"Since that’s the case, then I’ll have to trouble you with my enrollment," Dorothy said after learning that Aldrich was actually one of the university’s board members. This revelation put her somewhat at ease. Beverly, on the other hand, waved her hand dismissively.
"It’s no trouble at all, just a matter of giving a heads-up. Normally, even for this, I’d charge a small handling fee, but since this is something the old man instructed, I’ll let you off for free this time."
"Also, I suggest you rent a place in town first before starting your studies. You look a bit young, so living in the dorms might be inconvenient. It’s better to have your own place."
"That suits me perfectly," Dorothy replied to Beverly. She liked tinkering with cultic contraband in her free time, so there was no way she could stay in a dorm. She couldn’t even imagine performing rituals while her roommates were messing around nearby.
"Alright then, go pick a place to stay later. Housing here is a bit pricey, but the quality is decent."
"By the way, I’m the head of the Tivian White Craftsmen’s Guild. If you ever need to trade mystical items, you can come to me. Our stock is quite sufficient."
Beverly continued speaking, and her words surprised Dorothy once again. She hadn’t expected a self-disciplined automaton to hold an official position within the White Craftsmen’s Guild—let alone be in charge of Tivian, such an important city.
“Well, this works out. Now I’ll have a reliable source for buying and selling mystical items in Tivian,” Dorothy thought. Suddenly, as if something had just come to mind, she turned to Beverly and asked,
"By the way, do you know where the Serenity Bureau’s headquarters is in Tivian? If I need to contact them, what should I do?" Dorothy asked, recalling the documents Sodod had left with her.
"I do know the exact location of the Serenity Bureau, but as you should be aware, our line of work requires us to protect client information. So, I can’t tell you the address. A lot of people actually know where it is, but I still can’t say.""However, if you just need to get in touch with them, I can help pass along a message for you. I can even keep your identity anonymous."
Beverly’s words made Dorothy’s eyes light up.
“She can act as a middleman? Perfect! I was just worried about how to contact the Bureau while revealing as little about myself as possible.”
"In that case, I appreciate it. I happen to have something that needs to be delivered to the Serenity Bureau in Tivian. Please make sure it gets there without revealing my identity." Dorothy requested, to which Beverly responded casually,
"Heh, I didn’t expect you to have dealings with the Bureau. Don’t worry, I’ll have someone deliver it safely. But this is outside the old man’s orders, so I’m not doing it for free. I’ll have to charge you a fee."
“A fee? Again!?”
Hearing Beverly’s words, Dorothy stiffened. It was as if she was recalling some unpleasant memories. She glanced at Beverly and saw the automaton girl lost in thought, seemingly calculating something.
"The postage for sending an anonymous package to the Bureau... Let me see... Since it’s for the old man’s sake, I’ll give you a discount. How about 50 pounds?"
"50 pounds!? You’re just forwarding a package! How can it cost that much?"
Dorothy blurted out in disbelief. That amount could cover her tuition and rent for quite some time in Igwynt! And Beverly was only delivering something within the same city—yet she was charging this much?
Beverly shook her finger and chuckled.
"This isn’t just a forwarding fee; it’s an access fee. Being able to directly contact the Serenity Bureau on peaceful terms and even negotiate with them—aside from our Craftsmen’s Guild, there are very few organizations in Tivian that can do that. If you try someone else, you’d be lucky if they ignore you. Worst case? You might end up in danger. You’ve dealt with the old man before, so you should know: as long as you have money, we can make a lot of things happen."
"But even Aldrich never charged this ridiculously!"
"Come on, when you met the old man, it was in Igwynt. This is Tivian—completely different cost of living! Even basic supplies here cost twice as much as elsewhere. Honestly, I’m already giving you a fair deal."
Beverly spoke as if it was only natural. Hearing this, Dorothy’s face darkened. She suddenly realized that, despite their stark differences in personality and aesthetics, this automaton girl was just as much of a shrewd merchant as Aldrich—if not even more ruthless.
Faced with this situation, Dorothy had no choice. She let out a long sigh and conceded.
"Fine… I’ll give you the item later."
"One more thing—about the ruins beneath the school. Do you have any leads on how to enter? Can I use divination to locate the entrance?" Dorothy asked. If possible, she planned to get a floor plan of the school and use a pendulum to divine the entrance’s location.
"Divination? Heh... Miss Mayschoss, the Star Numerology Scriptorium was the only Revelation organization in history. All of its strongholds were influenced by a mystical effect so powerful that it has persisted to this day. The source of this effect remains unknown, but we generally believe the Scriptorium pooled immense extraordinary resources to create a self-sustaining information defense network.”
"Even though it’s been heavily damaged over time, many of its protective mechanisms remain functional.”
"One of them is a trace-blocking anti-divination field. Because of this defense network, nearly all information regarding the Scriptorium’s members and strongholds is protected. No one can successfully divine the location of its sites or members.”
"Countless people—including high-ranking Beyonders—have tried to bypass this defense network to divine the ruins’ location. They burned through massive amounts of divination resources, but all failed. Some even suffered backlash. To this day, no one has broken through this anti-divination wall."
Beverly explained calmly. Hearing this, Dorothy frowned.
"The Scriptorium has been gone for so long, yet its defenses are still active? How much spirituality was stored in that anti-divination field for it to last nearly a thousand years?"
"First, the Scriptorium was incredibly wealthy. They indeed stocked the defense network with an ample supply of spirituality. Second, the field’s rank is extraordinarily high—so high that any divination attempt targeting the Scriptorium’s locations consumes an unbearable amount of resources. Some speculate that the network’s rank is even above Gold."
Beverly elaborated.
Dorothy, surprised, asked, "Rank affects divination costs?"
"Yes, you didn’t know? From White Ash and above, if a lower-rank Beyonder tries to divine a higher-rank entity, they will consume extra resources. The bigger the gap, the greater the cost.
"For example, if someone below White Ash tries to divine a Red Completion-rank entity, they need about twice the usual Lantern and Revelation spirituality. If they attempt to divine a Gold-rank target, the cost will be even steeper—especially if the target has anti-divination items."
Beverly explained. She didn’t seem to have the habit of charging for basic knowledge, making her somewhat more generous than Aldrich in that regard.
“So, starting from White Ash, lower-rank Beyonders get diminishing returns when divining higher-rank ones… If that information defense network really is above Gold, then no wonder it’s still functioning after so many years.”
…
After discussing a few more matters, Dorothy handed the document from Sodod to Beverly along with some notes for the Serenity Bureau. Just as she was about to pay, she had an idea.
She looked at Beverly and asked, "By the way, Beverly, can I send it cash on delivery?"
"Cash on delivery?"
"Yeah, meaning the recipient pays upon delivery. If they refuse, I’ll cover it next time. Does that work?"
Dorothy explained. In her view, the Bureau was the one who needed the document, so they should be the ones paying the postage.
Beverly considered it for a moment, then murmured, "Do you think they’ll pay?"
"Of course~ And you don’t need to give them a discount. Charge them properly—maybe even more. The Bureau is wealthy, after all. You’ll definitely make more from them than from me."
Hearing this, Beverly nodded slightly.
"Alright, I’ll give it a shot. If I make a good profit, I’ll share some with you, Miss Mayschoss."
"Hah, I’ll be looking forward to it."
The two girls exchanged knowing smiles.
And just like that, Dorothy successfully avoided a financial loss.