eurekapd Chapter 144 Hermes, the Land of Deception, Part 6
Chapter 144 Hermes, the Land of Deception, Part 6
“Constantine, you still owe me three copper coins.”
Constantine was on his way to repay the loan when he heard many people cheering him on.
The vendors saw him as if he were a piggy bank or an ATM, and rushed to him in a hurry.
No, when did I owe you money? Constantine had no idea what was going on—these were all locals, and Constantine never targeted them for scams.
Now look what's happened! I didn't even try to extort them, and they're trying to extort me first?
“I don’t remember owing you money,” Constantine said. “Show me the proof.”
In Hermes, everything is based on apparent evidence—in other words, if you can swindle money without leaving any evidence, then the money is legally obtained.
“A gray-haired witch said you owed her boyfriend money—so she told us to come to you for it,” one of the bakers said. “This is the certificate she issued back then.”
amount……
The gray-haired witch...
There really is such a person. Solving this problem is easy in some ways, but not in others. As long as you stubbornly deny ever owing that guy money, this so-called proof is just empty talk.
Moreover, I didn't actually keep any proof of the debt back then.
But—that means…the mark left on my heart won't be removed. Damn it—this is worse than leaving me with proof of debt.
If you're leaving behind proof, you have countless ways to forge documents.
“That’s true…” Constantine gritted his teeth and admitted. For the sake of the plan, all the grievances at this moment were worthwhile. “I’ll ask my fiancée for the debt; she’ll pay it.”
“Qiqiharna? Who doesn’t know you two…” one of them whispered.
She is even less trustworthy than Constantine.
Well, in this kingdom, everyone breaks their promises, so it's a competition to see who breaks them the most.
“If she doesn’t come looking for me again, I can’t possibly run away from the country for a few silver coins, can I?” Constantine said.
This statement seemed to sway the debt collectors. After all, it was quite persuasive—if it was a matter of owing a few hundred gold coins, they certainly wouldn't let him leave under any circumstances; but for a few silver coins, he couldn't very well flee the country to avoid his debts.
"I'll remember this grudge," Constantine said through gritted teeth after the vendors had gone back to their own business.
Qiqiharna should be able to cover the cost for me, after all, I've endured humiliation for her sake.
Constantine calmed himself down and headed towards the agreed-upon repayment location. He knew where they were staying; after all, the kingdom wasn't large, and as a local tyrant, it was easy for him to find out such things.
……
"Is this your repayment?" Qin glanced at the sapphire in her hand.
After searching for a long time, Constantine finally found his creditor.
“Of course, you can have it appraised by any jewelry appraiser, and they will all give an estimate of more than fifty gold coins, which will be more than enough to repay the loan,” Constantine said. “This is a famous specialty of our Hermes, called Sea Blue, and only our family has a few.”
He spoke with remarkable skill, trying his best to make his expression natural, as if it were a real event.
As a professional con artist, he can say many things off the cuff.
Elena looked at the palm-sized gem with curiosity—it was the first time she had ever seen such a large gem. If the gem was genuine, it was indeed worth more than fifty gold coins.
Moreover, these items are usually priceless; they're generally collector's items, and people wouldn't sell them unless they urgently needed the money.
“It is indeed a real sapphire. You can leave now.” Qin nodded as she put “Sea Blue” into her pocket.
"Have you removed the mark on my heart?" Constantine asked.
“Of course,” Qin said.
“When did I feel like you hadn’t done anything?” Constantine asked uneasily.
“Wasn’t it the same when you received the mark?” Jean said. “Looks like I didn’t do anything.”
That makes sense... but I still feel like I've been fooled by him. There's a very high chance he's just deceiving himself, and in fact, he hasn't done anything.
But he gambled on himself and dared not gamble on his own life.
But do you think it's so easy to take advantage of me? Heh, the devil is always one step ahead—I'll take all your money.
As Constantine walked out of the hotel, a slight smile appeared on his lips; he had to go tell Qiqiharna.
Through the hotel window, Qin watched Constantine walk away: "A liar's greatest fear is nothing more than deception."
"Is this Ocean Blue really genuine?" Elena asked. "You seem to have really done nothing—and he's genuinely willing to pay back the money."
This is amazing. Others may not know, but Elena knows that Jean is not using magic now, and the way he uses magic is too special.
“It’s not called Ocean Blue,” Qin said. “nor is it sapphire.”
"Huh?"
So it's a fake... Then why did you accept it?
Jean placed the shimmering blue gem on the table: "Its true name should be the Eye of Achilles. It looks like a gem, but in fact, it is a magical artifact."
Magic items?
“How it was created is no longer well known; only its name and function have been passed down,” Qin said. “It casts a curse on those near it, but this curse is superficial and requires a specific incantation to activate. Once activated, the cursed person will fall into a coma.”
So that's what Constantine's purpose was?
"How do you know so much?" Elena asked curiously.
"Read more books..." Qin said.
Are you mocking me for not being well-educated? I became a witch while still a minor.
"Is this thing very valuable?" Elena asked the crucial question.
"It can basically be considered a substitute for sapphire, as Constantine said, any appraisal expert would come to that conclusion. But if you sell it as sapphire, it would be too cheap," Jean said. "Any magical artifact specifically recorded in a book cannot be measured by price."
“So, in the future, you can throw it into your collection room and have it sit at the same table as the wines you’ve trod on,” Qin added.
amount……
He knows I like collecting rare and exotic treasures from all over the world. But that sentence just sounds really weird.
“But its curse…” Elena brought up the key issue.
“At least I’m confident about one thing: apart from Beatrice and those senior witches who specialize in curses, basically no one else understands curses better than me,” Jean said. “I have ways to use this kind of curse.”
This indirectly proves how difficult it is to break the innate curse that he carries.
It's fair to say there's no solution.
"And to be honest, this curse doesn't affect me at all," Qin said. "The swindlers have given us such a great gift in the land of deception. Wouldn't it be a bit uncouth not to repay them properly?"
What a great example of adapting to local customs...
"What do I need to do?" Elena asked excitedly.
“To be an actress,” Jean said. “At the same time, I need your magical guidance.”