108: thief

"Ding-a-ling-a-ling…"

Suddenly, the alarm bell in the jewelry section rang, emitting a piercing buzz, and everyone's eyes instantly focused on the display cabinet in the southeast corner.

The alarm spell there was set up by Lucy, and she was the first to rush over.

"Whose maid are you? How dare you steal something here!" Lucy's eyebrows shot up as she grabbed a woman's arm; her right hand was clutching a gem ring.

The woman, dressed as a maid, shrieked, "No, this is my mistress's ring."

The Kedas City Lord and I walked over, and the other nobles also gathered around.

"Lying! You clearly stole it from the counter!" Lucy yelled, "Where is your master? Whose maid is this?"

"Sha Ruiwen's little girl, let go of my person!" A sharp female voice rang out.

"Baroness Moss! Is this your person?" Lucy questioned.

"That's my ring; I just had Ata hold it for me. Give it back to me quickly," Baroness Moss shouted, reaching to snatch the ring.

Lucy pulled the person and the ring to the other side, blocking Baroness Moss. "The alarm spell I personally set up means she stole it!"

"Madam, I just accidentally touched the counter; this ring has been in my hand the whole time," Ata argued.

"Even touching the counter is not allowed! This ring is clearly mine, City Lord! You must uphold justice! This outsider merchant wants to bully us Gorebest locals!" Baroness Moss began to complain tearfully to the Kedas City Lord beside her.

The Kedas City Lord turned to me, "How can your mall prove this ring is yours?"

I gestured to Old Hather, who quickly said, "I'll go get the ledger; every item in the mall is recorded."

"There's no name of your mall on this ring, and who knows where you found that ledger? You could just record something similar," Baroness Moss said. "We Gorebest people don't fall for that. Lucy! You can't help outsiders."

"Baroness Moss, if I'm not mistaken, this isn't the first time you've instructed your maid to steal. Every time, you deny knowing anything, send the maid to jail, and then get a new maid," Lucy said loudly.

"You! You're talking nonsense!" Baroness Moss turned to the Kedas City Lord, tears streaming down her face, and said, "City Lord, you must stand up for me! This little girl dares to bully a widow like me."

The Kedas City Lord wanted to say something but closed his mouth when he saw my playful gaze.

"City Lord, here's the ledger." Old Hather showed the page recording the ring to Kedas.

"This… there is indeed a record," Kedas murmured.

"All rings look similar; how can you determine that this one is theirs?" Baroness Moss started to act shamelessly.

"Then let Flame Fist interrogate her," Lucy said.

"They can't interrogate nobles without reason. I'm a baroness; I have immunity! I vouch for my maid; she didn't steal," Baroness Moss began to sound a little smug.

Lucy was at a loss for how to resolve the situation.

"That's easy," I said. "Holy Knight Randel has the spell of the Domain of Honesty. For fairness, Baroness Moss, you and your maid, Lucy, and my staff will all undergo interrogation by the Holy Knight."

Randall stepped forward at the sound, his steel boots clanging, and the holy emblem on his chest shone brightly.

"No! I don't…" Baroness Moss showed a panicked expression.

"What do you think?" I looked at the Kedas City Lord.

"Baroness Moss, choose between interrogation by Flame Fist or interrogation by the Holy Knight. Don't forget, as both City Lord and a priest, I also have the ability to discern lies," the priest said.

The surrounding nobles all looked at Baroness Moss and her maid with playful expressions.

"How many times has this been?"

"Hehe, we all know about this old widow's habit."

"It seems this Lord Ryan, though young, is not to be trifled with."

...

Baroness Moss's face flushed, and her jawline twitched three times before she squeezed out a sound from her throat: "Put… put the thing back."

The maid trembled as she put down the ring, which had left red marks in her palm. The mistress and servant retreated, scurrying out of the mall's main entrance.

After the small interlude with the thief, I led the nobles, who were still subconsciously adjusting their sashes, back to the center of the hall and up the stairs to the second floor.

The south side of the second floor had small private rooms, convenient for future trade discussions between merchants. After showing everyone around, I stated that if anyone needed them in the future, they could come to these private rooms to meet people for discussions. The mall also provided free drinks and snacks, and the Black Panther Restaurant could offer delivery service.

The north side of the second floor was a large banquet hall.

It also had crimson carpets, crystal chandeliers, and tables laden with various foods and drinks.

Although it was still basically local cuisine, I had the chefs use our refined salt.

The nobles' food used refined salt, while the servants' food downstairs used coarse salt.

There was a slight difference in taste, but to make these people willing to pay for salt, we had to create a distinction.

The lavish dinner began, and at the north end of the first floor, the Black Panther Restaurant also started its banquet simultaneously.

The nobles' coachmen, servants, and others were invited to dine in the restaurant.

During the banquet in the hall, the Gorebest nobles exchanged opinions while eating.

"Is this dish cooked with refined salt? It's indeed especially delicious!"

"Damn it, what I used to swallow was practically coarse quartz sand!"

"Butler, go downstairs now and buy 20 pounds, no, 200 pounds!"

"My family wants some too…"

Some nobles rushed downstairs before even taking a few bites of their food.

As the noble ladies in whalebone crinolines rushed towards the stairs, stepping on the tips of the gentlemen's patent leather shoes, I beckoned Old Hather over and whispered, "There aren't that many packaged salts at the counter. Let the nobles buying salt downstairs pay first, at least half a deposit. Just tell them we'll deliver within seven days."

Old Hather nodded and also went downstairs.