The original tables and chairs in the conference room had long been cleared away. Now, rows of folding chairs with red cushions were arranged throughout the room. In front of the wall where the terrace was located stood a mahogany platform topped with a table, which the auctioneer would use shortly.
The auction items were placed around the perimeter of the room. Among them, the Rhode cards that interested Shade were positioned near the entrance; clearly, they were not the main attraction.
"Let me see."
He stopped in front of a glass counter and looked at the cards resting on a red velvet cushion, a smile appearing on his face.
"A special card of the Queen suit. How interesting."
【History of the New World Exploration: Winds of Pioneering】, Queen suit. (Note)
*Upon drawing this card, randomly draw one card from the remaining deck. If it is of the Sun suit, 【History of the New World Exploration: Winds of Pioneering】 is treated as a King. The effect of the drawn card is nullified and it is discarded without being reshuffled into the deck, treated as a normally drawn card.*
"The Queen suit itself is only inferior to the King and a score of 21. There isn't much significance in a Queen becoming a King."
Unlike other Rhode cards with special rules, there was a line of small text beneath the rules written in both Delarion and Kasenrick
【Commemorating the Great Geographical Discovery of the New World; this is the turning point of civilization. May the winds of pioneering blow across the world.】
The "History of the New World Exploration" series of cards was issued about half a century ago and has been reprinted every five years since. However, the special cards differ with each reprint, leading them to be called "History of the New World Exploration I," "History of the New World Exploration II," and so on. The series was created to commemorate the discovery of the New World; the fifteen special cards of the first edition were not sold, but were instead gifted to the fleet that discovered the New World years ago.
Because of its commemorative value, the normal selling price of this Queen suit card would certainly exceed 80 pounds. Since this was a charity auction, most starting bids were inflated. The current starting price was listed at 85 pounds and 12 shillings, but it was obvious that the final price could easily break into triple digits.
"Quite nice."
Shade narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the silhouette of ships coming and going in the famous Port Dagon of the New World depicted on the card. He had always been frugal; aside from things related to Ring-Wizards, he had never spent more than 100 pounds at once. But this card looked truly tempting...
【So, will you buy it? A little indulgence for once?】
A whisper echoed in his ear, her tone gentle.
"No."
At least three seconds passed before Shade firmly shook his head.
"I must restrain my desires. Even though I have a lot of savings recently due to the Difference Engine blueprints from the spy case, my future expenses will still be huge. I cannot spend money recklessly."
Despite saying this, he continued to stare down at the card.
【Is this some kind of asceticism?】
"No, just planning for the future. And look, when have you ever seen me spend money on hedonistic pleasures? Oh, spending on Mia doesn't count; that's from Miss Gaude's remittances."
He glanced at the card one last time, then turned to leave. He didn't leave the room, however; he stayed to see what the final transaction price would be.
There were fifteen minutes left before the auction began. A few people had already taken seats in the folding chairs, while Shade strolled over to the easels in the southeast corner of the room. Under the light of the specially installed floor-standing gas lamps, these artworks looked quite impressive.
These were not antique paintings, but donations from locally renowned painters. The starting price for each was 10 pounds; as for whether they were worth that price, only the buyers would know.
Shade paused before the easels and saw that the oil paintings were themed around heroic epics and myths. The three closest to him were "The Brave Slaying the Demon," "The Maiden Holding the Fire," and "The Phoenix of the Horizon."
All three paintings used large areas of red as the background color, though the first was a dark red, the second was a mix of red and black, and the third was a striking crimson.
"How does it look?"
A voice sounded in his ear. Shade turned slightly to see a short, thin man wearing a red beret and sporting a small mustache.
"The sense of epic scale is depicted very well. But I don't quite understand—this one is the legend of a hero defeating a demon, and that one is related to the local Zoroastrian traditions, but what does the one in the middle mean?"
The middle oil painting was "The Maiden Holding the Fire." A little girl in a white robe with grayish-white hair sat barefoot by a bonfire, her eyes closed and head tilted, holding a slender flame in her burned hands. The background was a very abstract scene of red and black; Shade could not discern the meaning of the painting.
"This is a story I heard from a friend of mine, a professor of folklore. The Primal Fire. It is a legendary flame, the first spark after the birth of the world. The prosperity of the flame symbolizes the prosperity of the world. A very interesting story, isn't it?"
The man in the red hat crossed his right arm over his chest and rubbed his chin with his left hand.
"Sir, are you the painter who created this work?" Shade asked.
The man nodded, struggling to suppress a smug expression. "Yes, so I came specifically to see who would ultimately appreciate my artistic achievement."
"But according to the locals, the local fire-worshiping traditions are related to the Phoenix. Is this legend of the Primal Fire also related to fire worship?"
Shade was reasonably certain that the "Primal Fire" the man had heard of was the flame in Sister Devlin's hand.
"No, no. The Phoenix legend is the origin of local customs, whereas the Primal Fire is an ancient myth passed down throughout the entire world."
The painter spoke eloquently. "I have traveled across the Old Continent for inspiration and heard many interesting stories. In most regions with fire-worshiping traditions, one can hear ancient myths regarding the 'Primal Fire.' Conversely, it's quite hard to hear such stories in Midshillburg; the custom of worshiping the Phoenix has suppressed the 'Primal Fire' myth. This should be considered a case of folklore defeating mythology."
Shade nodded, his eyes fixed on the slender flame in the little girl's hand in the painting. If the "Primal Fire" truly was the so-called first spark, then that relic could be considered an object from the First Epoch.
Ultimately, the 【History of the New World Exploration: Winds of Pioneering】 that Shade had his eye on was bought by a Kasenrick merchant for the exorbitant price of 132 pounds, which completely killed Shade's hopes.
Once the auction ended, he thought about finding the Rhode card area to play a few games with the local players. But just as he descended from the second floor of the castle to the first, he was called away by Miss Aurora's maid.
He returned to the same lounge where they had met a few hours ago; both witches were present. Seeing Shade enter, they motioned for him to sit and speak.
"People from the Truth Society have appeared here?" the old witch began.
"Hmm? Oh, the Church discovered them, I assume?" Shade wasn't surprised at all.
"Yes, but that isn't important. Let the Church of the Orthodox Gods handle that," Miss Aurora said. "We called you here for another matter. About twenty minutes ago, someone in Auction Hall One paid a high price for an antique."
Grandmother Cassandra handed Shade a black-and-white photograph. It was actually a metal coffin, its surface covered in patterns of branches and vines, with a silver cross right in the center of the lid.
"According to the information provided by the seller, this is an antique excavated in the year 1054 of the Common Calendar from the north side of the Cameron Mountains, in the current location of the Duchy of Sette. It was put up for auction by that visiting antique dealer with a starting price of 1,200 pounds. Then, someone directly bid the price up to 6,000 pounds and bought it."
"6,000?"
Shade was genuinely shocked. He had just been reluctant to spend over 100 pounds on a Rhode card. "Is there something wrong with this transaction?"
"I inspected all the antiques at the auction beforehand; this is not a relic," the old witch said with certainty. "When that transaction was completed, I smelled a strange scent on the buyer. He doesn't seem to be human."
Galina had mentioned that Grandmother Cassandra was an expert in demons and xenos, so it was normal for her to notice this.
"Galina said you have a perception of relics that exceeds that of a normal Ring-Wizard. The coffin has not been delivered yet; we hope you can go take a look."
Miss Aurora looked at Shade. "Although this has nothing to do with the Council, every anomaly in Midshillburg is currently worth noting. Especially an object like a coffin—its connection to death is far too great."
"No problem, I'll go now. However, who is this buyer? To be able to shell out 6,000 pounds at once, his status must be very prominent. Moreover, he must have had this money prepared in advance," Shade asked.
"Not a local, but a Viscount from Kasenrick. He is a distant relative of the Anjou family of the Kasenrick royal house—very distant. He is famous for his family's southern vineyards and wineries. He came to Delarion this time for the wine business," Grandmother Cassandra explained.
Shade nodded, then suddenly looked up. "Wait? A Kasenrick citizen? Wine? Is the wealthy man who bought the coffin named Armand Beinheart?"
"Yes, Viscount Beinheart," Miss Aurora nodded in surprise. "Detective, do you know him?"
"I—"
He was about to say he knew him, but then he remembered that when he entered the Gap, he had attributed the crimson anomaly in the sky to vampires and claimed he had only seen it from afar and didn't know the name.
"After that, I believe I encountered him once..."
Then he remembered meeting the uncle and nephew at the Sicar Hotel, but that incident involved the Grey Hawk.
He immediately shook his head. "I don't know him. I just happened to run into the gentleman while hanging around the city helping people solve troubles."
"It seems you've had a very fulfilling autumn here," Miss Aurora smiled. "Galina even said you've been working very hard."
"Then I'll go check out that coffin first. As for the matter of Beinheart, we can discuss it later."
He stood up, hesitated, and then asked, "What is Viscount Armand Beinheart's reputation in Kasenrick?"
"A very respectable upper-class gentleman," Miss Aurora replied.
"I understand."
Shade pushed the door open and left, while the conversation between the two witches continued.
"I once encountered this Mr. Beinheart in Kasenrick; he rented my ship to transport wine to the New World. He is a pitiful man; his parents died young, and although he inherited the title, he has few people around him he can trust. I heard he was married, but his wife passed away long ago."
"Are there no other members of the Beinheart family?" the old witch asked curiously.
The curly-haired young witch recalled for a moment. "The Beinheart family has never been prosperous. In modern times, aside from two uncles and a niece who has not yet reached adulthood, Armand Beinheart seems to have no other relatives of the same surname."