Thalira rummaged through her small library, trying to find suitable books. Fortunately, she happened to have books with similar letters and language here.
Eh? She froze when she thought of this. Right, ever since she occupied this body, how can she already fluently speak the language here? She scratched her head. Probably it was because she had visited another human realm with the same language before? Most likely, she had acquired it there.
Because of their magical ability, divine beasts can learn languages easily–in minutes or even seconds. Perhaps it was also included in her white tiger inheritance package when she was born. She no longer thought about it and focused on the current matter.
What kind of book should she bring that wouldn't cause too much sensation but still be regarded as valuable? Thalira arranged the books neatly on the floor of her tree house. She stood up and walked around it, scrutinizing the title one by one.
Knowledge of a Hundred Rare Medical Herbs? No, this one wasn't suitable. This place didn't have such valuable medicinal herbs. On top of that… Thalira flipped through the book and shook her head. The contents might scare them.
She circled through her collections of books a few times, regretting that she had put the rest of her books in the places she currently couldn't access.
"Oh? This one looks suitable…" she mulled over it. Thus, for the entire night, the usually lazy white tiger actually read through the books that her older siblings had given her, making sure there wasn't content that would scare those weak humans.
Even if her book contents wouldn't scare them, they might regard it as mere fiction, anyway.
When she woke up again, Thalira found herself in cat form. It scared her so much that she let out a frightened meow, falling down from the bed.
As she turned around, she saw how she looked in the long mirror. The fluffy appearance made her a bit depressed. Her snow white fur looked soft to touch, quite beautiful. The pair of blue eyes that were as deep as the ocean stared back at her.
In her despondent mood, she subconsciously licked her paw and froze. However, she didn't stay in her sullen mood for too long. As the ringing of a phone reached her ears, she shifted to her human form. Well, she was actually trying. After a few attempts, she finally succeeded.
The new discovery made her worried. What if she randomly turned into a cat in the future?
The call was from Austin, confirming the time she would visit. Then she heard him ask, "Do you want me to pick you up?"
She understood his worries and appreciated his gesture, but she rejected his offer. If she ran into another problem, she could still run if she couldn't defeat people. She hadn't settled the score from the last one yet, so that old man Slade better not make trouble with her again.
When she entered the antique shop door, Mr. Brown was already waiting, sitting on his comfortable chair and sipping on a cup of coffee.
"Quickly, let me take a look. If you bring something interesting, I can consider giving you a few slots from this shop." Mr. Brown said, but then he wrinkled his face. "Those things you brought are quite odd, though. They are certainly antique judging from their ages, but it's difficult to find historical records which match the era it comes from."
Thalira avoided Mr. Brown's eyes awkwardly, then pulled some books from the bag she carried. Just one look and anyone could tell that the book was old but was well preserved.
"I brought some books. Not sure if they are valuable," Thalira muttered. Her eyes lingered a bit on one of the book covers. She retracted her gaze, her expression solemn as she waited for Mr. Brown to finish inspecting the book.
Austin appeared not long after, joining them. He inspected other books. There was a look of contemplation after he flipped some of the pages. "Do you have any idea which era your antique comes from?"
Thalira blinked innocently and shook her head. These things came from the human civilization of another world. Some were from her divine beast family's private library. "I am not sure."
She lowered her head, feeling like a fog was clouding her mind. Her family's library had some books with the same language and letters as the Z country on this planet, so the language she had acquired must have been from her inheritance, right? That explained it all.
After she discussed it with them, they helped to choose the books she planned to auction this week. The total of three books.
"Do you still have some more?" Mr. Brown's keen eyes were similar to a dog's nose in terms of spotting antiques. He glanced at her leather bag, which didn't look empty.
Thalira was amused. "I still have something that looks quite precious."
Under Mr. Brown eager's eyes, she pulled a small painting and handed it over to him. The canvas they used to paint it looked very old, and the quality was good. The owner must have taken great care and treasured it.
There were some diamonds embedded in the black frame. In the darkness, the diamonds shone, bringing the impression of blending into the painting like stars in the night sky. The painting itself looked abstract, but not quite. There were some beasts, people pointing weapons at them.
The strangest part was that if the painting was viewed from another angle, it would become an entirely different image but still tell the same story. The beast's limbs might become people's faces and people's bodies become a part of a beast's section.
It was a stunning painting. Once someone laid eyes on it, as if it had a magic on it, they would be entranced.
"This?" Mr. Brown looked stunned.
"Can this be sold?" Thalira asked.
***
On the day of the auction, Thalira received an invitation because of the antiques she had submitted. The people from the Antique House had appraised and approved them.
She had taken two slots from Mr. Brown antique shops too; one was a book, and the other was painting. Austin and Mr. Brown invited her to sit with them in the private room. With curious eyes, she inspected the items presented on the screen.
"Are you nervous?" Austin looked at Thalira.
The girl shook her head. She wasn't nervous, but excited. The feeling of earning money on her own was also good.
From the list that the Auction House had given to their guests, the next item was hers. She straightened herself when the host was making an introduction to her item.
"The next is a medical record from ancient times. For this item, we didn't only invite antique appraisers to evaluate it, but also some medical practitioners who are well versed in ancient medicine records. This antique book is believed to be a long-lost record of a medical sage from the ancient time, with some knowledge to be unearthed…"
Thalira had some doubts. Was the host exaggerating or did the Auction House really find a medical practitioner for it?
After the host was done, people raised their hands and started bidding.
"Two millions points."
"Three millions points."
"Ten millions points."
The price continued to rise higher and higher, surprising Thalira. She had expressed her intention to split the auction result with Mr. Brown antique shop. For her private slot, she gave him 20%, and for the shop's slot, she was willing to offer 35%.
The final result made her widen her eyes in shock. The book was sold for twenty-five millions! It made her greatly anticipated her next items. Her hopes weren't as high, but she still wished for it to fetch a decent price.
"As you can see, there are records of creatures in this book. Some kind of beasts we have never seen before." The host directed opened the book. The picture of a gigantic monster on a yellow paper appeared on the big screen.
"This book is definitely an antique, even though we can't give a concrete account for it. It might be a storybook from an ancient time." The house took a deep breath and said in a joking tone, "Or it might be a record of some alien creatures."
Thalira inwardly nodded in agreement at this, her eyes full of contemplation. The host soon finished his introduction. Just as she thought that he was going to start the bidding, someone interrupted the auction.
Mr. Slade stood up. After attendant handed him a mic, he started expressing his disapproval. "This book looks like something that came out of a kid's imagination. You can pull one book like this from random secondhand book store. How can you call it an antique?"