Not long after waiting in the reception room, a person Yasenia assumed was from a crustacean race arrived.
She was neither short nor tall, her body was well-proportioned., and she had a dress similar to those workers she had seen until now.
The main difference was the luxury of those clothes, making it clear this person was of a higher rank than others.
The face of the woman made Yasenia lift an eyebrow, one of the two reasons she identified her race.
Although the facial features were human-like, the eyes were very different. Like a crab or a lobster, her eyes protruded from her human-like face like two pearly black gems.
It was the first time Yasenia met someone with this characteristic.
Then, on her back, they could see a crab-like shell attached. Therefore, they could conclude she was from a crab-related clan.
The shell was a beautiful light red and white, complementing her formal red uniform.
Angel giggled internally. 'Thankfully, little Ebirah is not here. Otherwise, she would have probably grumbled and asked Andrea to cook her.'
Kali asked. 'Oh? Why do you say so?'
Angel smiled. 'Little Ebirah always tells me how she wants us to beat up the crab clan. The lobster and crab race seem to have deep grudges.'
As they had guessed, this woman was a crab-kin, one of the races Ebirah had more dislike towards.
Angel couldn't help but ask. 'Will Ebirah also have protruding eyes?'
Yasneia answered. 'From what I've learned, Ebirah's race assumes a human-like form after transforming. At most, some of them have completely black eyes or antennae. This person is a beast-human with a crab bloodline, not a complete crab beast.'
Their eyes flashed with realization. Kali complimented. 'You know so much, Yasenia.'
Yasenia's lips quirked a bit. 'I can't just sit around doing nothing while all of you practice your professions. I've been reading basic information about all races and cultures in this place. Cecile has taught me most things about these. She is the one focusing on this knowledge and gave me a summary.'
Meanwhile, the crab-kin walked slowly, observing their gazes, and was internally surprised. 'They are not looking at me with disgust? This is new.'
As you can probably guess, beauty standards mostly align with a human's. Therefore, having the eyes protruding out of your face was not very pretty.
Her eyes were not ugly; they were a beautiful and shiny black, but looking at her felt very wrong.
Many people didn't even want to make deals with her after looking at her face. Naturally, these were a minority, and most people didn't say a thing about her looks.
These few, however, did a bit of damage to her career path. The leader of the Brilliant Auction treated her very well and encouraged her, which was why this woman hadn't left to do behind-the-scenes work.
Of course, our girls were accepting. They didn't look at her with disgust or anything similar.
Angel, however, couldn't restrain her curious eyes.
Yasenia took the initiative to present herself.
With a pleasant smile, she said. "Sorry if our gazes are a bit rude, miss. It is our first time seeing a crab beast human, so our curiosity may get the better of us. Please tell us if you find it rude or uncomfortable, and we'll try to hold back."
The woman was surprised and then smiled, her eyes moving side to side with a bit of joy. "Hello, dear guests. It has been a while since somebody asked me about this." She chuckled and commented. "I don't feel uncomfortable. You can even look and ask as much as you want as long as you are not rude. I'm not stingy."
Her voice was pleasant and rang well in the ears. Besides her protruding eyes, everything about this woman was good-looking.
Yasenia confirmed that this person wouldn't try to make their discussion hard, so she got straight to the point with a much more pleasant smile. "We have plenty of top-quality treasures. I want to present them at your Auction, which will occur in less than a month. Is it possible?"
The woman was surprised, and the straightening eyes showed it.
Then, she pondered, the eyes swirling as she thought. Yasenia couldn't help but smile, finding her a bit cute.
"This year's event is a little bit more special because it will be an important anniversary for this building and our Brilliant Auction house. The two hundredth anniversary of the Brilliant Auction House, and the Fiftieth for this building, to be exact."
Then, the woman spoke carefully. "Therefore, to commemorate it, we've spent a lot of manpower and wealth to invite powers around the World."
The woman saw no changes in Yasenia's face. 'Doesn't she understand what I'm hinting at?'
She continued speaking tactfully. "The quality of items we'll be presenting is much higher than other years, so we can't accept mediocre goods and damage our reputation.."
Hanna snorted at the side. "Carbira, you shouldn't look down on our Matriarch so much. If we've carried her here, it means we have confidence.'
Carbira's lips twitched, and she commented. "I hope so. I still remember that time when you carried quite a handsome-."
Hanna stopped her with a stammer. "This time is different! Can't you leave a bit of face for this old friend?"
Carbira rolled her eyes, and the girls smiled because the movement was pronounced.
Seeing their grins, Carbira blushed and coughed. "Sorry, guests, I've lost my manners."
Yasenia shook her head and commented. "It doesn't matter. If you are good friends with them, then you are good friends with us. Let's not delay this anymore. I can see that you are honest and won't try to create pitfalls."
Carbira saw Yasenia waving her hand and summoning a middle-level Heaven-grade sword.
The blade was smooth as engravings of golden lions filled it. The handle was red, and the length approached one meter.
It looked exquisite and luxurious, giving a dominant breath while absorbing the room's energy toward it.
The moment the item appeared in the dragoness's hand, Carbira's two vertical eyes froze as they clearly locked onto the sword.
The crab woman stuttered and asked. "Where did you get this? It's my first time seeing a sword so exquisitely carved in person. Swords of similar strength are usually on the hands of top powerhouses."
Yasenia grinned, showing her white teeth, and commented. "This sword is only average compared to what we want to sell, so I hope you can make us a place in your Auction."
The woman was flabbergasted. 'Average? This is Average!? Then what do they consider exquisite? This sword can become a Clan's heirloom!'
Ghana spoke at this moment. "Carbira, don't let this opportunity go. This is the chance you've been waiting for years to rise to prominence. You've been very suppressed yet still managed to get where you are. If you cooperate with Lady Yasenia, you'll gain much more than you can imagine."
Carbira took a deep breath and looked at Ghana. "Ghana, I'm going to be honest. This is too sudden. You know I trust you and Hanna very much, but if your Lady has three items more of this quality, you know that we'll have to spend many resources protecting it from thieves and such. I don't want anything going wrongly."
Yasenia asked. "Can't you keep them confidential?"
Carbira shook her head. "If I want to gain authority via this trade, I can only do it in an honest manner and before the eyes of the public. Doing it stealthily will only give other managers a chance to rob me of the opportunity with dirty means. Things can get out of control quickly when greed is at play."
Yasenia nodded in understanding.
Carbira then observed Ghana and Hanna and asked. "I heard you two left your powers to join an 'upstart and immature' power. I didn't believe it then, but I guess this 'immature' power is Lady Yasenia's Astral Sky Clan."
Ghana nodded with a smirk. "The Matriarch is someone who will soar into the sky sooner or later. I know you like this job, so I won't convince you to quit. However, I recommend building a deep connection now that we are still in the initial development. You'll only profit from this transaction that we'll do."
The other harpies also came forward and commented on essential facts about the Astral Sky Clan that wouldn't hurt them even if they were public. Examples of such things were the scope of work, productivity, and preliminary planning for the store.
The five skilled harpies spoke slowly, not pressuring, but Yasenia could feel how they shaved Carbira's resistance and changed her thoughts.
Yasenia didn't interrupt and leaned back on the chair, calmly admiring the discussion led by Hanna and Ghana.
Carbira's resistance disappeared after listening for a short while. Instead, she was eager and very motivated to take this opportunity.
Kali commented. 'These harpies are really good.'
Tatyana nodded. 'Little treasure, you've been lucky. With them, many things will be much easier.'
Angel proudly puffed her chest. 'Yasenia will never be wrong! She chose Ghana, and benefits are already appearing.'
Yasenia internally chuckled and relaxed. 'Competent subordinates are really good. Angel and Kali work with Andrea and Evelyn to create something good for them. Ask about what they want and give it. Also, keep producing the bloodline-cleansing, body-enhancing, soul-strengthening, and mind-reinforcing pills. We must make our beautiful little birds reborn into elegant Phoenixes that can soar the sky.'
Kali commented. 'Do you remember the [Bloodline Tree], Yasenia?'
'The one you gave two leaves off to those minotaur guards?'
'Yes. I've planted one in the garden of the mansion. Once it bears fruits, the harpies will increase their strength manifold.'
'Good. Start similar projects. Things like this will be in the Astral Sky Clan for sale. Tatyana, work with the management team to adjust the price of items in our shop.'
'Sure. I'll create a perfect and loophole-free, fair point system.'
Thanks to the harpies, Yasenia didn't even have to play any tricks or interfere.
Carbira left and returned with a VIP card for the Brilliant Auction House. It could be used to open a luxurious fifteen-people room.'
Angel couldn't help but admire Yasenia.
Her decision to take these harpies was correct and saved them time, effort, and resources and created a connection she wouldn't have to supervise personally.
Leaving one of the five harpies as the person in charge of deals between Brilliant Auction and Astral Sky Clan in the future would be more than enough.
Yasenia commented. "Since most things are already done, let's move to evaluate our merchandise."
Carbira smiled and nodded. "Sure, Lady Yasenia. I'm really eager to see what you've prepared for us."
Yasenia stood up, and everyone else followed. "Where is the place to evaluate our items, Lady Carbira?"
Carbira waved one hand and humbly commented. "Call me just Carbira. You are my friend's boss, so it feels a bit weird."
Yasenia chuckled. "As you say, Carbira."
The crab woman stepped forward and spoke. "Follow me. The evaluating rooms are this way."
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Author Note: https://www.patreon.com/posts/valeria-divine-82733239 <- Valeria, Divine Spirit Nature Empress. Her completed image is here. I hope you like it~. Discord has partial images of Mirrory and Valeria if you want to check them. The link to the Discord Server is in the summary of the novel.