"Then let's inspect the goods first."
Shade took out the piece of Orichalcum. When he had obtained the metal from the Mirror, it had been about half the size of his palm. Considering that he might need Orichalcum himself in the future, Shade had used the Night Watchman to cut it into two pieces. He had left the smaller one in the basement and brought the larger piece with him.
"Such a valuable item, carried over directly in your pocket. You really are interesting."
The Sorceress gave that simple assessment, had Shade place the metal on the table, and then reached out to pick it up herself. She did not remove her gloves while examining it. Noticing that one side was unusually smooth, she asked Shade:
"What did you use to cut it? Given Orichalcum's hardness, most Spiritual Weapons and weapon-type Relics below Keeper of Secrets Level would find it difficult to leave such a smooth cut."
"That can't be disclosed."
Thus, the lady who was unwilling even to give her name did not ask any further questions. Instead, she examined the metal even more carefully.
Due to Orichalcum's special properties, simple Thaumaturgies for testing hardness, ductility, and spiritual conductivity could easily determine its authenticity and purity.
But because Ring Arcanists possessed all sorts of strange Thaumaturgies, even if those tests all passed, it could still be an illusion created by sophisticated Illusion or Alchemy. Therefore, Shade understood why the lady across from him was inspecting it so seriously. He simply could not understand why she still refused to remove her gloves.
It was quite some time before the Sorceress finally put down the metal, by which point Shade had already finished three cups of tea.
"No problem. The purity is exceptionally good. I suspect this Orichalcum was not acquired