294: Chapter 6 Temptation_1 294: Chapter 6 Temptation_1 “Two hours before the auction begins with three Legendary Rank masters guarding it?” Catherine shook her head with a bitter smile, “You guys really have bad luck.
Go on with the important part.”
“After the gem went missing, we searched for three days,” John continued, “We almost turned every suspicious spot upside down secretly, but found no clues.
Given the weird nature of the gem’s disappearance, we suspect that it was the work of Upper Rank thieves from the Thieves’ Guild, so we contacted the city guards to ask for their cooperation in negotiating with the Thieves’ Guild.
However, without concrete evidence, we cannot start the negotiation.
And the problem is, we have no evidence to prove the involvent of any mbers of the Thieves’ Guild, hence they couldn’t negotiate.”
“Hmm, that’s a typical trick of the Thieves’ Guild.” Catherine nodded thoughtfully, “But why co to us?
We don’t have any evidence either.
And with so many days passed…
even if there were evidence, I’m afraid it might be too late.”
“No, we’ve given up,” John sighed, “we’ve given up the idea of finding evidence to negotiate with the Thieves’ Guild.
It’s sowhat unrealistic.
If they could steal the gem under the watch of three Legendary Rank masters, how could they possibly leave any evidence?
So, this ti, I’m hoping you guys can find the current possessor of the gem for my auction house.”
“Isn’t that the sa as finding evidence?” Pannis puckered her lips sarcastically, “And it’s even harder than finding evidence.
We’d have to find the stolen goods directly.”
“No no no, you got it wrong.” John waved his hands emphatically, “We just want to find the possessor, not the thief.
Do you get what I’m saying?”
“I get it.” Pannis chuckled and said with interest, “So you have separated their roles, you’re not concerned about whether they’ve committed the theft, you just want to negotiate with the current possessor of the gem.
Am I right?”
“Exactly.” John reluctantly smiled, “I’m glad that you understand.”
“Even with this goal in mind, doesn’t necessarily an you must co to us.” Catherine slightly frowned and asked puzzledly, “There are many teams that could help you with the investigation.
You could even directly post a request in the Thieves’ Guild to find this person.
You really don’t need us to step in.
If you want us to take on this request, you’d better tell us all the details.”
“Catherine, he probably wants to negotiate and redeem the gem for a high price.,” Pannis explained for John.
“If he posted the request himself, the other party would probably not trust him, so he needs a middleman.
And the impeccable reputation of the Nellie adventure team just ets the requirent to be this middleman.
Don’t forget, even thieves have heard of your reputation, and they trust you the most.”
“You want to redeem the gem?” Catherine asked in surprise, “Firstly, the other party might ask for a ridiculous ransom.
Not to ntion that the other party is the Thieves’ Guild, and many of their operations are commissioned.
That is to say, there might be a client behind them.
If you want to redeem the gem, it ans they’ll have to tear up the commission agreent, which would seriously damage their reputation.”
“Thieves have a reputation?” John sneered with a laugh, “I’ll offer a high enough ransom to redeem the gem.
I think thieves would be tempted by the price.”
“A high enough price?” Catherine was stunned, “How much are you prepared to offer?”
“The starting bid for that gem was five hundred thousand gold coins.
I am willing to offer twenty tis that amount to redeem it.” John loosened his collar again, wiped off sweat frantically, and said dryly, “It would be great to close the deal within five million gold coins.
Ten million gold coins is my bottom line.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Catherine cried in shock.
“Even if you participated in the auction, the final bid for that gem would be three or four million at most.
And you want to offer ten million?”
“I have no choice,” John sighed weary and covered his face.
“It’s not about a gem anymore.
This gem is related to the reputation of the rle and Jones Auction House for 170 years.
If we cannot retrieve it intact, who will trust our auction house in the future?
Who will dare to hand over their auction items to our house for promotion?
So, in order to redeem this gem, I will spare no cost.”
“So you want us to act as the middleman?” Catherine asked with hesitation, “Actually, we have a hunch about who stole the gem, but we don’t have any evidence, so we can’t give you this information.
However, we can help you inquire.
If it really was them, I can agree to bridge the communication between you both and give you a chance to negotiate.”
“No, that’s not necessary.” John grabbed the bottle of wine from Pannis, poured himself a full glass, and splashed a lot of the liquid as he poured forcefully.
“I won’t participate in the negotiation.
If I do, they might worry that I have so malevolent sches or other plans, and thus refuse to negotiate.
So I’d rather entrust it all to you, and have you handle it completely.”
“Are you sure your brain is functioning properly?” Catherine looked at John sideways, “We’ve been old friends for many years.
If you’re saying these things in the heat of the mont, I can give you a chance to take them back.
Calm down first, and then we can continue.”
“I am very calm.” John spoke assertively, “And there’s no need to take anything back.”
“That’s ten million gold coins, not one thousand, ten million.” Catherine felt her heart rate spike several tis, “You’re entrusting it all to ?
If the deal is made, regardless of the final price, I could tell you it was ten million and you would have no room for doubt.”
“Thieves place their trust in you, why shouldn’t I?” John retorted through gritted teeth, “If you accept this commission, your commission fee is not set in stone.
For every one million drop in price, your commission will increase by fifty thousand.
If the transaction is sealed at ten million, the commission fee will be ten thousand gold coins.
If it’s nine million, the commission is sixty thousand, if it’s eight million, the commission is one hundred and ten thousand, and so on.
The lower the price, the higher your commission.”
“Just be frank with .” Before Catherine could decide, Pannis cast a doubtful gaze at John, “Who was it that advised you to entrust us with full authority?
You’re not from the circle of professionals, you certainly did not co up with this yourself.
So, who was it?”
“Uh,” John was tongue-tied, opening his mouth several tis without uttering a sound.
Pannis remained patient, silently watching John struggle with his inner conflict.
It was a while before John managed to stamr out, “It wasn’t just one person.
A few days ago when I asked the city guard for help again, their deputy captain Ayrland recomnded you guys.
Yesterday, when I approached the city’s main mansion for help through the Business Federation, the city lord personally received , he, too, recomnded you and this whole idea ca from Lord Odin himself, including the suggestion about the form of the commission.”
“I should have guessed.” Pannis slapped his forehead and said with a look towards the sky, “That Odin sure knows how to give people trouble.”
“Our guild leader, he…sigh.” Catherine gave a bitter smile, “This commission is really tempting, but the pressure is just too high.”
“Catherine, you cannot refuse this.” John said, sounding a little flustered, “In consideration of our years of association, I beg you to agree to this.
It’s crucial to the growth of our family’s future.
I place all my hope on you.”
“That’s precisely why the pressure is so huge.” Catherine’s expression was one of deep conflict, “Who would dare guarantee success in such a matter?
Even if the deal is sealed, such high-value goods pose a risk.
If they were my own, I could handle it, but they belong to soone else, and they represent the future of your entire family.
The responsibility is just too huge, just thinking about it makes anxious.”
“Please.” On John’s typically stern and dignified face, a flattering smile appeared.
He pressed his hands together in front of his chest and campaigned, “In the future, whenever you co to our auction house to auction things off, instead of charging you the customary five percent commission, we’ll only charge you two.
Please, you must accept this commission.”
Catherine looked at Pannis, who suddenly looked away, distancing himself from the situation.
Usually, when Pannis had this kind of disengaged expression, it represented his belief that the matter was devoid of conspiracy and entirely plausible.
Every ti Catherine saw Pannis display such indifference, she would be decided.
But not this ti.
She turned to John with an apologetic smile and yanked Pannis by the arm into the nearest room.
“Hey, hey, hey.” Pannis fought for control of his arm, “What are you trying to do?
I warn you, approach again and I’ll call for help.”
“I wanted to hit you.” Catherine curtly retorted, “Now, tell , should we take this commission or not?
There’s an eighty percent chance it was done by Passion and her people, the timing and location coincide perfectly.”
“You’re the guild leader, aren’t you?” Pannis shrugged nonchalantly, “You should be the one deciding such things, why are you asking ?”
“Tell now.” Catherine, not caring for reason or decency, grabbed Pannis by the collar, pinned him against the wall, her face inches from his, their noses almost touching.
She could feel the heat of his breath on her skin, “Tell whether or not we should take this commission.”
“You’re not…scared, are you?” Pannis seed to understand sothing, and softly posed the question, “My brave knight?”
“How, how is that even possible.” Catherine instantly backed off, her face flushing as she stamrily stated, “I, I am a fearless knight, there’s no need for battle in this task, there’s nothing for to be afraid of.”
“It seems you really are scared.” Pannis, even though his words insinuated otherwise, the smile on his face was gentle.
It had a calming effect, “Who said this task doesn’t require a battle?
It most surely does, and it’s an especially brutal one at that.”
“You noticed?” Catherine lowered her head and slowly squatted down, her body trembling slightly as she admitted, “Indeed, the battle in this task is particularly brutal.”
“But no one can help you.” Pannis reached out and placed his hand on Catherine’s shoulder, kneeling in front of her.
He stared into her eyes and spoke softly, “Because it’s your own battle, the one that takes place internally.” (To be continued.
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