173. Women of Landa (2)
The vehicle carrying Jane and her group headed to Zone J, the center of Landa culture and entertainment.
As we entered the center after passing cheap casinos, illegal houses, cabarets, and pubs scattered around the outskirts, we were greeted by tall buildings, green neon signs, yellow street lights, and magic lights.
This is the second time I have visited District J.
Again, it was more lively at night than during the day.
In particular, it reached its climax when we arrived at the destination, the Subureptor Large Museum.
Luxury cars and well-dressed ladies and gentlemen fill the streets.
A truly astounding scale.
But Oliver wasn’t the only one to admire.
“It’s amazing…”
Jane, who was involved in the incident, murmured as she looked outside.
“Of course. It was a fairly large event from the beginning, but with the addition of Randa’s big hand and the Crime Firm, the scale has grown several times.”
After hearing the explanation beforehand, Oliver nodded without a word.
According to Forrest, the event still maintains the status of an art auction and artist sponsorship, but the other side has changed significantly.
As Coco said, Landa’s big hand, Crime Firm, as well as its own dark distributor, Treasure Hunter, joined together, and the art work, the mainstay of the auction, has long since been reduced to a single product.
He said that various items such as relics illegally looted from abroad, works of art, rare magic items, high-end medicines, and rare books are being traded.
Thanks to this, the customer base has also expanded from art collectors to city councilors, capitalists, tycoon solvers, illegal collectors, backstreet tycoons, and more.
He said that ambitious people who wanted to make friends with them joined in and it has turned into an event that cannot be compared to before.
‘Before the auction, I also served as a venue for the Landa power cult. The auction organizers also noticed that they didn’t like this because the profits were so good.’
The number of participants was so large, and the organizers said that the police couldn’t even come to this place at this time of year because the organizers were familiar with it.
I immediately thought that Landa was a really fun neighborhood.
“Hey, I’m sorry to tell you, but I don’t think the car will be stuck for an hour or two. From here, you will have to get off and leave.”
Penny, who sat in the driver’s seat, said apologetically.
Jane accepted it coolly.
Coco and Oliver got out of the car with her easygoing attitude.
After getting off through the squeaky open door, Jane started walking on the footpath.
Coco, in the assistant role, stood next to Jane, and Oliver, the bodyguard, followed behind her.
Oliver looked around, not overly vigilant, as Coco had taught him.
As you can see in the car, there were a lot of people, and most of them had bodyguards.
As Coco said, the stronger the bodyguard, the more elated the atmosphere was.
“Ah, it has arrived.”
Coco speaks in a small whisper.
Looking ahead, a huge building appeared in front of me.
Although all of the buildings in Zone J are large in size, the size of the Subureptor Large Museum overwhelms them.
Although the height of the building was low compared to the building, it was high enough, and the large site and the grand exterior of the ancient imperial style were splendid enough to reduce even the state-of-the-art buildings emitting splendid lights to the level of lighting.
“Whoa…. Branch.”
Jane walked forward, quelling her fears, killing the tension, as if she was going to a fight.
‘yes?’
Oliver rolled his eyes, feeling the alienation.
Sturdy men who appeared to be employees stood obscured and looked at the customers.
They didn’t just glance at it, but radiated magical powers to confirm something, and Oliver felt that the object was a ticket in the arms of the customer.
In fact, after checking the ticket between Jane’s chest, she looked away immediately, and on the other hand, someone who pretended to have a ticket and tried to sneak in was sent and politely dragged somewhere.
“Come on, wait a minute.”
“Please don’t make a fuss and I would appreciate it if you quietly follow me.”
I couldn’t figure out why the ticket spewed magic, but now I know why.
Passing through a huge passage that can accommodate dozens of people at once, a hall much larger than the entrance came into view.
The hall, which seemed to hold hundreds of people at a time, was packed with well-dressed people, but the most striking among them was the relief carved into the marble wall.
Even Oliver, ignorant of history, could tell that it was a very old, exotic object.
And it wasn’t just that.
The museum was full of treasures that even Oliver, who was not familiar with art, could guess the value of, such as huge tombstones placed on the left and right and a skull made of turquoise in a glass coffin.
Coco said that all these things were obtained in the process of spreading civilization to the world by the United Kingdom.
“It’s amazing every time I see it. The history of the whole world is right here. Except for the United Kingdom.”
Coco murmured as if he had visited a few times. Then he asked Jane.
“Where shall we go now?”
Jane was prepared like a solver or a gangster into battle.
“I’ll see you right away. First, shall we go see the painting?”
***
Upon entering the museum, a new space welcomed the party.
That’s another huge hall.
In the hall, more than hundreds of paintings were neatly arranged like the city defense forces.
to the point of dazzling eyes.
Coco explained in a small but clear voice.
“It’s called sponsorship. This is the early auction culture of the Subureptor Large Museum, where you bid on items from potential unknown artists.”
Jane would actually know, probably, it was like telling Oliver to listen.
Despite being an employer, they were very considerate of the curious Oliver.
In order to repay Oliver for this, he did not miss Coco’s explanation while focusing on security.
“The auction method is small. Just write our ticket number and bid on the paper attached to the bottom of the picture like this.”
Coco pointed to the paper under the picture.
Already, whether someone has come or gone, neat handwriting and dirty handwriting were written one after another.
[₤3,000,000]
[₤3,600,000]
[₤4,400,000]
“The bidding method, of course, is for the higher one to take it, but I usually use 1.2 times. But if it’s something you’re coveting, you can use 1.5 to 2 or 3 to beat the competition.”
Friendly and neat explanations like museum staff.
Given that he was familiar with the museum here, it seemed that Coco had excellent experience and knowledge.
“There are different styles of painting.”
Jane said as she looked at the picture.
Judging by her sharp eyes and distressed emotional state, it didn’t seem like she was just talking.
Soon Coco proved this.
“Exactly. The museums and dealers who deal with them come from all over the world. Since each country has different preferences for paintings and trends, the styles are bound to be different. Most of the participating artists are unknown artists. I feel sorry for the price of paint right now.”
Coco took a break and spoke again.
“But two or three of them either get recognized for their talents, or catch the trend and make a name for themselves in some way. Then, the paintings I bought here are sold back at prices tens or hundreds of times. It’s a pretty good investment.”
Hoo… Oliver was admiring, but at the same time puzzled. Even though it’s a similar level of painting, different artists get different values.
I wanted to ask a question about this, but I decided to put up with it for the sake of security.
‘yes?’
Then something caught my eye.
Jane, who was exchanging opinions with Coco on whether to buy the painting or how much to buy it, noticed Oliver’s abnormality and talked to him.
“Dave?”
“ah····. sorry. I lost my eye for a moment.”
Instead of being offended by Oliver’s behavior, Jane was curious.
“What were you looking at?”
“Can I tell you?”
“Sure.”
“I was looking at that picture.”
Oliver pointed to a painting in front of him.
In this painting of a woman’s back, Jane was interested in Oliver’s words and walked towards it.
Oliver and Coco followed.
Jane stopped in front of the painting and looked closely.
Like many of the pictures here, it was a pretty good picture.
Jane, who was staring at the picture, asked.
“Is there any particular reason that caught your eye on this painting?”
“Compared to other works, it contains emotions.”
“Emotions?”
Jane was interested in Oliver’s answer.
“Yeah, there are other works that have some emotion, but this one is a little deeper. It’s like a piece of art or a statue in the hall.”
“······?!”
Jane and Coco both reacted in surprise at that.
“If it’s a work of art you saw in the hall…?”
“It’s like a tombstone and a relief statue. There was prudence and responsibility on the tombstone, and pride on the statue of the relief, but this painting is full of sadness and longing.”
After speaking with Coco a few words, Jane wrote the winning bid price on a paper ticket. I wrote it down by 1.8 times what was originally written.
even said
“Can you tell me more?”
“Aren’t bodyguards supposed to be silent?”
“From now on, let’s do that.”
***
Within an hour of entering the museum, Oliver was out of his bodyguard status and was choosing paintings for his employer, Jane.
Of course, it wasn’t that I hated it.
It was enjoyable enough for Oliver to browse through the emotionally charged artwork.
Oliver walked like a bodyguard, stopped when he saw a picture that caught his eye, and whispered quietly in his ear.
“That’s fine too. Families on the beach.”
Oliver pointed to a picture of a family walking on the beach.
“What emotions do you have?”
“Joy, envy, longing and a strong goal.”
Jane nodded at that, and exchanged ideas with Miss Coco about the painting.
At the end of the conversation, Jane wrote the high sum with confidence, as in the previous seven pictures.
“Now it looks like it has gone round.”
“I know.”
Jane and Coco, who walked through hundreds of paintings, looking at and observing, said exhausted. He didn’t look tired though.
“But are you okay?”
Oliver asked, a little worried.
“I can only see the emotional stuff, but I can’t tell what’s really worthwhile.”
“it’s okay. If I were to study painting, I didn’t do much. Coco is different.”
“There is no problem when I see it. If it was a work that came this far in the first place, it means that it has already satisfied demanding dealers. In this market, not only skill but also luck is required, so it is not difficult to find a picture that is definitely floating. So, there is no problem with choosing this way.”
Having said that, Oliver didn’t say any more.
“Is the owner of this painting decided today?”
“yes. Since there is so much to digest, the owner of this kind of thing is decided today.”
“Then, let’s check the items we took one more time and go to the book market inside. Dave worked hard, so we should repay it.”
The book market was literally a place where you could buy books, and it was a place where you could buy illegal books such as black magic books through a contact method that the general public did not know.
“Once that’s done, let’s go to a bigger auction house.”
Coco agreed and started walking with Jane.
I went around the exhibition hall where the paintings were displayed and returned to the place I had come from, and there was an old man with a large body standing in front of the painting that Oliver had pointed out for the first time.
He drew a line twice over the amount Jane had spent, and then proudly wrote down the amount doubled.
“uh?”
The old man who sensed the pretense of popularity stopped and turned his head.
Gold-rimmed glasses in an old suit. It was the old gentleman who helped buy the body at the black market.
“Long time no see. Dave.”