Arthur didn't dwell on the topic of horses anymore; instead, he took out a palm-sized wooden box from his arms.
The wooden box was exquisitely crafted, and to deliberately highlight its contents, simple patterns were carved on it.
"Then take a look at this," Arthur pushed the wooden box to the center of the table, towards Roderick. "Give me an estimate, how much is it worth?"
Arthur didn't know the market value of precious items in Westeros, after all, the most expensive thing in his body's memory was his father's broken sword.
A flicker of excitement crossed Roderick's eyes, and he even trembled. Finally, it was here. He had endured for so long just for this. He carefully opened the wooden box, only to see a peculiar object lying quietly inside.
Two pieces of crystal, polished to a sparkling transparency, were connected by a simple bronze frame, making for a rather unique shape.
Roderick gently picked it up, breathing heavily, and examined it against the sunlight. The crystal's purity was extremely high, shimmering with brilliant halos under the light.
Beautiful! Too beautiful! But it's not enough! He wanted the effect of the single-sided mirror he had used before!
Arthur pointed to his own nose: "Place it on your nose bridge, close to your eyes."
Roderick carefully did as he was told. He was a merchant nearing fifty, who had spent years buried in dense ledgers. His eyesight had long been overstrained, and distant objects always appeared as if through a thin mist.
In fact, he could barely read his ledgers anymore and needed someone to read them aloud for him. But in this world, he could only trust himself, which had led to many errors.
When that simple pair of spectacles was placed on his nose bridge, he subconsciously lowered his head, pulled out his ledger, and looked at the inventory list. It was a parchment filled with tiny script, and in that instant, a miracle occurred.
Those originally somewhat blurry, barely discernible tiny characters, which required squinting to make out, seemed to be instantly polished by an invisible hand. Every letter, every number, became clearer than ever before! Distinct!
So clear it made his scalp tingle! A miracle! This was a miracle! What in the world was this thing!
Roderick suddenly sprang up from his chair, with such force that he almost knocked over the chair behind him.
The anger and arrogance that had been on his face were completely gone, replaced by an expression mixed with ecstasy, shock, and disbelief.
"Ye Gods! This… how is this possible?" Roderick let out a dreamlike groan. He took off the spectacles, and the world before his eyes returned to its familiar blur. He put them back on, and the entire world instantly became clear as day.
Roderick repeatedly took them off and put them on; each comparison made his heart pound incessantly. This was no longer just a commodity; this was magic! It was a miracle!
Arthur's calm voice roused him from his daze: "Five hundred gold dragons."
"I want five hundred gold dragons."
"Deal!!!!" Roderick agreed almost without hesitation, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. He was like a hungry wolf that had caught the scent of a wounded prey's blood, his eyes gleaming with greed and fanaticism.
"But I don't have that much gold dragon cash on hand! I... I hope to leave all these goods that were originally prepared for sale in the North! Use them to offset the price!" Roderick pointed to the long caravan not far away, his tone urgent, fearing that Arthur would go back on his word.
Roderick's overly quick reaction, however, startled Arthur. Damn it, he might have been too much of a peasant. He instantly realized that he might have severely underestimated the value of this item. Five hundred gold dragons, in the eyes of this shrewd King's Landing merchant, might be far below his internal valuation.
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