The moment those words were spoken, Mills looked at the handsome young man who had stepped out of the crowd, and his expression became even more delighted.
He immediately used his excellent eye for appraisal to estimate the young man’s value.
Extremely rare black hair and black eyes—three gold Sols.
Fair and delicate skin—half a gold Sol.
A cold and refined noble temperament, with the air of a scholar—half a gold Sol.
Handsome facial features—one gold Sol.
A rough linen outfit and a ridiculous oversized straw hat—minus one silver Sol.
...
Hiss!
After finishing his evaluation, Mills sucked in a sharp breath.
He realized that this young man would be worth even more in the Slave Capital than the girl named Anliya from before!
And if he happened to meet some lonely noblewoman desperate for a handsome young man, or a lord who preferred men, and they started bidding against one another...
It was entirely possible that the young man could be sold for an unimaginable price!
“Sir Knight! Yes! He is the criminal who robbed me of my money! Please arrest him! I want him to become my slave to compensate me for my losses!”
Mills pointed at Xia Mingyu and shouted in wild excitement.
If there hadn’t been so many people around, he almost wanted to rush over and kiss Xia Mingyu’s face several times.
What criminal?
This young man was clearly his benefactor!
His ladder to a higher position!
However, the instant Mills finished speaking, the atmosphere around them suddenly became strange.
Every villager nearby, including Anliya and Berg, who were about to be arrested and sold into slavery, stared at Mills with strange expressions.
Quite a few villagers even stood there with their mouths hanging open, as though they had just heard the most ridiculous thing imaginable.
Noticing the villagers’ unusual reactions, Knight Solin frowned slightly and carefully examined the young man standing before the crowd.
For some reason, after serving nobles for many years, Solin felt that there was something extraordinary about the young man’s bearing.
The young man wore a heavily patched linen robe, but the clothing underneath seemed to be made from surprisingly high-quality material.
His facial skin was fair and smooth.
He didn’t even have a single pimple.
For a commoner man, that was extremely unusual.
Apart from that, the young man wore an enormous straw hat on his head.
It looked almost like a mushroom that had grown crooked.
As an ordinary hat, it was ridiculously impractical.
But if it was being used as an item to conceal an identity blessing...
Then everything made sense.
When Solin remembered Berg’s earlier words about “an incomparably noble Highness,” his eyes slowly narrowed.
“Sir, may I ask you to remove your hat?”
Knight Solin spoke to Xia Mingyu in a deep voice.
His attitude was surprisingly polite.
He had even addressed Xia Mingyu respectfully as sir.
“Do I really have to take it off?”
Xia Mingyu hesitated.
If his identity was exposed to Knight Solin, then that also meant it would soon be exposed to Solin’s lord, Viscount Hughes.
Any piece of news interesting enough to catch people’s attention would naturally spread at incredible speed.
Perhaps before long, he would become famous throughout the entire world.
“According to the laws of the Kingdom of Sossia, anyone who enters the territory of a noble is obligated to show their identity blessing to the knight responsible for protecting that territory.”
Knight Solin continued calmly.
“If you refuse, I will be obligated to deal with Merchant Mills’s accusation that you robbed him of his money.”
“In that case, I will have to subdue you and hand you over to him.”
As he spoke, Knight Solin raised one hand.
Several attendants behind him slowly began approaching Xia Mingyu.
“Sir Knight, it seems I don’t have any other choice...”
Xia Mingyu sighed softly.
He understood that after this, he would probably have to say goodbye to his peaceful and comfortable life in this village.
He was finally going to truly step into this strange and fantastical world.
Under everyone’s gaze, Xia Mingyu slowly removed the enormous straw hat that resembled a giant mushroom.
A long line of white words was revealed above his head.
At that moment...
It was as though time itself had fallen silent.
The villagers were fine, since they had already seen it before.
But Knight Solin and his attendants stood completely frozen.
Their mouths hung open like wooden puppets, and none of them moved.
Knight Solin had always proudly claimed that his sword was both fast and steady.
Yet even when the fine steel longsword he treated like his own life slipped from his hand and fell into the dirt, he completely forgot to pick it up.
But the person with the most exaggerated reaction was undoubtedly the Klay traveling merchant, Mills.
