One-Eyed Monster

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Undercurrents Stirring

Phil swallowed hard, feeling like his heart was about to plummet to the floor.

This was already the third store they had visited in the Dusk Market, and still, the gemstone’s color was impure.

The appraiser at the gemstone shop tapped at the stone with a small hammer, squinted as he held a magnifying glass to it, examining it from different angles, and sometimes even dripped various colored solutions onto it.

Phil had no interest in these appraisal processes of examining sound, identifying color, and verifying quality. He anxiously awaited the results from the fourth appraisal shop.

Estev, on the other hand, seemed very relaxed, casually crossing his legs and smoking, seemingly unconcerned by the results from the previous three shops.

The shopkeeper removed his glasses, packed away his various solutions, wiped his hands with a towel, and walked unhurriedly toward Estev.

At this moment, Phil felt his heart pounding, as if it were about to burst from his chest!

”Deputy Court Chief, Mr. Phil,” the shopkeeper bowed politely, ”I can only estimate this stone at 25 gold bars, considering its impurity.”

Twenty-five gold bars... Phil’s heart felt as if it had turned to glass and shattered on the floor!

The estimates were getting lower and lower... The color was impure. It seemed the four gemstone appraisal shops had given vague reasons to save Estev’s face. In other words, none of them dared to tell Estev outright that the stone was a fake.

”Oh, thank you for your trouble, Shopkeeper Ross,” Estev said, slowly blowing out a ring of smoke. He then turned to Phil, who was utterly dumbfounded. ”Shall we try another shop for old Rostellum?”

A cold sweat trickled down Phil’s back. He didn’t know whether to agree or not. Technically, his mission in Liuli City was to verify the stone’s authenticity. Now that the four shops had given their opinions, he should consider the task completed. However, if he returned like this, Elder Rostellum would be furious and might accuse him of incompetence. After all, Elder Rostellum had high expectations for the two stones, and Lord Uli had emphasized this to him multiple times...

”Phil,” Estev said, oblivious to Phil’s inner turmoil, ”let’s try one more shop.” He made the decision for the poor fellow!

”As you wish, Your Lordship!” Phil wiped the sweat from his forehead and nervously followed Estev out.

”I’m a man who believes in luck,” Estev said, fiddling with the two stones. ”My lucky number is five. I refuse to believe the fifth appraisal shop will give us the same result.”

”Yes, yes, yes, yes, as you wish, Your Lordship!”

Shortly after, the duo arrived at a gemstone appraisal shop in the Dusk Market. This shop primarily dealt with wizard-related items. Its shopkeeper, a man with a beard, was at the counter, writing in a ledger.

Estev pushed open the door and entered. ”Ah, Shopkeeper Capon, I didn’t expect my lucky number to bring me to your fine establishment.”

”Well, well! What auspicious wind blew you here today, Deputy Court Chief?” Shopkeeper Capon looked up, and upon seeing Estev, his face lit up with eagerness.

”Oh, just these two little things,” Estev said, placing the two ”Rain Crystal Stones” on Capon’s counter.

”My, the Deputy Court Chief always brings in quality items! My humble shop today is...”

”Don’t rush to conclusions. Examine them first,” Estev said, raising a hand to cut off the shopkeeper’s flattery.

”Of course, of course!” Capon took a magnifying glass from his pocket, squinted, and began to turn the stone over in his hand, examining it.

A wild horse seemed to be stampeding through Phil’s mind...

”Er, Deputy Court Chief,” Capon said after only a cursory examination, ”I’d be willing to take these two stones for 50 gold bars each!”

”Have you looked closely? Is the color pure?” Phil blurted out before Estev could speak.

”Heh, to be frank, I just acquired two stones of the same pattern, also at this price,” Capon said, pulling out two stones from a box behind him.

Indeed, the luster, size, and color of those two stones were very similar to Phil’s.

”Interesting. My luck truly isn’t bad,” Estev remarked, beginning to smoke his pipe again.

Phil was once again as dumbstruck as a wooden plank!

”If there are no objections, I’ll prepare the payment slip,” Capon said, glancing from the leisurely Estev to the stunned Phil.

”Hold on. My young friend here might have some reservations about your generosity,” Estev said, puffing out clouds of smoke and interrupting Capon once more.

”Reservations? My friend, to be frank, the color of these two stones is indeed impure. You might not get such a high price in other shops, but I’m different. I have a buyer lined up, so I won’t take a loss,” Capon rattled on to the wooden Phil.

”An out-of-town ’rat’?” Estev inquired, his interest piqued.

”Er, Your Lordship, to be honest, this buyer isn’t one of those ’rats’. They are, however, an outsider. Judging by their attire, they appear to be from the upper class.”

Interesting. Why would an upper-class outsider buy two fake stones? Estev seemed to be pondering something else.

”Well, Your Lordship, I wouldn’t know about such things. However, this person doesn’t just buy any fake, you see.” Capon brought the stones closer to Estev, positioning a magnifying glass. ”These stones all have a similar pattern in the center, with an identical mark. It looks like a workshop’s insignia.”

Estev leaned in for a closer look. Indeed, each stone bore an identical mark. It resembled a number, yet on closer inspection, it also looked like a surname.

”It seems our Crows’ intelligence isn’t very reliable,” Estev said, extinguishing his pipe, his expression somewhat grave. ”Who brought in the other two stones?” he asked.

”A witch, Your Lordship.”

”Hm, interesting.” Estev turned to the still wooden Phil. ”It seems your two stones were also handed over by a witch, weren’t they?”

”Ah, yes, yes, yes, yes...” Phil finally snapped out of it. He suddenly realized things were becoming rather complicated.

”It seems that witch wasn’t entirely honest,” Estev said, rubbing his hands together.

”Your Lordship, what are you...” An inexplicable pressure washed over Phil. He instinctively activated his Environment Sensing Skills and suddenly realized that Estev had already activated his own, preparing for a fight.

”Haven’t you noticed a few fellows tailing us all day?” Estev glanced sideways at Phil. ”They seem to be a few Crows who know some combat, but they’re no real threat.”

”Your Lordship, I run a small business here!” Capon blurted out, the tension in the air palpable.

”Relax, Capon. Those fellows pose no threat to me. Two are down, and the one who could actually fight ran off.” Estev relit his pipe. The brief rubbing of his hands moments ago had apparently dealt with the Crows outside.

Phil rushed out without a word. Moments later, he returned to Capon’s shop, dragging two men, each clutching their chests.

”Speak. Why were you tailing us? Was it because of these fake stones?” Estev took a puff from his pipe, asking languidly.

”COUGH, COUGH! Spare us, Your Lordship, spare us! We were just hired to do a job!” The two captured Crows were clearly not the resilient type; they started spilling everything before any punishment was even mentioned.

”Interesting.” Estev chuckled, a hint of menace in his tone. ”Capon, use your Mail Bird to contact the Court of Guards. I’m taking these two to reunite with their companions.”