Chapter 8

"Here, what is this?"

"It's a hanging scroll. I should tell you upfront, hanging scrolls often don't have much value."

A slightly intellectual-looking antique shop clerk took the hanging scroll I showed him and began to speak.

To be honest, my purpose today is to gather knowledge about antiques.

My appraisal skill can judge the aura that antiques possess.

Naturally, forgeries have a murky aura, so I can tell.

I can also tell if the energy of the creator is weak.

I can determine the condition of the item.

However, the value of antiques is not determined by these factors alone.

There are popular items and unpopular ones.

The price can vary greatly because of this.

Given my current lack of knowledge about the world of antiques, there are limits to my appraisals.

"How much is the hanging scroll hanging over there?"

"That's a red Fuji by Masahiko Inagaki. It's about 100,000 yen."

It is indeed a beautiful painting.

However, it doesn't seem to have a strong aura.

"It's popular because the artist is well-known, so the price has gone up."

"Are there no older hanging scrolls?"

"Such hanging scrolls are stored rather than displayed. Is there something you want?"

"No, I'm only here to sell today."

I just want to look around.

Well, that's probably not possible.

"Hmm. This is quite an old hanging scroll."

"Is it good?"

"Unfortunately, not really. It's the work of an amateur."

Hmm, this guy is no good. He's not telling the truth.

I have negotiation skills, so I can easily spot obvious lies.

"If that's the case, give it back. I'll take it to another shop."

"Wait? You don't trust what I say?"

"No. I know other shops will buy it at a reasonable price."

"Did you have it appraised somewhere?"

"Yes."

Well, I did the appraisal myself.

It has a strong enough aura, so it's not the work of an amateur.

I can tell from his expression as well.

"Hmm. Wait a moment. Can I take a closer look?"

"No, it's fine. I want to do business with someone I can trust."

With that, I left the shop.

"Hey, Shota. Is that hanging scroll really that valuable?"

Kasumi, who was with me, asked.

"No. It's just decent. It's one of the lower-quality hanging scrolls in my car."

"Then why were you so confident in your negotiation?"

"I just evaluated the character of that man."

"Wow, really?"

"That man is at the level of Kasumi's ex-boyfriend."

"That means... he's a pretty bad guy, huh?"

"Yes. You should also develop your ability to judge people."

"I'm sorry for not being good at judging men."

After that, Kasumi and I went to several antique shops and showed them decent hanging scrolls.

At a small shop we entered as the fifth one, I met a promising old man.

"The condition of this item is good. It's not by a famous artist, but the artist has considerable skill. Ink paintings are also popular. How about 3,000 yen for it?"

"Alright, I'll sell it!"

A decent hanging scroll was sold for 3,000 yen.

This old man seems reliable.

I also wanted him to look at the 20 hanging scrolls I had given to Kasumi, which were of decent to slightly better quality.

"Hmm. You have quite a good collection. I can offer 10,000 yen for this hanging scroll."

"Pretty good. What about the other hanging scrolls?"

"Indeed. Most of the items are of good quality, but unfortunately, some are not popular."

"Can you tell me which ones are popular and which ones are not?"

I received a lecture on hanging scrolls from the old man.

The most popular among the ones I brought was the one depicting a tiger.

My appraisal rated other hanging scrolls higher, but it seems many customers prefer this type of painting.

"40,000 yen in total. Is that okay?"

"Alright, I'll sell them for that."

Kasumi was smiling as she listened to the conversation.

I had told her that I had sold all the antiques in my car for 30,000 yen.

"I have other items I want to sell."

"Of course, I welcome it. You seem to have a good eye for antiques."

In the end, I brought all the antiques and had them appraised.

The total came to 580,000 yen.

"Wow. That's a profit of 550,000 yen."

"Yes. It seems there were many good items in the storage I cleaned out."

"But the old man at the antique shop also praised you for your good eye."

"No, I just have a good intuition."

Admittedly, making this much profit is rare.

If I had more opportunities to see many antiques, it would be different.

"You should become an antique expert."

"That might be a good idea."

I was relieved that I had a clear direction for my work using the appraisal skill to discover treasures.

It's a job that can make use of my difficult experiences in another world.

My appraisal and negotiation skills have proven to be useful in the modern world.

I ranked 3rd in the low-fantasy daily rankings.

Thank you.

It's my first time entering the top 5 after a week.

The number of accesses is increasing steadily, which is quite surprising.

This is all thanks to you for reading.

Questions like "How much can appraisals make?" and "Will this lead to a slow life?"

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