Chapter 13
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of my heels striking the floor echoed as my heart pounded loudly.
“Um… Gods?”
I only muttered those words after escaping from the banquet hall.
[The God of Knowledge, Hesed, clears his throat.]
Ah, so the little lightning bolt earlier really was Hesed.
“Thank you so much for that lightning just now.”
The moment I finished speaking, the dialogue window appeared.
[The God of Knowledge, Hesed, winks.]
[The God of Love, Odyssey, pats Hesed on the back and encourages him.]
[The God of Art, Monde, puts down the corn snack he was eating with a disappointed expression.]
I approached Dwayne, who had been waiting nearby, and he opened the carriage door for me.
During the entire ride back to the temple, my thoughts were a mess and my face felt hot with embarrassment.
“Ugh… I’m crazy…”
A short while later, after returning to the temple and reaching my room, I immediately sat down at my desk.
Of course, I hadn’t done anything shameful, but Ariel certainly had. Thanks to her, I was on the verge of dying from embarrassment even though I was completely innocent.
“It would be better to move it up.”
When I recalled Kyle’s stiff eyebrows and that terrifying gaze that looked like he was about to devour someone, a chill ran down my spine.
‘As expected, I should bring forward my escape and independence plan.’
I remembered Daisy’s eyes as she said she would only serve me, but I quickly pushed the thought away.
After all, priestesses were basically government workers. She would be able to live well even without me.
I nervously pulled out the plan I had written down.
I needed to look for cheaper shops or houses, I thought.
Just as I was about to search through the real estate books again—
“……”
I suddenly stopped.
Something occurred to me, and I froze.
Wasn’t there a better way than using the money I had struggled so hard to save to buy a house?
A moment later, I opened my mouth.
“Um, Gods?”
The dialogue window sparkled.
A sign that the gods were responding.
I smiled and pointed at one of them.
“Monde. Help me.”
[The God of Art, Monde, responds to your call.]
A while later, I pestered Rayhas until he allowed me to participate in a charity art auction.
“This pottery was donated by Count Balmer. It was an urn used to hold holy water at the ancient Yurhos Temple. We will begin bidding at 100 francs.”
I sat beside the holy knight Dwayne, whom Rayhas had assigned to me.
Since it would be troublesome if people discovered that I was the Saintess, I wore an ordinary dress like a noble young lady.
The auctioneer was putting various treasured possessions brought by nobles up for auction.
“100 francs!”
“120 francs!”
“150 francs!”
“200 francs!”
“Any more bids? 200 francs, going once, 200 francs, going twice, 200 francs—sold!”
‘Seriously? That?’
The pottery, which looked like something an elementary school student had made, was sold for 200 francs in an instant.
Since 1,000 francs was equivalent to a commoner’s yearly living expenses, it was quite a high price.
[The God of Art, Monde, clicks his tongue.]
The dialogue window was sparkling in front of me.
The method I had chosen to make money was none other than an art auction.
Why?
You often saw stories in the news, didn’t you?
A person bought something cheap at an auction, only to discover it was actually a priceless treasure and became a billionaire.
Since I had the God of Art—no, the God of Art Appraisal—by my side, I decided to make good use of this advantage.
I didn’t know why, but the gods were extremely interested in me and seemed eager to help me.
For me, it was nothing but good fortune.
A little later, a beautiful portrait in a splendid frame decorated with sparkling jewels was brought out.
It was said to be a portrait of Princess Yurgeenia from before her marriage, who had passed away 100 years ago.
Even I thought it looked beautiful and expensive, so I looked toward the dialogue window.
But there was no response.
“300 francs!”
“500 francs!”
“1,000 francs!”
The bidding price quickly rose, and the portrait was eventually sold for 2,000 francs.
‘Ah… I should have bought it!’
But with only 300 francs saved up, it was a price I could never afford anyway.
I swallowed my disappointment.
The next item brought out was a small dagger.
The crude-looking dagger was inside a sheath, and a faint blue light seemed to flow from it.
The rusty-looking sheath and handle showed just how old the dagger was.
At that moment, the dialogue window lit up.
[The God of Art, Monde, looks closely at the dagger.]
‘Oh?’
I leaned forward and focused on the item.
“This dagger was donated by the Duchess of Altmer. It is a work created by a foreign artist using dragon bone and bronze. It is a simple yet beautiful piece of art that embodies reverence toward the gods. Once again, I must emphasize that this noble dagger contains dragon bone. It is not often that such an item appears at an auction.”
At the mention of dragon bone, murmurs spread throughout the crowd.
I didn’t know much about it, but it seemed to be a rare and expensive material.
“It’s not even one-tenth dragon bone, yet they call the whole thing dragon bone.”
“Exactly. You can tell just by looking at it. It doesn’t even have the right shine. A noble dagger, my foot. Tsk, tsk.”
A voice from behind sounded dissatisfied.
Apparently, even this world had things like adding 0.0001% truffle and calling something “containing truffle.”
That was probably why people had lost interest in the supposedly precious material.
Could this dagger also be one of those cases?
[The God of Art, Monde, looks at the dagger with a serious expression.]
A moment later, the auction resumed.
“We will begin bidding at 50 francs.”
Even 50 francs was close to the equivalent of one million won in modern currency, so it was by no means a small amount.
“50 francs!”
However, bids of 50 francs came easily from the audience.
There were many nobles who wanted to show off their wealth at a charity auction.
I waited anxiously for Monde’s judgment.
‘Monde, hurry up!’
“50 francs! 50 fran—!”
[The God of Art, Monde, points at the dagger.]
“100 francs!”
I hurriedly lifted the sign with 100 francs written on it.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward me, and some people even chuckled.
Apparently, I looked like a naive young woman recklessly spending money.
Even the noble who had bid 50 francs laughed and whispered to the person beside him.
“100 francs! 100 francs! 100 francs—sold!”
Fortunately, no one bid higher than me.
And so, I successfully won the dagger.
I could feel Dwayne looking at me with a puzzled expression as he watched me celebrate.
‘Everything is according to plan!’
I stood up with a confident expression.
A short while later, after paying and receiving the dagger, I immediately headed toward the commercial district.
“There’s somewhere I need to stop by. It won’t take long.”
“Yes, I will accompany you.”
Dwayne answered without hesitation and nodded.
“Monde. This is really expensive, right? It looks like a cheap item.”
I covered my mouth with my hand and asked in a quiet voice.
Soon, the dialogue window flickered and new text appeared.
[The God of Art, Monde, criticizes your judgment with an arrogant expression.]
“Don’t let it be otherwise.”
I muttered to myself as I continued walking down the street, holding the dagger in my hand.
