Chapter 401 401-Purchasing Intelligence
Having made up her mind, Ali glanced around the hall, spotting an unoccupied bulletin board and made her way towards it.
The board resembled those found in taverns beyond this realm, measuring two feet in length and one in width, with a crystal-like texture.
Touching the board lightly, Ali was greeted by a gentle female voice.
"Welcome back, foreign commissioner. Please proceed with your identity verification."
It seemed to be a process for identity confirmation, the workings of which Ali was unfamiliar, yet she remembered what to do.
Placing her palm on a corner of the board, she felt a slight tingling sensation before an interface opened up on the board.
"Number 9526," Ali stated with a steady voice.
Following a soft hum, the gentle voice spoke again.
"Identity verified correctly. Welcome to the public terminal, commissioner 9526."
"I wish to inquire about some information, to purchase intelligence."
"Please enter the keywords to preview related intelligence."
A blue window popped up, and under the guidance of the soft voice, Ali navigated through the menus, entering a name.
After a brief wait, the feedback returned.
"I'm sorry, but you do not have the permission to access information regarding this item."
Despite the politeness of the female voice, the board directly shut down the interface, effectively denying Ali access.
Ali stood still for a moment, taken aback.
This was the first time she had been informed of insufficient permissions; until now, the only limitation had been insufficient points.
Even when inquiring about core technologies considered top secret by various nations, the restriction had always been about not having enough points, which only allowed for a glimpse of basic preview information.
Points could still be earned by completing quests for the Truth Society, but what about permissions?
To Ali's knowledge, there had never been any mention of a concept of "permissions" within the Truth Society.
It seemed as though she had stumbled upon a significant secret.
"Search 'the Truth Society permission system'," she commanded, after ensuring her number hadn't been revoked.
This time, she changed her query, reasoning that if she was told her permissions were insufficient, then she would simply have to increase her permissions.
The wait time was even shorter this time, and a piece of text appeared on the bulletin board.
At a glance, Ali saw it was a free piece of information.
Sometimes, certain pieces of information could be accessed without spending points, typically those of a general knowledge nature.
After reading through the text, Ali had a basic understanding of the Truth Society's permission system.
In fact, the Truth Society didn't have a formal permission structure, as it lacked a hierarchy.
The availability and "pricing" of information were managed by unidentified administrators behind the scenes.
Generally, there were no browsing permission requirements for information within the Truth Society's database.
However, on occasions when the information was of significant importance, the administrators would lock access to these details, leading to the so-called "insufficient permissions."
This implied that the individual's personal information was of great importance.
However, the specifics of this importance—whether it was on a regional, national level, or some other criteria—were not disclosed, making it a completely opaque operation.
Although Ali didn't obtain the information she sought, this inquiry wasn't entirely fruitless.
At the very least, she could confirm that there was indeed something peculiar about this person, a peculiarity that even the Truth Society took an interest in.
Ali made her way back down the stairs to the General Store's first floor, where the old man was still asleep, and not a single customer was in sight.
She left as silently as she had arrived.
"Howard!"
Outside the crowd, Howard was engaging in conversation with a rescued street child when he suddenly heard Vivia's voice.
He held the somewhat cold hand of the street child and looked towards the direction of the voice.
He saw Vivia at the place where the crowd had gathered earlier, with Greg and Antalya following her.
The trio was hurrying, evidently looking for him.
Not wanting to draw attention, Howard stepped aside, leading the street child into a small alley by the street.
"Over here!" Howard stepped forward, responded, and waved his hand.
The three of them saw Howard and quickly walked towards him.
However, their appearance seemed a bit ominous.
Observing their unhappy faces and their brisk, almost stormy pace, Howard braced himself for what was to come.
As they approached, Howard was about to explain himself, but Antalya spoke first.
"I've heard the basics from Vivia when the trouble started. You didn't do anything wrong, did it actually come to blows? Are you hurt?"
"No... I mean, it didn't come to that," Howard replied, glancing at Vivia, who still had a slight flush on her face and was catching her breath slightly.
"The person turned out to be reasonable, though not very kind towards Orcs. The issue has been resolved now."
Howard gently patted the head of the street child by his side.
The child, with wide eyes, shifted her gaze among the three newcomers, clutching the corner of Howard's clothing tighter.
"What's your name?" Antalya asked, catching the child's hesitant look towards Howard.
"It's okay, this big sister here means no harm," Howard reassured, his hand resting on the child's head, giving it a soft rub.
"I'm Jelia."
Howard turned to Antalya and said, "Manager, I'd like to take Jelia in, have her help around the shop. She won't need a separate wage, and I'll cover her daily expenses. All I ask is for you to provide a place for her to stay. Would that be alright?"
After all, the tavern was Antalya's domain, and without her consent, even if Howard was willing to shelter a street child, there was no guarantee Jelia could remain in the tavern.
Jelia's gaze shifted from Howard to Antalya, then to the silent Vivia and Greg standing behind, instinctively gripping the corner of Howard's clothing tighter, leaning into him.
To her, among those present, the most reliable person was undoubtedly Howard, the one who had rescued her.
Although she hadn't fully grasped Koji's intentions, she had seen enough street children taken away, never to return to the streets again.
"What do you take me for? I'm not one of those nobles obsessed only with wealth," Antalya said, looking at Jelia.
"If you wish to stay, then stay.
But remember, you must learn to protect yourself."
It was unclear whether Jelia fully understood Antalya's words, but she nodded in her naive way.
Despite her young age, life had forced her to learn how to read people's expressions and intentions early on.
Without this skill, she would have had no means to survive on the streets without any support.
"If you're not planning to change your mind, then work with me.
My name is Howard," Howard said, gently ruffling Jelia's hair and looking at her dirty little face and the frightened eyes.
Jelia didn't speak, only nodded, her grip on Howard's clothing tightening as she committed the name Howard to memory.
"Where's Ali?"
After addressing the situation with Howard and Jelia, Antalya suddenly realized something else.
Ali wasn't with Howard.
Since Vivia hadn't mentioned it, she had assumed Ali was with Howard and therefore wasn't too concerned.
Although she hadn't known Ali for long, Antalya could tell that Ali was a very steady person.
"We split up earlier. But we had agreed on a time to meet up, and it's about that time now," Howard explained.
Antalya nodded, "Then let's go meet up with Ali. I have something I need to tell you all."
"I'll lead the way! I'll lead the way!" Vivia, who had been quiet until now, suddenly piped up, eagerly pulling Antalya away.
The two, close in age, seemed more like friends than in a hierarchy of command.
Before Howard and Greg could even speak, Vivia and Antalya had already disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Scratching his head, Howard looked at Greg.
"Guess I'll lead the way then."
Holding Jelia's hand, Howard led Greg towards the meeting point they had agreed upon with Ali.
Greg glanced at Jelia, then back at Howard, and asked, "I didn't ask earlier, but how did you resolve the situation?"
He was curious about what Antalya had mentioned.
Although Howard had shown himself to be somewhat out of the ordinary when he helped with the bellows at the forge, that was pretty much it.
As a certified level 3 magus, Greg had never noticed any mana fluctuations around Howard, which wasn't an easy feat.
Without substantial training, a newly promoted level 3 magus would find it difficult to perfectly conceal their mana, as some would naturally seep out.
To ordinary people, this might go unnoticed, but to a magus, it was as obvious as a light source in the dark.
Greg himself had practiced for nearly a month to master the skill of perfectly concealing his mana.
Generally, a level 3 magus who could perfectly conceal their mana was considered to have moved beyond the novice level.
"It was just a matter of talking things through, I suppose my eloquence came in handy," Howard said with a playful smile.
Greg wanted to probe further, but without a suitable reason, he could only suppress his curiosity for the time being, waiting for a future opportunity to uncover the truth.
But perhaps that opportunity wouldn't be far off?
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