Kisho glanced around at the people nearby, ignoring their disdainful looks, and slowly spoke:
"This flute is called 'Jade-Dipped.' There are two pieces of evidence: First, the material used to make this flute is not B-grade Azure-Veined Dragonblood Bamboo, but A-grade. If you use a high-magnification lens, you can see extremely fine gold threads inside the body of the flute; second, there are carved marks at the end of the flute. If you soak this flute in the blood of a B-grade magical beast, the pattern will appear."
He suddenly felt a little like a protagonist in a novel.
Ah, he was joking—there's no way a protagonist could be as miserable as him.
After hearing his words, the crowd instantly fell silent. After the silence, whispers began.
Someone couldn't contain themselves and asked doubtfully, "You're explaining in such detail… could you be making it up?"
"And if he's making it up, so what? Mr. Wood isn't actually going to soak a magical beast's blood into the flute. What if such a precious collection gets destroyed!"
But unexpectedly for everyone, Arlens Wood waved his hand. Rawn walked over to his side and, at his gesture, used a call device to summon two collection conservators, who carried the flute away in a safe, and Rawn followed them out.
The crowd: "…"
"Mr. Wood, please reconsider, in case…" someone couldn't help speaking. Before they finished, Arlens Wood gently raised a hand, signaling them to stop.
"What's your name, young man?" Arlens Wood looked at Kisho and asked slowly.
"…Noah Barton."
Kisho answered, thinking to himself that the chance of the person in front of him not being Arlens Wood was already down to twenty percent.
Arlens Wood said, "Alright, young Noah, let's wait for the results together."
He paused and smiled: "If your appraisal is correct, I will give you this flute. In exchange, you will stay to work for me for one year. How about that?"
"…I only recognize collections related to music." Ignoring the surprised voices around him, Kisho continued, "And I can't stay here long. I have things to do, and I'll leave tomorrow."
"Ah, what a pity." Although he was refused, Arlens Wood showed no change in expression, smiling lightly. He didn't bring up the idea of having Kisho stay again.
…One hour later…
Rawn walked in. All eyes focused on him, watching with extreme tension.
But Kisho didn't feel nervous at all, as if… he was absolutely confident that his sense wouldn't deceive him. After all, if the sense weren't strong enough, it wouldn't exist in the first place.
Rawn nodded slowly. "Master, Mr. Barton's appraisal is completely accurate. After comparison, the collection is indeed called 'Jade-Dipped.'"
The crowd: "…"
Those who had earlier provoked Kisho silently moved to the back of the group, hiding behind others.
"Ah, that's excellent. Mr. Barton is truly knowledgeable and insightful." Arlens Wood's eyes glimmered faintly, then he smiled, "The portion of appreciation value gained by this ancient item will later be given to young Mr. Barton as a reward."
Kisho nodded slightly. Yet his book—or rather, his sense—still emanated the desire to possess that flute.
Looking at Kisho's expression, Arlens Wood seemed to have a thought.
"If young Mr. Barton can help me appraise the next piece, the final item for the exhibition… then, the previous agreement still stands."
"Oh?" Kisho looked at him. "Really?"
"Of course it's real. Would I lie to a child? Haha~" Arlens Wood laughed and clapped his hands. A servant lit the large lamps, illuminating the front of the hall.
A team of servants entered the hall in a line, pushing a small display case with a safe to the center. They turned on a projection light, and the white screen displayed the item.
It was a roll of dark yellow beast skin. The exposed portion was painted with a music score using pigments made of some unknown material.
Kisho felt a chill run through him, as if his soul itself trembled.
Without needing to think, he knew this score recorded the Sonata of Darkness!
"Presumably, all of you have come here to hear the my music," Arlens Wood's gaze fell on the beast skin in the display, filled with a strange mix of gentleness and madness. "At midnight tonight, I will personally perform this epic piece for everyone!"
Kisho casually glanced at the others, suddenly feeling a chill. Apart from him, everyone present had eyes filled with excitement and rapture, impatient as if they couldn't wait another second.
Arlens Wood raised his hand slightly, and the restless crowd quieted. He spoke softly:
"Young Mr. Barton? Can you help appraise this music score?"
Kisho: "…Appraise what?"
Arlens Wood slowly said, "The material, the ink used to write the score, or anything else… everything can be included."
"…I can try."
Kisho slowly approached the display case and studied the exhibit. After a moment, he said softly,
"The medium is beast skin from a Loro beast."
Loro beasts were a common food source. To compare, it's roughly equivalent to a domestic pig in the previous world.
The crowd erupted: "What are you saying! How could it be the skin of such an animal—!"
Kisho looked at Arlens Wood, who was momentarily stunned, then laughed: "Indeed, but it's a Loro beast from a thousand years ago. We can detect DNA very similar to today's Loro beasts."
The crowd: "…"
"The pigments… are made from roughly a dozen… should I say, biological materials, mixed blood. Because the proportions and components differ in each section, I can't explain each one in detail, but I can give examples."
Kisho continued slowly: "For instance, in the first line of the first section, it's blood from a C-grade entangled parrot, juice from a D-grade plant Flo Flower, honey brewed by a D-grade magical beast Flying Big Bee, mixed with excrement from a C-grade phantom beast Polk Phantom Cat… producing the pigment. Since the concentration of entangled parrot blood gradually increases, the color of the first section of the score gradually shifts to dark brown."
Arlens Wood clapped slowly. Without him saying anything more, everyone knew that this boy named "Noah" wasn't speaking casually.
He looked at Kisho, speaking slowly: "Young Mr. Barton, as agreed, 'Jade-Dipped' is yours."
At that moment, a hollow, distant sound came from afar: "Dong—" "Dong—"
Twelve consecutive strikes, indicating… midnight.
Arlens Wood smiled faintly and looked at the guests: "Ladies and gentlemen, the appetizer is over. Please proceed to the concert hall to witness the epic chapter come to life."