Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 508 - 506: The Man from the Depths of the Mainland

Chapter 508: Chapter 506: The Man from the Depths of the Mainland

"Sell her to you?" Richard looked at Sherlock and asked.

"Mhm, sell her to me," Sherlock nodded, explaining, "A few days ago, a person, well, let’s just call him an ordinary friend, found me. He said he had saved a pitiable girl from the auction, asking if I was interested.

You know me, I can’t stand to see girls suffer, especially pretty girls. How could I just watch Lucia remain in another’s hands—a person who was not exactly kind to women. So I spent nine thousand gold coins to buy Lucia from him."

"Nine thousand gold coins?"

"Yes, nine thousand gold coins," Sherlock nodded and smiled, "For a girl as beautiful, adorable, kind, intelligent, and capable as Lucia, the fact that he only asked for nine thousand gold coins shows he didn’t try to extort me. Perhaps he wanted to forge a deep friendship with me."

Richard: "..." Acquired for four thousand five hundred gold coins and flipped for nine thousand gold coins—truly not an extortion.

At this moment, Sherlock spoke again, "After I bought Lucia, I gave her freedom and told her she could go wherever she wanted. Strangely enough, she expressed a desire to stay with me. I had no choice but to keep her—actually, in my view, such a girl ought to be out there chasing happiness. Staying by my side, tsk, is a bit of a waste."

This time, Richard was not speechless, as he was used to Sherlock’s ways. He picked up his petal tea to drink, too lazy to respond.

The girl Lucia, hearing Sherlock’s words, became anxious, her eyes reddening as she looked at Sherlock, "Mr. Sherlock, do you think I’m not doing well enough?"

"No, no, of course not," Sherlock quickly said, "Lucia, how could that be? I just think that you really don’t need to stay by my side."

"But, Mr. Sherlock, you bought me, so I belong to you," Lucia said, her head bowed, fiddling with the hem of her maid dress. "If I don’t stay by your side, where can I go?"

"You can go anywhere, you have your past, your family. You can go find them. Lucia, you need to understand that, although I bought you, that doesn’t mean I have the right to constrain your freedom."

"Then you must dislike me, wanting to send me away!"

"On the contrary, I adore girls who are beautiful, adorable, kind, intelligent, and capable like you. That’s the most wonderful thing in the world, my everlasting pursuit."

"Then why do you still insist on sending me away?"

"Lucia, you need to understand that if liking is about possession, securing one’s own happiness, then love is about letting go, ensuring the happiness of the beloved. I love you, such a beautiful girl, so if you’re not happy with me, I’d rather let you leave."

The girl blushed crimson upon hearing these words, mustering up the courage to look at Sherlock, "Mr. Sherlock, I feel the happiest place for me is by your side. You love me, and I... I love you too. Alright, I’ll get back to work now."

After saying this, the girl lifted her skirt and quickly ran off.

Sherlock watched the girl leave, calling out with concern, "Run slower, don’t fall, Lucia." After shouting, he sat back down as usual and slowly savored the petal tea the girl had just brought.

Then, Sherlock looked up at Richard, who was also drinking tea, and asked, "What do you think?"

"It has a bit of a sour stench," Richard replied expressionlessly.

"Huh? You mean the tea?" Sherlock was taken aback.

"No, I mean the air?"

"Air?" Sherlock asked seriously, sniffing with his nose and looking slightly puzzled. "A sour stench? Is there one? I don’t smell it! Has my nose lost its sensitivity, or is yours too keen? Never mind, some perfume should improve it later."

Richard remained noncommittal, setting down his teacup and looking at Sherlock. He took a deep breath and said, "Let’s talk business."

"Alright," Sherlock looked over, "What do you need my help with? As a friend, whatever trouble you’re in, I’ll do my best to help you resolve it."

"I am lacking a certain material," Richard said directly, "I hope to procure it from you to complete my experiment."

"Material? What material?" asked Sherlock.

"Metal Palladium."

"Metal Palladium?" Sherlock’s eyes twinkled, slightly puzzled. "Is it some kind of ore? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it."

"I call it that, but as for what others call it, to be honest, I really don’t know. What I can tell you is that it’s a mineral similar to silver, but one-eighth heavier than silver. You could call it... Balasi Silver."

"Balasi Silver?" Sherlock pondered, scratching his head, "Honestly, I haven’t heard of that name either. But you know, my warehouse is filled with so many minerals and other things that even I can’t name them all. You could take a look; maybe you’ll find what you need. Come with me."

With that said, Sherlock stood up to leave.

"Wait, not so fast. Take this first," Richard spoke, pulling out an object he had previously taken from a box in his laboratory.

Sherlock’s identity, as far as Richard currently understood, was shrouded in mystery.

According to Sherlock himself, he was not from the East Coast, nor from places like Lisben Island or Smans Island, but from deep within the Main Continent.

The main reason he came to the East Coast remained a secret, but a minor reason was his love for adventure. The East Coast and the depths of the Main Continent had many differences, and so he came here to experience foreign cultures and enjoy life.

Indeed, enjoy life.

Sherlock possessed a vast wealth and was more than willing to spend this fortune on anything beautiful or seemingly beautiful.

For instance, he was willing to pay a whole hundred Gold Coins just to have a beggar give up a good spot for watching the sunset—the beggar thought he was insane, spit at him contemptuously, indicating disdain and that he wasn’t short of money.

Or when he was willing to pay five hundred Gold Coins to buy a minstrel’s vibrantly colored clothes—the minstrel suspected him of ulterior motives, perhaps carnal intent, and ran away as fast as he could.

Then there was the time he spent a whole thousand Gold Coins to taste a fisherman’s catch of an extremely rare, deep blue eel—this time he narrowly succeeded, but ended up with copper poisoning after eating it. The eel turned blue due to contamination with copper ions, which are blue in color. If it weren’t for Richard stepping in, who knows what would have happened.

It’s safe to say that Sherlock’s pursuit of beauty was unwavering, even in the face of numerous setbacks, he would not back down.

For this purpose, Sherlock had specifically built an enormous collection warehouse, gathering all sorts of things he deemed beautiful, from shiny minerals to absurd oil paintings, to intricate mechanical creations, to powerful Magic Tools.

Sherlock’s warehouse was like a wondrous treasure chest of ingenuity—anything could possibly be found inside, and Sherlock was also very willing to give things from it to friends. As Sherlock put it—friendship that cannot be seen is more precious than visible collectibles.

That being said, Richard preferred not to take advantage of Sherlock for free, even when he had requests, he tried to engage in fair exchanges. That’s why he brought something with him this time.

With this in mind, Richard placed the object he had brought into Sherlock’s hands.