Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 37 Report
The dock area, the Dragon Bar, and the underground exchange.

Old Neil continued to lead Claire inside, pointing to her and saying:
"These two small dark rooms are the most useful places. The one on the left is for lending money, and the one on the right is for selling and purchasing precious items... Well, I'll go with you to get familiar with the route."

Old Neil knocked on the door of the house on the right.

The inside is divided into two rooms, and there is a customer waiting in the outer room.

Soon, a lady with a black veil covering her face hurried out. Claire quietly opened her eyes of prying eyes and saw nothing unusual.

After the customer in front of them hurried into the back room, Old Neil introduced:

"There aren't many goods here, but they're all usable. If you can get the formula and have enough money, you might be able to whip up a potion by spending some time here. I mean, low-sequence ones."

Not long after, the locked door of the inner room opened and the customer came out hurriedly.

Claire followed him into the inner room.

There was an ordinary counter inside, and behind the counter sat a rather burly old man.

The old man smiled when he saw Old Neil nod.

Old Neil sat in the chair in front of the counter and said familiarly, "Please tell me about the extraordinary materials in stock and their prices."

The old man held a notebook in his hands.

He glanced at Claire and read:

"Deep-sea marlin blood is 12 pounds per milliliter, star crystal is 3 pounds per gram, murloc's swim bladder is 200 pounds, and an adult Manhar fish is 320 pounds..."

There are not many extraordinary materials, but each one is expensive.

Claire heard this and tightened her clenched fists slightly.

"Is there anything I need?" Old Neil looked at Claire.

Claire shook her head.

In fact, the materials needed for the ceremony, such as "golden mint leaves" and "red chestnut flowers" sold at the stalls outside, are what she needs now.

The extraordinary materials here are of no use.

But this trip opened Claire's eyes.

It turns out that extraordinary materials are so expensive!

Even the money in her small treasury couldn't even provide enough ingredients for a Sequence 9 potion!
Seeing that Claire wasn't interested, Old Neil turned around and spoke to the old man, "Do you have star crystals? How about buying ten grams and getting one free?"

The old man sighed helplessly: "Mr. Neil, you know, we don't bargain here."

Old Neil laughed heartily and said directly without further ado, "Then put it on the books first. Give me a 50-gram pack."

Seeing Old Neil was about to buy something, Claire whispered, "I brought enough money."

Old Neil's eyes lit up, and he smiled in surprise. He whispered back, "Then I'll give you half later."

Half? Half of what?
Claire handed the purse to Old Neil, wondering.

After paying, while the old man was getting the goods, Old Neil explained to Claire:

"The team is buying star crystals. 50 grams for 160 pounds. We can make a profit from the difference if we buy them back from here."

Claire was stunned. It was one thing to do with improper reimbursement, but he actually resold the goods and made a profit?!

After interacting with these old guys, Claire finally understood what it meant to say "knowledge gained from books is always shallow."

Seeing the surprise in Claire's eyes, Old Neil curled his lips and sighed as he explained:
"It's not as easy as you think... Normally, we exchange merit for materials. Although the price of materials in the treasury is lower when converted, if we sell them on the black market, the handling fee will be lost."

"On the other hand, if you want to buy materials from the black market and sell them back, you'll also lose money. Generally speaking, the materials on the black market are more expensive."

"You're such a fool, paying out of your own pocket to fill the team's treasury with materials."

"So it's impossible to be a dealer between the black market and the team's treasury." Claire understood the rules after hearing this.

I'm afraid that the high commission charged by this underground exchange is also supported by the church.

"But there are exceptions."

As soon as the words changed, Old Neil chuckled:
"The team's treasury will purchase some urgently needed materials at a higher price than usual."

"Just like Star Crystal, it is one of the main materials for fortune-telling."

"Last time I prepared it for Klein, we didn't have much stock left. So the team put out a buyout notice. 50 grams of star crystal is 160 pounds, a bit higher than the normal price. This time, we can make 10 pounds."

Ten pounds is almost as much as Old Neil's weekly salary.

Workers feel they are making a profit just by using the toilet with pay.

It is no wonder that Old Neil, who always complains about being short of money, is so happy to be able to earn a little money during his time working outside.

After dealing with the star crystal, Claire bought some common materials from the stall outside and returned to Zouteland Street with Old Neil.

When we returned, Dunn was resting in the office. He looked a little tired. It was rare to see the captain of the Sleepless Path look like this.

When she came back, Claire heard from Roxanne that Daly had been transferred to Backlund and was leaving at noon.

Dunn is used to taking a lunch break of more than three hours at noon.

Apparently, Dunn didn't sleep well during his lunch break today.

"It would be a good idea to let the Mechanical Heart try this on Ermo's side. Perhaps they can find some unexpected clues."

After listening to Claire's face-to-face report, Dunn handed over a stack of documents next to the desk.

"This is the information sent by the Mechanical Heart. Everything related to Jesse Moody is here."

"The Mechanical Heart is moving so fast." Claire muttered in surprise. She flipped through the information and first saw Jesse's portrait.

He is a handsome young man.

You can't tell from his face that he is a thief.

This is a bit like Ermo.

Judging from Ermo's appearance alone, he is also the delicate and cute type.

Comparing these two people who had no connection, Claire suddenly thought of a possibility based on their similar appearance.

Assassins, Apprentices, Gnosis Society, Witch Cult!
Thinking of the "witch" potion that could turn a man into a woman, Claire organized her words and said to Dunn:
"Captain, perhaps there's something worse behind these events than we fear."

"It's possible that behind these events lies more than just the Gnosis Society, more than just an 'instigator'... but rather a witch cult, a higher-order 'witch', or even a more dangerous enemy."

Dunn drank the brewed coffee in one gulp, sat up straight, and asked in a deep voice, "What did you find out?"

Claire didn't answer directly, but emphasized, "I am a follower of the goddess, you know that."

Dunn nodded slightly.

"I came across the knowledge of the Assassin's Path by accident."

Dunn's eyes flickered slightly. He understood that Claire emphasized her identity as a Favored One in order to conceal the source of this secret knowledge.

Dunn continued to nod, pretending to listen.

"In ancient records, the Witch Church was referred to as the Witch Family. It was believed to be a family with few members, relying on bloodline for reproduction, and that witches would kill the fathers of their children and abandon male babies."

"Even now, the information describes that in order to be closer to the original witch they believe in, the upper echelons of the Witch Church are all women..."

The image of the woman with black eyes and black hair vaguely emerged in her mind. Claire took a deep breath and said slowly:
"But in reality, the fundamental problem lies with their potions."

(End of this chapter)