"In that case, I'll trouble you with the enrollment."
After learning that Aldrich was actually one of the university's directors, Dorothy felt a little more at ease. She then spoke, and Beverly also waved her hand, saying,
"No trouble at all, it's just a matter of informing them. Although normally I'd charge a handling fee for something like this, the old man instructed me to do it for free this time.
"Also, I suggest you rent an empty house in this town first and then go to school. Your appearance is a bit young, so staying in a dormitory might be inconvenient. It's better to live alone."
"That suits me perfectly," Dorothy replied to Beverly. She liked to tinker with forbidden cult items when she had nothing to do, so staying in a dormitory was impossible. She couldn't imagine a scenario where her roommates were playing around while she was performing a ritual.
"Okay, then you can go pick a house later. Although the houses here are a bit expensive, they're all quite good.
"Also, I am the head of the Tivian White Stone Craftsmen's Guild. If you need to trade Extraordinary items, you can come to me. Our stock is quite abundant."
Beverly continued, and her words surprised Dorothy again. She hadn't expected an autonomous mechanical doll to have an official position in the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild, and even be the person in charge of an important city like Tivian.
'This is good. Now I have a place to buy and sell Extraordinary items in Tivian.'
Dorothy thought this, and then suddenly, as if she had thought of something else, she continued to ask Beverly.
"By the way, do you know where the An-Yin Main Bureau in Tivian is? What should I do if I want to contact them?" Dorothy asked this. The document left by Sodod was still with her.
"I know the exact location of the An-Yin Main Bureau, but you should also know that we in this line of work cannot disclose customer information, so I cannot tell you the exact location. Although many people actually know, I still cannot say.
"However, if you just want to contact them briefly, I can help you. I will relay the message for you, and I can also conceal your identity when relaying it."
Beverly said this, and after hearing her words, Dorothy's eyes lit up.
'Help relay the message? That's great. I was just worried about how to contact the An-Yin Main Bureau while minimizing my exposure. Now I have a middleman.'
"In that case, thank you. Later, I have something that I need your help to transfer to the An-Yin Main Bureau in Tivian, transferred anonymously without revealing my information." Dorothy said to Beverly, and the other party replied lightly.
"Heh, I didn't expect you to have contact with the An Yin Bureau. Don't worry, I will send someone to deliver your item safely. However, this project is outside the scope of the old man's instructions, and I don't work for free. I'll have to charge you a fee."
'Fee? Again!?' Hearing Beverly's words, Dorothy's spirit froze. It seemed like she was recalling some bad memories. She looked at Beverly, who was currently in a contemplative and calculating posture.
"Postage for sending anonymous goods to the An-Yin Main Bureau… let me see… For the sake of the old man, I can give you a discount on the postage. How about 50 pound?"
"50 pound? You're just helping to transfer something, does it need to be that expensive?"
Hearing Beverly's words, Dorothy blurted out a complaint. 50 pound was enough for her tuition and rent in Igwinte for a long time. The other party was just helping to transfer something within the same city, and they were asking for so much?
Hearing Dorothy's words, Beverly shook her finger and said with a light laugh.
"This isn't a transfer fee, it's a connection fee. Being able to peacefully contact the An-Yin Main Bureau, and even negotiate with them, besides our Craftsmen's Guild, you won't find many places in Tivian that can do that. If you go to others, it's good if they ignore you, and there might even be danger. You should know from contacting the old man that as long as you have money, we can accomplish many things."
"But Aldrich's fees weren't as exaggerated as yours."
"Please, when you met the old man, you were in Igwinte, and this is Tivian. The cost of living is different. When I go out to buy oil to drink, it's twice as expensive as other places. Charging you this much is already being conscientious."
Beverly said as a matter of course. Hearing her words, Dorothy's expression sank. She suddenly realized that although this mechanical girl in front of her had vastly different personality and aesthetics from Aldrich, in terms of being a shrewd businesswoman, this father and daughter (?) pair were cut from the same cloth, and even surpassed him.
In this situation, Dorothy had no other choice. She could only let out a long sigh and speak.
"Hoo… okay, I'll give you the item to be sent later.
"Also, one last thing, do you have any clues on how to enter the ruins under the school? Can I use divination to find the entrance?" Dorothy asked this. If possible, she planned to get a floor plan of the school and then use pendulum divination to locate the entrance to the ruins.
"Divination? Heh… Miss Meisihuos, the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society) is the only 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) society in history. All of its strongholds are affected by an incredibly powerful Extraordinary effect that has persisted to this day. The source of this Extraordinary effect is currently unknown. We generally believe that the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society) created it for themselves during their peak, a self-operating information defense network using vast Extraordinary resources. Although it is now heavily damaged, and many defense measures have failed, some functions are still working.
"One of them is anti-divination for traces. Due to the existence of the defense network, almost all information about the location of the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society) members and even strongholds is protected by the defense network. No one can divine the location information of the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society) strongholds and members.
"For the many 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) storage items contained in the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society) ruins, countless people have tried to break through the defense network to divine the location of the ruins, including high-level Extraordinary. But after consuming a large amount of divination resources, they all returned empty-handed, and some even suffered backlash during divination. To this day, no one has been able to break through the anti-divination high wall built by this defense network."
Beverly said slowly. Hearing her words, Dorothy couldn't help but frown and speak.
"The Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society) has been destroyed for so long, and it's still partially operating… Is the Spirituality reserve of that anti-divination defense network so large? It hasn't been used up after nearly a thousand years of defending against divination?"
"Firstly, the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society) had a rich foundation in the past and indeed reserved sufficient Spirituality for the defense network. Secondly, the rank of the defense network is high enough, so high that others' divination targeting the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society)'s location will generate an unbearable extra consumption. Some speculate that the rank of that defense network is even above Golden."
Beverly explained. After hearing her words, Dorothy asked in surprise again.
"Does rank affect the consumption of divination?"
"Hmm, don't you know? From Chalk upwards, low-rankers divining high-rankers will consume extra divination resources. The greater the rank difference, the more the consumption.
"For example, if someone below Chalk wants to divine a Scarlet, you need to prepare more 'Light' and 'enlightenment' spirits than usual for divination, almost double. If someone below Chalk wants to divine Golden, the extra consumption will be even more. If the other party has anti-divination items, the Spirituality required will be exaggeratedly high."
Beverly explained to Dorothy. She didn't seem to have the habit of haggling and charging Dorothy for such common sense questions. In this regard, she was indeed more generous than Aldrich.
'Starting from Chalk, low-level Extraordinary will have a half-hearted effect when divining high-level ones. So, the difference in rank also brings about such an effect. If the rank of that information defense network is really above Golden, then it's not surprising that it can still function after a thousand years…'
...
Afterward, Dorothy consulted Beverly on some other matters, then gave her Sodod's document, along with some notes asking her to send it anonymously to the An-Yin Main Bureau. As she was about to pay, her eyes rolled, and she suddenly had an idea. She then said to Beverly,
"By the way, Beverly, can I send it collect on delivery?"
"Collect on delivery?"
"It means the recipient pays when it's delivered. If they don't pay, I'll pay you next time I come. Is that okay?"
Dorothy explained to Beverly. In her opinion, the An-Yin Main Bureau needed this document, not her, so the postage should rightfully be paid by them. Beverly also thought about it and nodded, then murmured,
"Do you think they will pay?"
"Of course~ And then you won't need to give them a discount. Ask for whatever you should ask for, maybe even more. The An-Yin Main Bureau is a big organization. Compared to me, you should be able to squeeze more out of them."
Dorothy said this. Given the importance of the content in the document, she believed the main bureau would be quite willing to spend money to get it back. She was implying to Beverly that this document was somewhat important to them and that she could ask for more at that time.
Hearing Dorothy's words, Beverly nodded slightly and then said,
"Hmm… okay, I'll try. If I do get a good income from there, I'll share some with you, Miss Meisihuos."
"Ha, then I'll look forward to it."
Hearing Beverly's words, Dorothy also replied with a smile. Looking at each other, a slight smile appeared on the corners of both girls' mouths.
In this way, Dorothy successfully avoided losing money.