Village Five already had an art museum.
However, a new one was recently constructed at the foot of the mountain.
It featured large, spacious exhibition rooms.
It boasted exhibition preparation rooms that were twice as large as the galleries themselves.
And it possessed a storehouse ten times the size of those preparation rooms.
The air conditioning in the exhibition rooms, preparation rooms, and the storehouse was managed by magic tools, keeping the temperature and humidity constant at all times.
Considering the logistics of moving large or heavy artworks, several doors of various sizes were installed, and the facility was fully equipped with carts and small cranes to assist with transport.
This new museum was designed specifically to resolve the frustrations people had with the existing one.
While the original museum had splendid exhibition rooms, moving items in and out was a hassle. Its preparation rooms were cramped, and the storehouse was only average.
Furthermore, because a theater had been built adjacent to it, the place was noisy.
Since admission was free, it also attracted many people who simply wanted to rest in a covered area.
Prada, who was involved in the management of that museum, had hesitantly submitted an improvement plan to Yoko, the Acting Village Head of Village Five. In response, Yoko had challenged her.
"In that case, try designing the ideal museum you envision, Prada," she had said.
The result of that challenge was this new museum.
While it was being built, Prada had been away accompanying the caravan introducing the auction items. Consequently, by the time she returned to Village Five, her ideal museum had already reached completion.
When I appointed Prada as the director of the new facility, she swore eternal loyalty to me with a posture more graceful than I had ever seen from her.
I did tell her to keep her collecting within the budget, though.
Also, I pointed out that the land next door was reserved for future storehouse expansion. I figured it would be a problem if she ran out of space. I had secured it just in case.
"Hey, don't cry."
"Don't cry on me now."
Things were going to be difficult from here on out. As the director, she had to lead the staff and manage the operations.
Hiring the staff was also Prada's responsibility. I told her she could decide on the entrance exams, but warned her that if she didn't go easy on the applicants, she might end up managing the whole place alone.
The exhibition content was up to her as well. She was free to plan whatever she liked.
Income and expenditures?
When it came to protecting culture, I didn't intend to worry about that. I had realized that making admission entirely free wasn't a good idea, so we decided on a minimum fee just to ensure visitors maintained proper etiquette. I was thinking one or two Medium Copper Coins.
I also understood that the restoration and management of artworks cost money. I told her to use the funds without hesitation. Village Five would bear the maintenance costs for the building itself.
That didn't mean she could treat the place roughly, though.
As for personnel costs, I told her she could decide them at her own discretion, though we would be conducting audits. It would be a problem if the pay was either too high or too low. If managing that was too much of a hassle, she could leave the payroll to Village Five's administration. I already had Yoko's permission on that front.
Regarding the protection of artists, I told her to leave that to the village. In fact, we had begun providing support not just to artists, but to experts in various fields. If you cast people aside just because their work isn't immediately profitable, culture never has a chance to grow.
"Hmm?"
She told me that if I had been born during the peak of the Devil Race, she would have done everything in her power to make me King.
Err, I decided to take that as a compliment.
I also told her she didn't need to mention ways to defeat Gucci or anything like that. That sounded like the kind of thing I really shouldn't be hearing. Gucci had agreed to her working here, after all. She needed to be grateful to him too.
Then there was the important matter of the name. I told her I wanted to call this new facility the Prada Art Museum. I asked if it was okay to use her name. The name "Village Five Art Museum" would continue to refer to the original one.
We weren't going to tear the old one down. Even if it wasn't ideal for exhibiting art, it had become a local landmark. We planned to strengthen the soundproofing equipment. However, since the old storehouse couldn't be expanded, it would share the storage space at the Prada Art Museum.
In terms of hierarchy, the Village Five Art Museum would be treated as an annex to the Prada Art Museum. I asked Prada to take the lead in planning the exhibitions for the old museum as well.
When I asked if I could count on her, she gave me an enthusiastic response.
Prada immediately set about gathering staff and began contacting her old friends.
...
"Wait, what?"
I was surprised to learn that there were still "free" Ancient Devils around. Apparently, just because they were Ancient Devils didn't mean every single one of them had served a Dragon.
I-I see. Beton-san hadn't served a Dragon either. So there were indeed independent Ancient Devils. In other words, this museum was going to become a gathering place for people like that.
"It is fine. I shall manage them. I will not allow them to cause any trouble."
"I-I see. Right, I'll leave it to you."
The Prada Art Museum was finished, but the grand opening was still a long way off. There were almost no exhibits yet. It wasn't at a stage where we could charge people to see it.
Then, I received word that the items we won at the auction had been delivered to the Prada Art Museum.
Yor went to check on them with visible delight.
I felt a bit bad for Arako the Arachne, who was acting as Yor's proxy at her usual post, so I decided I should give her a reward soon. Maybe a Potato Dish? I'd have to ask her what she wanted.
I also traveled to Village Five to inspect the items, bringing Bell and an escort with me. We were in the middle of repairing the airship, but we had to deal with the Kingdom Warrior Jupiter components among the auction lot.
"I believe it would have been fine to leave this to Yor, wouldn't it?" Bell asked.
"Yor is obsessed with the Sun Castle Armaments, remember? She'd probably say she doesn't care about Kingdom Warriors or whatever."
I had also reached out to Futa, Hii, Roku, and Nana in Village Five, but they all said they were content to leave the matter to Bell.
"Honestly... very well. I shall accompany you."
The Prada Art Museum was close to the Western Confectionery Shop Fairy Fairi, but I made sure to travel by carriage from Yoko's Mansion. If I suddenly emerged from the confectionery shop's staff entrance, it would startle people.
I planned to buy some cake on the way back, but first, I had to see the auction items.
...
There were quite a lot of them. They were lined up across the spacious exhibition preparation room, filling the area. I hadn't thought it would be this much when I looked at the inventory list.
The larger items stood out; those were likely the ones related to the Sun Castle Armaments.
"There are also Kingdom Warrior related items. Ah, this one here is the Maintenance Tank Aeplee mentioned."
It looked like a giant cylinder thrust into a heavy base.
"Since this one is broken, it will not operate, but it should be possible to attempt repairs. At worst, we can use it for parts."
"I see. Is there something like this in Village Four as well?"
"The Fougma Maintenance Tanks are specially made, so their design is different. They are far superior in performance to this one."
"I-I see."
"Even with those high-performance tanks, the reason it is taking so much time is due to the state of the remaining members..."
"Hahaha, there's no need to rush."
"My apologies."
"So... where is Yor?"
"She is inside that weapon over there."
"Inside a weapon?"
"It is a model that one must enter and operate manually from the inside during an attack."
"Heh."
I had an image of Village Four's armaments being operated from the throne, but I guess it varied.
"By making it manual, it also serves as a safety device."
"What about accidental firing if it's manual?"
"According to the records, there have been none."
...
"If it is not in the records, then it did not happen."
"O-oh."
I felt a strange darkness behind those words. I decided it was best not to pry.
"The Charging Machine is broken! It was connected to a Magic Stone circuit that absolutely does not fit the specifications! I will not forgive this!"
Yor emerged from inside the weapon, shouting in a rage. Apparently, she hadn't been allowed to touch the items while they were on display at the auction. She must have only discovered the damage just now.
"I will curse the one who handled it so sloppily! The Curse Attack of the one known as the Treasure of the Royal Guardian Mercury! Taste my wrath!"
"Ah—calm down. That was a long time ago, right? The person is probably dead by now."
"There is a possibility their descendants are alive. They should lament the misfortune of having a foolish ancestor!"
"Now, now, the descendants have nothing to do with it. Don't do something so petty."
As I began to panic, Bell stepped in to stop her.
"Village Head. Please rest assured."
"What are you going to do?"
"This. Curse Reflection!"
"Gyaaah!"
Yor suddenly stubbed her pinky toe and began writhing in agony.
"The curses Yor is capable of are only of this level."
"I-I see."
By the way, if she could reflect the curse, that meant...
"She was releasing the curse in all directions, so I simply reflected it back. I was not the one who broke her concentration."
"I see."
"However, if you were to ask whether I myself have ever handled armaments carelessly in the past, I will not deny it."
"I-I see..."
I decided it was time to change the subject.
"So, Yor was actually called the Treasure of the Royal Guardian?"
"Supposedly."
"I see."
That "Treasure" was currently rolling around on the floor due to the intense pain. I wondered if she was going to be okay.
"She will be fine. Now then, let us proceed with the inspection."
"Yeah, let's get to it."
Together with Bell, I began checking and sorting through the won items.