Chapter 1604

The table against the wall was not placed truly against the edge, so people could sit on all four sides. The lunch for the professor's trio had not yet been served, and they only began to converse after Xia De had also ordered his own lunch.

"I really didn't expect, Mr. Watson, that it would be such a coincidence to meet you again."

Professor Boulanger appeared very enthusiastic, while the two young men who looked like students were a bit more wooden:

"After meeting you last time, I added the natural and human environment of the Pantanal region you described to my next paper. Once the negotiations between the two countries conclude, I am thinking of going to Pantanal for further investigation; that place must have many mineral deposits."

"Then I wish you success, Professor."

Xia De said, raising his water glass; he quite liked dealing with scholars of this type:

"For so many years, I haven't heard of anyone conducting any decent research in the Pantanal region. Recently, both countries have planned to develop the swamps, and those areas that were previously forbidden to enter are now allowed, which is why this opportunity has arisen. Professor, seize this opportunity, and you will surely become famous."

"Academic research isn't about coveting fame, but if it can bring fame, that's certainly not bad either."

The professor said modestly, and then discussed the local weather conditions with Xia De for a while. This spring, there had only been one light rain in the Green Lake area, and Professor Boulanger believed that starting next week, it would probably rain continuously.

Once the drinks and food were served, Xia De finally asked:

"Professor, are you looking for someone by seeking out that Rotten-Eye Barry? I've been investigating some interesting matters recently, and if I can get results, my next book will be a detective novel."

"Like the 'Hamilton Detective Story Collection'? Then you must send me a copy; I really like detective stories. However, I'm not looking for people; I am conducting a geological survey. On the Kassenrick side, I have documents issued by the Academy, and as long as I take them out, no one will stop me anywhere. But on the Delarion side, there are some private territories that don't allow us to enter. I spent a great deal of effort asking around before I found out that Rotten-Eye Barry actually owns a large piece of land of his own along the lake. He agreed to let me enter to collect some soil samples, but that man is truly vulgar."

Professor Boulanger said with some dissatisfaction, and it was unknown what kind of difficulties he had just encountered:

"Mr. Watson, judging by what you said just now, are you on good terms with Rotten-Eye Barry?"

"No, no, I don't know such a person. It's my friend, an Army Captain. You know, no matter how powerful a local figure is, they wouldn't dare to oppose military officers, especially since this is a border region."

Xia De said, and Professor Boulanger nodded in deep agreement:

"That is very true. Since that's the case, actually, it's a bit embarrassing to say..."

He laughed awkwardly:

"If it's convenient, could you help me get an introduction to your military officer friend? During this time on the north shore of Green Lake within Delarion territory, I have also felt some danger. If your military officer friend could introduce a few bodyguards who could travel with us temporarily, that would be even better."

What he meant was to find people to protect them at specific times, which was very normal in military camps in border regions; after all, soldiers also need to eat.

"Of course, I'll take you over in a while. Captain Lades is the Deputy Battalion Commander of the camp, and he should have men under him willing to take on such errands. Speaking of which, I also have something I'd like your help with."

Xia De said, taking out the fountain pen he had found near the water ghoul nest. He didn't know who the original owner of the pen was, but based on the knowledge about fountain pens he had learned from Dorothea, he at least knew this pen was definitely not cheap:

"Professor, have you seen this pen and this name before? Perhaps this is related to the person I am currently looking for."

Professor Boulanger took the pen and asked the student beside him:

"It looks somewhat familiar. Kirk, is this the kind of pen you use?"

The thin, tall young man adjusted his glasses:

"Professor, this isn't the kind I use. This is a custom fountain pen from the Spencer Company, which was only sold once in Wilendale City three years ago. The price was not cheap at all; it's a pity it's rusted like this."

"The name is... Drout Gilles?"

Professor Boulanger returned the pen and frowned, thinking for a moment:

"I seem to have heard this name, but I'm not sure; this name has no special characteristics. Oh, I'll write a letter back to Wilendale and have my colleagues help check. Someone who uses this kind of fountain pen must be a scholar; if they are very famous, it should be searchable."

"Then I am very grateful to you, Professor."

Xia De said with a smile.

During lunch, the two talked continuously; the professor of geology and folklore was knowledgeable, and the outsider who had been to many places could also express unique insights. As for the professor's two students, they only communicated with each other through their eyes, clearly not very accustomed to eating with their teacher.

By the time they were almost finished with lunch, a traveling merchant wearing a red scarf around his neck and a brown scarf wrapped around his head came into the tavern. He claimed that he had a special rule Luo De card in his hand that hadn't been appraised and whose authenticity was unknown, and he wanted to gamble with people in the tavern.

This kind of gambling game required betting not only on who would win but also on whether the merchant's card was genuine.

So, Xia De, who was interested, got up to join the fun, asking Professor Boulanger to wait for him for a moment so they could go see Captain Lades together later.

There were quite a few people in the tavern who were also interested in this, but most were worried it was a scam. Furthermore, most people couldn't come up with the 5-pound stake the merchant mentioned, so in the end, there were only three people, including Xia De, who saw the card at the tavern counter.

The rules of the card were very special, different from all the special cards Xia De had seen:

"This is... 【Dove of Peace · Kansas Mountain Talks】, Suit Stars 13. With the consent of all players, this round is a draw."

On the card face, two hands were clasped together, with a distant view of Kansas Mountain in the background.

The "Dove of Peace" series of decks included negotiations and meetings that played a pivotal role in world peace and the progress of civilization. This series of cards was very special because the rule for all special cards was "if all players agree, this round is a draw," which also expressed the original intention of the Prophet Association when they created this deck.

The series was released about thirty years ago and had never been reprinted to date. Although very rare, because the rules of the special cards were truly difficult to realize, the auction and sale prices of the special cards in this series were generally lower than other series of the same period when they were first released.

Of course, because the Prophet Association had begun reprinting past cards in recent years, the price of the "Dove of Peace," which had never been reprinted, had instead gradually approached or even exceeded other decks of the same era.

Seeing that it was this card, after some hesitation, the well-dressed old gentleman among the three gave up the competition, so one person had to be chosen between Xia De and another gentleman who was wearing glasses and looked refined to gamble with the merchant.

The two checked the card together, and "She" reminded Xia De softly that the card was highly likely to be genuine based on the details and texture.

After the two had checked, the merchant said:

"Please give the amount of your stake to gamble with me; the base price is the 5 pounds we agreed upon earlier. I will gamble with the person who bids higher."

"You really know how to do business."

Xia De said, taking out his notebook and writing down a number. The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and said to Xia De:

"I'll give up too; you play cards with him. I won't let such a profiteer take advantage of me."

"You're right; I don't want to let a profiteer take advantage of me either."

Xia De showed the number he had written in his notebook—5 pounds. The merchant smiled and shook his head:

"I'm not taking advantage of you; I spent quite a bit of money to get this card. Sir, we'll decide the winner in one round. How about the most basic rules? If it's a draw, I take the money and you take the card."

"Of course, that's fine."

Xia De took out his spare deck, which had no special cards at all, and under the gaze of the old gentleman and the middle-aged man who hadn't left, he and the merchant each drew two cards and displayed the second one.

Xia De lifted the first hidden card to take a look, raised an eyebrow, and then flipped over his hole card:

"I'll stand."

Moon 10 and Stars 9, totaling 19 points.

The merchant used his second card to lift the first one, moved the cards apart a little bit in front of his eyes, and then smiled, holding one card in each hand to show Xia De:

"Stars 9, Sun 9. You shouldn't have opened your cards directly; otherwise, I would have had to hesitate about whether to continue drawing."

"Playing cards is about the fun; being too obsessed with winning or losing is meaningless."

Because the loss wouldn't be great even if he lost, the outsider, who had been becoming increasingly wealthy recently, leaned against the counter and said very relaxedly. The old man and the middle-aged man both expressed agreement.

So the merchant flipped over his third card, and after throwing it onto the table with an exaggerated motion, he made a sound of regret:

"Sun 13? Is this a joke?"

"Then this card belongs to me."

Stars 13 【Dove of Peace · Kansas Mountain Talks】 was not put into the merchant's own deck, but was placed in a position where everyone could see it. Xia De picked it up and inserted it into his own deck, then handed the 5 pounds used as the stake to the merchant:

"You also need to make money to eat; let's just call it a draw."

The merchant had been a bit annoyed, but now he was stunned. He had a mind to refuse for the sake of his dignity, but in the end, he took the money and said to Xia De:

"I won't take your money for nothing; take a look at my goods here and pick one out."

Subsequently, he said to the bartender who was watching the fun on the side:

"Please give me four ales; yes, four cups. I'm treating the three gentlemen here to a drink."

Although he didn't usually like drinking, Xia De did not refuse the other party's kindness. Once the bartender served the glasses one by one, he smiled, clinked glasses with the old man, the middle-aged man, and the merchant, and praised the Luo De cards.

Afterward, Xia De finally saw the merchant's goods.