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Last Embryo Volume 8 Chapter 1 Part 7

「It would be even better if you could elope with a girl who was at least thirty years younger than you. Man, I want to try playing with fire together with a young girl at least once in my life.」

「Shut your traps before I do it for you, you naughty brats!」

Don, who was made fun of, yelled at them, clearly in a bad mood.

Don Bruno is usually known as a strict coffee shop master, but few people in Japan know about his past life as a former auctioneer and appraiser of antiquities, so if he has gone to such lengths in order to appraise this item, then it must mean that it is the one of considerable worth or significance.

After completing the appraisal and putting away his favorite magnifying glass, Don let out a big sigh, lit a cigarette and said:

「……I can’t believe it. You brought in some really bad news to my restaurant, you damn brats. Now, let me ask once more: Did the other person really say he would buy this celadon incense burner for 30 million yen?」

「Yes, that’s what they said. Is that incense burner from the Song dynasty?」

「I have no doubt about that, but before we continue talking any further, you might want to hide. That goes for you as well, young lady.」

Don-Bruno gave them advice with a stern look in his eyes. But instead of hiding, Izayoi and Tokuteru immediately went to check if there was no suspicious people outside of the restaurant, and when they got back after confirming that there was really no one there, they turned their gaze back to the Don.

「There’s no problems outside so far.」

「I know that sometimes it is necessary to act quickly when the situation calls for it, but I would still like you to explain things to us properly. Now I might be no expert in the subject, I can tell at a glance that this particular piece of pottery is pretty valuable. But the question that needs to be answered here is: exactly how valuable is it?」

Receiving their strong request, Don scratched the back of his head with a sour face. At the very least, he probably understood exactly how serious the situation was becoming. Don put his hand on the incense burner in resignation and sighed as he shared the result of his appraisal with everyone.

「Haa… This thing right here isn’t just rare. It’s blue like the sky after the rainfall, and the surface shows a fine brilliance due to the diffused reflection of light. There’s no mistaking it. Yes, this incense burner… is the legendary 「Yu Kiln Celadon」.」

Ayato, who was listening to Don Bruno’s words quietly was so surprised that she jumped up on the spot as if she was struck by lightning.

「Yu…「Yu kiln Celadon」?? Is it the same Yu Kiln Celadon that is widely regarded as the rarest and the best ceramics in the world?!」

「That’s right. It was made in the latter part of the Song Dynasty. The unique color achieved by the mixing of powdered agate gemstones together is the highest possible level of color that can be achieved in ceramics, 「The Heavenly Blue」. It is also known as 「The Rain Over the Sky and Blue Clouds」in the commemoration of the one who ordered to create it in the first place, the emperor from the Song dynasty who wanted it to express the color of the clear blue sky after the rain. This color is counted as one of the lost technologies that cannot be reproduced even with modern technology, and there are said to be only about 90 copies of it left in the world. Therefore, if you are an auctioneer, you will be able to see through the counterfeit at a glance. In my old line of work, there is no auctioneer worth his salt who would mistake the counterfeit, even if it was perfectly reproduced for a genuine article, and if they were, then they are clearly idiots.」

The world’s finest ceramics that cannot be duplicated and cannot be reproduced by modern technology. However, although that color is called 「Heavenly Blue」, that blue was by no means bright. Its appearance, which may be buried among many works of art, is quiet and serene. Rather than the brilliance of jewels, this is a Heavenly Blue color that evokes a feeling of high quality, reminiscent of jade.

The blue that the emperor loved remains unique even today. Legendary pottery that was allowed to exist only in lost technology in a lost age. This is how marvelous this 「Yu Kiln Celadon」incense burner really was.

「And look, there’s a poem engraved on the back of this incense burner, isn’t there? Out of all the emperors of the Qing dynasty, Qianlong, the greatest of all the emperors was said to be the only one who was said to have carved a poem of the back of the 「Yu Kiln Celadon」. And that means that this incense burner was originally a part of emperor Qianlong’s lost collection.」

「Seriously…if that’s really true, then… then 30 million yen won’t be even close to enough to pay for it!」

「Don. If you were an auctioneer, how much would you bid on this item? Or rather, how far over the starting 30 million you would go?」

When Tokuteru asked him that, Don touched his beard and stared at the incense burner while being deep in thought.

「Let me think… When it comes to celadon with a Heavenly Blue color that has almost no patterns on it… I think it would have to be 4 billion yen, and that is the lowest price possible.」

「Four….!!!!」

Tokuteru and Masami Tendo were about to shout 4 billion yen!!!, but then Don Bruno continued while stopping them with his hand:

「Oh, no, wait, wait. Four billion yen is just the value of pottery itself. If you add the historical value of the poem engraved by Emperor Qianlong here, it will go up even further. I wouldn’t be surprised if it would reach 50 billion yen on went even further up still.」

Tokuteru turned his eyes, which have gone to the back of his head towards the sky when he heard that estimate. Masami Tendo, who brought in the incense burner in the first place, also felt like she was about to faint. She must have never imagined that an item that she thought would be her go-to with which she could pay off her father’s debts would fetch such a high price.

With 50 billion yen, not only will she be able to pay off the debts, but she will be able to spent the rest of her life doing nothing but playing around.

Izayoi and Ayato glanced at the two of them and realized the full extent of the commotion that they have found themselves in.

「Everything starts making sense now. In short, that girl’s father must have learned the true value of the 「Yu Kiln Celadon」from somewhere, right?」

「Yes, that seems like the most likely possibility. He then went to make an offer of a legitimate purchase, only to be kidnapped by the supposed seller.」

「For the sellers, the chances of getting fifty billion yen pottery at a price that’s practically free… Damn, the situation is worse than I thought.」

「You can say that again. Fifty billion yen… that is an amount of money for which most people wouldn’t hesitate t kill someone to get their hands on it.」

Masami Tendo was at a loss for words at Don’s words.

「Th-that’s… uh, we don’t want that kind of money! As long as we can pay off our debts and protect the factory, that’s all we need!」

「You might think like that, but that’s definitely not what the guys that your father went to meet thought. And we cannot be absolutely sure if your father shared your line of thought either.」
「T-That kind of thing……!!」

「If he went for a price that was bigger than 30 million yen, then it is entirely possible that he also had other debts that he needed to take care of. And if your factory’s problems have gotten so severe that he had no choice but to sell it, then I am sure that he must have at least considered such an option.」

Masami Tendo turned pale when she heard Izayoi’s calm response.

She was just a junior high school student, so it must have been a tough pill for her to swallow, but that’s just life for you.