Chapter 29 — The Mithril Treasury
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 3
The Treasury agent was still watching Gao Yang with curiosity, while the latter, betraying nothing, swiftly marshaled the tangled threads of his thoughts. He realized that tonight's unexpected visitor's call likely concerned a transaction from seven hundred years ago. The Gao Yang Cecil of that era had evidently been a client of the Mithril Treasury—but fatally...
There was no memory of it whatsoever in his mind!
Gao Yang had absolutely no idea what that Cecil ancestor of seven hundred years ago had deposited with the Mithril Treasury!
As his thoughts raced, he instinctively wanted to invent some excuse to fob her off and cover the blank in his memory—but just as the words reached his lips, he caught the scrutinizing gaze of that Miss Littleony, and something stirred in his heart. He forcibly swallowed the fib before it could emerge.
This woman was steeped in mystery, and until her background was certain, variables must be kept to a minimum. Lying might bring trouble—some special races possessed special gifts that could detect falsehood.
He calmed himself and looked into Meitzen's eyes: "What did I deposit, back then?"
"You don't remember?" Meitzen's eyes curved slightly downward, as if she were smiling. "Could it be that too long a slumber has...?"
"I slept for seven hundred years, so I've probably forgotten a thing or two," Gao Yang said, tapping his own head. "By the way—even if the party involved has passed away, do you still keep the entrusted item?"
"Ordinarily, the death of the party involved means the termination of the commission, after which the entrusted item is handled in one of two ways: if there is a verified designated heir, we deliver it to the heir; if there is no legal heir, the item becomes the property of the Mithril Treasury," Meitzen said, and she truly was smiling now as she raised a hand slightly—a delicate little strongbox appeared in her palm out of thin air. "But what you deposited back then was very special. You purchased indefinite storage for it—meaning so long as the Mithril Treasury operates, your item shall be preserved forever, and only you yourself may take it away."
And she added: "You paid no small sum for that service back then. When word of your death arrived, we assumed it would become a most troublesome bad debt—but now it seems nothing is ever certain."
Gao Yang frowned deeply, realizing this matter was likely more complicated than he had first imagined.
But now was not the time to dwell on such things. He first had to get that item into his hands before he could make any further judgment.
"Can I take back what's mine?"
"Your failure to remember the original commission does pose a slight difficulty, but rest assured—the Mithril Treasury has encountered every manner of problem, and we have ample experience to meet any contingency," Meitzen said, cradling the strongbox in both hands. "Memory is a minor matter. Please place your hand upon this rune; these ancient magics will naturally verify your identity."
Gao Yang pondered for two seconds, simultaneously calling upon the Knight class's "Danger Sense" talent. He sensed no threatening aura within the strongbox, nor did the rune itself emit any fluctuation of curse, poison, or other negative energy. Only after confirming this did he place his hand on the rune shaped like a claw mark.
A faint warmth spread across his skin, and the little strongbox clicked—the lid popped open a crack.
"That's it?" Gao Yang asked, somewhat surprised.
Meitzen smiled: "Maximizing convenience for clients is the Mithril Treasury's guiding principle—it helps clients settle their bills all the more smoothly. Of course, your bill was settled seven hundred years ago."
With that, she opened the box fully and handed it to Gao Yang. He looked down—and found that within lay nothing but a single lusterless crystal.
Wait—this crystal looked somehow familiar?