Some minor details didn't need to be confirmed one by one, so Xu Huo didn't ask what props she had arranged. But Yan Jiayu volunteered the information. "I have a trading item that lets me exchange one thing for another. I mixed it in with the performance props and had a Maid place it in the Castle. I also added a B-class item. If I'm lucky, I might be able to trade it for another item of the same grade."
Things belonging to the Castle couldn't be taken out, but putting things inside didn't seem to be against the rules.
"You'll have to leave your item behind after the exchange?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"Of course," Yan Jiayu said. "The whole point of bartering is to trade for something of equal value. If the exchange succeeds, it doesn't count as theft. Unfortunately, I don't know which rooms have items in them, so I had the Maid place it near the banquet hall."
"How long does the item stay active?" Xu Huo asked.
Yan Jiayu nodded and said matter-of-factly, "It's a barter, so naturally there's some haggling. Sometimes what you get in return isn't even an item. It might be a mineral of equivalent value."
"But the items I trade are usually things I can't use, so I never lose out."
"Sometimes there are even unexpected surprises."
The banquet began in the evening. The nobles and Gemstone City officials, whose lodgings had been unknown until then, arrived at the Castle one after another. Beneath the brilliant lights, the place was bustling and festive. At last, the King appeared, having been "heartbroken and bedridden" over the stolen gem.
He was a middle-aged man who looked particularly melancholy. Even when he smiled, anyone could tell he was downcast, and guests who came