THE APPRAISAL KNIGHTS DROPPED BY
After our little outing at the tiger festival, we went home.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the smell of roasting meat. Flatorte was in charge of lunch today, so this was her doing.
“Welcome back, Mistress! I’m frying up the venison and the onions now! Sprinkle some rock salt over it and dig in!”
“Sounds yummy! Quite a daring meal you came up with, huh?”
Lunch was turning into a wild game feast. I was still a little full from the okonomiyaki, so I wondered if I had any room left.
Muu found Rosalie, and the ghosts began their lively chatter.
It sounded like they were complaining about people these days becoming evil spirits over the stupidest things.
I guess people complained about the newer generation in every community. It was just a human (ghost, more specifically) thing.
Falfa and Shalsha were telling Flatorte all about the tiger festival in the kitchen.
“Tigers, huh. I haven’t fought any tigers at all lately.”
This festival didn’t let you fight the tigers, you know. And the way she said that made it sound like she used to fight them… RIP the tigers, I guess.
Well, either way, she was free to go take a look if she was interested. She could get there in no time, after all.
“Halkara must still be sorting through the treasures. I’ll go get her since it’s almost lunchtime.”
I went to the room that served as our treasure vault and found all kinds of expensive-looking items in a heap in the hallway.
There were chests decorated with exquisite carvings and candelabras made of silver—and all looked like they had considerable artistic value. They were supposed to be offerings made to a god, so the people wouldn’t be bringing junk.
I opened the door to the room, and it seemed like it was more of a mess than it was before.
“It sure is dusty in here… And Halkara’s gone.”
She must have started, decided the task would never end, and given up.
It wasn’t like we had any shelves or boxes to sort all this stuff out anyway, so there was only so much she could do. All she could manage was placing things in categorized piles.
But as that thought crossed my mind, I found a note resting on an expensive-looking chair.
Ah, so Halkara had realized we needed shelves.
But if we were going to deal with every single item here, then we would probably need to build an extra storage building onto our house—and our house is already pretty big. Laika could probably build a storage building in a few days if I asked her, though, so that wasn’t much of a problem.
I decided to step into the room, but there were so many shiny and sparkly things in there that it hurt my eyes.
They were all meant to be divine offerings, so a lot of these things ignored practicality, like gold furniture. I even found a frog made entirely out of jewels.
Did Nintan just decide she didn’t want any of this and loaded it all off on us…?
“It looks expensive, but I have no idea how much any of this is worth. I guess people who know, know.”
We would have the option of selling it all off if we were strapped for cash, but our lifestyle was luckily stable, and even if it did earn us a lot of money, I would still stick with my habit of killing slimes to make money. It was good to maintain a routine.
I went back to the dining room, and as I sat waiting for lunch to be ready, Halkara ran into the house.
“You don’t ever need to rush to get home, Halkara.”
“Madam Teacher! Something amazing has come to Flatta! It must be because it’s Saint Madqua’s holiday!”
“Amazing how? I can’t follow you if you don’t get a little more specific.”
All I could tell was that Halkara was very excited.
“There are so many demons in Flatta right now.”
“What? Demons?”
The first person I thought of was Beelzebub, but if there was a whole group, then it probably wasn’t her.
“This day celebrates Saint Madqua, who tried to spread the gods’ teachings to the demons, so maybe that’s why they came!”
“Ah, could be.”
I felt like more and more demons had been coming to visit Flatta, but many places in the human world still had some misgivings about the demons. And others were just too far away.
I think it was less genuine fear and more that they were too far away to have much interaction. The humans scarcely had any method to actually reach the demon lands, and the demons would usually drop by alone and on wyvern.
And so maybe they did come in droves sometimes when they had a holiday as an excuse. Maybe even demons who usually stayed away from the human lands would take the chance to visit.
“What kind of demons were they?”
Halkara would have already told me if it was Beelzebub or Pecora, so they must not have been part of the usual crowd.
“They called themselves the Appraisal Knights!”
I didn’t really understand her answer.
Sure, maybe there were knights’ orders among the demons, but I didn’t really get why they put appraisal before it. Knights and appraising didn’t really have much in common.
“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to tell me more. The humans around this area won’t recognize the name.”
“It means exactly what it says! Oh, this is truly a lifesaver! Miss Laika, Miss Flatorte, will you help me carry some things once we’re finished with lunch?”
“Sigh… I do not mind, but what will you have us carry?”
“Sure, I’d prefer to carry the heavy stuff. That way we can see who can carry more.”
Everything was a competition to Flatorte.
“The gifts we received from the goddess Nintan! We will be taking them to Flatta.”
That is when I understood why Halkara was so enthusiastic.
“The Appraisal Knights go all over the country and investigate the value of various items there. Let’s have them tell us how much our things are worth!”
No way. A knight order like that couldn’t actually exist.
—Well, that’s what I wanted to say, but I guess they did…
“Oh-ho. That is a great idea. I have been wondering what those articles are worth.”
Laika’s reaction suggested she was interested, too. I’d heard that dragons tended to hoard treasures, and Laika had a bit of her own collection going.
“Oh! Are we comparing prices in Flatta? I can’t lose, then!”
Was comparing prices really a kind of competition for her?!
Either way, it sounded like we were headed to Flatta after lunch—but I still had some questions.
Could demons really appraise treasures from the human world?
And what kind of demons were here to appraise?
Even just looking down toward Flatta from the house in the highlands, I could already tell that the demons were there.
That wasn’t because they were titans or anything, but because I saw a few wyverns in the sky.
The family, Muu, and I all made our way toward the town.
Laika, Flatorte, and Halkara had gone on their own because they were carrying the treasures, but Flatta wasn’t all that big, so we would run into them in no time.
They had a sign and everything.
The demons loved events like these. Actually, lots of humans in this world liked special events, too.
“It seems it’s being held in the central village square. They’ve prepared so much!” Halkara said, jogging toward us from the center of town. “We placed the hoard in the square. Oh gosh, I’m so excited to learn how much it will all be!” She was clearly thrilled about this.
“Were you always this into knickknacks?”
“I would be simply delighted if they fetched a high price.”
I could understand that feeling.
“And if they’re unable to determine the value of some of the items, then we would have to decide which ones we should keep. We should throw out whatever turns out to be junk.”
I knew that feeling, too. It was a lot if we kept them all together. I wanted to get rid of some of this stuff.
When we came to the square, there was already a sizable crowd of villagers, nearby residents, and demons.
“Huh? There are demons in the audience, too?”
I spotted the mayor right away, so I went to ask him. He, at least, didn’t seem to care a bit. I could tell by the look on his face before we even started talking.
“Um, there seem to be a lot of demons around here.”
“Ah, great Witch of the Highlands. It seems the Appraisal Knights’ show is very popular in the demon lands, so there are many who come to watch.”
“It’s like a tour…”
“Today is Saint Madqua’s Day, so we must get along with the demons today. I think it’s perfect. And I am grateful they will be spending money in town, too.”
A flexible response to things like this was what made Flatta, Flatta.
“Now, I think it’s time for us to get started.”
A special stage had been set up in the square for this, and guild employee Natalie came to stand on it.
“I’m sorry to keep you all waiting! The demon Appraisal Knights have come to visit us here in Flatta on tour. They will be assigning value to the not-yet-appraised treasures lying in wait in your home!”
The people of Flatta seemed to have built up an immunity to the demons. I guess that was because Beelzebub had come to visit so many times.
“Allow me to introduce the members of the Appraisal Knights!”
The first person who came up onstage was a cat-eared undead very familiar to me—it was Pondeli!
“First, we have Pondeli, toy specialist!”
“Hi there, hello, hello! My work has brought me into contact with many games and toys, and I lived in the human world for a very long time, so I am aware of their value.”
She wasn’t wrong. She’d spent forty years living in the human world, hiding that she was undead.
But “toy specialist” was awfully specific… Didn’t they have someone who was broadly familiar with curios in general?
“And though we call ourselves knights, I’ve never held a sword or ridden a horse. I thought it would be good if I came along, even temporarily, because I’m familiar with the human world.”
They were forgiving about that kind of stuff. The “knights” part was in name only, and they didn’t do anything any real knight order would do.
“Thank you very much for coming today, Pondeli! Now, if we can have our second member come onstage.”
I didn’t think the next person to come up would be someone I was familiar with, too.
Still, it wasn’t like we’d seen each other frequently. But I remembered this pretty blond hair and witchlike appearance well.
“Hello, everyone! My name is Wizly. I mostly work with items related to magic, more commonly known as artifacts.”
It was Wizly, the Wizard Slime!
She spotted us and waved.
She had helped us once a while back, so I waved in return.
When Falfa had suddenly turned into a slime and hadn’t been able to turn back, we had gone to Wizly’s house for help.
And according to Wynona, she was an instructor in all things magical. My stepdaughter’s teacher, in short. We had a bit of a connection.
“You don’t seem very demon-like, Wizly. Are you a demon?” Natalie asked.
“Broadly, yes. I am more of a demon than the Witch of the Highlands.”
Part of the crowd started saying things like, “Oh yeah, so she’s basically a demon.”
Wait, does that put me more on the demon side of things, then? I am still a human, you know…
“I used to live in the human lands, myself, so that is why I was suddenly summoned to be on the Appraisal Roadshow this time. I have never been a knight.”
So they were knights in name only, then.
“Now then, we have our third and final Appraisal Knight. She is the one and only genuine member of the group this time around!”
That meant it was someone I didn’t know—and I certainly didn’t recognize her.
After all, the lower half of her body was that of a snake.
She was a part of a race called the naga. Her upper half was that of a woman with pale green hair, though. She also wore distinct-looking glasses that looked like a stage prop.
“Hello, I am Sorya, Appraisal Knight. I have run an antique shop in the town near Vanzeld Castle for centuries now. I am happy to be here.”
One of the demons in the audience yelled, “There’s Sorya!” She must be famous.
“These three here will be appraising your goods! We have our first entry here, Mr. Calhis from the Anto Company in Flatta. Come on up!”
The aging Calhis brought up a huge plate that needed to be carried with both hands.
“This was a plate my great-grandfather cared for very dearly, but I have no idea if it is worth anything, which is why I brought it along.”
“I see! How much do you imagine this will fetch you?”
Calhis unfolded a board he had brought up ahead of time. “I would be happy with three hundred thousand gold.”
“Very well, Appraisal Knights. Appraise away!”
The Appraisal Knights—Pondeli, Wizly, and Sorya—began inspecting the plate.
Wizly cast a spell to detect any sort of magic on the plate. Sorya the naga was inspecting the details by magnifying them with her glasses. They were taking this seriously.
Pondeli, however, stood in the back with her arms crossed and head tilted.
This wasn’t a toy, so she probably didn’t know… Not that she could do much with things outside her expertise.
Also, the family and I found some seats and were watching. The kids, especially, would get tired if they stood and watched the whole time.
“Ahhh, that kind of plate.”
Apparently, Sandra had some thoughts about it.
“I didn’t think you’d be interested in such curios, Sandra—but are you?”
I guess it was a bit weird for kids to be interested in antiques, and Sandra had an especially negative view of things that humans made.
“Ceramics like that get smashed to pieces and mixed in with the earth. There’s a lot of them around sites where houses used to sit. They clash with my roots and sting.”
“I knew you’d have a plant perspective!”
Meanwhile, the Appraisal Knights started writing their numbers on special boards.
“The price has been set. Appraisal Knights, please show us the numbers!”
A tense smile stretched over Calhis’s face when they showed the value. Everyone in the audience gasped with delight.
“Oh dear, that’s a low number. First, Sorya, will you explain this for us?”
“This is in the style of earthenware fired in old furnaces called Sanagé kilns, but this is a rather new item. I believe it was made while your great-grandfather was still alive. It is a very good imitation, though.”
This was her job, so her appraisal sounded genuine to me.
“And you’ve written down five thousand gold, Wizly.”
“Well, it’s not a magical artifact. But the patterns on this plate do belong in a magic circle. I believe it would be a stylish addition to a wizard’s home.”
She was judging by a wizard’s standard…
“You’ve written here that you don’t know, Pondeli, but I will ask anyway.”
“It’s not a game, so I don’t know.”
She hadn’t even tried.
“Next, we have our second entry, Miss Veranne all the way from Nascúte, who has brought with her a large urn!”
An older lady stepped onto the stage. “I bought this thirty years ago for eight hundred thousand gold because I was told it would free me from my bad luck.”
What an obvious scam!
All the items certainly made an impression, at least.
I hope it’s worth at least as much as I paid for it. The man who sold it to me was arrested, by the way.”
Then it was definitely a scam! No way is that actually worth eight hundred thousand!
The appraisal started again; our experts were studying this very seriously.
“We have our results!”
Hey, that was a surprisingly high price. Sorya went first.
“It is not worth eight hundred thousand, but it is a good urn. It’s of Tockonan make. Oh, and I did set the price a bit on the high side to get the audience excited. And be warned that an antique shop will not give you this much for it.”
Was she supposed to be this honest?
On the other hand, Wizly seemed troubled.
“Well… This item won’t be freeing you from your bad luck, that’s for sure. It has a dangerous spell cast on it. You must get rid of it as soon as possible… You shouldn’t break it, of course, so please feel free to abandon it in the wilderness and get as far away from it as you can. It might even be the perfect thing to sell to the one person you dislike the most.”
Apparently, it was so cursed that Wizly had gone pale…
“If I had a guess, I would say that the one who sold it to you was arrested because of his curse…”
The one who sold it off was cursed instead!
Pondeli said, “That’s a big urn.”
Not much of a contribution there. Maybe it would be best just to let her stay quiet if it wasn’t a toy. I’m sure she wasn’t enjoying this, either.
But the crowd was getting excited.
This was an interesting project. And just as I’d imagined, Laika and Shalsha were watching the whole thing very intently.
Afterward, all kinds of goodies were brought onstage to be appraised.
The owner of the restaurant the Savvy Eagle brought up a painting (expected price: 100,000 gold):
An adventurer who just happened to be in Flatta brought in an amulet (expected price: 20,000 gold):
Natalie from the guild brought up a doll (expected value: 5,000 gold):
And so on and so forth.
When the doll came out, Pondeli seemed a bit happier now that her expertise finally had a use.
“Um, Lady Azusa? Don’t you think there are quite a lot of cursed items?” Laika, who was sitting behind me, leaned forward and whispered to me.
“I was thinking the same thing…”
It was all very ominous.
“I wonder if items that have been around for a long time have been imbued with another’s thoughts and feelings.”
“That might be it… But the things people like to keep in their houses are nothing compared to what we brought in…” My face clouded over as I looked to the mountain of things we got from Nintan, piled next to the stage. “Sure hope all of that isn’t cursed, too…”
And it had all been given as offerings to a god. What if one of them offered an item in prayer in hopes that someone else would get sick or something? The whole thing would be made of pure hatred right from the get-go.
Laika shivered. “Lady Azusa, please do not say such things… You must not speak of that…”
“Sorry, I hate that stuff, too, but I couldn’t help myself…”
“Guys, you live with me, and I’m a ghost. Shouldn’t you be able to handle this stuff better now?” Rosalie said from above us. That wasn’t the problem, though. What was scary was still scary.
“Curse? Nah, that’s just the start. No one’ll die from that. It won’t even ruin yer family name. There’s a whole range to this, I tells ya. A range,” said Muu, queen of the ghosts, but I didn’t trust her standards for this.
The appraisals themselves went on, and at last they called my name.
“All right, this is our last one. Great Witch of the Highlands and her family! Come on up!”
I couldn’t exactly ignore the call once she’d used my name, but it was Halkara who led the charge on this whole thing, so I brought her up onstage with me.
It had been a long time since I had the whole village’s attention like this. But it was just the perfect amount of attention.
“Great Witch of the Highlands, what treasures have you brought to us today? Well, I think the audience already has a bit of an inkling as to what it might be.”
Natalie brought the conversation to me, as a good emcee would. This was a small village, so I reckoned she was going through a lot of trouble having to do other things beside work in the guild.
“Everything behind me. They’re all things we got from the Grand Nintan Temple…”
There was a whole row of items next to the stage that just screamed “important cultural assets.”
It looked like an antiques shop was going to be setting up shop somewhere else.
“Let me ask you, Halkara. How much are you expecting from all of this?”
Halkara was holding her own board. She must have had it ready beforehand.
“Here! Ta-daa!”
Her board read five hundred million!
That was huge!
And in the lower right, she had written Nutri-Spirits by Halkara Pharmaceuticals. She was always advertising when she had the chance. How graceful.
“Five hundred million, I see. Compared to our previous amounts, this is by far and away the biggest! What are the chances that she is right?!”
“Oh, well, I thought it would be more exciting if I was to present such a big number. And we are the final act of the day, too.”
“Thank you for being so considerate.”
She was aware of the strangest things.
“Now, there are many items here, so we’ll have our Appraisal Knights get right to it! And…what should we do about the time…? We weren’t expecting someone to bring in so much…”
It seemed as though Natalie’s ad-libbing skills were running thin. I guess it would be a surprise if a whole store’s worth was brought in for what was ostensibly a roadshow… I’m sorry…
“Er… Great Witch, will you sing us a song?”
“Absolutely not, no! This isn’t a party! Find something related to appraisal!”
It was more difficult for me when they treated me like the village’s guardian spirit, but it also wasn’t very nice to be treated like disposable entertainment.
“Ahem… Understood. Then I will introduce to you the Appraisal Knights’ personal establishments.”
Right, she was going to buy them time with advertisements.
“Pondeli runs an establishment called Arcade PON de LI in the demon’s town near Vanzeld Castle in between Back Alley Way 7 and Gallows Bridge.”
I could hear some of the villagers in the audience saying, “I can’t get there.”
It is in the demon world, after all…
“We have all sorts of games there, so please drop by if you have a chance.”
Pondeli popped out and waved. I mentally told her to go back to work, but maybe all this stuff was outside of her expertise, too.
“Pondeli is also the designer for the card game Ket Keto and owner of the Dead or Undead card game shop. They run tournaments and other kinds of events every week, so please pay a visit if you can.”
“That store is right at the start of Passing Dwarf Street coming off the central avenue,” Pondeli said, providing the address.
I heard more people saying, “I can’t go.” There was probably good reason for doing all this when the show was in the demon lands, but Flatta was too far away.
“And next, we have the wizard Wizly’s workshop. The location is entirely a secret. Please drop by if you are interested.”
I could hear some demons watching from behind say, “I can’t go.”
That wasn’t even an advertisement.
“And finally, we have Sorya the naga’s antique shop, Ten Thousand Dragons. This is situated at the corner where Ghoul Bridge Street meets the fiend church. It says here that you are to look out for the big skull. However, I am unable to visit myself, so I can’t say for sure.”
I could hear some people in the crowd saying, “I don’t want to go.”
There was hardly any point to any of this advertising!
But Halkara would never let an opportunity like this pass.
“Hello! We are Halkara Pharmaceuticals, happily chugging away at business in Nascúte. If you come by and say you were in the audience for the Appraisal Knights, we will add on an extra bottle of Nutri-Spirits straight from us to your purchase for the next three days, starting tomorrow!”
I could hear people cheering, “I can go!” Finally, a relevant ad.
“We are also currently selling the well-known sweet, edible slimes. Do pick up some tasty, calming treats to munch on! Perfect for a gift to give your family or someone you love. Edible slimes are now on sale.”
That was a lot of advertising. I guess she has been in the business for a long time.
A thought suddenly came to me. Would this be the same as a commercial break on TV?
After that, another familiar face appeared to seize some of the airtime—Misjantie the pine spirit.
With a huge pine strapped to her back.
Sure, it made an impression, but it was so weird!
“Spend precious moments with that precious someone—memories of your wedding at the pine spirit Misjantie Temple will last a lifetime…man!”
And she walked off the stage.
“Who was that?” “I think it was someone from the temple.” “That looked heavy.”
I heard a lot of assorted comments in the audience.
The people of Flatta didn’t recognize Misjantie as the pine spirit. She did suddenly appear as a human just for her advertisement, after all…
Afterward, a good number of others came up onstage to advertise their businesses in Flatta and Nascúte, and knights Sorya and Wizly were going over all sorts of things together in the meantime.
“Goodness me, this is fantastic.” “I thought so—this will curse its wearer.” “And look at this!” “Ah, this has quite the history. It has been stained with the dedicator’s blood.” “The sore loser marquis of Macosia was the one who gifted this.” “What a powerful negative aura.”
I could hear terrifying words coming from the Appraisal Knights.
Were we even okay to leave any of that stuff in the house?!
“Oh, it seems we have our results from the inspection! Why don’t you show us?”
The real numbers would soon be revealed to us!
Halkara clasped her hands together tightly, as though praying.
She was probably hoping it would reach the number she was wishing for. I could understand the joy of seeing a higher number, of course.
But if the number was too high, then managing all that stuff would be a headache. So maybe it was better to have cheaper stuff?
Personally, I’d take any value they told us.
And? What was our result?!
“What incredible value!”
Those were shocking numbers; I could hear cries of surprise coming from the audience.
“We did it, Madam Teacher! We won!”
“Won what?!”
Halkara pulled me into a hug. I didn’t really get it, but she was happy with her “victory.” I guess it was cause for…some sort of celebration.
“What value!” cried the emcee. “Look at those mind-boggling numbers! I almost wish I could have just ten percent of that! Or even ten percent of that ten percent!”
Your true colors are showing, Natalie!
“Now let’s hear what our Appraisal Knights have to say!”
Wizly was the first one to answer. “We have several fantastic artifacts in here. This is an incredible collection, even from a wizard’s perspective, so of course I believe preserving them or setting them up for display would be the appropriate course of action. You can truly get a sense of the fervent devotion for the old goddess Nintan and the breadth of her faith based on the place names carved into these offerings.”
Ooh, that was a real explanation.
“However, there are many items here that have absorbed very strong feelings. You will need a specialist for dispelling curses. Quite a few here will bring disaster to anyone other than the goddess herself if handled too frequently.”
Well, that was because some very expensive items were offered in prayer…
Rosalie floated over toward us.
“Letting them sit won’t bring misfortune to anyone, so we don’t really need to worry about them. Although, if someone stole something, they’d be in for a little danger.”
“Right, I guess we can just let them sit…”
But it would still feel bad if a burglar broke in and died three days after stealing something, so I’d probably get them cleansed anyway. It sounded like my magic wouldn’t do, and we’d need a more specialized dispel incantation.
It was now Sorya’s turn to go over her reasoning.
“There are so many articles that I would need more time to appraise them thoroughly, but there is no doubt that every item here was a genuine offering to the goddess Nintan. They are from across different eras, and one item in particular, this desk and chair set made with the image of the goddess herself, was offered by Nasuna the Bold one thousand years ago. We can verify this fact from the historical records, which makes this an extremely valuable item. I won’t give you a thorough explanation of every single item, but…this is not something that should be kept in a corner of a private home. I want you to consider what you will do with all this.”
I could see beads of sweat on Sorya’s forehead; this was no ordinary matter.
And Halkara had been hugging me this entire time, so I gingerly peeled her away. I didn’t mind a hug, but it was getting too long.
Someone in the audience started clapping, and that set off a standing ovation.
Personally, I had only brought in gifts I’d received, so it was a little embarrassing. Still, those were some unbelievable results.
“Your thoughts, great Witch?” Natalie turned the conversation to me.
“Um… Thank you for your hearty cheers (?). And…I want to make sure nothing gets stolen.”
The house on the highlands was at quite an elevation, so it was super easy to tell if any suspicious individual was coming our way. Our security was probably fine. I’d make sure to prioritize spells for our barriers from now on.
“Do you have anything to say, Halkara?”
“I no longer have anything to worry about if Halkara Pharmaceuticals goes into a slump! I was thinking about putting this collection to auction.”
Things were getting too realistic right now.
Anyway, what was clear now was that the treasures the goddess Nintan gave us were all a true treasure trove.
As I scanned everything before us, I realized we really had to figure out how we would preserve them or deal with them another way…
When the event finished, Muu hopped on a wyvern to go home. “I oughtta get some of our treasures looked at,” she said. I had a feeling that’d include alien and eldritch items, so I kind of hoped she wouldn’t.
The other guests left, but we had to bring our treasures home. As we waited, Pondeli approached us. Behind her were the other two appraisers.
“We’ve rented out a place called the Savvy Eagle for the evening; would you care to join us?”
It wasn’t like there was any other place to hold any wrap-up parties in Flatta. I had a feeling we definitely should go.
“Of course. Would you mind if the whole family came along?”
“Absolutely not.” Wizly in the back shook her head with a smile.
I could never have imagined that the village restaurant I used to come to all the time would serve as the demons’ spot for celebration.
The whole family joined the Appraisal Knights at the Savvy Eagle to celebrate a successful show. There were a lot of people, and there were no assigned seats; everyone was free to roam as they pleased.
Pondeli came over to me as I was grabbing some food.
“It’s so nice to see you again, Miss Azusa. You brought in a big surprise~”
“I mean… They just happened to be gifted to us. But I guess that’s exactly why there were so many amazing things mixed in there.”
I had a feeling this wasn’t the time to look smug about them, so I downplayed it.
Wizly also came over to me. That’s right—I had to give her a proper hello considering she was Wynona’s teacher.
“It is so great to see you. I heard you also minded Wynona, another slime spirit… Thank you. I’m apparently her stepmother, so I thank you.”
“Oh, of course. Wynona is quite the strange girl, but she is motivated, if anything.”
“So you think she’s a weird one, too…”
Was this what it was like to talk about your kids to their teachers at school? This was awkward.
“She is strange, yes, but she works very hard. I know her personality makes it easy for her to make enemies, but the adventuring world is a competitive one. If anything, that might be the perfect fit for her.”
“Yeah… I’d be happier if she had a few more friends, though.”
I was talking about her like I was her mother now. She would definitely scold me for it if she was here.
Next, I talked to Sorya the naga, which would be our first conversation. She was eating a lot of hard-boiled eggs.
“Goodness, I cannot say there is no precedent for our Appraisal Roadshow in the human lands taking place on Saint Madqua’s Day, but I could not have imagined coming across such a find. You never know what will happen.” Sorya still seemed to be reeling from it all. “I thought I might molt in shock.”
“I’ve never been a naga… Is that a thing?”
It sounded like the snake part of her experienced some unfamiliar physiological responses.
“Oh, so you’ve come to the human lands before, right?” I said.
Humans were more accepting of demons on Saint Madqua’s Day.
“Yes. The demon king herself made suggestions as to where I could go, so I did.”
Pecora’s shadow sure looms over lots of things!
“The Appraisal Knights are perfunctory servants of the demon king. That said, we are not sought out for our skills in arms, but in management—so that we may accomplish our job of minding Her Majesty’s treasures.”
“I see, so you’re employed by the royal family, then.”
That made sense.
Royalty from all across space and time often had magnificent collections, but it wasn’t like the rulers themselves knew of every single article in them. That’s where the specialized employees came into play.
That’s what the Appraisal Knights were. Considering how they were directly employed by the demon king, that made their knightly title a little less weird.
“But this year, we were ordered to come to such a small village called Flatta, and to be honest, I was wondering why.”
This was all Pecora’s doing! But I guess that was obvious the second I heard she was in charge.
And she definitely knew I’d gotten all this treasure from Nintan. Either Beelzebub or Fatla must have reported it. We really were just dancing in the palm of Pecora’s hand…
“According to Her Majesty, she had thrown a dart at the map, and it landed here on Flatta. She told me to complain to the darts if I was unhappy,” Sorya said, but I knew Pecora had certainly not thrown any dart. She hadn’t made any bets. She’d picked this place out herself.
“And then to find such treasures hidden here! Goodness, thank you for such a beautiful showing. I am glad we came.”
“I’m delighted to hear you’re so happy. I’m not really sure how much of any of it is on my own merit, though.”
“If you had a one-of-a-kind article, I would only ask you to take good care of it. However…” Sorya’s eyes glinted. “You have such a fantastic collection that I ask you take good, good care of it, so it survives into the next generations. Please, take care to protect these precious cultural assets.”
“I thought you might say that…”
These treasures weren’t for any individual to keep; these were better suited to a whole country—or even the world.
It’d be a lot of trouble, but we still had to do something about them.
“I have some ideas regarding that,” a voice cut in.
It was Halkara.
But when I looked at her, I noticed something unusual.
“This is a party…but you’re not drunk!”
Was…this even possible? I couldn’t believe it. Was I hallucinating?
“I am fully aware of the gravity of the situation. So I am abstaining, as heartbreaking as it is.”
“Wow, Halkara, you are really serious about it…”
“But I plan on making up for it once we settle the matter.”
Right, so she’d be vomiting later tonight. Actually, she was going to be extra sick if her drinking was more concentrated later.
After that, Halkara had a serious conversation with Sorya, so I was sure that the storage problem would be fine. Halkara was reliable when she was working.
But when she was done, she drank and drank and eventually threw up. Called it.
Never trust anything Halkara says when she starts drinking. This time, she deployed a new technique: insisting she was okay while she was vomiting— “It’ll be fiiibleeeuuugh!”
“C-could this be a curse from one of the items…?” she asked later.
“No, that would be the alcohol,” Wizly snapped back with a smile. I guess I wasn’t the only one who wanted to say something.
Shalsha was listening intently to Sorya and Wizly as they talked about cultural assets. I guess there weren’t many opportunities to talk to an expert.
“You have such a good child. I am excited for her future,” Sorya said to me later.
“Right? I’m so proud of her. Hee-hee-hee.”
I was delighted to get compliments for my daughter! It made me much happier than personal compliments.
Overall, the Appraisal Knights’ celebration went very well.
Afterward, Halkara asked Laika if she would build something for her in Nascúte.
Laika wasn’t the only one, though; Flatorte was quarrying rocks somewhere and bringing them over.
I didn’t ask for details, but it was okay to trust Halkara when she looked that serious. Laika would probably stop her if there was some kind of problem.
And three weeks passed.
“It’s finally done, Madam Teacher!”
“Right, weren’t you building something in Nascúte?”
I had a general idea as to what it might be—storage to keep all the treasures we got from Nintan.
“The Halkara Pharmaceuticals Museum is complete!”
“This is even better than I imagined!”
I wish she’d said something about a project this big…
Laika approached us. “Allow me to take you to the museum, Lady Azusa.”
“Oh, sure… I’m certainly allowed to see it, so I’ll take a good look…”
“I am delighted to have a museum so close by now!” Laika beamed.
This seemed like the type of museum that would take the whole day to go through, so I was sure this was the best thing she could have asked for.
We came to the museum, which stood on the outskirts of Nascúte.
I asked Halkara about it while we were flying on Laika, and she said that she was only able to secure land outside the town. I guess that made sense.
The Halkara Pharmaceuticals Museum was exactly the kind of museum I expected to see.
It was a large building, like a chalk-white temple, and the entasis of the pillars gave them a holy look.
But I spotted some writing carved into the tops of the pillars.
CARVED BY THE GREAT FLATORTE
Your builder left her mark… But it wasn’t too easy to see, at least, so it was probably fine.
When we stepped inside, I found the treasures were all lined in rows.
There were even panels that denoted the items on display.
“Our opening will not be for a while yet, but I think this is a perfectly good space for storage. There is also a basement, and I am thinking about using that as a repository,” Halkara explained.
“Yeah, just do you what you want. I’ll leave it all in your han—”
“I also have a separate exhibit over there. I’d like you to come have a look, Madam Teacher.”
I had no choice but to go when she told me, so I followed her.
She had a company corner!
There was even a portrait of a very serious Halkara there. I’m surprised she got something like this done…
“What do you think? Isn’t it a nice depiction? I look so imposing.”
“Yeah… I agree…”
If it was something her company paid for, then I wasn’t going to say anything. It wasn’t like it was hurting anyone.
But when Falfa saw the portrait, she tilted her head.
“Is something wrong with it, little Falfa?”
“Miss Halkara, this portrait…makes you look like a dead person…”
“Impossible! I sometimes pass out from drinking too much, but I am happily alive!”
“If you know the risks, then you should hold back on the drinks a bit! That can’t be good for your health!”
It’d been a long time since I scolded her as her teacher.
Anyway, the price of admission for the Halkara Pharmaceuticals Museum was five hundred gold.
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