The Forest Feeds No Idle Goblins

"Shan Xi Ao told me you used to live west of this Fortress, right?" Shire said, placing a cup of hot sugar water in front of the Little Elf Race Leader.

"Yes, that’s right. Why do you ask?" he replied. He was sitting on a rock, looking up as Shire sat down cross-legged.

"I want to know," Shire said, "when you go out searching for flowers, do you ever find any strange buildings or entrances?"

"Buildings?" The Little Elf Race Leader thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"But," he added, "if we’re talking about strange things, there is one place."

Shire watched him quietly, all ears.

"While we were searching for flowers in the forest, we saw a large tree."

"A large tree?" Shire repeated. "Isn’t it normal to see a large tree in a forest?"

"It’s no ordinary tree. In a radius of more than twenty meters around it, no other trees grow, and even the grass is sparse. And yet, quite a few goblins live around it." The Little Elf Race Leader paused, thinking back for a few seconds. "Those goblins are very strange. We’ve never seen them foraging for food in the forest, but I remember that a long time ago, they used to, just like your people."

"A goblin tribe that doesn’t hunt or gather?" Shire was a little surprised. ’Don’t these goblins need to eat? Are they practicing some kind of mystical fasting?’

"My apologies, I can’t be certain they don’t gather food—perhaps we simply haven’t seen them do it. But you know, after autumn, the flowers in the forest become much scarcer. We little goblins have to search much larger areas, which takes more time, and even then, we still haven’t seen them gathering anything."

Shire nodded slowly, thought for a moment, and asked, "Tell me more about that tree. What makes it so strange?"

"The tree isn’t green. Its trunk is silvery-white and very thick—it would take several humans to encircle it. It reflects light in the sun, and its crown is like a giant disk, but its leaves are all gray. I once saw leaves falling from it, but the goblins under the tree would collect them."

As the Little Elf Race Leader spoke, he dipped his finger in the water from his cup and began to draw on the rock.

Shire leaned in to look at the tree he was drawing. "That doesn’t really look like a tree. It’s more like a Mushroom with its cap spread wide."

"You’re right. It does look very much like a giant Mushroom, but I’ve looked at it closely. It is a tree."

"A giant, Mushroom-like tree, with no other trees around it, and a group of goblins that don’t need to gather food." Shire stared at the fading water drawing. "No matter how you look at it, it points to one thing."

"What are you thinking of?" the Little Elf Race Leader asked.

"A Cult," Shire said gravely, "or, more specifically, the worship of an Evil God."

’The scene really was just like something out of the movies or shows I’ve seen,’ Shire thought. ’A giant, seemingly miraculous object attracts a crowd of ignorant, blind followers to worship it. And goblins are definitely a Race that’s easily swayed and controlled.’

"No, it’s not an Evil God." The Little Elf Race Leader waved his hand. "Our Ability allows us to sense good and evil, and I didn’t sense any evil intentions from those goblins. However, that giant tree does make us uneasy, just not to the extent of an Evil God."

"Is that so," Shire frowned. "Well, as long as it’s not an Evil God, that’s good. We can handle it."

He had been worried before. An Evil God would be too powerful an opponent.

"Alright, thank you very much," Shire said with a nod. "This is very important information."

"Well then, I won’t keep you. I’m going to enjoy this sweet water now," the Little Elf Race Leader said with a hearty laugh.

"Of course." Shire got up to take his leave. Behind him, many little goblins were already planning out their new homes on the walls.

Shire planned to clear out the massive stone chamber previously used to store Rune materials and give it to the little goblins as their new home. He also planned to move the cultivation beds for the Red Bulls’ fir logs here, build more shelves, and stack the logs on them to create a multi-level setup.

In the future, this 700-square-meter, 4-meter-high stone chamber would be filled to the brim, with little goblin houses hanging on all the surrounding walls. What a spectacular Red Bull production base this would be.

He gazed at the fluttering little goblins as if he were watching Gold Coins dance before his eyes.

’If they all move in, we’ll run out of sugar cubes. I need to buy a new batch right away. And I’ll have to get Mary to contact a carpenter to make some proper homes for the little goblins; living in grass huts just won’t do.’ He patted the dust from his pants. ’I should get some other furniture made, too. A set of tables and chairs to start.’

...

JINGLE. The bell on the back of the door to the Drink Undying Alchemy Workshop chimed.

"Hello, what can I get for you?" Mary stopped reading and looked up at the customer walking through the door.

The man who entered was an older islander with bronzed skin, standing about 1.8 meters tall. He was exquisitely dressed and carried a cane, not looking at all like an Adventurer.

"Excuse me, is this the White Shell Trading Company? I saw your procurement notice at the Commerce Alliance. You’re in need of a large quantity of honey?" the man asked with a smile as he approached the counter.

"Yes, that’s right." Mary looked at him and quickly deduced that he was an Island Merchant from the Archipelago. Island Merchants rarely came to Yangjiao Town. When she had previously inquired at the Commerce Alliance, the staff had told her that most Island Merchants stayed in Black Lion City.

The man had a somewhat soft face and wore a rather feminine Ruby Necklace, but his build was quite burly. If he put on a suit of Armor, he would surely be a qualified Berserker.

"My name is Mary, and you are?" Mary asked politely.

"Hello, you can call me Salumu. How much honey do you need?" the man asked courteously.

"Mr. Salumu, we need a lot. You could say we’ll take as much as you have."

"Hahaha," Mr. Salumu laughed. "I have half a ship’s worth of honey."

"That..." Mary hesitated. She had seen the ships at the docks. Half a ship’s worth of cargo was indeed a lot, but she wasn’t sure if they had enough Gold Coins in reserve.

"I’m sorry, we may not have enough Gold Coins. I need to ask my boss," Mary said apologetically.

"Of course, no problem." Mr. Salumu turned his head to look around the Alchemy Workshop until he saw the small blackboard standing by the door.

"Buy 10 Healing Potions, get 1 free?" he asked.

"Yes, that’s right."

"If that’s the case, I suggest we don’t have to trade entirely in Gold Coins. I’d like to exchange for Healing Potions of equivalent value."

"I see. That’s a very large quantity," Mary said, a little surprised.

"To be honest, I was an Adventurer for a time before becoming a merchant, so I’m well aware of the price and demand for Healing Potions. They’re needed by Adventurers, Knight Orders, even the Kingdom Army. But no other Alchemy Workshop has a ’buy 10, get 1 free’ deal. I could stock up here, take them back to the Archipelago to sell, and not only would I make a profit, but I’d be selling a hot commodity."

"But our stock is limited," Mary said, looking troubled.

"You can ask your boss," Mr. Salumu said with a smile.

"Please wait a moment." Mary bowed slightly, then ran to the back of the workshop. She locked the door behind her, went to the warehouse area, and scribbled down the situation before sending the note through the Teleportation Gate.

A few minutes later, a piece of paper appeared in front of her.

Mary read the contents: Stall him. Ask if he can wait for the order to be fulfilled. Don’t worry about production capacity. Trust Chief Engineer Claw.

Mary smiled and hurried back to the counter. "My apologies for the wait. Would you be willing to wait for a period of time? We’ll need to prepare more potions."

"Yes, no problem. I was planning to stay in Yangjiao Town for a while anyway," Mr. Salumu nodded in agreement.

"That’s wonderful! I can go inspect the goods on your ship now, if you’d like," Mary said happily. This was a huge deal.

"Of course." Mr. Salumu glanced at the potions on the shelves and asked casually, "I heard there was a Brotherhood selection in Yangjiao Town a while ago. It was very lively, with many Adventurers participating. Your business must have been very good then."

"Yes, it was quite good," Mary replied with a smile. "But the Storm Brotherhood left early the next morning, and business went back to normal."

"Mm, it’s a shame I missed the selection." Mr. Salumu smiled and shook his head. "By the way, did your boss come up with the name for this White Shell Trading Company?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. It’s an interesting name," Mr. Salumu said. "If we’re going to the docks now, then I’ll wait for you outside the shop."

"Alright, I just need to tidy up a bit. I’ll be quick," Mary said with a nod. She ducked down to pull an iron lock and a wooden "Closed" sign from under the counter.

Mr. Salumu pushed open the door, walked out of the Alchemy Workshop, and looked up at the sign.

"’Drink Undying’ Alchemy Workshop," he muttered to himself. "And also the base of operations for the White Shell Trading Company."

’A trading company so close to the forest isn’t called something like ’Oakwood,’ ’Larkspur,’ or ’Autumn Leaf.’ Instead, it’s ’White Shell’—a name you’d expect to find in a coastal region.’

’And on top of that, it’s the same name Vivian gave her little childhood trading company. How interesting.’

"Sorry for the wait," Mary said, locking the main door and hurrying over.

"No, it was only a minute or two." Mr. Salumu smiled and looked up at the sign. "This name is very interesting. Your boss is a young, humorous man, isn’t he?"

Mary smiled, smoothed the hem of her long skirt, and replied casually, "No. My boss isn’t just one person."

「Meanwhile, in the Goblin Fortress」

Shire excitedly rushed to the Alchemy and Pharmaceutical Area.

"Little Claw, Little Claw, I have great news for you!"

The Wriggling Claw stopped stirring and hopped back to the edge of the wooden bowl. "What news? Have you found my master?"

"No, I’ve landed a huge order for you," Shire said loudly.