Assassin's Chronicle - Chapter 218

Chapter 218

Chapter 218: Helper

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"What do you mean?" Urter asked, his expression dark .

"I'm sorry, sir, but my shop is not open for business right now," the merchant said . His voice was shaking, but he was determined .

Urter glared at the man . It was embarrassing to be blocked by a merchant in the middle of the town . If he was alone, he would have just admitted defeat . Now, however, he had other people with him . The merchant was just about to tell him the price of the ring, and this sudden shift in attitude meant that he was hiding something .

"Sir, this isn’t the only shop that sells dimensional rings," a man in the crowd stepped forward and said . "If you don’t mind, please, feel free to come to my shop and take a look . "

Anfey glanced at the man who had just spoken . He was young, perhaps in his twenties . He was wearing a finely made white robe, which made the youth look more handsome than he would have in simple shirts . His expression was calm, but his eyes were filled with joy . Anfey did not know if the man was happy because he was able to catch someone’s attention, or because he was able to steal business from his competition .

Urter sighed and glared at the merchant again before turning to the youth . "Where’s your shop?" he asked .

"Not far," the young man said, pointing to his left . "Just down the street . "

"My lord, do you want to go look there?" Urter asked Anfey . He was worried that Anfey would rush into yet another decision without thinking it through . He knew the merchant was hiding something, but he was the owner and he had the right to do what he wanted . As long as there was another solution, there was no need to force the merchant to do anything . Anfey was the new city lord, and Urter was the sheriff . They had plenty of time to investigate what the merchant was trying to hide .

"Alright," Anfey said . He turned and followed the young man and Urter .

Anfey, however, was not trying to pressure the merchant into doing anything . He had remained quiet and allowed Urter to do the negotiation . He was the new city lord, and it was not a good idea for him to have petty arguments . The appearance of the young man was exactly what Anfey had wanted and needed .

After a few minutes, they arrived at the young man’s shop . The young man hurried over to open the door for his customers . The crowds, instead of dispersing, followed the group to the young man’s shop .

Anfey frowned . He turned to Urter and said, "Tell them to leave us alone . "

Urter nodded and turned around . "Everyone," he called loudly . "Go home now, please . It is distracting for Lord Anfey with all of you out here . "

Hearing Urter’s order, the crowd slowly began the thin . Most people looked eager to tell others the story they had just witnessed .

"That man has no professionalism to speak of," the young man said, shaking his head . "You may not know, my lord, but he works for the Marquis . He must have received instructions from the Marquis not to sell you anything . "

"I see," Urter said, nodding . He was just going to buy the cheapest dimensional ring, but Black Eleven thought that a cheap ring had no real value and would be a waste of money . The two had just compromised when Shamash had surrounded them and accused Urter of accepting bribe . Urter’s men attacked Shamash for insulting their superior, and Shamash, who was intentionally angering them, did not back down . Now that Urter had the time to think back on it, he realized it must have been the merchant who alerted Marquis Djoser .

"What do you want, my lords?" the young man asked . He waved his servant away and began leading Urter and Anfey around the shop .

"He wants a dimensional ring," Anfey said, pointing at Urter .

"Dimensional ring?" The young man frowned, then nodded . "Please, come with me . " He walked over to a display case full of rings, but did not reach into the case . He waved his hand, and a small hole appeared on the wall . The young man reached into the hole and retrieved a box made of antimagic crystal . He held out the box for his two customers to see .

Urter hurried to look at the ring . Ever since he had become a sheriff, he had adhered to the rules and laws, because he did not want people to see him as a corrupt and ineffective man . He did not take bribes, and his pay could barely cover his living expenses . Even though Anfey gave him a large sum of money, he did not want to spend all of it .

A black, dull ring lay in the box . Next to the ring was a magic scroll . Urter did not know what the material was, but he relaxed visibly . If the young man wanted to bribe him or get in his good graces, he would present them with a more extravagant ring . A ring as plain as this one must not be expensive .

"How much is it?" Urter asked .

"Ten gold coins," the young man said .

"Alright," Urter said . "I’ll take it . " At the last shop, the owner had asked for twenty-five coins . The price the young man gave was reasonable . Urter knew that cheap things tended to be of lesser quality, and this ring may not have as much storage space, but he was satisfied .

"Ten gold coins?" Anfey asked . Unlike Urter, he was able to sense the magic surge of the ring . He knew very well how powerful the ring must be .

"Yes, my lord," the young man said . "I bought this ring for seven coins . I’m making a three coins profit here . "

"I like this one," Urter said . He glanced at the display case, and saw that some of the rings were selling for more than two thousand gold coins . A ring as inexpensive as this one was rare .

"If you like it…" Anfey’s voice trailed off, then shook his head .

Urter took the ring out of the box and inspected it . The young man picked up the magic scroll and said, "My lord, please . Put on the ring, then activate the scroll . You don’t have to be able to use magic to activate this scroll . "

"I see," Urter said . He took the scroll and activated it . As soon as the scroll was activated, light burst from the paper and enveloped Urter .

Anfey frowned . "It wasn’t this dramatic when I got my ring," he commented .

"You didn’t use a scroll?" the young man asked, frowning . All dimensional rings come with a magic scroll . It was used to activate the ring and to leave the mark of the owner on the ring .

"I just put it on," Anfey said .

"You are a student of Archmage Saul, my lord," the young man said, smiling . "You wouldn’t need a scroll . "

The light dispersed, showing Urter standing there in shock .

"Urter?" Anfey called .

Urter frowned and turned to the young man . "You’re selling this for ten coins?" he asked . He could not use magic, but he had common sense . The price of the ring was proportional to the storage space of the ring . Now that he could sense the ring, he knew a ring like this was worth far more than ten gold coins .

"Yes," the young man said . "Like I’ve just said, my lord, I bought the ring for seven gold coins . I'm only making two coins . "

Urter frowned . The way the young man tried to bribe him was very clever . He could pretend he bought a cheap dimensional ring, and forget about this encounter . However, Urter could not ignore the fact that the young man sold him something expensive at a cheap price . He was a sheriff, and he could not take advantage of the people he was trying protect . If this continued, something would go wrong sooner or later . He wanted to return the ring, but something like dimensional rings could not be returned . He had already marked the ring, and it would be worthless to other people .

"Come on, Urter," Anfey said . "Let’s go visit Aroben . " For Anfey, this was normal . If someone was trying to befriend him, he would be friendly with them . He was about to become the new city lord, and he needed helpers .

Urter shook his head and turned to follow Anfey . Before he could take another step, he stumbled and almost fell . The young man reach over and helped him steady himself . "Be careful, my lord," he said . "Everyone’s like this when they first get a ring . A few days of rest should fix it . "

"What?" Anfey asked .

"Dimensional rings require magic . Lord Sheriff here doesn’t have magic, and part of his life force was used to activate it . Don’t worry . A few days of rest is what you need to recover . "

"He’s right," Suzanna said . "The more storage space, the more magic the ring will need . "

Anfey glanced at his own ring, and recalled Saul’s exhaustion with a frown .