Chapter 182

Chapter 182: Collect on Delivery

“Given this situation, enrolling in school will be troublesome.”

After learning that Audric was actually one of the board members of this university, Dorothy felt slightly relieved and said this. Beverly also waved her hand and replied.

“It’s not troublesome. It’s just a matter of informing someone. Although I usually charge a handling fee even for such things, since it’s an order from the old man, I’ll do it for free for you.

“Additionally, I suggest you rent an empty house in this town first. Then you can start attending school. Your appearance and age are a bit young, so living in a dorm might be inconvenient. Living alone would be better.”

“That suits me perfectly,” Dorothy replied to Beverly. She enjoyed experimenting with forbidden esoteric items and couldn’t possibly live in a dormitory. She couldn’t imagine having a roommate while she performed rituals.

“Hmm, then go pick a house soon. The houses here are a bit expensive but they’re all quite good.

“Also, I’m the general manager of the White Stone Craftsmen Guild in Tivyán. If you need to trade extraordinary items, you can come to me. We have a fairly rich inventory.”

Beverly continued, which took Dorothy by surprise. She hadn’t expected that a self-disciplined automaton would have an official position within the White Stone Craftsmen Guild, let alone as the manager of such an important city like Tivyán.

“This works well. Now I have a place to trade extraordinary items in Tivyán.”

Thinking this, Dorothy suddenly seemed to recall something and asked Beverly further.

“By the way, do you know where the Anonymity Headquarters in Tivyán is? If I want to contact them, what should I do?”

Dorothy asked, as Sodod’s documents were still in her possession.

“I know the exact location of the Anonymity Headquarters, but you understand that we cannot disclose customer information in our line of work. So, I can’t tell you the specific location, although many people know it. However, I won’t reveal it.

“But if you just want to make a simple contact, I can help. I’ll pass on your message and can also hide your identity.”

Beverly said, and after hearing her words, Dorothy’s eyes lit up.

“Helping to relay the message? That’s great. I’ve been worrying about how to contact the Anonymity Headquarters without revealing myself. Now there’s an intermediary.”

“Thank you. I’ll have something to deliver to the Anonymity Headquarters in Tivyán shortly. Please deliver it without revealing my information,” Dorothy told Beverly, and the latter responded lightly.

“Heh, I didn’t expect you to have connections with the Anonymity Bureau. Don’t worry, I’ll send someone to ensure your item is delivered safely. However, this project is beyond what the old man instructed, so I won’t do it for free. I’ll charge you a fee.”

“Fee? Again!?” Hearing Beverly’s words, Dorothy’s spirit jolted, as if recalling some unpleasant memories. She looked at Beverly, who now appeared calculating.

“The postage for sending anonymous goods to the Anonymity Headquarters… Let me see… Considering the old man’s face, I can give you a discount. How about 50 pounds?”

“50 pounds? You’re only helping to deliver an item. Is it really worth that much?”

Hearing Beverly’s words, Dorothy blurted out, criticizing her directly. Fifty pounds would cover her tuition and rent in Igewent for a long time. All she wanted was to transfer something within the same city, yet she demanded so much?

Listening to Dorothy’s words, Beverly shook her finger and smiled lightly.

“This isn’t a delivery fee; it’s a channel fee. To establish a peaceful connection with the Anonymity Bureau and negotiate terms, there are only a few places in Tivyán besides our Artisan Guild. Going elsewhere might result in danger. You know how the old man operates. With money, we can accomplish a lot.”

“But Audric’s fees aren’t that exorbitant.”

“Please, you met the old man in Igewent, but here in Tivyán, the cost of living is different. Even buying oil on the street is twice as expensive here compared to other places. Charging you this much is already being considerate.”

Beverly said matter-of-factly. Hearing this, Dorothy’s expression darkened. Suddenly, she realized that although the mechanical girl had vastly different personality and aesthetic tastes compared to Audric, both shared a knack for being shrewd merchants—perhaps even more so than the father.

Faced with this situation, Dorothy had no choice but to take a deep breath and speak.

“Sigh… Alright, I’ll give you what needs to be sent later.

“Lastly, do you have any clues about how to enter the ruins beneath the school? Can I use divination to find its entrance?”

“If possible, I plan to draw a floor plan of the school and use a pendulum to divine the location of the entrance.”

“Divination? Hehe… Miss Meyshos, the Star Number Repair Association is historically the only ‘Enlightenment’ society. All their bases are influenced by an incredibly powerful and enduring effect of extraordinary items. The source of this effect is currently unknown, but we generally believe it was created during the height of the Star Number Repair Association’s power using vast resources of extraordinary items to build a self-working information defense network. Although it has degraded significantly and many defenses have failed, some functions still operate.

“One of these functions is anti-divination tracking. Because of the defense network, almost all information about members and bases of the Star Number Repair Association is protected, making it impossible to divine their locations.

“Many high-ranking Extraordinary Beings have tried to break through the defense network to divine the location of the ruins, but they all returned empty-handed after exhausting their divination resources. Some even suffered backlash during the process. No one has broken through this anti-divination barrier.”

Beverly explained slowly. Listening to her, Dorothy frowned and said.

“The Star Number Repair Association has been destroyed for so long, yet remnants still function… Does the anti-divination defense network have such extensive reserves? It hasn’t been depleted after nearly a thousand years of protection?”

“Firstly, the Star Number Repair Association had substantial resources, which provided ample spiritual energy for the defense network. Secondly, the defense network’s rank is high enough that anyone trying to divine its location would incur additional, unmanageable costs. Some speculate that the defense network’s rank might even surpass gold.”

Beverly explained further. After hearing this, Dorothy asked unexpectedly.

“Does rank affect divination consumption?”

“Yes, haven’t you learned yet? From White Chalk upward, lower-ranked individuals divining higher-ranked ones consume extra divination resources. The greater the rank difference, the more resources are consumed.

“For example, if someone below White Chalk wants to divine someone at the Red Tier, they must prepare more ‘Lamps’ and ‘Enlightenment’ spiritual energy than usual, roughly doubling the amount. Divining someone above Gold requires even more resources. If the target has anti-divination tools, the required spiritual energy becomes astronomically high.”

Beverly explained to Dorothy, seemingly not concerned with charging her for common knowledge. This was indeed more generous than Audric.

“From White Chalk onwards, lower-tier Extraordinary Beings performing divinations on higher-tier ones yield diminishing returns. The rank gap brings such effects. If the information defense network’s rank truly surpasses gold, it’s unsurprising that it remains effective after a millennium…”

…

Afterward, Dorothy asked Beverly about other matters and handed over Sodod’s documents, along with a note asking her to deliver them anonymously to the Anonymity Headquarters. As she prepared to pay, she had an idea and said to Beverly,

“By the way, Beverly, can I send something collect on delivery?”

“Collect on delivery?”

“Meaning the recipient pays when the item is delivered. If they don’t pay, I’ll settle it next time. Is that okay?”

Dorothy explained, thinking that the file was needed by the Anonymity Headquarters, not herself. Therefore, the postage should be paid by them. Beverly nodded thoughtfully and murmured,

“Do you think they will pay?”

“Of course~ And by then, you won’t have to give them a discount. Charge whatever you think is fair, even a bit more. The Anonymity Headquarters is wealthy. Compared to me, you should be able to extract more money from them.”

Dorothy said, believing the content of the file was important enough for the Bureau to be willing to spend a lot to obtain it. She was hinting that the file was significant to the Bureau and could fetch more money.

Listening to Dorothy, Beverly nodded slightly and said,

“Mmm… Okay, I’ll try. If I earn a good income from it, I’ll share some with you, Miss Meyshos.”

“Heh, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Hearing Beverly’s words, Dorothy smiled in response. The two girls exchanged a glance, and a smile crept onto each of their lips.

Thus, Dorothy successfully avoided a financial setback.