However, as Xia De just walked into the hall, someone grabbed his wrist.
A tall and thin middle-aged man wearing black leather shoes stood almost face to face next to Shad. He was Mr. Cynthia Mark, the vice president of the Tobesk branch of the Prophet Association. But he really scared Shad.
"Mr. Hamilton, you are finally here."
Mr. Mark's voice is hoarse today.
"Am I late?"
Shade asked hesitantly.
Mr. Mark loosened his hand, giving Shad the opportunity to grab the pocket watch, but it was only half past nine in the morning.
"You're not late, I'm early."
"Mr. Mark, what time are you waiting for me here?"
Xia De could imagine this middle-aged gentleman, walking back and forth in front of the association with his hands behind his back, waiting for him.
"Nine o'clock. Mr. Hamilton, you don't understand how important today is to me."
As he said that, he led Xia De to the stairs leading to the second floor. A group of people standing at the stairs spontaneously made way for Mr. Mark and looked at Xia De curiously.
"Important to you?"
Xia De thought he had heard wrongly.
"If your Rhodes card is successfully identified, then the Tobesk branch will be the first branch in the past thirty years to identify the original Rhodes card series. We will completely overwhelm all associations including the Ryan Association and become the leader of this year... In short, this is also a very important thing for us."
It can be seen that the Prophet Association has really made great efforts to prepare. Today, the entire third floor of the association is not open to the public. Compared with the last time Shade came up, the carpet has been replaced with a brand new one, and the oil paintings hanging on the wall have been replaced with new antiques. The gas lamps hanging on the wall have been carefully wiped, and even the doorplates of each room have been replaced with brand new styles.
Xia De calculated the cost of such a renovation and found that it might be more than the compensation he received yesterday.
The association opened the main conference room on the third floor, which is only used for important agendas, as the venue for today's appraisal. The room was cleaned and renovated, and the interior was divided into two parts. One part was the work area of the gray-haired Rhodes brand appraisal masters who arrived early. Each of these old gentlemen looked like an old professor who walked out of the university district of Tobysk.
The other part was to let Shade rest and discuss some things with the Prophet Association.
The president of the Tobesk branch was still away today, so Vice President Mark received Shade. He introduced Mr. Lister Limo, who came from the headquarters of Ryan, the capital of the Principality of Lagsen in the central part of the United Kingdom of Carsenrick.
Mr. Limo is a middle-aged man with no hair and a big head, but taller than Shade. He is also the vice president, but he is the vice president of the entire Prophet Association.
Everyone sat down, and Shade took out his notebook and showed the Creation Silver Moon.
Mr. Limo and the gray-haired appraisers all showed expressions of amazement:
"It was amazing. Even after just one look, I felt like I was seeing a miracle."
Mr. Limo said something very exaggerated, and then called the secretary of the association to record the subsequent conversation. This was a very formal occasion, and the conversation needed to be recorded to form a report for filing.
For this matter, the Tobesk branch prepared three secretaries, two men and one woman. Shade felt that the older lady with short brown hair wearing the association uniform and the Ouroboros pendant looked familiar, and then he saw that it was Miss Anat, the three-ring female sorceress of the group.
"Putting on this uniform really changes my temperament."
He sighed in his heart.
The lady with beautiful purple eyes looked up and was also very shocked when she saw Xia De, even extremely shocked. Her reaction was not like seeing an acquaintance, but rather like seeing an evil god appear before her.
She sat on the chair behind the sofa where Mr. Limo sat, ready to take notes. So she could only control her expression and nod to Shade as a greeting, but it seemed that she had many things to ask.
"Come to think of it, Dr. Schneider, Miss Louisa, and Father Augustus all knew that I had this card, but I didn't tell Miss Annatte... But what did her look mean just now? Wasn't it too exaggerated?"
He thought to himself, put on the white gloves prepared by the association, took out the founder Silver Moon from the notebook, and handed it to the old gentleman sitting on his left. The old appraiser looked like he was about to faint from excitement.
The appraisal site was right next to it, ensuring that the cards were always within Shade's sight. While the appraisers were working, Mr. Limo and Mr. Mark had a conversation with Shade.
The Association is certainly not qualified to interfere with the ownership of card owners, but the founding series cards have important significance to the Association:
"Mr. Hamilton, I want to confirm again, do you really want the association to help find a buyer and sell this card?"
Mr. Mark, the vice president of the Tobesk branch, asked, and this time Shade gave the opposite answer:
"Sorry, I don't want to sell it for the time being."
This is not only because he is not in a hurry to use the money now, but also because through this card, he can get in touch with the high-level warlock Duchess Carina Cavendish, which will be of great benefit not only to the detective career but also to the studies of the warlock in the future.
"You really think so. No one can refuse a Rhodes card. There is a strange saying that every Rhodes card will choose its owner, Mr. Hamilton. It is destined to belong to you."
This was probably another kind of superstition surrounding gambling, concocted by the Prophet's Association to boost sales of Rhodes cards.
Mr. Limo, the bald man, doesn't speak Delarion very well, and has a very strange accent:
"Mr. Hamilton, I'm sorry, can I ask what you plan to do with this card in the future? Is it just for personal collection? Or will you let it appear in the Rhodes Card Tournament?"
“I’d probably use it, but I wouldn’t gamble.”
Xia De emphasized, and seeing the two vice presidents looking at each other, he added:
"I know the value of this card... But I met a nice person recently. Just yesterday, Miss Carina Cavendish invited me to take this card to a Sunday night Rhodes game with... What was the name of the Duke?"
"Duke Lucas?"
Mr. Mark asked tentatively. Seeing Shade nod, the gentleman smiled happily:
"We have always advocated that Rhodes cards should appear in the game instead of being hidden. Mr. Hamilton, I am glad that you can make such a choice. It is a coincidence that the Prophet Association will appear to notarize the Rhodes card game this weekend."
"Isn't this a private match?"
Xia De asked hesitantly, and Mr. Limo, who had a strange accent, explained:
"I also know about the weekend match. This is probably the most important Rhodes match in the Tobesk region this month. Duke Lucas publicly invited Rhodes fans he knew to watch the match. Although it is only a match between two people, the Prophet Association will also notarize it in the most strict manner.
Rather than saying that the weekend is a game, it is more like a salon for nobles and Rhodes lovers. However, I didn’t expect that the other party to play against the old Duke Lucas was Miss Carina. "
"You also know Miss Carina?"
Shad asked curiously, he had no idea what this lady looked like until now.
"Although Miss Carina rarely participates in social activities, this lady is quite famous. After all, she is an unmarried duchess..."
He winked at Shade:
"There is never a lack of discussion about her in social occasions. You are very lucky to be noticed by Miss Carina, Mr. Hamilton."
Speaking of luck, Xia De was startled and realized something:
"Come to think of it, I was also invited to participate in a Rhodes card game last Sunday night, and... this Sunday night, there was another event like this."
He planned to ask the other members of his group where they were going on Saturday.
After going around in circles like this, Mr. Limo finally mentioned the topic he wanted to ask:
"Since you don't mind using this founding series card to participate in the Rhodes card game, then are you willing to participate in the 'Big City Players' Rhodes card competition held in Tobesk this fall?"
This is exactly why Mr. Limo came all the way from the south to Tobesk. With the gimmick that the "Founding Series" Rhodes cards will appear in the competition, this year's "Big City Players" will definitely attract more participants.
"Sorry, I don't gamble."
Shade immediately shook his head.
Vice President Mark immediately explained:
"But this is not gambling. The association never organizes gambling activities. This is just a Rhodes card competition. It is not a bet between two parties. Instead, after paying a small registration fee, you will receive prizes provided by the association based on your ranking. The association can gain connections and promote Rhodes cards through such competitions. By then, you can meet all the Rhodes card masters from the New World and the Old World."
"If that's the case..."
That's fine, but Xia De is waiting for the other party to make an offer. Sure enough, the gentlemen present all understood, and Mr. Mark immediately smiled and said:
"We can even pay for the invitation..."
He stretched out his hand and twirled his fingers, but was immediately "reprimanded" by Mr. Limo, the vice president of the Prophet Association:
"There is no such rule. This won't work. Spending money to invite Rhodes players will undermine the fairness of the tournament."
The bald Mr. Limo's tone was serious, but before Vice President Mark could apologize, he said to Xia De:
"If you participate, I think the association can provide an additional fee to cover your lost wages, transportation, food, accommodation, and clothing expenses for participating in the competition. Of course, this is not to invite you to participate, but just to make up for your losses in participating in the competition. This money is worth scrutiny."
This is probably why Mr. Limo is the vice president of the Prophet Association, while Mr. Mark is only the vice president of the Tobesk branch.
"In that case."
Shade, Mr. Mark and Mr. Limo leaned back on the sofa, and all three men smiled:
"That's totally fine."
Miss Annat smiled and shook her head as she took notes.
The southerner bent down again and wrote a number on the letter paper on the coffee table and handed it over:
"Here's your reward, Mr. Hamilton. I think you'll be satisfied."
Xia De squinted his eyes and looked at the number:
"Let me confirm. Is the unit gold pounds or Carsonrick crowns?"