Chapter 677: Mid-Summer Islands 7
Ride the dragon to Farar, the capital of the Lapal Islands. It’s a small country, but there’s a lot of seafood and trade goods, and in terms of species openness, it’s probably less suffocating than any city in Celesta if you’re not careful. Of course, there are a lot of bad guys, but we’re not particularly afraid of them.
“I’d like a tavern with good drinks”
“Is it true that they have sweet fruits and all sorts of other things?”
“Lord, isn’t this attire a little strange? I’ve been feeling some strange stares from a few minutes ago……”
There’s no way that a number of thugs would approach us when there are three dragons. ……Actually, several of them tried to make a move on Fennel and Gloria, but Emma and Laila dragged them into the alleys and never came back.
“Emma, maybe the problem is that you’re wearing too heavy clothes. We don’t wear very long clothes around here”
“Come to think of it……you’re right”
“It’s usually hot and humid”
Dragons are tolerant of both heat and cold, even if only for a short time. So, a messy dragon like Laila wears just a piece of cloth wrapped around her wherever she goes (although it may still look like some sort of traditional clothing), and there’s nothing wrong with that. In Laila’s case, however, I just think, 「I wonder if she doesn’t spend money on clothes, even though she is beautiful」, but a fine kimono like Emma’s, and the kind of clothes that are worn in many layers in the north, feel very out of place. I can understand how the general public might feel, wondering if it is not too hot, what kind of festival it is, or which landlord’s daughter she is.
“Just change clothes as needed, like I do”
Irina’s footwork is light in this respect……and she seems to have prepared clothes in advance to suit various climates, wearing a warm robe while in the north and an active mini dress with her legs and arms bare when in the south. A normal nobleman wearing such an outfit might be called 「Immodest」, but it’s a little late for that now that she is collared as our female slave. And because she looks so young, even if she is a little exposed, it doesn’t give off a sexual vibe. Also, the notion of exposure in the elven forest is a bit dubious in many ways. There is a line between the tropes of 「It is vulgar for women to wear clothes that show their skin」 and the general sense of 「It is vulgar for women to wear clothes that show their skin」. I guess that’s part of the reason why the clothes are so well prepared.
“But I don’t have that many changes of clothes and……”
“We can buy clothes for Emma here and there. Laila, do you have any accessories that can be exchanged for gold?”
“Ho. I have some precious metals, but do you know how to exchange them?”
“There’s a merchant that Galatia talked to last time I was here, right?”
“Yes, I am sure that Heather will be able to help us. I’ve already talked to Dad about it”
So, when I was about to use some of Laila’s savings to pay for Emma’s clothes (and dinner), Gloria stopped me.
“Why don’t I sell some paintings while we’re here? I guess it’d be hard to do in a place like this”
“Paintings?”
Paintings. I think eroticism is a universal language”
Gloria-san unfolded a picture from her baggage. It was……a nude painting that looked like it belonged to Nord, with different facial, hair, and skin tones. The painting, which is painted with a mysterious atmosphere and depicts a bath in a deep forest, certainly seems like it could be used anywhere.
“Is this Nord-san?”
“Oh, you know exactly what I mean. The face and the colors are different from those of the original”
“I can tell because I trust Gloria’s brushwork to show the finest details”
“Oh, you’re really praising me”
Gloria-san is strangely embarrassed. Is she happy to be evaluated on the assumption that she painted it properly? ……And Galatia is confused.
“W, Who should I take such a sexy painting to?”
“Why don’t I just take it to that merchant?”
“Heather is good with gold, silver, and jewelry, but I doubt she has a good eye for this kind of thing. She is a money changer to begin with, so she doesn’t usually buy and sell so extensively”
“Well, artwork tends to be underpriced unless you’re an expert……”
Gloria gives a wry smile. It seems like she’ll give up even if she’s offered a low price. Hilda claps her hands.
“In that case, why don’t we just hold a big auction in town?”
“Who would do that?”
“Oh. I’m a merchant’s daughter, you know what I’m talking about?”
“That’s a painting of a naked woman!”
Galatia reacts like, 「Are you crazy?」, but everyone knows that Hilda wouldn’t be bothered by something like that.
“I’m a little more afraid of Hilda trying to sell naked pictures of her own sister than I am of Galatia”
“But Nord-san is like that when it comes to eroticism……”
“If the color has been changed this much, you could say she’s a different person. ……Well, it’s rare for a white elf to have such a large chest
Anzeros and Aurora each give a bitter smile.
“It’s fine. Breasts are more dream than reality! Creations exist only if there is an audience!”
Well, if Gloria herself has such a theory of creation, others shouldn’t have any say in it, should they? She is a copy of a desert idol, and although she is voluptuous in terms of style, it is not unnatural.
“Then, let’s talk to the merchants in the plaza. If we do it out of the blue, they’re going to take notice”
“Eh……are you really going to do that……?”
Galatia seemed slightly reluctant, but hurriedly followed Hilda, who looked like she was having fun, as she went to talk to a nearby merchant.
So.
“Yes, yes, this is a nude painting of a woman who actually exists somewhere in Celesta. Gentlemen, you may wonder if there really are elves with such amazing breasts! In fact, I know a girl with even more amazing breasts than this one. She’s really sexy, but that’s a different story. I also know this girl well, but she’s quite into it and takes off her clothes☆ This time, an artist known only to those in the know in Celesta has poured his heart and soul into this painting, and we’ll start with 1000. It’s not a mass-produced print, so you’ll never get it again☆”
Hilda took off her white robe, dressed herself a little sexily, and stood on the platform set up in the plaza. With the help of Galatia (or rather, the Red Whale Pirates), Hilda’s affability, and the cunning behind the scenes, all the merchants in the square cooperated with Hilda’s auction. Even in the square at dusk, there were many magic lights to make it easy to see the paintings and Hilda, which unexpectedly attracted a lot of attention, and the crowd grew to several hundred people, including those who were just looking on for free.
“1100!”
“1200!”
“2000!”
“You……2100!”
“2200!”
“I’ll give you 2500”
“3000! With that almost life-size size, that vividness, and that quality, this is still a bargain”
“3200!”
“3250”
“Eei, 5000!”
“Gee, are you serious……?”
“Yes, yes☆ I got 5000☆ I think this picture is definitely 5000?”
“How about 5200?”
“5300!”
“Eei, I’ll put all my profits from this time into it! 6000!”
………….
“Iyoshaaa!!”
And. It was one of the merchants in the square who bought it for 8000 gold coins. Apparently, he was enamored with the charm of that painting at the stage when Hilda showed it around beforehand, saying, 「I want to sell this☆」.
“Sugee……I didn’t know it could go for that much”
“I don’t think it would have been like that if I had just sold it quietly,” she said. My estimate was about 2,000”
Gloria laughed.
“Is that really the price for a single item with such beautiful colors?””
“The lowest price for eroticism is high, but the highest price is low, surprisingly so. The ceiling rises if it can be honestly recognized as art. The fact that it is erotic guarantees a certain amount of added value, but it is also a vulgar product, so the really rich people don’t touch it. Well, there are plenty of similar ones out there if you look for them, and no matter how painstakingly you draw them, it may not make enough of a difference to make a huge difference in price……”
“It’s kind of hard……”
“The art is like that. Things that can be valued like crazy aren’t just pretty, they’re also innovative, You also need things like room for consideration and the absolute amount of skill. You can’t get to that stage just by drawing nice boobs or pussy. Well, once you get fame, anything you do can be exaggerated”
“So, Gloria, who specializes only in nudes, you don’t go that far?”
“I don’t think it’s right for me to paint for a price. I don’t deny that there are people who are in that kind of situation, but the pictures I imitated because I thought they were the most beautiful were not like that”
Somewhat sadly, but proudly, Gloria-san gazes at her own work, which is now in the hands of others.
Anyway, thanks to Gloria-san and Hilda-san, I had enough money to pay for food and clothes. So, I went to a thrift store to find some clothes for Emma.
“If it’s the same as mine, it’s too poor……should I think more about colors and stuff?”
Galatia put various clothes on Emma and nodded her head. It doesn’t seem to fit.
“……Hey, girls. Are you sure it’s okay? That guy over there is looking at you
The woman at the thrift store pointed at me in confusion. She seemed to think it strange that I was standing next to her watching while Emma stripped naked and had various clothes applied to her. But.
“No, it’s okay. He is my lord and master”
“……What is it, a slave?”
“Yes. I have to make my master like what I wear”
“You are a very beautiful slave, aren’t you? You are well disciplined. Wasn’t it expensive? Can someone buy one at your age, with clothes like yours?”
The old lady stared at me. Slaves aren’t open about in this country either, but compared to Celesta, it’s not that uncommon. ……Well, it’s also a trading hub, so I guess it’s likely that customers from other slave-holding countries drop by. So, we were able to have a normal conversation.
“I didn’t buy it, so……”
“Even though you’re a slave?”
“If I had to say, it’s more like the result of a fight”
“I can’t see more and more. Are you really that strong?”
“Under certain circumstances”
“……?”
I don’t think it’s right to explain in detail, and if I strongly deny it, Emma will get angry and things will get complicated, so I’ll just say something that’s not too far off the mark. ……Well, I guess I’m not wrong.