount of money in her head.

Helix had raked in over seventy-thousand in the participation auction.

He could live off the money for the rest of his life in luxury in gold standards.

Unlike the exclusive auction, he made 100% of the proceeds, and there were no clothing or labor costs.

Now he raked in another fifteen hundred just by his stake alone.

"Next up! We have a bundle of colorful wigs, cloth, and dyes!

These are used for cosplay!" Helix grinned.

"What's cosplay? When people dress up as characters depicted in paintings and have wild delusions, they are the character… that's cosplay."

The otakus roared with laughter.

The nobles checked their gold count.

"The items start at one coin! You may begin!"

…

"These are a pair of yoga pants.

Every noble should know about them, I believe." Helix chuckled.

The nobles burst into laughter.

"What you don't know is the Earthian love for them!

There are fifteen pairs for auction."

The women otakus screamed like fan girls.

"No explanation needed, begin!"

The nobles' eyes widened when they saw the numbers women were throwing out.

The highest was five hundred twenty-five, but the same woman bid on every other pair!

…

"This bottle contains regular Bashfruit Alka.

The nobles here should know it well." Helix grinned.

"However! I have mixed Star Sparkles in it and capped it.

That's it. That's all I've done."

Helix panned the otaku's faces.

They were gulping at the sight of it.

The nobles narrowed their eyes when they saw the phenomena.

Eliza was watching with mesmerizing fascination.

The Knights looked like opium addicts!

"However, the bottle was capped at the maximum carbonation, cooled to 36 degrees Fahrenheit, and put into my item storage to keep it cold." Helix grinned.

The otakus gulped.

"In total, these five bottles of [soda] cost three coppers to make each!" He announced while showing everyone the bottle.

"Watch what happens when you crack the lid."

Helix panned the auction house to ensure everyone's attention was on him.

"Poooooop fizzzzzzz!"

"Bidding starts at three coppers! You may begin!"

"Five gold!"

"Ten gold!"

"Twenty gold!"

"Twenty one gold!"

"Twenty five gold!"

The nobles were bewildered by the spectacle.

At first, they thought that Helix was sharking them.

However, the raw madness in the otakus' eyes was unmistakable.

"Sold to Sarah for 31 gold!" Helix announced.

The amount of gold she spent on the three copper soda could rent a maid for six months in Alzeria.

It was bewildering to the nobles.

"You may put it in your item storage or drink it here."

Sarah rushed at full speed to Helix and grabbed it.

Like a ravenous fiend, she cracked the cap.

"Poooooop fizzzzzzz!"

Her face flushed with embarrassment when she saw everyone.

However, she didn't care.

"This smells like…." Sarah's eyes widened with shock.

"Try it." Helix grinned.

Sarah obeyed without hesitation.

The minute that the drink touched her lips, she started crying.

Serious crying.

She dropped to her knees and capped the bottle.

Sarah held it close to her body and started bawling.

Soon twenty other people joined in.

"This…." Helix whispered with a choked-up voice.

"Everyone! This is no longer for sale!" He announced.

The otakus looked at him with pained expressions.

"It's free!" Helix yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Everyone gets one! I'm not going to sell you something that means so much. I refuse."

Helix wiped his eyes with his peacoat sleeve.

Happy cries exploded from the auction house.

Soon there were dozens of people hugging.

Marie, Charlotte, and Riley already had soda in bulk.

They never gave it to anyone because they believed they'd suspect poison.

They took it out in a wave and started passing them out.

"Poooooop fizzzzzzz!"

"Poooooop fizzzzzzz!"

"Poooooop fizzzzzzz!"

The nobles watched the scene with confusion and slight pain.

They started tearing up as well.

It was instantly clear there wasn't a single fakeness or acting.

Helix panned his gaze toward the skyboxes.

"Thank you for your patience." He said with a slightly cracking voice.

"This drink is extremely similar to a drink called cola on Earth.

We used to love it and drank it every day.

Since we came here, something this simple has been missing.

So once people… took a drink… it reminded us of everything we left behind."

Helix wiped slight tears from his eyes again.

Princess Eliza and Queen Liliana felt heartbroken watching the eighty-three young men and women crying with the bottles in their hands.

"This is why the Otaku Collection is here." He explained with a strained voice.

"It's not about how much something costs.

The price of making this drink is irrelevant.

It reminds us of home, and everything you're seeing here tonight doesn't exist in this world."

The women nobles started crying, and their partners hugged them.

Listeners outside of the hall were feeling raw emotions.

Everyone angry the auction wasn't exclusive felt guilty for demanding the young man's products be sold to them without question.

"This is what Samma wanted to capture…." Helix looked at all of the nobles.

"When I said it's free, that means for you too.

Every noble here will get a bottle of soda to share in an Earthian experience."

Helix bowed, and the nobles stood up in a standing ovation.

They clapped for solid two minutes before Helix started the auction again.

"This is a skirt! It's arguably the most popular female clothing item for covering their legs." Helix announced with half energy.

"It's a dress that only covers from the waist down.

There are many styles here, and you may choose the one you wish upon purchase.

Bidding starts at one coin. You may begin!"

…

"This… hahaha…." Helix burst into laughter.

The otakus' eyes widened when they saw Helix laughing again.

"This… haha… is also… hahaha… a skirt…." He tried to explain between broken breaths.

"But this… hahaha… is part of the Otaku Collection… haha."

The nobles' eyes widened with surprise.

They could see the anticipation on the otakus' faces.

An abrupt emotional shift overcame everyone simultaneously.

"It's… a school girl skirt!"

"200 gold!" A woman screamed.

Helix chuckled in bewilderment.

"You heard the woman. Begin!"

"250 gold!"

"300 gold!"

"350 gold!"

…

"Sold for 750 gold!" Helix laughed.

Then he turned to the nobles with a cracking expression.

"As part of the Otaku Collection, it's not high fashion." Helix chuckled.

"However, it's cultured fashion, and it can be summed up in two words…."

He waited for everyone to listen in close.

"Love life."

Roars of laughter rang through the auction house.

—

"So… did Helix make you wear the school girl skirts?" Tammy asked with a grin.

Millie blushed, and Sarah pretended not to hear.

Miskie laced her hands behind her head and leaned back for the show.

However, she was giving the women a sidelong glance.

Helix's partners burst into giggles.

"Helix doesn't make us wear anything." Marie giggled.

Sarah and Tammy sighed a slight breath of relief.

Millie was anxious and blushing still.

"Sounds like a crock of shit to me." Miskie grinned.

"It's true though. Helix doesn't even suggest what he'd like us to wear." Riley replied with wide eyes.

"It's okay, Riley. Miskie here's just con~fuzzled." Charlotte grinned.

"The question you should be asking is [have we]."

Miskie's eyes lit up, and she unlaced her fingers.

Then she put her elbows on the table.

"So then, Char~lot, have you?"

Millie, Tammy, and Sarah blushed at Charlotte's bold words.

Charlotte met Miskie's gaze fearlessly.

"Of~course." She grinned.

Miskie smiled, blushing exploded, and Marie and Riley giggled.

"So lemme get this straight.

Helix doesn't suggest you wear anything, but you ponied up and volunteered to wear them?" Miskie asked.

Marie tried to reply tactfully for the sake of the blushers, but Charlotte had no intention.

"Didn't you hear my inflection?" Charlotte asked sarcastically.

"I said, of~course. That slight vi~brato indicates that we did wear those skirts willing, and we liked~it."

The blushing returned in full force.

"Hah. That boy's got your wrapped around his finger something savage." Miskie laughed.

"I like it when that happens, thank~you ver~y much." Charlotte smacked.

Miskie's eyes widened.

"No way. No fuckin' way. Did you just initiate sex talk?" Miskie grinned with excited eyes.

"Depends on those five." Charlotte shrugged.

"I~'ll talk about it. The question is, will the blush parade drop the act and express their excitement?"

—

"This is a collaboration between the Otaku Collection and the Earthian Collection!" Helix announced.

"It's a cultured item of magnanimous proportions and stylish enough to justify wearing it.

It's only recommended for young teens that don't have creepy uncles or stalkers."

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)