Old Wood Ship Auction

After a simple meal, Arthur and Leo sat to the side, chatting about interesting anecdotes from the high seas.

Scholar Leo showed great interest in tales from the ocean surface.

"Scholar Leo, with your knowledge and resume, you could serve as a diplomat in the Old Continent or work as an interpreter at the ports."

"Why do you have such a great interest in stories about the sea?"

Arthur asked tentatively; many people yearned for the sea, so his words felt a bit like stating the obvious.

However, it might prompt Scholar Leo to reveal some unusual reasons.

Scholar Leo let out a long sigh, wearing a troubled expression as he said, "Oh, Lord Arthur, you mean that?"

"My professor requires me to be familiar with the ocean, as I am to follow him to the New Continent in the future to work as an interpreter."

"By the God of Storms! I haven't even been to the North Sea or the Midland Sea! And yet I am to go to the distant New Continent!"

Arthur was somewhat surprised. A scholar who had already graduated, especially one in linguistics, should be qualified for teaching positions, he recalled.

"Scholar Leo, can you not apply to become a port interpreter yourself? Or perhaps find a job teaching linguistics in Fog City, Cavendish, or Yorkshire?"

Leo sighed again at these words, his heart filled with endless bitterness, and he whispered:

"The professor is a titan of Tudor linguistics. Without his word, the nobility will not hire me as a language tutor, and official work is out of reach as well."

"If I may be so bold, Scholar Leo, which ancient language are you studying?"

Leo's heart was pierced by two more swords. "At the time, I thought that with the Age of Discovery and the opening of the Grand Route, maritime trade with the New Continent would be the trend."

"The language of the New Continent was sure to be popular, but after learning it, I discovered..."

"The nobles all hire 'language translators' to solve the problem of communication barriers."

"Language translators?"

It was a very academic term that Arthur had never heard before; it shouldn't be much different from an interpreter.

Leo looked left and right, then said cautiously, "They are those natives wearing copper collars, forced to learn the language of the Old Continent."

"Then they are used for communication. I heard from the professor that if they mistranslate once, they have a toe chopped off."

From the perspective of training investment, such language translators were indeed cheaper than hiring professional scholars like Leo.

Moreover, they could be replaced at any time without needing to consider the translator's feelings.

"Did Scholar Leo come to the Old Wood Ship Auction for a specific item?"

"No, how could I afford such high-end collectibles?"

Leo explained, "The professor is a specially invited scholar for the Old Wood Ship Auction. Many items from the New Continent are engraved with specialized terminology."

"I am here on the professor's behalf to vet the items for the Old Wood Ship Auction and prevent any precious artifacts from being sold at too low a price."

Arthur was thoughtful, then began to talk about the customs of the sea, picking out some interesting stories to tell.

As dusk approached, Governor Drew invited everyone to move to the grand hall. "Guests, please move to the grand hall; the Old Wood Ship Auction is about to begin."

The group began to enter.

Leo was invited to the back area to vet the auction items for this event, ensuring there were no oversights.

Special staff led them into the venue. As a newly promoted lord, Arthur's seat was arranged in the middle of the third row.

In front of him were representatives of nobles with relatively high prestige and status.

The first row was occupied by Arina Stuart and other core figures of the top nobility.

The man sitting in the center of the first row with Arina wore a magnificent formal suit adorned with a gold-threaded rose and sparkling rubies.

This suit alone was worth around 100 gold coins.

Arthur did not know the man's name, but he already knew his surname.

It was one of the oldest and most noble surnames of the Tudor Dynasty—Lancaster.

Even though Arthur did not understand the history of the Tudor Dynasty, he had heard of the origins of the red rose of Lancaster and the white rose of the York family during the "Wars of the Roses."

In his impression, the York family had won the Wars of the Roses; had the Lancasters not been wiped out?

Clang, clang, clang.

An old man wearing a white wig and a black, tight-fitting double-breasted coat walked into the grand hall, his leather boots tapping against the wooden floor.

The old man's wig was somewhat yellowed from wind and sun, and the wooden ship ornament on his chest indicated his identity.

"Welcome, guests, to the Old Wood Ship Auction."

"I am the host of this auction; you may call me Old Peter. The rules of this auction are very simple."

"For each item, the increment must be no less than 1% of the starting price."

"The items we are auctioning this time include precious collectibles from the Grand Route and the New Continent."

"If anyone has an objection to our auction items and can provide solid evidence..."

"The Old Wood Ship Auction will grant a 70% discount on the final hammer price to any guest who successfully challenges the authenticity of an item!"

Arthur listened as Old Peter explained the rules.

The Old Wood Ship Auction encouraged bidders to challenge items; while this might risk the auction house's reputation, it ensured they were rarely cheated out of value.

From the perspective of collecting auction commissions, the Old Wood Ship Auction was guaranteed to make a profit regardless.

"Now, for our first auction item, originating from the tail end of the Grand Route, known as the Sea of the Brave on the Pirate Chessboard.

Precious coffee from the blue mountains of Gaya Island, harvested and processed by the most delicate local maidens.

Each canister contains about 100 grams, and we have brought back 10 canisters this time. The starting bid is 100 gold coins!"

A maidservant brought up ten clay pots, each one the size of a palm.

"Oh! Precious Blue Mountain Coffee!"

"The last batch of civet coffee left me lingering for more; it exuded such a rich, earthy fragrance. I truly want to experience that taste again!

I bid 110 gold coins to taste that profound bitterness once more."

The earlier auction items were mostly focused on food and drink; following the Blue Mountain Coffee were lobsters from the Sea of the Brave.

Arthur listened for a while and roughly figured out that the location of the "Sea of the Brave" should be the Caribbean, known as "Widow Bay."

The "Scholar Potion" he was hoping for, valued at around 10,000 gold coins, would likely be the grand finale at the Old Wood Ship Auction.

As time passed, Arthur began to feel drowsy.

Suddenly!

He heard Old Peter say: "The next auction item comes from the ancient Aztec, though its specific origins remain unknown."

A piece of jade-like bone was brought up on a tray, resting on a piece of pristine white cotton cloth.

"This treasure bears very precious ancient characters. Although they have not been deciphered, it was once treasured by an Aztec chieftain."

"The starting bid is 100 gold coins."

Arthur glanced casually at the jade-like bone. A line of small characters had been chiseled into it with some tool, and the script had been deliberately stained with blood, creating a stark contrast against the jade-white of the bone.

He ran the Sea Folk language through his mind and roughly deduced the meaning of the sentence.

His eyes widened, and he couldn't help but want to sit up.

Taking a deep breath, Arthur closed his eyes and opened them again; he wanted to tell Arena to bid on this item.

Tapping the wooden armrest of his seat, Arthur suddenly spoke up: "I have seen similar characters at a friend's place."

As his words fell, the grand hall went silent, and dozens of gazes snapped onto Arthur.