Auren stares at the mysterious appraiser in front of him, not quite sure what to make of her.
She says it depends… what does she mean by that?
"It depends?" Auren asks. "Depends on what?"
"On who's asking," the tall appraiser replies.
"..."
"Are you blind? This is Auren! Surely you know about him?" Neffi asks, pouting as she points at him like it should be obvious.
"You should know about him, even if you somehow slept through the earlier chaos," Goreinu adds. "Since you are working for this event, surely you must know the participants. Auren is also pretty well known beyond that. Aren't you a Hunter yourself?"
The appraiser shakes her head. "I am not a Hunter. Chaos? I have indeed slept. I am not interested in anything beyond what I am paid for. Until now, I haven't found much use for a license. Though I am in need of funds, I might consider becoming one and obtaining a license."
Auren decides to play it calm, taking a breath before he introduces himself properly. "I am Auren… a Hunter. You can call me a Treasure Hunter, focusing on rare and special weapons and armour, I suppose, though I also work as a Blacklist and Temp Hunter. These are my two good friends and partners, Neffi and Goreinu."
"Nice to meet you, Auren," the woman replies. "I am Leira, working as an appraiser. My friend on my shoulder is called Oculus."
"How... imaginative," Auren comments, eyeing the snake again, which is calmly sitting on her shoulder, not moving at all. "For now, I would like to request your services... to tell you the truth, I have obtained these items for a simple reason. They contain residual aura, and I only consider items like that truly collectible and valuable. Obviously, they are made by geniuses. Oftentimes, society appreciates them, since items created by geniuses are almost always recognized, even if people can't spot the Aura. They should have significant value... but the exact value is not something I can even guess. I also can't sell them just because they have Aura. Thus, I need an appraiser. You are here to do that for all participants of this event, right?"
"I guess so," Leira responds. "Though I rarely have to work, as the annoying hag seems to like to do it herself. I'm just here for the easy pay."
She's... a little weird. The thing I criticised the older lady for. Doesn't that apply to her as well? Why does she need this money if she is skilled? Was I too blinded by her identity as a Nen user? Maybe I should have picked the reliable one, Zepile, instead.
No... it's too soon to judge and dismiss her. I should at least see what she can do first.
"... Get to work then, please," Auren says, looking around. People everywhere are already beginning to haggle with each other, exchanging items left and right, voices overlapping in a constant buzz.
He also notices a few people, accompanied by hordes of attendants, carrying various items in boxes and even some wrapped in expensive-looking sheets, standing close to his own location, obviously looking at him.
As Leira goes through his extensive collection of randomly assorted items—items he obtained in Glam Gas Land, and items he has gotten from his two new employees, Oron and Ura, initially hired by Pariston, but now working directly for him—Auren himself approaches the collectors, not wanting to waste time.
"Excuse me..." Auren says, "Things get a little chaotic at these events, and I need to... check the validity of a few of my items. Wouldn't want to sell you something I can't vouch for."
I need to fully appraise them... and all of them, not just a few. Well, it's not like they need to know that. I just need them to start trading.
Auren briefly glances back at Leira and sees her taking out a few small notes, scribbling on them. Auren recognises the number 67,000 Jenny on one of them as she pins it to a small, still boxed puppet, not hesitating even a little bit.
"Do you have something to show me? Even if my... offerings are not to your liking, I, of course, can simply pay you with cash," Auren offers, pointing to his own small booth.
An elderly couple steps forward, a few young attendants following them, carrying a few items wrapped in cloth.
"Please," Auren says, taking a step back and gesturing for them to put down the goods on an empty part of his booth's main table.
The couple nods at their attendants, and the attendants unwrap a few items. Exactly one knife, and a few ceremonial swords and arrows, lie on the table—each of them looking ancient at first glance.
Auren briefly uses Gyo. The swords and arrows indeed contain a small amount of residual Aura, but Auren's attention is immediately drawn to the familiar-looking knife.
Ben's knife… I don't even need to appraise it. I recognise the familiar Aura.
This particular knife resembles the bone of a fish—multiple thin parts to the blade, separated by tiny gaps, and in the middle, a larger, raised ridge that stands out, skillfully connected to every small part of the blade.
So this one is made with poisons in mind as well. Benny Delon sure liked his poisons.
"It's genuine," Auren states. "The swords and the arrows are also to my liking."
The woman steps forward and says, "One hundred million. That includes the swords and arrows… though I would prefer to trade for other wares."
Auren shrugs and looks to the side. Multiple of his items are already appraised by Leira by now—some for just tens of thousands, others for hundreds of thousands, a few for millions. The teddy bear in particular is apparently appraised at a staggering 98 million Jenny, a sum that genuinely confuses Auren.
Not that I need to question her...
"My items are still getting appraised… please take a look and if possible be patient for a while longer," Auren says, gesturing toward the tagged items. "Take what you want. Whatever balance is left, I'll wire you directly. I won't be offended if nothing catches your interest. Also, I am grateful for your visit—if you need any help in the future, you can give me a call. My… secretary will take it."
Auren then hands her a business card with a number—not his own number, but one he created for contacts of low priority. One of Rakshala's aides in Hollow Blade takes the calls, takes notes, and then informs Auren at regular intervals.
I did the right thing… I can't give my number to too many unimportant people.
As he thinks of Hollow Blade, Rakshala's face briefly flashes in front of his eyes, and for a moment, he imagines her watching him.
This…
"We'll take a look and wait until the rest is appraised," the woman says while her partner nods, not willing to argue, despite the price. "I'd rather like this teddy bear. It would be a suitable gift for my favourite granddaughter."
A 98 million Jenny gift for a little girl? These people… Didn't Biscuit also want that one? I was about to gift it to her—thankfully, I didn't!
With the couple and their attendants stepping aside, the next visitors approach.
Auren sighs as he sees the line for his stand has grown—now half a dozen different visitors long, excluding their attendants and helpers, of course.
"Neffi… Goreinu…" Auren says, looking at his group. "Help me, will you? You know what I'm after. If the price seems unreasonable wait for me to confirm. Also, hand them one of my cards." Auren then hands them each a small stack of cards with the number of his secretary.
"Are we getting paid for this?" Goreinu asks, now looking nervous, completely out of his element.
"I hired you for a full year, move your ass!" Auren orders, briefly glaring at his comrade.
Auren, Neffi, and a visibly nervous Goreinu begin to appraise the items presented to them.
One person, rushing towards Goreinu, avoiding Auren and Neffi, immediately starts talking, narrating fantastic-sounding stories about supposedly historically important finds, selling his various items as priceless artefacts—only for Leira to glance to the side and comment, flatly, "This is a fake. It was made just a few decades ago."
"Liar!" the collector—a thin man in his thirties—immediately yells, looking offended.
"I can analyse the composition of the item," Leira replies, not sounding impressed. "From that, I can tell you this was made with the help of chemicals and certain modern industrial techniques. It would have been impossible to create this item 30 years ago. You can't deceive my skill."
Not bad!
"Skill?! How can you even see that without any tools and without performing any tests?! You are just making up stuff now," the collector accuses her, rudely pointing his finger at her.
"Take your forgery, that by the way, doesn't even contain Aura, and fuck off! If I hear one bad thing about my appraiser or me, I'll do worse things to you than I did to Kite!" Auren threatens, briefly activating Ren, aiming his Aura at the man in front of him.
Scared, the man immediately grabs his item and runs off, the other collectors smirking in satisfaction and amusement.
"A new member who joined just last year," an elderly male comments. "I'm having him removed; he'll be escorted out of the venue in just a few minutes."
"Thank you, sir," Auren replies, appreciating the gesture.
"It's my turn now, I suppose..." the man says.
I'm slowly realizing what Leira's Hatsu does. A useful snake, indeed! Is the snake able to identify every single element of her items? Like the internal composition? She recognized certain chemicals. No, there seems to be more to it. Maybe even the exact way it was produced... well, maybe I can ask her later. I can say for certain that she's quite skilled. That Hatsu sounds quite useful.
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A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments, and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
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