"Let's have lunch after I sell this," Mizuto said while holding the box that contained the calligraphy scroll.
"Where are you going to sell it?"
"Antique shop."
"Antique shop?"
"Just follow me. I will treat you to lunch when we're done."
"I want to eat an eel."
"Leave that to me."
Hearing his confident answer, Yume became more curious and asked what the origin of that calligraphy scroll was, but he wouldn't say anything and kept everything under mystery.
However, with this, Mizuto knew that he could get rich by using the "Identify" skill. Using this skill, he could appraise any item in the world. He could even tell the appropriate price and how the price of the item would either appreciate or depreciate. He could even tell whether an item could become popular or not, becoming someone who gained profit first. Using this skill, he could even tell how good the shop was or if it was just a swindler.
Using it on an antic was one thing, but he knew that he could use it a better way, such as on a building, a business, or even stocks.
That was also the reason why, after lunch, he planned to visit the bank, checking the total amount in his bank account before registering an account with a brokerage company.
Still, before that, he needed to sell his calligraphy scroll to the antique shop that was most reliable by using his skill.
Under Mizuto's guidance, Yume followed him to the shopping district on the Teramachi Sanjo, and then they stopped at the antique shop "Kura."
"Is this where you are going to sell it?"
"Yes."
Yume squinted her eyes and saw a board written, "We appraise and buy the antiques you have hiding at home."
"Can this shop buy stolen items?"
"As I have said, I am not stealing." Mizuto sighed and said, "I know that you like a detective character, especially Sherlock Holmes, but instead of Holmes, I like Professor Moriarty more."
"Huh? Why?" Yume was clearly unconvinced. "Why is Moriarty better than Holmes?
"I am not saying their strength, intelligence, or their wits. If it's based on those things, it can be said that Holmes is better as he is the protagonist of the story."
"...."
Yume couldn't argue since that was how the mystery story was.
Justice has always been the winner.
"Then, why were you saying that Moriarty is better?"
"It's his style that I like."
"Style?"
"Yes, you see? While Holmes is a famous detective, he can only live modestly in the rental house. Meanwhile, Moriarty's life is as good as the tech billionaires and Middle Eastern oil tycoons of our time, as he gains profit from his connections, selling weapons, and many others.
"He might not be the best guy around, and he might be evil, but he takes care of his family well, especially his daughter. That's what I like about him; I might not be good to others, but for someone I love, I can give them the world."
"Irido-kun..."
When they dated before, they had to call each other by their family name instead of their given name. Instead of being a distance, it was their way to show their affection.
Yume was panting, and she couldn't look away from him, ready to leap, but—
"Cough! Cough!"
"..." Yume.
The door of the shop opened, and a girl around their age poked her head out and requested awkwardly. "I-I am sorry, but can you two not flirt in front of the shop?" Still, she glanced at Mizuto and was surprised as there was someone who could be more handsome than her boss.
"I-I am sorry!"
Yume quickly apologized, blushing and hiding behind Mizuto.
"Aoi-san, you can't be so rude."
Then, a handsome man, who seemed to be in his 20s and butler-like outfit, came out, lightly reprimanded the girl, who appeared to be the staff, and then looked at Mizuto with a smile.
"Especially toward a customer, right?"
"Oh? Can you tell if I am a customer?"
"Of course." The man nodded with a smile, then glanced at the items in Mizuto's hands. "The items on your hands clearly tell me that you are going to ask for an appraisal on our shop. Please come in."
"Thank you." Mizuto nodded, then looked at Yume. "Come on, Yume."
"Um."
Yume nodded, holding her hand as they entered the shop.
The employee girl was helpless, but she closed the shop while staring at Mizuto curiously.
When they entered, they couldn't help but look around as if it was a natural reaction when one entered a place for the first time.
The shop gave off a vintage yet elegant vibe with a variety of items displayed on wooden antique cabinets and tables. On the left side, there was a bar-like table with several chairs, and in the middle, two sofas were placed facing each other with a long, gorgeous wooden table.
If the bar-like table gave off a comfy vibe, then the sofa in the middle gave off a luxury vibe that would make anyone sitting there feel that they were treated as important.
Mizuto looked at the man, who seemed to be the manager or proprietor of this shop, wondering where the man would ask them to sit.
"Please take a seat."
The man guided them to the sofa in the middle, which made Mizuto nod.
With Mizuto as the lead, Yume also followed him and sat by his side. Frankly, she felt nervous at that moment, thinking that they had done a dirty deal, but at the same time, she was also excited since it felt like they were about to do something extraordinary.
"My name is Yagashira Kiyotaka. I am the manager of training at this shop, Yagashira Kiyotaka."
"Hello, my name is Irido Mizuto, and this is my girlfriend, Aya Yume."
Yume was surprised, blushed, and then showed a silly smile as she held his hand tightly.
While the employee girl showed an envious expression, Kiyotaka smiled helplessly and said, "Aoi-san, if you have time to look at our customers, please clean up the space over there."
"Ah, yes!" Aoi, the employee girl, became flustered.
"I am sorry for her rude actions." Kiyotaka apologized, but Mizuto could tell that this guy was jealous, which made him speechless.
"Then, can I see the items that you want to appraise, Irido-san?"
As a well-known, government-licensed appraiser shop, many people came, wishing for their item to be appraised.
Still, Kiyotaka wondered what kind of items Mizuto was going to bring him, especially when this guy loved a famous criminal character, Moriaty.
Was this guy going to deceive him?
If so, then Mizuto came to the wrong place since even if Kiyotaka was young, his reputation as an appraiser was top-notch. Still, his eyes caught several blue plates from the plastic bag in Mizuto's hand.
"Is that a Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate?"
"That's right."
"Are you going to sell those? Each of them should fetch around 30,000 yen. No, let me see them closer."
Mizuto didn't mind and showed one of the plates to Kiyotaka.
"Wow... all of them are a rare series. You can sell them for at least 100,000 yen each."
"Wh-What...?!" Yume was dumbfounded and asked with a doubt, "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Kiyotaka nodded. "They are all real things. I can buy all of them if you want."
"...."
Yume felt so complex at this moment since her "boyfriend" bought ten of those plates for 500 yen, and then, he could sell them for 1,000,000 yen.
Was this his business?
No, he was robbing a shop!
Still, Yume didn't say anything and just felt complex as she never thought that making money was so easy.
"No, I don't plan to sell them. I plan to keep them. Instead, I plan to sell this one."
"Hmm?"
Kiyotaka then noticed a rectangular box that was used to keep a scroll.
What was this? A painting?
"Can I take a look?"
"Yes."
With hands that were covered clean, white gloves, Kiyotaka took out the scroll carefully and then opened it.
But then—
"....."
Kiyotaka was at a loss.
---
In the original, Yume loves a detective-related story.
As for those two characters from the antique shop, they are from "Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes."
"Let's have lunch after I sell this," Mizuto said while holding the box that contained the calligraphy scroll.
"Where are you going to sell it?"
"Antique shop."
"Antique shop?"
"Just follow me. I will treat you to lunch when we're done."
"I want to eat an eel."
"Leave that to me."
Hearing his confident answer, Yume became more curious and asked what the origin of that calligraphy scroll was, but he wouldn't say anything and kept everything under mystery.
However, with this, Mizuto knew that he could get rich by using the "Identify" skill. Using this skill, he could appraise any item in the world. He could even tell the appropriate price and how the price of the item would either appreciate or depreciate. He could even tell whether an item could become popular or not, becoming someone who gained profit first. Using this skill, he could even tell how good the shop was or if it was just a swindler.
Using it on an antic was one thing, but he knew that he could use it a better way, such as on a building, a business, or even stocks.
That was also the reason why, after lunch, he planned to visit the bank, checking the total amount in his bank account before registering an account with a brokerage company.
Still, before that, he needed to sell his calligraphy scroll to the antique shop that was most reliable by using his skill.
Under Mizuto's guidance, Yume followed him to the shopping district on the Teramachi Sanjo, and then they stopped at the antique shop "Kura."
"Is this where you are going to sell it?"
"Yes."
Yume squinted her eyes and saw a board written, "We appraise and buy the antiques you have hiding at home."
"Can this shop buy stolen items?"
"As I have said, I am not stealing." Mizuto sighed and said, "I know that you like a detective character, especially Sherlock Holmes, but instead of Holmes, I like Professor Moriarty more."
"Huh? Why?" Yume was clearly unconvinced. "Why is Moriarty better than Holmes?
"I am not saying their strength, intelligence, or their wits. If it's based on those things, it can be said that Holmes is better as he is the protagonist of the story."
"...."
Yume couldn't argue since that was how the mystery story was.
Justice has always been the winner.
"Then, why were you saying that Moriarty is better?"
"It's his style that I like."
"Style?"
"Yes, you see? While Holmes is a famous detective, he can only live modestly in the rental house. Meanwhile, Moriarty's life is as good as the tech billionaires and Middle Eastern oil tycoons of our time, as he gains profit from his connections, selling weapons, and many others.
"He might not be the best guy around, and he might be evil, but he takes care of his family well, especially his daughter. That's what I like about him; I might not be good to others, but for someone I love, I can give them the world."
"Irido-kun..."
When they dated before, they had to call each other by their family name instead of their given name. Instead of being a distance, it was their way to show their affection.
Yume was panting, and she couldn't look away from him, ready to leap, but—
"Cough! Cough!"
"..." Yume.
The door of the shop opened, and a girl around their age poked her head out and requested awkwardly. "I-I am sorry, but can you two not flirt in front of the shop?" Still, she glanced at Mizuto and was surprised as there was someone who could be more handsome than her boss.
"I-I am sorry!"
Yume quickly apologized, blushing and hiding behind Mizuto.
"Aoi-san, you can't be so rude."
Then, a handsome man, who seemed to be in his 20s and butler-like outfit, came out, lightly reprimanded the girl, who appeared to be the staff, and then looked at Mizuto with a smile.
"Especially toward a customer, right?"
"Oh? Can you tell if I am a customer?"
"Of course." The man nodded with a smile, then glanced at the items in Mizuto's hands. "The items on your hands clearly tell me that you are going to ask for an appraisal on our shop. Please come in."
"Thank you." Mizuto nodded, then looked at Yume. "Come on, Yume."
"Um."
Yume nodded, holding her hand as they entered the shop.
The employee girl was helpless, but she closed the shop while staring at Mizuto curiously.
When they entered, they couldn't help but look around as if it was a natural reaction when one entered a place for the first time.
The shop gave off a vintage yet elegant vibe with a variety of items displayed on wooden antique cabinets and tables. On the left side, there was a bar-like table with several chairs, and in the middle, two sofas were placed facing each other with a long, gorgeous wooden table.
If the bar-like table gave off a comfy vibe, then the sofa in the middle gave off a luxury vibe that would make anyone sitting there feel that they were treated as important.
Mizuto looked at the man, who seemed to be the manager or proprietor of this shop, wondering where the man would ask them to sit.
"Please take a seat."
The man guided them to the sofa in the middle, which made Mizuto nod.
With Mizuto as the lead, Yume also followed him and sat by his side. Frankly, she felt nervous at that moment, thinking that they had done a dirty deal, but at the same time, she was also excited since it felt like they were about to do something extraordinary.
"My name is Yagashira Kiyotaka. I am the manager of training at this shop, Yagashira Kiyotaka."
"Hello, my name is Irido Mizuto, and this is my girlfriend, Aya Yume."
Yume was surprised, blushed, and then showed a silly smile as she held his hand tightly.
While the employee girl showed an envious expression, Kiyotaka smiled helplessly and said, "Aoi-san, if you have time to look at our customers, please clean up the space over there."
"Ah, yes!" Aoi, the employee girl, became flustered.
"I am sorry for her rude actions." Kiyotaka apologized, but Mizuto could tell that this guy was jealous, which made him speechless.
"Then, can I see the items that you want to appraise, Irido-san?"
As a well-known, government-licensed appraiser shop, many people came, wishing for their item to be appraised.
Still, Kiyotaka wondered what kind of items Mizuto was going to bring him, especially when this guy loved a famous criminal character, Moriaty.
Was this guy going to deceive him?
If so, then Mizuto came to the wrong place since even if Kiyotaka was young, his reputation as an appraiser was top-notch. Still, his eyes caught several blue plates from the plastic bag in Mizuto's hand.
"Is that a Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate?"
"That's right."
"Are you going to sell those? Each of them should fetch around 30,000 yen. No, let me see them closer."
Mizuto didn't mind and showed one of the plates to Kiyotaka.
"Wow... all of them are a rare series. You can sell them for at least 100,000 yen each."
"Wh-What...?!" Yume was dumbfounded and asked with a doubt, "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Kiyotaka nodded. "They are all real things. I can buy all of them if you want."
"...."
Yume felt so complex at this moment since her "boyfriend" bought ten of those plates for 500 yen, and then, he could sell them for 1,000,000 yen.
Was this his business?
No, he was robbing a shop!
Still, Yume didn't say anything and just felt complex as she never thought that making money was so easy.
"No, I don't plan to sell them. I plan to keep them. Instead, I plan to sell this one."
"Hmm?"
Kiyotaka then noticed a rectangular box that was used to keep a scroll.
What was this? A painting?
"Can I take a look?"
"Yes."
With hands that were covered clean, white gloves, Kiyotaka took out the scroll carefully and then opened it.
But then—
"....."
Kiyotaka was at a loss.
---
In the original, Yume loves a detective-related story.
As for those two characters from the antique shop, they are from "Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes."
