Genius Warlock-Episode 173
The vehicle carrying Jane and her group headed to Area J, the center of Landa Munha and entertainment..
As I passed through the cheap casinos, illegal houses, cabarets, and bars spread thinly on the outskirts and entered the center, I was greeted by tall buildings, blue neon signs, yellow street lights, and magic lights..
This is my second time visiting Area J..
As expected, it was a neighborhood that was more vibrant at night than during the day..
In particular, the intensity reached its peak when we arrived at our destination, the Suburaptor Large Museum..
Luxury cars and well-dressed ladies and gentlemen fill the streets..
A truly impressive scale.
But Oliver wasn't the only one impressed..
“It's amazing…..”
Jane, who was involved in this incident, looked outside and muttered..
"of course. It was originally a fairly large event, but with Randa's big hands and Crime Firm joining in, the scale has grown several times..”
Oliver, who had heard the explanation in advance, nodded silently..
Forrest said that although the event still maintained the guise of art auctions and artist sponsorships, the behind-the-scenes changes have changed significantly..
As Coco said, not only Randa's big money, Crime Firm, but also its own dark distributor, Tmasure Hunter, have joined in, and the main art object of the auction has long since been reduced to a commodity.,
It is said that a variety of items are traded, including relics illegally looted from overseas, works of art, rare magic items, high-end medicine, and rare books..
Thanks to this, the customer base expanded from art collectors to city council members, capitalists, big-time fixers, illegal collectors, and back-alley tycoons.,
It is said that ambitious people who wanted to become friends with them joined together and turned it into an event that could not be compared to before..
‘It also served as a venue for Landa power socializing before the auction. The auction organizer doesn't seem to like this because it makes a lot of money..’
The number of participants was so large, and the organizers had made such arrangements in advance, that even the police could not come near this place at this time of year..
I couldn't help but think that Landa was a really fun town..
"Look, sorry to break it to you, but I don't think traffic will be blocked for an hour or two. I think you should get off from here and go..”
Penny, sitting in the driver's seat, said apologetically..
Jane accepted it coolly..
Coco and Oliver followed her easy-going attitude and got out of the car..
After getting off through the open door, I started walking on the sidewalk, led by Jane..
Coco, who played the role of assistant, stood next to Jane, and Oliver, who played the role of bodyguard, followed behind her..
Oliver looked around without being overly cautious, just as Coco had taught him..
As I saw in the car, there were a lot of people, and most of them had bodyguards..
As Coco said, the stronger the bodyguard, the more triumphant the atmosphere..
"Ah, it arrived.”
Coco whispering softly.
As I looked ahead, a huge building appeared in front of me..
Although all the buildings in District J are relatively large, the size of the Subureptor Museum overwhelms them..
The height of the building was low compared to other buildings, but it was high enough, and the large site and grand exterior in the style of an ancient empire were so splendid that even the most modern buildings emitting flashy lights were reduced to the level of lighting..
"Phew… .. egg plant.”
Jane calmed down her fears and walked forward like a person going to fight..
'huh?’
Oliver rolled his eyes, feeling strange..
Burly men who appeared to be employees stood out of sight and looked at the customers..
They didn't just glance, they used their magic to check something, and Oliver felt that the object was a ticket in the customer's arms..
In fact, after checking the ticket between Jane's breasts, he immediately looked away, and conversely, he sent someone to the person who tried to sneak in pretending to have a ticket and politely dragged him somewhere..
"Now, wait a minute..”
"Please don't make a fuss and I would appreciate it if you could follow along quietly..”
I didn't know why the ticket radiated magic, but now I know why..
After passing through a huge passage that could accommodate dozens of people at once, a hall much larger than the entrance came into view..
Well-dressed people gathered in the hall, which seemed to be able to accommodate hundreds of people at a time, but what stood out the most was the relief carved into the marble wall..
Even Oliver, who doesn't know anything about history, could tell that it was a very old and exotic item..
And that wasn't the only thing.
The museum was full of treasures that even Oliver, who did not know much about art, could guess the value of, including huge monuments placed on the left and right and a skull made of turquoise inside a glass coffin..
Coco said that all of this was gained by the United Kingdom in the process of spreading civilization to the world..
“They say it’s amazing every time I see it. The history of the whole world is right here. Except for the United Kingdom..”
Coco muttered as if she had visited several times. Then he asked Jane.
"Where should we go now??”
Jane braced herself like a fixer or a gangster going into battle..
"I'll have to take care of business right away. First, let’s go look at the picture first.?”
***
As we entered the museum, a new space welcomed us..
It's another huge hall.
In that hall, there were over hundreds of paintings neatly arranged like a city defense force..
My eyes are wide open.
Coco explained in a small but clear voice..
"It's called a sponsorship letter. This is the early auction culture of the Suburaptor large museum, where items from unknown painters with potential are bid on..
Since Jane actually knows, it seemed like she was telling Oliver to listen..
Even though they were employers, they were very considerate of Oliver, who was curious..
Oliver wanted to repay this, and while he was absorbed in security, he listened to Coco's explanations in detail..
"The auction method is simple. Just write our ticket number and bid price on the paper attached to the bottom of the picture like this..”
Coco pointed to the paper under the picture..
Perhaps someone had already visited, but the writing was written in clean and dirty handwriting, one after the other..
[£3,000,000]
[£3,600,000]
[£4,400,000]
"The bidding method is, of course, the one with the higher price takes, and usually 1.2 times the amount is used. However, if it's a coveted item, you can beat the competition by spending 1.5 to 2 or 3 times the price..”
Friendly and clear explanations, like museum staff.
Considering that Coco was familiar with this museum, it seemed that Coco had excellent experience and knowledge..
"There are various painting styles..”
Jane said, looking through the picture..
Judging by her sharp eyes and struggling emotional state, it didn't seem like she was just saying it..
Coco soon proved this..
"Exactly. These are items that dealers who deal with museums travel around the world to find. Since each country has different preferences and trends, the style is bound to be different... .. Most of the participating painters are unknown. I'm disappointed with the price of paint right now..”
Coco took a pause and spoke again..
"However, two or three of them will be recognized for their talent or catch the trend and make a name for themselves in some way. Then, the paintings purchased here are resold for tens or hundreds of times the price. It's a pretty good investment..”
Ho... . Oliver was impressed but also puzzled. Even though the paintings are of similar quality, they are valued differently depending on the artist..
I wanted to ask a question about this, but decided to hold back for security reasons..
‘huh?’
Then something caught my eye..
Jane, who was exchanging opinions with Coco about whether or not to buy the painting and, if so, how much to buy it for, noticed something unusual about Oliver and spoke to him..
"dave?”
"ah.… sorry. I looked away for a moment.”
Instead of being offended by Oliver's distracted behavior, Jane showed curiosity..
“….what were you watching?”
"Can I tell you?”
"Sure.”
"I was looking at that picture.”
Oliver pointed to a picture in front..
It was a painting of a woman's back, and Jane walked towards it, paying attention to what Oliver was saying..
Oliver and Coco followed behind..
Jane stopped in front of the painting and looked at it closely..
Like many of the pictures here, it was a pretty good picture..
Jane, who was staring at the picture, asked a question..
"Is there a special reason why this picture caught your eye??”
"Compared to other works, it contains more emotion..”
“Emotions?”
Jane was interested in Oliver's answer..
"Yes, other works also contain some emotion, but this painting is a little deeper. Like the artwork or statues I saw in the hall..”
"....?"
Jane and Coco each reacted in surprise at those words..
"If it is a work of art seen in the hall….?”
"Things like tombstones and relief statues. The monument symbolizes prudence and responsibility, and the relief statue symbolizes pride, but this painting is deeply filled with sadness and longing.."
Jane discussed a few words with Coco and then wrote down the winning bid price on a paper ticket. I increased it by 1.8 times what was originally written..
And then said.
"Can you tell me more??”
"Shouldn't the bodyguard be silent??”
"From now on, let’s pretend it’s not like that..”
***
Within an hour of entering the museum, Oliver had already left his role as a bodyguard and was selecting paintings for his employer, Jane..
Of course it wasn't that I didn't like it..
Looking through works of art filled with various emotions was enjoyable enough for Oliver..
Oliver walked like a bodyguard, stopping and whispering quietly when he saw a picture that caught his eye..
"That's okay too. family on the beach.”
Oliver pointed to a picture of a family walking on the beach..
"What emotions are there??”
"Joy, envy, admiration and intense purpose..”
Jane nodded to those words and exchanged opinions with Miss Coco about the painting..
At the end of the conversation, Jane wrote down the high amount with confidence, as in the previous seven pictures..
"I feel like I've come full circle now.”
"I know.”
Jane and Coco looked tired as they walked and looked at hundreds of paintings. But he didn't show that he was tired..
"By the way, do you mind? Oliver asked back, a little worried..
"I only know how to see things filled with emotion, but I can't tell what the real value is..”
"are you okay. When it comes to studying drawing, I haven't done much either. Coco is different though..”
"There is no problem when I see it. If the work has made it this far in the first place, it means that it has already satisfied the picky dealers. This market is an area that requires not only skill but also luck, so finding a picture that is sure to be popular is not easy. So, there is no problem with choosing this way..”
When I got to that point, Oliver didn't say anything more..
"The owner of this painting will be decided today.?”
"huh. Since there is so much to handle, the owner of these types of items will be decided today..”
"Now, let's check the items we took again and go to the book market inside. Dave worked hard for us, so we should repay him..”
The book market was literally a place where you could purchase books, and it was a place where you could purchase illegal books, such as black magic books, through a contact method unknown to the general public..
"When that's all over, let's go to a bigger auction house..”
Coco agreed, matching steps with Jane..
I walked around the exhibition hall where the painting was displayed and returned to the place I first came from, and there was an old man with a large figure standing in front of the painting that Oliver had pointed out..
He drew a line twice over the amount Jane had spent, and then confidently wrote down the double amount..
"uh?”
The old man, sensing someone's presence, paused and turned his head..
Old suit and gold-rimmed glasses. It was an old gentleman who helped me buy a corpse on the black market..
"Long time no see. Mr. Dave.”
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