VII
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Arc VII Chapter 14
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19th Aqua Solar XI AAC 753
Aurora moved swiftly, quickly jumping up a series of stone steps with Dollrora held tightly in her arms. She approached the door. The door was massive, made of oak, the iron hinges heavy. As it was proper and courtesy demanded, she knocked. “Tok. Tok. Tok.” Three knocks, firm and clean, followed by silence. Together, they were now waiting.
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Aurora knocked again. “Tok. Tok. Tok.” Another three knocks.
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Nothing. No reaction. The door remained quite closed.
“Hmm ...” Aurora rubbed her chin, plotting her next moves. Her current stratagems evidently failed to elicit the desired response.
Dollrora looked at her, equally at a loss. “I think that they might not have heard us ...” Her observation aligned with her own conclusions.
“Yes, apparently ...” Aurora was forced to agree. “Unfortunately for them, they do not know Postgirl Aurora! As if we would be stopped by a mere door alone!” Not when they both were supposed to be getting paid! After all, neither she and her doll, nor the adventurer’s guild were doing all of this for free. Mail delivery was a task of utmost importance, officially entrusted to the adventurer’s guild for generations. As such, good coin was to be earned here, not to mention the tips! The cheapskates still owed her well deserved tip.
Aurora knocked once more, this with more vigour. “Tok! Tok! Tok!”
“Oh, spirits dammit, I ain’t deaf, you fucking idiots! Can’t you wait for a moment? I’m coming”, a woman barked, her voice ringing loud and clear despite the thick door separating them.
“...” Aurora grinned. Success. Her efforts had born fruit. She had achieved her objective, albeit judging by the volume and her choice of words, the person in question sounded somewhat displeased. It might be just her impression, though.
The door viewer opened, revealing a pair of irritated eyes characterised by a conspicuous lack of friendliness. Her eyes narrowed the moment they spotted her, glaring veritably daggers at her. “Who are you? And what’re you doing here?” Her voice was equally harsh.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“...” Aurora deployed her brightest postgirl smile. “I’m the postgirl~. I’m here to deliver the mail~.” Her words did the trick.
At last, the door finally opened, albeit with a healthy degree of caution. A maid appeared before her, her hair well kept, her attire immaculate, a white apron over a black gown. Her face was stern, her eyes sharp, judgemental, measured, and unusually cold.
“... ... ...” The older woman glowered at her, with her mood being ... improveable.
Aurora, meanwhile, maintained her cheerful attitude, beaming brightly, even in the face of adversity. Many things in life could be solved with just a smile. Hopefully, this situation was one of those, which remained to be seen. “Salutations~. I’m postgirl Aur ... Edelgart~. The adventurer’s guild has sent me~. I’ve arrived to deliver most important mail for the household of Kallnitz.” Her hand started rummaging through her satchel, quickly producing a full stack of letters, each of them sealed and stamped accordingly. They were held together by a leather strip.
“Ta da~, here they are~.” Aurora proudly presented the package, holding the letters in front of her and prepared to hand them over. “Six letters in total~. All punctually and regularly delivered to their destination~.”
“...” The maid eyed her suspiciously, then the package, then her once again. “Hmm, now that I think about it, I haven’t seen your face before. I guess that means that you must be quite new around here.”
Aurora and her doll merely nodded, all with a bright smile. “Affirmative~. I’ve joined the guild only recently~.”
“I see ...” The woman stared at her, more or less convinced. Her hand reached for the letters, but Aurora quickly retracted the package. It was a lesson that she had learned from her last few times. Always demand advance payment before handing over your wares. In her experience, the willingness to pay tended to decline significantly among clients once you had given them what they wanted.
The maid looked at her confused, her eyebrow raised. “Hmm?”
Aurora cleared her throat, stretching out her palm for the maid to see. “Ahem, I would not dare to presume, but I think that you might’ve forgotten something important.” Namely, her commission. The brave, little postgirl and her doll had to be paid.
The woman studied her outstretched palm, then at her, before scoffing. “You want the money first, don’t you?”
Aurora and her doll nodded vigorously. “Correct~.”
The maid sighed. “Well, wait here for a moment. I’ll go and fetch the money, but don’t the guild regulations say anything about delivering mail first?”
Aurora beamed, her smile all innocent and innocuous. “Well, in a certain sense, yes, but they also call for brave, little postgirls getting paid.”
The woman scoffed at her comment and disappeared. Eventually, she returned with a pouch in her hand, a full pouch judging by its weight and volume. The maid extracted a few coins, putting them one by one into her palm. “One. Two. Three. One kreuzer and two coppers. That should do it.”
“...” Aurora stared at the three coins in her hand with a profound sense of sadness. One kreuzer and two coppers ... That was two coppers per letter ... That was not even enough to buy her a single cup of hot chocolate ... Cheapskates! Such would not do!
“Ahem ...” Aurora cleared her throat once more, loud enough for the maid to hear. Her palm closed and opened. The gesture was understood.
The maid looked at her, already more than exasperated with her. “Let me guess, you want more, don’t you?”
Aurora nodded and smiled, hugging her doll tightly. “That would be desirable, indeed~.”
The maid only scoffed at her, crossing her arms. “All right, little one, then tell me, why should I pay more for delivering a bunch of letters?”
“Hmm ...” Aurora tilted her head cutely, pondering for a moment. After some time, she raised her index finger to elucidate. “Well, consider it as a sort of tip for my efforts. After all, it was a long and dangerous journey here~.”
The woman stared at her. She looked less than amused. “‘Long and dangerous’, you say? Are you serious?”
“Yes, long and dangerous~. Especially~ for brave~ little postgirls like myself~!” Aurora nodded affirmatively. Her chest swelled with what could be described as a tiny amount of pride. Finding this place had not been easy! It was quite an accomplishment on its own!
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