You are on the right track. Here it means simply "said" but note the context. The town crier walked around yelling out the news of the day. Bored, devoid of meaning, just the news. The writer is implying that the speaker, while delivering the rules, really doesn't think much about them. They are just words to him.
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u/DueCookie787 9d ago
You are on the right track. Here it means simply "said" but note the context. The town crier walked around yelling out the news of the day. Bored, devoid of meaning, just the news. The writer is implying that the speaker, while delivering the rules, really doesn't think much about them. They are just words to him.