After we finished our tea, Rosemary-san led me to the basement. I was a little surprised that what I thought was an ordinary empty floor transformed into a staircase. No, considering how this was a world where magic exists, I suppose that wouldn't be strange, but seeing it change has this different sense of fantasy from teleporting.
When I descended the wooden stairs and arrived at the basement, I found it to be a fairly large space. It was quite bright, having an atmosphere somewhat similar to a museum, with jar-like objects openly displayed.
[This is amazing! There's this much artwork around.]
[This is the room where I keep my pottery.]
[...Potteries? Does that mean you also have other rooms?]
[Unnn. I have other rooms as well, like for example, a room for paintings and another for sculptures, each of which has its own way of displaying my collection. The lighting and brightness are important when looking at artworks after all.]
[I see...]
The rooms are divided according to the artwork huh... Errr, with that scale, I guess the scale of the basement would be quite extraordinary...
At any rate, this pottery room alone is quite large. With each artwork displayed at a certain distance from each other, it looks like an ordinary art museum.
[...Ahh, could this be Symphonia Kingdom's Five-Colored Pottery?]
[Being from another world, it's amazing that you would know about Five-Colored Pottery, Kaito-kun. Are you familiar with potteries?]
[Ahh, no, I learned about this from an acquaintance who likes ceramics before... I myself have no idea about it.]
When I mentioned it because the color of the ceramics looked familiar to me, Rosemary-san exclaimed in admiration. However, since I was only really lightly taught, I wouldn't really be able if the topic of conversation turns to a more technical direction, so I just told her early on that I didn't know much about it.
This doesn't look good. I don't think I could match Rosemary-san's knowledge even if I tried.
[I see... but I'm sorry. That's not a Five-Colored Pottery.]
[Eh? Is that so?]
[Unnn. This is Four-Colored Pottery, and it was made in Symphonia about 340 years ago. As Kaito-kun said, Symphonia is famous for their Five-Colored Pottery, but there have been many different styles throughout the country's long history. This artwork is made by intentionally removing the purple color from the Five-Colored Pottery. Five-Colored Pottery makes use of red and blue colors though, making it difficult to layer colors without showing any purples, so it fell out of fashion.]
[I see, now that you mentioned it, indeed... There's no purple anywhere.]
Symphonia's Five-Colored Pottery is a pottery that uses the five colors of green, yellow, red, purple, and blue, so it's called Four-Color Pottery because it's made to avoid showing one of those colors...
[Is this created by a famous person?]
[This is a piece made by that time's King of Symphonia. He was a King with a deep knowledge of Art, and he's the one who laid the foundation of the Northern Area of the current Symphonia's royal capital. This one is a relatively recent piece among the ones I have, but it's a good piece that is filled with the desire to create something new.]
[Heehhh... I know this is a weird question, but how much is it in terms of money?]
[When I bought it, it was worth 20000R, but now that its value has increased, I'm guessing it would be around 45000R?]
Its current value would be worth 4.5 million yen huh... Artworks really are expensive. However, if this piece of pottery were to be found in a regular store with other potteries, I probably wouldn't be able to recognize it as a 4.5 million yen piece.
[...I think most people wouldn't know the exact value of this kind of artwork. Even if this pottery had been in my house, I probably wouldn't have recognized it as a work of art unless someone had told me about it.]
[Art is pretty difficult to understand after all.]
[Yes, but now, thanks to Rosemary-san, I know the value, or rather, the good points of this piece... I suppose it would be good fortune for the artworks to have an owner like Rosemary-san who understands their value. How should I say it... It's amazing to be able to create such words, but discovering them and teaching others their creators' intentions and their worth is also amazing.]
When I told her that, Rosemary-san looked slightly surprised and moved. Thereupon, smiling gently, she reached out her hand towards me, and stroking my head, she spoke.
[...I really like your way of thinking. You really are a kind child, Kaito-kun.]
[T- Thank you. E- Errr... Rosemary-san?]
[Eh? Ahh!? S- S- S- Sorry!? I was just so happy that I couldn't help myself...]
[N- No, it's alright.]
I don't really know what exactly I said is alright, but it seems that stroking my head was an unconscious action of hers, as Rosemary-san flusteredly moved her hand away, while I also responded in a way that I didn't quite understand.
Needless to say, there was an awkward silence between us for a short while after that.
***
[Afterword]
Serious-senpai : [...Ha- Hahaha.]
? ? ? : [Oh, you unexpectedly look quite composed. As expected, going through your experience allows you to develop resistance to this?]
Serious-senpai : [Yeah, this ain't no problem. After all, I am the 2000th Mock Battle, and this is quite special... I'm completely alright.]
? ? ? : [...It doesn't seem like you're completely alright at all. You're generating carbonated steam out of your head, you know...]