My Soul Was Called Stinky

Isekai Soul Auction......!?

“Well then, well theeen! Let's get right to introducing our first soul!”

As the emcee, Silk Hat, screamed this, a woman in a well-fitted black suit (whose face was also covered in white mist, making her unrecognizable) carried a soul that had been placed near me up onto the stage.

“Allow me to introduce this soul's profiiile!”

Silk Hat removed the plastic case covering the soul and read from the documents in his hand.

“The name is ‘Suzudou Shota,’ a seventeen-year-old male! The ace of the soccer club and the center of attention among the boys in his class! With high athletic ability, strong leadership, and a positive, bright personality, he is truly what one would call protagonist soul material!”

Oh, that soul is Suzudou-kun.

Silk Hat's right: Suzudou-kun was kind of the leader of our class, and super popular.

Well, not that it had anything to do with me.

“Ooh, what a finely shaped soul indeed. And that refreshing scent is quite lovely, too.”

“What wonderful soul quality! I simply must have it......”

“My, it's a bit different from what I'm looking for...... but what a beautiful hue!”

The gods in the audience buzzed, critiquing Suzudou-kun's soul however they pleased.

......Yeah, even to someone like me, who isn't used to seeing things like souls, Suzudou-kun's soul had a beautiful color.

It was a sort of passionate red...... like the color of a beautiful flame? That's the kind of soul it was.

As for me......

Uh......

Yeah......

“Now, now! Let's get the bidding started right awaaay! This premium soul, ‘Suzudou Shota’! Bidding starts at a minimum of 10,000 Mana!”

“20,000!”

“25,000!”

“53,000!”

The price of Suzudou-kun's soul climbed higher and higher. Apparently the currency (?) is something called “Mana.”

“108,000! Currently 108,000 Mana! Are there any other gods who can offer a higher price!?”

“Gah......! Then 110,000 Mana! How about THAT!?”

“110,000! 110,000! ......Anyone else!? ......No one!? Then the soul of ‘Suzudou Shota’ goes to you...... Holy Goddess Laintorlie-sama! SOOOLD! And when you use it, don't forget to set its memories, blessings and all the other settings!”

“Yes! Naturally!”

The one who stepped onto the stage to receive Suzudou-kun's soul was a beautiful blonde goddess.

She held the soul above her head, showing it off to the other gods.

“Tch! Beaten by Laintorlie right out of the gate!”

“Still, I'm looking forward to it! The ‘Hero VS Demon Lord’ series by Laintorlie-sama and Baharia-sama never fails to be fun! I can't wait for the broadcast!”

“It does feel a bit too cliché, though.”

The surrounding gods clapped with smiles, despite their frustration.

What's a broadcast?

“Now! Let's keep them coming! Next, I present to you......”

In this manner, the souls placed around me were auctioned off to the gods one after another.

Watching this from the sidelines, I realized that the 29 kon of souls lined up here, including myself, all seemed to be my classmates.

Silk Hat said earlier that they were “harvested from Earth,” right?

Did our entire class get snatched up, turned into souls, and put up for auction?

Uhm...... hello?

Our wills aren't considered at all?

Is that actually okay from a god's perspective?

......It probably is. Everyone seems pretty into it.

......Well, if you asked me if I have any lingering attachments to my life up until now, I don't, so I guess it's fine.

“80,000! 80,000! ......No one else!? Sold! It's sold! The soul of ‘Gouki Ken’ goes to... Thief God Yabo-sama! Sooold!”

On stage, the soul of a boy named Gouki was auctioned off.

For the record, this Gouki guy was, to put it bluntly, a bully.

Whether it was a boy or a girl, he was a piece of trash who would bully anyone he didn't like using every means possible.

He did all kinds of stuff to me, too.

Things I don't even want to put into words.

Nobody ever helped me, though.

The world is so cold, huh~.

“Kakaka! Lookit this soul! That twisted vibe's straight-up art, ain't it~!? If I'm handin' out my blessing, it's gotta go to a guy with a spicy scent like this!”

The one called Thief God Yabo received Gouki's soul and returned to his seat in high spirits.

I mean, a Thief God? The name alone tells me he's a real piece of work himself!?

“Now! Moving on to......”

The moment I heard Silk Hat's words, I felt a light floating sensation.

The plastic case I was in was lifted and carried toward the stage.

......My turn had come.

“‘Aihara Runa’! Hopeless at studying, at sports, at everything! No friends! No family to help! Bullied by everyone, and frankly, a high school girl who's a total washout!”

My intro is brutal!?

I mean, it's not wrong...... sadly, it's not wrong, but still!

Even so, I worked hard! I worked super hard, okay!?

Whether I was being punched, having my things stolen, or being ignored by the whole class...... and even my “family”!!

Even when things were tough, I tried to live with a bright and positive spirit so I wouldn't lose!

Couldn't you give me some points for that!?

......Eh, what's with the air in the room?

Why did it go dead silent the moment I came out?

Hey, gods~! Don't be such buzzkills~! Why are you all recoiling!?

“......Filthy......”

Someone in the venue said it.

It was a small whisper, but in the silenced hall, those words echoed with heartbreaking clarity.

......Yeah, I get it. I totally get the feeling of wanting to say that.

Because even that bully Gouki had a soul that was reasonably transparent. Though the shape was twisted.

And as for me.

......I'm pitch black.

You could even say I'm a murky, sludgy black.

On top of that, the way rusty-red colors occasionally surface and vanish makes me look absolutely filthy.

Compared to the other souls, yeah, I get it: it's filthy enough to make anyone recoil.

I guess that's how it is......

“Ah, aaahhh, um......”

Silk Hat is panicking.

Apparently he was so caught up in emceeing that he only just noticed my soul is super-duper filthy.

Aren't you a bit underprepared? Sloppy work, buddy~! You're a failure as a working adult...... er, a working god (?), aren't youuu~?

“S-So...... for this soul, the minimum bid is...... 1 Mana! 1 Mana will do! Okay, bidding starts nooow!”

Silk Hat set the minimum bid in an obviously half-hearted way, and my auction began.

The black-suit lady, whose face was still a blur, removed the plastic case covering me.

The next instant.

“S-STINKS!? That soul STINKS!!?”

“Geho! Hey...... no way! No freakin' way!? What the hell is that stench!?”

“O...... OGEEH! Gerorororororo......”

The venue turned into a living hell in an instant.

The gods who just plugged their noses and looked pained were the lucky ones.

Some gods collapsed on the floor, convulsing.

A god that looked like a gooey, shapeless slime was vomiting.

How rude! You look like puke yourself!

Well, anyway.

My soul isn't just filthy.

It's apparently...... incredibly stinky.

“M-My...... deepest apologies! My deepest apologies!! It appears that some garbage got mixed in during the soul harvest process!!”

Silk Hat was groveling.

I mean, “garbage” is a bit harsh, don't you think?

This is the soul of a high school girl who lived her life with all her might for seventeen years!

“At once! I shall carry out disposal by annihilation at once!”

Silk Hat took a small remote-like device from his breast pocket and operated it, causing a pitch-black vortex to appear in front of me.

......Hm? Disposal by annihilation??

“Currently connecting to the Void...... Connection established! This garbage will be discarded into the Void along with the stench! I am terribly sorry for causing such discomfort!!!”

Eh? Void? Discarded? What are you talking about?

Not quite grasping the situation, I watched Silk Hat and the black-suit lady bowing ninety degrees and apologizing profusely to the audience......

Shupo...... With a crisp little sound, I was sucked into the black vortex...... into this so-called Void.