Wizard: I am a goblin

Big Eyes jumped into the corner of the room and landed next to the armchair—the spot where Tongtong had almost been stabbed to death a few days ago.

Gebu revisited the scene of the tragedy through the toad's eyes, still shaken by the experience.

The room was furnished exactly the same as before, but what was more noticeable was the addition of a device on the herbal medicine table—a metal container encasing a glass vessel.

This looks so much like that cooling device I invented... You're stealing my patent, old lady! How shameless!

Just as Gebu was about to send the toad forward to see if there were any guards outside, the doorknob suddenly turned!

The goblin was startled and immediately told the toad to hide under the armchair.

The door creaked open, and a woman strolled in—it was Lady Peacock. She walked to the center of the room, turned around, and sat half-sitting on the oak table, facing the person outside the door.

A tall, thin man dressed in black walked in from outside. His boots creaked as they entered the room. His face was hidden behind his hood, making him unfathomable.

"Long time no see, Gascoigne. Or should I call you 'Vulture'?"

Lady Peacock said to the man in black with a slightly mocking tone.

"I never expected to see you here, Peacock."

The man's deep voice echoed in the air. He paused, looked around at the furnishings of the room, and then continued:

"You would associate with these scum of the earth... perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. You've never been a devout believer... the somber goddess of shadows suits your taste better than God."

"Let's get straight to the point, Vulture. You've come all this way to intrude into my territory, surely not just to make fun of me? You wouldn't be that bored. And I don't have the time for that."

The old elf woman placed her hand on her chest, squinted, and looked at the human in front of her with a forced smile.

Gebu had a bad feeling. Were these two going to catch up? How long was this going to drag on...? They should just finish what they were saying and get out of here, I'm in a hurry to leave!

The witch hunter vulture removed his hood, revealing his hooked nose and wary eyes.

"Do you know what I'm looking for?"

"I can guess roughly what's going on," the woman said. "I can tell you definitively that if that half-elf wizard shows up in the Gray Raven Society's territory, I will personally hand him over to you. His life or death is up to you."

Through the big-eyed toad's hearing, Gebu clearly heard the conversation between the two people—a half-elf wizard... wait a minute, could it be that unlucky guy he stabbed to death in the secret base?

Originally, Gebu wasn't interested in what the two of them were saying, but now it's different!

Big Eyes pricked up frog ears (which didn't actually exist) and listened intently to the conversation between the two.

The vulture paused for a moment and then spoke to Lady Peacock.

"That traitor has been brought to justice. What I'm looking for is that thing he stole from the church."

Lady Peacock paused for a moment, then quickly regained her composure.

"Something stolen from the church? I've never heard of that. It seems this thing is no ordinary object—you were once the most outstanding witch hunter in the Holy Kingdom of Kane. Why did those old fogies recall you from the front lines? To play hide-and-seek with wild wizards? A lost and found?"

"Once upon a time?" The vulture wrinkled its nose.

"Whether you admit it or not, you're getting old, dear Gascoigne."

The old elven woman pushed herself up from the table and gracefully walked to the witch hunter. Her demeanor was not like that of an old woman, but rather that of a young woman.

Lady Peacock reached out her hand, but the vulture did not react.

She gently stroked the man's wrinkled cheek with the back of her hand.

"Where did that handsome young man go?" the woman asked softly.

"This is the curse of short-lived creatures, Peacock, our youth is fleeting."

The vulture gazed at the woman before him, a complex, almost imperceptible look flickering in his eyes. He paused for a moment, then said softly, "You're still the same, not changed at all."

"It's the curse of longevity, Gascoigne. My aging process has lasted longer than your entire life. I'm over a hundred years old. Sometimes, looking in the mirror, I feel utterly weary."

"I admire your weathered face even more than when you were young."

"Hmph, what are you talking about? You've never seen me when I was young," the woman sneered.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment.

The pale blue light cast a long shadow in front of the man, and the boundary between light and darkness was like a river, separating the two people on opposite banks—the vulture in the light, the peacock in the darkness.

So close, yet so far.

silence.

Lady Peacock turned her hand towards the man's face—the witch hunter grabbed her wrist, the tenderness on his face vanishing completely, leaving only frost.

"I need to find a book, a very important book. It's church property. I have reason to suspect that the humanoid race brought it to this market to trade with imperial spies."

A hint of surprise flashed across the old elven woman's eyes. She remained silent for a moment, then forcefully pulled her wrist out of the witch hunter's grasp.

She turned and walked away, her back to the man, and said quickly:

"I don't know what you're talking about. What does the Church's inability to manage its own affairs have to do with the Gray Raven Society?"

"It's wartime now. The Church tolerates the Gray Raven Society's existence, but that doesn't mean I'm unaware of what you've been doing behind the scenes." Vulture stepped forward, speaking aggressively, "The Church can turn a blind eye to other contraband, but this book, I must have it. Peacock..."

"Tolerate?" The old elven woman suddenly turned around, her anger not out of mockery, and the witch hunter was immediately stunned, stopping in his tracks. The old woman, undeterred, stepped forward and pressed her face against the witch hunter's, saying:

"The Church wants to control us, but can it? The situation is far beyond the control of those old priests, including you! The Vatican has dragged this country and its people into a thirty-year war, and what have you gained? What have we gained? Nothing!"

"Don't pretend that the Gray Raven Society and you personally haven't profited from this war... Weren't the weapons and armor of the Dwarven Kingdom, and the potions and supplies of the Pearl Alliance, all sold to the Imperial front lines through the Gray Raven Society's underground ports? Just for supplying the enemy with contraband, the Gray Raven Society has committed treason and blasphemy!"

"Then, were all the magical materials, spices and essential oils, ritual implements, and soldiers' weapons and equipment obtained through legitimate channels by the Papacy's army? God's blessings aren't free, and prayers can't feed you! Without the Gray Raven Society's underground network, your Papacy couldn't function!" Peacock's speech quickened, his emotions running high. "The war is about to end, Vulture. The Gray Raven Society isn't going anywhere. But you, the Church's henchman, have you washed the blood off your hands? Be careful, in peacetime, no one pities an executioner."

The vulture's forehead veins bulged, as if the peacock's words had touched a sensitive nerve.

The man's anger brewed and fermented, but ultimately did not erupt. He restrained himself and said firmly:

"In the name of God Obak, banish evil... My war will never end!"

"You're always getting stuck on your own ideas... You've always been like this, from that orphan in the monastery to the inquisitor of the Holy See, you've never changed... I've long since given up arguing with you. But Gascoigne, I warn you, don't drag me into your one-man holy war. I'm a businessman now, nothing more."

As she spoke, Peacock calmed down a bit. She frowned, her long silver hair falling over her shoulders.

Seeing that the woman was no longer confrontational, Vulture's tone softened slightly.

"...If you're a businessman, you should know that standing against the church will bring you no benefit. I just need to know the whereabouts of that book, nothing more. If there are any conflicts of interest involved, rest assured, the church will compensate you double and guarantee your safety."

"I don't need the church's false promises," Peacock retorted mercilessly. "But I really don't know where that book is."

“But just a few days ago, a wild wizard appeared in this market, didn’t he?” said the vulture. “I’ve been looking for him for days and haven’t found a trace of him… Tell me, has the Gray Ravens hidden him?”

"A wild wizard? Who is that?" Peacock Fox asked suspiciously.

"A goblin that can use magic," the vulture said, emphasizing each word.

When these words came out of the man's mouth, to the toad's ears, Gebu felt as if the blood in his entire body had frozen instantly.

He couldn't help but gasp.

Just then, the little goblin suddenly sensed the unusual activity around its main body. It instantly severed its connection with the big eye and dismissed its pet back to the Pocket Dimension.

When he opened his eyes, the stone door of the warehouse was slowly rising, and two gray-robed guards bent down and entered the room—they looked at the potion rolling at their feet, raised their heads in surprise, and met Gebu's eyes.

For a moment, time stood still.

The guard paused for a moment, then shouted:

"Goblin?!?"