"The card's origin is somewhat inconvenient to disclose."
Shade said cautiously. Mr. Mark also showed an apologetic expression, while the middle-aged man was quite skilled at dispelling awkwardness with a smile:
"That's all right. After all, that is also your secret."
Of course, this was not Shade's secret. Though he had many secrets, this was not among them. It was simply that Shade did not know where Detective Sparrow Hamilton had obtained this card.
He merely roughly understood why, in the last ten minutes before his death, the detective had specifically instructed Shade to safeguard this card. Detective Sparrow was a true Rhodes Cards enthusiast.
"A private detective who likes Rhodes Cards and novels, has excellent taste in black tea, possesses secrets, and is skilled at investigating extramarital affairs. What kind of person was Sparrow Hamilton, exactly?"
Shade thought to himself.
It took nearly two full hours before the three appraisers finally gave their preliminary conclusion:
"This Origin · Silver Moon, 'Sun 3,' is most likely genuine."
The three elderly men looked as though they had just finished a long-distance race. They were all quite exhausted, yet extremely confident in their conclusion.
Therefore, the Tobesk City Association was willing to issue Shade a certificate of appraisal to prove that the card in his possession was genuine. In organized official Rhodes Cards competitions, such as this autumn's Great City Player, every special Rhodes Card had to possess an official certificate issued by the association before it could be used in the competition, in order to maintain fairness.
However, the appraisal was not over because of this. Mr. Mark apologetically informed Shade that although the Tobesk City branch believed the card to be a genuine Founding Series Silver Moon that had vanished for a hundred years, according to association regulations, appraisals of