Tivian’s Outer Suburbs, Outside the East Gate of the Royal Crown University, Green Shade Town.
The soft afternoon sunlight spilled onto the peaceful streets of Green Shade Town. This charming town, dedicated to serving students, was lined with numerous shops, mostly restaurants selling a variety of dishes. Beyond the eateries, there were also many stores selling sports equipment, cosmetics, books, and more. Apart from these shops, most of the buildings in Green Shade Town were residential, home to university lecturers, professors, and well-off students who preferred not to stay in dormitories. Dorothy was one such student.
The tranquil streets, shaded by lush green trees, were lined with an assortment of small buildings. Dorothy’s current residence was among them.
On the second floor of one of these buildings, inside an independent tea room facing the street, Dorothy, dressed in casual attire, sat at a small table. She sipped coffee while gazing out the window, admiring the street view.
This was the house Dorothy had rented in Green Shade Town—No. 17 Green Shade Town—a charming two-story wooden house with its own small garden. The first floor contained the living room, kitchen, study, and guest room, while the second floor housed the master bedroom, bathroom, tea room, and balcony. With its well-furnished interior and comfortable environment, Dorothy had been highly satisfied with it upon first sight. Ultimately, she rented the house for a monthly fee of 8 pounds, paying three months’ rent in advance along with a one-month deposit, totaling 32 pounds.
Compared to the apartment on Southern Sunflower Street in Igwynt, which Gregor had rented for the two of them, this place was at least seven or eight times more expensive. Fortunately, for Dorothy, affording this was no issue. In fact, every time she spent money on mundane matters, she felt it was a bargain. She hadn’t even tried bargaining with the landlord, leading them to believe she was some wealthy noble’s daughter.
After adding a generous amount of sugar, Dorothy stirred her coffee with a spoon, ensuring the sugar cubes fully dissolved. As she took slow sips, she occasionally glanced out the window—specifically, toward another two-story building across the slanted street: No. 23 Green Shade Town.
To Dorothy’s own eyes, that distant building appeared unremarkable. However, her other senses painted a different picture.
The birds circling in the sky, the lizards clinging to the trees, the mice lurking in the garden—her small corpse marionettes had already spread throughout the area surrounding No. 23. They relayed all the information they sensed directly to Dorothy’s mind, allowing her to monitor the environment in extraordinary detail.
Unlike before, this time, these small corpse marionettes were not there to monitor No. 23 itself, but rather to observe those attempting to spy on No. 23. And indeed, they had already found such people.One was a man sitting on a bench across the street, pretending to read a newspaper while sneakily glancing at the building from the corner of his eye. The other was a young man sitting in a restaurant opposite No. 23. He ate his meal while frequently casting looks toward the building, even occasionally asking the waiter some questions.
"So, they’ve come… Yet, no one dares to directly knock on the door to inquire about the item—they all prefer to observe from the shadows."
"Perfect. If they think they’re hidden, that’s even better."
Observing the two suspicious figures lurking around No. 23, Dorothy smirked. In Green Shade Town, she resided at No. 17, but she had also rented No. 23. That had cost her another 30 pounds or so, though this time, she had used her corpse marionettes as intermediaries, securing the place with a fake identity purchased from the Tivian black market for 5 pounds. As for the black market’s location, she had spent 10 pounds to buy that information from Beverly.
Dorothy had published a lost-and-found notice in the university newspaper, hoping to lure members of a secret society to confirm whether the so-called Revelation spiritual storage item belonged to them. Of course, she wouldn’t use her real address for this—she had listed the address of her corpse marionette instead.
From her understanding, in this current era, she was likely the only Revelation pathway Beyonder. That made any spiritual storage related to Revelation incredibly valuable.
No secret society could easily resist the temptation of such an item. Dorothy was certain that the secret society hiding within the university would at least investigate the notice, even if only to test the waters—especially since she had recently drained some of their Revelation spirituality through her divination.
Of course, they might suspect a trap, which was why they weren’t approaching directly but instead conducting covert surveillance—just like the two men outside right now.
Dorothy had anticipated this as well. That was why she had already stationed her small corpse marionettes around No. 23 in advance. While they were monitoring No. 23, she was monitoring them in return.
To counter the possibility of a Silence pathway Beyonder path using spectral entities for reconnaissance, Dorothy positioned herself where she could observe No. 23 directly. She activated her spiritual vision and, together with her corpse marionettes, maintained surveillance. She also kept a close eye on the Concealment Ring on her hand, monitoring its spirituality consumption as a defense against mystical searches from the Lantern. If she detected such a search, she was prepared to use an Area Clairvoyance Sigil obtained from Sodod to counter-search them.
Having made thorough preparations, Dorothy finally set her trap. If someone discovered something unusual about her corpse marionette, she didn’t mind. She only needed to identify the members of the secret society who had come to investigate—that alone was enough to grab hold of their trail, just as she was doing now.
"I thought they would use some mystical detection methods, but they’re just relying on plain old surveillance and information gathering? Maybe there aren’t any major secret societies among the students. They probably wanted to conserve spirituality sigils."
While observing those who thought they were the observers, Dorothy mused to herself. Her goal was already achieved—she had successfully baited out the hidden members of the university’s secret society. Now, all she needed to do was track them back to their base.
Just as Dorothy was deep in thought, one of her bird corpse marionettes spotted a figure walking down the distant street.
It was a woman, seemingly around eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed in a simple white long dress and a short white jacket. She had a striking face, lively eyes, and dark brown, waist-length, slightly wavy hair. Her skin had a slightly tanned, wheatish tone. Holding two books in her arms, her chest noticeably bounced with each step. She looked like a student from Royal Crown University.
Walking down the street, she glanced around as if searching for something. When her eyes landed on the house number "23," they lit up, and she hurried toward the door. Both of the men surveilling No. 23—and Dorothy herself—were startled.
Reaching the front door, the woman immediately rang the doorbell. Seeing this, Dorothy swiftly controlled the corpse marionette she had stationed inside No. 23, making it stand up and head to the entrance.
Holding her books, the woman waited at the door. Soon, it opened, revealing a young man with neatly combed hair and round spectacles, who looked refined and scholarly. He gazed at her curiously and asked:
"May I ask who you are?"
"Hello, fellow student. My name is Nephthys Boyle, a student from the Class of 24, Archaeology Department. I saw the lost-and-found notice in the school paper. The artifact you found might be mine, so I came to claim it," the woman said with a polite smile.
Dorothy was momentarily stunned.
"Damn… Two groups showed up at once? This bait hooked two fish at the same time? Also, come on, senior—if you’re part of a secret society, could you at least be a little more discreet? Don’t just walk up to the door! Take some pointers from those two guys hiding over there!"
Despite her internal complaints, Dorothy smoothly controlled her corpse marionette to respond with a smile.
"So, you’re from the Archaeology Department. My name is Brandon. Come in and have a seat. The item is inside—we just need to verify it’s really yours, and then it’s all yours. Is that alright?"
"Alright," Nephthys nodded. She followed "Brandon" inside, and the door closed behind them.
Outside, the two men who had been watching No. 23 hesitated for a moment—then moved closer, intensifying their surveillance.