Chapter 678

The original tables and chairs in the conference room had already been cleared. Now there were folding chairs with red cushions placed in the room, and in front of the wall where the terrace was located was a mahogany high platform, on which a table was placed. This was for the auctioneer to use later.

And those auction items were all placed around the room. The Luo De cards Xia De was interested in were placed near the door, obviously not the protagonist.

"Let me see."

He stopped in front of the glass counter, looked at the cards on the red velvet lining, and then revealed a smile:

"Special card of the Wang Hou suit, really interesting."

【History of the Development of the New Continent: Wind of Development】, Wang Hou suit. (Note)

Draw this card, randomly choose a card from the remaining deck to draw. If it is the Sun suit, then 【History of the Development of the New Continent: Wind of Development】 is regarded as a King. The effect of the drawn card is invalid and discarded, not re-added to the deck, regarded as a card that has been drawn normally.

"The Wang Hou suit itself is only smaller than the King and 21 points, the significance of the Wang Hou becoming a King is not great."

Unlike other special rule Luo De cards, there was a line of small print written in Delarion and Karsenrik respectively under the rules:

【Commemorating the geographical discovery of the New Continent, this is a turning point in civilization, may the wind of development blow across the world.】

The "History of the Development of the New Continent" series of cards was issued about half a century ago, and then the special cards would be different every 5 years, so it was also called "History of the Development of the New Continent I," "History of the Development of the New Continent II," etc. The production of the series of cards was to commemorate the discovery of the New Continent. The first fifteen special cards were not sold, but sent to the fleet that discovered the New Continent many years ago.

And the Wang Hou suit Xia De saw now, because of its commemorative significance, the normal selling price must exceed 80 pounds. Because it was a charity auction, most of the starting prices of the auction items were premium, and the current starting price was 85 pounds and 12 shillings, but obviously, even if the final price broke through three digits, it was possible.

"Really not bad."

Xia De looked at the silhouette of ships coming and going in Dagon Port, a famous port in the New Continent, on the card, and narrowed his eyes slightly. He had always been frugal, and except for things related to Ringed Shushi, he had never spent more than 100 pounds at one time. But this card looked really tempting...

【Then do you want to buy it? Indulge occasionally?】

The whispering sound in his ears sounded, and her tone was very gentle.

"No."

At least three seconds passed before Xia De shook his head firmly:

"Must restrain my desires. Even though I have a lot of deposits recently because of the difference engine documents in the spy case, the future expenses are still very large, so I can't spend money randomly."

Although he said so, he still looked down at the card.

【Is this considered asceticism?】

"No, it's just a plan for the future. And look, when have you seen me spend money on pleasure? Oh, spending on Mia doesn't count, that's a remittance from Miss Gao De."

He looked at the card again and then turned to leave. But he did not leave the room, but continued to stay here, wanting to see what the final transaction price would be.

There were fifteen minutes before the auction here started, and a small number of people had already taken their seats on those folding chairs, and Xia De had already paced to the easels in the southeast corner of the room. Under the light of the landing gas desk lamp specially set up, these artworks looked quite good.

These were not antique paintings, but donated by local small-name painters. The starting price of each was 10 pounds. As for whether it was worth this price, only the buyer knew.

Xia De stopped in front of the easel and saw that these oil paintings were all themes of heroic epics and mythology. The three paintings closest to him were "Brave Slays Demon," "Girl Holding Fire," and "Phoenix in the Sky."

All three paintings used large areas of red as the background color, but the first one was dark red, the second was red and black, and the third was bright red.

"How does it look?"

A voice came from his ear. Xia De turned his head slightly and saw a short, thin man wearing a red beret and two small mustaches.

"The epic feeling is depicted very well, but I don't quite understand, what is the meaning of this one?"

The oil painting in the middle was "Girl Holding Fire." A little girl with gray hair and white robes was sitting barefoot by the bonfire, closing her eyes and tilting her head, holding a slender flame in her burned hands. The background was a very abstract red and black scene, and Xia De could not see the meaning of this painting.

"This is a story I heard from my folklore professor friend, Primordial Fire. That is the legendary flame, the first flame 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 hugged his chest with his right hand and touched his chin with his left hand.

"Sir, are you the painter who created this painting?"

Xia De asked, and the latter nodded while controlling his proud expression:

"Yes, so I specifically came to see who the final person to appreciate my artistic attainments would be."

"But according to the local people's statement, the local Fire Worship tradition is related to the Phoenix. Is this legend of 'Primordial Fire' also related to fire worship?"

Xia De basically confirmed that the "Primordial Fire" the other party heard about should be the flame in Sister Daifulin's hand.

"No, no, the Phoenix legend is the origin of local customs, and Primordial Fire is an ancient myth circulating throughout the world."

The painter talked eloquently:

"I have also traveled all over the Old Continent because of collecting wind, and heard many interesting stories. In those areas with the tradition of worshiping fire, most can hear ancient myths related to 'Primordial Fire.' Midhillburg is hard to hear such stories. The custom of worshiping the Phoenix suppressed the 'Primordial Fire' myth. This should be considered folklore defeating mythology."

Xia De nodded, his eyes fixed on the slender flame in the little girl's hand in the oil painting. If "Primordial Fire" was really the so-called first flame, then this relic could also be considered an item from the First Era.

In the end, 【History of the Development of the New Continent: Wind of Development】, which Xia De took a fancy to, was bought by a Karsenrik merchant for a sky-high price of 132 pounds, which completely made Xia De give up.

The auction ended, and he thought about going to find the Luo De card venue to play cards with local players. But just after coming to the first floor from the second floor of the castle, he was called away by Miss Aurora's maid.

It was still the lounge he met a few hours ago, and both witches were there. Seeing Xia De walk in, they signaled him to sit down and talk:

"People from the Truth Society appeared here?"

The old witch said as soon as she opened her mouth.

"Um? Oh, it was discovered by the church, right?"

Xia De was not surprised at all.

"Yes, but this is not important. Let the Zhengshen Sect handle this kind of thing."

Miss Aurora said:

"I asked you to come because of another matter. About twenty minutes ago, someone bought an antique at a high price in Auction Hall No. 1."

Grandma Cassandra handed Xia De a black and white photo. It was actually a metal coffin, with patterns of branches and vines densely covered on the surface, and a silver cross in the center of the coffin lid.

"According to the information provided by the seller, this is an antique dug out from the north side of the Cameron Mountains in 1054 of the Common Era, in the location of the current Sete Principality. Now it is taken out for auction by that foreign antique dealer, with a starting price of 1200 pounds. Then, it was directly raised to 6000 pounds and bought."

"6000?"

Xia De was really surprised. He couldn't bear to buy Luo De cards for more than 100 pounds just now:

"Is there a problem with this transaction?"

"I checked all the antiques in the auction in advance, this is not a relic."

The old witch said very affirmatively:

"After that transaction was completed just now, I smelled a strange smell from that buyer. He doesn't seem to be human."

Miss Miss Jia Lin Na said that Grandma Cassandra was an expert in demons and exotic species, so it was normal for her to notice this.

"Miss Jia Lin Na said that you have a perception of relics that exceeds normal Ringed Shushi. Now the coffin has not been delivered yet, we hope you can go take a look."

Miss Aurora looked at Xia De:

"Although this has nothing to do with the Council, every abnormality in Midhillburg is worth noting. Especially items like coffins, the connection with death is too great."

"No problem, I'll go now. However, who is that buyer? Being able to take out 6000 pounds at one time, the identity should be very prominent, right? And this money should have been prepared in advance."

Xia De asked again.

"Not a local, he is a Viscount from Karsenrik. He is a distant relative of the Anjou family of the Karsenrik royal family, very distant. Famous for his own family's southern vineyards and red wine wineries, this time coming to Delarion is also for the red wine business."

Grandma Cassandra said.

Xia De nodded, and then suddenly looked up;

"Wait? Karsenrik person? Red wine? Is the name of that rich man who bought the coffin Armand Bernhardt?"

"Yes, Viscount Bernhardt."

Miss Aurora nodded in surprise:

"Detective, do you know him?"

"I..."

Just wanted to say he knew him, but thought that he pushed the red alien phenomenon that appeared in the sky when entering the Boundary to the vampires, and said he only saw it from afar and didn't know the name.

"After that, I should have met him once..."

So he thought of meeting the uncle and nephew at the Sikar Hotel, but that time involved the Gray-Headed Eagle.

So he immediately shook his head:

"Don't know, just mixed in the city, met this gentleman when helping people solve troubles."

"It seems you have had a fulfilling autumn locally."

Miss Aurora smiled:

"Miss Jia Lin Na also said you were very hard-working."

"Then I'll go see that coffin first, as for the matter of Bernhardt, we'll talk about it later."

He stood up, hesitated, and asked again:

"How is the reputation of Viscount Armand Bernhardt in Karsenrik?"

"A very good upper-class gentleman."

Miss Aurora said.

"I understand."

Xia De pushed the door and walked out. The conversation between the two witches was still continuing:

"I also met this Mr. Bernhardt in Karsenrik. He rented my ship to transport red wine to the New Continent. This is also a poor man. His parents died early. Although he inherited the title, there are not many people around him who can be trusted. It is said that he was married, but his wife died very early."

"Are there no other people in the Bernhardt family?"

Grandma Cassandra asked curiously. The young witch with curly hair recalled:

"The Bernhardt family has never been prosperous. In modern times, except for two uncles and a niece who has not yet reached adulthood, Armand Bernhardt has no other relatives of the same surname at all."