After a while, there was a "squeak" as Richard opened the door of the cabin.
The novelist outside looked the sa as when Richard had last seen him—his clothes hadn’t changed: a yellow top and blue trousers.
The man bowed slightly, his face bearing a hint of apology for disturbing soone’s rest, and opened his palm to reveal a gold coin—the very sa one he had given him before.
The man looked up and said, "I once received help from a friend like you. You’re a good person, and I am very grateful for your help. If it hadn’t been for this gold coin you gave , I might have truly starved to death. Fortunately, I t another kind person not long ago who gave more gold coins. Therefore, I have taken the liberty of returning the original gold coin you gave , hoping to repurchase my book from you. What do you think?"
"Of course, that’s what we had agreed upon." Richard said, taking the gold coin from the man’s hand and turned to walk towards the table inside the cabin where the man’s book lay open.
"Thank you very much." The novelist, full of gratitude, rubbed his hands and followed Richard into the cabin, closing the cabin door behind him as if out of habit.
"Tap tap tap..."
Richard walked to the table, closed the book, picked it up, and handed it towards the novelist.
The novelist reached out, preparing to catch the book with a smile.
The book moved through the air—10 centiters, 5 centiters, 3 centiters...
Everything looked very normal, very friendly.
But!
Just as the book was about to touch the novelist’s hand, Richard suddenly stopped and said seriously, "You know, you really didn’t have to do this."
"Hmm?" The novelist looked puzzled, blinked, and asked with a smile, "My kind friend, what do you an? I’m not quite sure I understand."
"Don’t understand? What I an is simple." Richard looked at the novelist and spoke slowly, "You have already decided to kill to silence after getting the book, haven’t you? But you really do not need to do that."
The expression on the novelist’s face stiffened montarily, then returned to normal: "I still don’t quite understand what you an. Why would you think I harbor ill intentions towards you?"
"Because I can clearly feel the malice," Richard said, pressing his hand to his chest, where the "Judgent Feather" concealed beneath his clothes was emitting a bone-chilling cold.
The novelist froze, his eyebrows furrowing as if pondering sothing, then suddenly he began to laugh, his deanor no longer humble but sowhat icy.
Looking at Richard, the novelist asked, "So, when did you figure out my true identity?"
"Just a short while ago," Richard said, then corrected himself, "but it was not a guess, it was certainty."
"Certain?"
"Yes, certain." Richard continued, "I am certain that you are the person on board with a hidden identity, carrying precious treasure. The nurous troubles that arose earlier were all because of you, all for this book I am holding in my hands."
"Evidence?"
"There are of course many pieces of evidence." Richard replied, "Like the real appearance of this book, the verification of so rumors..."
"Be more specific."
"Alright, let’s get specific. I’ll ntion the most specific one." Richard looked at the clothes the novelist was wearing, "The clothes you are wearing, they couldn’t possibly be yours, right?"
"This..."
"In the current world, as far as I know, no mature ready-to-wear clothier has been developed, aning, most clothes are either homade or tailored by a tailor. Thus, the chance of two pieces of clothing existing in the world that are identical in color, material, size, style, and degree of wear is not impossible, but extrely unlikely.
Strikingly, the clothes you are wearing, I have seen before in Second-class Port, worn respectively by two pickpockets who live by theft. I did not pay much attention at first, but I recalled this later. Many things, then, do not need to be further explained.
Like you claiming you boarded the ship at Rockden Port, which obviously cannot be true. Then, your experiences cannot necessarily be trusted. Keep deducing like this, and your true identity is naturally confird."
After Richard finished speaking, the novelist fell silent.
After a lengthy silence, the novelist looked at Richard and bowed his head in a very solemn manner, "My kind friend, since you have brought it up this far, it seems I must admit—I am indeed the person with a hidden identity, carrying treasure on the ship.
I am very sorry for taking advantage of your kindness and deceiving you. Of course, I am even more sorry that, as you said, I am going to kill you to silence you. But believe , this is the most confidential and safest thod. The value of this book in your hands far exceeds your imagination, and it cannot be too cautious for its sake.
Honestly, I am a bit impressed by your intelligence. A person like you, in the right circumstances, would certainly accomplish great things. But now, unfortunately, you will just be an unlucky person whom I have to kill, sorry.
And you don’t have to be frustrated, because this is not your fault. I guess before this, you really thought I was a poor and desolate novelist, so you gave a gold coin. Who would have thought that such a novelist could suddenly turn into the deepest hidden mastermind? Ah, all of this, it’s just a cunning arrangent of fate, truly sorry."
As he spoke, the novelist’s fingertips flickered with a faint golden light, ready to attack.
Richard spoke up, stopping the other party, "Uh, wait a mont, before you make your move, could you answer two questions for ?"
"Huh?" The novelist paused, thought seriously for a mont, then looked at Richard and agreed, "My kind, poor friend, go ahead and ask. I will tell you everything I know, think of it as my reparation for killing you."
"Alright, the first question. Could you tell , why did you do this? I an, giving the book. You must be well aware of the high value of the book, and many people are looking for it. It would be better to keep it in your custody, right? At least, you would have control over it." Richard said.
The novelist replied with a smile, "I can explain that. I did it all for safety. Yes, the book is safer in your hands than in mine. You have probably seen the people who were causing the trouble earlier, they are very powerful, one of them is just a step below a Level 4 Wizard. People like them have a variety of ans and unimaginable abilities.
If they had not boarded the ship, everything would have been fine, but if they had, soone with a suspicious identity like mine would easily be found out. To put it more frighteningly, I know so spells that can glimpse into people’s thoughts. So, handing the book to soone like you, who is completely unaware of the truth, is safer than keeping it myself."
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