Gerald McCobley was Lancaster's knight sentinel.
Unlike ordinary city captains, he reported directly to Castellan Corinth and reported directly to him. He didn't need to manage the city's security and other miscellaneous matters.
In terms of function, the City Watch Knight was closer to the mayor's bodyguard and the important nobles in the city.
Born into the McCobley family that served the mayor for generations, Gerald was taught to be loyal to the mayor from a young age.
And in fact, that was what he did.
At every moment, he would stand at the doorway of his room or a corner of the hall, using his eyes to observe anyone who approached the mayor, never letting his guard down against strangers.
Even now, he hadn't spared a single assassin who tried to assassinate Corinth.
Mayor Corinth was quite satisfied with Gerald's ability as well, and had even assigned him to Gwendolyn, the granddaughter whom he doted on the most and was also the most likely target of Corinth's political enemies in Lancaster.
That was when Gerald realized that there were many unusual people around Gwendolyn.
They called themselves Players, and although they were but ordinary civilians, they often entered the city lord's residence thanks to the tacit approval of the city lord. They would also come to ask Gwendolyn and her mother if there was anything they could help with.
Come on, Miss Gwendolyn was the young lady of Lancaster in every sense of the word, and the other noble children combined wouldn't be as important as her!
Even if Miss Gwendolyn wanted to eat specialty fruits from hundreds of miles away, her subordinates would probably buy them from their own pockets to curry favor with the future mayor.
Moreover, Mayor Corinth himself doted on Miss Gwendolyn and would always try his best to fulfill her every wish.
How could Miss Gwendolyn, who had such power, have the peasants help her with anything!
But there really was!
Perhaps because she had grown up in the city, Miss Gwendolyn longed for the outside world, which was why she always wanted to hear the stories of the outside world from the peasants who called themselves Players, occasionally entrusting them with games and toys that only the peasants would play.
After all, the girl was surrounded by people like Gerald who had lived in a noble household since young and had never left the city. Apart from having rich experience in combat and other aspects he was in charge of, he was not much better than the girl in other aspects.
It would have been fine if that was all the self-proclaimed Players did, but there was a fellow named Marni who kept trying to sell weird things to Miss Gwendolyn and Lady Gwendolyn.
It would have been fine if those things were genuine, but every single one of them sounded like they had a powerful background. It was not something that a traveling merchant could get his hands on!
Gerald felt that he couldn't keep silent when the merchant showed his face again. Even if it would embarrass his Lord, he had to expose the unscrupulous merchant's lies right there and then, so that his true face would be exposed in broad daylight!
"Look, this is the Grey Gorge Coral. It was found at the bottom of the Grey Gorge. It has a pretty good color and is definitely a first-class item! If you buy it now, it's only six Abby gold coins, which is about 72,000 Rions, which is about 150,000 RMB. "
Gerald couldn't help sneering as he watched the fellow named Marni trying to sell the basin-sized scarlet coral to Miss Gwendolyn's mother.
The Grey Gorge had been occupied by a group of bandits years ago, and the King had sent several small squads to suppress them, only to end up in failure.
Moreover, even if there were no bandits, the Gray Fjord Bay was famous for being a dangerous place. It was filled with sea monsters and magical creatures. If someone really had the ability to obtain such high-quality Scarlet Coral from that place, why would they come to a border city to sell it?
After all, even if Lancaster was known as a trade city, that was only in comparison to the few other cities in Tierra.
Wouldn't they be able to sell it for a higher price if they went to the Valla Imperial City or the Brilliant White Holy City, a bustling city in the truest sense of the word!
"And this is a craft of the wood elves. It's made from moonlight wood that only grows in the depths of the Trinia Forests. Not only is it beautiful, it would also attract the radiance of the silver moon at night, bathing you in its light and nourishing you, healing all illnesses and strengthening your body! It's a big sale now, only 20 Abby! "
Gerald snorted in disdain when Marni brought out the second item.
It had been a long time since the wood elves had appeared before humans, and most of those who had seen them had died to their arrows. The adventurers in the taverns outside who claimed to have seen them were just boasting.
Even the wood elves themselves were so rare, let alone their handicraft. Elven art was synonymous with class in the various countries of the continent. For most nobles, a single piece of wood elven art could be passed down as a family heirloom, so why would they sell it?
Moreover, Gerald had never heard of moonwood before, which meant that the fellow was probably spouting nonsense. Wasn't the last line about curing sickness and strengthening your body the most common line used by fake alchemists?
"The last item is this, my lady. You definitely haven't seen it before. It's a purple pearl born from a giant clam, personally picked by nonhumans from the Dark Tide Coast of the Western Continent! Such a perfect shape and size is a rarity in the world, a new treasure you've never seen before! It's only 45 Abby at the moment. What are you hesitating for?! "
Gerald finally couldn't hold back when he saw the pearl in Marni's hand that was bigger than an adult's fist.
"Shut up, you shameless bastard!"
He barked, exposing Marni's lies. "Giant clams are smaller gemstone shells, and the largest pearl we have at the moment is just a few grams. Yours is almost two to three catties! What nonhumans of the Western Continent? Do you think you're talking about knights? There's no need to listen to such ridiculous lies! "
"But this thing was really found in a giant clam." Marni said innocently.
"You're still being stubborn even now. The mayor's dignity is not something you can insult!" Gerald glared viciously at Marni. "Repent for your arrogance and greed in the dungeon!"
"Wait, you're accusing me just like that?" Marni looked at him with interest. "Or are you an expert appraiser who could tell at a glance that my item is fake?"
"Why would I need to appraise something so obvious? Don't tell me I have to appraise someone selling buns as Mithril on the streets! "
Gerald was about to call for the other soldiers to take the greedy merchant away when the noblewoman — Gwendolyn's mother — who had been silent all this while suddenly spoke up.
"Wait, Gerald," she said quietly. "I don't believe that Mister Marni would lie to me for no reason and send for Grandmaster Rad from the Celestial Tower. With his appraisal magic, he'll naturally know which side is at fault. "
"Understood." Although Gerald didn't think it was necessary, he still sent for the astrologer.
"Wait," Marni suddenly said after the guard left. "I'll go to the dungeon if it's fake. That's understandable, but what if it's real?"
Gerald didn't answer, and simply stared at Marni with a fake smile, clearly believing that such a thing would never happen.
"If your goods are real, Mister Marni, I would naturally buy them all," the noblewoman said loudly.
"No, ma 'am, you're mistaken about something." Marni shook his head. "I'm sure you understand that my goods are worth far more than that. I could sell them in a major city for double the price! The reason I sold them to you so cheaply is for prestige … hmm, to improve the reputation of my guild. But your subordinate's unwarranted suspicion has already caused a negative impact on my reputation! "
"If the final result of the appraisal is true, then please bet your faith and have a duel with my subordinate."
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Chapter 248:
We Players Never Sell Fakes
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