Return of the Irregular Appraiser
Chapter 24

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – Prototype]

Chapter 24: Free Appraisal Office (4)

“Both of these are artifacts.”

“What? No, it’s not like you see artifacts commonly on the streets. Are you really saying they’re both artifacts?”

Yang Jiwon found herself instinctively reaching for the painting, then hesitated and brought her face closer to it.

“…That’s ridiculous.”

Even after scrutinizing them up close, she couldn’t comprehend, squinting her eyes as if trying to catch a glimpse of understanding.

“First, this painting. It’s probably a B-grade artifact. Where do you usually keep this?”

“I put it in the warehouse. But is this really an artifact?”

Lee Yeoljin asked again, seemingly incredulous.

“Yes, it is.”

At that response, Ahjeong and Yeoljin’s faces lit up with delight, their eyes starting to sparkle.

Yeoljin was amazed and astonished to discover that the items he had collected as a hobby turned out to be artifacts from an ancient magical civilization.

Trying to calm his pounding heart, he listened attentively to Woogil’s words. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt website on G𝘰𝘰gle to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Let’s call this the Valley of Peace. It seems to be an artifact crafted by artisans from the B.CD 1000 era. Now, here. If you channel mana here… Can you see it? Mana flowing like waves.”

It was a landscape painting of mountains and valleys. Mana glowed differently at various points within the mana circuit of the valley where the water flowed, creating a depiction that seemed like real flowing water.

“…Is that really possible?”

Yang Jiwon muttered softly, expressing her admiration.

“It’s a calming effect on the mind. The downside is that since the mana circuit is concentrated only in this area of the valley, if you don’t focus on this part of the valley, it’s difficult to experience the effect. But once you know that, you can fully enjoy the effect. It can significantly reduce stress, often referred to as the root of all evils in modern times, and people suffering from insomnia can easily fall asleep just by looking at it.”

“Wow, really? I feel a bit less stressed than I was just a moment ago.”

Junpyo chuckled and said, and Jiwon gave him a sharp look.

“Because of me, perhaps?”

“….”

He didn’t respond.

“The appraisal fee is 500 million.”

“500, 500 million… What?”

Ahjeong asked in disbelief, and so did Yeoljin.

For a moment, a thought crossed my mind that they probably thought this appraiser might be trying to scam them for money, but I wasn’t offended.

Anyone else would have had a similar reaction to theirs.

“These things have a guaranteed demand. If the effects of the artifact are proven, then that price is reasonable.”

Oddly enough, Jiwon, who might have criticized the appraisal fee as expensive, easily agreed, and Junpyo diligently wrote something in his notebook.

‘Not bad, huh?’

One might think that merely relieving stress and aiding sleep with a landscape painting shouldn’t be worth 500 million, but there are many wealthy individuals who want to get rid of those things more than one might think.

Certain effects can justify a higher appraisal fee. And cases like this Valley of Peace are similar to that.

‘Well… as long as it’s a genuine item.’

Even though it might seem expensive for what it is, wealthy individuals who want to eliminate those issues are more numerous than one might think.

In fact, the true nature of this landscape painting wasn’t entirely revealed. The appraisal just performed only showed what appraisers with some level of skill could appraise.

‘Would they be able to figure this out?’

How would the appraisers of the Taejin Faction appraise this painting? Could they really pull of this trick? I was already smiling because I was looking forward to that day.

I picked up a leather armor next to me.

“This is a leather armor made in the early B.CD 2000s. People of that era used to wear these kinds of leather armors.”

“Why? Wasn’t the lifestyle of the ancient magical civilization similar to Earth’s Stone Age, even in the early B.CD 2000s?”

Junpyo asked. His thirst for learning was remarkable. Very good.

“Not all of them were like that. There were developed areas and undeveloped areas in that era.”

My major was the history of the ancient magical civilization.

Since I couldn’t awaken mana, appraisal assessment was the utmost I could do, and to be acknowledged even in that position, I had to know the history of that era in detail.

Twenty years later, much had been revealed about history, but there was still much unknown.

Moreover, modern appraisers were more focused on technical assessments like mana circuits and mana waves than historical knowledge.

While those were indeed more important, historical authenticity was still necessary to increase accuracy.

Especially, Me, belonging to the top excavation team in the past, who had explored ruins and continuously researched history.

I was confident that there would be no ancient magical civilization historian better than me in this era.

Moreover, my insight showed a clear synergy effect with the information of the items and the internal mana flow, indicating the importance of such historical knowledge.

“If you look at the material of this leather armor, it looks soft, but tiny thorns are densely embedded in it. Even if it touches the skin, you won’t feel anything. But when the mana circuit is activated, those thorns become extremely tough armor. That’s the characteristic of animal skin called ‘Duskin’, mainly used by artisans in the early B.CD 2000s.”

“Do you have a magnifying glass by any chance?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t see it with the magnifying glass.”

After saying that, I fetched a kitchen knife from the kitchen and struck the leather armor forcefully.

Clang!!

The blade bounced off as if hitting a solid iron plate.

Startled, the others hastily examined the leather armor, but there was no trace of injury or mark left.

Jiwon, who had stood up at the sight, sat down again.

Having witnessed it firsthand, she couldn’t help but believe it.

“Huh… I didn’t ask because I didn’t believe you. I was just curious. Do you have so much knowledge stuffed in your head? And how did you know it was this ‘Duskin’ thing?”

It wasn’t a confrontational tone. It was the expression of curiosity bursting out from someone who couldn’t believe what they had just seen.

“You can know by understanding the design and intent of the mana circuit.”

“…So, how did you know just by looking at it?”

Yang Jiwon was dumbfounded when I said ‘I studied mainly from textbooks.’ And asked back ‘How can you know it from that?’

If you could know everything by just looking at it, who would consider appraiser as a difficult profession?

Most appraisers gather dozens of materials and analyze them using various machines to come to a conclusion for just one artifact.

But this man had finished the assessment in just one hour after looking at the item.

Unless it worked like organizing the accumulated data in the head and searching for it like a computer whenever needed, it was impossible.

‘So, that’s what the team leader meant by going and seeing for yourself… This person is truly an unbelievable genius.’

Jiwon’s gaze changed. The initial disbelief she had when she first saw me disappeared completely.

“Due to its circuitry, it naturally absorbs mana from the air and charges energy. When an impact occurs, the charged mana automatically activates, and those small thorns transform into a protective barrier. Although the durability of the garment is very slow to recover, if used carefully, it can be used almost permanently.”

“What about the defense?”

“You won’t die even if you crash into a car bare-bodied. Of course, once the shield breaks from a collision, it needs to be recharged with mana to create another shield.”

“Oh… honey!”

Ahjeong exclaimed with excitement, hitting Yeoljin’s arm, then proceeded to hand him the leather armor.

“You must wear this!”

“No, this is for you-.”

“It’s a B-grade artifact, the appraisal fee is 150 million won.”

The eyes of both widened.

They just made 650 million won in one fell swoop. No wonder.

“It’s thin, so if you wear it under your clothes, no one will know.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Appraiser!”

Ahjeong tightly held my hand, expressing her gratitude. Yeoljin also stood up, bowing at a 90-degree angle to express his thanks.

“We will pay the appraisal fee ourselves. We feel too sorry to receive this for free.”

“That’s right. We’ll pay for it.”

“No, please don’t do that. How about this?”

Jiwon took the card back from me and handed it to them.

“Please accept this leather armor from us!”

“Really?”

As Ahjeong and Yeoljin exchanged glances, pondering, I intervened.

“It’s not allowed. Please don’t sell it.”

As I spoke firmly, Jiwon glared at me.

* * *

Ahjeong and Junpyo returned to the adjacent house to install screens where they could check the internal surveillance devices, as well as cameras in the living room, windows, and entrance.

“Whew… All done!”

Junpyo wiped sweat as he moved the equipment to the bedroom of the house.

“Um, Ms. Yang Jiwon. How long do I have to stay here?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

She asked, busy tapping on the report from outside.

“How long do I have to stay here?”

“Ah… I don’t know? But it wasn’t me who called you here, ask Mr. Kim Woogil. I didn’t plan the operation, you know?”

Whether she didn’t want to answer, found it troublesome, or genuinely didn’t know.

Is there anyone from the surveillance team who wouldn’t know? Seeing that she seemed too busy, Junpyo decided to enter another room.

“Sigh… What am I doing in someone else’s house?”

The room that looked like a study was originally used by the owner. Did he say he was in the United States? I heard we got permission to use the house from the surveillance team.

“I came here because Woogil asked me to, but living with a woman… It’s just…”

Nothing unusual would happen, but it still felt awkward.

Scratching my head, I absentmindedly touched the ring pinned to my ring finger. The ‘Soul Wave Ring’ my wife used to wear.

Guilt washed over me as I remembered the woman I’d left behind without even hearing her last words.

After pondering for a while in the study, I got up from my seat.

‘I guess it won’t work out. There must be plenty of substitutes even without me.’

It would be better to quit before the mission starts properly. As I stepped out of the room, I heard the sound of something slicing and dicing, and saw Jiwon chopping in the kitchen.

“Ms. Yang Jiwon. No matter how I think about it-.”

“Mr. Park Junpyo. You must be hungry, right? Sit over there.”

With bubbling and spicy smells, the aroma of savory ramen wafted through the air.

Slurp-

Come to think of it, I haven’t had a proper meal today. The clock had already passed 6 p.m. and was heading towards 8 p.m.

“What are you doing? Sit down quickly. I’m hungry too.”

She placed the ramen pot on the table and set out rice and roughly cut kimchi.

“….”

Feeling both hungry and not wanting to create any trouble before even eating, I sat down.

“Do you usually cook?”

I picked up my chopsticks, resolving to just eat this and be done with it.

“No, I’m not good at it… But, since we’re going for the newlywed couple, right? Hehe, isn’t it nice to have a pretty wife like this cooking ramen for you? How is it? Nice, right?”

“Oh, well, not really. What’s this?”

As Jiwon lifted the lid, the bloated appearance of the ramen, with broth as dark as the Han River and noodles swollen like udon, was revealed.

“Uh, what?”

She seemed flustered too, not knowing what to do, and hurriedly grabbed the pot handle.

“Ouch!”

“What are you doing!”

Seeing her burn, I immediately took her to the sink and cooled her hand with cold water.

“Why did you grab it bare-handed?”

“No… I didn’t know it would be like this. It’s okay, I’m fine.”

She smiled, showing her hand.

Except for a bit of redness, it seemed fine. Thinking about it, she was a hunter. She would recover from such a burn quickly.

Realizing I overreacted, I coolly returned to my seat, picked up my chopsticks, and started eating the ramen.

“Why are you eating that? I’ll boil it again.”

“It’s fine. Aren’t you eating? Then I’ll eat alone.”

Watching me eat the firm and refreshing ramen with lots of broth, Jiwon raised her chopsticks with a surprised look.

“Do you usually eat anything well?”

“No. I eat it to appreciate the effort put into it.”

“You look completely macho, but you’re more delicate than I thought.”

“I hear that a lot.”

Jiwon chuckled at my shameless reply and took a bite of the ramen she had cooked.

“Ugh… It’s not good. I’ll make it better next time.”

“Do you usually cook?”

“I eat out every day. Even when I live alone, I don’t cook. Hmm… How do they all cook so well?”

“Everyone starts off not being good at it. I was like that too. So, I got scolded a lot. I learned a lot.”

“Really? Who did you learn from? Your mother?”

As I said that, I recalled the past. I was terrible at cooking too. There were times when I boiled Han River ramen like this, or cut my finger while chopping.

Each time, my wife would come over, eat the ramen deliciously, and casually put a band-aid on my finger.

Thanks to my wife, many things have changed for me. I used to be a guy who didn’t care about others’ appearances.

Remembering those days, I couldn’t help but feel like I couldn’t do this. What is this supposed to be…

“Next time, I’ll just do it myself. If you want something to eat, just tell me.”

“This is actually hurting my pride. Watch me make it really delicious next time!”

Seeing her full of enthusiasm rather than being discouraged, I chuckled.

‘…Right, maybe Woogil had a reason for asking me to do this. Let’s give it a try.’

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – Prototype]

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