In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

However, Rhodes's words, which entrusted his future and prospects to Dolly, made Dolly, who had originally intended to refuse, hesitate.

After a while.

Dolly held the Eye of God in her hand and made her decision, saying, "Hmph, a person's future and prospects? Barely, I'll say you've passed. The kind-hearted Lord Sangmahabai has decided to accept your collateral. As for how much Mora your future and prospects are worth, Lord Sangmahabai will have to calculate it carefully. Here's what we'll do: you stay here for one day and come back here tomorrow to collect the contract."

"can."

Dolly's agreement to this was exactly what Rod wanted.

Before he left, Dolly, who had put the Eye of God into a box, asked again, "Your name is Rod, right?"

"Yes, Aru Village, Rod."

Rod openly used his identity from Aru Village.

"Okay, come at this time tomorrow."

With that, Dolly waved for her guest to leave.

"Well, I was planning to go back to the village today, but now I have to stay overnight at the Golden Sands Tour."

As Rod left Dolly's mansion, he seemed to be in a good mood, still laughing and joking.

Desia glanced at him: "You seem pretty happy about selling your Eye of God?"

"Correcting a mistake."

"It's a mortgage."

"It wasn't sold."

Rod corrected the problems in Desia's words in a serious tone.

Judging from his appearance.

He was even prepared to give Dixia a long explanation of the difference between selling and mortgaging.

"stop."

Dixia stopped him in time, and asked as they walked, "By the way, can you tell me why you thought of mortgaging your Eye of God?"

As she spoke, she looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze: "If I remember correctly, this is the first time you've met Lord Sanggomahabai. You're so comfortable entrusting such an important thing to her? Aren't you afraid she'll go back on her word, take your Eye of God for herself, or even—"

Dixia made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Afraid."

"Of course I'm scared."

Rhodes gave his own answer.

This answer only confused Dixia more.

"If you're afraid, then why did you still make this kind of deal?"

It stands to reason.

If you're afraid the other party will back out, shouldn't you avoid making a deal altogether?

Does Rhodes have some compelling reason to make this deal?

Thinking this through, Dixia stopped and pulled Rod to walk in the opposite direction: "If you really need money so urgently, you don't have to borrow from someone like Lord Sangmahabai. Tell me how much Mora you need, and I'll get it for you. While there's still time, hurry up and go to Lord Sangmahabai again to get your Eye of God back."

However, no matter how hard she tried, Rod's feet seemed rooted to the spot, and she couldn't pull him away.

"Okay, okay, calm down."

Rhodes, both amused and exasperated, soothed the somewhat agitated Desia: "I didn't pawn this Eye of God for the money."

"Not for the money?"

Dixia didn't believe her and asked bluntly, "Then what's your purpose? Is it to lose your Eye of God?"

No, not really.

Rhodes scratched his head and explained helplessly, "I'm preparing to enter the Church Council."

"what?"

"To prepare for entering the Order of the Church?"

Now Dixia was even more confused.

Why spend so much money when all you need to do to get into the Order Academy is take an exam?

"A specially admitted student."

Rhodes continued to explain, "I just looked at the admission rules of the Order Institute in the city. One of them states that anyone who can develop a brand new research project without the help of the Order Institute or the Void Terminal can be admitted to the Order Institute without any special requirements."

"what do you mean?"

Dixia vaguely remembered.

It seems there is indeed such a saying.

just.

Without the support of the Academy, it would be extremely difficult to develop a completely new scientific research project on one's own.

Let alone desert dwellers, even rainforest dwellers rarely qualify for this special admission.

"Exams are hard to pass, so it's good to have an extra strategy."

"hey-hey."

"Look now."

"It's actually a good thing that I don't have the right to use the Void Terminal."

Rhodes licked his lips, looked in the direction of Aru Village, and said confidently, "Without a Void Terminal, it means that everything I do now is unrelated to the Order of the Church. As long as the plan that Tinari devised for me can yield results, then when it comes to the Order of the Church, I will meet the special recruitment qualifications."

That's right.

The truth is that simple.

A desert dweller who does not rely on the Void Terminal at all, even if the research path he develops overlaps with the existing system of the Order of the Church.

But in the eyes of the Order of the Fathers.

This justifies a special recruitment quota.

Although Rhodes' plan was devised with the help of Tinari, if Tinari doesn't say anything, if Desia doesn't say anything, and if Rhodes himself doesn't say anything, who would know?

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 35 Additional Conditions

the next day.

Rhodes and Desia arrived at Dolly's mansion on time.

After yesterday's explanation.

Desia now knows why Rod wanted to borrow money.

His complexion wasn't as bad as before.

She came along today mainly to see how much money Rhodes' Eye of God could fetch.

It's different from when I came yesterday.

Today, when I visited Dolly's room again, I saw a beautifully designed box placed in the most conspicuous spot next to her.

Dolly herself was holding a music box, sitting there with her legs crossed, listening to the sounds coming from inside.

It was a very special music box.

Unlike traditional music boxes.

This music box is not constructed using a mechanical structure that can play music on its own.

It can be seen through the transparent casing.

Inside is a complex set of tracks, with a small opening at the top, just big enough to fit a Mora inside.

That's right.

It's Mora.

This music box was a treasure that Dolly cherished.

It is activated by dropping in a golden Mora coin.

As the Mora tumbles back and forth on the track, the sounds of its collisions blend into a melodious tune.

A melody can be composed solely by the collision of the mortise and the track.

That sounds incredible.

But that's really the case.

Both Rhodes and Desia thought so.

Theoretically, it's a very monotonous sound, but it sounds quite pleasant.

By analogy.

It's roughly equivalent to playing a game where you tap out a tune with a calculator.

Dolly was clearly enjoying herself.

Even though Rhodes and Dixia had been standing in front of her for a while, she didn't notice their arrival until the music ended.

"Wow, you're right on time."

"Lord Sangge Mahabai likes guests like you the most."

Dolly, with a lingering expression of satisfaction, clapped her hands and then handed over a piece of paper: "Here, this is the generous Lord Sangmahabai's valuation of you. It could have been even higher, but since you're a desert dweller, what if you can't pay me back? I'd be at a huge loss."

Dolly's words were heartless.

When Rhodes and Desia saw the numbers on the loan agreement, their pupils both constricted slightly.

One million Mora.

This is the Mora that Dolly can lend to Rod.