The items on the shelves were as messy as ever, but Claude had the intention to pick up the leftovers this time. He would pick up all the items and stare at them intently for a long time before putting them down. Borkal only snapped him out of his stupor when he was done with the accounting.
No, I can't just go through them one by one like that. There were at least a hundred items on the shelves. If I were to go through them one by one, I wouldn't be able to see half of them even if I exhausted all my mental power. Not to mention, spending too much time on them would only make me suspicious.
Even though Wakri didn't know anything about magic items, he was a shrewd merchant.
Claude's careful inspection would only cause him to raise the price.
He told Borkal to go out first so that he could look for some toys for his chubby son. He took a few steps back and focused all his mental power on scanning the shelves.
He believed that if there were really magic items, there would definitely be some sort of phenomenon. That way, he would be able to pick them up quickly.
Claude's method was quite effective. The first shelf didn't react at all, but the two items on the second shelf glowed faintly.
One was green and the other was black.
There was only one item on the third shelf that glowed blue twice.
Claude quickly took the three items into his hands.
The first item that glowed blue was a small wooden plaque. It looked rather strange. It looked a little oily and was dark brown in color. It looked like a longevity lock from his past life.
However, the longevity locks in his previous life were either made of jade or gold and silver, unlike this wooden plate.
Claude didn't know if the wooden plaque was originally an accessory or a decoration.
The second item that glowed black was a dagger. It looked rather ordinary, but the handle and scabbard seemed to be made from the bones of some big fish, making it look rather unique.
Claude guessed that the dagger belonged to a sailor who either lost a bet or pawned it at Monck's store because he didn't have enough money to drink.
A long time had passed since the scabbard of the dagger was covered in a layer of dust.
The third object that flashed a few times was a pen holder in the shape of a big fish leaping out of the water. The fish's mouth was wide open as the opening of the pen holder.
There were many types of pens in this world, but the most commonly used ones were pencils and dipping pens.
Needless to say, the dipping pen was similar to the Western goose feather pens in his previous world. The nib of the pen was mostly made of copper or silver, and it needed to be dipped in ink to write. However, instead of a goose feather, it was inserted into the back of the pen. Instead of a goose feather, it was inserted into the pen shaft, which was carved with various patterns and painted with various colors.
Therefore, this Big Fish Pen Holder was not as big as a pen holder used to store brushes. Instead, it was small and delicate. However, the base engraved with water waves was a little heavy, and there were two screw holes in the middle.
This should be a penholder that was decorated on the ship. For example, it could be fixed on the desk in the captain's cabin. That way, it would not fall no matter how strong the wind and waves were, unless the whole ship capsized. Because the desk was also fixed in the cabin …
However, he didn't have the time to think about why the three items in his hands were glowing or whether they were real magic items.
He once again focused his attention on the three rows of wooden shelves. After making sure that there were no longer any abnormalities, he took the three items out of the storeroom to find Wakri to pay the bill.
At that moment, Borkal, Eriksson, Welikro, and Wakri were standing in the empty space in front of the house. In front of them was an overturned flipper.
A flipper was what the people of Whitestag called a small ship. It was about four to five meters long and two meters wide with the bow and stern raised high.
Generally speaking, this kind of small ship was actually equipped with those large ocean-going sailing ships to be used as landing ships and lifeboats.
If squeezed a little, a flipper could seat around thirty people.
A large, long-distance sailing ship usually had a crew of around fifty to sixty people. Two flippers were more than enough for long voyages.
The flipper that was overturned was rather large for a small ship. Claude estimated it to be around five meters long and 2.7 to 2.8 meters wide.
The reason it was placed there was simple. There was a huge hole at the bottom of the flipper and three or four planks in front of it were broken, as if it had been hit by a huge force.
"Did it hit a reef?"
Claude asked curiously, "Why did it have such a huge hole? Were the people rowing the ship blind?
Didn't they see the reef blocking the way?
Wait, that's not right.
Rowing a ship shouldn't have such a huge impact. Even if it hit a reef, it shouldn't have been able to make such a huge hole. "
"It did hit a reef, but it wasn't this flipper. It was the long-distance sailing ship that it was docked with.
Eriksson said, "Wasn't there a big ship that crashed into a reef at Cape Cove in March this year and sank?
This flipper belongs to that ship.
"Due to the collision, the sailors on the ship were flustered and didn't manage to hold on when they lowered the flipper, causing it to crash into the reef and become a wreck.
After that, the fishing boat Spear, which passed by our town, rescued those people. They stayed in our town for two months until a transport ship arrived. Finally, all the goods and useful items on the ship that crashed into the reef were removed. All that was left was an empty ship frame, and the broken flipper was discarded.
That's why some of the fishermen in town went to pick up the scraps of the boat and sold it to Uncle Wakri. "
Claude handed the three items to Wakri and asked him to calculate how much they were worth. "Can this flipper still be repaired?
These few planks are broken, so we'll probably have to replace the entire bottom, right?
If we have the money to repair it, we might as well build a new flipper. "
"Sigh, let's not talk about it. I made a mistake."
Wakri let out a long sigh. "When the fishermen pulled the flipper over, it was upright. From the surface, it looked like there was a small hole. As long as the plank was replaced, it would be fine. That's why I took it.
Who knew that when we flipped it over the next day, we would find that the entire bottom of the flipper was broken. It'll be hard to fix it unless we replace the entire bottom. But that's not as good as building a new one. It won't cost us much anyway. "
"How much did you buy it for?" Eriksson asked.
"Don't mention it. We lost at least three thales this time," said Wakri.
Everyone knew that Wakri had only spent one crown at most to buy the broken flipper, which was around five thales. He wasn't a kind-hearted person anyway. It was only natural that he would try his best to bargain for a broken flipper.
A new flipper would cost at least four to five crowns. He could buy it for one crown and sell it for three crowns. There would be plenty of people who would buy it. However, he didn't expect that he would need to replace more than just the plank.
If the flipper were to be dismantled, the bottom beam and the remaining planks could be sold for two to three thales. But after deducting the labor costs, it would only be worth one or two thales. That was why Wakri said that he would lose around three thales this time.
"I'll give you one thale and five riyases for these three items," Wakri said, "You're a regular customer, so I won't charge you a high price."
Borkal jumped up. "Uncle Wakri, we only came to buy things from you because we trust you! You're just saying nice things, but your subordinates are sharpening their blades so quickly! You're saying that buying these three pieces of junk for a thale and you're saying that's not a high price?"
Claude didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had wanted to agree to the price because the three items were likely to be magic items. Even if Wakri were to raise the price by one or two thales, he would still buy them. However, he didn't expect his friends to jump out to defend him.
"That's right."
Eriksson took the dagger from Wakri's hand. "Isn't this just a normal fishbone dagger?
Claude, why are you buying this?
I'll get the sailors on my ship to make one for you. You'll only have to pay two or three riyases. "
Wakri smiled bitterly. "You can't really put it that way. Even though this dagger looks normal, it's quite old. Besides, even if you get your sailors to make one for you, all they'll do is polish a fishbone and stick it on the scabbard before making a handle. You haven't even calculated the price for this dagger. I think one thale isn't too expensive, is it?"
"Seven riyases at most."
Eriksson pulled the dagger out and bent the blade. "It's just a normal greatsteel dagger. If you go to Hanses' Armory, you can get a better greatsteel dagger for one thale, and it's brand new too."
Borkal asked curiously, "Say, why are you buying this fishbone dagger?"
"Well, you know that my father doesn't like weapons. We don't even have a hunting knife or short sword at home.
The last time I went to Egret, my hunting knife was Wero's and the short sword was Eyke's.
This time, my father bought me a musket and I was thinking of getting a short sword or something to use when I hunt.
I just happened to see this fishbone dagger and felt that it looked rather unique, so I brought it over to ask for the price. "
Wakri couldn't hold it in any longer. The dagger had been in the shop for a couple of years now and he didn't know which sailor his late father had gotten it from.
Nobody usually asked about the price because people who wanted to buy weapons would usually go to the weapon shops in town. They wouldn't look for such junk in his shop.
"Alright, alright. You're good. I'll sell this dagger for seven riyases," Wakri said.
Wakri knew that the price of the dagger wouldn't exceed three riyases. Selling it for seven riyases was already double the price. It was better to earn a little less than not sell it at all.
"How much is this wooden plate and the big fish pen holder selling for?" Borkal pressed on.
Eriksson said from the side, "This pen holder is probably a second-hand item from the ship. Parker's Bookstore in town has similar pen holders for sale on board, and they usually cost around two or three riyases. Just like yours, they're all carved out of wood.
As for this wooden plate, it looks like a sign on the door of a hotel room. But I remember there are also signs like that on the cabin doors of ocean-going ships.
This thing shouldn't be worth much, right? "
Wakri looked like he was about to cry. "Alright, I'll sell these two for three riyases. That's one thale in total. That should be enough, right?"
Claude nodded with a smile. "Alright, I'll take it for this price."
After taking the thale from Claude, Wakri was about to return to his shop when he heard Eriksson ask, "Uncle Wakri, how much do you want to sell this flipper to me?"
"What did you say?"
Wakri turned around in surprise and saw Claude, Borkal and Welikro looking at Eriksson with their mouths agape. It was obvious that they didn't know why Eriksson would ask such a question.
"One gold, no, four thales …" Wakri had wanted to say one crown, but when he recalled the price he mentioned to the others, he hurriedly changed his mind. "Just four thales and you can take the flipper with you."